announces

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK will ban social media for teens under the age of 16 and impose tighter rules on gaming and livestreaming platforms, with regulations to follow by the end of the year. He says the move is aimed at protecting children, and will curb the power of big tech companies through tough online safety measures.

British PM warns social media platforms are exposing children to content that is ‘dangerous’ and ‘designed to be addictive’.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a ban on social media sites ⁠⁠for under-16s as the United Kingdom plans to join a growing list of countries that place online restrictions on children.

The sweeping changes will reflect Britain’s values, help to protect children online and push back against the power of big technology companies, Starmer said at a ⁠⁠news conference on Monday.

“It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice,” he told reporters.

“This will change the conversations that parents have and the expectations of children over time. It will make a huge difference. It will make our children safer. It will make our children happier. It will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity.”

As well as a ban on sites ‌‌such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, he said his government would take action against gaming and livestreaming services that allow children to talk to strangers.

“Is there a situation in the offline world where you would just let your child pair up with a stranger, an adult that you don’t know anything about? No, so we’re taking action on that,” Starmer said.

The prime minister warned that social media platforms are “exposing them to content that is dangerous” and “designed to be addictive”.

Timeline

Starmer said he hoped to pass the regulation by late December so the ban could come into force in the spring next year.

The government said in a statement it will also consider overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s and will announce more details in July.

Starmer said the upcoming ban was influenced by the experience of Australia, which in December became the first nation to ban people under 16 from social media.

Canada’s culture minister last week put forward a bill that would prohibit anyone under 16 from having social media accounts and oblige AI chatbot platforms to curb the creation of harmful content.

The UK announcement followed government-led consultations in which British teenagers trialled social media bans and time limits on apps.

A spokesperson for YouTube responded with a warning that such a blanket ban would push children towards “less safe services”.

THE upcoming Eden Project Morecambe has unveiled its biggest attraction yet – a £4.5million immersive experience.

Called ‘The Elder Tree’ it will guide visitors through a unique journey when it opens in 2028.

The £100million garden attraction set to be built on Morecambe Bay has revealed its centrepiece called ‘The Elder Tree’.

It has been described as “one of the most significant elements” of the attraction.

It’s being built at the cost of £4.5million, which was donated from a charity lottery.

The 65 foot tree will guide visitors on a journey from its roots to the trunk hollows in a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.

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It is set to show people how to “reconnect” with and “restore nature”.

The Eden Project in Morecambe will be the newest of its kind in 25 years with the only other attraction being in Cornwall.

Inside the new attraction will be two very different experiences called The Realm of the Sun and The Realm of the Moon.

The Realm of the Sun has been described as “a bright, lush landscape of the near future — a place where humanity has rediscovered how to repair and re-engage with the broken rhythms of the natural world”.

The Realm of the Moon is as an immersive but “darker” space with a hyper-real rockpool which will have sped-up cycles of tides.

Also inside the domes will be 1.5 acres of landscaped gardens, which will open earlier than the other exhibits in 2027.

Other details that have been previously mentioned include hanging plants, mini gardens, a multi-sensory area, a waterfall and a ‘Town Square’.

Between the two realms, there is expected to be an area called Metronome, where visitors will buy their entry tickets.

There will be a 750-capacity Tidal Theatre, a 300-capacity restaurant and a shop at the attraction as well.

Once open, Eden Project Morecambe is expected to bring in around £80million to the local area. 

Andy Jasper, Eden Project CEO, said: “The funding has specifically secured The Elder Tree – which will sit at the heart of the experience for visitors.

“More than a striking landmark, it will help tell the story of our changing relationship with the natural world and inspire people to imagine what an incredibly positive future could look like.”

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, has unveiled the crew for its upcoming Artemis III spaceflight, a preparatory mission as the United States plans to return to the Moon.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, Luca Parmitano and Randy Bresnik will be leading the flight. Serving as a backup is veteran test pilot Bob Heintz, who is able to substitute into any role.

Their two-week mission will focus on collecting research and practising in-space docking procedures in preparation for a future Moon landing.

While no women were named to the Artemis III flight, the newly announced crew represents a range of experiences and backgrounds.

Making his first spaceflight is Florida-born engineer Douglas, 40, who was a backup crew member for NASA’s last major spaceflight, Artemis II, which flew a loop around the Moon.

Douglas will serve as mission specialist on Artemis III, and his presence on the flight will make him one of roughly two dozen African American people to travel to space, out of a population of hundreds of space travellers so far.

Also serving as mission specialist will be Rubio, a 50-year-old Salvadoran American physician who used to pilot Black Hawk helicopters for the US Army. He currently holds the record for the longest single-duration spaceflight by a US astronaut, at 371 days.

The oldest member of the four-man crew is its 58-year-old commander, Bresnik. A former US Navy test pilot and Marine, Bresnik is the only Artemis III crew member to have participated in a space shuttle mission, back in 2009. That programme has since been retired.

More recently, in 2017, Bresnik served as the commander for the International Space Station.

The fourth and final member of the Artemis III mission is its pilot, Parmitano, 49. He will be the only astronaut on the mission who is not a US citizen.

Born in Paterno, Italy, Parmitano has a background in his country’s air force. In 2019, he too served as commander on board the International Space Station, becoming the first Italian to do so.

“ Each of you possess a unique background,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, who introduced the astronauts. “Your vast experience and unwavering dedication to NASA’s mission enables you to help make us and take this next great step in space exploration.”

The Artemis III mission will be a public-private partnership. Three rockets will blast off as part of the initiative.

One will carry the four-man crew into orbit around Earth in an Orion spacecraft. Another two rockets will bear aloft Moon lander models from Blue Origin and SpaceX, private firms owned respectively by tech entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

The Orion spacecraft will then practice rendezvous procedures with each of the two landers, in preparation for similar manoeuvres during future Moon missions. The Artemis III flight is set to take off before the end of 2027.

“Artemis III will be an extraordinary demonstration of what is possible when the greatest aerospace companies across the United States, alongside our European partners, come together to showcase the technological might and ambition of the free world,” said Isaacman, a Trump appointee who has experience commanding private space flights for SpaceX.

Explosion prompts concern

The mood at Tuesday’s unveiling ceremony was celebratory, as each newly announced astronaut took the stage to soaring music and standing ovations.

But looming over the event were concerns related to the explosion of an uncrewed Blue Origin New Glenn rocket in Florida on May 28.

That blast sent a mushroom cloud billowing above the city of Cape Canaveral, and it caused severe damage to a launchpad complex where the takeoff was scheduled.

Representatives from both NASA and Blue Origin, however, took the stage to wave aside any concerns.

“While we recognise there are questions about how Blue Origin’s recent anomaly impacts our plans, setbacks are a learning opportunity,” said Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s acting deputy administrator.

He added that NASA was taking an “active role” with its partners to “ensure the right outcomes are achieved”. The private firms, in turn, were granted “unparalleled access” to NASA experts, technology and test facilities.

“We are confident that New Glenn will be ready for Artemis III, together with Blue Origin,” Parsons said.

John Couluris, a representative for Blue Origin, likewise described the May 28 explosion as an “anomaly”.

“We’ve redoubled our efforts and are moving forward,” Couluris said, describing Blue Origin’s factories as “running around-the-clock shifts” to be ready for the Artemis III launch.

“We will measure ourselves not only by our successes but how we respond to setbacks.”

Race to the Moon

The race to beat China’s space programme was another theme that cropped up during Monday’s ceremony.

Several speakers alluded to China’s growing lunar landing programme, a rival to NASA’s efforts.

Earlier this year, the China Manned Space Agency announced its intentions to place a person on the Moon by 2030. Already, in 2024, China became the first country to retrieve soil samples from the far side of the Moon using robotics.

But lunar missions have been a point of pride for the US, which holds the distinction of completing the first crewed mission to the Moon in 1969.

Last April, the Artemis II flight marked the US’s return to lunar travel. For the first time since 1972, a crewed capsule flew beyond low Earth orbit, and it broke records for the farthest crewed flight into space.

Next year’s Artemis III mission is set to build on that effort. The administration of US President Donald Trump has signalled it would like to see astronauts land on the Moon before the Republican leader’s term ends in January 2029.

NASA officials have also described the Artemis programme as a stepping stone to establishing a permanent base on the Moon. Various speakers on Monday highlighted that vision.

Couluris, the Blue Origin representative, called the Moon an “eighth continent” for humans to explore.

NASA scientist Nicky Fox, meanwhile, described the Artemis III mission as part of the preparatory work that would enable the US “to plant astronaut boots back on the lunar surface — to stay”.

But the US’s lunar programme has faced numerous setbacks, as NASA engineers work to address technical issues that could otherwise cause life-threatening situations in deep space.

Originally, Artemis III was supposed to mark the US’s return to the Moon, bearing a crew to the lunar surface. But in February, that plan was scrapped in favour of the present-day project, which focuses on conducting practice drills in low Earth orbit.

“We will use this mission to reduce risk for our future crewed Moon missions with lander test articles from both Blue Origin and SpaceX, to ensure we will beat China back to the Moon,” Parsons said on Tuesday.

“This mission is deliberately designed to take calculated risks so that future crews will be safer and ultimately successful when we put boots on the lunar surface.”

Still, officials applauded Artemis III as a major step towards human beings reaching the Moon once more.

In a recorded statement, Senator Ted Cruz suggested that the Artemis III mission would also put the US a step ahead of China.

“At a time of growing competition with China in space, this mission will strengthen America’s leadership, expand our economy, and help secure a lasting American lunar presence,” he said.

“When America commits to a mission, we lead and we succeed.”

Start sending out “Smoke Signals.” Phoebe Bridgers finally announced her upcoming phone-free arena tour, and it includes two spooky nights in the Los Angeles area.

Bridgers shared details about the Lost Tour on Friday morning, following a sold-out show the previous night at Madison Square Garden in New York City and a series of secret pop-up shows across the United States.

The tour will kick off in Indianapolis in September and cap off the North American run with back-to-back shows at Inglewood’s Intuit Dome on Oct. 30 and 31, fitting dates for the skeleton suit-wearing singer-songwriter. A European leg will follow in November.

All tickets for Bridgers’ surprise acoustic show at Madison Square Garden were sold for $20 or under, and proceeds were donated to the Community Justice Exchange’s Immigration Bond Freedom Fund, which provides bail support to ICE detainees. For the Lost Tour, Bridgers will donate $1 from every ticket sold for North American concerts to RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization and operator of the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

A phone ban was also instituted at the MSG show and Bridgers’ previous pop-up sets, with attendees storing their devices in Yondr bags, which physically lock using magnets. The same policy will be in effect throughout the upcoming tour.

At the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, guests may not need their phones at all to access tickets or purchase concessions, since the arena is equipped with “GameFace ID” facial recognition technology.

The Lost Tour is Bridgers’ first full-band solo tour since Reunion Tour in support of her 2020 album “Punisher” wrapped in April 2023, though she has since toured as a member of the supergroup Boygenius. “Punisher” is her latest solo album, and her debut album with Boygenius, “The Record,” came out in 2023.

Though she debuted eight new songs at Thursday’s MSG show, she has yet to announce a new album.

Singer-songwriter Alex G will provide support on the tour’s North American leg, including the Inglewood dates, while former Black Country, New Road frontman Isaac Wood will support in Europe. The tour’s eerie imagery was created in collaboration with fine art photographer Gregory Crewdson.

In an effort to get tickets in the hands of fans, rather than scalpers or bots, there will be two days of presales before the general sale. Fans can register from now until midnight Sunday for lottery access to the Day 1 presale taking place Tuesday. There will be another presale Wednesday. Tickets go on sale to the general public June 12.

Bridgers last played in L.A. as part of a secret show at all-ages venue the Smell in February 2024, where Boygenius announced its hiatus.

In addition to touring, Bridgers has a role in the upcoming A24 feature “Primetime,” directed by Lance Oppenheim, which hits theaters in September.

Bridgers, who grew up in Pasadena and attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, told The Times in 2022 that her music taste was shaped in part by her upbringing in L.A., where she attended massive music festivals and local Día de los Muertos celebrations alike.

“I learned that there can be fun in the darkness,” she said.

Serena Williams has shaken up the tennis world by announcing her competitive return to the game after a nearly four-year absence.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner and mother of two said on Monday that she will compete in women’s doubles at this month’s Queen’s Club Championships in the United Kingdom, where media reported she will play with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko.

The 44-year-old American great received a wildcard entry for the competition, which is seen as a warm-up for Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam.

“I’m very happy. Me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice because I really look up to her,” Mboko said at the French Open last week.

Williams ended months of speculation over a rumoured return with a cheeky social media video captioned: “Good news travels fast.”

‘It will bring people to watch tennis’

Former world number one Lindsay Davenport said she believes Williams could make an appearance at her home Grand Slam, the US Open, in a couple of months.

“It seems like she’s trying to work her way up maybe to the US Open, and those fans would be so ready to see her back on a singles court there,” Davenport said.

Williams won seven Wimbledon titles and six at the US Open before stepping away from the game in 2022. In doubles, she won six titles at Wimbledon and two at the US Open – all with her older sister Venus Williams.

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who beat Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final for her first major title, was excited at the prospect.

“It will bring people to watch tennis,” Osaka said. “I’m going to be tuned in to the first match, for sure. I think a lot of people are. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it’s going to be cool to see her on the grounds again.”

Osaka was joined by several current players in sharing their excitement at the news of Serena Williams’s return.

“She’s a legend. It’s inspiring to see,” top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka said at the ongoing French Open. “I’m excited to see her play and probably face her. … It’s very good news for tennis.”

Coco Gauff, who looked up to Serena Williams growing up, chimed in as well.

“One of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her,” the world number four said.

Gauff also commented on Williams’s Instagram post, saying, “Dreams come true.”

Singles return on the cards?

Fellow American and former champion John McEnroe suggested Williams could compete in singles at Wimbledon, which starts on June 28 .

“She’s not getting any younger, but she’s Serena Williams, so I bet you she would tell me about wanting to win the whole damn thing,” McEnroe said in Paris.

The Queen’s Club tournament starts on Monday, and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said Williams will play “with a partner to be announced in due course”.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”

Davenport said some current women’s players travelled to Florida to practise with Williams recently.

“I don’t think anyone’s admitted to that, but I do know that some of them were,” Davenport said. “So I think she has kind of a handle on where the level is. But I don’t know if she’s been playing a two-hour singles match, right? We’ll have to see how she can handle that physically.”

Williams, who has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles overall in her storied career, became eligible to compete in February after reregistering for a mandatory antidoping programme six months earlier – the first step towards a comeback.

Davenport admitted that her former opponent would face a tough challenge.

“It’s not going to be easy. If anyone could do it, certainly, it could be her.”

Grand Slam social media accounts used more playful language to celebrate her return, using the goat emoji to symbolise her status as the “greatest of all time”.

Williams joins list of champions making comebacks

Williams is not the only top-level athlete with unfinished business as advancements in training and medical care have allowed for longer careers across several sports.

Seven-time track gold medallist Allyson Felix said this year that she would try to make the US squad in what would be her sixth Olympics. She is aiming to secure a spot on the mixed 4x400m relay team at the 2028 Los Angeles Games despite having previously said the Tokyo Games would be her last.

“It’s just ⁠⁠about testing the limits, kind of an experiment of what’s still left there,” the 40-year-old Felix, who gave birth to her second child in 2024, told the NBC TV network’s Today show last month.

Her fellow American Lindsey Vonn became the oldest downhill skier to win a World Cup race in December when she mounted a comeback after knee-replacement surgery.

Vonn, whose Milano-Cortina Olympics campaign ended abruptly with a horrific crash, was among the first top-level athletes to offer her encouragement to Williams on social media.

Vonn and Felix both celebrated Williams’s comeback announcement on social media.

In tennis, longtime Williams friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark made it to the fourth round at the US Open in 2023 and 2024 during her own comeback campaign while older sister Venus became the oldest WTA singles match winner since 2004 when she returned from a 16-month absence last year.

Serena Williams’s “return is an expression of her passion for competition”, WTA Chairwoman Valerie Camillo said in a statement on Monday. “I cannot wait to see her face a new generation.”

Another Brat summer is upon us.

Charli XCX announced Monday that her new album, “Music, Fashion, Film,” drops July 24, and it already looks iconic.

That’s because the cover art, which Charli shared on Instagram, features three icons within their fields. The Velvet Underground’s John Cale represents music, Marc Jacobs stands for fashion and beloved director Martin Scorsese symbolizes film.

“My new album Music, Fashion, Film is out july 24th,” Charli wrote on Instagram. “11 songs, 30 minutes, 5 seconds. available to pre order now, love you xx.”

She released the first two singles, “Rock Music” and “SS26,” in May. The latter, a shorthand for the fashion industry’s current “Spring, Summer ‘26” season, has an accompanying video that features the artist strutting down an X-shaped runway, singing, “We’re walking on a runway that goes straight to hell / Nothing’s gonna save us, not music, fashion or film.”

“Rock Music,” the album’s first single, was met with mixed reactions from critics and fans. The song telegraphs Charli’s genre switch from electronic pop to the titular rock music, announcing, “I think the dance floor is dead” over heavily distorted guitar.

“If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad,” Charli told British Vogue in April. “What’s interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on [rock music] could be.” She later clarified on Instagram, “I never said i was making a rock album.”

“Music, Fashion, Film” is not the artist’s first album in 2026. She released “Wuthering Heights,” the soundtrack to Emerald Fennel’s movie of the same name, in February. Cale is featured on “House,” the soundtrack album’s lead single.

Charli has added acting and producing to her repertoire in recent years. She produced and played a somewhat fictionalized version of herself in Aidan Zamiri’s mockumentary “The Moment,” based on the “Brat” album cycle, which Times film critic Amy Nicholson called “ ‘Spinal Tap’ for the era of stan culture.”

She also co-starred in Daniel Goldhaber’s “Faces of Death” remake, released in April, and is set to appear in Gregg Araki’s upcoming erotic comedy “I Want Your Sex” and Cathy Yan’s art-world thriller “The Gallerist” by year’s end.

“I’ve always been really inspired by cinema when making my music, more so than listening to music, to be honest,” Charli told The Times at the Sundance Film Festival in January. “It’s an honor to be able to be acting, working on projects and writing and producing films. It’s kind of my dream.”

Zara Holland, who shot to fame on the second series of Love Island, has announced that she and husband Elliott Love are expecting a baby together, due in September

Zara Holland is pregnant. The reality star, 30, shot to fame when she took part in the second series of Love Island in 2016 but opted to leave just over three weeks in.

In 2023, Zara married Elliott Love and took to social media on Bank Holiday Monday to reveal that they are expecting a little one due later this year.

She wrote on Instagram: “Baby Love On The Way Due September [white heart emoji] We are so excited & we love you so much already!” The star was then inundated with comments from fans, all sending her congratulatory messages.

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One wrote: “Aww congrats you look fabulous Zara!” whilst another said: “Aww gorgeous!” A third wrote: “Ohhh cute !!! Congratulations.” Zara shared the news of herself standing outdoors in the sunshine as she proudly cradled her growing baby bump.

In 2023, Zara married Elliott in an idyllic Greek wedding after he popped the question in Dubai, but her big day came seven years after she endured quite the controversial time amid her rise to fame. Prior to her stint on the ITV2 show, Zara had been crowned Miss Great Britain, but was stripped of her title after she had sex during her time in the villa.

At the time, beauty pageant organisers claimed they had “no problem with sex” but didn’t condone her relationship with Alex Bowen, who is now married and has children with fellow Islander Olivia Bowen (nee Buckland).

However, no explicit scenes were ever shown and late presenter Caroline Flack criticised the decision, saying that Zara was a “very sweet girl” and quizzed the relevance of the Miss GB contest.

Two years later, Zara announced that she had quit fame and said that having sex on TV had “destroyed her life”. She went on to call for the show to be banned, claiming that she sought professional help with her own struggles after her mother encouraged her to – and claims show producers failed to offer after care.

Over recent years, ITV have put in place rigorous aftercare procedures following guidance from former Islanders’ feedback.

“You think you’re on a summer holiday and you might find love, but you are in a posh prison where you don’t know what time it is and a voice in a wall tells you what to do,” Zara previously told the Daily Mail as she detailed her experience on the show. “That show screwed me up. I blame it for everything. What it does to the contestants is terrible,” she continued – saying she felt she had been “brainwashed” during her own time on the show.

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Mérida, May 21, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced that on 12 July the country will conduct its second popular consultation of the year to fund local projects. 

The Venezuelan leader made the announcement during the inauguration of the “City of Entrepreneurship” at the Giant Cacique Tiuna commune in Caracas on Monday, an event with local small-scale entrepreneurs. The upcoming vote follows the first consultation of 2026, which took place on March 8 in 5,336 communal circuits.

“I am pleased to announce that the second popular consultation will take place on July 12. So, everyone should prepare for this national consultation,” Rodríguez stated. “It will be open to projects in any of the Seven Transformations,” she added, referring to the government’s development plan across different areas.

A significant development for the upcoming vote is the incorporation of new types of organizations into the process. The acting president announced that the consultation will include 120,000 condominium boards and 15,000 neighbor associations, emphasizing the importance of consolidating a “common effort” alongside traditional communal projects. Following the March 8 consultation, Rodríguez pledged to expand the process to traditionally middle-class areas where there is no grassroots organization.

Popular consultations have become the main mechanism of government policy to transfer funds to grassroots organizations. Prior to the vote, communities hold assemblies to identify the local priorities, traditionally focusing on infrastructure, public services, or supplying healthcare facilities.

The most-voted initiative receives the equivalent of US $10,000, with the local organizations charged with executing the projects and rendering accounts. According to official figures, the Venezuelan government supported 33,743 initiatives in 2025. On some occasions, state, regional, and municipal offices have funded the second-place projects in several communes.

The upcoming July vote will be the seventh national consultation since the mechanism was consolidated, following two rounds in 2024 and three in 2025.

Venezuelan authorities have yet to specify whether the condominium boards and neighbor associations will access similar funding and if all will be eligible to participate. Their jurisdiction and ability to access state funds have yet to be defined. The move to expand the consultation to organizations in traditionally middle-class apartment complexes and residential areas bypasses the communal instances envisioned by former President Hugo Chávez as “unit cells” for the construction of socialism.

New Phase of ‘National Pilgrimage’

The announcement of the July consultation coincided with the launch of a second phase of the “Great National Pilgrimage” to defend peace and oppose sanctions. The pilgrimage, a large-scale political mobilization strategy, began the new stage on 19 May with a special emphasis on dialogue with the productive sectors of the economy.

According to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, this new phase differs from the first stage, which concluded on April 30, by expanding its reach to non-metropolitan areas and focusing on specific regional economic activities such as fishing, agriculture, and the oil industry.

During a rally in the western state of Zulia on Tuesday, Cabello explained that the objective is to establish direct engagement with the population, independent of political affiliation, and to channel proposals on public services, security, and financing to the Rodríguez administration.

At the same time, the Caribbean nation’s acting president held meetings in Bolívar state with the aluminum conductor company Cabelum. She stated that the pilgrimage aimed to go “to the heart of productive Venezuela” to identify structural obstacles and promote productivity. In recent months, the Venezuelan National Assembly has approved several pro-business reforms with the stated purpose of attracting private sector investment, both national and foreign.

Rodríguez explicitly linked the pilgrimage’s goals to the need for diplomatic dialogue with the Trump administration to request a removal of unilateral coercive measures, which she lamented have imposed a “very high cost” on the Venezuelan population.

The pilgrimage, which also includes mass assemblies and the collection of proposals for public management, is expected to run alongside the preparations for the upcoming July consultation. Venezuelan authorities have defended the initiative as an effort to reach out to other political factions under common national goals.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Susanna Reid was joined by Richard Madeley during the latest edition of Good Morning Britain

Good Morning Britain star Susanna Reid will be taking a short break from the programme.

Susanna returned to the ITV studio on Thursday (May 21), alongside Richard Madeley, to deliver the day’s biggest headlines from across the UK and around the world.

At the end of the show, Susanna and Richard interviewed a woman who had saved up to £800 a month as part of a new ITV programme called Rising Bills: How Can You Save Money?.

Wrapping up the interview, Susanna said: “I love it. Thank you both for coming in. You can catch Rising Bills: How Can You Save Money? tonight [at] 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.”

The 55-year-old presenter then confirmed that she wouldn’t be on screen next week, which happens to be the May half term.

“Now, I am off next week, but Good Morning Britain is back tomorrow from 6am. Now, it’s time to join Lorraine. Have a great day,” she said.

It’s not yet known which presenter will stand in for Susanna while she’s away, but it usually tends to be either Kate Garraway, Ranvir Singh, or Charlotte Hawkins. Susanna’s announcement comes over a month after her last break from the show, which took place during the Easter holidays.

Elsewhere during today’s GMB, Susanna and Richard discussed the topical headlines with regular commentators Kwasi Kwarteng and Nels Abbey.

Ranvir also announced breaking news after EasyJet confirmed that summer flight bookings are lower than this time last year due to uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict.

“However, last minute bookings made in the month that you want to travel have increased compared with a year ago,” Ranvir said.

“The airline also reported a pretax loss of £552 million for the six months ending in March.”

Susanna and Richard also interviewed Race Across the World stars Mark Blythen and Margo Oakley, who are competing in tonight’s grand final.

After racing over 11,000km, the final four teams will face one final test of endurance as they embark on the last leg of their journey. To finish the race, the teams must head north from Kharkhorin to reach the shores of the “Blue Pearl of Mongolia”, Lake Khövsgöl.

As they leave the checkpoint, they will face a crucial decision. They could head directly north, a shorter route but one which requires them to go off-road, or add 500km to their journey with a detour via the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Who will reach the finish line first? We’ll have to wait and see.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am

MIAMI — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the socialist government.

The indictment was related to Castro’s alleged role in the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, now 94, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time. The charges included murder and destruction of an airplane.

Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and other top Justice Department officials made the announcement in Miami at a ceremony to honor those killed in the shootdown.

President Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured the Cuban government’s longtime patron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. After ousting Maduro, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.

Since Maduro’s capture, Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging earlier this year to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

Trump’s first administration indicted Maduro on drug-trafficking charges and used that to justify removing him from power during a surprise military raid in January that whisked the Venezuelan leader to New York to face trial.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday urged the Cuban people to demand a free-market economy with new leadership that he said will chart a new course in relations with the U.S.

“In the U.S., we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people,” Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said in a Spanish-language video message. “Currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, Carlos F. de Cossío lashed out at Rubio on X, saying he “lies so repeatedly and unscrupulously about Cuba and tries to justify the aggression he inflicts on the Cuban people.” Rubio “knows full well that there is no excuse for such cruel and ruthless aggression.”

Raúl Castro believed to wield power behind the scenes

There’s no indication Castro will be taken into U.S. custody anytime soon.

He took over as president from his ailing older brother Fidel Castro in 2006 before handing power to a trusted loyalist, Díaz-Canel, in 2018.

While he retired in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who previously met secretly with Rubio.

Last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for meetings with Cuban officials, including Castro’s grandson. Two other senior State Department officials met with the grandson in April.

“The symbolic nature is absolutely crucial,” said Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman, a former prosecutor at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami who handled national security cases and crimes involving Cubans.

“Even though Raúl Castro will likely stay and die in Cuba, you can use the indictment as a pressure point, a tactical advantage, to extract other concessions like the release of prisoners or to keep Russia out,” she added.

The investigation into Castro stretches back to the 1990s

Starting in 1995, planes flown by members of Brothers to the Rescue, a group founded by Cuban exiles, buzzed over Havana dropping leaflets urging Cubans to rise up against the Castro government.

The Cubans protested to the U.S. government, warning that they would defend their airspace. Federal Aviation Administration officials also opened an investigation and met with the group’s leaders to urge them to ground the flights, according to declassified government records obtained by George Washington University’s National Security Archive.

“This latest overflight can only be seen as further taunting of the Cuban Government,” an FAA official wrote in an email to her superiors after one intrusion in January 1996. “Worst case scenario is that one of these days the Cubans will shoot down one of these planes.”

But those calls went unheeded and on Feb. 24, 1996, missiles fired by Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets downed two unarmed civilian Cessna planes a short distance north of Havana just beyond Cuba’s airspace. All four men aboard were killed.

Raúl Castro faced earlier indictment

Guy Lewis, who was a federal prosecutor, uncovered evidence linking senior Cuban military officials to cocaine trafficking by Colombia’s Medellin cartel. Following the shootdown, the investigation expanded, and prosecutors pursued charges against Raúl Castro for leading a vast racketeering conspiracy by Cuba’s armed forces.

“The evidence was strong,” Lewis said in an interview.

In the end, the Clinton administration indicted four individuals, including the MiG pilots, the head of the Cuban air force and the head of a Cuban spy network in Miami — the only one to see the inside of a U.S. prison — for providing valuable intelligence about the flights.

The incident led the U.S. to harden its position against Cuba, even though the Cold War had ended and the Castros’ support for revolution across Latin America was a fading memory.

But Castro himself was spared as the Clinton administration — which had quietly sought to expand relations with Cuba prior to the incident — raised foreign policy concerns about such a high-profile indictment.

“Raúl was definitely one who slipped through the noose,” Lewis said. “The crime is notorious. Three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident were killed in a premeditated orchestrated murder. That should never be forgotten.”

Goodman and Richer write for the Associated Press. Richer reported from Washington.

An all-star cast of pundits will join BBC Sport’s television coverage of the tournament from Salford, while reporters on the ground in the United States, Canada and Mexico will bring the latest stories.

Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will lead BBC Sport’s TV coverage, joined by pundits including Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards, Ellen White, Steph Houghton, Rachel Corsie, Giroud, Joe Hart, Azpilicueta, McCarthy, Lucas Leiva and Thomas Frank.

“The BBC is turning the biggest World Cup in history into the most iconic one yet. We’re bringing fans closer to every match, every moment and every story than ever before,” said Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Director of Sport.

“Sport truly unites people like nothing else so we can’t wait for fans to enjoy not just the live matches with us but an abundance of football content, all day, every day across our platforms.

“Whether it’s our new series on YouTube and iPlayer, the biggest news stories on our website and app, our daily podcasts on Sounds or the viral moments on social media – we’re here for audiences 24/7 this summer, taking them straight to the heart of the World Cup.”

BBC Scotland will provide in-depth coverage of Scotland’s first men’s World Cup since 1998.

“It’s going to be thrilling to see the national team back on football’s biggest stage after 28 years – a moment that’s sure to bring huge pride and excitement right across the country,” said Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland.

The 2026 World Cup begins on Thursday, 11 June, with the final taking place on Sunday, 19 July.

Former UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced he will run against Prime Minister Keir Starmer as Labour leader if an election is to take place. Streeting voiced strong support for rebuilding ties with Europe, saying the UK should pursue “a new special relationship” with the EU and potentially rejoin the bloc in the future.

May 15 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Friday that wants to build the National Garden of American Heroes, an exhibit of statues in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.

Trump posted on social media that the public space would include landscaping and statues of the founding fathers, military soldiers, religious leaders, civil rights figures, athletes, artists and entertainers.

“This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces,” Trump posted. “Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River.”

The project is the latest of Trump’s announcements to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary. He has said he wants 250 statues included in the garden.

Trump has ordered other projects in Washington, D.C., including renovation of the East Wing of the White House and repainting the basin of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. These projects have drawn criticism over Trump exerting unilateral authority to put them in motion, bypassing congressional approval.

The White House has not clarified whether it will seek congressional approval for the statue garden.

The National Capital Planning Commission and Commission of Fine Arts are typically involved in reviewing projects like this in Washington, D.C.

The newly formed National Garden of American Heroes Foundation is fundraising for the garden project.

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The Wende Museum of the Cold War announced on Saturday that it plans to build a $16-million expansion in Hawthorne.

The Culver City museum has purchased a historically significant midcentury modern building in Hawthorne, which it plans to transform into a research institute and interactive storage facility for its collections — a “living archive,” as it’s calling the facility.

The Wende plans to debut the space in spring 2028.

“In the museum world, there’s typically public space and storage space — meaning dead storage,” Wende founder and Executive Director Justin Jampol said in an interview. “And this living archive is a hybrid that combines both. It houses the collections and makes them accessible for discovery.”

The 24,000-square-foot building was erected in 1965 by shopping mall pioneer and developer Ernest Hahn to serve as his corporate headquarters. It was designed by movie theater architect George Nowak, who also designed the Writers Guild Theater.

The Wende plans to renovate the building, adding a 7,000-square-foot extension, with flexibility to further expand in the future. The facility will include state-of-the-art, climate-controlled storage for the museum’s more than 250,000-object collection of paintings, sculptures, photographs, tapestries and Cold War-era ephemera from the Soviet Union, East Bloc, China and other countries.

Interactivity, however, is the goal: so there will be spaces for “respite and inspiration,” Jampol said, such as a “scholar’s garden,” reading rooms and a library with a community learning lab and free coffee for visitors.

“The idea is to make it as engaging and comfortable as possible,” Jampol said. “Most archives are places that are very uncomfortable and uninspiring — think fluorescent lights blinking in a basement. The idea here is to open this up in a way that makes people want to be here. And focus on the content and not the space itself. We’re trying to create an experience that makes visitors want to go on an adventure.”

The Glorya Kaufman Community Center at the Wende Museum debuted this past fall.

(Stella Kalinina / For The Times)

The Wende’s Collections Department will be headquartered in the new building. The facility will also house a conservation center for endangered objects and paper archives, and will feature a digitization and imaging lab that will make the collections available online, free of charge.

It will also include reading rooms and research offices for up to 100 visiting scholars or artist fellows annually.

“The collections, instead of being hidden in a box, will be on full view,” Jampol said. “When you walk through, you won’t see boxes. You’ll see vases, tapestries, ceramics and more.”

Construction on the building, at 2311 W. El Segundo Blvd., starts May 15. Funds for the project came from the Arcadia Fund, the Kaufman Foundation and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, among other capital supporters.

The Wende Museum in Culver City opened its doors in 2017 inside a former 1949 atomic bomb shelter. It now draws about 25,000 visitors annually, who come to take in four exhibitions and more than 60 public programs. Admission is free.

Rapid expansion has been a hallmark of the Wende of late.

In September, it debuted a $17-million culture and wellness center offering free yoga, meditation, sound baths and therapy. The 7,500-square-foot facility was made possible with funding from the late philanthropist Glorya Kaufman who died a month before the building opened to the public. It’s called the Glorya Kaufman Community Center.

The Wende’s Glorya Kaufman Community Center includes a century old A-frame theater, an old MGM prop house, for free culture and wellness events.

(Stella Kalinina / For The Times)

In February, the Wende bought a three-bedroom house built in the 1940s adjacent to the museum’s campus that will be used as a live-work space for photographers in residence. It will include a community space for photography workshops and a post-production studio. The Nikita Foundation and the Victor Family Foundation provided funding.

It debuted a tiny home on its campus last fall, nicknamed “The Stevie” after donor Steve Markoff. It’s used for cross-disciplinary artist residencies.

A facility for interactive museum storage and research is not a new concept in Los Angeles.

The Autry Museum of the American West — after merging with the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in 2003 and since stewarding its collection of Indigenous art and artifacts — debuted a $32-million, 100,000-square-foot facility in Burbank in October 2022.

The so-called “Resources Center” was built to house, conserve and care for both museums’ collections in a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled and fire-safe environment. It also serves as a research destination for scholars, artists, tribal representatives and others to study the collections.

Jampol said that the project will enable the Wende to serve a wider swath of visitors, from specialists to the general public, and to venture outside of Culver City to engage other communities.

“It’s about making the collections both safe and accessible,” he said. “We looked to the Autry for inspiration alongside the V&A East in London — they both invite people in from the community, alongside scholars, to explore the collections. It’s the democratization of art — I love the ethos and spirit of that.”

SACRAMENTO — Newborns won’t be leaving the hospital empty-handed in California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that the state is partnering with Baby2Baby to provide 400 free diapers to every newborn. Baby2Baby is a national nonprofit based in California that provides clothing and other basic necessities to children.

The governor said it would help families with the rising cost of living.

“Since the pandemic, we have seen the cost of diapers go up by 45%,” said Newsom, speaking at a press conference in San Francisco. “One out of four families skip meals to pay for diapers.”

The new program, dubbed the Golden State Start, will launch this summer. Participating hospitals will distribute the diapers to families at the time of discharge. Forty million diapers will be distributed during the program’s first year, with a goal of later expanding the program to provide 160 million.

Newsom said the state will prioritize hospitals that serve large numbers of parents enrolled in Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program providing healthcare coverage to low-income Americans. The state plans to later expand to additional hospitals and birthing centers.

The governor described the program as the first of its kind in the nation.

“We are not imitating; we are a model to others,” he said.

Kim Johnson, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said the initiative would help families enjoy their first few weeks at home with a new baby.

“The first days at home with a newborn should be focused on the love, connection, and joy of an expanded family, not stress about affording diapers,” Johnson said in a statement. “This program helps ensure families can begin that journey with greater stability and peace of mind.”

The National Diaper Bank Network, a national nonprofit that tracks diaper insecurity, found about 60% of low-income families nationwide struggle with the cost of diapers and rely on less-frequent changes to get by. The organization said dirty diapers leave babies at risk of developing rashes or urinary tract infections.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Truce will also include swap of 1,000 prisoners of war from each country, US president says.

⁠United States ⁠President Donald Trump ⁠says ‌there will be a three-day ceasefire in ⁠the war between ⁠Russia and ⁠Ukraine.

Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US leader said the truce would last from ⁠Saturday to Monday.

“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted.

“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II. This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country,” he added.

Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its May 9 World War II Victory Day on Saturday.

Ukraine previously stated that it too had offered a truce but that this had been ignored by Moscow.

“This request was made directly by me,” Trump said on Friday, thanking his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy for agreeing to it.

“Talks are continuing” on ending the war, Trump said, adding that “we are getting closer and closer every day”.

“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War.”

More to come…

The UK budget airline has announced that no changes will be made to its summer schedule as jet fuel prices hike due to hedging fuel contracts before the outbreak of war

Ryanair has announced that they will not be making any flight changes until March 2027 due to fuel costs.

The budget airline said that its summer schedule will not change because it had hedged its fuel contracts before the Iran war broke out.

The announcement comes after airlines have been given the go ahead to run less flights this holiday season, with several having already made cancellations.

It has been confirmed by the EU transport commissioner that airlines that cancel flights due to fuel shortages will have to compensate passengers under European law, however this could differ in the UK.

Since the outbreak of war on February 28, the cost of fuel has spiked and the closure of the strait of Hormuz has blocked off the shipping passage from the Middle East.

However, Ryanair have confirmed that they have fuel supplies until March 2027 and will not be cutting down flights over the coming months.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “As Ryanair has hedged 80% of our jet fuel to March 2027 at $67 per barrel – less than half current spot prices – we do not plan any cuts to our schedule this summer.”

Elsewhere, plans are being made to put together realistic flight schedules so passengers don’t face last minute disruption.

A UK government spokesperson said: “UK airlines are clear that they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel. Aviation fuel is typically bought in advance and airports and suppliers keep stocks of bunkered fuel to support their resilience.

“We continue to work with fuel suppliers, airports, airlines and international counterparts to keep flights operating. We are also consulting on measures to help airlines plan realistic flight schedules which will avoid last-minute disruption and protect holidays.”

Last week, it emerged that penalties for airlines that cancel UK flights because of jet fuel issues have been eased.

Pakistan announced on Friday that it had shot down 77 Israeli-made attack drones launched by India, in the latest escalation between the two sides following exchanged attacks.

This was announced by Military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry during a press conference addressing developments in the military situation in the region, according to the local newspaper Dawn.

Chaudhry confirmed that the death toll from Indian attacks had risen to 33, while the number of injured had reached 62. He accused India of “deliberate attacks and targeting civilian areas.”

Responding to Indian allegations that Pakistani aircraft had been shot down or that Pakistan had carried out attacks inside India, Chaudhry said, “India should present the wreckage of at least one aircraft if its claims are credible.”

He revealed that the Pakistani army had not lost any of its people in the clashes between the two countries, despite the casualties among its ranks.

READ: US President Trump claims India, Pakistan have fought over Kashmir for 1,500 years

Chaudhry sent a message to India, saying, “If you enjoy our response, we will meet your requests at a time, place, and means of our choosing.”

He continued, “We are prepared for all eventualities. If they decide to continue escalation, let them know that we are the ones who will finish what they started.”

On Thursday, Indian media reported that Pakistan had carried out strikes targeting ammunition depots on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry later denied this, asserting that allegations of attacks in the Pathankot and Srinagar areas were “baseless.”

It is worth noting that on 6 May, India launched missile strikes targeting what it described as ‘terrorist hideouts” inside Pakistani territory, in retaliation for a deadly attack on 22 April in the Pahalgam district that killed 26 people.

According to New Delhi, its strikes targeted nine militant sites, while Islamabad said the strikes hit six civilian sites, killing 33 people and wounding 62 others.

Pakistan also announced that it shot down 5 Indian warplanes during the attack, a claim that has yet to be confirmed by Indian authorities.

OPINION: The Indo-Pak war: recklessness and diversion in the service of pharaohs 

Halfpenny was originally a member of the Ospreys academy who let him go because of concerns about his size.

He signed for Cardiff Blues ahead of the 2007-08 season and played for Cardiff RFC and the then Cardiff Blues between 2007 and 2014.

“I’ll be forever grateful to Cardiff for giving me the opportunity to join the academy and start my professional career,” said Halfpenny.

“I instantly felt at home and will always look back at my time at Cardiff as some of the most memorable years of my life.”

During that seven-year stint, Halfpenny made 87 appearances and scored 568 points, winning the Amlin [now European] Challenge Cup and [now defunct] Anglo-Welsh Cup.

He signed for Toulon in 2014, winning the 2015 European Champions Cup with the French side before returning to Wales with Scarlets in 2017, spending six seasons in Llanelli.

Halfpenny travelled to New Zealand to join Crusaders in 2024 before linking up with Harlequins the following year.

After being involved as a kicking coach for Wales’ summer tour of Japan in 2025, Halfpenny returned to Cardiff with a short-term contract in September 2025 as a kicking coach and player and that deal was extended until the end of the season.

He played his first game for the Blue and Blacks in 4,347 days when he faced Ulster in the win in December 2025 and also featured against the same opposition the following month.

That appearance off the bench in Belfast during the 21-14 defeat could be his final professional match, if Halfpenny is not involved in Cardiff’s two remaining United Rugby Championship (URC) matches against Glasgow and Stormers or any further play-off games.

“It’s a special club and to be able to finish my playing career where I started means so much,” said Halfpenny.

“I have given everything to rugby, and in return, it’s given me more than I could ever have dreamed of.

“It’s never going to be easy to say goodbye but I’m finishing with an immense sense of pride and gratitude.”

May 5 (UPI) — Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, announced the company is downsizing about 14% of its workforce.

Armstrong posted a memo to employees on X saying he had made “the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase” by approximately 14%, explaining it is the result of “two forces” that “are converging at the same time.”

The first of the “forces” at play is the current downturn in the crypto market, leading to a “need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster and more efficient for our next phase of growth.”

The second reason cited by Armstrong is the rise of AI “changing how we work.”

“All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core,” Armstrong wrote.

Coinbase is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on Saturday, with shares up nearly 4% in premarket trading.

The announcement follows other companies including Block, Pinterest, CrowdStrike and Chegg making the decision to cut jobs as a result of AI integration.