Iraq’s parliament has elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as president after months of political deadlock following November’s elections.

Standing in front of a map of the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes how six countries ‘wanted to strangle us’ but instead ‘we strangled them… and we have more to do’. Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon are set to hold talks in Washington DC on Tuesday, but they’ve issued conflicting statements on what will be discussed.

“How you feeling, Sabrinawood?” Sabrina Carpenter asked as she gazed out at the tens of thousands of fans she’d gathered into a makeshift city Friday night. “I can’t believe I’m headlining Coachella.

“I mean, I can a little bit.”

Indeed, when Carpenter made her Coachella debut in 2024, the Disney kid turned pop icon vowed that the next time she played the desert festival, her name would be atop the bill.

She returned as promised this weekend as one of music’s biggest acts, with two No. 1 singles and a pair of Grammy-nominated albums under her belt and a story to tell about her rise to stardom.

Heading into Coachella, I’d wondered whether Carpenter, 26, would simply play the same show she’d already brought several times to L.A. (as recently as November) on tour behind 2025’s “Short n’ Sweet” and last year’s “Man’s Best Friend.”

To her credit, though, she created a whole new production, which began with a video in which Carpenter is pulled over by a police offer played by the actor Sam Elliott as she drives toward a new life in Hollywood. In the video, Elliott lets her go, after which she turned up in the flesh at Coachella to strut down a Walk of Fame situation and end up onstage in a detailed simulacrum of the Hollywood Hills.

The first half of the show featured a bunch of songs from the singer’s last two LPs — she sang “Please Please Please” in a mock-up of a recording-studio vocal booth, while “When Did You Get Hot?” sounded like En Vogue’s “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” — as well as an oldie in “Because I Liked a Boy.”

Sabrina Carpenter performs at Coachella on Friday, April 12, 2024.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Then came a very long appearance by Susan Sarandon, who delivered a monologue about … the trauma of childhood celebrity? Honestly, it was hard to tell — a bit of a miscalculation on Carpenter’s part, as though she’d assumed that everyone at Coachella wanted to hear her deepest (if vaguest) thoughts about the pain of growing up in the Mouse House.

“She better come out in an amazing outfit,” one woman next to me said of Carpenter as Sarandon continued to extend the singer’s costume change.

Once Carpenter was back — wearing leggings and a blue sweater — she did “Go Go Juice” and “Sugar Talking” in a sort of dance-studio setting then interpolated a bit of Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana (At the Copa)” into “Feather” before Will Ferrell appeared as an irritated stage tech moaning and groaning about the demands of Carpenter’s show. (Again: kind of a fail.)

Yet she finished strong with speedy versions of “Juno,” “Espresso” and “Goodbye” into “Tears,” which got an elaborate water show that proved Carpenter can provide the right amount of razzle-dazzle when she wants to.

US President Donald Trump says ‘we win regardless of what happens’ in Iran talks. His comments outside the White House came as US and Iranian delegations continue negotiating late into the night in Islamabad.

Israel says it has reprimanded Spain’s top diplomat in Tel Aviv over the blowing up of an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Easter celebrations in the Spanish town of El Burgo. Israel’s foreign ministry blamed ‘incitement’ by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez. The municipality has previously used effigies of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the annual event which draws hundreds of onlookers.

Catch up on what happened in Euphoria Season 2 before the HBO drama makes its comeback

After a hiatus of nearly four years, here’s a recap of what unfolded during the second season of Euphoria before the new episodes arrive.

In the forthcoming third season, which premieres on HBO Max on April 13, cast members Zendaya, 29, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney reprise the roles that cemented their status as major Hollywood players.

Time has moved on since their school days, but Rue Bennett (Zendaya) appears to be deeply embroiled in a dangerous drug and crime world. Meanwhile, Cassie Howard (Sweeney) is producing online adult content in the lead-up to her wedding with fiancé Nate Jacobs (Elordi).

The childhood friends must now grapple with the unforgiving realities of adult life.

The second season kicked off with a new school term. Following her split from Jules (Hunter Schafer), Rue suffers a devastating relapse as she battles to get back on the road to sobriety. Cassie and Nate are conducting a clandestine romance behind Maddie’s (Alexa Demie) back, while Lexi (Maude Apatow) is busy crafting her school play.

Alongside fresh faces, including Chloe Cherry as Faye, this also marked the final season featuring Barbie Ferreira as Kate, the late Angus Cloud as the beloved Fez, and his sidekick Ashtray (Javon Walton), reports the Mirror US.

Nothing would ever be the same for these characters before the school year drew to a close. Here’s what unfolded during Euphoria’s second season.

Cal

While Nate is covertly conducting an affair with Cassie, he’s still at odds with his father, Cal Jacobs (the late Eric Dane). Following a cathartic and alcohol-fuelled binge, Cal deserts his suburban existence and family. Nate exacts revenge on his father and delivers the video footage of Cal’s sexual encounter with an underage Jules to the authorities.

Cassie and Nate

Following one of her withdrawal episodes, Rue discloses to Maddie and the others that Cassie has been conducting an affair with Nate. Naturally, Nate is fixated on Cassie because she’s been styling herself like Maddie. Cassie maintains her sexually-charged relationship with Nate, even after it destroyed her friendship with Maddie.

Fez and Ashtray

During the finale, Fez is preparing to head out to his date with Lexi and attend her school play. Regrettably, a SWAT team storms his home, stopping him from departing. Tragically, the SWAT team disregards Fez’s warnings and eliminates Ashtray in a hail of gunfire. Fez is placed under arrest as he gazes at Ashtray’s lifeless body.

Rue

After achieving sobriety, Rue relapses and embarks on a perilous downward spiral, abandoning Jules. Rue encounters the merciless queenpin Laurie (Martha Kelly). After pledging substantial money in exchange, Rue ends up consuming and misplacing £10,000 worth of drugs provided by Laurie.

And somewhere along the way, Kate, who didn’t feature prominently in the second season, separates from Ethan (Austin Abrams).

The School Play

The final two episodes centre on Lexi’s school play, titled Our Life. Despite Lexi revealing intimate details, Maddie is genuinely touched by the performance, particularly since she has the finest moment. Nate recognises the play is ridiculing him through one of its characters and ends his relationship with Cassie.

Matters deteriorate further for Cassie. She suddenly shrieks, nearly destroying her sister’s play. Lexi portrayed Cassie’s sexual fantasy at a carousel. Maddie halts Cassie just in time and delivers her an overdue thrashing. Cassie’s retribution from Maddie won’t conclude there, even following her split from Nate.

Lexi’s play also affects Rue, though she understands there is no joyful conclusion for her. The second season concludes on a cliff-hanger, as Rue has no means to repay Laurie, who has vowed to abduct and traffic her.

Euphoria season 3 will be premiering on Sky Atlantic, NOW and HBO Max on April 13

Finally landing the Masters last year provided 36-year-old McIlroy with a sense of liberation.

During his first two rounds, he played with the greater mental freedom which he predicted reaching his golfing Everest – finally conquering Augusta National to complete the career Grand Slam – would provide.

The five-time major champion showed patience to take control of the leaderboard, even though he was not playing as well as the scoreboard suggested.

The ability to recover from wayward driving was the key to McIlroy’s success, staying calm in the pressure moments to play sensibly when required before attacking when the chances arose.

An uncluttered mind – aided by his superb short game – was missing on Saturday and could not ride to the rescue.

“I will go to the range and figure it out. I still have a great chance but if I am going to win I will have to play better,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy found eight of the 14 fairways in the third round – the same as he did on Friday when he shot a 65. On Thursday, he only hit five as he posted a 67.

Of those to make the halfway cut, he is bottom of the class in accuracy off the tee, and when you couple that with his poorer short game on Saturday, it’s easy to see how Augusta took chunks out of his lead.

Many players gave the old place a beating on Saturday, with watered greens allowing favourable scoring conditions.

But McIlroy was one of three players inside the top 28 who did not finish under par for their rounds, alongside England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan.

“It’s so rare to see a player shut the door on a major in the way Tiger Woods did,” said BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter.

“If he had a sniff he’d be so pragmatic and make sure nobody could get near him.

“McIlroy doesn’t have that in his locker. Woods was a super-human golfer, McIlroy is a human golfer.”

While budget airlines don’t typically offer complimentary products or refreshments on board, there is a time when passengers could get some extra perks, a flight attendant revealed

It’s not unusual for airlines to charge extra for refreshments on board, but there’s a way you can get extra perks for free.

While we get to lap up the benefits of meals, drinks, and snacks included on long-haul flights, these sadly don’t apply to many short-haul flights, especially on budget airlines. Despite their appealing, affordable flight tickets, we can end up paying extra on board, especially if we’re in need of a snack or drink.

However, that doesn’t mean budget airlines never offer complimentary services. Adam Hodge, 35, who has worked as Wizz Air cabin crew for eight years and is based at Luton Airport, exclusively revealed to the Mirror just how passengers can take advantage of the perks on board without paying extra.

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“If it’s someone’s birthday, if they’re travelling for a special occasion, or on their anniversary, I do like to go above and beyond where I can, “Adam, originally from Newcastle, explained.

“So I might make them a coffee or a tea just to say, ‘Happy wedding anniversary’, I try to make it special for them with what I can do.”

He sweetly added: “If someone purchases one of the lovely Proseccos that we have on board, I’ll tie a little handkerchief on the end, just to make it more special, for those little touches.”

While no one wants to be delayed on their flight, this is another time that airlines might offer a freebie to their passengers. Adam explained: “We do have situations where we have to do what’s called a ‘complimentary service on board’, that’s where we have a delay over a certain amount of hours. It depends on the actual destination and the journey time as to when we initiate a complimentary service.”

Explaining why this can occur, he added: “Sometimes in the summer when there’s really bad air traffic control delays, we can be faced with what’s called the ‘air traffic control slot’ where you have to wait.

“We could have been boarded 10 minutes early, but because we have a slot, we then might have to wait for 45 minutes or more to actually have that permission to get up due to the airspace. Sometimes, when passengers are onboard the aircraft for an X amount of time, we’ll offer a complimentary service, providing them with a snack and water on the house.”

But if it’s not a special occasion while flying, and without any unwanted delays, there’s plenty of chargeable refreshments onboard for passengers to enjoy. Adam even noted that Wizz Air has a new, nifty on-board ordering service available on flights, where passengers can order a drink or snack to their seat through an app, without waiting for the trolley service.

“After take off, we do app ordering first, followed by the trolley service,” he said. “Passengers scan the QR code and connect to our bluetooth where they can browse all of our products and promotions, and order to their seat. When the order arrives at their seat, they pay for it.

“It gives passengers more freedom and flexibility; they can order when they want. That service is available from after take-off to before landing, so they can order throughout the flight.”

For more information about Wizz Air flights or to book your next trip, visit their website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

This destination is a ‘like for like’ alternative to pricey Italian hotspots with beer under £2

While a trip to the Amalfi Coast might seem like the ideal getaway, it’s one that can prove rather pricey, particularly once you account for spending money while you’re there. Yet elsewhere across Europe, there’s another breathtaking coastal spot that serves as an excellent alternative.

Laura Evans-Fisk, head of digital and engagement at Eurochange, has noted a substantial rise in British tourists visiting Bulgaria, with Sozopol emerging as a fantastic alternative to the Amalfi Coast.

Laura says: “Although Bulgaria has joined the euro, prices for things like food, accommodation and drinks are still particularly low compared to other popular holiday destinations like Greece, Spain and Italy.”

For example, you can expect to pay less than €2 (£1.7) for a beer and around €10 (£8.7) for a meal.

“And, Brits don’t need to compromise on the beautiful scenery and beaches these popular hotspots offer. In fact, there are plenty of destinations in Bulgaria that are almost a ‘like for like’ but at a fraction of the cost.”

Championing Sozopol specifically, she added: “This gorgeous coastal town has a really similar feel to the likes of Positano and Cinque Terre, in Italy’s famous Riviera.

“Sozopol’s old town is dotted with quaint wooden houses and cobbled streets that overlook the stunning coastline and bright blue waters.” Stunning Sozopol ranks among Bulgaria’s most ancient coastal towns and remains far less crowded than many other European hotspots.

Sozopol boasts Kavastie and Harmani beaches, along with several beach bars, ensuring that whether you’re after a family outing or an evening of drinks, you’ll find exactly what you need.

And if you fancy a change from lounging on the sandy coastline, there’s no shortage of alternative activities, from discovering the town’s historic churches, to soaking up some culture at Ravadinovo Castle or Sozopol Archaeological Museum, or enjoying a fun-packed day at Aquapark Neptun.

A recent visitor to Kavastie Beach posted on Tripadvisor: “Fantastic beach, one of the very best that I’ve ever been to. Extremely clean, wonderful sand and safe sea ideal for children. Decent bars and restaurants. We’ll definitely be back next year.”

Meanwhile, a tourist who explored Ravadinovo Castle wrote: “A very eclectic castle, but a marvel to behold. A place of wonder. Around every corner was an amazing sight and a surprise. The floors inside the chapel and the ceiling were incredible. A stunning day out.”

And a visitor to the Sozopol Archaeological Museum added: “We spent a few hours at the museum this summer. Although it’s not a huge museum, they have interesting exhibitions. The lady who was in charge of the museum was very nice and told us some peculiar facts about the history of Apolonia. Recommend taking a look at the second floor, where you can find an ancient ‘vampire’ skeleton.”

April 11 (UPI) — A federal judge upheld a previous ruling that that a Reconstruction-era federal ban on home distilling of alcoholic spirits is unconstitutional.

The 158-year-old law was aimed at preventing people from skirting tax collectors when it was enacted in an 1868 law that imposed excise taxes on distilled spirits and tobacco that was challenged by a man who wanted to distill bourbon whiskey at home.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday overturned the law that has barred people from producing liquor in their homes because the federal government does not have the right to use its power of taxation to criminalize at-home distilling, FoxDC5 reported.

“The government contends that this prohibition was enacted to prevent tax evasion because ‘[a] distiller can more easily conceal a spirit’s strength (and thus avoid the proper tax rate) or conceal a distilling operation altogether if his still is in his house or connected with it,” the court said in its opinion.

“Congress’s taxing power ‘reaches only existing subjects,’ not activity that may generate subjects of taxation,” the court said. “Put otherwise, preventing activity that lest it give rise to tax evasion places no limit whatsoever on Congress’s power under the taxation clause.”

Although in-home production of beer and wine for personal or family use is legal, producing spirits at any location that is not an Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau-qualified and licensed facility is not legal, the U.S. Department of Treasure, under which the Bureau exists, said on its website.

The lawsuit was brought primarily by Rick Morris who manufactures stills for legally approved distilling operations and wanted to distill bourbon whiskey at his home for his brother and friends.

Upon finding that he could not legally do this, Morris founded the Hobby Distillers’ Association, members of which joined him in the legal battle.

While the ruling does not mean in-home distilling is a free-for-all, it means that people can obtain permits from the bureau to set up a distillery, follow federal regulations and pay applicable taxes, the HDA said in a blog post.

“This is a major victory for the plaintiffs — including members of the Hobby Distillers’ Association — and a turning point for hobby distillers nationwide,” the organization said.

Israel has approved 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, illegal under international law, that has Palestinians terrified they will lose their land. At an inauguration event, far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich outlined plans to expand borders across Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Coachella’s got you all in your head? Think you’d rather watch Bieber while you’re in your bed?

Then you’re in luck! Hot off the success of both “Swag” albums and a (literally) stripped down Grammys performance, Beliebers will be able to watch Justin Bieber’s day 2 headlining set at 11:25 p.m. on the Coachella YouTube livestream.

Before Bieber takes the Main Stage, viewers at home will be able to catch The Strokes, Labrinth and David Byrne at the Outdoor Theatre, PinkPantheress at the Mojave and more.

And check out Coachella’s livestream app on iOS and Android.

Here’s who you can watch on Saturday’s livestream feeds (times presented in PDT):

Main Stage

5:30 p.m. Addison Rae; 7 p.m. Giveon; 9 p.m. The Strokes; 11:25 p.m. Justin Bieber

Outdoor Theatre

4 p.m. Los Hermanos Flores; 5:10 p.m. Alex G; 6:10 p.m. Blondshell; 7:05 p.m. Sombr; 8:30 p.m. Labrinth; 10:20 p.m. David Byrne

Sahara

4:00 p.m. Zulan; 5 p.m. Hamdi; 6:15 p.m. Yousuke Yukimatsu; 7:15 p.m. Teed; 8 p.m. Nine Inch Noize; 9:10 p.m. Rezz; 10:30 p.m. Adriatique; 11:55 p.m. Worship

Mojave

4 p.m. Jack White; 4:50 p.m. Fujii Kaze; 5:50 p.m. Royel Otis; 7:30 p.m. Taemin; 8:55 p.m. PinkPantheress; 10:15 p.m. Interpol

Gobi

4:05 p.m. Whatmore; 5:10 p.m. Luisa Sonza; 6:15 p.m. Geese; 7:05 p.m. Noga Erez; 7:50 p.m. Davido; 9 p.m. Bia; 10:10 p.m. Morat

Sonora

4:20 p.m. Ecca Vandal; 5:30 p.m. Ceremony; 6:40 p.m. Rusowsky; 7:50 p.m. 54 Ultra; 8:45 p.m. Die Spitz; 9:45 p.m. Mind Enterprises; 10:45 p.m. Freak Slug

Quasar

5 p.m. Joezi; 7 p.m. Afrojack x Shimza

There’s been a delay on the livestream during previous festivals, so don’t worry if Bieber, The Strokes or another one of your favorite artists starts a little later than their posted time.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The most unexpected of revelations unfolded Saturday at the Masters.

It became a golf tournament.

Rory McIlroy, who built the biggest 36-hole lead in history, wobbled and wilted — one shot in the water, another in the woods — while others surged and made a run at the reigning champion.

Cameron Young, who was eight back of McIlroy to start the day, overtook the Grand Slam winner late in the day. McIlroy briefly reclaimed a one-shot lead but gave that back with a bogey on 17, bending over in exasperation when he left a par putt just short.

Cameron Young fist bumps his caddie, Kyle Sterbinsky, on the 18th green during the third round of the Masters on Saturday in Augusta, Ga.

(Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)

Young, whose first PGA Tour victory came last August, heads into the final round tied atop the leaderboard with McIlroy at 11 under par.

The 28-year-old from Westchester County, N.Y., is going to take a business-as-usual approach to the biggest day of his career. He plans to start the day with Mass at a nearby church — before taking on Amen Corner.

“It might be difficult to go undetected, but it’s not going to stop us,” said Young, who has three children younger than 5. “We’ll find somewhere and take the kids. We’ll be out in full force just like usual.”

Saturday was a remarkable turnaround for Young, who was all but cooked on Thursday, playing the first seven holes in four over par. He bounced back strong with a 67 on Friday, and a 65 on Saturday, collecting a combined 14 birdies over those rounds.

Rory McIlroy reacts in frustration on the 18th green during the third round of the Masters on Sunday in Augusta, Ga.

(Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

“I don’t get the sense I’ll be the fan favorite,” Young said. “Rory’s kind of a world favorite in the golf world. A year ago if I’d been in the same situation, there would have been very little [fan support], and now there’s probably a little more. So I’ll take what I can get.”

A host of other competitors moved within striking distance of their first green jacket — Sam Burns, Nick Lowry, Jason Day and Justin Rose.

Lowry had a hole-in-one on No. 6, a decade after acing the 16th. He became the first player in Masters history to record multiple holes-in-one.

Scottie Sheffler, ranked No. 1 in the world, started the day at even par but shot 65 to climb into the mix at four shots back, saying, “I don’t feel like I’m out of the tournament.”

For Day, the key to his 68 was staying patient. He three-putted the opening hole for bogey but kept his cool.

“Statistically I average around four to five birdies a round, so I just knew they were going to come,” he said. “I just didn’t know when they were going to come.”

He got hot from the 12th through 15th holes, stringing together four birdies in a row.

Day has been in contention at the Masters several times, finishing second in 2015.

“I feel like the guys that are leading right now have all the pressure,” he said. “I’m just kind of the chaser. Usually the chasers don’t really have a lot of the pressure.”

That Collin Morikawa is even relevant at this point is stunning, considering the physical battle he’s enduring. The two-time major winner shot 68 on Saturday despite issues with an injury — possibly his back — affecting his legs. He said he’s swinging at roughly half-speed.

“My legs aren’t moving the way they used to,” he said. “So then I’m throwing my arms, and I’m having to time up my arms. So, like, every swing I’m putting at, I am essentially just throwing my arms at the ball hoping that it squares everything up.”

Morikawa was six shots back along with former UCLA standout Jake Knapp and one behind another former Bruin, Patrick Cantlay (five back).

The Strait of Hormuz is believed to be a key sticking point as Iran and the US continue negotiations in the Pakistani capital.

Tyson Fury beats Arslanbek Makhmudov in a unanimous points decision as he makes his heavyweight comeback.

Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury marked his return to the ring with a comprehensive and unanimous points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

British boxer Fury won 120-108 on two of the judges’ scorecards, with the other ruling he had defeated his Russian opponent 119-109 after the maximum 12 rounds on Saturday.

Makhmudov made a strong start to the first round, throwing a left and connecting with an overhand right.

But by the third round, Makhmudov was already showing signs of fatigue, with Fury switching stances and hitting a one-two off the Russian’s chin.

The fight continued in a similar fashion until the final bell, as Fury moved closer to a “Battle of Britain” super-fight with fellow former world champion Anthony Joshua, who was watching from ringside.

“I’ve never had a problem getting in the ring with you. I punched you out when we were kids, and I’ll punch you out again,” Joshua said as Fury shouted at him from the ring.

“With all due respect, tonight is your night, and you know I’ll [be] in that ring across from you in due time,” Joshua added.

“You aren’t going to tell me what to do. I’ve been chasing you for the last 10 years. When you’re ready, you come and see me … I’m the boss. You work for me.”

Saint-Pierre is finally coming to UK screens on U&Alibi this April, a year after its Canadian debut, and fans are already ‘obsessed’

Death in Paradise actress Joséphine Jobert’s crime thriller Saint-Pierre is set to finally arrive on British screens a full year after its debut on Canadian broadcaster CBC.

The show, which also features Allan Hawco, known for his role in the Amazon Prime series Jack Ryan, will launch on U&Alibi on Thursday, 23 April at 8pm.

While Saint-Pierre has already completed two seasons in Canada, UK audiences will be starting from scratch, with the opening episode introducing viewers to the lead characters, Donny ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick, portrayed by Hawco, and Deputy Chief Geneviève ‘Arch’ Archambault, portrayed by Jobert.

The crime series has already been hailed by audiences on IMDb as a “must-watch” show, with the episode entitled ‘Kill Lil’ receiving particular acclaim as one that “hits all the right notes”.

One devoted fan confirmed they are “Obsessed” with the series, while another enthused: “We love this show so much!”, reports the Express.

The official synopsis for Saint-Pierre reveals: “After the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector, Donny Fitzpatrick (Fitz), digs too deeply into a local politician’s nefarious activity, he is exiled to work in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon – the French Territory nestled in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Fitz’s arrival disrupts the life of Deputy Chief Genevieve Archambault (Arch), a Parisian transplant who is in Saint-Pierre for her own intriguing reasons.”

It goes on: “As if by fate, these two seasoned officers – with very different policing skills and approaches – are forced together to solve unique and exciting crimes.

“Although the islands seem like a quaint tourist destination, the idyllic facade conceals the worst kind of criminal activity, which tends to wash up on beautiful shores. At first, at odds and suspicious of each other, Arch and Fitz soon discover that they are better together.”

The Saint-Pierre ensemble also features Benz Antoine, Erika Prevost, Jean-Michel Le Gal, Tamara Podemski, James Purefoy, Maxim Roy, and Tim Rozon.

While lead star Joséphine Jobert originally appeared in Death in Paradise as Detective Sergeant Florence Cassell from 2015 to 2019, before making a comeback to the BBC program for series 10 and 11, spanning 2021 to 2022.

The performer returned in 2024 for series 13, with her character Florence last glimpsed departing into the sunset alongside Neville, portrayed by Ralf Little, who similarly left the show.

Saint-Pierre airs on U&Alibi from 9pm on Thursday, 23 April 2026

Former world heavyweight champion David Haye described Tyson Fury’s win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in his comeback fight as an “optimal performance”.

Fury returned to the ring after a 15-month absence to secure a unanimous decision victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was not a vintage display, but Haye believed it was a good return considering the ring rust Fury could have been dealing with.

“Fury did exactly what he needed to do,” Haye told Netflix.

“That was the optimal performance for him. If he could pick the type of performance to put forward, it would be exactly that.

“He took all his tools out of the box and polished them up.”

Retired multiple weight world champion Andre Ward agreed with Haye’s assessment, downplaying suggestions was a soft reintroduction for Fury.

“Some will say Makhmudov is limited, but he’s good enough,” Ward said.

“You can’t take away from what you’ve seen from Tyson Fury offensively and defensively tonight.”

Four-time world champion Carl Froch said Fury “boxed well” and taking zero damage will be a positive for the 37-year-old.

“He’s been out the ring for [nearly] 16 months and he put in a 12-round performance at a good pace,” Froch said.

“The first couple of rounds were close, but then he took over against a dangerous puncher.

“He got hit with a couple of little shots, but you can see by his face he’s not marked up.”

April 11 (UPI) — After an about-face by the Trump administration, Britain said it is pausing a plan to transfer ownership of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius because it cannot complete the deal without U.S. support.

Britain on Friday said it is abandoning a deal to return sovereignty to the islands, which would have permitted the both countries to continue using the military base in Deigo Garcia they have operated since the 1970s, because there is not enough time for the U.K.’s parliament to pass a legislation on it, The Guardian reported.

The islands have been controlled by Britain since the 1800s, though in 1968 it granted independence to Maritius — which it also had controlled — but kept possession of the Chagos Islands.

President Donald Trump had in 2024 offered support for Britain to return the islands in return for continued use of the base, which includes billions in annual payments for doing so.

Trump withdrew his support for the deal earlier this year, calling it a “great act of stupidity,” less than a year after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration called the deal an “historic” achievement, at least partially because it kept the Diego Garcia base in use.

The change in opinion came, however, weeks before the United States and Israel started the war in Iran at the end of February because, he said at the time, the U.S. military may need to use the Diego Garcia base, The Hill reported.

“The U.K. had two objectives, one was to comply with international law, the second was to reinforce the relationship with the United States,” Simon McDonald, a former permanent secretary in Britain’s Foreign Office.

“When the president of the United States is openly hostile, the government has to rethink, so this agreement, this treaty, will go into the deep freeze for the time being,” McDonald said.

The deal to return the islands to Maritius stems from an overall effort by Britain to reckon with its colonialist history, as well as a 2019 international court decision that said it had acted illegally by separating the Chagos from Maritius in the 1960s.

The military base on Diego Garcia, which dates to a 1966 treaty between Britain and the United States — which the two countries cleared people living in the area from in order to construct it — was to give the two nations a 99-year lease to continue operating the base.

While the Trump initially supported the deal, it has long been controversial in Britain, with Kemi Badenoch, leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, said it took too long for the current U.K. government to give up on it.

Badenoch said the government had dragged its feet on dropping the deal, calling it a “damning indictment of a prime minister, who fought to hand over British sovereign territory and pay $47 million to use a crucial military base which was already ours.”

Venezuela’s oil policy has not merely been a set of technical regulations, but rather a battleground where national sovereignty has been defined in the face of Western imperialist interests. In this sense, the 20th century in Venezuela began with cannons trained on its shores. The naval blockade by England, Germany, and Italy in 1902 was the result of demands to collect debts incurred since the War of Independence and throughout the nineteenth century to build the oligarchic and fragmented republic that emerged in defiance of the Bolivarian project of unity. 

Unable to pay the creditors, Venezuelan President Cipriano Castro refused to hand over the country’s resources and territory, which is why he is considered the first nationalist president to be overthrown by the imperial powers of the time. In response to the foreign pressure exerted through the blockade, his proclamation was published in national newspapers: “The insolent foreign boot has desecrated the sacred soil of the homeland!” Castro embodied a defiance that the powers would not forgive.

However, the real tragedy was not the external attack, but the internal betrayal. Juan Vicente Gómez, who was also the president’s close friend, was not only the instigator of the 1908 coup d’état, but also the architect of the first major economic model of submission. Under his government, Venezuela was transformed overnight from an agrarian economy into an oil-producing enclave.

The concessions granted starting in 1922 through laws and decrees were not commercial agreements; they were acts of surrender of territorial and economic sovereignty to Standard Oil and Royal Dutch Shell, shaping the new geometry of power and the emergence of a new way of being and doing politics: what anthropologist Rodolfo Quintero called “the oil culture” had been born, a society whose elite looked more to the north than to the Venezuelan hinterland plains.

Venezuelan historian Oscar Battaglini provides an in-depth analysis of the inner workings of this new economic and political culture. 

…imperialism organizes (acting directly as in the days of old colonialism) a strong and truly centralized state at the head of which appear, in the role of mere ‘native overseers,’ the remnants of the old oligarchy: large landowners, agro-exporters and importers, and usurious bankers … The state that emerges … its primary mission was to maintain the cruelest and most open repression, the stability of the established oil order; which amounted to guaranteeing the oil companies consistently high profits, and to the dominant domestic sectors, the appropriation … of oil tax revenue… 

Following Gómez’s death in 1935, his own Minister of War and the Navy, Eleazar López Contreras, was tasked with serving as the transitional bridge from a highly repressive, personalist system of government to one that appeared to be freer. With oil reserves beneath his feet and an active US presence in the ports of Lake Maracaibo, López walked a tightrope. The various political and popular sectors, already consolidated though silenced, launched a fierce resistance: oil workers, students, political parties, and activists who until then had operated underground, women, and impoverished peasants entered political life with a bang. 

The expansion of oil wells, coupled with the events of World War II and the rise of fascism, laid the groundwork for the consolidation of an economic model that compromised national sovereignty, established interventionism as a mechanism of “negotiation,” and undermined political development through the persecution of any expression that might threaten the interests of the highly lucrative oil business.

From the 1943 Law to the Puntofijo Pact: The institutionalization of dependence

The government of Isaías Medina Angarita represented a significant political opening and steered the oil industry toward national interests. During his administration (1941–1945), the first fair legislation regarding the management of oil revenues was drafted, as well as the first plan for the development of a productive economy that aimed to overcome the rentier model that had already taken root during the Gómez era. With the 1943 hydrocarbon law, further strengthened by the 1942 Income Tax Act, the Venezuelan state was granted a 60% share of oil revenues – a development that did not favor the US oil companies, accustomed to reaping up to 75% of oil earnings. This law, combined with the 1945 agrarian reform law, set the stage for an intervention that prevented the democratic and sovereign transition to another presidential term and precipitated what some have called “the October Revolution” and others a “coup d’état” against these measures, which affected the regime of land ownership and control over Venezuela’s fossil fuel resources. 

After the coup, and during the “Adeco triennium” (1945–1948) led by Rómulo Bentancourt, even though the 1943 law was not repealed, a sort of relaxation was applied, known as the “fifty-fifty” arrangement, which consisted of guaranteeing oil companies a 50% revenue share, avoiding the tax levy, and thereby preventing subsequent increases in rent. At this point, it is worth noting that this process did not affect only economic aspects; rather, the oil enclave also became consolidated, which, as in any colonization process, includes cultural elements, in this case, the establishment of an “(North) American way of life” in the oil fields and their surroundings. 

Encampment-cities were created to operate as islands of foreign modernity, segregated from the national reality, where local management began to adopt the mindset and interests of the parent companies. A clear example of this was Judibana, in Falcón State, near the Amuay refinery. Judibana is an urban complex designed around 1948 by the Creole Petroleum Corporation, which at that time included schools, clubs, a commissary, and an isolated, self-contained internal dynamic. During the 2002 oil lockout, it served as an enclave for the anti-nationalist oil class. 

Later, the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship (1953–1958) proclaimed the “dream of progress” through the transformation of the landscape and a policy of monumental public works that reflected the “almighty” nature of oil and served as a physical manifestation of state power. Following his overthrow in 1958, the Pact of Punto Fijo emerged, giving rise to what many scholars call “pacted democracy.” Although it was presented as the stabilization of the political system, authors suggest that it was a mechanism for excluding popular forces and shielding transnational interests.

Rómulo Betancourt, leader of the Acción Democrática party – also known as the “Father of Venezuelan Democracy” – served as the first president under the Pact of Punto Fijo. Despite the nationalist rhetoric in his youth, he established a model during his administration (1959–1964) in which oil revenues were used to pacify social conflict without altering the structure of property ownership. “Submission” here became more sophisticated: it was not the direct surrender of land, but rather subordination to US foreign policy. The commercial and financial bourgeoisie abandoned any industrialization plans to become a parasitic class living off state revenue.

Under the Punto Fijo governments (1958–1998) Venezuela was viewed as a “laboratory” for the implementation of social democratic policies that served as a counterweight to the influence of the Cuban Revolution (1959) – characterized by its strong anti-imperialist stance – thereby consolidating the structural hegemony of the US market, which by 1997 received nearly 70% of the country’s oil exports. 

Neoliberalism and the “denationalization” of the 1990s

After a lengthy process of drafting legislation and negotiations, on January 1, 1976, the national flag was raised at the Zumaque No. 1 oil well. With this symbolic and legal act, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) was born as the company tasked with planning, coordinating, and supervising the industry, marking the beginning of a phase in which the state assumed not only income but also the total operative control of the country’s oil resources.

Bernard Mommer, an expert on the subject, offers a sharp critique that distinguishes between nationalization – whose objective was supposed to be the political and economic control of oil in the interest of national sovereignty – and statization, which entailed the creation of a state-owned corporation (PDVSA) that, over time, began to operate according to a private corporate logic, distancing itself from the needs of the national government and the objective of this ostensibly sovereign strategy. In this regard, Mommer argues that, following nationalization, the industry remained under imperialist control. PDVSA inherited the organizational structure and culture of the former concessionaires (Shell, Exxon, Mobil), which created a “state within a state.”

The neoliberal shift of the 1980s and 1990s marked the moment when submission was cloaked in the technical language of the Washington Consensus. The Oil Opening (Apertura Petrolera) was the ultimate expression of this process: an initiative in which PDVSA operated according to transnational logic, minimizing benefits for the country and paving the way for full privatization. It was more a matter of “denationalization,” where the state ceased to act as a demanding owner and instead became a promoter of foreign investment, sacrificing tax revenue, drastically reducing royalties (from 16.6% to 1% in some cases), and ceding operational control.

Denationalization policies were not limited to the oil sector. Telephone services (CANTV) and airlines (Viasa) were privatized, and attempts were made to privatize basic industries such as iron and aluminum. In this process, PDVSA’s management began to distance itself from the guidelines of the Ministry of Energy and Mines to become an entity managed by neoliberal international interests.

El Carmonazo: A failed attempt to return to the past

With Hugo Chávez’s rise to power in 1998, an effort was made to reverse this process of denationalization through the 2001 Organic Hydrocarbons Law. This law raised royalties to 30% and required the state to hold a majority stake (51%) in any joint venture. It restored the Ministry of Energy’s control over PDVSA.

The reaction of traditional sectors such as the CTV (Venezuelan Workers’ Confederation) and FEDECAMARAS business lobby, allied with the church and military sectors, was the call for an oil strike and the coup d’état (the Carmonazo) carried out on April 11, 2002 – a direct response by PDVSA’s managers and the neocolonial oligarchy to protect the contracts and the vision of the Oil Opening. The short-lived Carmona coup regime’s decree sought to repeal these laws to return Venezuela to the management model of the 1990s: a “privatized” PDVSA and a state with no control over its principal source of wealth.

The “Carmona Decree” was the purest expression of the neocolonial oligarchic mentality. In less than 24 hours, the public authorities were dissolved and the name “Bolivarian Republic” was removed, symbolically reverting to the “Republic of Venezuela” controlled by the elite. The main objective was to halt the Land Law and the Hydrocarbons Law, returning control of revenue to the PDVSA management aligned with external interests.

From the blockade of 1902 to the coup of 2002, the common denominator has been a Venezuelan elite that perceives sovereignty as an obstacle to its business interests. Submission is not just a political stance, but a class identity that confuses progress with mimicking the imperial core.

The history of this century in Venezuela demonstrates that the struggle for nationalization is not just about oil, but about a people’s ability to decide their own destiny without the tutelage of the insolent foreign boot.

Rosanna Álvarez holds an MSc in History of Republican Venezuela from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV). She is a researcher at the Centro de Estudios Simón Bolívar and Fundación Hugo Chávez, as well as a writer at the Libertador 8 Estrellas magazine. She is the author of Venezuela vista e imaginada. Un recorrido visual por nuestra historia and host of the Bolívar Nuestro show on Radio del Sur.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Venezuelanalysis editorial staff.