A prequel to one of the most acclaimed sci-fi films of all time has just been added to Netflix and fans are already eating it up

A sci-fi film directed by Ridley Scott that’s been praised by fans as a “masterpiece” is available to stream now in the UK. Prometheus (2012) is the fifth instalment in the iconic Alien franchise, and follows scientists who uncover startling clues that humanity may have been created by an ancient alien race, and journey to a remote world to investigate.

However, in their quest to solve the mystery they stumble upon a terrifying discovery that could spell the end of the human race. The psychological thriller boasts an all-star ensemble cast, including Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron.

The film acts as a prequel to the first film in the franchise, Alien (1979) which was also helmed by Scott, and generated a number of successful sequels directed by Hollywood titans including James Cameron and David Fincher, as well as a cross-over franchise, Alien vs. Predator.

Mere hours after its release on the platform and it has already reached the number two spot on Netflix’s top 10 films.

One fan, writing on Rotten Tomatoes, called Prometheus a “masterpiece”. “This movie expands the Alien world and lore,” they added.

“The acting is top notch. The sci-fi horror element is incredible. Very existential. Watch it with commentary,” reports the Express.

Another described simply as the “Best movie of all time”.

Not everyone was impressed by the prequel, with one writing whilst Prometheus “looks phenomenal” its “strong visuals cannot hide weak writing”.

“The dialogue feels stiff and unnatural, making it hard to connect with the characters.”

Another commented: “It’s frustrating how amazing this film could’ve been. Solid cast, beautifully shot, original story. Scott should’ve either made a film about our creators or an Alien prequel; instead the two elements get too muddled together and neither gets full service.”

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However, others believed it matched the high benchmark established by the franchise’s stronger entries.

One remarked: “This was a perfectly cast movie. It gave excellent insight into the origins of the Alien lore. Excellently tied in with the existing movies. Not too many Aliens ripping people apart but plenty of action. Truly a great movie.”

Another rejected criticism of the picture, claiming it’s “gripping, thought provoking, visually stunning and entertaining from start to finish”.

A third branded it an “incredible and impactful film that deserves to be seen multiple times”.

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A fourth described it as “massively underrated in the Alienverse”, boasting a “strong script, amazing cast”, and visual effects that are “on point”.

The film carries a 15 certificate and features strong violence, gore, alongside threat and horror – so viewer discretion is recommended.

Prometheus arrived on Netflix in the UK on Monday (February 16). It’s also accessible to stream on Disney+, and available to rent or purchase on various platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Sky Store.

I’ve never dined at local celebrity chef restaurants on my doorstep, including The Fat Duck and The Hand and Flowers, due to the expensive menu prices.

I live mere minutes away from some of the finest eateries in the region, arguably amongst Britain’s best. This encompasses Tom Kerridge’s The Hand and Flowers and Heston Blumenthal’s establishments, yet I’ve remarkably never visited any of them.

Whilst it’s enticing to have such celebrated venues practically on my doorstep, they’re renowned for being rather expensive and upmarket.

Countless diners will journey considerable distances to reach these establishments and boozers, whilst locals such as myself have never crossed their thresholds. The Fat Duck, situated in Bray, Berkshire, is a haute cuisine restaurant owned by Heston Blumenthal.

It boasts three Michelin stars, having maintained them for a 21st successive year as of February 2025, and remains acknowledged as a premier gastronomic destination under the chef.

Marking its 30th anniversary, The Journey menu provides the most comprehensive voyage into “Hestonland and the gastronomic delights that await”. It showcases creations including Bacon & Egg Cereal, Hot & Iced Tea, Beef Royal, Tonic of Botanics and Cheese & Grapes amongst others, reports the Express.

Diners can experience this menu for an eye-watering £350.

Despite residing in and around Bray throughout my existence, there aren’t numerous locals who could manage to eat at The Fat Duck.

The village also houses The Hinds Head, which possesses a Michelin star and belongs to Heston Blumenthal. It’s more reasonably priced, naturally, than The Fat Duck, though still approximately £30 for fish and chips.

A portion of chips alone costs £9, whilst some bay buttered carrots as an accompaniment runs to £7. Nevertheless, it boasts glowing testimonials on TripAdvisor, with one diner visiting earlier this month claiming the dish and chips “didn’t disappoint”.

Another said: “The whole experience was flawless, we have never eaten better food, they listened and remembered my wife’s birthday. If you go, make sure you order the bread and butter with beef dripping sauce. This was outstanding.”

Tom Kerridge also runs a fine dining establishment, a brief journey from Heston’s, The Hand and Flowers, situated in Marlow. It became the first boozer in Britain to receive two Michelin stars.

The chef additionally operates The Coach Marlow, which presents beautifully elevated British gastropub favourites.

The Hand and Flowers maintains two Michelin stars and the establishment sources the finest available produce from independent butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers.

Whilst it comes at a premium, the venue currently offers a midweek lunch promotion where diners can enjoy £25 for two courses, or £32.50 for three from a fixed lunch selection.

Its signature menu is priced at £85 for three courses, Monday to Friday exclusively, or its tasting menu costs a substantial £195 per head. Dishes on the tasting menu feature Cornish halibut, a 30-day-aged beef fillet, and a vanilla crème brûlée for afters.

The menu selections sound mouthwatering, but they come with a hefty price tag.

On Sundays, patrons can also experience the venue’s Sunday lunch offering for £195 per person. The establishment boasts excellent feedback, though one reviewer suggests it ought to be impressive given what it costs.

Another patron praised: “Great night, staff and service, warm atmosphere, the food was out of this world.”

A third customer noted: “It has a fine choice of drinks from well-presented cocktails, beer and fine wines.”

So, whilst all three upmarket venues enjoy glowing testimonials, there’s considerable availability, which might be attributed to the price point.

Brits are being urged to check their travel documents especially passports after it’s been revealed that over one million UK adults may not have valid documents when the summer holidays come around

Brits are being warned to check their passports after data revealed that over 1.4million UK adults could see their documents expire before the summer holidays.

The team at budget airline Wizz Air revealed that they studied data obtained from the HM Passport Office and found that over 1.4million documents are due to expire by the end of June 2026. For those who haven’t checked their passports, it could mean their holiday is over before it’s even started, with extra headaches along the way.

That’s because an invalid passport not only means you’ll be denied boarding at the airport, but your travel insurance is unlikely to cover any claims because you’ve travelled with an invalid document, therefore voiding your policy for that trip.

With the summer holidays just a few months away, Wizz Air is urging travellers to check their passport validity now before the peak season to avoid any potential last minute stress or cancelled trips.

READ MORE: 10 holiday destinations with hot and sunny weather in March you’ll want on your radar

For Brits heading to Europe, there’s a post-Brexit rule that continues to catch holidaymakers out. That’s because you need to check not one but two dates on your document. The first is the issue date; UK travellers must have passports issued less than 10 years before the date they enter a country. If you’re using an older passport, it may still be valid for your travel dates, but could push you past the 10-year rule.

However, you also need to check the expiry date. Passports need to be valid for at least three months beyond the date you plan to return from EU countries, while some non-EU destinations require six months remaining. It’s crucial to check your passport’s validity based on your intended return date to the UK, not the date you’re due to fly out.

If you’re unsure about the entry requirements for a destination, one of the best resources for UK passport holders is the Foreign Office’s travel advice for that destination, as they will advise of any updates or changes that you need to be aware of.

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Yvonne Moynihan, Managing Director at Wizz Air UK said: “Don’t let an expiring passport ruin your summer plans. Summer holidays should be about excitement, not last-minute stress. With peak booking season underway, now is the time to check if your passport is valid. A quick two-minute check today could save weeks of disruption later and ensure travellers can book with confidence and enjoy the full range of destinations across our network.”

If you do realise that your passport won’t be valid for the summer and want to book a holiday, then renewing your document is simple. You can either renew it online for £94.50, or through a paper application which costs £107. To renew your passport you’ll need both your old passport and any valid passports you have from a different country – send either a colour photocopy of every page (including blank ones) or the physical passport. You can also find out more on gov.uk/renew-adult-passport.

A word of caution – if you’ve already booked a trip and had to enter your passport details, make sure you update those on your booking if needed!

Have you had a holiday ruined because of a passport issue? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com.

ONE of the UK’s most famous streets is getting a massive glow-up.

Portobello Road Market in London, which is well-known for its thriving market with curiosity shops, attracts millions of visitors a year.

And now it will be undergoing a £4.4million makeover.

As part of the upgrade, there area will be getting wider pavements, new lights, better accessibility, more greenery and parking bays.

There will even be a new draining system to prevent flooding, which the area is prone to.

Portobello Road’s concrete anti-terror barriers will also be replaced with sliding bollards.

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Work is expected to begin in January 2027.

Portobello Road Market, found in the Notting Hill area, features a lot of antique shops, restaurants and independent boutiques.

And the market is one of the most famous and historic in the world, dating back over 160 years.

Visitors can explore hundreds of stalls, full of different curiosities, bric-a-brac, jewellery, antiques, clothing and more.

On Fridays and Saturdays – which tend to be the busiest days – the market stalls actually stretch over a mile long from start to finish.

And then on Sundays, there are less stalls, but still plenty to explore and the shops remain open as well.

One recent visitor said: “Lots of interesting stuff, the vintage market section was the best, but the main road itself was insane with people even early in the morning.

“Worth a visit at least once.”

Another added: “Portobello Road and its market is fun to experience.

“It is located in the charming residential neighborhood of Notting Hill.

“Interesting mix of touristy and local shops, eateries, and temporary booths/stalls. Highly recommended!”

A third said: “The market is full of life, colours, and unique finds.

“I especially enjoyed browsing the small stalls with handmade and vintage jewellery — I found some truly beautiful and one-of-a-kind pieces.

“A must-visit spot in London if you enjoy local art, antiques, and something different from the usual shops.”

Portobello has also featured in a number of films, perhaps most notably Notting Hill, starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.

And you can actually visit the bookshop that inspired the bookshop in the film.

Called the Notting Hill Bookshop in real life, the store features the same façade and interiors today that the original shop did which was used in Notting Hill as The Travel Book Co.

There is a lot to do in the surrounding area as well.

For example, you could head to the Museum of Brands to see how household products have changed their look over the years.

It costs £11.50 per person to visit.

Or perhaps wander to Kensington, where you can explore Kensington Palace and Gardens, which costs from £20.60 per person to visit.

In other travel news from London, the city’s most underrated attraction is the best place for families on a budget.

Plus, London’s best family attraction that ‘feels like it was created for kids’ to get a huge new nature playground.

WE’RE in half-term, and you might be regretting that you didn’t book a holiday.

Well, you’re in luck because there are some great destinations across the UK – with availability at hotels and holiday parks still – that actually look like they could be elsewhere.

Whether you are envying your friend in the Caribbean or wish you visited family in Italy, you could just head off to somewhere in the UK that looks similar…

Swap the Caribbean for Argyll and Bute

On the west coast of Scotland, you will find Argyll and Bute – a region with white sand beaches and crystal clear waters just like the Caribbean.

In fact, the region has a total of 28 inhabited islands.

One island you could visit is the Isle of Bute, which boasts a mild climate and some of the houses on the island even have palm trees.

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The area is home to a number of castles as well, that can be explored.

Oban is often considered the ‘Gateway to the Isles’ and is well known for its seafood, making it the ideal place to stay in the region.

You can explore Oban Distillery or head to McCaig’s Tower, for example.

When it comes to choosing somewhere to stay, Oban has lots of options.

A great budget option is Premier Inn Oban hotel for a family of four from £94 a night this week.

Swap Italian lakes for Lake District

Instead of heading to Lake Como and exploring busy restaurants and villas hidden in the trees, head to Windermere in the Lake District.

Thouggh Lake Windermere doesn not compare in size to Lake Como, it is is the largest lake in England.

And around a mile from its edge, yu will find the town of Windermere.

The town makes the perfect base for exploring the vast lake and surrounding countryside, which are ideal for active families as there are lots of spots to go for a hike.

And if you want to experience a boat trip like one of the ones on Lake Como, you can do this on Lake Windermere as well.

For example, Windermere Lake Cruises offers daily cruises usually lasting around 45 minutes to two-and-a-half hours.

Right at the edge of the lake, you can stay at Fallbarrow Holiday Park.

A caravan for three nights from February 20 costs from £295 for up to six people, with two bedrooms and a sofa bed.

Swap Italy for Portmeirion

Portmeirion in Wales is known for being an Italianate-style village with sub-tropical gardens.

The village overlooks the Dwyryd Estuary and features pastel-coloured buildings.

When it comes to things to do in the village, head to the Gwyllt, which is a 70-acre subtropical woodland that surrounds the village.

Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse said: “With visitors likening it to ‘a slice of Italy on the British coast’, I had high hopes, but I wasn’t sure what my boys would make of it considering it’s quite far removed from our usual holiday haunt.

“I needn’t have worried though, as the Portmeirion magic seems to cast a spell over young and old.

“Made up of colourful houses and vibrant gardens set around a bay, the charming hotel-cum-holiday-park features two four-star hotels, one of which is set inside a castle, plus a motor-home park and several self-catering cottages.”

You’ll need to grab a day pass to visit, which during the winter costs £10 per adult and £5 per child.

While there is no availability for the Portmeirion Hotel left for this week, you can stay in one of the village rooms from £310 a night for four people.

The family suites have two bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchenette and a lounge.

And for the price, it also includes breakfast.

Swap the French Riviera for English Riviera

Dubbed the English Riviera, the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham in Devon are the perfect UK seaside getaway.

It got its name as the English Riviera when Victorians started visiting the area more frequently and compared its mild climate and pretty coastal views to the Mediterranean French Riviera.

And, if you head to Torquay – which is known as the Queen of the English Riviera – you will find lots of palm trees lining the promenade, just as if you were in the Med itself.

This region of Devon features 22 miles of coastline to explore, with lots of dramatic red cliffs (thanks to the iron in the soil), sandy beaches and hidden coves.

Across the three towns, you won’t be short of options when it comes to looking for somewhere to stay.

For example, you could stay at the new Hotel Indigo Torquay by IHG which overlooks the beach and sea.

The hotel still has availability for this week, with a king suite sea view with sofa bed for four people costing from £158 per night.

Through Parkdean Resorts you can stay for three nights from this Friday, costing from £119 for an apartment.

The apartments are in a range of areas including the picturesque towns of Totnes and Dartmouth and usually can sleep up to six people.

Swap Normandy for the Jurassic Coast

The Normandy coast in France is known for its dramatic, chalky cliffs often home to tonnes of fossils.

Instead of flying away this half term, head to the portion of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.

Just like the Vaches Noires cliffs in France, the Jurassic Coast features towering cliff faces, with sandy and pebbly beaches at the bottom ideal for exploring to find dinosaur fossils.

In total, the Jurassic Coast stretches over 95 miles, but in Dorset you will find the natural limestone arch of Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, known for its shell-shaped curve that is a result of erosion.

Head to the town of Lyme Regis, which is a popular place to set off fossil hunting from.

Though, depending on what beach you visit, make sure to check that fossil hunting is okay, as some beaches do not allow you to chisel at the rocks.

Near to Lyme Regis, you could stay at Newlands Holiday Park in a poolside apartment from February 18 to 21 sleeping up to four people, costing around £375.

The apartment overlooks the pool with one double room and one twin room.

In other destination news, our 2026 Travel Hot List as we reveal our ten must-visit destinations of the year.

Plus, our top picks for ‘fun under £5’ across all £9.50 holiday destinations in the UK.

PHILADELPHIA — In the first one-on-one debate of the 1988 Democratic presidential campaign, front-runner Michael S. Dukakis and his sole remaining adversary, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, both contended Friday night that it was too soon to discuss whether Dukakis should ask Jackson to be his running mate.

But the fact that the subject came up several times during the hourlong televised encounter, in advance of Tuesday’s presidential primary here in the Keystone State, reflected the degree to which Gov. Dukakis’ victory in the contest is widely considered all but assured. At the same time, the questions about Jackson’s becoming the first black to run on the national ticket of a major party were a measure of the impact the civil rights leader has had on the Democratic campaign.

‘Are You Interested?’

For their own differing reasons–Jackson because he is unwilling to have his presidential candidacy written off and Dukakis because he is leery of overconfidence–both men sought to dismiss the idea. Nevertheless, Dukakis twice during the debate leaned over to Jackson when the subject of the vice presidency was raised and asked: “Are you interested?”

While his comments brought laughter, as they were intended to, they also will inevitably fan speculation about what is certain to become the preoccupation of the two candidates and other Democratic leaders until the Atlanta convention in July is concluded.

When he was asked if he would accept an offer from Dukakis, Jackson said: “It’s a bit premature to be giving out coronation roses for the governor and taps for me.”

Jackson asserted that he and Dukakis were really in a “neck-and-neck contest,” contending that he trailed the governor by only about 170,000 votes after weeks of campaigning and made plain that he was not prepared to call it quits.

Pride of Accomplishment

“We’re sitting here side by side,” Jackson said of himself and Dukakis at one point, signaling not only his pride at what he had accomplished but his determination to press on. “But we’re not equal because I’ve come from furthest back to get here.”

And when Dukakis was asked about his ability to run well in the South, as a Northeastern governor, Jackson interjected: “With Mike Dukakis on my ticket we will win the South.”

Dukakis, when asked if he would choose Jackson to be his running mate, said: “My job right now is to work hard to win this nomination, and it is by no means won.”

In their first encounter since last Tuesday’s New York primary effectively eliminated Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr. from the race and significantly fattened Dukakis’ lead in the race for delegates, both candidates aimed most of their shots past each other at the Reagan Administration and at the presumptive Republican standard-bearer, Vice President George Bush.

Thus when he was questioned about his plans to expand industry in Pennsylvania and other states that are in worse economic shape than his own Massachusetts, Dukakis criticized Reagan for threatening to veto the trade bill passed Thursday by the House because of its provision requiring a 60-day advance notice of plant shutdowns or layoffs.

Hits Reagan on Terrorism

And he also used a question on terrorism to condemn the Reagan Administration for trying to trade arms to Iran in the hope of gaining the release of U.S. hostages as “the worst possible thing we could have done.”

And Jackson attacked the Reagan Administration for its dealings with Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega, whom he denounced as a drug dealer, and for what he charged was its general ineffectiveness in combatting drugs.

In one of the rare occasions that either of the two Democrats challenged each other, Jackson pressed Dukakis on whether the governor would apply his terrorist policy to South Africa after Dukakis said he would never negotiate with terrorists, even to save the lives of hostages and also said that if necessary he would order military strikes against terrorist base camps and support bases in other countries.

“If we are serious about international terrorism,” Dukakis said, the United States might have to launch such strikes. “I think a President who is serious about this,” Dukakis said, “can work with our allies and the international community to mount a very serious effort against terrorism.”

Questioned on South Africa

Jackson then contended that South Africa had committed aggression against several of the “front-line” African states on its borders and, declaring that such tactics amounted to “state terrorism,” asked Dukakis what his response would be.

Dukakis said he would be “very tough” on South Africa and would impose economic sanctions against that country but refused to say whether he would take military action.

Jackson also subtly needled Dukakis after the governor took credit for the prosperity in Massachusetts, which he referred to as “an economic miracle.”

Jackson noted that Dukakis and Massachusetts had the advantage of substantial federal investment and said that Democratic Gov. Robert P. Casey of Pennsylvania, who was in attendance at the debate sponsored by the state Democratic Party, “could have a boom too” under similar conditions.

Spurs currently have 11 players sidelined with injuries and Tudor says he will have to repair the confidence of those who are available to him.

“The situation is not easy because we have a lot of injured players,” said the Croat.

“First priority is to give everything the team need in these moments.

“The team need, I believe, first of all, to get some confidence, to get some courage.”

Frank was sacked last Wednesday following a 2-1 defeat by Newcastle, which extended Spurs’ winless run to eight matches.

Tudor’s first game in charge comes against rivals Arsenal at home on 22 February.

Despite Frank’s domestic struggles, he guided Spurs through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, which recommence in March.

Tarique Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which swept to a landslide victory in last week’s parliamentary elections, has been sworn in as the country’s first elected prime minister since deadly protests in 2024, which resulted in the ouster of the previous government and its prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

The political alliance led by Rahman’s party won 212 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, Bangladesh’s parliament, in Thursday’s elections, leaving its main competitor, the alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, with 77.

On Tuesday, Rahman took his oath of office, and newly elected MPs pledged loyalty to their country inside the oath room of the parliament building as they were sworn in by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.

Foreign officials, among them Pakistan’s foreign minister and the speaker of India’s Parliament, were also present.

Here is what we know about the people who will be running Bangladesh’s new government:

Who are the new cabinet members?

Twenty-five full ministers in the new cabinet took their oaths during a separate ceremony in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon. The 25 have been drawn overwhelmingly from the BNP and its close allies.

Among the state (junior) ministers appointed to Rahman’s government are Nurul Haque and Zonayed Saki, first-time parliamentarians, who were prominent voices during the 2024 protests.

While members of the cabinet have been announced, the ministries they will be responsible for have not yet been confirmed. Here’s a look at who some of them are.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

Alamgir, who has served as secretary-general of the BNP since 2016, was elected to his seat in parliament by the constituency of Thakurgaon-1, a district in northwestern Bangladesh.

Alamgir, 78, served as a member of parliament from 2001 to 2006 under the previous BNP government, led by Rahman’s late mother, Khaleda Zia, during which he was also state minister for agriculture and later for civil aviation and tourism.

After the end of that government’s term, a caretaker administration took over until elections in 2008, which Alamgir stood in but did not win. He remained a senior member of the BNP outside parliament.

In October 2023, Alamgir was detained by police the day after mass antigovernment protests swept through Dhaka when Hasina’s Awami League party was in power. The police said he had been detained for questioning in connection with the violence that erupted during those demonstrations.

When the BNP win was announced last week, Alamgir hailed the victory and called the BNP “a party of the people”.

Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury

Chowdhury was elected from the Chattogram-11 constituency, which covers the Bandar and Patenga areas of Chattogram city in southeastern Bangladesh.

From 2001 to 2004, Chowdhury served as minister of commerce under the previous BNP administration. He is a member of the BNP’s standing committee.

Before last week’s vote, Chowdhury said that if elected, the BNP would govern by investing in people, “in health, in education and upskilling” and by supporting “artisans, the weavers” and small industries with credit as well as helping them access international markets, including by helping them with their branding.

Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku

Tuku, 75, has been elected as a member of parliament for the Sirajganj-2 constituency in North Bengal.

Tuku is a member of the BNP Standing Committee, the party’s top policymaking body.

He is a veteran BNP figure who has been elected to parliament multiple times and has held important party roles. From 2001 to 2006, he served as the state minister for power. In 2006, he also briefly served as the state minister for agriculture.

In 2007, during the military-backed interim government, a special anticorruption court in Dhaka sentenced Tuku to nine years in prison in a case filed against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The ACC accused Tuku of concealing information about assets worth 49.6 million takas (roughly $400,000).

The High Court upheld his conviction and jail sentence in 2023 after a lengthy appeal process. However, in September 2025, a year after the overthrow of the Awami League government, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court acquitted Tuku.

Khalilur Rahman

Khalilur Rahman is a technocratic minister, appointed for his expertise rather than as a party politician. He is not a member of parliament.

He served as national security adviser in the interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus, which took over to oversee a transition after Hasina’s ouster.

He also served as the government’s representative for the Rohingya issue during Yunus’s tenure. The refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh are sheltering more than one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Myanmar in 2017 to escape a military crackdown.

Afroza Khanam Rita

The only woman cabinet minister, Rita is a first-time member of parliament but comes from a political family: Her late father was a four-times MP. Rita is also the chairwoman of the Monno Group of Industries, a conglomerate whose firms produce ceramic ware, textiles and agricultural machinery – primarily for export.

Asaduzzaman

Asaduzzaman, was elected from the Jhenaidah-1 (Shailkupa) constituency, which covers Shailkupa upazila in Jhenaidah district in southwestern Bangladesh.

Dipen Dewan

Dewan, 62, a Chakma Buddhist leader, is expected to be named minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs. Dewan won from the Rangamati constituency.

Chakma Buddhists are an ethnic group of Tibeto-Burman speaking people. They are indigenous to the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and parts of northeastern India.

Nitai Roy Chowdhury

Chowdhury, a Hindu leader, is widely expected to become the minister of cultural affairs.

Chowdhury, 77, has served as a senior adviser and strategist for the BNP’s top leaders.

How significant are these appointments?

During campaigning, the BNP pledged to meet the people’s demand for an elected government with real legitimacy. Therefore, ministers and cabinet members can expect a significant amount of scrutiny, experts said.

Khandakar Tahmid Rejwan, lecturer in global studies and governance at the Independent University, Bangladesh, told Al Jazeera: “The appointees in their respective fields will also face an invisible yet significant pressure to prove themselves more effective and distinctive than the previous administrations, both the interim government and, of course, the Awami League-led government under Sheikh Hasina.”

He added: “It will be particularly interesting to observe whether, after a youth-led mass uprising, the core of executive power is taken over by the old guard or by new faces that reflect diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and religion.”

While two prominent figures from the 2024 student uprisings have been named as state ministers – Nurul Haque and Zonayed Saki – Rejwan added that leaders of the student-led National Citizen Party, which was founded after the 2024 uprising, had made a “strategic mistake” by allying with Jamaat instead of the BNP.

“They had the option to form an alliance with the BNP, which they later abandoned in favour of Jamaat. Given these political dynamics, it is unlikely that any student leaders will receive cabinet positions.”

Who attended the ceremony to swear in the new cabinet?

Several foreign delegations were in Bangladesh to attend the ceremony.

They included Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

India was represented by Om Birla, the speaker of its lower house in Parliament. Pakistani Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal also attended.

Leaders and representatives from Nepal and the United Kingdom, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Brunei were among those who were invited to attend.

EXPLAINER

Here is how to wish someone during the holy month of Ramadan in different languages around the world.

Following the sighting of the crescent by the moon-sighting committee on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia has announced that the first day of fasting will be Wednesday, February 18.

There are nearly two billion Muslims globally, accounting for almost one-fourth of the world’s population. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population, approximately 242 million, followed by Pakistan (230 million), India (210 million), Bangladesh (160 million), and Nigeria (120 million).

As the holy month begins, many Muslims have been preparing for a period of fasting, reflection, and community. Those observing the fast start their day with a predawn meal, suhoor, and break their fast at sunset with iftar.

Why is Ramadan holy?

Muslims believe that Ramadan is the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith, daily prayers, charity, and performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca if physically and financially capable.

Ramadan sayings in different languages

The month begins with the sighting of the new moon, often accompanied by an outpouring of greetings to mark the occasion. Many Muslim-majority countries have their own traditional greetings in their native languages.

Among the most common sayings are “Ramadan Mubarak” and “Ramadan Kareem”. These are Arabic sayings that translate to “blessed Ramadan” and “generous Ramadan”, respectively.

Greetings are not limited to the spoken language. They also extend to sign language and Braille. Some countries have their version of sign language, but placing one hand horizontally across the mouth is common among most to represent fasting.

Below is a collection of Ramadan greeting cards that you can download and share.

“Do you mind if I smoke?” asks German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans with a laugh during a recent video call from his home in Berlin.

As he lights his cigarette, he looks every bit the renegade artist he is known for being. At 57, Tillmans is in the midst of staging his 10th exhibition in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s at Regen Projects. He is one of the most celebrated photographers of his era, with a practice that collapses the distance between fine art and the pulse of street culture, spanning epic abstractions and the familiar textures of contemporary life.

At the same time, Tillmans has another life as a serious electronic musician, recording a series of experimental albums, including his most recent, 2021’s “Build From Here.” He is deeply connected to the music world, and photographed the cover for Frank Ocean’s acclaimed “Blonde,” making him a rare artist to be in major museums while genuinely engaged with popular music and the club scene — a bit of a rock star in his own right.

The official opening of his Regen show, “Keep Movin’,” attracted a line that wrapped around the building. Fans are drawn to his varied strands of work, which move instinctively between disparate approaches and subject matter, from famous faces to images sensitive to light and shape, in subjects as simple as the curve of paper folded softly over itself.

A security guard, right, stands near the work “Robin Fischer, Dirostahl, Remscheid 2024” in German-based photographer Wolfgang Tillmans’ current exhibition, “Keep Movin’,” at Regen Projects.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

During an early walk-through for a few dozen invited guests, Tillmans held forth on his personal cosmos, surveying pictures from the experimental to the deeply intimate. Portraits, politically charged tabletop collages and quiet photographs that capture the simple vibrance of daily life are strewn across Regen’s 20,000 square feet of gallery space.

“I see my work evolve more in evolutions, rather than in revolutions,” Tillmans said, gesturing to a conceptual wall-sized image created with a photocopier.

His Regen show, through March 1, also features short video works and the abstractions of camera-less images he considers “pure photography,” created in the darkroom by shining light directly onto photosensitive paper. There are pictures relating to human sexuality and images from nature. Each subject and approach is an ongoing concern left intentionally open-ended, and never contained within a single project, title or grouping. They are all inseparable in his own mind, free from categories or a finite series of pictures.

“I am aware that these art historical categories exist in my oeuvre, but I’m not seeking them out,” Tillmans explained after the walk-through. His practice is not about “working through one series or genre and then moving on to another.”

Installation view of Wolfgang Tillmans’ “Keep Movin’” at Regen Projects.

(Evan Bedford / Regen Projects)

On his trip to Los Angeles, Tillmans made a long-planned visit to the Mt. Wilson Observatory to satisfy his lifelong interest in astronomy. He used the giant telescope to capture the twinkling of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. This preoccupation resurfaces at Regen in a large-scale print of 2023’s “Flight Honolulu to Guam,” revealing a star field above the clouds.

Tillmans’ interest in stargazing goes back to his adolescence, and images of the moon and cosmos recur in his work. “It gave me a sense of not being lonely, seeing the infinite sky and universe,” he says. “I always felt it was a very grounding experience that all humans share. I always got something from this — besides the beauty and the formal marvel of it all — this sense of location and locating myself.”

His depiction of the heavens is just one of many threads and themes that run through his decades of work.

A piece of work personally hung by photographer Wolfgang Tillmans in his current exhibition, “Keep Movin’” at Regen Projects.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Early in his career, Tillmans began shooting for the British street style magazine i-D, creating portraits of the famous and unfamous, while also documenting club life and gay culture. In 1995, Taschen published his first book, which made a stir with portraits of soft, indirect illumination, emphasizing naturalness. By avoiding the dramatic lighting and exaggerated special effects often seen in pictures of youth culture, he landed on a distinctive visual style.

“I felt the heaviness of life and the joy of life,” Tillmans says. “I saw myself as a multifaceted complex being, not just as young. So I experimented with lighting and film — how can I photograph my contemporaries in a way that approximates the way that I see through my eyes? And that was stripping back anything effectful, almost taking away the camera.”

He continues to do assignment work for magazines, which he considers part of his artistic practice. Several recent portraits are at Regen, including a foundry worker in Tillmans’ hometown of Remscheid and another of actor Jodie Foster. The editorial work brings him into contact with people and places he might not otherwise meet.

In 2000 Tillmans became the first photographer and first non-British artist to win the prestigious Turner Award. Tate Britain staged his mid-career retrospective in 2003 and the Hammer Museum in Westwood mounted his first major U.S. retrospective that same year, which traveled to Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.

Coming after major retrospectives at the Pompidou Centre in Paris last year and the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, in 2022, the Regen show dispenses with the retrospective frame while quietly performing a similar task — taking in the main currents of Tillmans’ work over the past two decades, and a few images dating to the late ‘80s. His relationship with the gallery began with his first Los Angeles exhibition.

Visitors walk through photographer Wolfgang Tillmans’ exhibition, “Keep Movin’,” at Regen Projects in Los Angeles.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

As ever, the images are displayed in a startling range of shapes and sizes: framed and unframed, huge wall-size prints hang alongside tiny, snapshot-scale pictures. One of the largest, “Panorama, left” (2006), spans nearly 20 feet and hangs only from bulldog clips. Smaller pictures are simply taped to the wall, but nothing is meant to indicate hierarchy.

“The biggest may not be the most important, and the smallest might be overlooked,” he explains. “It’s a little bit like projecting the way that I look at the world.”

In his first decade of exhibitions, he had no frames at all. “I taped those photographs to the wall, not as a gesture of disrespectful grunginess, but as a gesture of purity,” he adds. “That sense of immediacy — and not imbuing something with outside signifiers of value — lets the fragile piece of paper speak for itself.”

One of the current show’s larger conceptual pieces, “Memorial for the Victims of Organized Religion II,” fills a corner with 48 rectangular portrait-sized photographs, all of them solid black or dark blue. It’s a near-replica of a work shown at the Pompidou with the same solemn title, created to recognize those “physically maimed or mentally harmed” by doctrine and intolerance.

“I myself have a spiritual side,” says Tillmans, still grateful for positive experiences attending a Lutheran church in his youth. “But over the years I’ve become ever more distrustful of organized religions and seeing the role of religion in government. I find it incredibly immodest for humans to tell other humans what God wants.”

When he’s not exploring his spirituality and creativity visually, he focuses his energy on the music world. It’s a natural setting for Tillmans, who is increasingly active releasing his own electronic-based pop music. He’s occasionally worked as a DJ, and has been involved in acid house, techno and other electronic music. Despite his notoriety in the art world, he has no concern about hitting the charts.

“This is part of my work. I’m doing it the same way that I’m doing a photograph. I’m not doing a photograph to be peak popular in two months’ time,” Tillmans said. “It’s there and it’s still there in 24 years.”

A MAJOR airline has axed over a hundred flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick.

Qatar Airways has made big changes to its spring schedule and has cancelled 131 upcoming flights from its rota.

Qatar Airways flies from both London Heathrow and Gatwick with direct services to Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Between the months of April and June 2026, there had been 951 departures from the two London airports to Doha.

But according to the new schedule, it now has just 818 outbound flights, which is a reduction of 133 flights across the three months.

SimpleFlying found that on week starting May 1, 2026, Qatar Airways has planned for 59 weekly departures rather than 70.

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During that week at Gatwick, there will be 11 weekly departures, which is reduced from the previous double daily service at 22 flights.

That same route will continue to have 11 weekly flights throughout September.

At the same time in London Heathrow, Qatar Airways will provide 48 flights rather than 59 – a loss of 11 services.

SimplyFlying added that it’s “believed that it’ll hand slots back to British Airways”.

Qatar Airways and British Airways are part of the Oneworld alliance, meaning BA effectively serves Doha on the carrier’s behalf.

Currently, there are no changes planned to BA’s flight offering.

The route between London and the capital of Qatar takes on average six hours and 45 minutes.

Other changes Qatar Airways has made changes to its upcoming schedule. include suspending flights to Aleppo.

It will also reduce services to other destinations like Peshawar, San Francisco, Sialkot and Venice.

Qatar Airways also plans fewer London services from July to October – but this is a decrease of only two per cent.

Sun Travel has gone to Qatar Airways for comment.

For more on Qatar Airways, here’s what one Sun Travel writer made of the airline when she flew with them in business class.

The airline was even named the best for the ninth time in the Skytrax Awards last year.

Nithya Raman began her political career by defeating a well-funded incumbent with deep ties to the Democratic Party establishment.

Raman, an urban planner who was running to shake up the status quo, became the first person to oust a sitting councilmember in 17 years, stunning the Los Angeles political establishment with her defeat of David Ryu in 2020.

Now, with her surprise, last-minute entry into the mayor’s race, the 44-year-old Silver Lake resident is hoping to defeat another incumbent, Karen Bass, by expanding on the formula that led to her first upset victory.

“I was an outsider when I first ran, and I think I’ll be an outsider in this race,” Raman said after filing her candidate paperwork on Feb. 7, hours before the deadline.

But after six years at City Hall, Raman is no longer an outsider. She has her own record, which is in many ways intertwined with the mayor’s, particularly on homelessness, an issue the onetime allies have worked closely together to remedy.

As a City Council member, Raman, whose previous campaigns were backed by Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles, has sometimes walked a political tightrope, exasperating her progressive base on issues like policing. Last week, she said that the LAPD must not shrink further — a substantial evolution from her “defund the police” declaration during her first run for council.

She has also frustrated some on the left by calling for changes to the city’s “mansion tax,” which she backed in 2022 but which she now says is getting in the way of much-needed development.

Raman shook up a mayoral race that was devoid of high-powered challengers after former L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner dropped out and L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and billionaire developer Rick Caruso decided not to run.

“Nithya has shown that she can get votes. She’s going to be competitive,” said Bill Carrick, a longtime Democratic political consultant who worked on campaigns for former Mayors Eric Garcetti, James Hahn and Richard Riordan.

But her late entry will make it more difficult to get endorsements and raise money. With three months before ballots are mailed for the June 2 primary, she will have to work at double speed to build a campaign infrastructure and tap into bases that have helped her win before, from Hollywood supporters to DSA members and pro-housing advocates from the YIMBY — Yes in My Backyard — movement.

She has already missed DSA’s endorsement season. And last week, nine of her 14 City Council colleagues reiterated their endorsements of Bass, including another progressive council member, Hugo Soto-Martínez, who said he was “caught off-guard” by Raman’s “last-minute maneuver.”

Raman, who had also endorsed Bass, will have to combat hard feelings among some L.A. politicos who feel that her entry into the race is a betrayal of a mayor who helped her win reelection in 2024.

Raman has said that her decision to run was driven in part by her frustration with city leaders’ inability to get the basics right, such as fixing streetlights and paving streets.

Since launching her campaign, Raman has also joined a chorus of Angelenos criticizing Bass’ handling of the catastrophic Palisades fire, saying the city must be better prepared for major emergencies.

As the dust settles on her unexpected candidacy, political observers are assessing Raman’s prospects — both her strengths and the obstacles that stand between her and the mayor’s office.

Bass campaign spokesperson Douglas Herman declined to comment. A Raman campaign spokesperson, Jeff Millman, also declined to comment.

Ryu, who lost to Raman in 2020, said Bass should be “nervous” about her newest opponent.

To win, Ryu said, Raman must tap into the strengths that helped propel her to victory in the past, including her prowess with social media.

“She couldn’t speak in front of crowds at the beginning. She was super nervous,” Ryu said. “But oh my God, her social media team, the production value of her videos. It’s a science.”

Raman’s 2020 campaign will be hard to replicate. That year, the council race focused not just on local policy but also on national issues such as #MeToo and the police murder of George Floyd, Ryu said. Big-name politicians weighed in, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsing Raman and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsing Ryu.

The most important difference, Ryu said, is that Raman can no longer plausibly position herself as an outsider.

“Now there’s a record. It’s easy when you’re the activist fighting the system. But when you’re in there, you realize it’s a zero-sum game,” he said. “Do you want to trim trees and fix potholes or build housing? Sometimes that is the brutal reality.”

In the coming months, Raman will have to reach beyond her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda, introducing herself and her record to voters across the city. She began a media blitz in her first week as a candidate, doing interviews with NBC4, KNX News and The Times.

Her main goal should be to make it to the November runoff, said Mike Trujillo, a Democratic political consultant.

If no candidate among the roughly 40 running for mayor wins more than 50% of the vote in the June 2 primary, the top two finishers will move to the runoff.

A runoff would allow Raman a fresh start, with each candidate starting a new round of fundraising and pitching themselves to voters in a one-on-one contest.

“If it’s Nithya and Mayor Bass, they would both start at zero,” Trujillo said. “For a challenger, that is a godsend.”

That leaves political watchers doing the math of how the mayor and the councilmember could get to the runoff, and which candidates might block their way.

After Bass and Raman, the three biggest figures in the race are Spencer Pratt, Rae Huang and Adam Miller.

Pratt is a registered Republican whose house burned down in the Palisades fire. He has been sharply critical of the mayor’s handling of the fire and has gained traction with national Republicans, including allies of President Trump.

Of the more than 2 million registered voters in the city of Los Angeles, just under 15% were Republicans as of December 2025.

Mike Murphy, a Republican political consultant, thinks Pratt could get 19% to 21% of the vote, with a ceiling in the mid to high 20s.

“Not liking Karen does not make you a Republican,” Murphy said.

On the other side of the spectrum, community organizer Rae Huang has been running an unabashedly leftist campaign, calling for free buses and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Huang has not been endorsed by DSA’s Los Angeles chapter, but she is a member of the organization.

In 2022, leftist Gina Viola won nearly 7% of the vote in the primary.

Trujillo, the Democratic consultant, said the other wild card is Adam Miller, the tech entrepreneur who has waded into the fight against homelessness. Miller could spend a significant amount of his own fortune in the race — as Caruso did against Bass in 2022.

If Pratt and Huang combine to take 25% and Miller can take somewhere in the 20% range, then Raman and Bass would have to worry about not making the runoff.

“Suddenly, you have a three-way jump ball,” Trujillo said.

Despite having more name recognition than some of her opponents, Raman will need to raise significant funds in a short time.

“My hope is that money will flow,” said Dave Rand, a land use attorney active on housing issues who supports Raman.

Rand said that developers and people in the YIMBY movement will support Raman, who has been a strong advocate for building more housing in Los Angeles.

Mott Smith, a developer and Raman supporter, said he believes fellow developers who know Raman will “gladly” contribute to her campaign.

Smith said he is concerned about Angelenos associating Raman with DSA, which could turn off more moderate voters.

“She will win if Los Angeles gets to know the pragmatic, solutions-oriented Nithya, as opposed to the cartoon image that one paints when they hear she is the latest of the DSA candidates to run for office here,” he said.

England winger Bukayo Saka has signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal until 2031.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the agreement will make Saka the club’s best-paid player on wages in excess of £300,000 a week.

Talks over a new deal have been ongoing for nearly a year, with Saka verbally agreeing to commit his future to the club in January.

Saka signed his previous deal, which was due to expire in 2027, in 2023 but his renewal means the 24-year-old has committed his peak years to the Gunners.

The news comes as a major boost for the Gunners, as they battle on four fronts to win silverware for the first time since 2020.

The agreement is the latest example of Arsenal tying down their key players to long-term contracts as they look to keep their title-chasing squad together.

William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly all signed new long-term contracts in the summer.

Saka has scored seven goals in 33 appearances for the Gunners this term.

Mikel Arteta’s side are four points clear at the top of the Premier League and they will face Manchester City in the EFL Cup final in March.

The Gunners are also through to the the knockout stages of the Champions League, as well as the fifth round of the FA Cup.

ONE popular seaside town known for its Royal Harbour and sweeping sandy beach is en route to having its heritage lift restored.

The Edwardian lift in Ramsgate has been out of action for four years, but could soon be transporting visitors once more.

The historical East Cliff lift is found on Ramsgate’s seafront and was once used to transport visitors and locals between the upper promenade and main sands area.

However, the lift, which is at Harbour Parade, has been out of action since 2021.

The council says it requires “significant works” to get it up and running again.

Now, Thanet District Council (TDC) has put aside £120,000 to restore it in the 2026-27 draft budget.

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The council’s cabinet will consider the proposals on February 24, 2026.

The East Cliff lift was built in 1910 and was one of many developed across the country.

The lifts were built so that seaside hotels could provide their guests with quick and easy access to the beach.

It’s not the first time the East Cliff lift has gone under major works – it stopped operations in the 1990s and after being neglected for years, it was restored in 1999.

However, it is the only surviving lift in Ramsgate – there were once three in the seaside town however the Marina Lift was demolished back in 1926.

And the West Cliff Lift went up for auction in December 2025.

Ramsgate itself is a popular seaside town, although it’s sometimes overlooked in favour of its neighbours, Broadstairs and Margate.

But lots of Brits will still flock there every summer, usually to its Main Sands Beach.

The long sandy stretch is next to the UK’s only Royal Harbour and Marina.

It has lots of amusements, arcades, and restaurants. During the summer, you can get ice cream and drinks from the kiosks and hire out deck chairs.

Ramsgate is also home to the UK’s biggest Wetherspoons.

The Grade-II listed Royal Victoria Pavilion opened as a Wetherspoons in 2017 and it has a whopping 11,000sqm of space for drinkers, and a beachfront terrace.

When the Sun’s Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey visited she said: “It’s definitely huge so you don’t have to worry about being crammed in even on a busy Saturday.

“Most people sit around the edges to be near one of the many beach views from the window.

“It’s a classic Wetherspoons grub – hearty and cheap, with the curry, sides, and wine setting me back around £11.”

Plans have been drawn up for an outdoor pool to be built in Ramsgate…

Near to the East Cliff lift is a car park that could be turned into an outdoor pool…

Heritage Lab revealed it’s in “early discussions with an experienced developer” on creating an outdoor pool complex on Ramsgate’s East Cliff.

It could be built on the Marina Esplanade Car Park in Ramsgate.

What is now a council-owned car park was once the Marina Bathing Pool built in the 1930s. It had an Olympic-sized pool, diving area and filtered seawater.

Open for years to swimmers, it eventually closed in 1975 after structural issues.

However, Heritage Lab has hinted that it hopes to bring an open-air pool back to Ramsgate.

It wouldn’t just be a pool either – Heritage Lab has hinted that the possible site could have saunas, cafes and social spaces to make it a “year-round destination”.

For more on British coastlines – the best ‘one-of-a-kind’ beaches around the world have been revealed and two in the UK make the list.

Plus, check out this English hotel right on the beach with sea-view rooms and gorgeous spa.

President Donald Trump’s description earlier this month of the UK–Mauritius agreement on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands as “an act of great stupidity”  briefly turned the world’s attention to the remote archipelago.

While most of the coverage and debate focused on the US military base on Diego Garcia island, little attention has been given to the sordid story of US and UK involvement in ongoing crimes against humanity against the islands’ Indigenous people – the Chagossians.

The Chagossians, whose island homeland is in the middle of the Indian Ocean, are largely descended from formerly enslaved East Africans. More than 60 years ago, US officials decided that the largest island, Diego Garcia, would be a suitable location for a remote military base.

The US saw the Chagossian population as a problem, as they wanted the island “clean” of inhabitants. Over the next decade, they secretly plotted with the UK – the colonial power governing Chagos – through a manufactured story based on racism and lies, to force the islanders from their home.

One US admiral, Elmo Zumwalt, said the islanders “absolutely must go”. To scare them into leaving, UK and US personnel gassed their dogs. From 1967 to 1973, the UK proceeded to force all the Chagossians – as many as 2,000 people – from all the islands, not only Diego Garcia. The US built and has now operated the Diego Garcia base for more than 50 years.

Today, the Chagossians live in exile, largely in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Many remain in poverty and have been prevented by the UK and US from returning to live in their homeland, even though generations have continued to campaign to do so. The islands, apart from the US military base, remain abandoned.

The story of US involvement in this forced displacement has been gradually uncovered, including through a congressional inquiry, the work of the academic David Vine, and the indefatigable struggle of generations of Chagossians to uncover the truth and return home. In 2023, Human Rights Watch found that the UK and US were responsible for crimes against humanity and had a duty to provide reparations – an opportunity to right their wrongs.

As a result, the US State Department for the first time acknowledged “regret” for what had happened to the Chagossians. Subsequently, the UK and Mauritius agreed in principle to a treaty to recognise Mauritian sovereignty over the islands, although the UK will maintain formal control of Diego Garcia island and the US military base will remain.

Forgotten in this settlement are the Chagossians. The treaty talks about historical wrongs, but the crimes are ongoing. The Chagossians are still prevented from returning home: Their islands – apart from the base – remain empty. Some Chagossians hope that the treaty will allow them to live on some of the islands, though this will depend on Mauritius fulfilling its obligations. The treaty itself provides no guarantee of their return and says nothing about the reparations owed to the Chagossians.

The US still appears opposed to Chagossians returning to Diego Garcia, even though the base occupies at most half the island. No Chagossian we’ve spoken to wants the base to close; instead, they would like the opportunity to work there. The US has kept a very low public profile in the negotiations – at least until President Trump’s comments – hiding behind the UK.

But the agreement’s terms make it clear that the US has been influencing the negotiations. The US “regret” for the treatment of the Chagossians has yet to translate into ensuring the Chagossians can return to Diego Garcia.

The treatment of the Chagossians is a crime in which the US has been implicated for more than 50 years, and to which Trump has inadvertently drawn attention. Having acknowledged regret, the US and UK governments should now ensure that their actions align with their obligations under international law, including working with Mauritius to enable the Chagossians to return to their homeland and providing appropriate reparations. Until that happens, the injustice remains unresolved.

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

A HOLLYWOOD A-lister stunned locals when he was spotted shopping at a cricket supplies store.

This twice Oscar-winning actor, 69, was seen browsing a store in Australia, with staff at the shop admitting that they “didn’t recognise him” at first.

The star in question is movie megastar, Tom Hanks.

The much-loved actor looked worlds away from his famous film roles as he browsed a cricket shop in Sydney.

The Forrest Gump star looked happy and relaxed as he posed for a photo with the delighted shop staff, who couldn’t believe their eyes.

Tom was dressed casually in just a grey T-shirt and black trousers, and was stood with his son Truman, 29.

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The gob-smacked shop workers shared the picture on Instagram of them with Tom, and penned: “Not your usual walk-in customer…

“We’re used to serving cricket royalty, but yesterday at GCCC North Sydney, we welcomed Hollywood royalty, with Tom Hanks and his son Truman stopping by the store.

“From Baggy Greens to big screens, you never know who’ll walk through the doors at GCCC.”

The shop’s followers went wild for the pic, with one person writing: “How exciting – well done for capturing the moment.

Tom is often spotted out and about with the general public, despite his star status.

Last autumn he was spotted taking a subway train in New York.

He even slipped a few dollars to a street musician before heading off into the crowd.

Tom shot to fame in the 80s and was known for comedies like Big, Splash and Turner & Hooch.

In the 90s he became well known for romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, both of which he starred alongside Meg Ryan.

However, he went on to win two Oscars when he switched to more serious roles.

Tom won his first Academy Award for Philadelphia in 1994, and then for Forrest Gump the year after.

The star’s other big roles include Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away.

Despite being known as one of the kindest actors in Hollywood, fans will be surprised to hear that Mr Hanks previously admitted to being a diva on set.

He even compared himself to the stroppy character in his 2023 movie The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.

Tom said: “I’ve had my tough days trying to be a professional when my life has been falling apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving – and it’s the last way I feel.”

Away from the cameras, Tom is happily married to wife Rita Wilson, who he shares his son Truman with.

A historic village in Yorkshire has been used to film Happy Valley and other BBC productions, and visitors say it’s like stepping back in time.

Perched atop a hill in the British countryside just beyond Hebden Bridge, with a population barely exceeding 1,500 souls, Heptonstall demonstrates that when it comes to allure, size is irrelevant. This “beautiful little village” ranks amongst Yorkshire’s most historic settlements, “beguiling the visitor with its quiet charm,” according to Visit Calderdale.

Those who’ve visited recently describe it as an enchanting spot, comparable to “stepping back in time”. They’ve also praised its cobblestone lanes, handful of pubs, a tea room, and a pair of churches – one featuring the remains of St Thomas à Becket.

Visit Calderdale stated: “Surrounded by breathtaking countryside, Hebden Bridge has been voted as the ‘fourth funkiest town in the world’, best small market town in the UK and ‘the greatest town in Europe’. Heptonstall is one of the most historic villages in Yorkshire, beguiling the visitor with its quiet charm.”

Heptonstall has built a following thanks to its appearances in the BAFTA-winning BBC thriller series Happy Valley, The Gallows Pole on the BBC, and Peterloo.

Key filming locations within the village featured The White Lion, Heptonstall Museum, the Church of St Thomas à Becket, and St Thomas the Apostle, reports the Express.

Heptonstall is also recognised as the final resting place of celebrated American poet Sylvia Plath. She lies buried in the newer St Thomas à Becket churchyard.

Famous for her novel The Bell Jar, Sylvia died on 11 February 1963, aged just 30. Visitors to Heptonstall have been left captivated by the charming village, insisting it’s a destination that won’t disappoint.

Howlo shared: “A truly quaint and beautiful village, it’s like going back in time, and I am told it’s used for many period television series. I can see why. I loved it and would certainly visit again.”

Ted S concurred: “Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall are both lovely places to visit. Heptonstall is like stepping back in time.”

Hazwel R said: “There are not enough stars to rate this place. It is so much more than excellent. The most beautiful, tranquil village. Amazing scenery, the locals are so friendly and welcoming, Heptonstall is truly an amazing place to visit. Come just for the views alone, you will never be disappointed.”

Julian140 commented: “Nice bracing walk up there whichever way you go [to the village]. Rewarded with a virtually unspoilt old-world village.”

Joetravels2014 noted: “A village that is often overlooked by tourists. It’s a place to see if you have time, lovely and charming.”

Lynne M added: “The historic village is like turning back time. It is situated high up on a hill overlooking the old industrial town of Hebden Bridge. We parked on the outskirts and wandered around the very quiet streets, marvelling at the historic buildings and the narrow cobbled streets. We came across historic church ruins and old graveyards with masses of stone headstones embedded in the ground. It was fascinating.”

Susan Olivia L penned: “This place is amazing! Feels like you’re on the set of a Harry Potter movie – spectacular old ruin, really worth the hike up the (very steep and long) hill!”

User Gypfin said: “The best village in Yorkshire due to the fact it’s still quiet and unspoilt. It’s a tranquil, hidden gem with two good pubs, fantastic views, architecture and people. I highly recommend you visit; there is always a warm welcome.”

Connor Cipolla, an Eaton wildfire survivor, last year praised Southern California Edison’s plan of burying more than 60 miles of electric lines in Altadena as it rebuilds to reduce the risk of fire.

Then he learned he would have to pay $20,000 to $40,000 to connect his home, which was damaged by smoke and ash, to Edison’s new underground line. A nearby neighbor received an estimate for $30,000, he said.

“Residents are so angry,” Cipolla said. “We were completely blindsided.”

Other residents have tracked the wooden stakes Edison workers put up, showing where crews will dig. They’ve found dozens of places where deep trenches are planned under oak and pine trees that survived the fire. In addition to the added costs they face, they fear many trees will die as crews cut their roots.

“The damage is being done now and it’s irreversible,” homeowner Robert Steller said, pointing Maiden Lane to where an Edison crew was working.

For a week, Steller, who lost his home in the fire, parked his Toyota 4Runner over a recently dug trench. He said he was trying to block Edison’s crew from burying a large transformer between two towering deodar cedar trees. The work would “be downright fatal” to the decades-old trees, he said.

Altadena resident Robert Steller stands in front of his Toyota 4Runner that he parked strategically to prevent a Southern California Edison crew from digging too close to two towering cedar trees.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

The buried lines are an upgrade that will make Altadena’s electrical grid safer and more reliable, Edison says, and it also will lower the risk that the company would have to black out Altadena neighborhoods during dangerous Santa Ana winds to prevent fires.

Brandon Tolentino, an Edison vice president, said the company was trying to find government or charity funding to help homeowners pay to connect to the buried lines. In the meantime, he said, Edison decided to allow owners of homes that survived the fire to keep their overhead connections until financial help was available.

Tolentino added that the company planned meetings to listen to residents’ concerns, including about the trees. He said crews were trained to stop work when they find tree roots and switch from using a backhoe to digging by hand to protect them.

“We’re minimizing the impact on the trees as we [put lines] underground or do any work in Altadena,” he said.

Although placing cables underground is a fire prevention measure, consumer advocates point out it’s not the most cost-effective step Edison can take to reduce the risk.

Undergrounding electric wires can cost more than $6 million per mile, according to the state Public Utilities Commission, far more than building overhead wires.

Because utility shareholders put up part of the money needed to pay for burying the lines, the expensive work means they will earn more profit. Last year, the commission agreed Edison investors could earn an annual return of 10.03% on that money.

Edison said in April it would spend as much as $925 million to underground and rebuild its grid in Altadena and Malibu, where the Palisades fire caused devastation. That amount of construction spending will earn Edison and its shareholders more than $70 million in profit before taxes — an amount billed to electric customers — in the first year, according to calculations by Mark Ellis, the former chief economist for Sempra, the parent company of Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric.

That annual return will continue over the decades while slowly decreasing each year as the assets are depreciated, Ellis said.

“They’re making a nice profit on this,” he said.

Tolentino said the company wasn’t doing the work to profit.

“The primary reason for undergrounding is the wildfire mitigation,” he said. “Our focus is supporting the community as they rebuild.”

It’s unclear if the Eaton fire would have been less disastrous if Altadena’s neighborhood power lines had been buried. The blaze ignited under Edison’s towering transmission lines that run down the mountainside in Eaton Canyon. Those lines carry bulk power through Edison’s territory. The power lines being put underground are the smaller distribution lines, which carry power to homes.

A power line outside the home of Altadena resident Connor Cipolla.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

The investigation into the fire’s cause has not yet been released. Edison says a leading theory is that one of the Eaton Canyon transmission lines, which hadn’t carried power for 50 years, might have briefly reenergized, sparking the blaze. The fire killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes, businesses and other structures.

Edison said it has no plans to bury those transmission lines.

The high cost of undergrounding has become a contentious issue in Sacramento because, under state rules, most or all of it is billed to all customers of the utility.

Before the Eaton fire, Edison won praise from consumer advocates by installing insulated overhead wires that sharply cut the risk of the lines sparking a fire for a fraction of the cost. Since 2019, the company has installed more than 6,800 miles of the insulated wires.

“A dollar spent reconductoring with covered conductor provides … over four times as much value in wildfire risk mitigation as a dollar spent on underground conversion,” Edison said in testimony before the utilities commission in 2018.

By comparison, Pacific Gas & Electric has relied more on undergrounding its lines to reduce the risk of fire, pushing up customer utility bills. Now Edison has shifted to follow PG&E’s example.

Mark Toney, executive director of the the Utility Reform Network, a consumer group in San Francisco, said his staff estimates Edison spends $4 million per mile to underground wires compared with $800,000 per mile for installing insulated lines.

By burying more lines, customer bills and Edison’s profits could soar, Toney said.

“Five times the cost is equal to five times the profit,” he said.

Last spring, Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, told Gov. Gavin Newsom about the company’s undergrounding plans in a letter. Pizarro wrote that rules at the utility commission would require Altadena and Malibu homeowners to pay to underground the electric wire from their property line to the panel on their house. He estimated it would cost $8,000 to $10,000 for each home.

Residents who need to dig long trenches may pay far more than that, said Cipolla, who is a member of the Altadena Town Council.

An oak tree stands tall in an area impacted by the Eaton fires. Homeowners worry such trees could be at risk in the undergrounding work.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Last week, Cipolla showed a reporter the electrical panel on the back of his house, which is many yards away from where he needs to connect to Edison’s line. The company also initially wanted him to dig up the driveway he poured seven years ago, he said. Edison later agreed to a location that avoids the driveway.

Tolentino said Edison’s crews were working with homeowners concerned about the company’s planned locations for the buried lines.

“We understand it is a big cost and we’re looking at different sources to help them,” he said.

At the same time, some residents are fuming that, despite the undergrounding work, most of the town’s neighborhoods still will have overhead telecommunications lines. In other areas of the state, the telecommunications companies have worked with the electric utilities to bury all the lines, eliminating the visual clutter.

So far, the telecom companies have agreed to underground only a fraction of their lines in Altadena, Tolentino said.

Cipolla said Edison executives told him they eventually plan to chop off the top of new utility poles the company installed after the fire, leaving the lower portion that holds the telecom lines.

“There is no beautification aspect to it whatsoever,” Cipolla said.

As for the trees, Steller and other residents are asking Edison to adjust its construction map to avoid digging near those that remain after the fire. Altadena lost more than half of its tree cover in the blaze and as crews cleared lots of debris.

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1. A pedestrian walks past Christmas Tree lane in Altadena. Christmas Tree Lane was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. 2. A “We Love Altadena” sign hangs from a shrub on Christmas Tree Lane. 3. Parts of a chopped down tree rest on a street curb in Altadena.

Wynne Wilson, a fire survivor and co-founder of Altadena Green, pointed out that the lot across the street from the giant cedar trees on Maiden Lane has no vegetation, making it a better place for Edison’s transformer.

“This is needless,” Wilson said. “People are dealing with so much. Is Edison thinking we won’t fight over this?”

Carolyn Hove, raising her voice to be heard over the crew operating a jackhammer in front of her home, asked: “How much more are we supposed to go through?”

Hove said she doesn’t blame the crews of subcontractors the utility hired, but Edison’s management.

“It’s bad enough our community was decimated by a fire Edison started,” she said. “We’re still very traumatized, and then to have this happen.”

From Jack Vita: Position players reported to spring training at Camelback Ranch for the Dodgers on Monday, but manager Dave Roberts revealed that the team will be without its versatile second baseman and utilityman Tommy Edman when it opens the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks at home on March 26.

The 30-year-old Edman underwent ankle surgery during the offseason after being limited to 97 games in 2025 in his first full season with the Dodgers.

“I think just looking at where his ankle is at, trying to play the long view that you don’t want to have any regression or setbacks,” Roberts said. “So, how can we be methodical with it? Just for me, knowing that he’s just taking swings is enough. We’re not going to rush it. We want to put him in the best position, so I think it just kind of became [clearer] very recently.”

Edman will open the season on the injured list, something he is at peace with. He felt that a return before opening day was a bit ambitious, and that it would be better to err on the side of caution.

Continue reading here

Photos: Shohei Ohtani and other Dodgers stars work out at spring training

Mike Trout back to center?

Mike Trout says he would prefer to return to center field for the Angels, and the star slugger says he will skip the World Baseball Classic because of insurance issues.

The 11-time All-Star who been plagued by injuries since 2021 says his familiar position isn’t as physically demanding as the corner outfield spots, contrary to traditional thinking.

Trout played his most games since 2019 last season, finishing at 130. The three-time American League MVP started 22 of his first 29 games in right field before a knee injury sidelined him for a month. The 34-year-old was exclusively a designated hitter when he returned in late May.

“I feel like I’m at my best when I’m in center,” Trout told reporters at the club’s spring training facility Monday. “If I have to go to the corner, I’ll go to the corner.

“When I was in center, it was less on my body than the corners. To be honest, in right field I felt I was running a lot. Talking to some other outfielders and they’re saying that they feel the same way sometimes, center is less on your legs. I just feel … confident in center.”

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This day in sports history

1923 — Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators becomes the NHL’s career scoring leader. He scores his 143rd goal to surpass Joe Malone in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

1924 — Johnny Weissmuller sets a world record in the 100-yard freestyle swim with a time of 52.4 seconds.

1926 — Suzanne Lenglen beats Helen Wills 6-3, 8-6 in Cannes, France, in their only tennis match against each other.

1928 — Sweden’s Gillis Grafstrom successfully defends his 1920 and 1924 Olympic figure skating title, with Austrian Willy Bockl finishing in second place as he did four years earlier.

1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Gus Dorazio in the second round in Philadelphia to defend his world heavyweight title.

1955 — Mike Souchak establishes the PGA 72-hole scoring record with a 257 at the Texas Open. Souchak starts with a record-tying 60 at San Antonio’s Brackenridge Park course and ends with a 27-under-par, beating the previous low for a 72-hole event by two shots.

1968 — The Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Mass.

1974 — Richard Petty wins his second straight Daytona 500. It’s the fifth Daytona 500 title for Petty, who also won in 1964, 1966, 1971 and 1973.

1992 — Raisa Smetanina wins a gold medal with the Unified Team in the 20-kilometer cross-country relay to set the career Winter Olympics medal record with 10. Smetanina, 39, also becomes the oldest champion and the first to win a medal in five straight Winter Games.

1994 — San Antonio’s David Robinson records the fourth quadruple-double in NBA history with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks in the Spurs’ 115-96 win over Detroit.

1998 — The U.S. women’s hockey team wins the sport’s first Olympic gold medal. Sandra Whyte scores on an empty-netter with eight seconds left to give the United States a 3-1 victory over Canada.

2010 — Americans Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso finish 1-2 in the downhill at the Vancouver Olympics. It’s the first time since 1984 that the U.S won gold and silver in a women’s Alpine event.

2013 — Danica Patrick wins the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any Sprint Cup race.

2014 — Meryl Davis and Charlie White win the gold medal in ice dance, the first Olympic title in the event for the U.S..

2018 — Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu becomes the first man to successfully defend his Olympic figure skating title since Dick Button in 1952.

2020 — 62nd Daytona 500: Denny Hamlin wins second straight title by 0.014 seconds over Ryan Blaney on the second restart in overtime; his third Daytona victory

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Expedia’s Air Hacks Report shows how holidaymakers can save hundreds on flights – including the cheapest day to fly, best time to book and most affordable month to travel

New figures from travel agency Expedia have uncovered how holidaymakers can knock hundreds of pounds off their flight costs, with Friday now officially crowned the most budget-friendly day to jet off. Expedia has put together a comprehensive guide of “Air Hacks” to help travellers secure the best bargains throughout the year.

The latest Air Hacks Report shows that travellers can pocket an average saving of 18% by departing on a Friday rather than a Saturday. Despite being the busiest travel day of the week, Friday delivers the strongest value for money. Meanwhile, Tuesday emerges as the quietest day for flying but most expensive to book.

According to the report, the best day to book is Sunday, as this gets you the best deal and June is the most affordable month to fly, with flights 68% cheaper on average than December, which represents a potential saving of £250 per ticket.

For optimal booking, the most affordable window for domestic economy flights is between 31 and 45 days before departure, which will save people around £38 compared to booking six months out.

For international travel, adults can save an average of £93 by booking between 15 and 30 days ahead of time instead of six months, though purchasing tickets 31 to 45 days before can still yield a saving of £85.

Regarding UK airports, the cheapest to fly from, on average, are Belfast (£170), Liverpool (£171), and Bournemouth (£171). Conversely, the most expensive airports to fly from are London Heathrow (£533), Humberside (£420), and Manchester (£404).

Melanie Fish, a spokesperson from Expedia, said: “We are very excited to release these new findings and share our top air hacks for 2026 to ensure holidaymakers get the best value for money, as well as an enjoyable travelling experience.

The report also uncovered emerging travel trends. Twenty percent of travellers have booked an “extreme day trip,” which involves a roundtrip flight within 24 hours to visit a new destination.

Over half (51%) of international flyers now opt for morning departures, with only 15% choosing an evening flight. Furthermore, a third of travellers now fly with only a carry-on bag, and 29% admit they wear extra layers to avoid baggage fees.

The company, which launched a ‘Flight Deals’ feature to help users find flights 20% below the norm, hopes these insights will help holidaymakers navigate the overwhelming and expensive process of planning a trip.

Feb. 17 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he would participate “indirectly” in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks due to resume in Geneva on Tuesday.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Monday night, Trump said the negotiations were very important and he believed Tehran wanted to reach a deal, saying the fallout of not doing so would be very bad news, referencing U.S. air and missile strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities in June, following failed negotiations.

“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s [stealth bomber aircraft] in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable,” said Trump, who acknowledged that they were tough to negotiate with.

Similar optimism for its own prospects emanated from the Iranian side on Monday with the foreign ministry in Tehran saying it believed the United States’ position had shifted to “a more realistic one,” regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

Following a meeting in Geneva on Monday with International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi on “technical matters,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was heading into the talks with “real ideas” to achieve a fair and just agreement, vowing Iran would not be coerced.

“What is not on the table: submission before threats,” he wrote in a post on X.

On Friday, Trump announced he was dispatching a second carrier strike group, the USS Gerald Ford, to the region to join an already substantial U.S. naval armada in the Arabian to ratchet up pressure on Tehran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and a deadly crackdown on protesters that began in late December.

Trump said he was deploying the world’s largest carrier to join the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group sent last month because if Iran didn’t “make a deal, we’ll need it.”

The Gerald Ford and its battleships and associated vessels, currently deployed in the Caribbean, are expected to arrive in the Arabian Sea in three to four weeks.

Tuesday’s negotiations pick up from talks in Oman on Feb. 6 where a U.S. team led by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, met with the Iranian’s led by Araghchi, although proceedings were mediated by Omani officials and the two sides did not talk face-to-face.

As well as agreement on curtailing Iran’s enrichment of uranium, the Trump administration wants the talks to include its ballistic missile arsenal, a recent brutal crackdown on public protests and backing of regional proxies Hamas and Hezbollah.

Tehran has been pushing back, insisting it is only willing to discuss reining in its nuclear program — in exchange for sanctions relief.