It was Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, when the grass outside the baseline and the bright red sign high above center field read “UNIQLO FIELD.” It will be Dodger Stadium on Thursday, when the defending World Series champions open their new season, and forevermore.

The official name of our summer home is now Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. The team announcers will say that, and so will some of the signs. The fans won’t, and the founder of the company that just spent nine figures on the name you won’t use said he completely understands.

“That’s a very natural reaction,” Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai told me through an interpreter. “We respect that.”

Yanai said his company’s deal with the Dodgers covers five years. He would say only that the total value was “more” than $125 million. That provides the Dodgers with an annual naming rights payment in line with the ones at Crypto.com Arena, Intuit Dome and Sofi Stadium, without the Dodgers having to sell naming rights to the actual venue.

Are the Dodgers baseball’s version of a gold mine? Yes. Do they spend big and win big? Also yes. Do you mind if Uniqlo essentially covers Freddie Freeman’s salary this season?

“We need a lot of revenue to put out the product that we do,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten said. “That’s not a secret. And we’re proud of everyone who helps us do it: all of our fans, all of our media partners, and all of our sponsor partners. They are all important. It is how this all comes together.”

While Uniqlo would be delighted if you used its name, whatever local fans choose to call the stadium is not critical to the success of the partnership.

For a Japanese company in pursuit of brand awareness and expansion in the United States and elsewhere, there might be nothing better than getting your name in front of millions of fans around the world watching Shohei Ohtani play on television.

Ohtani made an estimated $125 million in endorsements and sponsorships last year, Sportico reported, a larger annual haul “than any other athlete in the history of sports.”

“The Dodgers are such a popular team,” Yanai said. “I usually ask my wife, after I come back from the office, whether Shohei hit a home run. I think all the Japanese people do that.”

Uniqlo Field signs were unveiled Wednesday at Dodger Stadium in the wake of the team’s naming rights deal.

(Beth Harris / Associated Press)

According to Forbes, Yanai is the richest man in Japan, where baseball teams carry corporate names. Why not buy a team and call it, say, the Uniqlo Bears?

“I always keep saying that could be very interesting,” he said, “but my wife turned it down. She keeps telling me, ‘Tadashi, you are not cut out to manage sports teams.’”

Instead, he is managing Uniqlo, an apparel company that pitches itself as blending comfort with quality. “We do not make disposable clothing,” Yanai said in the company’s last annual report.

Uniqlo has 794 stores in Japan but only 77 in the United States, including 14 in the Southland. Koji Yanai, a senior executive officer and Tadashi’s son, said the company aspires to grow annual U.S. revenues from $6 billion to $30 billion.

He shared what might be a more challenging aspiration.

“The Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium name may be very new for everyone,” he said, “but I hope in the near future the fans will like it and will love it.”

United Airlines Field at the Coliseum? Yeah, no.

Jeff Marks, the chief executive of Los Angeles-based Innovative Partnerships Group, once brokered a naming rights deal in which the Cal football team would play on Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium. He tried to find a receptive audience for the name.

“We educated a lot of freshmen, sophomores, and newcomers,” Marks said. “Are you going to go after alumni who have been calling it Memorial Stadium? No. So you didn’t focus on that. You focused on people that could be more impressionable, and it worked.”

With Dodger Stadium, we’ll see. For the 2026 season, it is now time for Dodgers baseball, but not before one reporter at a press conference Wednesday asked company officials whether Uniqlo would provide the Dodgers players with free clothing.

Kasten could not pass up the chance to interject.

“We pay them enough,” he said with a grin, “to shop at Uniqlo stores.”

Providing extra comfort for their economy passengers, a major airline that flies from the UK to more than 340 destinations, is set to launch seats that turn into a ‘flat bed’

A major airline flying to popular holiday destinations from the UK is introducing economy seats that transform into a ‘flat bed’.

United Airlines, which flies from the UK to more than 340 destinations worldwide, will launch a new dedicated row of three economy seats that can transform into a “lie-flat mattress-like space”. It will give passengers more room on long-haul flights while flying in economy.

The new seats will be individually adjustable with leg rests that fold up to a 90-degree angle, so travellers can either stretch out while watching a movie or use it as a bed to catch a restful night’s sleep. Passengers will be treated to a “custom-fitted mattress pad, specially sized blankets, extra pillows” as the seats adjust into a flat bed after takeoff.

READ MORE: Airline plunges into liquidation after 19 years with no more flightsREAD MORE: ‘I travelled world for 6 years but cold little UK beach town hits different’

Children in the dedicated row will also receive a plush toy and a family travel kit as part of the additional amenities. The airline noted that the launch of the ‘United Relax Row’ will be ideal for families with young children, couples and solo travellers who would like more space.

After United Airlines shared the news on X, formerly Twitter, it was met with enthusiasm from travellers. One commented: “This is brilliant and I bet everyone is going to copy it.”

“Much needed. United is innovating faster than anyone”, a second said. A third added: “This is a brilliant and thoughtful idea to make customers feel more comfortable. Well done!”

“Gamechanger for travelling with small kids”, another traveller noted. “Brilliant, you have hooked me for many years but with this may be I am now double hooked. This is super helpful especially on those night European routes,” one more said.

Once launched, the initiative will be a first for a North American airline offering this type of seat and comfort for economy passengers. United Airlines flies from the UK to popular holiday destinations such as New York, LA, Chicago and Orlando.

The United Relax Row is expected to launch in 2027, with plans to offer the extra space on more than 200 of its Boeing 787 and 777 widebody aircraft by 2030. There will be up to 12 United Relax Row sections on each plane, located between United Economy and United Premium Plus.

United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella, said: “As a leading premium airline, we’re committed to delivering new, industry-leading experiences for all of our customers – and the United Relax Row is the perfect example of that. Customers travelling in United Economy on long-haul flights deserve an option for more space and comfort, and this is one way we can deliver that for them.

“United is the only North American airline offering a product like the United Relax Row and is one of the many reasons why we’re continuing to win brand loyal customers.”

For more information or to check flights with United Airlines, you can visit their website.

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

This article from the Occasional Digest examines the historical events leading to the Independence Day of Bangladesh, celebrated annually on March 26th. The narrative outlines how the partition of India in 1947 created a geographically divided Pakistan, eventually resulting in political and cultural friction between its eastern and western territories. Following a suppressed election victory and military intervention, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared sovereignty in 1971, initiating a conflict that concluded with the birth of a new nation. Beyond the primary focus on Bangladeshi history, the source also provides a snapshot of global news and financial data from March 2026. Briefly mentioned related topics include

A BEAUTIFUL resort on a lesser-visited Spanish island has been named the best in the country.

The luxury hotel, Paradisus Melia, which sits on the southern coast of Fuerteventura, has just named the ‘Best Resort in Spain for 2026′.

The luxury resort was awarded the title last week by Forbes just a few months after rebranding and reopening in October 2025.

While it’s on the luxe side of a holiday you can book it with the likes of Jet2, TUI and On the Beach from £136 per person per night.

In the summer months, Fuerteventura has average highs of 26C and at the Paradisus Melia, you can cool off in one of its four swimming pools.

Three are freshwater, one saltwater and there’s a children’s section with a slide too.

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There’s also a chance to upgrade to the ‘Reserve Pool‘ which is adult-only.

It comes with other perks too like use of the pretty cabanas, access to the exclusive lounge and concierge service along with premium drinks.

All the pools are surrounded by sunloungers, straw woven umbrellas and palm trees.

When it comes to eating and drinking, which you can take advantage of with an all-inclusive package, the hotel has multiple bars and restaurants.

Grab a drink at the cocktail bar, lounge bar or snack bar.

And for food, you can take your pick from one of the eight restaurants.

These include one which is buffet-style, two that are adults-only, and all have dishes that are traditionally Spanish, local, Italian and international.

When it comes to activities, guests can take advantage of the air-conditioned gym.

Or have a go at aqua aerobics, Pilates, table tennis and yoga.

There’s entertainment too and during the evening there’s live music and professional shows.

Throughout the year there are family-based activities too like arts and crafts.

Here’s another hotel in Fuerteventura – and it’s set out like a small village…

*If you click on a link in this box, we will earn affiliate revenue

Hotel Club Jandia Princess, Fuerteventura
This resort is set up like a small village, with low-rise buildings set among palm trees and six different swimming pools. Entertainment spans from DJ nights to bingo and live sports screenings, plus sports on offer include water polo, rifle shooting and shuffleboard.

BOOK HERE

When it comes to rooms, each has been newly made over and kept in a minimalist style with relaxing neutral colours and balconies for enjoying the evening sun.

The only board package guests can book is ‘All Inclusive Plus’ which includes buffet-style breakfast and dinner as well as lunch, snacks and drinks.

One holidaymaker said: “We had such a fabulous holiday at this resort. It has definitely raised our bar for all-inclusive holidays.”

With Jet2, two adults can head to Paradisus Melia on May 13, 2026 for a seven-night all inclusive break with transfers and return flights to London Gatwick from £953 per person.

The hotel is fairly isolated, but is minutes from incredible island beaches.

It has beautiful views across Plaża Sotavento and it takes just a minute to get onto the golden sands.

Sotavento Beach was voted one of the best beaches according to Tripadvisor a few years ago.

Also nearby is Playa de Sotavento de Jandía which one visitor said is
“undoubtedly one of the most beautiful beaches on the island.”

For those who want to head further afield, the nearest town is Costa Calma – you’ll need to take a transfer or taxi here which will take around six-minutes.

While it’s not as vibrant as other Spanish towns, it does have shopping centres, restaurants and beach bars.

For more beach holidays, this tiny Spanish island is yet to have mass tourism with incredibly quiet beaches.

And one man who has visited 100 countries confesses why he always go back to these Spanish islands that love Brits & have the best food & beaches.

Kremlin spokesperson says talks are part of ‘​necessary dialogue’ with Washington as war in Ukraine continues for a fifth year.

A delegation of Russian officials has arrived in ‌the United States for meetings with their American counterparts.

The visit, which began on Thursday, marks the first such trip since ⁠relations strained over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We hope that these first tentative steps will, of course, make their contribution to the further revival of our bilateral engagement.”

He said President Vladimir Putin had set the “main directives” for the trip and would be “thoroughly briefed” on the meeting.

The visit comes as US-brokered talks seeking a deal to end the war in Ukraine are in effect frozen.

Several rounds of negotiations since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year have failed to break the deadlock, with the Kremlin ruling out compromises to halt its years-long offensive.

Russia, a close ally of Iran, has also been cited by Western intelligence officials as one of the backers of the Iranian government, as Tehran fights a war launched by the US and Israel.

A report in the United Kingdom-based Financial Times newspaper on Wednesday alleged that Russia was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran.

Responding to questions about the report, Peskov said, “There are so many lies being spread by the media … Do not pay attention to them.”

Russia this week carried out one of the largest aerial attacks since the start of its war on Ukraine, launching 948 drones in 24 hours as it moved troops and equipment to the front line.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a new appeal for allies to supply Kyiv with air defence munitions, warning that Kyiv, which relies on the US for air defence systems against ballistic missiles, will face a deficit of missiles while Washington is focused on the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Talks between Ukraine and the US that opened in the US state of Florida on Saturday again failed to produce a security guarantee that Kyiv has long sought from Washington.

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders will soon render a verdict on Hollywood’s biggest merger in nearly a decade.

Warner has set an April 23 special meeting of stockholders to vote on the company’s proposed sale, for $31-a-share, to the Larry Ellison family’s Paramount Skydance.

The $111-billion deal is expected to reshape the entertainment industry by combining two historic film studios, dozens of prominent TV networks, including CBS, HBO, HGTV and Comedy Central, streaming services and prominent news organizations, CNN and CBS News. The tie-up would give Paramount such beloved characters as Batman, Wile E. Coyote, and Harry Potter, television shows including “Hacks,” and “The Pitt,” and a rich vault of movies that includes “Casablanca,” and “One Battle After Another.”

The $31-a-share offer represents a 63% increase over Paramount Chairman David Ellison’s initial $19-a-share proposal for the company in mid-September, and a staggering 150% premium over Warner’s stock’s trading levels prior to news of Ellison’s interest.

“This transaction is the culmination of the Board’s robust process to unlock the full value of our world-class portfolio,” Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said Thursday in a statement. “We are working closely with Paramount to close the transaction and deliver its benefits to all stakeholders.”

Paramount hopes to finalize the takeover by September. It has been working to secure the blessing of government regulators in the U.S. and abroad.

Should those regulatory deliberations stretch beyond September, Paramount will pay shareholders a so-called “ticking fee” — an extra 25 cents a share for every 90-day-period until the deal closes.

The transaction will leave the combined company with nearly $80-billion in debt, a sum that experts say will lead to significant cost cuts.

Paramount Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison attends President Trump’s State of the Union address three days before clinching his hard-fought Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

For weeks it appeared that Netflix would scoop up Warner Bros.

Netflix initially won the bidding war in early December with a $27.75 offer for the studios and streaming services, including HBO Max. But Ellison refused to throw in the towel. He and his team continued to lobby shareholders, politicians and Warner board members, insisting their deal for the entire company, including the cable channels, was superior and they had a more certain path to win regulatory approval.

The Ellison family is close to President Trump. This week, Trump named Larry Ellison to a proposed White House council on technology issues, including artificial intelligence.

Warner’s board, under pressure, reopened the bidding in late February to allow Paramount to make its case. Warner board members ultimately concluded that Paramount’s bid topped the one from Netflix and the streamer bowed out. Paramount paid a $2.8-billion termination fee to Netflix and signed the merger agreement on Feb. 27.

Warner’s board is advising its shareholders to approve the Paramount deal. Failure to cast a vote will be the same as a no-vote, according to the company’s proxy.

Warner’s largest shareholders include the Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Inc. and State Street Corp.

Zaslav has significant stock and options holdings, worth about $517 million at the deal’s close, according to the proxy.

The regulatory filing also disclosed that a mysterious bidder had surfaced at the auction’s 11th hour.

A firm called Nobelis Capital, Pte., reportedly based in Singapore, alerted Warner on Feb. 18 that it was willing to pay $32.50 a share in cash.

The firm said it had placed $7.5 billion into an escrow account. However, Warner’s bankers “could not find the purported deposit at J.P. Morgan,” according to the proxy. And there was no evidence that Nobelis had any assets or any “equity or debt financing” lined up, Warner said, adding that it “took no further action with respect to the Nobelis proposal.”

These locations are perfect for anyone looking for an affordable getaway

After arriving at your holiday destination, many travellers fancy unwinding with a simple glass of vino. While the price of wine might not be top of your list when arranging a getaway, you could find yourself gobsmacked by the costs once you land.

To help avoid this, Holiday Pirates have shared on Instagram the most budget-friendly wine destinations across Europe, where you can grab a glass for well below £5. Leading their rankings were Hungary and Portugal, where a typical glass will set you back between £1.70 and £3.40.

Plus, Portugal is only a two-to-three-hour flight away from the UK. And timing it right, Skyscanner shows return flights to Portugal starting at £26, and to Hungary from £35. This means you’ll savour some quality wine without having to empty your wallet just getting there.

It’s not only individual glasses that work out cheaper overseas, with Drink Merchants having previously disclosed that in Portugal, a bottle averages merely £3.91.

Both Portugal and Hungary boast their own wine-producing regions, and with numerous vineyards scattered throughout, you can sample the nation’s wines at bargain prices during your stay.

Alternative choices for those seeking somewhere to purchase a glass of wine for less than £4 included Bulgaria and Spain, where you’ll be spending between £2 and £3.80.

These destinations can prove economical in other respects too, with Skyscanner showing return flights to Bulgaria from £32 and to Spain from only £24.

Europe’s cheapest wine destinations

Hungary and Portugal (£1.70 – £3.40 a glass)

Bulgaria (£2.10 – £3.40)

Mainland Spain (£2.10 – £3.80)

Poland (£2.10 – £4.25)

Czechia (£2.50 – £4.25)

Spain – The Balearic Islands (£2.50 – £4.50)

Greece, Italy, and Germany (£2.50 – £5)

If I had a nickel for every time an editor has sent me an SFGate story and asked me to match it, I’d be at least a couple dollars richer. The San Francisco-based news website provides solid coverage of California public lands, especially our national parks.

So when my colleague Jaclyn Cosgrove told me the National Park Service had reportedly blacklisted SFGate, I wasn’t exactly shocked.

Recent SFGate stories have revealed efforts to limit which public lands employees can share information with the public, quoted critics of the Department of the Interior’s decision to end reservation systems at popular parks and detailed a litany of items that were previously offered at the parks but are now being reviewed for possible removal, thanks to an executive order to “restore truth and sanity” to American history, including books about Indigenous culture and educational materials for children.

But over the past month, the National Park Service essentially stopped responding to inquiries sent by SFGate reporters on dozens of subjects, national parks bureau chief Ashley Harrell wrote last week. The outlet spoke with sources, reviewed internal communications and learned that an Interior Department spokesperson had instructed the National Park Service to ignore SFGate reporters, Harrell wrote. The blacklisting was apparently prompted by a Feb. 10 article on the Interior Department’s efforts to centralize control of park service communications.

I emailed the National Park Service to learn more. “Unfortunately, SFGate has distorted the facts and has caused confusion with their reporting with the mainstream media,” a spokesperson replied. “This has caused the Department to spend countless hours correcting their false narrative with other media outlets.”

Although the statement came from a park service email address, the wording is identical to a statement provided to SFGate by an Interior Department spokesperson.

I’ve also noticed changes in how the park service handles media requests over the past year or so. Some L.A. Times inquiries — about a coyote swimming to Alcatraz and a man charged with BASE jumping in Yosemite, for instance — received prompt replies.

But others — like questions about whether the park service is relying more heavily on seasonal employees amid a decline in permanent staff — went unreturned. And some — like an inquiry for a previous edition of a Boiling Point newsletter about an interpretive exhibit under scrutiny at Death Valley National Park — were fielded by a spokesperson for the Interior Department , rather than the park itself.

I’m not alone. When our wildlife and outdoors reporter Lila Seidman wrote about a wildfire that ripped through Joshua Tree National Park during last year’s government shutdown, she received responses from the Interior Department, but emails to the park service went unreturned.

Jack Dolan, an investigative reporter who often covers public lands, said he hasn’t received meaningful responses from the National Park Service since early last year.

And Cosgrove, who writes The Wild newsletter, said that park rangers remain friendly and helpful, but any communication involves a demand for all questions in writing.

Park service sources and advocates describe all this as part of a broader effort to centralize communications from sub-agencies to the Department of the Interior. Since last year, roughly 230 communications employees have been moved from the National Park Service to the Department of the Interior — part of a broader push in which more than 5,700 employees at the 11 agencies the Interior Department oversees were shifted from the agencies to the department, according to figures provided by the National Parks Conservation Assn., a nonprofit that advocates for the park system.

What’s more, the Interior Department must now approve many park service communications that were once left up to the parks themselves, said John Garder, senior director of budget and appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Assn. That includes exhibits, news releases, website updates and even social media posts, said a source within the park service who asked to remain anonymous over fears of retaliation.

The consolidation “creates significant inefficiencies and removes a layer of accountability to the parks themselves,” Garder said. “It makes it difficult for parks to act nimbly using their professional discretion to make decisions about informing the public about developments in the park,” like a closed road, wildlife hazard or natural disaster.

In an email to The Times, the park service accused National Parks Conservation Assn. employees of donating to Democratic political campaigns and pointed out the nonprofit’s X account follows progressive politicians and groups. “Our parks are nonpartisan, but the NPCA isn’t and they are using you to further raise money off of our parks while never giving those funds to our parks,” a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

National Parks Conservation Assn.’s X account follows over 55,000 users of the platform, including both Democratic and Republican lawmakers and organizations. Garder also noted that the association’s longstanding role has been to advocate for national parks, rather than to raise money directly for them.

The park service email confirmed that officials are “modernizing” the Department of the Interior so that it “will share one voice when communicating the priorities of the Department.”

“The unification of the communication functions will allow for a more collaborative, creative and hands-on approach to Department communications,” the statement said, “and will modernize the federal government by providing a product that is not only better for the American taxpayer but also showcases the state-of-the-art communications capabilities of the United States of America.”

I asked whether I should attribute the statement to a spokesperson for the park service or the Interior Department. The spokesperson replied that I could attribute it to either.

A quick announcement

If you’re a Southern California local, you are probably familiar with PBS SoCal. On April 22, the public media organization is premiering the seventh season of the award-winning program “Earth Focus,” which will be followed by the eighth season in May. We’re excited for the eighth season in particular, because we collaborated with the PBS SoCal team on a few stories about the complexities of rebuilding Los Angeles. You can stream the show for free at pbssocal.org/earthfocus.

More recent land news

Karen Budd-Falen, the third highest-ranking official at the Department of the Interior, has been granted an ethics waiver to work on grazing issues despite potential conflicts of interests that prompted her to recuse herself from such matters during the first Trump presidency, according to Chris D’Angelo of Public Domain.

A pair of Republican senators have officially moved to overturn the management plan for Utah’s Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, casting uncertainty on its future and raising new questions about the future of public lands management, Caroline Llanes of Rocky Mountain Community Radio reports.

The Trump administration is aggressively expanding the border wall through ecologically sensitive public lands, with a portion planned for Big Bend National Park emerging as a political flash point, Arelis R. Hernández, Jake Spring, John Muyskens and Thomas Simonetti write in this Washington Post deep dive.

The Interior Department has officially pulled back more than 80% of its regulations tied to implementing the National Environmental Policy Act in a bid to streamline the environmental review process for major projects on federal public lands. Conservation groups say the changes will block public input and violate federal law, according to Hannah Northey and Scott Streater of E&E News by Politico.

The Trump administration is taking the final steps to undo the Public Lands Rule, which elevated conservation to an official use of Bureau of Land Management lands, Streater also reports. The rule allowed conservation groups to obtain leases for restoration work, similar to how the Bureau of Land Management awards leases to private contractors for extraction and development, points out Sage Marshall of Field & Stream.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service is expected to soon release an updated proposal for the rescission of the Roadless Rule, which blocked new road building and commercial logging on some 58 million acres of backcountry. The rollback would strike a big blow to hunting and fishing opportunities, according to a report from Trout Unlimited.

A few last things in climate news

Amid a global energy crisis that’s seen oil prices skyrocket, California has been particularly hard-hit due to a dearth of refineries and higher taxes and fees, all of which have left politicians, consumer groups and business interests arguing over who’s to blame, write Ivan Penn and Kurtis Lee for the New York Times.

In the latest maneuver in its campaign against renewable energy, the Trump administration will pay a French company $1 billion to walk away from two U.S. offshore wind leases, according to Jennifer McDermott of the Associated Press.

Southern California’s most destructive wildfires, wettest holiday season and hottest March heat wave have all taken place in the last 15 months, and there’s one clear through line connecting them all, scientists told my colleague Clara Harter.

Mosquitoes have gone year-round in Los Angeles, but business owners have indicated they’re not willing to pay to expand a promising effort to help control their numbers, my buddy Lila Seidman reports.

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our Boiling Point podcast here.

For more land news, follow @phila_lex on X and alex-wigglesworth.bsky.social on Bluesky.

A YouTuber who visited Riga, Latvia, was stunned by the four-star hotel prices in the city voted one of Europe’s cheapest by Post Office Travel

A YouTuber who toured Europe‘s most affordable city was taken aback by the cost of one item he purchased during his journey.

Ed Chapman, who shares his adventures on his eponymous YouTube channel, visited Riga, the capital of Latvia, and filmed a video about his experiences in the city after it was named one of Europe’s cheapest in a survey by Post Office Travel.

His primary reason for visiting Riga was to compare it with one of the priciest cities in Europe, Oslo, Norway. According to Skyscanner, flights to Riga can be purchased for as little as £28 from Leeds Bradford Airport.

One of the most striking differences between the two, Ed pointed out, was the disparity in hotel prices.

In Oslo, he stayed at a three-star hotel for one night, while in Riga, he lodged at a four-star hotel, but the price difference was significant, reports the Express.

After exploring and commenting on his hotel room, he remarked: “We’re in the heart of the city centre, literally one street away from the main stuff. Four-star hotel. £62 a night. Now that’s tasty. For a capital city, for the middle of the city centre that’s a bit mad isn’t it?

“Bearing in mind in Oslo I stayed in a three-star hotel, also bang in the city centre and that was £140 for a night there. Less than half price that’s crazy.”

Ed isn’t alone in highlighting Riga’s charm. The city, home to approximately 600,000 residents, is located at the centre of the Gulf of Riga where the Daugava River flows into the Baltic Sea.

Additionally, the city’s historic centre has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its Jugendstil and Art Nouveau architecture standing out as two of its main attractions.

Among Riga’s most distinctive landmarks is the Riga Central Market. Built using repurposed German Zeppelin hangars, these structures rank amongst the city’s most recognisable buildings, spanning 778,000 square feet and housing approximately 3,000 trading stalls.

Furthermore, Riga offers convenient access to nearby coastal areas such as Jurmala. The Mirror previously reported that one visitor was impressed not just by the affordability, but by the amenities available.

They commented in a review: “Changing pods are available on the beach and the sand is soft and flat. We paid €5 each for a sun lounger for the day, although in the afternoon people could help themselves to ones that were left or that people had finished with.

“Well worth the journey from Riga which is about 25 mins by train from central Riga and very cheap. We booked the day before online and it cost us about €6 return for both of us – amazing value.”

The women’s category of Olympic sports will be limited to biological females from 2028, says the International Olympic Committee.

Eligibility will be determined by a “once in a lifetime” sex test, which would prevent transgender women and those with differences in sexual development (DSD) from competing.

It will take effect from the Los Angeles Olympics.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry said the policy was “led by medical experts”.

“At the Olympic Games even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” she said.

“So it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”

INSTEAD of spending loads on heading to the French Riviera, Brits could venture to a dupe for a fraction of the cost.

The French Riviera is known for its glamour but often comes with eye-watering prices.

Though, heading to Hammamet on the ‘Tunisian Riviera’ is just 35 per cent of the cost of a holiday to the French Riviera.

And bookings have also increased by 50 per cent following Brits ditching holidays to Turkey and Egypt following the Iran crisis.

With First Choice, Brits could pay just £516 for a week’s all-inclusive holiday to Hammamet, whereas the same holiday in St Tropez would be likely to set you back almost three times that – £1,500.

Hammamet – which is also affectionately known as the Tunisian St Tropez – is often associated with artists and actors as well as a vibrant beach-club culture.

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Visitors can head to the Yasmine district, where they will find a palm-lined promenade, waterfront cafés and Tunisia’s largest marina with many superyachts.

Beach lovers can enjoy the long stretch of golden sand, with water sports and the Carthage Land theme park.

A spokesperson for First Choice said: “[The theme park] offers kids and adult-sized rollercoasters, large-scale water slides, museum-style educational exhibits and a 5D cinema.”

Tickets cost between £6 and £8 for the day.

Or for something more active, have a go at the quad bike tours, which take you on and around the hills surrounding Hammamet.

Local recommendations from the First Choice team also include heading to Bel Canto restaurant, which is Italian-Mediterranean.

Inside, the interiors are modern, and the restaurant serves a vast array of dishes including pizza and seafood, with prices ranging from around £5 to £15 per dish.

Another option is Yuman which serves a more European range of dishes and is open from breakfast to dinner.

The cafe also has great views of the beach and the city walls.

Breakfast ranges between £4 and £8, dinner ranges between £10 and £18 and cocktails don’t cost more than £9.

If you are looking for a bar, then head to the Beer Garden Brasserie in Yasmine.

The beach-view bar is open until 4am on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and there are always live music events and karaoke nights.

Compared to the French Riviera, Hammamet has more all-inclusive accommodation, with daily costs working out at around £73.

But on the French Riviera you will have to fork out cash for meals out.

For example, a mid-range dinner is likely to set you back up to £80 per person. Local beers cost between £4.50 and £7 and a glass of rosé can even be as much as £20.

And if you wanted to soak up the sunshine, even this will set you back as much as £130 in the peak season.

As a result, a daily spend is over £200 more for the French Riviera compared to Hammamet.

If you want to travel to Hammamet you could book seven-nights all-inclusive at the Sentido Marillia Resort & Spa with flights from Newcastle Airport on May 11 (hand luggage only) for £516 per person.

The resort sits right by the beach and features 10 bars and restaurants including a wood-fired pizzeria.

Inside the hotel, families will find 352 rooms, including family options, twin rooms, and suites.

The hotel even has its own nightclub, and a cocktail party once a week, although there is also a kids’ club too, which is open until midnight.

Outside, there are two pools, including one that is Olympic-sized, and there is also an additional kids’ pool.

Kevin Nelson, Managing Director for First Choice, said: “Brits are tired of saving destinations for ‘someday’.

“They want experiences that feel bucket-list-worthy but actually fit into their budgets and availability.

“Hammamet is a great example of a budget friendly luxury swap, all the French‑Riviera perks, without the French‑Riviera price tag.”

Flights to Hammamet cost from £83 return in April, with the flight taking just over three hours.

For more inspiration on holiday dupes, here are five holiday destination dupes to swap for overcrowded tourist spots.

Plus, here’s where The Sun’s travel experts are holidaying this year and how we found the best deals from Ibiza dupes to UK parks.

March 26 (UPI) — The flow of humanitarian aid to Cuba has increased in recent days with shipments of food, medicine and fuel from governments, regional allies and an international flotilla of activists amid a crisis marked by widespread blackouts and shortages of basic supplies.

However, alongside the arrival of that assistance, a debate has also grown inside and outside the island over its real impact, distribution and motives of some of those behind it.

Mexico provided the most significant shipments, with more than 1,200 tons of food transported on two Navy vessels in mid-March, followed by new cargo announced days later.

Meanwhile, Caribbean countries are preparing additional packages with powdered milk, infant formula, nonperishable food, medical supplies and energy equipment, such as solar panels and batteries. China sent 60,000 tons of rice.

Fuel shipments confirmed by Russian authorities, in an attempt to ease the energy crisis affecting the island, have not arrived and seem to be in limbo because of the U.S. embargo.

Cuba faces a structural deficit in electricity generation — because of a massive shortage of oil — that has led the system to operate under severe pressure, producing barely half of the electricity needed to cover total demand.

The gap between supply and consumption has forced authorities to implement widespread outages to avoid a total collapse, especially during peak hours, causing prolonged blackouts across the country that affect hospitals, transportation, cold chains and daily life.

Seeking to assist, the international flotilla “Nuestra América” arrived in Havana starting Friday. Organizers said they transported more than 20 tons of essential supplies.

The initiative brought together more than 650 participants from 33 countries, including doctors, activists, political figures, artists and digital content creators. Most participants arrived by air, while a vessel arrived Tuesday in Havana. President Miguel Díaz-Canel personally received those aboard.

Organizers of relief missions say Cuba is on the verge of an “imminent humanitarian collapse” and attribute the situation to United States policy, including sanctions and restrictions linked to oil trade.

But inside the island, some Cubans express doubts about the destination of that aid.

“These people come here to benefit the regime in Cuba,” said Berta Solórzano, a resident of Old Havana, in statements reported by Radio Martí.

Activist Yanaisy Curvelo, mother of a political prisoner, expressed an even more direct view:

“They believe in dictators, that’s why it works like this. …. None of those donations go to the people, everything goes to the stores — in MLC [a digital currency created by the Cuban government] or dollars.”

Near the port of Havana, where the relief ship Granma 2.0 docked, a resident identified as Manuel Soria said, “What they came here for is to support the dictatorship of the Castro regime. If it comes under these conditions, then they should not come anymore because we have not seen any help. We have not benefited, what we are is hungrier every day.”

Opposition figure Manuel Cuesta Morúa questioned the convoy’s approach.

“Instead of talking about the conditions and circumstances and the real situation of the country, they decide and dedicate themselves to reviving their utopia,” he said.

He also used a metaphor to describe the situation: “The most powerful image I have was given by [Cuban American] activist [Manolo De Los Santos] Ramallo is that this is like the Titanic. It is like someone playing music on the deck of the ship while it’s sinking.”

Doubts are not limited to opposition sectors. Cuban researcher Elaine Acosta, affiliated with Florida International University in Miami, described the convoy in statements to El País as a political maneuver more linked to elites than to citizen needs, and she warned about the risk of aid diversion.

Egyptian filmmaker Basel Ramsis Labib, with historical ties to Cuba and experience in flotillas to Gaza, questioned the initiative and described it as “ridiculous.”

“Cuba is not Gaza,” he wrote, adding that anyone who wants to help can send medicine and food directly, without incurring the high logistical costs of a flotilla.

He said those resources could have been allocated more efficiently to the population and criticized what he described as a component of “egocentrism” and a search for political visibility.

He also questioned the symbolic nature of the initiative, including the name “Granma 2.0,” and warned that some attitudes are “insulting” in the face of food shortages, fuel scarcity and the energy crisis.

“The Cuban people need gasoline, medicine, food and serious reform,” he said.

The controversy was amplified by the participation of international figures and scenes that some considered disconnected from the crisis context.

Irish hip hop group Kneecap performed a concert in Cuba during a blackout, which generated criticism on social media over the contrast between the event and the country’s energy situation.

Another focus of criticism was American political commentator Hasan Piker, who participated in the convoy and said he sought to raise awareness about the effects of United States policy on Cuba. During his visit, he described the country as “incredible” and highlighted the resilience of its population.

His statements were criticized and compared to a disconnect between that discourse and his behavior. Piker came under scrutiny for staying at a luxury hotel and wearing expensive clothing and accessories, prompting comparisons with living standards on the island.

Former Spanish Vice President Pablo Iglesias also became part of the controversy after defending the humanitarian mission from Havana in a video recorded from a five-star hotel, according to posts and analysis shared on social media.

In that message, he said the situation is “difficult, but not as it is presented from outside.”

The reaction included direct criticism from Cuba. Journalist Ariel Maceo Téllez questioned the legitimacy of such interventions and said Cubans understand their reality better than foreign observers.

In his message, he denounced the coexistence of widespread shortages and the development of luxury tourism infrastructure, noting that many Cubans cannot access those places.

Humanitarian aid to Cuba has increased in volume and visibility, but its impact is conditioned by internal distribution capacity, state control and the persistent energy crisis.

The Cuban Observatory of Human Rights said in its 2025 report that 89% of the population lives in extreme poverty and that 71% has been forced to skip meals due to food shortages.

The real impact of the aid will depend on its ability to effectively reach the population in a scenario of increasingly widespread needs.

My deepest sympathies lie with the Iranian people, whose hearts are torn in many directions. Many long for freedom and dignity, yet they remain wary of the long history of Western imperial intervention across the world, including their own country.

The Iranian people who took to the streets in recent years did not call for one form of domination to replace another. They demanded an end to oppression in all its forms, not the beginning of a new round under the Western thumb. Nor did they want change at any cost.

At every step, history teaches us – these promises of freedom offered by the West are never fulfilled.

The reason is simple. The freedom of others is simply not on the Western agenda, no matter its public rhetoric. Imperialism of this nature does not want freedom; it wants control, domination, power and profit.

On March 4, as bombs were falling around him in Tehran, Mohamad Maljoo, an Iranian dissident, was finally able to connect to the internet. He wrote on his Telegram channel: “Those who claim that one can rain fire on the body of Iran in the name of striking the Islamic Republic while imagining that the people will remain unharmed either do not understand the reality of war or deliberately choose to ignore it. Bombs do not discriminate. Destruction does not operate selectively.”

The truth of his warning echoes from Palestine to Iran: “Life does not flourish in the shadow of oppression. Nor does it grow beneath the rubble of bombs.”

As a Palestinian, I feel the pain and determination in these words. I cannot help but feel solidarity.

We, Palestinians, know the horror of war in our bodies. We understand the shudders caused by yet another explosion, the tears of orphans and the despair of sleepless nights as fires burn everywhere. From the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe) to the current Ibadah (destruction), we have felt the pain of genocide for many generations. We see the echoes of our experience in the plight of others.

The US-Israel war on Iran began with something all too familiar to us: a strike on a school.

According to UNICEF, an average of a classroom full of children was killed each day for two years in Gaza; 432 out of the Strip’s 564 schools sustained “direct hits” from the Israeli army.

The Shajareh Tayyebeh, a girls’ elementary school in the city of Minab in southern Iran, was also a “direct hit”. About 170 young girls between the ages of six and 12 and staff were killed by two high-precision US-made Tomahawk missiles on February 28.

After the initial strike, teachers rushed to protect the students. Paramedics hurried to the scene to rescue the wounded. And then, a second bomb fell.

It was a double-tap strike – a horror of modern-day warfare that people of Gaza know all too well. It is designed to kill its target and then kill again those who come to the rescue.

Like in Gaza, the attack on the girls’ school in Minab did not remain an exception. Over the past three weeks, Israel and the United States have rained death and destruction on public spaces across Iran. Schools, hospitals, sports halls, stadiums, stores, cafes, bazaars and historical sites have been attacked. More than 5,000 residential units have been hit, and over 1,900 civilians have been killed.

As in Gaza, the cumulative goal is not only physical destruction, but also the spread of fear and terror. The targeting of civilian spaces thus operates as a form of psychological warfare — an assault on the very idea of safety and normality.

Targeting civilian infrastructure is against international law. Yet the US and Israel view international legal norms through the lens of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has repeatedly expressed his disdain for the rules of engagement, calling them “stupid”.

By now, it is clear that Gaza has served as Israel’s laboratory, as a testing ground, for the vision it seeks to impose across the entire region.

Just days ago, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a chilling warning: “Dahiyeh [in southern Beirut] will look like Khan Younis.”

The destruction of Khan Younis – my hometown – has become the new model of devastation to be repeated elsewhere. In Lebanon, in the span of 20 days, this model has resulted in the massacre of nearly 1,100 people, including 120 children – a full classroom every three days.

What we witness in Gaza travels to Lebanon, then on to Iran.

What is the ultimate goal? The consolidation of Israeli hegemony in the region. The strategy is not necessarily the complete overthrow of the Iranian regime, but rather to break the Iranian state itself and significantly curtail its capacity to project power. A weakened or broken Iran would no longer be an obstacle to Israeli regional supremacy.

All this is happening with the full support of the US. Just last month, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee voiced his approval for Israeli expansion into “Greater Israel”.

Other Western powers have also consented, supporting the illegal war on Iran, albeit refusing to commit their own troops, ships and aircraft.

In his poem “The Earth Is Closing on Us”, Mahmoud Darwish wrote:

“Where should we go after the last frontier?
Where should the birds fly after the last sky?
Where should the plants sleep after the last breath of air?”

Soon, this may become the reality for the entire region. Under Israel’s absolute and unrestrained dominance, we will all feel as if we have nowhere left to go. What will life under this reality look like?

If Gaza is the laboratory, then we can picture that the region will burn in flames for years to come.  Whenever Israel wants to, it will “mow the lawn” to impose its will over any government and to suppress any rebellion from the people of the region.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

IT has felt like the longest-running showbiz break-up of all time.

Jacqueline Jossa and Dan Osborne have been on and off, and on ‘make or break’ holidays, countless times in their eight-year marriage. But last night we revealed they’ve split again, with friends insisting the EastEnders star has finally accepted there’s no future. Now insiders have revealed what is really going on behind closed doors.

Source insists: “They don’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing it hasn’t worked.

“They’ve always tried their utmost to play happy families, no matter what’s going on behind closed doors.”

That’s because the role of Dan‘s wife will be a tough one to leave behind for the actress who has always protected the ex-Towie star – even if it meant she was cruelly labelled a “doormat” by trolls.

While the mum of two hasn’t put a foot wrong throughout their 13-year relationship, time and time again she’s been embarrassed by cheating scandals and crisis talks.

Now I can reveal why 33-year-old Jacqueline has stood by her man for far longer than many others would have been able to suffer.

On-screen as Albert Square’s bolshy Lauren Branning, she’s seen her womanising dad Max (played by Jake Wood) bed more than 20 women – often in lurid affairs, including his own son’s fiancée.

But away from the scripted soap, Jacqueline is the product of a long-lasting marriage, with her mum, Selina and dad John Jossa celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary last year.

But it’s been far from smooth sailing despite their enduring marriage.

Two years after joining EastEnders at 17, Jacqueline “wept” as her dad John, then 58, was jailed for four years at the Old Bailey for stealing nearly £500,000 of taxpayers’ money.

Just like her mum, who stood by her husband, Jacqueline also remained loyal to Dan when he was sacked from The Only Way Is Essex in 2015 after allegedly threatening his ex-girlfriend Megan, and claiming she was “his property”, when Jacqueline was pregnant with their first daughter, Ella.

Jacqueline only spoke out about the alleged incident once, in which she said she had reprimanded him and would “never fully forgive him”, while Dan admitted: “I mean I said stupid things, I take full responsibility of it and you learn from your mistakes.”

I’m told Jacqueline looks up to both her parents, especially her mum.

In 2014, she credited her mum as her idol, saying, “She’s not just the strongest woman but the strongest person I know. She does everything for our family. Everything”.

Crucially, Selina has taught her that you have to fight to save a marriage – after suffering her fair share of ups and downs throughout her 45-year relationship.

So when Jacqueline said “until death do us part” in her vows to Dan, she meant it.

Like she’s been loyal to EastEnders – being cast as a teenager and returning five years later after taking a break to have a family – Jacqueline has stood by Dan throughout the darkest of times.

She has also kept their marriage problems as private as possible.

Her mum, however, has sometimes seemingly hinted at a strained relationship with her son-in-law.

When the marriage had hit the rocks in previous years, Selina had gone so far as to unfollow Dan on social media.

If she’s happy, we’re happy. We’ll always be there for Jac no matter what anyway.

Mum Selina

Commenting in 2019, when Jaqueline appeared on I’m A Celebrity, Jacqueline’s sister Katrina cautiously told OK!: “We don’t get involved in their relationship, but we’re happy if Jacqueline is happy. Everything seems great at the moment.”

While Selina added: “If she’s happy, we’re happy. We’ll always be there for Jac no matter what anyway.”

‘Quietly quitting’

I believe Jacqueline has recently found herself again after returning to EastEnders.

Five years away, bringing up her family meant she understandably became more reliant on Dan.

But she is living a much more independent, free and happy life, knowing her worth.

Living separate lives recently has given Jacqueline the space she needs while in a positive mindset to work out her future.

It’s claimed former Towie star Dan moved out permanently last month into the house he was said to have bought behind Jac’s back in 2024.

His “secret” Essex pad came to light after the on-off couple announced last March that they had split. The following month, they appeared to rekindle their marriage on a “make or break” family holiday to Mexico.

In a surprise plot twist, friends say Dan has experienced doubts about going through with the divorce — but Jacqueline stood her ground.

A source close to Dan told The Sun last night: “Everyone knows they’ve had their troubles, but after spending some time apart this year, they’ve decided to make the split permanent.

“Their two daughters are their main priority.”

In recent weeks, the couple had unfollowed each other on social media.

However, when approached by The Sun about their marriage ending, the pair re-followed one another.

Jac’s pal said: “It feels too good to be true that she’s finally seen the light, but they’ve both been telling friends it’s over.

“It seemed impossible, but she’s starting to accept not being Dan’s wife and just Jacqueline.

“Her confidence has come flooding back and she’s happier than she’s been in a long time. Jacqueline’s also throwing herself in to work and enjoying every moment being the best mum she can be.

“Life is short — she’s determined not to waste it.”

Jacqueline might not be ready to share with the world that it’s over with Dan, but she’s been “quietly quitting” the marriage over the last few months – and friends hope this time, she’ll finally go through with it.

Perhaps it was predictable that reality TV would become a pipeline into American politics. After all, political theater was the ultimate unscripted spectacle before reality TV became a genre unto itself.

Consider the raw drama of the first televised presidential debate, where a sweaty Richard Nixon and confident John F. Kennedy traded barbs. Or Anita Hill’s should-have-been-damning testimony against then-Supreme Court justice candidate Clarence Thomas during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in 1991. Or President George W. Bush’s 2003 “mission accomplished” speech from a carrier off the coast of California, mere weeks into a war in Iraq that lasted years.

Modern programmed reality TV isn’t political theater, but it has become a springboard into modern politics for some stars of the genre. From President Trump to Dr. Oz, Caitlyn Jenner to Sean Duffy, campaigns and political offices are littered with the names of former cast members from reality series. Here’s a list of the most memorable jumps from trash TV to the smoldering dumpster of 21st century politics.

Donald Trump, president of the United States, ’The Apprentice’

Before he was a two-time president of the United States, Trump was one of America’s most recognizable make-believe bosses thanks to his 14-season run on NBC’s reality competition “The Apprentice,” created by reality TV kingmaker Mark Burnett. With his practiced executive scowl and scripted boardroom catchphrase, “You’re fired!,” the show burnished his image as a decisive billionaire dealmaker, even as his real-life business results were far less impressive. Off camera, Trump’s businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection six times between 1991 and 2014. Never mind. It was his knack for showmanship, and his undying need for attention, that proved the perfect entry into post-decorum politics. How does pretending to be in charge on a middling reality competition qualify anyone to safely and successfully run the most powerful nation on Earth? It doesn’t. Sleep tight.

Sean Duffy, Transportation secretary, ’The Real World’ and ‘Road Rules: All Stars’

Sean Duffy first appeared on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston,” where he was introduced as a flirtatious, conservative lumberjack/student hybrid. In short, he was a casting director’s dream. He later joined “Road Rules: All Stars,” where he met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy. Trading hot tub confessionals for courtrooms, Duffy became a Wisconsin district attorney and then a congressman. By 2025, he’d risen to secretary of Transportation under Trump, completing a career arc from staged arguments with pretend roommates to heated exchanges with the press about the effects of a government shutdown on airport safety. Dude.

Markwayne Mullin, Homeland Security secretary, MMA fighter

After a fiery confirmation hearing, Mullin is now Trump’s second secretary of Homeland Security in the 2.0 administration, following the disastrous tenure of wannabe reality show star Kristi Noem. Mullin was not a reality star per se, but in his role as a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter he performed in cages for live, streaming and pay-per-view cable audiences. As an early 2000s champ in the sport, Mullin boasted an undefeated 5-0 record and the Oklahoma chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted him in 2016. How do these MMA skills, or his former life running the family plumbing business qualify him to protect the national security of this great nation? It’s unclear, but his fighting instincts have already resulted in a viral moment out of a 2023 Senate hearing, when he challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a physical fight, offering to “finish it here.” Now he’ll be running the DHS. What could go wrong?

Omarosa Manigault Newman, former assistant to Trump and director of communications for the office of public liaison, ‘The Apprentice’

Newman became one of reality television’s more memorable villains thanks to her run on “The Apprentice,” where her Machiavellian ways and unapologetic ambition revolted viewers and impressed her fake boss. She would eventually parlay that dubious notoriety into more than one role in the first Trump White House. Her tenure was brief, ending in a high-profile departure and her accusation that Trump is a “racist, a bigot and a misogynist.” She then wrote a book, “Unhinged: An Insider‘s Account of the Trump White House.” Perhaps she’ll adapt her written account into a reality show, only to reignite her fame and win the White House. From there? She’d hire Trump, of course, then swiftly end his run on the show with two simple words: “You’re Fired!”

Spencer Pratt, Los Angeles mayoral candidate, ‘The Hills’

Best known as one-half of reality TV’s most polarizing couple on “The Hills,” Pratt built a reputation as a needling instigator, often leaning into the role of villain with annoying enthusiasm. After stints on other reality shows such as “Big Brother U.K.,” he began speaking out about local California issues, including wildfire recovery and environmental policy. Earlier this year Pratt, a Republican, announced that he would be running for mayor of Los Angeles in the upcoming mayoral election, challenging incumbent Karen Bass. Does he really want to govern the Left Coast, or is his candidacy a ploy for a new reality show? Let’s hope it’s the latter.

Caitlyn Jenner, California gubernatorial candidate, ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’

An Olympic gold medalist long before reality TV fame, Jenner reentered public consciousness through a show about nothing. The hit series relaunched her into the spotlight as a member of one of America’s most visible families. Using that fame, she ran as a Republican in 2021 in California’s gubernatorial recall election, positioning herself as a political outsider. Her campaign leaned heavily on her life story — from her athletic achievement to her personal reinvention — but she failed to keep up with the competition.

Clay Aiken, U.S. congressional candidate, ‘American Idol’

Aiken rose to fame as the earnest, vocally gifted runner-up on “American Idol” circa 2003. His polite demeanor, impressive vocal range and dramatic rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” earned him a devoted fanbase known as the “Claymates.” Aiken went on to have a semi-successful music career before running for Congress in North Carolina as a Democrat in 2014. Aiken made the mistake of leaning into his strengths as a thoughtful, policy-oriented candidate rather than relying on his past achievement as a vapid reality show contestant. He lost, of course.

Jim Bob Duggar, Arkansas state House representative and state Senate candidate, ’19 Kids and Counting’

As the patriarch of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” Jim Bob Duggar became synonymous with a conservative Christian lifestyle when the show aired in 2008; it garnered high ratings and ran for 10 seasons. He espoused many of the same ideals as an elected official in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, before leaving the political stage for reality TV. But the show was canceled in 2015 when the Duggars’ eldest son, Josh, admitted to molesting several girls, some of whom were his sisters. A conviction on child pornography charges followed. (More recently, his brother Joseph was charged with child sex abuse.) Jim Bob Duggar attempted a political comeback in 2021 when he ran for a vacated seat in the Arkansas state Senate, leaning on what he believed was his reputation as an upstanding family man. Reality bit back, and he lost.

Mehmet Oz, U.S. Senate candidate and administrator of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ‘The Dr. Oz Show’

Like so many questionable figures Americans came to trust in the 2000s, Dr. Oz got his start as a frequent guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” He went on to launch “The Dr. Oz Show,” where he dispensed health advice to millions of viewers. His blend of seemingly measured medical guidance and on-camera charisma appealed to viewers who were tired of looking at egg-headed doctors, like the kind who practice real medicine off screen. He announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania as a Republican in 2021, focusing on an anti-establishment platform. He lost the general election to Democrat John Fetterman, but the doctor is still in. Trump appointed him administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee, ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’

File this under “Folks who tried to reinvent themselves on reality TV after tanking in politics.” Sarah Palin served as the ninth governor of Alaska before being selected as Sen. John McCain‘s running mate ahead of the 2008 presidential election. After losing to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, she veered away from politics, a decision that probably had nothing to do with an ethics scandal dubbed Troopergate that involved Palin. Burnett saw an opportunity, producing the 2010 TLC reality series “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” It followed the Palin family engaging in activities such as fishing, prospecting for gold and camping in the region. In short, it looked like a tourism ad for Alaska and was canceled after one season. It also failed to kickstart her political career. She lost her 2022 bid for Alaska’s U.S. House seat, failing in both a special election and her general election comeback attempt. Apparently it isn’t Sarah Palin’s Alaska, after all.

This is the golden age of baseball in Southern California. The Angels heralded its dawn.

In 2002, the Angels won the World Series, the first of six postseason appearances within eight years. The Dodgers had played pretty good ball for more than a century, but they never had done that.

Angel Stadium was the place to be. The rally monkey was all the rage. The team nurtured a wave of young talent to surround Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. In 2009, the final year of that run, the Angels drafted future Hall of Famer Mike Trout. In 2011, for the first and only time, the Angels sold more tickets than the Dodgers.

Neither the Angels nor the Dodgers made the playoffs in 2010, 2011, or 2012. Since then, the Dodgers have made 13 consecutive postseason appearances, with three World Series championships to show for it. The Angels have made one, and they did not win a game.

Never — and this includes the Dodgers’ time in bankruptcy court — have the fates of the two Los Angeles franchises been so disparate. In 2026, the Dodgers could win their third consecutive World Series championship, and the Angels could finish in last place for the third consecutive year.

In a story on the Major League Baseball website, two writers ranked the 30 teams on the basis of how likely each team would be to win this year’s World Series. The Dodgers ranked as most likely. The Angels ranked as least likely.

At a time major league owners would like you to believe market size equals destiny, the team with baseball’s longest postseason drought plays in the second-largest market in North America.

Today, however, we come not to bemoan the bad times but celebrate the good times, for the Angels and Dodgers.

The century is a quarter old. So here are our quarter-century teams for both the Angels and Dodgers, based solely on performances for those teams. In a few places, we included a deserving player at a secondary position, if his primary position was fully stocked. Let us know where we got it right, and where we didn’t.

And, while you’re there, you’ll see the story of our golden age in a nutshell. Of the 22 players on the Dodgers’ first and second teams, 11 were on at least one of the World Series championship teams this decade. Of the 22 players on the Angels’ first and second teams, only four played for the Angels this decade.

One was Shohei Ohtani, the first-team designated hitter for both teams.

*We considered how long someone played for the Dodgers or Angels during this century, as well as how well someone played, but we’re making an exception here for two reasons: one, left field has not been a position of strength and depth for the Dodgers; and, two: Manny Ramirez’s two-month “Mannywood” run after the Dodgers traded for him in 2008 was simply astonishing: He played 53 games and drove in 53 runs, batting .396 with 17 home runs and a 1.232 OPS. In the playoffs, he batted .520 in eight games, hitting four home runs and driving in 10 runs, with a 1.747 OPS. The two-month “Mannywood” run was good for 3.5 WAR — the same WAR Freddie Freeman delivered over the entire 2025 season. (And, yes, in May of the following year, Ramirez was suspended for violating baseball’s drug policy.)

Iran’s top envoy to Seoul said Thursday South Korean ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but only with prior coordination with Tehran, saying that his country has asked Seoul to provide details of the vessels stranded in the key waterway amid the ongoing conflict.

Iranian Ambassador to South Korea Saeed Koozechi made the remarks in a press conference, as 26 South Korean ships with about 180 crew members aboard remain stranded in the shipping lane effectively blocked by Iran following attacks by the United States and Israel.

Koozechi also said that Iran considers South Korea a non-adversarial country.

“There are no problems with the vessels,” he said through an interpreter. “But in order for them to pass through, you need coordination, prior consultations with the Iranian military and government.”

Koozechi went on to say that Tehran had asked Seoul to provide the details of the stranded ships during the phone talks between their foreign ministers on Monday, without specifying whether the request was meant to start negotiations on the ships’ passage.

“Iran is acting in good faith and is willing to allow South Korean ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, but the process will depend on receiving the relevant information and the vessels list. Once they are provided, we will consider it,” he said.

When asked to confirm Iran’s request, Seoul’s foreign ministry said it was a request for cooperation on safety measures in the event of a humanitarian situation on the anchored vessels, and not related to their transit.

“We have not negotiated (with Iran) on (the passage) of vessels,” a ministry official said, adding that it has received no such request from Tehran, nor has it provided any details of the ships.

In the phone talks with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun called on Tehran to ease tensions and ensure safe navigation through the vital waterway for global energy supplies.

Cho also requested Iran’s cooperation regarding the safety of stranded South Korean vessels and their crew, but the issue of permitting their transit was reportedly not addressed.

While Iran sees South Korea as a non-hostile country, restricting activities of ships engaged in business with U.S. companies has been unavoidable as part of its self-defense measures, the ambassador said.

“Imposing restrictions on them is only natural,” Koozechi said. “Blocking their activities and enforcing economic restrictions is Iran’s right to self-defense.”

Thursday’s press event featured a photo exhibition and documentary screening at the Iranian Embassy in Seoul. The materials highlighted the impact of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, including images of destroyed buildings and footage of children killed in an airstrike at an elementary school and their grieving families.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

The war launched by the United States and Israel has killed more than 1,500 people in Iran.

This number is considered conservative, as actual calculations are yet to be released by the authorities.

But the devastation from the war has also triggered mass displacement in the country: the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that 3.2 million people – more than 3 percent of the population – have already been displaced within Iran since US-Israeli strikes began on February 28.

Twenty-seven days into the conflict, aid agencies and countries bordering Iran are bracing themselves for a potential refugee crisis as civilians begin to flee the violence.

Cross-border flows have been limited and largely economic or short-term. In Afghanistan, most arrivals are Afghan returnees from Iran, citing insecurity or forced returns. Pakistan reports only authorised entries by citizens or traders, with no refugee inflows.

Turkiye, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan report stable borders, limited authorised crossings, and occasional evacuations of third-country nationals.

Iraq has seen small-scale returns and 325 Iranian nationals crossing the border, citing the crisis. Within Iran, people have been forced from the ruins of their homes, and several hospitals, nuclear facilities, refineries and desalination plants have been hit.

However, pressure on the ground in Iran is mounting as more than 85,176 civilian sites have been damaged since the war began, including 282 healthcare facilities, 600 schools and 64,583 homes. In Tehran alone, the city administration said to local media that nearly 14,000 residential units in the capital have been damaged and at least 6,000 people have been accommodated in municipal hotels.

The growing risks of disruption to essential services are driving complex mobility patterns.

More than one million displaced in Lebanon

But Iran is not the only country where the rapidly expanding war has led to a displacement crisis.

The Israeli army has expanded its forced displacement orders for residents of southern Lebanon – from the Litani River to north of the Zahrani River, about 40km (25 miles) north of the Israeli border.

According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, Israel’s sweeping evacuation orders now cover more than 1,470sq km (568sq miles), or about 14 percent of the country’s territory.

The map below shows more than 100 towns and villages across the country that are under forced evacuation orders from the Israeli military.

Israel’s ground troops are also now increasingly expanding their de facto occupation of parts of southern Lebanon, with Israeli authorities claiming that they want to create what they describe as a “buffer zone”.

Nearly one in five people in Lebanon – or 18 percent of the population – have been displaced over the past two weeks.

According to the International Organization for Migration, the total number of registered displaced people has reached 1,049,328, and the number of displaced people residing in collective shelters is 132,742.

The pace of displacement has outstripped the country’s shelter capacity. Many families have been unable to secure accommodation and are spending nights in streets, vehicles or public spaces as collective shelters fill up. For many of them, this is not the first time.

More than 250,000 people have left Lebanon over the past two weeks, a 40 percent increase compared with the last two weeks of February.

Much of the outward movement has been towards neighbouring Syria. As of March 17, more than 125,000 people had crossed the border. Nearly half are children. Most are Syrian nationals, with about 7,000 Lebanese among those crossing.

Southern Lebanon’s bridges attacked

Israel has struck several bridges in southern Lebanon, connecting the country through the Litani River.

Israeli forces have attacked:

• Qasmiyeh Bridge.
• Coastal Highway Bridge.
• al-Qantara Bridge.
• Khardali Bridge.
• al-Dalafa Bridge.
• Zaraiya-Tirseflay Bridge.

Footage and photos of the locations, verified by Al Jazeera, show each bridge specifically bombed, making them impossible to use. These were key crossings linking Lebanon’s south.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had last week ordered the military to destroy all crossings over the Litani River and homes close to the border between the two countries.

The areas in Lebanon near the Israeli border to the Litani River are the same locations where at least a million people have been pushed out.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said the attacks on the bridges are “an attempt to sever the geographical connection between the southern Litani region and the rest of Lebanese territory”.

He said they fell “within suspicious schemes to establish a buffer zone along the Israeli border, solidify the reality of the occupation and seek Israeli expansion within Lebanese territory”.

With hit medical drama The Pitt finally available to watch in the UK on HBO Max, leading man Noah Wyle has shared some tantalising insight into its future beyond season two

The Pitt’s Noah Wyle has delivered an exciting update on the third season of HBO’s smash-hit medical drama.

He also teased his hopes for the future of the drama, hinting it could run “forever” if audiences are still tuning in.

Wyle portrays Dr Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, a senior attending physician working in a crowded and underfunded emergency room in Pittsburgh.

Throughout each season, Dr Robby, along with a team of doctors, nurses, and medical students, experience a single 15-hour shift, with the second instalment taking place during a busy 4th of July.

The former ER star was in London this week for the UK launch of the series where he spilled two important rules that every episode of the hit series must follow.

Speaking to HBO Max Chairman Casey Bloys, Wyle was asked how soon the cast and crew will be ready to start up production on season three.

“Very soon, boss, very soon,” Wyle joked. “We are in the process of writing character arcs for season three for everybody.”

He went on to explain how the series’ unique storytelling format presents a compelling challenge for the writers, which includes himself and creator R. Scott Gemmill.

“It’s a very interesting show to break because, unlike a lot of shows that are 22 episodes that may play over a calendar year, this is 15 hours of one day,” he continued. “So you’re painting with a much finer brush.

“The character’s arc is not really enough to go through the courtship of a romance, but it’s enough to get your head turned.

“It’s maybe enough to lose faith, maybe enough to find faith, but these are really small arcs that happen over the course of the day but can be really satisfying if you’re engaged with that character.”

Thankfully, The Pitt quickly found a devoted audience in the States, with the second season premiere amassing an impressive 7.2 million US viewers within its first week of release.

“We have these characters who seem to be resonating on a one-to-one with audiences,” Wyle added.

“Everyone’s feeling, ‘I’m a little Javadi (played by Shabana Azeez), I’m a little Samira (Supriya Ganesh), and I have a little Langdon (Patrick Ball) in me, or I know a Whitaker (Gerran Howell)’, and that makes it really exciting to see where they’re going to go next, and to write for where they’re going to go next.”

Hinting at the third season’s narrative, Bloys and Wyle revealed that the upcoming instalment is also building to an explosive and potentially life-changing event in much the same way as the first two seasons.

“We’ve built a pressure cooker where every hour we turn up the temperature, we add more ingredients, then just when it’s about to explode we drop a piano on it,” Wyle revealed.

“You’ve done that successfully for season two and now you’re thinking about it for season three?” Bloys clarified, and Wyle confirmed “Yes”.

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“One of the gratifying things about season two is that we realised we don’t need a big ‘deus ex machina’ plot device to keep this engaging,” he said. “There’s something really satisfying about watching everyday people trying to get through the course of the day, beset by all the trials and tribulations that come over the course of that day.

“If that is satisfying television then this show could run forever, because we don’t need a helicopter to come down in the ambulance bay, we don’t need to jump the shark.”

The Pitt is available to stream on HBO Max with new episodes on Thursdays.

EU lawmakers on Thursday approved the EU-US trade deal struck in Turnberry, Scotland, in 2025, while attaching a set of conditions to the agreement.

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A broad majority of political groups backed the deal, which cuts EU tariffs on most US industrial goods to zero, with 417 votes in favour, 154 against, and 71 abstentions.

The European Commission and Washington had pushed for the deal’s implementation, but MEPs delayed backing it until last week amid tensions over Greenland and fresh US trade investigations that raised fears Washington could undermine the deal with new tariffs.

Initially criticized by MEPs as unbalanced and defended by the Commission as the best possible outcome, the deal sets US tariffs on EU goods at 15%, while the EU eliminates duties on most US industrial products.

MEPs introduced safeguards to rebalance the pact in the event of future threats from US President Donald Trump or violations by the United States.

“Of course, that’s imbalanced, but if we could improve it, maybe we can live with it,” Socialist German MEP Bernd Lange said ahead of the vote.

The European Parliament will now work with EU member states to find a common position and enable the tariff cuts, with the attached safeguards expected to be the main point of contention.

These include a “sunset clause” under which the deal expires in March 2028 unless both sides agree to extend it. It also includes a “sunrise clause” which would make tariff preferences conditional to the US respecting its Turnberry commitments.

Lawmakers moved to shield the deal from fresh US tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down 2025 US tariffs in February, prompting the White House to impose new duties on EU goods and launch an investigation into alleged unfair trade practices that could lead to further tariffs.

MEPs also linked the tariff cuts on steel and aluminium to equivalent actions by the US.

When Estuardo Mazariegos was 22, he was pulled over by Los Angeles police officers who found a gun and ammunition in the back seat of his Nissan Sentra.

The gun, he said, was not his. He was holding onto it for a friend, he said, but he got hit with a felony gun possession charge, later pleading it down to a misdemeanor.

Seventeen years later, Mazariegos is running for Los Angeles City Council — and he believes his gun conviction makes him a better candidate.

“I think it’s a strength. It’s not a liability,” said Mazariegos, who was born in Guatemala and grew up in Hollywood and South L.A. “I feel like it creates more of a connection with me and the community, because there’s so many people that are justice-impacted.”

But the gun charge could also be an issue for Mazariegos in his race against five other candidates to represent Council District 9, which covers part of South L.A. He was also convicted of shoplifting when he was 19.

The district is the poorest the city, and the council race is expected to be one of the most competitive city contests this June, with the current council member, Curren Price, terming out.

Mazariegos is head of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Los Angeles, a grassroots advocacy organization. The 40-year-old is backed by the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and supports leftist policies like reducing funding to the LAPD to spend more on other programs.

Jose Ugarte, a District 9 candidate who was a longtime Price staffer, believes his opponent’s criminal history is a red flag.

“Getting arrested and convicted for multiple crimes, including carrying a concealed loaded gun, should disqualify Estuardo in this race,” Ugarte said in a statement. “Instead, the Democratic Socialists of L.A. are propping up his candidacy and hiding his criminal past from voters who deserve to know the truth.”

DSA-LA co-chair Leslie Chang said her group is “proud” to stand with Mazariegos.

Mazariegos’ supporters say he hasn’t hidden his past.

Georgia Flowers-Lee, a vice president with United Teachers Los Angeles, said Mazariegos discussed his gun conviction and the circumstances surrounding it during his interviews with the union, which ended up endorsing him.

“He was up front, honest about the challenges and honest about the gun charge,” she said. “Walked us through what had happened and where it led and how and why he ended up pleading it out,” she said.

Flowers-Lee, who lives in the district, said that young men of color like Mazariegos are overpoliced.

“I do not see this as a disqualifier. And let’s talk about redemption,” she said.

Wednesday night, Mazariegos released a campaign video featuring him discussing gun violence and his conviction with childhood friends. He said it was a turning point in his life.

“That was the moment where I was like, it’s either now or never,” he said. “Either I leave this s— behind, or it’s going to eat me up. I’m never going back to that lifestyle. I’m going to dedicate myself to the people.”

Mazariegos said he never carried a gun, except for that one day, but many of his friends did.

“Guns were a very common thing. It was almost like having a bike,” he said.

Mazariegos said that in 2009, he was driving home from the San Fernando Valley in the early morning, after dropping friends off, when he was pulled over by the LAPD. He said the officers gave no reason for stopping him, but they made him get out of his car and searched it without a warrant, finding the gun.

He was a permanent resident at the time, after moving from Guatemala at a young age, and was advised by his attorney to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, to avoid possible deportation, he said.

He was sentenced to 24 months of probation and one day in jail, court records show.

Growing up in Hollywood and Hyde Park, among other parts of the city, Mazariegos was intimately familiar with gun and gang violence.

His friend, Oscar Michael Morales, was shot to death in 2001 at age 14. He remembers Morales’ mother cleaning the blood off the sidewalk the next day.

His gun conviction helps him connect with residents of Council District 9, Mazariegos said, and he frequently discusses it while door-knocking.

Ugarte, meanwhile, is paying off $25,000 in fines to the city Ethics Commission for failing to disclose years of outside income while he was working for Price.

Price himself has been criminally charged with four counts of voting on matters in which he had a conflict of interest, five counts of embezzlement and three counts of perjury. Prosecutors allege he voted to approve deals with developers or agencies that had done business with his wife.