Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. One month into the high school baseball season, the top teams in the City Section are becoming clear.

Top City teams emerge

With league play having begun, top teams are stepping forward in City Section baseball one month into the season.

To no one’s surprise, West Valley League rivals Birmingham (10-1, 3-0) and El Camino Real (9-3, 3-0) deserve to be ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the City Section going into their first matchup of the season Tuesday at Birmingham. They are slated to play three league games. Both teams’ pitching has been outstanding.

Birmingham junior Nathan Soto is 3-0 with an 0.34 ERA. Sophomore Carlos Acuna is 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA. El Camino Real’s Jackson Sellz is 3-0 with an 0.54 ERA. Hudson December and Andrew Katz have also contributed on the mound. Look for a low-scoring game with some bunts Tuesday.

Bell (12-1, 2-0) is back to playing the way the Eagles performed in 2024 when they won the City title. Jayden Rojas, the City player of the year as a sophomore, is batting .421 and 4-0 on the mound with an 0.32 ERA. The Eagles are the heavy favorite to win the Eastern League.

Carson (9-1-1, 3-0) has taken early charge of the Marine League race, getting some clutch hits from Skylar Vinson.

Sun Valley Poly (6-3, 3-0) already has wins over Sylmar, North Hollywood and Kennedy in the Valley Mission League. Fabian Bravo is the pitcher/hitter to watch.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Monroe at 11-0 and now the favorite to win the East Valley League. Four-year varsity pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is 4-0 with an 0.85 ERA and 32 strikeouts and only three walks in 24 2/3 innings. The leading hitter with 21 hits is junior Luis Martinez. The Vikings have yet to face a top opponent, so it remains to be seen which playoff division they will end up in.

Garfield, Sylmar, San Fernando, Cleveland and Narbonne are all capable of working their way into an Open Division playoff berths after slow starts.

Basketball awards time

Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon was The Times’ boys’ basketball player of the year.

(Craig Weston)

During a season in which the individual talent for boys and girls basketball was extraordinary, earning all-star recognition became quite an achievement.

The Times’ boys’ basketball player is Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon. Here’s the report.

Here’s the 10-player All-Star team for boys.

Coach Mike LeDuc of Damien holds up his granddaughter after guiding his team to the state Division I championship.

(Greg Stein)

The boys’ coach of the year is Mike LeDuc of Damien. Here’s the report.

Here’s the final top 25 rankings.

The Times’ girls’ basketball player of the year is Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian.

Here’s the 10-player girls All-Star team.

The girls’ coach of the year is Alicia Komaki of Sierra Canyon.

Here’s the links to the complete all-star package.

Baseball

Corona’s Anthony Murphy is fired up.

(Nick Koza)

The versatile Anthony Murphy of Corona showed off his speed and power in 8-3 win over King, getting a home run, triple, double and single. That’s called hitting for a cycle. And he almost did it again in the next game with a home run, a double and two singles. He also struck out all three batters he faced in a relief role.

Corona (7-0) is set to face Corona Santiago (9-2) in a three-game series this week. To say scouts will be out en masse when Santiago’s Striker Pence pitches Wednesday might be an understatement. He’s only a sophomore with a fastball that can reach 100 mph. The games are Monday at Santiago, Wednesday at Corona and Friday at Santiago.

Santa Margarita has lost standout shortstop Brody Schumaker for the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury. Freshman Cooper Holland provided a lift in Las Vegas with 11 RBIs. The new shortstop is sophomore Warren Wulfemeyer, whose grandfather, Mark, is one of the most recognizable names in Orange County basketball history.

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Justin Lee, the 2023 player of the year by The Times, was clocked throwing his fastball between 97 and 99 mph pitching for UCLA.

Two unbeaten teams, St. John Bosco and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in this week’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times. St. John Bosco has shut out five of its seven opponents. Jack Champlin is creating options for the St. John Bosco coaching staff. He continues to be a great closer but is also effective as a starter.

The National High School Invitational begins Wednesday in Cary, N.C. Southern California is well represented with Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco, Aquinas and Harvard-Westlakek participating.

Friday marks the end of the sit-out transfer period in the Southern Section. Players who did not move become eligible. Bishop Alemany could be the team to watch. Mikey Martinez, who helped Crespi win the Mission League title last season as a pitcher and outfielder, will join the Warriors.

Softball

Murrieta Mesa continues to dominate with 14 consecutive wins to start the season. Sophomore Tatum Wolff is hitting .533 with 24 hits, including eight doubles.

Chaminade is 9-0 and came through with a break-through win over defending Mission League champion Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 7-6, scoring five runs in the seventh. The Eagles have an outstanding sophomore pitcher in Finley Suppan, the daughter of former major leaguer Jeff Suppan. Here’s the report.

JSerra (13-2), Fullerton (11-1), Norco (9-2), Oaks Christian (10-1) and Etiwanda (14-1) continue to be teams on the rise.

City Section softball is wide open as teams test themselves against Southern Section opponents. Defending champion Granada Hills is 5-5.

Banning is 7-6. Carson is 7-5. They will join San Pedro in another tough Marine League battle.

Track and field

The impressive early marks in the 100 meters for boys signals some real fast times will be coming later in the spring.

Benjamin Harris of Servite leads the way at 10.23 seconds. Next are Quran Clayton Jr. of Oak Hills and Jorden Wells of Servite at 10.28. Others include Nicolas Obimgba of Torrance (10.34), Zion Phelps of Loyola (10.39), Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park (10.43), Wesley Ace of Gardena Serra (10.51), Quincy Hearn of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (10.52) and AJ McBean of Mira Costa (10.55).

Many are football players using track to get faster, and college recruiters are noticing.

Ejam Yohannes of Loyola has stamped himself the favorite in the 400 with a time of 46.11. Imagine if he improves a little what he might be running coming June.

Dean Guzman of Moorpark cleared 6-9 in the high jump at the Maurice Greene Invitational.

For girls, Olivia Kirk of Calabasas ran a state-leading 11.51 in the 100 meters at Oaks Christian. Teammate Malia Rainey ran 11.76. Kirk also has the leading 200 time at 23.46.

Sophomore Grace Smith from Claremont ran the 800 in 2:08.80 at the Hi-Racer Meet of Champions.

Volleyball

Loyola’s JP Wardy, left, tries to tip the ball past Mira Costa’s Colby Graham, center, and Miles Crotty during a match at Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach on March 20, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Always expect drama and excitement when volleyball rivals Loyola and Mira Costa meet. It happened again Friday, with Mira Costa rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Cubs in five sets. It was a remarkable performance turned in by junior Mateo Fuerbringer, who recorded 37 kills. He’s committed to UCLA.

Here’s the report.

Saugus defeated the host Chancellors to win the Chatsworth tournament championship.

So long Angelo Gasca

Venice coach Angelo Gasca showing off City Division I title trophy in 2021.

(Cliff Kensinger)

The high school sports community was in mourning after the death of Venice football coach Angelo Gasca. He was 65.

Few have made a bigger impact for their community on and off the field than Gasca, who was involved as a coach at Venice for 36 years and also played for the Gondoliers.

Here’s a look at the impact he made.

Notes . . .

Todd Quinsey is the new football coach at Ayala. . . .

Christian Collins of St. John Bosco, a McDonald’s All-American, has committed to USC. . . .

Inglewood guard Jason Crowe Jr. was selected the Gatorade state player of the year. . . .

Jon Palarz has resigned after 17 years as basketball coach at Calabasas. . . .

Former Granada Hills Kennedy football coach Dion Lambert is the new defensive coordinator at Simi Valley. . . .

Brandon Clifford has been named the basketball coach at Campbell Hall. He last coached in Greensboro, N.C. . ..

Derek Allen is the new boys water polo coach at Agoura. . . .

United Teachers Los Angeles has announced members would strike on April 14 if no deal is reached with the Los Angeles Unified School District. That would disrupt spring sports in the City Section, likely forcing games to be postponed or canceled based on previous strikes. Charter schools such as Birmingham and Granada Hills would not be affected since their teachers have separate contracts. . . .

Dylan O’Leary is the new football coach at San Dimas after being an assistant at South Hills. . . .

Quarterbacks continue to transfer in preparation for the 2026 high school football season. Here’s the latest from the transfer portal.

From the archives: Gage Jump

In 2021, JSerra pitcher Gage Jump delivers a pitch against Harvard-Westlake.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Former JSerra pitcher Gage Jump has become one of the top pitching prospects in the Oakland Athletics organization. The left-hander originally signed with UCLA before transferring to LSU. He was drafted No. 74 overall in 2024. He’s listed at 6-feet tall but throws with power.

Here’s a story from 2020 on opening day.

Recommendations

From On3, a story on the controversy in Nevada, where public schools in Clark County are moving to independent status as protest against Bishop Gorman’s powerful football program.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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A new UN report confirms the past decade was the hottest on record, warning that rising temperatures driven by fossil fuels demand urgent climate action.

In the final hours of her life on January 29, 2024, Hind Rajab’s feeble voice could be heard desperately pleading with her mother and emergency workers for help, as she was trapped in a car surrounded by the bodies of six of her relatives.

After finally getting clearance from the Israeli military in Gaza City, a Red Crescent ambulance raced to save the five-year-old girl. But two paramedics were killed when their marked vehicle – whose sirens were blaring – came under Israeli tank fire. The remains of the nine victims were recovered 12 days later.

Two years after the tragedy, a report claims this was a “double tap” attack by the Israeli army. A double-tap strike essentially means carrying out two strikes on the same target, often wounding or killing medics and civilians who are coming to the aid of people harmed in the first attack.

Analysis by the legal campaign group Avaaz has found evidence that the killings contravened international combat law under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute.

“By reconstructing the coordination and timing around the approved ambulance mission, it shows that there is substantial evidence of a deliberate ‘double-tap’ tactic – an initial military strike followed with a deliberately timed second strike targeting emergency responders and medical personnel who arrive to help,” Avaaz says in its report exclusively shared with Al Jazeera. “The brief brings together the timeline of events up to and beyond Hind’s death, showing what Israeli forces must have been aware of at each stage, and the frequent opportunities they had to pull back from murder.

“It documents over 40 human rights violations and ties together how those violations are evidence of a double-tap attack on the hospital workers. Each violation builds to an alarming possibility: Israel is not only killing Palestinians – it is systematically killing those who try to save them. The message is clear: If the medical community tries to help, it will be extinguished.”

More than 1,500 healthcare workers have been killed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, including several since a so-called “ceasefire” came into effect in October.

Avaaz, building on previous investigations by Al Jazeera in partnership with the Hind Rajab Foundation and other media organisations, claims there is clear evidence that this double strike constituted a war crime. The campaign group is now urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring those responsible to justice.

At the time of publishing, the Israeli military had not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

‘I am absolutely convinced that this is another case of double tap’

Al Jazeera, in partnership with the Hind Rajab Foundation, last year revealed evidence of deliberate killings.

The Israeli government initially claimed that none of its forces was present at the time, later asserting that the 335 bullet holes found in the family’s car were the result of an exchange of fire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.

However, a subsequent investigation of satellite imagery and audio from that day by the multidisciplinary research group Forensic Architecture, based at Goldsmiths, the University of London, identified only the presence of several Israeli Merkava tanks in the vicinity of the family’s car and no evidence of any exchange of fire.

The Avaaz report highlights that the ambulance obtained permission from COGAT, an arm of the Israeli military, to go to Hind’s aid, so Israeli forces knew exactly when the first responders would arrive and the route they would take. About three hours passed between the initial shooting of the family vehicle and the attack on the ambulance, indicating the Israeli army had ample opportunity for “situational awareness, communication, and command decision-making”, the report adds.

Avaaz says the ambulance was attacked by a tank in a way that could not have been a warning shot if the military had any reason to believe it was not there to rescue Hind. Instead, the assault “points to lethal targeting”.

The Israeli army gave no warning before attacking the ambulance, previous investigations have found.

“I have taken the investigations done by a number of independent journalistic outfits. I was really struck by the evidence at the end of the whole horrendous incident,” said Sarah Andrew, legal director of Avaaz, who added that as a mother, Hind’s death made her think of her own daughter. “In particular, the kind of weaponry that was used on the ambulance, the timing and the fact that no warning was given – it immediately triggered a question in my mind, and I am absolutely convinced that this is another case of double tap.”

She told Al Jazeera: “It is something that has not had attention, and we would like to take this with [an independent legal] partner to the ICC.”

“What I have done is establish a legal framework for the previous investigation. I think it is very important that we also look at what happened to the ambulance workers as well as what happened to Hind and her family.”

The report says, “Even where an attacking force claims it suspects misuse of a medical vehicle, international humanitarian law requires warnings and an opportunity to comply before an attack can be lawful.”

Andrew said the Israeli military has yet to explain why a tank fired on an ambulance.

“We have not heard from the people responsible. I want them to appear before the ICC and hear what on earth was in their mind when they ordered 120mm tank rounds to be fired into an ambulance,” she said. “Justice is first of all bringing the light of attention into this crime and secondly seeing the persons responsible being accountable for their actions.”

Professor James Sweeney, from the University of Lancaster, who is an expert on human rights and conflict, said in double-tap attacks, the second strike is usually within five to 10 minutes.

It can also mean letting off a small explosion to induce rescuers to respond, then exploding another bomb once they are near.

“The [Avaaz] brief says that the attack on the ambulance should be considered a double tap, but usually the second attack would be within five to 20 minutes and would be considered a trick,” he told Al Jazeera. “It would seem that [in this case] the passage of time was greater, but that does not take anything away from the fact that the attack on the ambulance was so unlawful. You could see it as a form of double-tap, but it is not my normal understanding of it. But in any case, it does not take away from the fact that these were war crimes.”

The Hind Rajab Foundation said in a statement, “The double tap arguments are consistent with our analysis as well. We are continuously preparing for new filings against responsible soldiers in various jurisdictions.

“We have 24 names of responsible perpetrators. We are open to work together with Avaaz on a filing specifically regarding the attack on the ambulance.”

The last time Eric Idle’s “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” spoof musical “Spamalot” landed at a major L.A. venue a decade ago, he played the show’s tweedy historian, who sets the scene for the Arthurian legend with a seriousness entirely unfit for the absurdist romp to follow.

It was a perfect role for the “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” alum, to whom dry humor comes as naturally as breathing.

But when “Spamalot” makes its long-awaited return to L.A. Tuesday at the Hollywood Pantages, Idle will take the stage only briefly, and not as a cast member. His job is to pop on and “say something funny or rude, which sadly, comes quite easy to me,” he said in a recent interview at Written Hand cocktail lounge, located just north of the theater.

Over a margarita and a few chef’s olives, Idle recounted his earliest forays into comedy, his legendary run and subsequent break with his former “Monty Python” castmates, and why “Spamalot” arrives in L.A. at the perfect time.

Explaining his scaled-back involvement in this iteration of his meta-musical, Idle said that at the golden age of 82, “I can’t do anything eight times a week” — though his agenda that day begged to differ.

He’d woken up around 6 a.m. for his daily writing session, powered through a meeting with his book publisher and capped off the sunlight hours with some “Spamalot” promos and a photoshoot, all before sitting down to dinner.

Though his admin tasks may tire him, Idle said comedy never does. Recently, he ran into the actor who plays King Arthur in the Pantages production at their hotel bar and asked him for notes on the script.

“He said, ‘There’s one speech.’ I said, ‘I know exactly which one it is,’” Idle recalled. “Every time I hear it I go, I must rewrite that.”

So Idle workshopped it — did the algebra, as he described it — and wound up with a new, zingier joke he preferred. Reciting it at the dinner table, Idle snapped his fingers in time with the punchline.

“I’ve done it 62 years. It still fascinates me,” he said.

Idle’s lifelong fixation on comic craft began in his teenage years, when he saw “Beyond the Fringe,” the seminal British comedy stage revue that acted as a precursor to both “Monty Python” and “Saturday Night Live.”

“I didn’t know you could laugh at the monarchy, at religion, at the army, at the war,” Idle said, adding that he immediately purchased the sketch group’s record and learned all their bits.

From that moment, he said, “I wanted desperately to do comedy.”

“I love musical theater. I miss it,” Eric Idle said.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

First with the Cambridge Footlights and later with the Pythons, Idle honed a linguistically-focused style that bridged highbrow absurdity and accessible, pop culture-driven humor. Then in the ’80s, he unlocked an affinity for musical theater while playing Ko-Ko in Jonathan Miller’s “The Mikado.”

Over the years, it became an established tradition that Ko-Ko rewrite his patter song, “I’ve Got a Little List,” to keep the operetta’s satire topical.

When Idle penned his own rewrite, he recalled thinking, “Woof, I like this.”

“It made me realize that I could write funny songs quite quickly,” he said. That epiphany in turn led him to meet with John Du Prez, who became the composer for “Spamalot.”

Idle and DuPrez wrote some 40 songs for the musical, many of them at a small studio in the Valley which they dubbed Killer Rabbit Studios. The idea was to compose a show that even those who weren’t “Monty Python” fans would enjoy, with hints of romance and sincerity absent from the source material.

Famed stage and screen director Mike Nichols made judicious cuts, Idle said, though occasionally changed his mind.

In an April 23, 2004, journal entry published in Idle’s 2024 book “The Spamalot Diaries,” the comic writes: “Mike also confesses to a dislike for the Knights of Ni, but when we act it out together, i.e. I say ‘Ni!’ and he pretends to be scared, it gets us both laughing uncontrollably and he is now convinced that it works.”

“I learned so much,” Idle said as he reminisced about those early years engineering the musical, which has appeared twice on Broadway and won three Tony awards during its inaugural run, including for best musical and direction. “I think it was the best fun of my life.”

The current “Spamalot” tour coming to the Pantages on Tuesday through April 12 remains a farce “lovingly ripped off” from “Monty Python” and featuring all the classic bits — flying cows, killer rabbits and the Lady of the Lake — but revamping its stage production with updated scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III. With Josh Rhodes directing, the new show brings a fresh take on the 2023 Broadway revival.

Idle said he’s especially excited to host a Saturday matinee attended by students from the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center, which provides performing arts education to South-Central L.A. youth.

Each “Spamalot” production at the Pantages has been great, Idle added, but with all the upgrades, this one is “smashing.”

And it comes to L.A. at a critical time when joy is hard-fought, he said.

The Broadway revival of “Spamalot” opened in 2023 at New York’s St. James Theater.

(CJ Rivera / Invision / Associated Press)

“People really love this show because it makes you happy,” Idle said. “And these are the times when we need it really badly, because somehow, we’re being oppressed all the time.”

Despite his English roots, Idle after living in the U.S. for several decades is firmly entrenched in the country’s politics. As he’s watched the Kennedy Center drama unfold and arts infrastructure unravel, he said sitting among laughing audiences has been a balm — for himself and many others.

“It always goes well in a Republican war,” Idle observed about his show. “We opened during Bush and Cheney, when all these people were going off to war, and [‘Spamalot’] is about going off to war, really, rounding up the knights.”

It helps that the play’s script allows its actors to break the fourth wall and improvise dialogue that more closely speaks to the audience’s present moment.

As Idle talked about his show, he swelled with the same pride he said he has when he looks back on his time with the Monty Python troupe: “it makes me feel so warm towards them.”

“But those aren’t the same people we are now,” he said.

Preexisting tensions among the Pythons boiled over in recent years because of financial disputes, including a 2013 lawsuit over “Spamalot” royalties. Idle has for more than a decade been largely estranged from his former collaborators, but said he prefers not to linger on that fact.

“I think we were good, I really do,” he said, and that made for a great life. “But it doesn’t make you brothers.”

“Monty Python’s Flying Circus” original cast members John Cleese, from left, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin and Eric Idle pose on a beach.

(PBS / Associated Press)

Even while Idle was still with the troupe, being its only unpartnered writer made him feel distant from them, he said. It’s what he and Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison bonded over when they met.

“He was between two powerful people, and I was between two powerful groups,” Idle said. “So we played not dissimilar roles.”

The pair remained close until Harrison’s death in 2001.

“The worst thing about getting old is you lose all your friends,” Idle said somberly.

He wasn’t ready for Catherine O’Hara to go, nor Rob Reiner, who bade Idle a poignant farewell at a recent L.A. party.

The last thing the beloved director said to Idle was, “Goodnight, I’ll see you next year,” he recalled.

After dinner, Idle slung his Holy Grail-shaped bag — made by his daughter and lined with Spam-printed fabric — over his shoulder and left a voicemail for a friend he regularly jams with in L.A.

“Hey, Alex, I’m just finished what I was doing. I’m down by the Pantages. If you fancy a ding dong, give me a call. Otherwise, I’ll just head home.”

Gold’s reputation over the past year as the go-to refuge in a crisis is taking a battering as war rages and threatens to expand in the Middle East and financial markets buckle.

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Spot gold plunged to a 2026 low near $4,100 in early trading on Monday before recovering sharply to above $4,400 after US President Donald Trump announced he was postponing military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days following “very good and productive conversations” with Tehran — a swing of around $300 in the space of hours.

The metal has still shed more than 20% since hitting a record high of $5,594.82 an ounce on 29 January.

Silver has lost nearly half its value since hitting an all-time high of $121.67 in January, in one of the more violent collapses in the precious metal’s modern history.

Spot silver was down 8.9% at $61.76 — a year-to-date low and almost half of its $117 level on 28 February, when the Iran war began.

The counterintuitive sell-off has rattled investors who piled into precious metals expecting them to hold firm.

The dollar dropped against the euro after Trump’s comments and traded around $1.1572 to the euro on Monday afternoon, while the pound was up at a rate of $1.3341. The yen traded at around ¥159.47 per dollar.

Oil shocks continue to reverberate

The main culprit is the oil shock. As crude surges past $100 a barrel, bond yields are climbing and the US dollar is strengthening, making precious metals far less attractive to investors bracing for higher interest rates.

The dollar has emerged as one of the clearest safe-haven winners, strengthening over 2% so far this month.

For a non-yielding asset like gold, that is a double blow.

The prospect of higher interest rates as a result of the war is also boosting government bonds among investors, at the expense of precious metals.

Yet seasoned observers urge caution before declaring the gold story over.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, points out that gold is in the middle of only its third major bull run since 1971 and that the previous two also caused stomach-churning fluctuations.

“Neither interest rates staying higher for longer nor a stronger dollar may help the investment case for precious metals, but both the 1971-1980 and 2001-2010 bull runs saw several retreats which did not ultimately nullify or prevent major gains,” Mould said.

“So it may be too early to give up on gold just yet,” he continued.

During the first bull run, triggered by Richard Nixon’s decision to decouple the dollar from the gold standard in 1971, gold surged from $35 to a peak of $835 an ounce by January 1980, but not before enduring three mini bear markets and five corrections of 10% or more along the way.

The second run, which began in 2001 amid the wreckage of the dotcom bust and gathered pace through the 2008 financial crisis, was equally volatile, featuring two bear markets and another five double-digit corrections before gold peaked near $1,900 in 2011.

This third advance has been no smoother.

“A swoon of more than 20% caught some bulls off guard in 2022, as the world emerged from lockdowns, and 10%-plus corrections in each of 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023 [gold peaks] warned that volatility was never far away,” Mould noted.

The question of dividends

The paradox at the heart of the current sell-off is that the very crisis that might once have sent investors flooding into gold is now working against it.

Rising oil prices fuel inflation fears, inflation fears fuel expectations of higher interest rates and higher rates make gold — which pays no dividend and costs money to hold — less appealing.

“Gold’s status as a haven may now be tarnished in the eyes of some,” Mould said, “as the precious metal is falling in price even as war roils the Middle East and financial markets alike.”

But not everyone is convinced the metal’s moment has passed.

The inflation and stagflation of the 1970s, partly triggered by the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979, ultimately made gold the standout portfolio pick of that decade.

A prolonged conflict that stretches government finances — pushing welfare costs up and tax revenues down, on top of surging defence spending — could yet revive that dynamic.

If central banks respond to recession with fresh rate cuts and quantitative easing, the case for gold as a store of value comes roaring back.

“The war in Iran and its effect on oil and gas prices is stoking fears of inflation and how that could force central banks to raise interest rates,” he concluded.

ONE town in Wiltshire has been named one of the best places to live in the UK – and it was once very popular with royalty.

Malmesbury in Wiltshire sits just outside of the Cotswolds border with a pretty high street, stone cottages and it is home to what is considered England‘s oldest hotel.

The Times named Malmesbury one of the best places to live in the UK, and the best in the Southwest.

It said: “If the high street is a good indicator of the health of a town, then historic Malmesbury should be feeling decidedly chipper.“

Malmesbury is on the very edge of the Cotswolds, sometimes even known as the ‘southern gateway’ to the region.

It’s also nicknamed Queen of Hilltop Towns because it sits around 302 feet above sea level.

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It has 300 listed buildings with pretty stone cottages, like you find in the neighbouring Cotswolds, and lots sit alongside the River Avon.

The town is one of the oldest boroughs in England – it was given the status in around the year 880 AD by Alfred the Great.

Malmesbury was also a favourite location of the very first King of England, Athelstan.

When he ruled, he even made himself King of all England and named Malmesbury the nation’s very first capital in around 925 AD.

King Athelstan chose to be buried within the grounds of the historic Malmesbury Abbey which still stands today.

Now, Malmesbury is a classic English market town, but with the charm of the Cotswolds.

It has lots of independent shops on the high street, along with farmers’ markets.

The Flying Monk Café & Taproom is popular for everything from craft beer to a hearty breakfast.

In August, Malmesbury holds its own carnival and festival where there are lots of pop up stalls as well as parades and music.

Near the river is The Old Bell Hotel which is rumoured to be England’s oldest hotel.

The Grade I-listed spot has been welcoming guests since 1220, where it used to be lodgings for monks.

Now, it has 34 rooms that cater to everyone from single travellers to families, and a few suites too

One reported who spent a night at The Old Bell Hotel called it the “perfect spot for some post-party pampering this summer.”

They added: “Our room was a delight, dominated by a vast, comfy bed covered in a rainbow of soft throws and cushions, while a menagerie of monkeys and peacocks danced across the wallpaper.

“The helpful team at The Old Bell can arrange a guided tour of the King’s gardens in nearby Highgrove House, a visit to Westonbirt Arboretum or paddleboarding at Cotswold Water Park.

“However, it’s just as nice to potter around Malmesbury.”

If you want to explore out of the town, a 22-minute drive away from Malmesbury is Cotswold Country Park and the UK’s biggest inland beach.

Along with swimming, there’s an AquaVenture inflatable course and boat hire.

On land there is more to do with mini golf, playgrounds and lake walks.

It opens for the new season on March 27, 2026.

The town is also close to Castle Combe Race Circuit, Lake 32 Outdoor Centre and Brinkworth Golf Course.

For more on the Cotswolds, here’s how to visit on a budget and how to find the lesser-visited villages.

And Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey reveals her favourite Cotswold town with old-school sweet shop and riverside games.

A BEAUTIFUL city often named one of the best in the world is about to become much easier to visit from the UK.

Singapore Airlines has confirmed that it will be adding more flights from London Gatwick to the city of Singapore.

From March 31 to July 2, and September 1 to October 24, three more flights will operate a week.

And during the summer season of July 3 to August 29, it will operate two flights a day.

Not only that, but TUI has launched city break packages to Singapore as well.

TUI‘s Commercial Director Chris Logan said: “Singapore will serve up an exciting new option for foodies as TUI expands its programme into Asia.

TAKING OFF

The 37 new flights launching from major UK airport this year

FLY AWAY

UK gets new flight route to world’s best airport – less than 4 hours from the UK

“It’s a destination that truly has it all, world class cuisine, stunning architecture, hidden natural gems and a unique mix of tradition and innovation.”

Seven-night holidays with direct flights can be found for around £1,100pp, with flights from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester.

Singapore is often named one of the world’s best cities, coming sixth in this year’s ‘World’s Best Cities’ report.

it also came in 23rd in Time Out’s Best Cities 2026 list earlier this month.

While it is often used a stopover by Brits heading to other destinations in Asia and Oceania, it is also the best place or a holiday in itself.

It is 30C all year round, so you are guaranteed to get some warmth no matter the month (although December is the wettest so perhaps avoid this time).

I visited the city a few years ago and squeezed a lot into just a few days – and wished I had more time.

There is the famous sidecar tours of the city, where drivers take you around some of the best spots including the artwork of ‘Singapore’s Banksy‘, Yip Yew Chong.

Fantastic bars are aplenty, with my favourite being Jigger & Pony (on the best bars list nearly every year) and Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar, home to the famous Singapore Sling.

Not only that, but it has some of the cheapest Michelin star restaurants in the world.

At Chinatown Complex Market is Liao Fan Hawker Chan, the world’s first Hawker stall to win the coveted star.

For £2 (yes, really) I gorged on the tastiest soy-sauce chicken noodles, smothered in a spicy sauce.

Near here is the Michelin Guide-recommended Hill Street Tai Hwa — where for £5 you get a huge portion of juicy noodles with tender pork liver and crispy pieces of plaice on top.

Need some green space? Singapore is also called City in the Garden for its luscious environment, so make sure to visit Gardens by the Bay.

And for some beach time, head over to Sentosa Island for stretches of white sand.

It’s here you’ll also find Resorts World Sentosa, home to huge waterparks, and a Universal Studios theme park.

Make sure to save some time for the airport too – Changi is often named the best in the world with huge waterfalls, butterfly gardens and swimming pools.

To hear Darrell Issa and his supporters tell it, the San Diego County businessman is a modern-day Horatio Alger who built his company “from scratch” and clawed his way to a fortune that has given him instant credibility as a U.S. Senate candidate in next month’s primary.

But a closer look at the 44-year-old Issa’s financial beginnings reveals a more complex tale, rooted as much in discord as in dogged determination.

His admirers praise his business savvy, his innovation and his aggressive marketing of cutting-edge technology in the car security industry.

However, Issa also has left a trail of spurned associates from New York to California who accuse him of distorting his record and of trampling them on his way to the top.

The car security company that Issa now says he “started” in his hometown of Cleveland 16 years ago actually came under his control after a bruising battle with the former owners, records and interviews show. The clash and its aftermath featured accusations of underhanded tactics and intimidation, a suspected arson, even a glimpse of an Issa arrest in his youth on charges that were later dismissed.

“It’s an ugly past chapter,” Issa acknowledged in a recent interview. “If I had not succeeded in business and they had, I could be saying this in reverse.”

The pristine headquarters of his $70-million-a-year operation north of San Diego seem far removed from his working-class Ohio roots, where he and his competitors were scrambling in the 1980s to gain a foothold in the growing car security business. It was a rough-and-tumble time for Issa–and tensions ran particularly high after a suspected arson fire ripped through his manufacturing plant in 1982.

No one was ever charged in the fire, but authorities were troubled by a dramatic escalation in the facility’s fire insurance just weeks earlier. Even before the blaze was put out, investigators began peppering Issa and his partner with “crazy questions” regarding their whereabouts before the fire, Issa recalled.

Authorities later checked their criminal records and their financial histories. The rap sheets turned up an old run-in with the law that now seems ironic for a staunch law-and-order candidate who struck it rich selling car alarms: A decade earlier, Issa had been arrested at the age of 18 on charges that he and his brother had stolen a car.

A grand jury indicted the Issa brothers on charges of felony theft of a red Maserati from a Cleveland dealership in 1972 after a witness reported seeing them pushing the sports car down the street just before midnight, records and interviews show. But the charges were dismissed–months before the older brother, Bill, was convicted of stealing another car amid a string of offenses.

The Issas both say that they were arrested only because they were near the car–and because Bill had a bad reputation with police. “If I hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have bothered my brother,” Bill Issa said, adding that he recalls that the charges were dismissed because a witness changed part of his story.

“The fact is,” Darrell Issa said, “I was exonerated of all wrongdoing. My brother went on to have a long and sordid career. I told the campaign a long time ago, ‘You want to just publish my brother’s record on the Internet and get it over with?’ They said, ‘No, don’t worry about [your] family.’

”. . . I am not my brother, I am not my brother’s keeper.”

Takeover of Company

Issa smiled and shook his head when the name of one of his former business associates in Cleveland was first raised in a recent interview.

“Ah, Joey Adkins,” he said. “I remember him.”

Issa has spent about $6 million of his own money to air commercials in which he tells, among other things, of “building a world-class business from scratch” and using his $7,000 life savings to start the company.

But Adkins, 42, who is now repairing video equipment at his rundown shop outside Cleveland, was there at the beginning, too. The company that Issa says he founded had belonged to Adkins until Issa seized control in 1982.

Issa says he simply did what any good businessman would have done under the circumstances.

Adkins counters: “Darrell stole that company out from under me. He screwed us.”

Adkins started work in the late 1970s on anti-theft devices for automobiles, developing a product called Steal Stopper that killed the ignition switch unless a digital code was entered. His company, A.C. Custom Electronics, secured a contract with Ford Motor Co. and, by 1981, was reporting nearly $1 million in annual revenues, tax returns show.

Meanwhile, Issa was breaking into business himself.

In 1980, after leaving active military duty, he bought into Quantum Enterprises, which had previously manufactured CB radio parts. When the CB market began dying, the company resorted to developing gadgets, such as a potato peeler, but it suffered what Issa described as “incredible losses.”

The company also had begun doing electronics work for Adkins. The relationship went smoothly until Adkins turned to Issa for a $60,000 loan that would eventually cost him his business after Adkins pledged his company’s stock as collateral.

A similar loan from Issa was repaid the previous year. But this time, Adkins asked for a few more weeks to repay the loan–and Issa says he agreed.

Within days, however, Issa went to a judge and–under an Ohio law that did not require the debtor to be present–won a judgment for the outstanding $60,000.

Issa promptly called Adkins at home to declare that he now owned his auto security company, Adkins recalled. “I was completely floored,” he said.

Why, after promising more time, did Issa go to court to collect?

Issa says he learned only after extending the loan that Adkins’ company was saddled with mounting debts and was bordering on insolvency. Rather than risk losing his investment, he said he went to court for protection.

“We had every right to do so,” he said. “There wasn’t any stealing of any company.”

Issa’s partner at Quantum, Miles Hunsinger, also blames red ink for Adkins’ troubles and the company takeover.

“If Darrell hadn’t grabbed them up, someone else would have very shortly. They were done,” Hunsinger said. “Darrell was sharp enough to understand that the basic premise of their design and their name held promise, and he took it and ran with it.”

But Adkins said A.C. Custom was on solid financial ground and could have paid off the note as agreed.

Moreover, he charged that Issa had been scheming from the start to take over his company–a charge buttressed by Adkins’ former bookkeeper.

The bookkeeper, Karen Brasdovich, said Issa had grilled her about Adkins’ finances, including his late payment of bills. Only later, she says, did she suspect that Issa may have then used that information to seize the firm.

“He picked my brain. It really bothers me to this day that I fell for that,” she said.

Issa said he did not recall the episode. Nor did he recall an alleged incident in the days after he took over A.C. Custom.

One of Issa’s first tasks as the new boss was to remove an executive named Jack Frantz.

According to Frantz, Issa came into his office, placed a small box on the desk and opened it. Inside, he said, was a gun.

“He just showed it to me and said ‘You know what this is?’ ” Frantz said.

Issa invited Frantz to hold the gun at one point and told him he had learned about guns and explosives during his military days, Frantz said. Because he was about to be fired, Frantz said he saw it as “pure intimidation.”

The bookkeeper, Brasdovich, also recalled Issa having a gun at the company that day. “It was pretty terrifying,” she said.

Issa confirmed that he wanted to remove Frantz–who years later was convicted in a telemarketing scheme–because he failed to collect outstanding bills.

But, as for having a gun, Issa said, “Shots were never fired. If I asked Jack to leave, then I think I had every right to ask Jack to leave. . . . I don’t recall [having a gun]. I really don’t. I don’t think I ever pulled a gun on anyone in my life.”

Issa said he moved quickly to pay off the company’s creditors, partly with $7,000 in life savings. He wound up with the Steal Stopper name and product line, which he would sell for years to come.

Adkins blames the episode for triggering his slide into bankruptcy, family rifts, bouts with alcohol and a recent jail stint for drunk driving.

“It’s been a rough 17 years,” he said. “He’s got $250 million, and I’m lucky if I can pay my taxes.”

Adkins is still estranged from his sister, who sided with Issa in the dispute and runs his Cleveland facility even today.

“Darrell always worked his tail off, and I thought he was very fair,” said the sister, Ernestine Brown. “But my family more or less disavowed me when I went to work for Darrell.”

1982 Plant Fire Raises Suspicions

Perhaps the darkest chapter in the saga came Sept. 7, 1982, seven months after Issa took control of Steal Stopper.

Just before 3 a.m., a police officer spotted smoke billowing from Issa’s Quantum manufacturing plant in Maple Heights near Cleveland.

Before the blaze was brought under control three hours later, a firefighter was seriously injured.

Issa said he was “flabbergasted” that investigators immediately began asking him and his partner “where we had been the night before.” He told them he thought the fire began accidentally.

Investigators didn’t think so. Case files from Maple Heights, the Ohio fire marshal and insurers pointed repeatedly to the likelihood of arson in the blaze, which officials estimated caused $800,000 in damage.

Although an accident could not be ruled out, the uneven and unnatural burn patterns made the blaze “suspicious in nature,” the state concluded two months later. Flammable liquid appeared to have been poured on the only area not covered by fire sprinklers, investigators found.

Circumstantial evidence also aroused suspicion of arson.

Weeks before the fire, Issa and Hunsinger boosted their fire insurance from $100,000 to $462,000 on property stored for other companies, including Issa’s Steal Stoppers. At the same time, a separate company that contracted with Quantum to outfit bug zappers increased its insurance to $400,000, and, according to an insurance report, one investigator was “concerned about the coincidence.”

Fire investigators also noted that a computer was taken off the site eight days before the fire, “allegedly to be reprogrammed” by Issa’s lawyer, and that business blueprints were put away in a safe–which was “not previously done before.”

An unexplained note was typed at the bottom of a state fire marshal’s lab request: “RUSH–Have suspect or conspiracy.”

No one was charged. And with the two main investigators now deceased, fire officials say they do not know why.

“There was finger-pointing every which way,” recalled Issa, who sued when his insurance company contested his claim. He reached an out-of-court settlement that he said did not begin to cover his losses. But, he added, “that’s the breaks of the game.”

Shadowed by Controversy

Since then, most of the breaks have gone his way for a man who once told an interviewer he was “a recipient of all that was good of the greed of the 1980s.” But controversy has shadowed him.

Issa moved his alarm operation to San Diego County in 1985. Now he and his wife own Directed Electronics Inc., which bears his initials.

He has achieved both rising revenues–sales are expected to reach $100 million by the turn of the century–and rising stature among industry leaders.

“He’s a man with a vision, with core beliefs and a strong business savvy,” said Jonathan Thompson, vice president of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Assn. “I would call him a hands-on industry leader, someone who’s willing to roll up his sleeves.”

Issa played a key role in developing tougher standards for alarm installers, and supporters say he has often been ahead of the curve in anticipating trends–such as his use of cheaper overseas manufacturing in Taiwan.

He has also proved aggressive in using courts to repel what he sees as threats to his empire, bringing dozens of claims in recent years over alleged patent infringements and illegal distribution of his products.

Issa has almost always prevailed, said one of his lawyers. “You’re going to go out and try to enforce your [patents],” said David Doyle. “Darrell has come to take all this very, very seriously.”

He recently won a total of $15 million in suits alleging that a Michigan alarm maker had purloined his technology. One of his few setbacks was a 1984 order banning his company from distributing a knockoff of the Club steering wheel lock.

Confrontation seems to have become a trademark for Issa.

Issa acknowledges that he has made enemies and says he has tried to learn from his sometimes poor choices of past associates. “We have gone out of our way to stay away from shady characters,” he said.

He challenges accusations against him as the bitter and baseless grumblings of failed entrepreneurs. “It’s sour grapes, period. But that’s business,” he said. “You tell me how I can sell a million products a year and not run into some of these [problems].”

One of his harshest critics is John Pleck, a New York businessman whose firm won more than $40,000 from Issa’s company in 1993 after saying that Issa denied him his share of the proceeds from a new car alarm product for BMW.

“As far as I’m concerned, Darrell is a confidence man,” Pleck said in an interview. “He always found a way to break his promise.”

No more complimentary is Bob Raines, Issa’s former partner during a short-lived corporate marriage in San Diego County. In 1985, Raines’ home alarm company, called Astro-Guard, acquired Issa’s company. Issa ran the merged operation as president, but he and Raines soon clashed over money. Raines maintains that Issa tried to run the company into the ground after Raines refused to sell out.

The two parted ways in a split that Issa described as “amicable.”

But Raines says now: “He’s a real operator. He’s so shrewd. I wouldn’t have any personal dealings with him again.” Raines said he survived the split only by selling off his boat and his motor home and spending $100,000 in retirement money.

Around the same time, Scotty Herd was forced to suddenly shut down his $4-million-a-year distributing company in Carson–a turn of events he blames on Issa.

The company, Black Bart, distributed security products from Astro-Guard in the mid-1980s. Herd said that Issa, as president of Astro-Guard, was negotiating an agreement to purchase Black Bart when he cut off shipments to the company, forcing it out of business.

“He was looking . . . to bring us to our knees and then just walk in and take over the company,” said Herd, a Beverly Hills real estate investor. “Except he didn’t take it over, he destroyed it.”

Issa, discussing the episode in a 1989 deposition in another dispute, maintained that he stopped shipping products to Black Bart because of its growing debts and bouncing checks, not because of any scheme to ruin the company.

Issa said that once Black Bart’s collapse was complete, he was quick to “strip off the majority of their sales people” and lobby their old clients for new business.

Issa saw the maneuver as simply “a way for everyone to benefit from the silver lining of a cloud.” Herd called it “picking over the bones.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Building of Issa’s Business

1980: Just out of the military, Issa buys into a struggling electronics company in Cleveland.

1982: A dispute over his $60,000 loan to an associate allows Issa to take control of auto security company in Cleveland. Months later, suspected arson fire rips through his manufacturing plant; no one is ever charged.

1985: Issa’s auto alarm company is bought out by a San Diego County home alarm maker. He moves to California to become president of the newly merged operation.

1986: Partnership ends after disagreements over money, and Issa creates his own California alarm maker, Directed Electronics Inc. The Viper, a fully customized alarm, is introduced.

1991: As its alarm sales climb, the company is named to a list of the 500 fastest-growing businesses in the United States.

1996: The company moves into the lucrative car audio market.

1997: Sales of more than $70 million for the year are reported, as Issa begins bid for the Senate.

Arsenal defender Ben White has been called up to the England squad for the first time in more than three years.

The 27-year-old has not been involved since leaving the camp during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for personal reasons.

White then made himself unavailable for selection for the rest of Gareth Southgate’s reign.

England play friendlies against Uruguay on 27 March and Japan on 31 March at Wembley.

United States President Donald Trump has shared a Truth Social video of a TV comedy skit showing a panicked United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer trying to avoid his call, on the same evening the two leaders spoke about the US-Israel war on Iran.

The skit, aired on the premiere of the new British version of Saturday Night Live (SNL), adapted from the long-running US show, shows Starmer, played by George Fouracres, panicking inside 10 Downing Street at the prospect of a call with Trump.

Starmer turns to a fake David Lammy, his deputy prime minister, and says, “What if Donald shouts at me?”

When Trump picks up the phone, Starmer immediately hangs up, asking why it is so difficult to talk to “that scary, scary, wonderful president”.

“Sir, just be honest and tell him we can’t send any more ships to the Strait of Hormuz,” Lammy says, the vital shipping lane effectively blocked by Iran since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.

“I just want to keep him happy, Lammy. You don’t understand him like I do – I can change him,” Starmer says.

Trump did not post any comment alongside the video.

Trump has lashed out at his NATO allies, including Starmer, for not joining the US efforts to break the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil passes. A week ago, he asked the UK to be more supportive of the US war efforts because Washington spends “a lot of money” on NATO.

The US president last week called the NATO countries “cowards” for their refusal to join the war. This, after European leaders rejected Trump’s demands ⁠to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Now that fight is militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to ⁠pay, but don’t want to help open ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so ⁠little risk,” he wrote on the Truth Social platform.

The closure of the strait has sent oil prices soaring, creating the biggest energy crisis since the 1970s. On Sunday, Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it did not reopen the strait within 48 hours.

Trump-Starmer call

Separately, on Sunday evening, Starmer spoke with Trump to discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, his office said in a statement. It was not clear if the call took place before or after Trump posted the SNL skit on Truth Social.

In a readout of the call, the Prime Minister’s Office said the two leaders focused on “the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping” amid growing concerns over energy security and regional stability.

“They agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market,” the statement said.

The leaders also agreed to remain in close contact as the situation develops and “to speak again soon”, it added.

On Monday, Starmer ⁠said there had been no assessment ⁠that mainland Britain was being targeted by Iran.

Starmer asserted that any ⁠attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz needed careful consideration and a ‌viable plan, and that his number one priority was to ‌protect ‌British interests and de-escalate.

‘Not Winston Churchill’

The US leader has repeatedly railed against Starmer since the start of the war, accusing him of not doing enough to support the US.

“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said earlier this month, after Starmer initially declined to let US warplanes use UK bases to strike Iran.

“I’m disappointed with Keir,” Trump has also said, slamming Starmer’s “big mistake”. “I like him, I think he’s a nice man, but I’m disappointed.”

On Friday, the UK government gave authorisation for the US to use its military bases to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that were attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Starmer initially rejected a US request to use British bases for the strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal.

But the prime minister modified his stance after Iran conducted strikes on British allies across the Middle East, saying the US could use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean.

AN ICONIC noughties star looked unrecognisable to many as he took to the stage during this weekend’s Estero Picnic Festival in Columbia.

Over two decades since his initial rise to fame, the now 52-year-old musician looks a far cry from the twenty-something many fans remember.

Do you recognise him?

The singer in question in Travis frontman Fran Healy!

Known for hits such as Why Does It Always Rain On Me? and Sing, Travis dominated the music scene in the late nineties and early noughties.

Lead singer Fran has swapped the bright red hair he rocked a few years ago for a bleached look, donning a sky blue jumper as he joined numerous stars in fronting the Columbian festival this weekend.

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Alongside his Travis bandmates, Dougie Payne, Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose, Fran took to the festival’s Smirnoff stage to perform to the waiting crowds on Sunday.

The three-day festival also saw Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler The Creator, Swedish House Mafia and The Killers perform.

Alongside their own set on Sunday, Travis joined The Killers on stage to perform with them on Saturday.

Born in Stafford, Fran was raised in Glasgow and formed Travis back in 1991 while studying at the Glasgow School of Art.

Still going strong, the band are performing across Chile this month and next, with gigs in Viña del Mar, Frutillar and Santiago.

While the band have taken breaks throughout their lengthy career, they are famous for having never split up.

Their tenth studio album, L.A Times, was released in 2024.

Fran was in a relationship with German photographer Nora Kryst for 23 years before splitting back in 2019.

They share a 20-year-old son named Clay.

Last year, during one of Travis’ US gigs, Fran was rushed off stage and to the hospital after twisting his ankle on stage.

At the time, Fran took to Instagram to explain that he was wheeled out on a gurney and put into an ambulance.

Admitting that he thought he’d broken his ankle, the musician confirmed it was simply a “gnarly sprain”.

A crucial 50-mile airspace route through Azerbaijan has become vital for European travellers as Middle East airspace restrictions impact millions of passengers

The flight corridor that dictates whether vast numbers of passengers can reach their destination is getting narrower.

32,432. That’s the number of Middle East flights that have been scrapped since Israel and the US began bombing Iran at the end of February. The tally of affected passengers now runs well into the millions.

Whilst the daily cancellation figure has now dropped considerably to 11% per day, according to analytics firm Cirium, the knock-on effects of the disruption are still being experienced and will continue for some time.

One way the conflict has and will continue to affect travel is by constricting flight corridors. Now, many European holidaymakers are dependent on a roughly 50-mile route spanning three countries.

The flight corridor over Azerbaijan is one that numerous commercial aircraft have been using to travel from Europe to Asia since early March, when the country closed portions of its airspace following drone strikes the Azerbaijani authorities claim had been launched from Iranian territory, reports the Express.

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Prior to the Iran war, the Azerbaijan path was 100 miles wide at its narrowest points, owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the north. It is now 50 miles wide, with airspace to the south closed off by the Azerbaijan authorities.

Almost three weeks into the Iran war, this route through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey is one of just two available for a majority of long-haul flights between Europe and Asia. The alternative route passes through Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The shortage of accessible airspace is fuelling rivalry amongst airlines competing for routes. It is also rendering air travel more costly and environmentally harmful.

Prior to 2022, flights linking much of Europe and Asia travelled over Russia, via the “Siberian Corridor.” That was regarded as one of the most direct ways to connect the two continents.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western airlines were denied access to the airspace. Now a flight from northern Europe, which would have passed directly over Russia, must take a lengthier route either over the North Pole or around the Black Sea. This can tack on roughly three hours to a nine-hour journey, consuming thousands of pounds more jet fuel and emitting dozens of tonnes more CO2e into the atmosphere.

The alternative route from Europe to Asia that is presently available takes passengers south, via Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Whilst it is returning to capacity following weeks of disruptions and cancellations, the escalating conflict in Iran means its viability in the long or medium term remains uncertain.

Dubai International Airport is typically one of the globe’s busiest travel hubs, averaging approximately 1,200 departures and landings daily. It, like numerous airports in the region, is still functioning considerably below its standard capacity. This is partly due to the aerial battles taking place overhead. On Friday, the UAE government reported that it had intercepted 338 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,740 drones since February 28, Forbes reports. Despite these efforts, at least eight people have been killed in the UAE, and over 150 have been injured.

Ian Petchenik, the communications director for the flight-tracking site FlightRadar24, fears that the narrowing of flight corridors and the uncertain status of major travel hubs is driving up the cost of plane tickets. He told the New York Times: “At some point, we get to the point where airlines have to make the decision: Is this route still economically viable? Is this a route that we can continue to operate long term within these parameters?”

Mr. Petchenik characterises the flight corridor above Azerbaijan as “a very narrow strip of land.”

To increase the number of planes that can fly on a restricted flight corridor, air traffic controllers instruct aircraft to fly at varying altitudes – effectively spreading them out.

However, according to Graham Wild, a senior lecturer of aviation science and technology at the University of New South Wales in Australia, this can trigger other problems. Planes flying at lower altitudes are more vulnerable to weather and turbulence and also consume more fuel, as the air is denser. Extended flight times and the potential for diversions also present staffing challenges for pilots and flight crews.

IMPERIAL — Whenever the weather changes suddenly, or the skyline becomes shrouded in a windy haze, Fernanda Camarillo braces herself for an asthma attack.

Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it’s still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze. It was one of her first thoughts when she heard about plans to develop a massive data center next to her home in Imperial County, a farming community near the border of Mexico that struggles with poor air quality.

“A lot of people in the county are asthmatic,” she said, explaining that she worries the new center would add more pollution. “I’ve been anxious — so many of us are voicing our concerns.”

Data centers have existed for decades but are rapidly changing and expanding due to the worldwide boom in artificial intelligence, or AI as it’s known. States and communities nationwide have started pushing back, citing concerns that the projects could strain power grids, increase utility bills and have negative health and environmental impacts.

In California, state legislators are debating how to protect residents and natural resources without creating so much red tape that developers go elsewhere, taking their jobs and taxable earnings with them.

No Data Center signs are posted in the front yard of a home that is right behind the proposed site.

“We can be supportive of innovation and a technology that is needed but also protect our communities and our health and our environment,” said state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). “We can do both at the same time.”

The California Legislature is considering bills to prohibit the projects from being exempted from the state’s stringent environmental law and to impose new tariffs on new major energy users that strain power supplies. Lawmakers also have proposed restrictions on new data centers, requiring companies to provide verifiable estimates on expected water and energy usage before they can be granted a business permit.

Imperial resident Fernanda Camarillo, who is an asthmatic, holds some of her medications.

Members of Congress also expressed concerns. Rep. Ro Khanna, speaking at a town hall about AI last month at Stanford University, said legislators must ensure data centers serve the communities that power them.

“We live in a new gilded age,” said Khanna (D-Fremont). “What kind of future are we going to build?”

::

Eric Masanet, a professor at UC Santa Barbara specializing in sustainability science for emerging technologies, described the facilities as the “brains” of the internet. The sprawling centers are filled with banks of specialized computers that process online shopping orders, stream movies, host websites, encode Zoom and other videoconferencing apps, store data and serve as switching stations for the digital world that’s now woven into daily life.

Data centers, particularly those that power AI, use significant amounts of water and energy. The facilities accounted for about 4.4% of the nation’s total electricity consumption in 2023, up from 1.9% in 2018, according to a report provided to Congress from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers projected that figure will reach 6.7% to 12% by 2028.

Many companies, including big tech giants like Meta, Google and Amazon, are making major investments in AI.

“We are building a lot more data centers faster than we ever did — and a new AI data center is 10 to 20, maybe 30 times, the size of the largest data centers we had before,” Masanet said.

The proposed site of the 950,00-square-foot data center is on a dusty parcel that is next to the Victoria Ranch housing community and adjacent to farmland in Imperial, Calif.

It’s unclear how many data centers are in the state. A California Energy Commission spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times it does not track this information. Data Center Map, a nongovernmental website that tracks data centers across the world, lists 289 facilities in California, with more than 4,000 nationwide.

The federal government has, so far, largely left it to states or localities to regulate data centers.

The facilities can generate significant revenue for local governments due to sales and property taxes.

But some new proposals are sparking a backlash. More than 200 community and environmental organizations, including a dozen from California, sent an open letter to Congress in December calling for a national moratorium on new data centers.

Robert Gould, a pathologist with San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, one of the organizations that signed the letter, explained data centers are causing a shift away from renewable energy and back toward fossil fuels because the facilities need a reliable and constant stream of power.

Cornell University researchers last year estimated that AI growth could add 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually by 2030, unless steps are taken to change course.

Gould said fossil fuel emissions are associated with various cancers, an increase in hospitalizations for older adults due to respiratory conditions, and asthma attacks or stunted lung growth in children. Particulate matter from fossil fuel emissions is also linked to cardiovascular events and negative effects on maternal fetal health.

Gould’s organization has noticed an alarming trend.

“These are generally placed in communities that are the least able to defend themselves,” he said.

Farmworkers toil in the noon heat to pick vegetables in Imperial. Agriculture is an important part of the Imperial Valley economy.

::

The debate over data centers is heating up in the Imperial Valley, a rural desert region in southeastern California where a proposed center faces fierce opposition from residents.

The county in 2025 granted the project an exemption for the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA. The landmark 56-year-old state law has been credited with helping to preserve California’s natural beauty and protecting communities from hazardous impacts of construction projects — but also blamed for stymieing construction.

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, a California-based limited liability company that started two years ago, plans to develop a 950,000-square-foot facility in the county that’s designed for advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning operations. The company says it will use reclaimed wastewater and EPA-certified natural gas generators, and create 2,500 to 3,500 construction jobs and 100 to 200 permanent positions.

“We are committed to Imperial County and to creating lasting economic opportunity,” the company website states. “The project will generate $28.75 million in annual property tax revenue for local schools, fire departments, libraries, and essential services.”

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors is moving toward finalizing the proposal.

Farmland spreads out in front of the Imperial Valley Fair near a proposed data center in Imperial.

Sebastian Rucci, an attorney and chief executive officer of Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, said he commissioned multiple studies assessing the proposed center’s potential effect on issues like traffic or the environment that found no or minimal harms. He threatened to pull his proposal if a CEQA review was required.

“CEQA leaves you in an unknown territory — some of the environmental groups have used it for extortion, they sue, they have no basis for the suit but they delay you, and then they can squeeze money out of you for settling the lawsuit,” said Rucci.

The exemption, however, has alarmed residents, who have spoken up at county board meetings and launched a community organization, Not in My Backyard Imperial, to protest the data center and demand a CEQA review.

“It feels like it’s us against the county,” said Camarillo, adding that many feel the board has dismissed their questions and concerns.

None of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors responded to requests for comment.

Resident Fernanda Camarillo’s home is right behind the proposed site of the data center in Imperial.

The center would be a neighbor to Camarillo’s house in Victoria Ranch, a family-friendly area with beige stucco homes topped with terracotta tile roofs. She worries about noise, pollution and spiking utility bills. Power companies that have to upgrade grids to meet data centers’ energy demands sometimes seek to recoup that cost by hiking up rates for all consumers.

Camarillo, a substitute teacher, is also scared for her students. The air quality in Imperial Valley is already so poor that schools use a system of color-coded flags to signal whether it’s safe for children to go outside during gym or recess, she said.

“I think they see [the valley] as easy pickings because we are a low-income community and we have such a large population of Latinos here,” Camarillo said.

A quick drive around the neighborhood shows others share her concerns. Signs protesting the data center pop up throughout the community, displayed on front lawns or nestled into rocky garden beds.

Victoria Ranch was quiet and peaceful on a sunny Sunday in late February. Francisco Leal, a resident and lead organizer for NIMBY Imperial, said that’s a major part of its appeal.

The colorful dusk sky hovers over a Little League baseball game at Freddie White Park in Imperial. The debate over data centers is heating up in the Imperial Valley, a rural desert region in southeastern California.

Leal wants answers about everything from potential health hazards and impacts on the local water supply to whether the fire department is equipped to handle a large-scale electrical blaze. But without a CEQA review, he says residents are left to trust assurances from the developer or privately hired consultants.

Leal plans to sell his property if the project goes forward, but the thought makes him emotional.

“It’s not just a house; it’s a home,” he said. “This is the only home my kids have ever known and all of our family memories are here.”

Gina Snow, another resident, isn’t necessarily against bringing a data center to the county. But she wants the proposal to undergo a CEQA review.

“Clearly we understand that there is economic development and the potential for that to be positive for the county, but at what cost?” she said.

Daniela Flores, executive director of Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, a nonprofit that works for social and environmental equality, stands on the site of the proposed data center.

::

Daniela Flores, executive director of Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, a nonprofit that works for social and environmental equality, said the community has good reason to be wary. Various industries have come into the region over the years and made grand promises that never panned out.

“We became a sacrifice zone,” she said, adding industries use the area’s resources while ultimately doing little to permanently improve the lives of most residents.

Flores said the community continues to struggle with a range of problems, including poor air quality, high poverty rates, weak worker protections and crumbling infrastructure. She believes a data center could add new and potentially dangerous challenges.

The valley has long, brutal summers with temperatures that swell to 120 degrees. If the data center strains the grid and causes a lengthy blackout, or low-income residents have their power shut off because they can’t afford the rising bills, Flores fears the situation could quickly turn deadly.

The city of Imperial also has concerns. The city has filed a lawsuit calling on the county to halt the project, arguing it should not have received a CEQA exemption.

The controversy has drawn attention from Padilla, whose district includes Imperial Valley. Padilla has echoed residents’ calls for more transparency from the county and introduced Senate Bill 887, which would ban data centers from receiving exemptions from CEQA.

“I am not anti-data center or anti-artificial intelligence,” Padilla said. But, he added, we need to “find a way to do this right and make sure there is adequate review and understanding.”

A dusty haze settles over the city of Imperial at dusk near the site of a proposed data center.

Another measure from Padilla, Senate Bill 886, would direct the Public Utilities Commission to create an electrical corporation tariff to cover the cost of data center-related grid upgrades.

Other related legislation this year includes Assembly Bill 2619 from Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) that would require data center owners to provide an estimate about expected water usage and sources before applying for a business license, and Assembly Bill 1577, by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), which would require data center owners to submit monthly information to a state commission about water and fuel consumption and energy efficiency.

While lawmakers weigh new policies at the statehouse, Camarillo said she hopes the priority will be protecting communities.

“Innovation is important, but innovation for the sake of innovation has never really been something that hasn’t had negative impacts,” she said. “Think about human lives.”

BBC Sport NI’s Andy Gray

There’s no way of sugar coating it – losing Dan Ballard is a massive blow to Northern Ireland’s hopes of reaching a first World Cup in 40 years.

The Sunderland defender has been integral to the progress of Michael O’Neill’s young side and he has an impact in both boxes.

While he has always been a physical presence, his composure on the ball has also improved from playing Premier League football this season.

Excluding Kieran Morrison, who has only played in the cup competitions for Liverpool, losing two of his four Premier League players is awful luck for O’Neill, after Conor Bradley was sidelined with a knee injury in January.

Thankfully for NI, Ruairi McConville, who was also an injury doubt when the squad was announced, has played two sets of 90 minutes for Norwich City in the past week.

He will be an option for stepping in for Ballard and has impressed in his short international career to date, as will Oxford United’s Ciaron Brown and Bolton’s Eoin Toal.

March 23 (UPI) — An Air Canada regional jet with nearly 80 people onboard collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport, prompting federal officials to halt air traffic to and from the airport.

The FAA ordered the ground stop at 12:04 a.m. EDT, according to a statement from its Air Traffic Control System Command Center. The agency later said the airport would be closed until 2 p.m.

The plane struck the Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle on Runway 4 late Sunday as it was responding to a separate, unknown incident, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia, told UPI in a statement.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement the involved vehicle was a fire truck and that it had deployed a team expected to arrive at LaGuardia later Monday to begin its investigation.

The extent of the collision and whether there were any casualties was unclear early Monday.

The Port Authority said the airport was closed to facilitate the response and allow for an investigation. Emergency response protocols were activated and its police force was at the scene working with airline and federal authorities, the agency said.

The New York Fire Department confirmed to UPI that it had responded to an incident.

Air Canada confirmed to UPI that it was aware of the crash involving Air Canada Express Flight 8646 from Montreal, Canada, to New York City.

The flight was operated by Jazz Aviation, which said in a statement that the incident occurred at 11:47 p.m. EST Sunday. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew, the Halifax-based airline said.

All streets and highway exits to the airport have been closed until further notice, according to the New York Police Department.

New York City’s official Emergency Notification System has issued an alert warning residents to expect “cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near LaGuardia Airport.”

Flight 8646, a CRJ900 regional jet, had departed from Montreal at about 10:35 p.m. EST, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

This is a developing story.

Emmerdale’s Aaron Dingle actor Danny Miller has candidly opened up about his father in an emotional update on Good Morning Britain

Emmerdale’s Danny Miller has spoken out about his father amid his dementia battle, revealing he misses him “so much”.

The Aaron Dingle actor has been incredibly open in recent months about his father Vince, who is living with dementia. Vince is a well-known star in the showbiz world as a singer, compere and comedian.

And on Monday (March 23) Danny appeared on Good Morning Britain where he spoke about Vince in an emotional update. He said: “It’s sad, and, you know, me and my dad were thick as thieves at one point, and, you know, losing him over and over again is awful.”

Admitting he misses the man his dad was, Danny added: “I live a couple of hours drive from my dad now, which breaks my heart, but I have my own family.”

He continued: “I’ve got a job up in Yorkshire, on Emmerdale, and being around in Manchester isn’t easy anymore, so I moved my family up there, and it was kind of a really tough thing to do, because I’m not there for my dad as much as I’d like to be. I miss him terribly.

“But you know, the days where I do see him again, I often get, you know, a good visit, and I usually find if I play Matt Monroe – my dad was a comedian, but he’s a singer as well – and Matt Monroe was a friend of his.”

Danny went on: “I played it one day, and he just kind of pointed at it, and he said, 10th of December, 1970, whatever, and I Googled it, and he was right. I think it was either his birthday or when the single was released, and from then on I kind of thought, I’m gonna do that, so I do it as a normal thing. Now I’ll put it on the side and just play and just talk to him normally. I tend to get a better visit.“

Danny then spoke about his Emmerdale co-star Charley Webb, whose mum Helen passed away last week following a 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s. He said: “Charley Webb is a good friend of mine. She was on here [GMB] with you guys not long ago, talking about her mum’s Alzheimer’s, and unfortunately, she passed, and it’s so sad.”

Danny continued: “Charley was a massive inspiration for me to why I spoke out about it. It made me want to talk out, it made me want to be vulnerable, and allow myself to sort of put out an unfiltered video.”

He added: “I wanted to just try and allow people to see me to be someone completely different and be vulnerable and talk about these things in hope that it will sort of resonate with somebody somewhere and they can relate to it and go, actually, I’m going to go out and get a memory test.

“That is the beginning of how to sort of get that diagnosis for dementia and it’s something that, you know, I want to fly the flag for because I don’t want dementia to destroy the families as it’s destroyed ours.”

The GMB host then pointed out how Danny’s father had a very successful career as a compere comedian and “knew lots of influential and important people”.

Danny then went on to reveal what it is like now having a conversation with his father. He shared: “There’s good days and bad days. There was a time last week where I didn’t know if I’d be sat here, because, you know, he’s up and down with his general health anyway, but dementia does always make it feel somewhat worse, and there’s all water infections that, so, your urine infections that suddenly make them more confusing. And then his health declined. He looked, he looked ill.”

When asked if his father is sometimes unaware of who Danny is, the actor replied: “No, that will break my heart. I’m not there yet. We’re not there yet, luckily, but it will break my heart.” Admitting he misses his father “so much”, Danny said: “He used to call me a lot and just ranted and then put the phone down without even saying, how are you? And I’d give anything back to have those conversations.”

Known as the ‘king of comperes’, Danny’s father Vince worked as the VIP host at Manchester United for almost 30 years. He also worked at Old Trafford for 29 years and often interviewed football legend, Sir Alex Ferguson.

No stranger to rubbing shoulders with famous faces throughout his 65-year career, Vince has also worked with Johnny Mathis and Shirley Bassey and even spoke at comedian Bernard Manning’s funeral.

When Vince was 82, he announced that he would be officially retiring from the showbiz and entertainment world. He told Manchester Evening News: “I’ve no upset about it, the time is now to get out while you’re on top, you don’t want people saying ‘not him again’!”

To celebrate his retirement, Danny put together a charity bash in which he paid tribute to his dad, dubbing him the “best in the business”. On stage, Vince said: “I’ve had a great career, I’ve done it all as a presenter, comedian, singer, I’ve been very fortunate. As Edith Piaf said, Je Ne Regrette Rien, no regrets!”

Emmerdale airs Monday to Friday at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX

Keeping and maintaining friends as an adult is hard, especially with the demands of life, travel and work. In volunteering, I encounter more people like myself, which is nice, but sometimes it’s difficult to participate without a lot of commitment to the organizations. I’m wanting to explore smaller, intimate groups to build community with people who I share similar values with. I’m interested in self-growth, psychology, games, mindfulness and yoga. I loved the L.A. Times story “Awaken your inner child at this welcoming collage club for adults” and I would love to know about similar activities. Thanks! —Marlen I.

Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations.

Here’s what we suggest:

Marlen, I couldn’t agree more. As we get older, it can feel more and more difficult to sustain friendships, especially in Los Angeles, where people live so far apart and have busy lives. This struggle is exactly why so many social clubs have been sprouting up in L.A. over the last few years. From board game clubs to junk journaling meetups, there’s so many different ways to connect and maybe try something new. I’ve compiled a list of social clubs and community spaces that I think you’ll enjoy.

Since you’re already familiar with Art+Mind Studios, you should definitely check out Junk Journal Club. Junk journaling is essentially a craft practice that combines elements of collaging, journaling and scrapbooking. With the rise of junk journaling content on social media, the once solo pastime has turned into a lively social scene. Junk Journal Club, dubbed “the original junk journal club,” hosts monthly meetups, which can be found on its Instagram page. When my colleague Malia Mendez went to an event recently, people told her that attending Junk Journal Club “has made befriending strangers easy,” and many of them stay in touch.

Another craft-centered event that’s worth exploring is the Crafters Clubhouse, which founder Victoria Ansah calls “a creative third space for adult makers.” She hosts monthly arts and crafts workshops including activities like scrapbooking, punch needle embroidery and clay art.

Given that you’re interested in yoga and mindfulness, you may like WalkGood LA, a community-centered wellness organization that hosts a variety of activities including a run club and accessible yoga classes. During the pandemic, I found solace in attending their weekly yoga classes called BreatheGood. The outdoor sessions take place every first Sunday at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area and feature free chiropractic adjustments and healthy food vendors. The vibe of the intergenerational event feels warm and welcoming. All you have to do is show up with your yoga mat. The organization also hosts various classes including yoga, breath work, mindful meditation, mat Pilates and step aerobics at their studio, the WalkGood Yard, in Arlington Heights.

Another social club I recommend is Love, Peace & Spades, which my friend Kevin Clark started in 2022, to create a space where people could play the card game with others. With music provided by a live DJ, the monthly game night feels like being at a family cookout. Spades can be extremely intimidating to start as a beginner playing with pros. But don’t worry. Love, Peace & Spades has instructors who can teach you how to play.

If you’re interested in chess, L.A. Chess Club is “an event with the laid-back ease of a chill game night and all the social and romantic possibility of a night out on the town,” according to Times contributor Martine Thompson, who wrote a story about the event. At the weekly gathering, which features a food vendor, cocktails, tattoo artists and DJs, you can “competitively play chess, learn the game, meet new friends or mingle as a single person,” Thompson shares. Another fun event is RummiKlub, a monthly Rummikub game night that takes place in elevated, design-forward spaces across the city.

L.A. also has several fun creative venues that regularly bring people together, such as Junior High, a nonprofit art gallery and inclusive gathering space that hosts artist showcases, comedy nights, pottery workshops and more. There’s also Nina in Atwater, which holds a variety of gatherings including a monthly series that focuses on mindfulness called “Be Here Now: Simple Tools for an Everyday Nervous System Reset.”

I hope that these suggestions are a good starting point for finding the group, or several groups, that are an ideal fit for you. Just by putting yourself out there and being open, you are bound to build and find community. Best of luck on your journey!

ANOTHER major airline is cancelling hundreds of flight routes due to ongoing fears of rising fuel costs.

The Iran conflict has seen the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

This has had a knock-on effect on the cost of fuel, which has reached new highs.

And a number of airlines have since had to reduce their flight schedule to avoid spiralling costs.

United Airlines is the latest to confirm that it would be cutting five per cent of flights in the second and third quarters of 2026.

With up to 5,000 flights a month – working out to around 4,000 domestic and 800 international routes – this means it affects around 250 flights a month.

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And with this set to last until the end of summer, it means thousands of passengers will be affected.

While the affected flights haven’t been confirmed, it will mainly affect the “less profitable” routes so including midweek flights, as well as overnight and Saturday routes.

United Airlines has the world’s largest airline fleet with more than 1,075 aircraft.

United Airlines‘ Chief Executive Scott Kirby said the cancellations were due to fears of oil rising to as much as $175 (£131) a barrel, and remaining above $100 (£75) until the end of next year.

This would mean the airline’s fuel costs would rise to $11billion (£8.2billion) – double the profit of their best year which was $5billion (£3.7billion).

They warned: “There’s no point in burning cash in the near term on flying that just can’t absorb these fuel costs.”

It’s not just the cost of fuel but how much is being used by airlines as well.

The closure of airspaces and Middle East airports, particularly Dubai which is one of the world’s busiest, has forced airlines to fly alternative – and longer – routes, which burn more fuel.

Other airlines have already confirmed they would be cancelling flights due to expected fuel costs.

Air New Zealand has cancelled 1,100 fights, although said it would mainly affect domestic routes.

This works out to around 44,000 passengers.

And Scandinavian airline SAS said it would be cancelling 1,000 flights next month, also affecting domestic routes primarily.

UK airlines are less affected for now, as most have ‘hedged’ oil prices – meaning paying a fixed price for a set amount of time.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said the rise in jet fuel costs “won’t affect our costs and it won’t affect ​our low fares.”

Major airlines like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have also cancelled a number of flights to the Middle East as places like the UAE remain on the not-save-to-travel list.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — When you look at the USC Trojans, one might think they’re setting the table for next year.

Buying time until JuJu Watkins returns. Keeping the ship afloat until the talented recruiting class that includes Saniyah Hall makes its way to campus.

But the Trojans showed Saturday that’s not the case. They’re making a plate and eating now.

The No. 9 seed Trojans gutted out a 71-67 overtime win over No. 8 seed Clemson in what USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb described as “a culture win.”

That game featured many tests for a young team in March and the Trojans responded well to the challenges. They are advancing on the back of freshman Jazzy Davidson’s 31 points and senior Kara Dunn’s 22.

Davidson, who appeared to be on the verge of tears as the referees reviewed the final play of regulation to determine whether she had committed a foul that would have set Clemson up for game-winning free throws, said on Sunday there’s a standard that this year’s Trojans feel they are responsible for meeting.

“I think our expectations, you know nobody wanted to lose JuJu, we all love her, but we have to keep going as you said and just holding that same expectation that they had last season. Just the program standard,” Davidson said. “And just resiliency and making sure that we’re doing our best every game.”

Dunn said the deck has been stacked against the Trojans all season and it’s forced them to grow stronger as a unit.

USC guard Kara Dunn drives to the basket in front of Clemson guard Taylor Johnson-Matthews during the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

(Nell Redmond / Associated Press)

“I think this year has just been about focusing on going against all odds,” Dunn said. “A lot of people didn’t expect much from this team and they might have turned away at certain times when we had lower moments this season and I think that it built our own culture for this season specifically. I feel like we had to come together, we had to support each other when it didn’t feel like we had much support and I think that that’s been really important.”

She added that moving through the season with just the support of each other and their die-hard fans works in their favor as they prepare to take on powerhouse South Carolina on the Gamecocks’ formidable home floor.

“We have everything to gain, nothing to lose going into this game, so I feel like this has really helped us,” Dunn said.

The NCAA tournament game against the No. 1 seed on the Trojans’ side of the bracket will be a rematch of the unofficial “Battle of the Real USC” in November. The Gamecocks claimed a 69-52 win during that meeting.

USC guard Jazzy Davidson drives under pressure from Clemson guard Rachael Rose Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

(Nell Redmond / Associated Press)

Gottlieb said Sunday she scheduled that game to prepare her team for moments like Monday’s tough matchup.

“Maybe if we hadn’t played Notre Dame, UConn and South Carolina, maybe our record would be a little better coming in, but it doesn’t make you a better program,” she said. “Our goals remain the same; which is to win a national championship. So if you’re skipping those people in nonconference hoping to manipulate it, it doesn’t work that way. You have to see the best. You have to elevate your program to be the best, then ultimately, you have to beat the best to get to where you want to be.”

South Carolina is trying to avenge last season’s championship loss to UConn and secure its fourth national championship in program history and the third in five years. USC, meanwhile, is trying to match the Cheryl Miller era when she led the Trojans to back-to-back national titles in 1983 and 1984.

Trojan culture will be tested more than ever, but Dunn feels good about where the team is heading.

“Obviously that was the beginning of the season, now it’s towards the end and we’re two very different teams,” she said of the previous loss to South Carolina. “We’ve grown in a lot of ways, but we’re using that scout just to see what we did well and what we could’ve done better. We just want to make sure that we control those things first and then adjust.”

Davidson will have the chance to play in another legacy defining game during her second NCAA tournament appearance.

“I feel like I have nerves a little bit before every game, [Monday] especially because it’s a big game,” she said. “My teammates are always just making sure I’m calm and in the moment. The confidence that they instill in me every day really helps.”

March 23 (UPI) — Senate Republicans have advanced the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, paving the way for his confirmation as early as Monday evening.

The Senate voted 54-37 Sunday afternoon to invoke cloture, clearing a procedural hurdle permitting a final vote on his confirmation.

The vote was mostly along party lines, with Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico joining their Republican colleagues in approving the motion.

Nine lawmakers, including eight Democrats, did not vote, including GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who has been vocally opposed to Mullin’s confirmation.

Paul was the only Republican to vote against the Oklahoma senator when his committee voted last week to advance his nomination to the full Senate.

The Senate is expected to vote on his confirmation Monday night.

President Donald Trump nominated Mullin after firing Kristi Noem following months of controversy over her leadership of the department, especially after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis and a $220 million advertising contract.

Fetterman was among those who called for Noem’s firing, and said he was supportive of Mullin to lead the DHS.

He has said he approached Mullin’s confirmation “with an open mind.”

“My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security,” he said.

Following Sunday’s vote, Heinrich issued a statement, similarly addressing the Oklahoma senator as “a friend” with whom he shares “a very honest and constructive working relationship.”

“We often disagree and when we do, we work to find whatever common ground we share,” he said.

“I have also seen first-hand that Markwayne is not someone who can simply be bullied into changing his views, and I look forward to having a secretary who doesn’t take their orders from Stephen Miller.”

Miller is Trump’s far-right Homeland Security adviser.

Mullin is likely to be confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate, despite opposition from Paul, who voted against him during last week’s committee hearing and did not vote on Sunday.

Paul confronted Mullin during the committee hearing over reportedly calling him “a freaking snake.” He also accused Mullin of lying when he told a reporter he had told Paul that he “completely” understood why a man had attacked him in late 2017, breaking five of his ribs.

“You got a chance today. You can either continue to lie or you can correct the record,” Paul said in his opening statement.

“You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified, so today, you’ll have your chance.”

When it was Mullin’s turn to give his opening statement he began by addressing Paul’s comments, stating that he had made the remarks while Paul was in the same room and that it was due to his behavior of seemingly going against hardline Republican policies.

“As far as my terms of a snake in the grass, I worked to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room. It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.”