Comedian Hasan Al-Habib made a heartbreaking admission about being ashamed of his religion

Award-winning stand-up comedian Hasan Al-Habib has made a heart-wrenching confession about once feeling embarrassed by his religion during his younger years.

Hasan is one of seven celebrities embarking on Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island, which returns for its eighth series.

Joining Hasan on the programme are former Britain’s Got Talent champion and Dancing on Ice judge, Ashley Banjo, radio producer, Ashley Blaker, Cold Feet actress, Hermione Norris, television and radio presenter, Jayne Middlemiss, actress and singer, Patsy Kensit, and Love Island and Strictly Come Dancing star, Tasha Ghouri.

However, in one segment, Hasan candidly discussed his experience growing up as a Muslim and how he once felt shame about his heritage.

He shared, “I was aware of faith from a pretty early age. I was lucky that I was definitely aware of my religion before I was aware that people don’t like it necessarily, or there are some people that are prejudiced against it,” reports the Express.

“I was growing up post 911 during the Iraq War, and that’s why, for a long time, I was kind of ashamed of being Iraqi because I didn’t like being associated with this war.

“I didn’t like being seen as the face of this conflict, so I tried to be as white British as I possibly could, and I realised that if you were funny, people liked you, and that was an invaluable currency for me at the time, because people didn’t like me.”

He continued, “Being Iraqi now, career-wise, it has been a really good thing. It’s definitely something I lean into now, maybe even too much for someone who doesn’t speak Arabic fluently and has only been to Iraq once in their life.”

Discussing his aspirations for featuring on the programme, the comedian added, “I’m really looking forward to the big questions and the searching questions that come as a part of doing this process. If you’re a rational human being, you’ve got to wonder, what happens at the end of all this, or where did we come from?”

He reflected: “People spend their whole lives answering those questions. So to have this opportunity to do it with other people, I think is really, I’m gonna say it’s a blessing.”

Hasan also accompanied Ashley and Tasha to a mosque, which proved to be a touching yet emotional experience for the duo. Tasha confessed to feeling quite moved, revealing to her co-star Hermione Norris that it was a revelation for her.

She said, “I am never going to forget it, and I felt quite emotional just seeing them two just really embracing their religion and just doing their prayer, but it was when they were doing it together, and that’s what made me go like, ‘Wow’.”

She added: “It was just powerful, and it made me realise we need to be more open-minded about religion and just not judge what people believe in, just because they believe in something different from what we may believe in.”

At another moment, Tasha became tearful as she remembered experiencing online abuse when she featured on Love Island. As she attempted to hold back tears, Tasha stated, “I suffered with ableism while I was on a reality TV show. People use your disability as their point to hate somebody. When people go on TikTok, making videos, literally taking the mick at how I spoke, it still gets to me now.”

She remarked through tears, “I don’t like crying,” before continuing, “It’s literally three years ago, but it still gets to me. I think it’s because I saw the impact it had on my family, my dad and mum had to see so many horrible comments about my disability, my and that’s why now I have a stronger shield within me, really.”

Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Bravo 3, Sotomayor 1

South East 5, LA Marshall 4

SOUTHERN SECTION

Agoura 8, Oak Park 3

Beckman 2, Northview 1

Canyon Country Canyon 7, Lancaster 6

Channel Islands 1, Century 0

Citrus Valley 11, Redlands East Valley 1

CSHM 3, Placentia Valencia 2

El Segundo 10, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 6

Esperanza 5, Buena Park 4

Great Oak 10, Alta Loma 3

Hesperia 10, Indio 0

Jurupa Hills 3, Covina 1

La Canada 12, Alhambra 2

Laguna Hills 8, Hueneme 3

Redlands 13, Beaumont 4

Redondo Union 17, Foothill Tech 7

Royal 6, Culver City 2

Riverside King 2, Riverside Poly 1

Riverside Prep 8, Bloomington 4

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 5, Savanna 1

Santa Ynez 13, Carpinteria 2

Shadow Hills 11, Burbank Burroughs 1

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 10, Hawthorne 2

Tahquitz 8, Citrus Hill 1

Vista Murrieta 10, CCHS 5

Walnut 12, Santa Fe 7

Western 22, SCHS 10

Western Christian 11, Avalon 4

West Ranch 16, CVHS 3

Yucaipa 7, Cajon 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Lipscomb 8, La Salle 6

Norwalk 4, Maywood CES 3

SOFTBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION

Anaheim Canyon 4, Marina 3 (8 innings)

Aquinas 5, Great Oak 4

Downey 4, California 2

Eastvale Roosevelt 13, Millikan 1

Fullerton 9, Ganesha 4

Gahr 10, Capistrano Valley 0

Ganesha 10, Orange Lutheran 2

La Habra 10, Whittier 0

La Mirada 10, Downey 2

Los Alamitos 9, Anaheim Canyon 6

Norco 7, Fullerton 0

Norco 2, Orange Lutheran 0

Rio Mesa 6, Great Oak 4

Santa Maria St. Joseph 4, Los Altos 2

INTERSECTIONAL

Aquinas 10, Nevada Centennial 5

Arizona Canyon View 12, El Modena 5

Chino Hills 9, Point Loma 0

Chula Vista Mater Dei 10, Marina 0

Millikan 7, San Diego Cathedral 6

Nevada Centennial 8, Rio Mesa 0

Poway 8, Vista Murrieta 5

Riverside King 11, Modesto Central Catholic 0

Riverside Poly 6, Loomis Del Oro 2

Warren 7, San Pedro 5

Humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain dire, despite the “ceasefire” that came into effect in October.

For months, the Israeli military has violated the agreement – carrying out air strikes and limiting the entry of aid.

But the situation got worse when Israel and the United States launched their war on Iran on February 28.

The Rafah border crossing was closed again. And deliveries of food, fuel and aid were further restricted.

With the Iran war disrupting global supply chains and the United Nations warning of threats to food security, what are the implications for Palestinians in Gaza?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Dr Mohammed Tahir – Orthopaedic surgeon who has worked extensively in Gaza

Alex de Waal – Executive director of the World Peace Foundation

Xavier Abu Eid – Political analyst and former communications director for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

The Israeli Air Force has released a picture of F-16I Sufa fighters taking part in strikes on Iran, and the jets appear to be carrying cluster munitions. What submunitions might be inside is unknown. However, just three days before the image was posted, Iranian officials accused the United States of employing air-dropped BLU-91/B anti-tank mines, which are delivered via cluster bomb. This seems most likely to be part of a limited-use area denial strategy to contain long-range missile launches, as you can read about in our previous reporting here.

“In parallel, the Air Force struck sites used for storing and launching ballistic missiles, which pose a direct threat to the citizens of the State of Israel, as well as several defense systems of the terror regime. More than 150 fighter jets struck, over the past day, weapons production sites throughout Tehran,” the Israeli Air Force wrote in a Hebrew language post on X accompanying the picture on March 29, according to a machine translation. “The strikes on the regime’s military industries in Tehran continue at this hour as well. The Air Force continues to deepen the strikes on the regime’s military industries in order to deny the production capabilities it has built up over [the] years.”

The picture, seen at the top of this story and in parts below, is a nighttime shot, making it hard to definitively identify the munitions under the wings of the F-16Is. However, they look to have blunt noses with prominent fuzes sticking out from the center, as well as largely straight bodies and flat tail ends. This is all in line with features typically seen on air-dropped cluster munitions, especially U.S. types that make use of variants of the Tactical Munitions Dispenser (TMD), which we will come back to later on. TMDs, as well as other types of bomb-shaped ‘dispensers,’ can be loaded with different payloads, and each specific configuration generally has its own designation.

It is possible that the munitions seen under the wings of the F-16I are not cluster bombs, but this seems less likely to be the case. The features that are visible are distinctly different from the kinds of precision-guided bombs and missiles more typically seen loaded on Israeli tactical jets.

In terms of what submunitions might be inside the dispensers, as already noted, Iran has previously alleged the use of air-dropped BLU-91/B anti-tank mines, which it blamed on the United States. Reports about the employment of the mines first emerged last week, with Iranian state and quasi-state media publishing what it said were pictures of examples recovered in outlying areas around the city of Shiraz, as seen below.

جنایت جدید آمریکایی ـ صهیونی در برخی مناطق کشور

رهاسازی بسته‌های انفجاری با جنگنده

این بسته‌های انفجاری شبیه کنسرو آماده بوده و حاوی مواد منفجره‌ای است که بعد از بازگشایی منفجر شده و باعث تلفات جانی می‌گردد
#انتقام_سخت pic.twitter.com/0mChpxVhLP

— خبرگزاری تسنیم (@Tasnimnews_Fa) March 26, 2026

Part of a larger scatterable mine system called Gator, BLU-91/Bs, as well as a companion anti-personnel mine designated the BLU-92/B, can be employed via TMD-series dispensers. They can also be dropped using the Mk 7 or SUU-58/B dispensers, the former of which has a notably different nose shape from what is seen in the picture the IAF released. The SUU-58/B is derived from the Mk 7, but has a distinct nose profile. Examples of complete cluster munitions loaded with Gator mines include the CBU-78/B (45 BLU-91/Bs and 15 BLU-92/Bs loaded in either a Mk 7 or SUU-58/B) and the CBU-89/B (72 BLU-91/Bs and 22 BLU-92/Bs loaded in a SUU-64/B TMD).

“The US is the only participant in the Iran war known to possess Gator Scatterable Mines,” Bellingcat reported last week. However, “known users of the CBU-89/B and the CBU-78/B weapons include Israel, the Netherlands, and the United States,” according to a 2003 report from Forecast International.

The F-16 is also on the broad list of platforms that can drop cluster munitions loaded with Gator mines.

As to why BLU-91/Bs might have been scattered over parts of Iran, as TWZ previously wrote:

“Iran has been able to preserve a number of its missile launchers, which could involve moving them in and out of underground facilities like the one near Shiraz or hiding them elsewhere in the area and moving them to designated launch points. This is occurring even after these facilities have been repeatedly bombed. These aerial attacks have focused on keeping their entrances caved in. These strikes are on top of the vast, resource-consuming interdiction effort to hunt for and strike launchers that are exposed. So, continued launches from these areas would be a major reason why resorting to deploying anti-tank mines there makes sense and would have a high military value. Mining the entrances of the underground missile cities would also make it harder for heavy equipment to access them in order to open them back up.“

🚨 WATCH: CENTCOM releases footage of strikes on fortified missile bases in southern Iran. The first footage includes hits on tunnel entrances and on mobile and stationary launchers at the missile base in Hajjiabad, Iran. pic.twitter.com/wuoi5GEhqp

— Major Sammer Pal Toorr (Infantry Combat Veteran) (@samartoor3086) March 22, 2026

The IDF publishes footage showing a recent airstrike on an Iranian ballistic missile launcher in western Iran that it says was primed for an attack on Israel.

In additional strikes yesterday, the military says the Israeli Air Force hit several ballistic missile storage and… pic.twitter.com/UVE5bTAJNd

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 24, 2026

CENTCOM:

The Iranian regime is using mobile launchers to indiscriminately fire missiles in an attempt to inflict maximum harm across the region.

U.S. forces are hunting these threats down and without apology or hesitation, we are taking them out.pic.twitter.com/l4lxbTlAf4

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 3, 2026

“Designed to attack tanks and trucks, the mines could destroy or disable the launchers and likely the payloads they carry. They could also make roads to and around the underground missile cities unpassable. Even limiting where the launchers could go within these areas could make them more vulnerable.“

This would also align with the IAF’s post on X accompanying the image of the two F-16Is, which discussed new strikes on “sites used for storing and launching ballistic missiles.”

Israel does have, or at least had, other air-dropped cluster munitions in its inventory. The IAF employed Cold War-era CBU-58/Bs during the country’s intervention in Lebanon in 2006. Each of those munitions consists of 650 grenade-like BLU-63/B anti-personnel bomblets in a SUU-30-series dispenser, which has a distinctly tapered tail section that is not seen on the munitions in the recently released IAF picture. Israel has also received Rockeye cluster bombs from the United States in the past, which consist of 247 Mk 118 anti-tank bomblets in Mk 7-series dispensers. The current status of either of these munitions in Israeli service is unclear.

Israel Military Industries (IMI) also previously developed an air-dropped cluster bomb called the Runway Attack Munition, which is filled with submunitions specifically designed to crater runways. The RAM has reportedly been in Israeli service since 2008.

Runways at Iranian air bases have been cratered by U.S. and Israeli strikes in the course of the current conflict, but there have been no signs so far of the use of cluster munitions to do so. Israel could be employing anti-personnel and/or anti-tank cluster munitions against various other targets in Iran, including missile and drone launchers, but, again, there has been no evidence of this so far.

The employment of BLU-91/Bs in the current conflict with Iran also remains unconfirmed, though the picture of the IAF F-16Is with what look to be cluster munitions does add to the existing evidence. Whether the employment of those mines, whether by the United States or Israel, was an isolated event or a new part of the ongoing campaign is also still not clear. As mentioned earlier, dropping the mines fits with an effort to deny access to remote missile storage and launch areas.

Cluster munitions and landmines are both controversial weapons in their own right, particularly given the risks they can pose to civilians well after a conflict has ended. Many countries have agreed to ban their use. At the same time, the U.S. military and others continue to stress the operational utility these weapons offer, and the steps that can be taken to mitigate the risks of their use. The BLU-91/B, for instance, has a built-in self-destruct feature. Cluster munitions and landmines can also be employed under tightly controlled parameters to reduce the dangers they might pose to innocent bystanders, such as targeting only facilities far from population centers.

If cluster munition use by Israeli and/or U.S. forces does become a more widespread aspect of the ongoing conflict, more evidence of this could continue to emerge.

Special thanks to user @blocksixtynine on X for bringing the IAF picture of the two F-16Is carrying what look to be cluster munitions to our attention.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Coronation Street has finally revealed what Maggie Driscoll saw on Ken Barlow’s sideboard several months ago as a major twist, and apparent retcon, took place on the ITV soap

Coronation Street has finally revealed what Maggie Driscoll saw in Ken Barlow’s cupboard – six moths ago. The Irish matriarch made her debut on the world’s longest-running soap towards the end of last year when she arrived to take over the famed Rovers Return pub, along with son Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker), daughter-in-law Eva Price (Catherine Tydlesley) and her grandchildren.

Since then, the family have not been short of drama, and they are currently in the middle of a controversial storyline which has seen teenager Will having an illicit affair with his teacher Megan Walsh, and it has been heavily implied that it has all been going on since he was underage. What’s more, viewers were subjected to a flashback episode, which was all set in Maggie’s native Ireland, where it was revealed that she had accidentally killed her husband Alan when he fell down the stairs during a row.

Fans will remember that around Halloween, she had called round to Ken Barlow’s house to borrow a bowl, and when Amy Barlow went into the cupboard to get it, she spotted something odd. Despite much speculation on social media about what Maggie had seen, viewers were left in the dark until now.

READ MORE: Coronation Street confirms bombshell twist as Maggie lets slip shocking truth

OPINION

Earlier this week, Maggie was having a row with Ben about Will’s situation when she let slip that Alan was not his biological father, and in the Easter Sunday episode, she finally revealed the truth to Ben. Initially, she claimed she “couldn’t remember” the name of his actual father, but when she heard that Ben’s son Ollie was spending some alone time with Amy Barlow, she couldn’t hold the truth back any longer.

Back at number one, things had been heating up between Amy and Ollie when she banged on the door. Maggie explained that Ben’s real father was none other than Jim McDonald (Charlie Lawson), who was recently killed off off-screen. This makes Ben Steve McDonald’s brother, and it makes Amy the cousin of Ollie. Famously married to fellow soap icon Liz, it transpired that Jim had been unfaithful to Liz almost 50 years ago.

Maggie said to Steve: “As soon as I saw that picture of your dad on the sideboard. At Halloween. You couldn’t make it up, could you?” Ben raged: “You let me go to my own da’s funeral without telling me?” but Steve was still convinced that she was lying.

Maggie said: “His name was Jim. Yes, I knew. Of course I did. He was 22, from Belfast. He had a moustache. He liked a drink. I knew he had family, but he was away from home, and he was lonely. I’m not trying to justify this. I know I can’t.”

Disgusted, Amy said: “I was snogging my own cousin! It’s not good enough just being part of one messed-up family, now I’ve got to be part of two,” and Maggie apologised profusely but Steve sent them all away, as he tore up the order of service from his father’s funeral.

Reacting to the twists, one fan said: “The mother of all bombshells from Maggie. Can’t wait for the fallout from this!” Another wrote: “Poor Steve. Finding out your new friend is actually your half-brother but to find out your father had cheated then hid it your entire life is another especially when said father is dead. “

A third wrote: “No you couldn’t make it up but someone did,” and another said: “That Maggie reveal and the reactions were very underwhelming. Her just seeing something in the cupboard on Halloween was more suspenseful!”

The event could be considered a major rewrite of Coronation Street history as for much of his time on the programme, Jim was famously married to Rovers landlady Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard), and, while the marriage survived numerous infidelities on her side, it collapsed for the first time when she admitted to having had an affair with his army colleague.

Jim also endured numerous spells in prison, and a second attempt at marriage with Liz came to an end in 2005, but, as far as viewers were aware, Jim had never been unfaithful to his wife, whom he referred to as Elizabeth.

In the weeks leading up to the death of Jim, actor Charlie Lawson criticised his final storyline, which saw Jim uncharacteristically decide to con Liz out money by pretending that his girlfriend was the daughter they had lost several years earlier.

Charlie, who has also appeared in The Bill, Bread and Doctors throughout his lengthy television career and also worked extensively in theatre, recently hit out at the “weak” storyline, which was brought in when Kate Oates, who later went on to work on EastEnders, was in charge of the soap.

Charlie said: “The storyline was weak. So many people contacted me to say they hated it. I agreed to it before I even saw the script. The work was lucrative — you can’t really turn it down. Now he can’t be ruined any more. He’s out of his misery.

“I know I will watch that last scene and be able to say, ‘Well, what a load of s***e that was’. I will raise a glass to the old Jim, the one I loved and was proud of, who spoke his mind, with cracking, strong storylines in the Nineties.”

Speaking to The Sun, he added: “There are some bits I will miss about Corrie and some I won’t. But I have no regrets. That’s just life, so it is.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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The economic ripple effects of the Iran conflict are pushing mortgage rates higher, adding new pressure to the U.S. housing market even as conditions tilt in favor of buyers, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

Rates on a typical 30-year mortgage

Having demolished John Higgins 10-1 on Saturday – inflicting the heaviest defeat in the Scot’s stellar 34-year career – Trump fared little better 24 hours later.

And that was despite the 36-year-old fighting back from 2-0 down to 2-2 and then taking what appeared to be a pivotal eighth frame to raise the prospect of a thrilling finale, after Zhao had compiled breaks of 91 and 98 in consecutive frames.

Instead Zhao’s dominance ensured that never materialised against a player he is homing in on at the top of the world rankings – moving up to fourth, with his fourth title of a trophy-laden campaign.

Trump admitted: “He’s a great player and he’s going to be around for a long time so it is up to me and a few of the other players to start playing well against him otherwise he’s going to end his career with 100 tournaments or something like that.

“I think over these past two months he’s been the best player in the world. He’s amazing for the game, so I always enjoy the challenge. For me now, it’s important to go away and try and improve.”

Trump, whose highest break of 61 arrived in the third frame, has bemoaned the condition of his cue tip in previous rounds and pointedly stared at it on several occasions after failing to dispatch routine pots.

He had opportunities in four of the five evening frames, but a missed black off the spot in the final frame typified an error-strewn display.

And just like in the first, fifth and sixth frames, Zhao ruthlessly won them all ruthlessly and he applied the coup de grace with his sixth half century of the match.

“Disappointed I couldn’t perform today for whatever reason,” added Trump.

“I’d have been better off using the spider under the table. It was hard, but it is my own fault for turning up with that tip.”

April 5 (UPI) — The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission were woken on Sunday by the sounds “Working Class Heroes (Work)” by CeeLo Green, and they will go to sleep as their spacecraft enters its sphere of gravitational influence.

Day 5 of NASA’s first journey to the moon in more than 50 years remained on course Sunday morning after maneuvering the Orion space capsule in its precise course to ricochet around the far side of the moon before heading back to Earth.

The crew is roughly half-way through its ten-day mission to test the abilities of the Orion space capsule and make direct observations of the far side of the moon, all of which will take them farther from Earth than any human has previously traveled.

The crew’s work for Sunday includes a full sequence of space suit operations and preparations for their approach to the moon, as well as their responsibilities during the five-hour trip around its back side, NASA said.

“We’re going to work!” NASA said in a post on X around 12:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday that the astronauts were hearing the day’s wake-up song, which the agency has been announcing each day of the mission.

In addition to the wake-up song, the astronauts were greeted this “morning” with an audio message from Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, who in 1972 became the 10th person to walk on the moon at age 36.

“Below you, on the moon, is a photo of my family,” Duke said in the 46-second recording, which the crew posted to X. “I pray it reminds you that we, in America, and all of the world, are cheering you on. Thanks for building on our Apollo legacy with Artemis.”

The suits are designed to protect astronauts during “dynamic” phases of space flight, can keep them alive should the Orion’s cabin depressurize and are designed to provide life support after splashing down in the ocean when they return to Earth.

The demonstration, like many of the other tasks the Artemis II crew is conducting, are meant to inform later Artemis missions to land on the moon and eventually build a human base there.

Although the crew was able to skip two other planned correctional burns on the way to entering the moon’s gravitational influence, an outbound trajectory correction burn is still planned for later today.

The final lunar science targets that the astronauts will be inspecting, photographing and analyzing will be sent from mission control and the crew will prepare to actually enter the moon’s gravity.

Videos have been going viral of A-10s doing strafing runs on targets in Iraq, largely focused on force protection of U.S. interests in the country. The threat from Iranian-aligned militias and other groups in Iraq has spiked since Operation Epic Fury began over four weeks ago. While seeing videos shot overseas of the Warthog using its GAU-8 30mm Avenger cannon is anything but new, the duration of some of the ‘trigger pulls’ shown certainly is.

One of these caught on camera appears to be roughly nine seconds long, with another being around six seconds long:

CONTROVERSIAL rapper Kanye West asked to perform at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium — but was turned down due to the club’s historical connection to London’s Jewish community.

Yesterday Pepsi pulled their sponsorship of Wireless Festival in protest at the American performing there for three nights in July.

It came after The Sun on Sunday revealed that Sir Keir Starmer said it was “deeply concerning” that West had been booked despite previously making antisemitic remarks, as well as glorifying the Nazi leader in his song Heil Hitler.

A source said: “Kanye’s team had wanted him to play a run of shows at Tottenham before they considered Wireless.

“As part of his big music comeback, they thought he warranted a headline run of shows and chose the Tottenham stadium as their venue of choice.

“But when they approached Tottenham with their proposal, the club rejected it.

“There was no way they would allow Kanye to perform at the club given its history with the Jewish community.

“They then made the proposal to Wireless, which was accepted.”

The Sun revealed last month that 48-year-old West would headline all three nights of the festival in Finsbury Park, North London.

The performances are his first UK gigs since his 2015 Glastonbury headline slot.

But there are growing calls to ban him from entering the UK at all amid rising incidents of antisemitism.

West has previously apologised for his remarks and blamed them on his bipolar disorder.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service said Sunday it was investigating reports of overnight gunfire near Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House.

No injuries were reported and no suspect was found after a search of the park and the surrounding area after midnight, the agency said in an online post.

President Trump was spending the weekend at the White House, which had no immediate comment on the incident. White House operations remained as normal but security in the area was increased, according to the Secret Service.

The park has been fenced off for weeks of renovations.

The Secret Service said it was working with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Park Police.

Leeds United will play Chelsea at Wembley after reaching the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 39 years.

Daniel Farke’s side beat Premier League relegation rivals West Ham 4-2 on penalties to progress after a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday.

Last year’s beaten finalists Manchester City will take on Championship side Southampton in the other semi-final.

The Saints, whose only FA Cup triumph was back in 1976, stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday to set up the encounter with seven-time winners City.

Leeds last reached the FA Cup last four in 1987, when they were beaten 3-2 by eventual winners Coventry City at Hillsborough, and lifted the trophy for the only time in 1972.

Their meeting with eight-time winners Chelsea will also stir up memories of the 1970 showpiece between the sides, in which the Blues triumphed after a replay at Old Trafford – the first FA Cup final at that time to require one since 1912.

This year’s ties will be played at Wembley on the weekend of 25-26 April.

FA Cup semi-final ties:

Manchester City v Southampton

Chelsea v Leeds United

Video captured the moment of a direct hit by an Iranian missile on a residential building in Israel’s Haifa. Multiple injuries were reported and some people are feared trapped under the rubble of the partially collapsed structure.

Leinster thought they had made the perfect start to the second half when Josh van der Flier crossed, but, after a television match official [TMO] review, the try was chalked off for a knock on.

They continued to pile the pressure on in the early stages of the second half as they looked to extend their advantage, but failed to add to their tally and were caught out on 53 minutes when Edinburgh went ahead for the first time.

The ball bounced favourably for Darcy Graham after Thompson’s charged down kick and he gleefully took full advantage, chipping the ball over Keenan before touching down ahead of Gibson-Park.

Leinster responded well as van der Flier made amends for his failure to ground the ball 15 minutes earlier as he scored following a tap and go from Sheehan.

Two tries in quick succession from Thomas Clarkson and Ioane finally gave the hosts the breathing space their attacking display deserved.

Ioane set up Clarkson to power over on 63 minutes before the New Zealand international sold a dummy to Graham, skipped down the left-hand side and scored two minutes later to seal the victory for the four-time European Cup winners.

Leinster: Keenan; T O’Brien, Ioane, Osborne, J O’Brien; Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; J McCarthy, Baird; Conan, Van der Flier, Doris (capt).

Replacements: G McCarthy, Usanov, Clarkson, Deeny, Deegan, McGrath, Frawley, Henshaw.

Edinburgh: Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Gilchrist, McConnell, Richardson, Muncaster; Shiel, Thompson, Satala, Lang, Currie, Graham, O’Conor.

Replacements: Blyth-Lafferty, Venter, Hill, Young, Douglas, Vellacott, Tuipulotu, Brown.

SCREEN star Sydney Sweeney is backed for the next 007 film — not as a Bond girl, but a girl Bond.

Hollywood director Paul Feig believes she would be perfect as the British spy.

Asked about a glamour role for her in the next movie, he insisted: “I’d rather Sydney be the next Bond.

“There have been some cool Bond girls, but come on, let her be the super-spy, she’s great.”

Paul, who was behind the camera for Sydney’s latest hit The Housemaid, added: “She’s one of the hardest-working people I know, so professional, so smart, so savvy. I think she’d be a good spy.”

American Sydney, 28 — who posted a selfie in an ivory dress on Instagram at the weekend — last year told of her interest in Bond after the franchise was bought by Amazon MGM.

Read more on Sydney Sweeney

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She said: “I’ve always been a huge fan and I’m excited and curious to see what they do with it.”

When asked if she fancied playing a Bond girl, Sydney said: “Depends on the script.

“I think I’d have more fun as James Bond.”

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, ­Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi and Jack O’Connell have all been linked to the Bond role.

Daniel Craig quit after 2021’s No Time to Die.

Dune’s Denis Villeneuve will direct the next 007 film, written by Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight.

The Writers Guild of America and major entertainment companies have reached a provisional agreement on a new contract, easing fears of another industry-wide disruption, according to media reports.

The deal, which still requires ratification by union members, would run for four years, slightly

The quarter-final line-up for this season’s Champions Cup is complete.

A record seven English clubs made it through to the knockout phase but they have whittled down to three, with Saracens, Bristol Bears, Harlequins and Leicester Tigers all exiting the tournament in the last 16.

Northampton Saints, Bath and Sale Sharks – who were the only side to win away from home in the first knockout round – remain.

France also have three teams in the last eight, while Glasgow Warriors and Leinster are the sole representatives from Scotland and Ireland respectively.

The four quarter-finals will be played across 10-12 April.

Prem rivals Bath and Northampton meet in the first tie on Friday, while defending champions Bordeaux Begles will host six-time winners Toulouse in an all-French contest two days later.

The semi-finals are scheduled for the first weekend in May, with the final in Bilbao taking place on Saturday, 23 May.

Only three sides – Glasgow, Leinster and Bordeaux – have won all five of their matches so far in this season’s competition.

French clubs have won each of the past five editions of the competition, with Exeter Chiefs’ win in 2020 the most recent success by a team not from France.

April 5 (UPI) — A 57-year-old man stands charged with driving his car into a crowd of parade-goers in southern Louisiana while drunk and causing multiple injuries, authorities say.

Todd Landry, of Jeanerette, La., was arrested Saturday after “striking multiple pedestrians” during the Lao New Year Parade in Broussard, La., located about seven miles south of Lafayette, La., in Iberia Parish, according to Louisiana State Police.

The exact number of people injured in the 2:30 p.m. incident remained unconfirmed on Sunday but Acadian Ambulance reported it transported a total of 11 patients by ground and two patients by air to nearby hospitals.

State troopers said they arrested Landry and booked him into the Iberia Parish jail on 18 counts of first-degree negligent injuring, one count of first-offense driving while impaired, careless operation of a vehicle and having an open container of alcohol in his car.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, this does not appear to be an intentional act,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero on Sunday extended “heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the victims, their families, and the entire Laos community during this difficult time.

“We stand with those affected and ask our community to keep them in your prayers.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also expressed concern, writing on X, “Sharon and I are praying for all those affected, and are grateful for the first responders who have responded to the scene.”

State Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office “will be following up with responding law enforcement agencies to offer support.”

The rise is largely symbolic as some key members are unable to raise ​production amid the US-Israel war on Iran.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed to increase oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May, a rise that is largely symbolic as some of its key members are unable to raise production due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The war has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz – the world’s most important oil route – since the end of ⁠February and cut exports from OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq.

In a statement on Sunday, eight members of OPEC+, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed to increase May quotas during a virtual meeting.

“The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability,” the statement read.

“The eight countries also expressed concern regarding attacks on energy infrastructure, noting that restoring damaged energy assets to full capacity is both costly and takes a long time, thereby affecting overall supply availability,” it added.

While the quota increase represents less than two percent of the supply disrupted by the closure of the strait, OPEC+ sources told the Reuters news agency that the pledge had signalled readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens.

Crude prices have surged to a four-year high amid the war, close to $120 a barrel, leading to higher prices for transport fuels.

On Thursday, JPMorgan said oil prices could spike above $150, an all-time high, if oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted into mid-May.

May’s increase is the same as the eight members had agreed on for April at their last meeting on March 1. But amid the war, oil supply disruption on record is estimated to have removed as much as 12 to 15 million bpd or up to 15 percent of global supply.

With the strait still closed, Iran has allowed some countries in the region to use the waterway.

Iran has said Iraq was exempt from any transit restrictions through the strait, with shipping data on Sunday showing a tanker loaded with Iraqi crude passing through the waterway.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that deputy foreign minister-level talks were being held with Iran to discuss ⁠⁠options to ensure the smooth transit of vessels through the Strait ‌‌of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump threatened to escalate attacks and target Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Monday.

Dr. Patrick Turner hasn’t had an easy life and his harrowing backstory should be explored on-screen

Call the Midwife needs to revisit the heartbreaking past of Dr. Patrick Turner in the anticipated new prequel.

The BBC period drama launched in 2012 and is based on the memoirs of legendary nurse and midwife Jennifer Worth.

The plot was originally set in 1957, when the National Health Service was a fairly new concept, with the latest episodes covering the early 1970s.

However, a new series will rewind the clock back to World War II and feature younger versions of beloved characters Sisters Julienne, Monica Joan, and Evangelina, originally portrayed by Jenny Agutter, Judy Parfitt, and Pam Ferris, during the London Blitz.

The three-part mini-series, called Sisters In Arms, is expected to take pride of place during the forthcoming Christmas period.

Fans will no doubt hope Dr. Turner’s character is explored in the prequel, given his previous hints of a troubled past.

The much-loved family man has been a staple of the drama since its launch, and viewers have been gripped by his professional and personal life.

Fans will remember the touching moment when Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) found love with former nun, Shelagh Mannion (Laura Main), with the couple now raising four children together in their cosy home.

However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Dr. Turner, as it was revealed that he suffered a severe mental breakdown in 1945. The horrors of World War II became too much to bear for the doctor, requiring a five-month stay in a psychiatric hospital.

During series three of the BBC show, Dr. Turner and Shelagh attended an in-depth adoption meeting where he was asked about his career break from April to December 1945.

“I was injured”, Dr. Turner protests before declining to comment further on the reason why he was discharged from the army.

He sternly added, “You must understand. It was the end of the war. I was medical Corps, trying to save lives at the front.”

It was then confirmed that Dr. Turner had been an inpatient at Northfield Military Psychiatric Hospital for five months, where he was treated for war neurosis, now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), leaving Shelagh shocked.

“I was worn out. There was too much death. I recovered. I’m recovered”, he bravely confirmed as heartache wiped across his face.

As he failed to tell the finer details of his agonising experience, the Call the Midwife prequel should explore the trials and tribulations of Dr’Turner’s life during World War II.

The former armyman has an extraordinary medical knowledge, but how did he cope with the war? What was Dr. Turner’s experience of a psychiatric ward during the 1940s, at a time when treatment consisted of electroconvulsive shock therapy?

We are so invested in the character that we need to see how his historic experience during the conflict shaped his commitment to being a doctor, serving the gritty community in Poplar and becoming a much-loved character.

Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

A bogey at the 18th left Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre with the narrowest of advantages after the third round of the weather-interrupted Texas Open on Sunday.

The world number 11 had seen his lead reduced from four shots to two by Swedish playing partner Ludvig Aberg through six holes when storms caused the third round to be suspended on Saturday.

When action resumed in San Antonio with players to complete both their third and fourth rounds, MacIntyre picked up a shot at his opening hole to give him a bit of breathing space over his rivals, only to drop a shot at the ninth.

The 29-year-old had looked on course for a two-shot advantage thanks to some solid play, but dropped another shot at the last for a round of 72 to see his lead down to one.

Aberg resumed with two bogeys in his first three holes but timely birdies at the 14th and 17th kept him in contention.

Also on the same mark are American Michael Kim, who shot a third round of 66 and his compatriot Andrew Putnam and Ryo Hisatsune who had 67s.

England’s Matt Wallace moved into contention with a round of 64 as he chased a second PGA Tour career win.

April 5 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday beseeched world leaders to “lay down” the weapons of war and use “dialogue” rather than force as the means to bring about peace.

In the annual Urbi et Orbi address delivered by the presiding Catholic pontiff each Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Leo said the holy day can provide a light from Christ allowing hearts “to be transformed by his immense love for us.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them,” Leo said in his first Easter address as pontiff.

An estimated 50,000 people jammed the Roman square to hear Leo’s Urbi et Orbi Easter Mass homily, or “To the City and the World,” in which he warned against allowing “indifference” to blunt the impact of war’s devastation as conflicts raged in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere in the world.

“We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent,” he said. “Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people. Indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow. Indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.”

Instead, he declared, “We cannot continue to be indifferent! And we cannot resign ourselves to evil!”

Leo, the first American pope, has been a frequent critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not specifically mention him or any other leader or country during the Easter homily. Rather, he anti-war remarks were universal.

“On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil,” Leo urged.

In his time as pope, Leo has established a track record of issuing unambiguous calls for peace.

Last month, for instance, he voiced a direct demand for an end to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran as the conflict entered its third week.

“On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East, and of all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: Cease fire!,” the pope said during the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on March 15.