Within the first 72 hours of a 26-day game, “Survivor 50,” featuring 24 veteran players, had already delivered feuding, anguish and heartbreak. Legendary rivals Ozzy Lusth and Benjamin “Coach” Wade appeared to bury the hatchet, only for their conflict to reignite soon after. Kyle Fraser was forced out due to injury, and Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, who competed in both the show’s inaugural season and “All-Stars,” was the first person voted out after more than two decades away from the game.

Yet there were also moments of nostalgia, connection and excitement as returning players arrived on the beach, grateful to be part of the show’s landmark 50th season.

This raw display of humanity has kept the show’s torch burning for over 25 years. “‘Survivor’ is built on a timeless idea because human nature doesn’t change,” says Jeff Probst, the host, executive producer and showrunner of the reality competition series. “It’s essentially behavioral psychology in the wild.”

Back in Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands for “Survivor 50: In the Hands of Fans,” the show has added a novel element. Fans were given a say in key decisions, voting online to shape production and game mechanics, from choosing tribe colors to requiring castaways to earn rice and supplies instead of receiving them at the start.

“What a great twist,” says Wade in an interview over Zoom. “‘In the Hands of Fans’ transforms the game. Instead of it being, ‘They are playing,’ it’s ‘We are playing.’”

Though he was disappointed to be deprived of staples upon his arrival, he smiles and says that if he were watching at home rather than competing, he also would have wanted players to start with nothing.

Singer-songwriter and “Survivor” superfan Zac Brown coooked and performed for contestants on the show. (Robert Voets/CBS)

“Survivor” has also leaned into its famous fan base this season, bringing in self-proclaimed superfans, including Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Zac Brown — who appeared in Episode 4 as a reward for a winning tribe for whom he spearfishes, cooks and performs. The show also nods to Billie Eilish via the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol featured in the season premiere. The game piece was handpicked by the Oscar- and Grammy-winning pop star — whose 2022 song “TV” references “Survivor” — and accompanied by a letter in which she outlined its instructions.

But Mike White, creator of “The White Lotus,” represents the show’s most intertwined cultural crossover. He drew inspiration for his hit HBO series from “Survivor” and cast several former tribemates in cameos. “Survivor 50” also features “The White Lotus” Easter eggs.

Returning to the franchise for the first time since he finished as runner-up in 2018, in the Season 50 premiere he says, tearfully, “There are times in ‘White Lotus’ where I’m so fried … it’s a 129-day shoot, but I look back on my ‘Survivor’ experience, and I’m like, ‘Dude, I did that and I can do this.’” Yet White’s hard-won resilience couldn’t protect him from being voted out in a blindside in Episode 4, proving that fame offers no immunity.

And that is the point. At its core, “Survivor” is about watching people from all walks of life dropped into a remote, unforgiving landscape where they must outwit, outplay and outlast one another for a $1 million prize — hungry, exhausted and sore, roasting in the blazing sun or shivering through rainstorms, and enduring grueling physical competitions. They must cooperate with the very people they’re competing against. And as alliances form and fracture, each day grows more fraught.

Former “Survivor” contestants Mike White, left, and Quintavius “Q” Burdette in Season 50.

(Robert Voets/CBS)

“It’s very simple but very deep,” Probst says. “The goal is not to get voted out, but the strategy in achieving that goal is infinite, so the game’s easy to understand, but it’s impossible to master. That’s why it’s so much fun to watch. You’re constantly asking yourself, ‘What would I do?’”

It’s one thing to ask from the comfort of home, but another to live it out, and on national television to boot, says Wade. Coach “When you step on that beach, the stakes are so much higher,” he explains. “Nobody really thinks about the million dollars. They’re thinking about surviving, not getting voted off.”

“Most people would be able to do it,” he continues. “But what you’d realize is what happens to your character and your facade when you’re deprived of everything — food, comfort, reaching out to your friends and having a support system that you know and trust. When you strip all of that away, this stops being a game, and your character will be forged, revealed or shattered.”

A four-time player, Season 23 runner-up and 2015 Survivor Hall of Fame inductee, Coach is one of the show’s most legendary figures. Known as the Dragon Slayer, he’s often shown meditating, praying, waxing philosophical, and pontificating on nobility, integrity and honor. His grandiose persona rubbed many the wrong way early on, earning him a villain label.

Reflecting on his legacy, Wade partly blames the edit but acknowledges he often took himself too seriously, was arrogant, and tried too hard to be larger than life, yet he stresses his authenticity. “The way I look, dress and talk — I’m polarizing,” he says. “That’s who I am in my real life, so that’s who I am out there.”

Probst affirms that what you see is what you get. “Coach shows up authentically every day,” he says. “He wears his mythology on his sleeve and has it tattooed on his body. When he pulls back his hair into a ponytail and quotes Magellan, that’s Coach: ‘I’m the guy with quotes about war and victory and fearlessness and courage. That’s actually who I am.’”

This season, Wade calls himself “Coach 4.0,” but Probst remains skeptical. “Every time he plays, Coach refers to himself as the new version of Coach,” Probst says. “But the minute he starts talking, everybody thinks the same thing: ‘Coach, you may have some more maturity and life experiences now that you’re married and have kids, but you’re exactly the same.’”

That’s not a critique of Coach. After observing more than 750 players over 25 years, Probst believes, “We are capable of much more than we think we are, and simultaneously, at our core, we generally are who we are. It doesn’t mean you can’t change or become a better version of yourself, but you’re going to have some core instincts.”

Benjamin “Coach” Wade in “Survivor 50.” (Robert Voets/CBS)

Coach in 2011’s “Survivor: South Pacific,” the show’s 23rd season. (Monty Brinton/CBS)

The show’s unflinching exploration of human nature traces back to visionary British television producer Charlie Parsons. He conceived the social experiment based on a combination of his curiosity about people, the influence of “Lord of the Flies” and “Robinson Crusoe,” and his boarding school experience.

“It was an all-boys school and quite a competitive place, so there was an element of survival in that,” Parsons says over Zoom. “It wasn’t a bad experience, but if you’re 13 and you’ve never lived away from home before, it can be quite a wrench to live for a month at a time away from your parents. On one occasion I called my parents and said, ‘Will you rescue me?’ And they didn’t.”

In 1988, Parsons turned his concept into “The Castaways,” a three-part documentary for a magazine-style television program he was showrunning.

Several years later, he was approached by Disney’s Buena Vista Productions to make an American version of a successful British morning show he created. When that didn’t pan out, he pitched what would eventually become “Survivor,” developing it with Buena Vista in hopes of selling it to ABC.

But, he says, the radical concept didn’t fit neatly into existing TV genres, and the network balked. “It’s difficult to imagine, but back in the ‘90s this idea of reality TV basically didn’t exist,” Parsons says. “Television was reasonably siloed … ABC took a long time deciding because they could see that there was something about it, but in the end they passed.”

In 1997, however, the concept found immediate success in Sweden with “Expedition Robinson,” leading to expansion in more Scandinavian countries.

The leap to America required a new alliance. During Parsons’ development process with Buena Vista, he’d met fellow British TV producer Mark Burnett at a party in Los Angeles where he’d told him about the reality competition format he was building. Burnett then called every six months pressing to produce it until Parsons finally agreed to grant him the American licensing rights.

“Mark had an incredible energy and presence, which meant that he could go and sell the s— out of it,” Parsons says. “He could persuade the networks to take a risk on something risky.”

Even so, as Burnett relayed in a comprehensive 2010 Television Academy interview, he faced a difficult pitching process. But after every major network passed, he re-approached CBS, where then-CEO and President Les Moonves was game to try original programming during summertime when reruns caused dwindling viewership. But when Moonves commissioned a pilot, Burnett said a stand-alone episode was too costly and couldn’t capture the show’s slow-burn endgame.

Instead, he proposed a sponsorship model built on integrating products into the game, pitching the value of a castaway using a branded cellphone to call home, or the desperation for a slice of pizza and a beer. After Burnett secured corporate sponsors, Moonves greenlighted “Survivor.”

Though firmly embedded in the culture today, “Survivor” was revolutionary when it debuted May 31, 2000, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon. The Season 1 finale averaged 51.7 million viewers, surpassing both the Academy Awards and Grammys that year. Time magazine featured Lewis-Dougherty on its late June 2000 cover, and “The Late Show With David Letterman” featured a “Survivor”-themed Top 10 list presented by the show’s 16 castaways.

From its exotic location to the now-iconic buffs, “Survivor” established a world all its own, complete with a unique lexicon of immunity challenges, tribal council and Probst’s signature catchphrase, “The tribe has spoken.” As the enduring face of the show, Probst is central to its legacy, earning four Emmys for his role as host.

But even Probst’s survival wasn’t guaranteed. About 15 years ago, the relentless travel and schedule left him so depleted that he briefly quit the show. A few months of rest, however, allowed him to reevaluate. “It really was, ‘I don’t know if I have anything left in my tank to bring to the game.’ That might be what partly influenced Mark to make me showrunner even faster,” Probst says. “I needed to be more of a storyteller on this show.”

The cast of “Survivor” Season 1, standing from left: Ramona Gray, Dirk Been, Gretchen Cordy, Richard Hatch, Sonja Christopher, Susan Hawk, Kelly Wiglesworth, Sean Kenniff, B.B. Andersen and Rudy Boesch. Seated from left: Gervase Peterson, Jenna Lewis, Joel Klug, Stacey Stillman, Greg Buis and Colleen Haskell.

(Monty Brinton/CBS)

He’s quick to note the show’s collaborative ethos, however. “The term ‘showrunner’ is pretty misleading at this point. We make this as a team,” Probst says. Under his stewardship, “Survivor” is more cinematic, reimagined through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” and family friendly. Probst also notes the necessity of continually evolving game design, creating unexpected twists and advantages to keep players on edge and never knowing whom to trust.

The pandemic brought changes as well. With production shut down amid a world in turmoil, Probst felt “Survivor” needed more levity. When filming resumed, due to the 14-day quarantine requirement, back-to-back seasons were shot and the format was shortened from 39 days to 26. The faster-paced “New Era” that began with Season 41 also coincided with CBS’s 2020 diversity mandate requiring at least 50% of the cast to be nonwhite, and Probst dropped his longtime catchphrase “Come on in, guys” in favor of more inclusive language.

By Season 45, in keeping with Probst’s narrative-driven vision, the previously hourlong episodes expanded to 90 minutes.

Television habits have also changed since viewers once dissected tribal council proceedings at the office the next morning. Streaming breathed new life into “Survivor,” with younger viewers discovering it during the pandemic, while its cross-generational appeal keeps it a broadcast powerhouse. The Season 50 premiere drew 9.1 million viewers across live broadcast and delayed streaming, and in the weeks leading up to the launch, viewers revisited older seasons, boosting streaming numbers ahead of the anniversary.

According to Mitch Graham, CBS executive vice president of alternative programming, “Survivor” ranks No. 1 in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic, and the Season 50 launch generated the biggest social media engagement in the franchise’s history.

Even as the reality TV landscape has grown crowded, Probst remains unfazed. “It’s a show like no other,” he says. “It’s adventure, survival, strategy, interpersonal relationships, social politics. … This multi-layered storytelling gives it durability because any given week you have no idea what you’re going to watch.”

Meanwhile, as Season 50 continues to unfold, no one knows who will be crowned “Sole Survivor” on May 20 in Los Angeles, the show’s first live finale since 2019. But rest assured, by then they’ll have revealed exactly who they are.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ascent to the top of California’s political pyramid did not happen overnight. It’s been 23 years since he entered public life as a San Francisco parking and traffic commissioner and more than a decade since first saying he wanted to be governor.

But through an alchemy of hard work, lucky breaks and larger demographic and electoral shifts, Newsom has hit his stride at a unique moment in California. And it is hard to argue with the observation that he is now the most powerful person in California politics.

How long the moment lasts depends on what happens next. Newsom must choose which battles to fight, and which causes to champion. The size of his list seems equal to his enthusiasm.

“The world is waiting on us,” he said after taking the oath, pausing briefly for maximum impact. “The future depends on us. And we will seize this moment.”

That Newsom managed to win the job as the presumptive favorite from wire to wire of the 2018 campaign was, in part, due to his own decision to seize the opportunity four years ago this week. It was then, in the wake of a surprise announcement by Sen. Barbara Boxer that she would not seek reelection, that several prominent Democrats wrestled with whether to jump at the chance that appeared.

For Newsom, that day in 2015 was serendipitous. He had been on a collision course to the gubernatorial election for three years with another political heavyweight, then-state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. It wasn’t clear he would win such a showdown. And so four days after Boxer stepped aside, Newsom stepped forward to decline a Senate race and — in effect — announce his intentions to run for governor.

Read Gov. Gavin Newsom’s inaugural address »

The next day, Harris did just the opposite. Newsom simultaneously encouraged his most powerful rival to switch gears and launched his 2018 campaign — all with a speed that meant his political machine would be fully operational months and years before others decided if they wanted to run.

The move also allowed Newsom to take the job of lieutenant governor and expand it from a nothing-to-do way station into a legitimate role of California governor-in-waiting. In 2015, he dug into the policy debate over legalizing marijuana, helping craft the following year’s successful ballot measure, Proposition 64. He challenged the National Rifle Assn. to fight against Proposition 63 and its requirement of new background checks before buying ammunition for guns — even though it crossed paths with a similar effort by his fellow Democrats in the Legislature.

More recently, Newsom used his de facto role as California’s political heir apparent to ramp up his criticisms of President Trump. And he expanded his base of friends in politics, campaigning last fall for the party’s challengers in battleground congressional and legislative races. Some of those new members of Congress left Washington in the middle of a tense federal government shutdown to celebrate his inauguration.

Only a gubernatorial candidate ahead in the polls and confident of victory would have diverted that much time to other efforts. But Newsom likely knew how helpful it could be in the long run. He can count among his assets a handful of important IOUs on Capitol Hill, ones that could pay off long after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — a longtime friend — relinquishes her own place of power.

It can’t get much better for Gavin Newsom as California’s next governor. But it’s almost certain to get worse »

What California’s 40th governor does with his newly expanded influence is one of the new year’s most fascinating questions. History will remind him that there’s a very real chance of overplaying his hand: Former Gov. Gray Davis famously told a newspaper editorial board that legislators must “implement my vision,” and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lurched so far to the right in his first two years that it took twice as long to regain his political footing.

But in an era of indisputable Democratic dominance — Republicans have failed for three consecutive elections to win a statewide race — Newsom’s prowess seems especially important. No one is better positioned to singularly determine the path forward for major public policies, to play political kingmaker or to go toe-to-toe with the president of the United States.

The kingmaker role could prove especially interesting as California’s early presidential primary next March could feature a number of Newsom’s fellow Democrats in the state — including one-time rival Harris — who hope to challenge Trump. An endorsement from Newsom, now the state party’s nominal leader, could carry real weight in a crowded field.

Less likely, but always possible if Democrats are divided by a wide field of candidates: Newsom could put his own name on the ballot using an old power move called the “favorite son” strategy. There, a home state leader pledges to later throw all of California’s delegates toward one of the hopefuls at the national convention. It would be controversial — but conceivable — if his political power endures.

The presidential machinations might not end there. Legislative Democrats were unable to get Brown to sign a law requiring a presidential candidate to release his or her tax returns before being placed on California’s ballot. The bill was squarely aimed at Trump, who has steadfastly refused to do so. Would Newsom agree to put the squeeze on the president and sign the bill?

George Skelton: As California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom needs to address what no one wants to talk about »

Newsom could also take a much more active role in bringing lawsuits against the Republican president and his administration. His predecessor left much of the political rhetoric over California’s four dozen Trump-related lawsuits to state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra. Or Newsom could simply ratchet up his critiques of Trump, whom he’s called a “disgrace” with a “limited attention span.”

In his inaugural speech, the new governor singled out a host of bogeymen, including pharmaceutical companies and the pay-day lending industry.

“Here in California, we have the power to stand up to them,” he said. “And we will.”

Waging those kinds of battles could further grow Newsom’s political influence, bringing along with it more television interviews, talk show segments and speaking invitations in Washington and beyond.

Still more significant uses of his newfound political power could be on the horizon. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will turn 86 in June, could decide to retire before the end of her newly won six-year term. Newsom would pick her successor, a weighty decision given the Democrats’ lock on statewide races.

Maybe not a bond, but there’s a connection between Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom as governors of California »

Nor is it out of the question that Newsom himself could develop a case of what’s politely been called “Potomac Fever.” The last four governors have all either run for president — Gov. Pete Wilson and Brown — or been talked up as having what it takes to win the White House on the strength of California’s electoral college heft. Depending on what happens in 2020 and whether he’s reelected in 2022, Newsom could use his political muscle to launch a presidential campaign in 2024 at age 57.

Should he choose to remain focused on Sacramento, Newsom will still have enormous political potential. More Democrats than any other time in modern history hold seats in the Legislature, but they all must lobby for the governor’s signature on their bills. Newsom also has line-item veto authority over the state budget. In general, vetoes by the state’s chief executive have become sacrosanct; none has been overturned by lawmakers since 1980.

And if lawmakers don’t bend to his will, Newsom can go around them and take proposals directly to the ballot. The recent record of governors promoting such measures is mixed — Brown won all of his efforts over the last eight years while Schwarzenegger bombed in 2005 only to return with success in 2006 and 2010.

The arrival of each new governor resets the state’s political compass, and some of the resulting dominance — the power of the executive branch — is institutional. But few moments have seemed to find more stars aligned for a single figure to dominate the state than this one.

john.myers@latimes.com

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Braylon Mullins sank a desperation three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give Connecticut an astonishing 73-72 victory over top-seeded Duke on Sunday, earning the Huskies a spot in the Final Four after they rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit.

The Blue Devils led by three before UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer’s pass near midcourt was deflected, and after UConn came up with the ball, Demary made a shot from well behind the three-point line.

It’s the second straight season to end in a huge collapse for Duke, which was the top overall seed in this year’s tournament. The Blue Devils led by six with 1:14 remaining before falling to Houston in last year’s national semifinals.

UConn missed 18 of its first 19 attempts from three-point range and finished five for 23. The fifth will be remembered in Connecticut for generations.

llinois will face UConn and Michigan will take on Arizona next Saturday, with the winners squaring off two nights later for the national title.

The Arizona-Michigan game is a matchup of top seeds. UConn is seeded second and will play No. 3 seed Illinois.

Arizona is the early favorite to take the title next Monday night in Indianapolis, listed at 19-10 odds by BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by the Wolverines — coming off a 95-62 drubbing of Tennessee on Sunday — at 2-1.

Michigan is a 1½-point favorite in its semifinal.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Crude prices continue to climb as world faces its biggest energy crisis in decades.

Oil prices have surged to their highest level in nearly two weeks amid escalation on multiple fronts of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose more than 3 percent on Monday morning to top $116 a barrel.

The latest climb took the global benchmark to its highest point since March 19, when it briefly touched $119 a barrel.

The surge came after Iran said it was prepared for a US ground invasion, with the speaker of the country’s parliament warning that Tehran was waiting for the arrival of US troops to “set them on fire” and “punish” their regional allies.

Tehran’s warning came as the conflict deepened over the weekend, with the Iranian-backed Houthis launching missiles at Israel for the first time in the war, and Israel expanding its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israel war has disrupted about one-fifth of global oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies, plunging the world into its biggest energy crisis in decades.

Oil prices have risen nearly 60 percent since the start of the war, driving up fuel prices worldwide and forcing numerous countries to adopt emergency measures to conserve energy.

Analysts have warned that oil prices are likely to keep rising unless maritime traffic returns to normal levels in the strait.

Greg Newman, the CEO the Onyx Capital Group, which began as an oil derivatives trading house, said that energy markets were only beginning to feel the fallout of the turmoil.

“Physical oil moves around the world in loading cycles , and Europe has taken around three weeks to really start feeling the effects of the oil shortage,” Newman told Al Jazeera.

“Brent is starting to reflect the reality, and we think it’s a steady rise from here towards $120 and beyond.”

Newman said the scale of the disruption had yet to be fully appreciated.

No one in the market has ever seen the outages we are now suffering from – physical premiums are the highest ever. There is still a sense that the macro world is not taking this seriously enough, but it is worse than anything that has come before it,” he said.

“The reality will come out in the economic numbers over the coming months.”

More to follow…

POLICE have shelved an investigation into a terrifying raid at the home of model and TV star Danielle Lloyd after failing to find a single suspect.

Detectives have no leads into the burglary — despite telling the star they thought it was carried out by the same gang that broke into the home of England footballer Jack Grealish two months later.

We told how Danielle, 42, was at a Halloween party with husband Michael O’Neill and her five children when she watched the raid in real time on a security app on her phone.

Danielle told us at the time: “It was terrifying. We were all in shock.

“It was definitely a targeted raid — they knew what they were looking for.”

Last night a source said: “Danielle and her family are still upset by the raid and it had a big impact on them.

Read more on Danielle Lloyd

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“They will be aghast to discover police have dropped the probe, as convictions would have brought peace of mind.

“But they have moved home now — and security at their new place is tougher than ever.”

The professional gang took just 90 seconds to smash through the back door of Danielle’s home in October 2023.

They were then in the house for one minute and 26 seconds as they dashed straight to a bedroom and stole a jewellery box and designer handbags worth £100,000.

West Midlands Police said: “We carried out a number of enquiries but weren’t able to identify a suspect.”

It is feared the burglary gang are from South America and have fled the country.

CONCORD, N.H. — An ad for Republican presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan that features a quick image of the exploding Challenger space shuttle will be redone following criticism of its airing in the home state of one of the crew members killed in the disaster.

Buchanan said Thursday the image of the explosion will be deleted “out of sensitivity” for the family of Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a Concord schoolteacher and one of the shuttle crew members killed 10 years ago this month. The ad contains a clip of the explosion, followed by a photo of Buchanan at President Reagan’s side. The ad aimed to emphasize Buchanan’s service in past Republican administrations.

There is little prospect of VAR being removed from the Premier League, or having its remit reduced.

In 2024, 19 out of 20 top-flight clubs voted to keep VAR, with only Wolves voting against, having proposed the poll themselves.

In order for VAR to be scrapped, 14 out of the 20 Premier League clubs would have to vote against it following a new proposal for abolition by a club.

The independent key match incident (KMI) review panel estimates there has been an accuracy rate of 96-97% for refereeing decisions made in Premier League matches since the introduction of VAR, while time delays caused by VAR have dropped by 25% in the past two seasons.

This year an FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle United, which did not have VAR, featured three significant refereeing errors, leading it to being labelled the best advert yet for the technology.

The Premier League said: “VAR delivers more correct decisions.

“In recent seasons, there have been around 100 correct VAR overturns per season – instances where goals would otherwise have been incorrectly awarded or disallowed, or red cards or penalties missed or wrongly given.

“The league applies a high threshold for VAR intervention, with the referee’s call taking precedence. As a result, VAR is less intrusive in the Premier League than in other European leagues, including the Champions League, where VAR intervenes almost twice as often.”

But the FSA believes the results of its survey should be listened to and acted upon.

“Supporters naturally raise their concerns and they fall on deaf ears far too much,” Concannon says.

“That’s really disappointing, especially when all we hear is that the fans are the lifeblood of the game.

“Don’t just ignore what supporters are telling you in great numbers – that the enjoyment of football isn’t there any more in comparison to what it used to be.”

March 29 (UPI) — Egypt is ordering stores and malls to close early, asking people to work from home and dimming street lights as energy costs have skyrocketed since since January.

The North African country put energy saving efforts into effect because the U.S. and Israeli war in Iran has sent the cost of importing oil and natural gas — which is how Africa gets the vast majority of its energy supplies — through the roof, The BBC and Anadolu Agency reported.

Many nations globally have seen the cost of fuel and natural gas increase, and several African and Asian nations have enacted efforts similar to Egypt, because Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz to attempt to get the two nations to end the airstrikes aimed at regime change there.

Roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas supply moves through the Strait and choking it off has had a significant effect on Egypt.

Egypt imports liquefied natural gas from the United States and Qatar, among others, and recently signed a deal with Israel for gas that will be delivered via a pipeline, the Financial Times reported.

Although Egypt, with Pakistan and Turkey, are involved with talks to end the war, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that because “there is no clarity about the duration of this war,” the energy reduction measures, which go into effect .

“These measures aim to mitigate the effects of energy import costs due to high global oil prices,” Madbouly said during a press conference.

Since January, Madbouly said that natural gas imports tripped from $560 million per month in January to $1.65 billion per month in March and that its petroleum bill more than doubled in the same time period from $1.2 billion per month to $2.5 billion per month.

Among the “exceptional measures” that will go into effect include stores, restaurants, cinemas and gathering places closing by 9:00 p.m. five nights per week; most employees being told to work from one or two days per week; street lighting and street advertisement lighting will be dimmed by 50% and government vehicles will see be required to use 30% less gas.

Despite talks starting to end the war, the price of Brent crude oil on Friday surpassed $111 per barrel as Iran continued to block most ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Although Iran allowed a handful of oil tankers through the Strait last week, which U.S. President Donald Trump called a show of good faith, global markets have been hit hard, even beyond energy, as a result of limited traffic transiting the passage.,

They have threatened to join the war ever since it started a month ago.

Now, Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, have followed up on their threat and launched missiles towards Israel.

This move marks a significant escalation in the US-Israel war on Iran.

There are fears that the Iran-aligned group could attack shipping in the Red Sea, as it has done before.

This would further disrupt global trade, already affected by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Will Israel and the US retaliate? And if so, how?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Hisham Al-Omeisy – senior Yemen adviser at the European Institute of Peace

H A Hellyer – senior associate fellow in defence and security studies at the Royal United Services Institute

Michael Mulroy – former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East

CHESSY, France — A 118-foot mountain of ice rose over the suburban Paris countryside this weekend as Disney opened its Arendelle kingdom to the world — Elsa’s palace glowing at the summit, a “Frozen” Nordic fishing village below, and the company’s new chief executive standing before a crowd of celebrities.

World of Frozen, an immersive land themed to the blockbuster animated franchise, opened Sunday as a centerpiece of a $2.2-billion transformation at Disneyland Paris.

The transformation renames one of Disneyland Paris’ two parks from Walt Disney Studios Park to Disney Adventure World. The inauguration drew Penélope Cruz, Naomi Campbell and Teyana Taylor.

It is the largest expansion in the 34-year history of Disneyland Paris, and one node in a roughly $60-billion global build-out of Disney’s parks, resorts and cruise lines.

A new CEO’s first stage

It is also the first major international stage for Josh D’Amaro, who took over as Disney’s CEO on March 18 — 11 days before the French gates opened — after nearly three decades in the company’s theme parks division.

The parks-and-experiences business reportedly generated 57% of the company’s $17.5 billion in segment operating income last year, the force that observers say propelled D’Amaro from parks chief to the corner office.

“The Walt Disney Co. was built on one man’s dream, and for more than 100 years we’ve shared that dream with the world,” D’Amaro told the inauguration crowd.

“Storytelling is fundamental to everything that we do, whether that’s on screen or stage, in our theme parks, on our cruise ships, or even at home.”

He called the opening “a transformational moment” and paid tribute to the creative team behind the attraction, including “Frozen” writer-director Jennifer Lee — who are all now at work on “Frozen 3.”

An Associated Press journalist accompanied D’Amaro on the “Frozen” ride Saturday night.

The carriage splashed through water to childlike cheers from riders and laughter from the new CEO as they glided past Elsa singing in the dark. Some stepped off lightly wet.

The evening’s emotional peak came when Lou, an 11-year-old whose wish was granted through Make-A-Wish France, took the stage to sing a few notes of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”

A next-generation robotic Olaf walked out to join her. It was the 25,000th wish fulfilled for a sick child at Disneyland Paris since 1992.

A French reversal

On Friday, D’Amaro had stood alongside Emmanuel Macron at the resort.

The French president used the visit to claim the park as a national economic asset, calling Disneyland Paris “the leading tourist destination in Europe” and describing it as “a genuine ecosystem of success.”

Macron said the latest expansion would create 1,000 additional direct jobs.

“Since the beginning, that’s 13 billion euros invested on this territory,” Macron said, a figure equivalent to about $15 billion.

Disneyland Paris says it has recorded more than 445 million visits since 1992, accounting for 6.1% of France’s national tourism revenue.

Macron’s presence underscored a remarkable reversal.

When the park opened as Euro Disney in 1992, French intellectuals derided it as a “cultural Chernobyl.” The president at the time, Francois Mitterrand, dryly derided the new attraction as “not exactly my cup of tea.”

Now a French president was standing in front of cameras calling it an engine of national prosperity.

European roots

“‘Frozen,’ of course, has its roots in European storytelling,” said Michel den Dulk of Walt Disney Imagineering.

“It’s very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen. So to have a northern European, charming wooden little village here in Disneyland Paris — it just made sense.”

The new Tangled family ride, too, draws from European folklore — the Brothers Grimm’s Rapunzel.

The land re-creates Arendelle around a lagoon, its timber buildings painted in muted Scandinavian pastels, facades adorned with rosemaling, a traditional Norwegian decorative art.

At the center is Frozen Ever After, a boat ride featuring state-of-the-art animatronics and immersive projection effects.

Guests can meet Anna and Elsa inside Arendelle Castle, have a conversation with a responsive baby troll named Mossy who talks back, and watch a lagoon celebration called the Snow Flower Festival — featuring an original song.

Visitors praised the scale of the mountain and the detail of the village, even after delays and minor glitches.

“Despite the wait, it was well worth it. The attention to detail is incredible, and the perspective of the ice mountain is breathtaking,” said Daniel Weber, 41, an architect from Munich, Germany, after the ride Sunday.

“You forget you’re outside Paris. For a few minutes, it really feels like Arendelle,” said Léa Moreau, 27, a graphic designer from Lille, France.

Beyond World of Frozen, the rebranded park brings a vast new lake called Adventure Bay, a Tangled family ride, 15 new dining locations — including the posh Regal View Restaurant — and a nighttime spectacular called Disney Cascade of Lights featuring more than 380 drones.

A Lion King land, already under construction, will follow.

More than 90% of the second park’s offerings will have been redesigned since it opened in 2002, and Disney says the footprint will roughly double once the full transformation is complete.

Disney’s streaming has swung from deep losses to profitability, but the parks remain the company’s most dependable earnings engine — and D’Amaro is the man who ran them.

“We continue to dream bigger and bring stories to life in brand new ways,” D’Amaro told the crowd.

Pyrotechnics lighted up Arendelle Village.

The ice palace on the mountain turned blue.

And 34 years after Euro Disney became a punchline, a brand-new kingdom opened in the fields east of Paris — for the first time in forever.

Adamson writes for the Associated Press.

Sacramento

Frustrated by his fellow Republicans in the state Senate, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finally is starting to come around — coming around to the recognition that California’s daunting budget hurdle is destructive and dopey.

California is one of only three states — the others being Arkansas and Rhode Island — that require a supermajority legislative vote for passage of a budget. California mandates a two-thirds majority, an inanity given that a 60% vote in elections is considered a landslide.

Republicans — almost always comprising the legislative minority in California — have staunchly defended the two-thirds requirement, contending that it’s what makes them relevant. But too often it makes the entire Legislature look ridiculous.

Every state but California has enacted a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. California has missed the deadline for 17 of the last 21 years. If the stalemate continues, it “could raise credit concerns,” the bond-rating agency Standard & Poor’s warned Friday.

Because no budget has been passed, some companies that do business with the state are being stiffed. The state has withheld more than $3 billion in payments to vendors, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, child-care centers, community colleges. . . .

Call it tyranny by the minority in the Legislature.

Schwarzenegger isn’t exactly calling it that, nor calling for the two-thirds vote to be scuttled. But he did take a significant step in that direction last week at a money-strapped adult healthcare center in Santa Maria. There, the governor praised one Republican — local Sen. Abel Maldonado — for being an “extraordinary leader” and breaking party ranks to vote for the budget. Schwarzenegger also tried to generate public pressure on the 14 other GOP senators to follow suit.

The governor was asked why Sacramento can’t ever seem to get its budget work done on time.

“Yes, we have had this mess, as you know, for decades,” Schwarzenegger replied. “I think that everyone now has come to the conclusion — all the leaders — that we must work, as soon as the budget is over, on a system that allows us to have a budget on time.

“If that means we should go and shoot for, as some suggested, a simple majority to pass the budget rather than a two-thirds vote, maybe that’s the solution.”

Schwarzenegger also mentioned an idea that he said former President Clinton gave him. In Arkansas, when Clinton was governor, he and the Legislature agreed on a program priority list. When the state fell short of money, the lowest priority programs automatically were cut.

“It’s all laid out . . . so there’s no fight over it,” Schwarzenegger said.

There would be in California, I suspect. The Legislature is in session much longer, and there are many interest groups with squeaky wheels.

Gubernatorial spokesman Adam Mendelsohn downplayed Schwarzenegger’s seeming tilt toward a simple-majority budget vote.

“He’s just encouraging debate,” Mendelsohn said. “He’s saying everything’s up for debate. . . . It’s frustrating for him to watch the Legislature fail to do its job.”

Actually, the Assembly did pass a $146-billion bipartisan budget with Republican support. It’s only in the Senate that the spending proposal has been blocked by Republicans demanding deeper cuts.

Senate GOP leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine echoes most Republicans in contending that eliminating the two-thirds vote requirement could lead to a taxpayers’ disaster if Democrats controlled both the legislative and executive branches, as they did when Gray Davis was governor.

“Think back,” he says, “if we hadn’t had the two-thirds vote to stop tax increases.”

That typical thinking assumes the two-thirds vote requirement for a tax hike also would be scrubbed. It should be. Lawmakers illogically are allowed to cut taxes with a majority vote but need two-thirds to raise them. The state can go bankrupt just as fast lowering taxes as it can increasing spending, and proved that during the Davis days.

But for the sake of punctual budgets, let’s forget the tax vote. Keep it at two-thirds and merely lower the budget vote.

That gets the support of the Legislature’s most fiscally conservative member, veteran Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks).

Let the majority party rule and be accountable for the consequences, McClintock says. Give ‘em the rope to hang themselves. And with a two-thirds vote still required for tax hikes, he notes, “spending can’t run away.”

The budget two-thirds vote was enacted in 1933 during the Depression. The idea was to hold down spending. It never really worked.

A decade ago, a bipartisan citizens budget commission found that “the vast majority of states that have simple-majority requirements have weathered their budgetary crises more effectively than California. None of these states have produced deficit spending remotely close to California’s.”

The panel concluded: “There is no evidence [the two-thirds vote] does anything to slow the increase in state spending. Instead, it encourages horse trading [and] pork-barrel legislation. . . . Stories abound of ‘buying’ votes to reach the two-thirds.”

McClintock agrees. Normally, he says, “there are a few morally flexible members of the minority party who are bought off with promises of all sorts of lard for their districts.”

This summer, the Senate GOP has been trying to sell its budget votes for legislation crimping Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown’s ability to block public works projects that don’t control greenhouse gases. This is shaping up as the grand compromise on the budget. Schwarzenegger and McClintock both consider it a good cause, but neither think it should have held up the budget.

“I don’t believe in tying unrelated subjects to any measure,” McClintock says.

But that’s the sort of tawdry horse trading that comes with a nutty two-thirds vote rule — a rule too often abused, as Schwarzenegger is finding.

—

george.skelton@latimes.com

MILWAUKEE — Bennedict Mathurin scored 28 points, John Collins had 22 and Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 as the Clippers got past the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 127-113 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive win.

Darius Garland added 15 points and 11 assists and Derrick Jones Jr. 13 points for the Clippers, who made 45 of 77 shots (58.4%).

Gary Trent Jr. had a season-high 36 points to pace Milwaukee, which had only eight players available. Taurean Prince added 18 points and AJ Green scored 15 for the Bucks, who have lost 10 of their last 12 games.

The Bucks stayed close early, trailing 29-25 after one quarter with Trent scoring 11 points, including sinking three of five from three-point range.

The Clippers began to pull away in the second, holding a 57-46 lead at the half after leading by as many as 16. Leonard had 15 first-half points.

Brook Lopez, a member of the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship team, was honored with a video tribute in his first visit back to Milwaukee. He was whistled for a technical foul as the teams were headed to the locker room at halftime.

The Clippers outscored Milwaukee 39-28 in the third and extended its lead to as many as 24 points in the fourth before the Bucks pulled within 11 in the late stages.

Sloppy play hurt Milwaukee, which committed 22 turnovers leading to 33 Clippers points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out a seventh consecutive game for Milwaukee with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise. The two-time MVP has played in a career-low 36 games this season.

The Bucks also were missing Kevin Porter Jr. (right knee), Bobby Portis (left wrist sprain), Kyle Kuzma (Achilles tendinopathy), Ryan Rollins (left hip flexor), Myles Turner (right knee), Gary Harris (personal reasons) and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (left calf).

Green and Ousmane Dieng fouled out in the fourth, leaving the Bucks with six available players to finish the game.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. the Portland Trail Blazers at Intuit Dome on Tuesday.

March 29 (Asia Today) — Japan will establish a new Pacific-focused defense unit and expand surveillance and infrastructure in remote island areas as part of efforts to counter China’s growing military presence, officials said.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced Saturday that the Defense Ministry will create a “Pacific Defense Planning Office” in April, citing what he described as gaps in Japan’s current defense coverage across vast Pacific air and maritime zones.

Speaking after attending a joint U.S.-Japan memorial ceremony on Iwo Jima, Koizumi said strengthening Pacific defenses was an urgent priority.

Japanese media, including the Yomiuri Shimbun, reported that Tokyo plans a comprehensive review of the structure and deployment of the Self-Defense Forces. The initiative will be reflected in planned revisions to key national security documents, including the National Security Strategy, later this year.

The government also plans to expand port facilities and radar networks across the Pacific, particularly in the Ogasawara Islands, which officials view as strategically vulnerable.

About 400 Self-Defense Forces personnel are currently stationed on Iwo Jima, but shallow coastal waters limit the ability of large vessels to dock. Authorities plan to begin feasibility studies next year to upgrade port infrastructure and establish supply systems for fuel and ammunition to support rapid fighter jet deployments. Runway reinforcement and measures to address volcanic risks are also under review.

Japan is also considering establishing an air defense identification zone over the Ogasawara Islands, where no such zone has been formally set since World War II, leaving what officials describe as a surveillance gap. The Defense Ministry plans to deploy mobile radar systems and build a permanent monitoring network in the area.

The moves come amid increased Chinese naval activity in the Pacific. China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning entered the Pacific beyond the so-called second island chain for the first time last year, and there have been instances of simultaneous carrier deployments. Japanese officials have also cited incidents involving Chinese aircraft tracking Japanese military planes near Okinawa.

Koizumi said deepening the U.S.-Japan alliance would be key to maintaining regional stability, adding that the new office would serve as a central hub for reorganizing Japan’s Pacific defense posture.

Iwo Jima, the site of one of the fiercest battles of World War II, remains a strategic location. Nearly 29,000 casualties were recorded there during the 1945 battle between U.S. and Japanese forces. Today, it is being repositioned as a key forward base in Japan’s evolving defense strategy.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260329010008723

Iran’s parliament speaker has accused the United States of plotting a ground attack despite publicly pushing for a negotiated deal, as the US deploys thousands of military personnel to the Middle East.

“Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a statement on Sunday, carried by the official IRNA news agency, as Iran struggled with power cuts amid escalating Israeli attacks on central and western areas of the country.

Iran’s Ministry of Energy reported power outages in the capital, Tehran, its surrounding region and neighbouring Alborz province on Sunday, “following attacks on electricity industry facilities”. The Fars news agency reported later that the outages were being resolved.

It was unclear whether the attacks were related to US President Donald Trump’s threats to strike Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure if Tehran did not agree to a deal to end the war. Trump extended his deadline by 10 days through April 6 as Washington presented a 15-point plan for peace that critics described as “maximalist”.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tehran, said that authorities had activated substations to restore power. “This gives an indication of how much they’ve been also preparing for such situations,” he said.

Ghalibaf’s comments on Iran’s readiness for a ground assault came as The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of limited ground operations in Iran, potentially including raids on Kharg Island, a crude export hub, and coastal sites near the Strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint.

As the US-Israel war on Iran stretches into its fifth week, the Trump administration is also planning to send thousands of soldiers from the army’s 82nd Airborne to the region, following a US Central Command (CENTCOM) announcement Saturday that about 3,500 military personnel had arrived in the Middle East on board the USS Tripoli.

IRGC threatens retaliation after university attacks

The Israeli military said it dropped more than 120 munitions on sites used for research, development, and production of weaponry in Tehran on Sunday.

Iran’s Ministry of Health reported that 2,076 people had been killed since the start of the war, including 216 children.

Among the deaths, six people were killed in a US-Israeli attack on a residential area in the Iranian village of Osmavandan, according to the Mehr news agency, which added that five houses were destroyed and 22 were severely damaged.

A university in Iran’s central city of Isfahan said it was hit by US-Israeli air strikes on Sunday for the second time since the war erupted, leaving four university staff members wounded.

The strike followed an attack the previous day on Iran’s University of Science and Technology. After that attack, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would target two Israeli or US universities in the region in retaliation, according to Iranian state television.

Hossein Sadeghi, head of the Information and Public Relations Center at Iran’s Ministry of Education, told the IRNA news agency that at least 250 students and teachers have been killed amid strikes on 600 educational facilities across Iran since the war began.

Also on Sunday, a commercial building housing Qatar’s Al-Araby TV in Tehran was hit, with video footage showing walls and windows blown out of the multistorey block. “It was a real miracle we survived,” said Al Araby camera operator Mohammadreza Shademan. “There was no military target here”.

As the civilian cost of the war mounts, Iran is demanding compensation in a five-point plan presented to the US.

That plan also includes a halt to killings of Iranian officials, an end to hostilities, safeguards against the outbreak of more war, and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz”.

Iran, Hezbollah launch attacks

Israel’s military said on Sunday evening that it had detected seven new incoming missile salvoes fired from Iran during the day. These coincided with Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, with sirens triggered in more than 100 towns.

Israel’s ADAMA, a pesticide maker in the Neot Hovav industrial zone, located 9km (6 miles) south of the city of Beersheba, said its Makhteshim plant was hit either by an Iranian missile or debris ⁠from a missile. No casualties were reported, and no leak of hazardous materials was found.

Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said it was “an incident that raises a lot of alarms”.

“This industrial zone has about 19 different factories, including a bromide factory and some pharmaceutical factories. But it’s also home to the main hazardous disposal sites in Israel. So a lot is at stake here,” she said.

Another missile hit open ground near homes in Beersheba, injuring 11 people.

Israeli media reported that missile fragments fell on the northern port city of Haifa after missiles launched by Iran and Hezbollah were intercepted.

Houthis enter fray amid talks

As the war raged on, foreign ministers from Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia met in Islamabad, looking to de-escalate the conflict, which has also ensnarled Gulf nations hosting US military assets.

Across the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted 16 ballistic missiles and 42 drones launched from Iran, while Saudi Arabia reported downing 10 drones. Sirens sounded in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The Iranian army said it had targeted US forces based in Jordan, launching drones on the living quarters and military equipment sites at the Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Azraq, the ISNA news agency reported.

Meanwhile, readying itself for attacks amid the US military build-up, an Iranian naval commander, cited by state media, said Iran had complete control of waters near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s oil.

He said Iran was waiting for US forces to come within range, warning they could be targeted with coastal missile systems.

As oil prices shoot up and the world’s economy slides, the arrival of Yemen’s Houthis into the conflict, with Saturday’s strikes on Israel, further complicates matters, raising fears that the Yemeni group could block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza upended commercial traffic worth about $1 trillion a year.

BRUSSELS — The European Union is expanding its powers to track, raid and deport migrants to “return hubs” in third countries in Africa and elsewhere, quietly adopting tactics of the Trump administration that have drawn public criticism across the 27-nation bloc.

The EU continues to tighten migration policies after right-wing parties took power in some countries in 2024. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, from the center-right European People’s Party coalition, has said that the new measures will prevent a repeat of the 2015 crisis caused by Syria’s civil war, when about 1 million people arrived to seek asylum.

“We have learned the lessons of the past. And today, we are better equipped,” Von der Leyen has said. The new policies, known as the Pact on Migration and Asylum, go into effect June 12.

Far-right parties in Europe have praised the deportation policies of President Trump and called for the EU to adopt a similar approach. Human rights groups warn that authorities are already illegally blocking migrants at EU borders and hollowing out their legal protections.

Italy provides a model

The EU already spends millions of dollars to deter migrants before they reach its shores, and has supported tens of thousands of Africans returning home, voluntarily or by force.

What’s envisioned now is an expansion of what Italy has created under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her “tough on migration” stance. It operates two migrant detention centers for rejected asylum seekers in Albania. One currently holds at least 90 migrants, said lawmaker Rachele Scarpa, who said that she found people confused and scared during a recent visit.

In addition, Meloni’s Cabinet has approved an anti-immigration package that would allow the navy to halt vessels in international waters for up to six months if they are deemed a threat to public order, return intercepted migrants to countries of origin or third countries and speed up the deportation of foreign nationals convicted of crimes.

An “informal group” of EU nations including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Greece are pursuing deportation center agreements, said Bernd Parusel, a researcher at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies.

Kenya is one country they are speaking with, said Tineke Strik, a Dutch member of the European Parliament. Whether consciously or not, the plan is similar to Trump’s deals with nations like El Salvador to take in deported migrants, she said.

Other countries are exploring similar ideas. Sweden’s migration minister has said the conservative ruling coalition approves setting up hubs outside Europe, especially for Afghan and Syrian asylum seekers.

Competing views

During the recent Winter Olympics in Italy, protests erupted over the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to provide security to the U.S. delegation. But others in Europe have praised ICE’s actions in Trump’s deportation campaign and called for setting up similar deportation-focused police units.

In 2024, Belgium passed a law allowing the EU border service Frontex to operate in the country, stoking fears among activists that it could join in on raids.

But Frontex’s mandate covers only borders, said spokesperson Chris Borowski, and the current role in voluntary or involuntary returns for the service includes “coordinating flights, helping with travel documents and making sure fundamental rights are respected throughout the process.”

The European Commission has declined requests to take a position on U.S. immigration policies.

In Britain, which left the EU several years ago, the center-left Labor Party government has made curbing unauthorized immigration a key focus.

In February, the Home Office said that almost 60,000 people had been deported since the government was elected in July 2024. It said 9,000 arrests were made of people working without permission in 2025, up by more than half from the year before.

Raids, surveillance and ‘pushbacks’

Under the principle of non-refoulement in EU and international law, a person can’t be returned to a country where they would face persecution.

But European immigration enforcement tactics include so-called pushbacks, where people trying to cross into the EU are forced back across a border without access to asylum procedures.

Authorities in Europe carry out an average of 221 pushbacks a day, according to a February report by a group of humanitarian organizations. More than 80,000 pushbacks were recorded in 2025, the report said, mostly in Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia.

“Men, women and children — including individuals in critical medical condition — are routinely subjected to beatings, attacks by police dogs, forced stripping, forced river crossings and theft of personal belongings,” according to the report.

European agents are brutalizing migrants just like in the U.S., said Flor Didden, migration policy expert at the Belgian human rights group 11.11.11. Some, like in Greece, even wear masks, as ICE agents typically do.

“The images are shocking and the outrage is justified,” he said of the U.S. “But where is that same moral clarity when European border authorities abuse, rob and let people die?”

Weakening of migrant protections seen

The groups also have recorded an expansion of surveillance technology like drones, thermal cameras and satellites to monitor people on the move.

Other human rights groups warn of a weakening of legal protections.

The EU’s new migration regulations allow for more police raids in private homes and public spaces and more use of surveillance and racial profiling, said a letter to EU institutions in February from 88 nonprofit groups including the Brussels-based Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

“We cannot be outraged by ICE in the United States while also supporting these practices in Europe,” said the platform’s director, Michele LeVoy.

Olivia Sundberg Diez, EU migration advocate for Amnesty International, said Europe retains more protections for vulnerable migrants than the United States does but shares much of the political momentum toward harsher policies.

“There’s a level of institutions’ and courts’ independence and human rights compliance in Europe that you can’t disregard,” she said. “But the fundamental political impulse is the same, and I worry that the human consequences will be the same.”

McNeil and Zampano write for the Associated Press and reported from Brussels and Rome, respectively. AP writers Elena Becatoros in Athens, Jill Lawless in London, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

Bayern Munich are wary of Saudi Pro League clubs targeting Harry Kane, Bernardo Silva is set to leave Manchester City and Inter Miami start talks with Manchester United‘s Casemiro.

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness is wary of the Saudi Pro League trying to tempt England striker Harry Kane as the German club continue talks with the 32-year-old over a new deal beyond summer 2027. (Kicker – in German), external

Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 31, has told Manchester City that he will be leaving the club when his contract runs out in the summer. (Caught Offside), external

Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Liverpool are monitoring Crystal Palace‘s 25-year-old French defender Maxence Lacroix. (Teamtalk), external

Liverpool and Newcastle United are interested in Portuguese club Sporting’s 28-year-old Colombia striker Luis Suarez. (Correio da Manha – in Portuguese), external

Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay is not talking to Saudi Pro League clubs as the 29-year-old’s focus remains in Italy with Napoli. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Barcelona will offer 37-year-old Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, whose contract at the club runs out in the summer, a new one-year deal which includes a significant pay cut and more performance-related bonuses. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Juventus are looking at the prospect of adding Lewandowski and 27-year-old France forward Randal Kolo Muani, who is on loan at Tottenham from Paris St-Germain, to their ranks. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Chelsea and France defender Malo Gusto, 22, says Liam Rosenior is a “top manager” despite criticism following their recent poor form. (ESPN), external

Inter Miami have started talks with Brazil midfielder Casemiro’s camp about signing the 34-year-old, who will leave Manchester United in the summer, but the Major League soccer side face competition from other teams in Europe and Saudi Arabia. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Abas Aslani, senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, says a premature ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran could spark another round of fighting, pointing to a lack of trust in talks as the US ramps up troop deployments despite calls for de-escalation.