brings

Mukalla, Yemen – At the Mukalla Creative Hub, a man in a black T-shirt leans over a desk to help a colleague with his project, while other men remain fixed on their laptop screens. Nearby women sit in ergonomic office chairs, writing or scrolling on their phones. On the other side of the space in Yemen’s coastal city of Mukalla, a sleek cafe-style counter stands at the entrance, while colourful armchairs are neatly arranged and occupied by a few people working among rows of computers.

What draws entrepreneurs, remote freelancers, and students here is not just the stylish setting or uninterrupted electricity, but something far more essential: fast, reliable Starlink satellite internet.

“Four Starlink devices power the space, delivering speeds of 100 to 150 Mbps and allowing users to stay constantly connected,” Hamzah Bakhdar, a digital freelancer who also works at the hub, told Al Jazeera.

In a country where war has devastated telecommunications, eroded salaries and cut off remote areas, Starlink is helping create a small but growing digital workforce of designers, developers, teachers, and freelancers who can now work for clients abroad and earn far more than Yemen’s crumbling local economy would otherwise allow.

Internet access in Yemen has also been weaponised, with buried land cables sometimes cut, leaving parts of the country abruptly disconnected. The Houthi rebels, who are based in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and have fought the internationally recognised government since 2014, control the country’s major internet providers. That allows them to block websites they view as linked to their opponents inside and outside the country, including key platforms used by tech developers and remote workers.

The arrival of Starlink satellite internet has provided an alternative, allowing people to bypass the Houthis’ tight grip on telecommunications and stay online even in remote areas.

Mohammed Helmi, a video editor and motion graphics designer, was juggling projects for three clients in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Thanks to the fast internet at the cafe, he no longer worries about losing connection or missing deadlines, problems he said repeatedly disrupted his work in the past.

“In the past, when I downloaded files to my laptop, it would stop as soon as my data ran out,” Helmi, a young man with a thin moustache, told Al Jazeera at the cafe. “I had to buy another gigabyte and start the download all over again. Because of this, I often had to turn down projects.”

Control over the internet

Starlink is operated by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, and delivers internet by linking a ground dish to low-orbit satellites owned and operated by the company.

While other satellite internet companies exist, and others are quickly entering the space, Starlink is the only low-orbit satellite internet service legally available in Yemen after the internationally recognised government signed an agreement with the company in September 2024.

But it’s not for everyone.

The kits cost about $500, a price that remains unaffordable for the vast majority of Yemenis, living in one of the poorest countries in the world, where more than 80 percent of people live below the poverty line.

Owning a dish is therefore still a distant dream for many Yemenis desperate to get online.

University students, like Mariam, a student at Hadramout University, says that even buying internet vouchers from local providers who resell Starlink access is beyond her reach – let alone purchasing a device herself.

“People are using vouchers because they cannot afford Starlink devices, whose prices are very high,” Mariam, who preferred to be identified only by her first name, told Al Jazeera.

The Houthis have also reacted aggressively to the arrival of Starlink, launching a campaign warning people against using the service and threatening legal action against anyone found in possession of the device.

They have accused the company of serving as a “US espionage agent” and said it posed “a major threat to national security”. Experts have worried that data gathered over Starlink’s internet service could be used for “intelligence gathering and economic exploitation“.

There are also concerns internationally over the concentration of satellite internet services and infrastructure in the hands of Starlink, particularly in light of Musk’s ownership, with the South African-born billionaire increasingly associating himself with far-right causes in the United States and Europe.

Connecting Yemen’s remote areas

But despite Houthi threats and the high cost of the devices by Yemeni standards, Starlink has spread across the country, reaching areas that had long been isolated.

Omer Banabelah, a mobile app developer, said that before Starlink arrived, a visit to his home village in Hadramout’s countryside meant disappearing from the digital world altogether. He could not make a phone call, let alone connect to the internet, leaving him anxious that clients would move on when their messages went unanswered. With Starlink now available in rural parts of the province, Banabelah said he no longer fears losing work every time he travels.

“I can reply to their messages anytime, from anywhere,” he told Al Jazeera. “Work that takes 10 minutes with Starlink could take an entire day without it.”

Similarly, Yemeni teachers, struggling with poor and delayed salaries that have stagnated for years, have also benefited from the spread of the internet service, which has allowed them to offer uninterrupted online classes and earn badly needed extra income.

Raja al-Dubae, a school director in Taiz, told Al Jazeera that her school began offering online classes based on the Yemeni curriculum to Yemeni students living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and China in 2023. It started with just 50 students, with teachers connecting through local networks.

But when internet traffic surged in the densely populated city each afternoon, the connections would collapse, forcing teachers to abandon classes mid-session.

“Teachers were often disconnected from their students, and by the time the internet stabilised, the next class had already begun, leaving them frustrated and unable to finish their lessons,” she said.

Al-Dubae said she initially rejected her nephew’s proposal to buy Starlink because of the high upfront cost, but now regrets the delay. Since installing the service, the number of students has climbed to more than 200, revenues have grown, and teachers have begun earning better additional pay.

“With Starlink, the internet is very fast and reaches every corner of the school,” she said. “Teachers no longer disconnect from their students. I never imagined it would make such a difference. Videos load quickly, we no longer turn away new applicants, and our reputation for fast internet has spread.”

For Yemenis who have grown used to Starlink’s high-speed internet, and the better incomes and business opportunities it has helped create, the worst-case scenario is a return to the slow, unreliable service of local networks.

“Go back to the headache of local networks? Perish the thought. We hope the service will continue to improve,” al-Dubae said, scoffing at the idea of reverting to local internet providers.

Helmi reacted similarly. “If Starlink were cut off, I would be devastated and forced back into the local market, which cannot cover my expenses or living costs,” he said, shifting in his seat and smiling at the thought. “I would need to take on three or four jobs just to match what I earn from a single project from abroad.”

PINKPANTHERESS brought out Zara Larsson, KATSEYE and Janelle Monae at the second weekend of Coachelle for her on-stage birthday bash.

The singer, 25, celebrated her big day while performing, with a slew of famous faces joining her for the iconic show.

Her fellow pop star Zara came out solo during her set to perform her song Midnight Sun to the crowd.

She thanked them and appeared to tease that PinkPantheress will feature on the upcoming deluxe version of her album of the same name.

At one stage, Janelle briefly joined the Boy’s A Liar singer on stage to play the guitar.

Later on, Australian DJ Ninajirachi played during the set, which led to several stars appearing, including actress Chase Infiniti, Manon from KATSEYE and Slayyyter.

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During her performance of Illegal with Tyriq Withers, the two spent the entire set dancing around one another.

The actor expressed: “I really had something important to say. I know it’s Coachella, shoutout Coachella, but a birdie told me that it is your birthday.”

He gave her a rose as the back up dancers held up a sign that said “Happy Birthday” which led to a thunderous applause from the audience.

The pair hugged before walking off stage hand in hand.

PinkPantheress wasn’t the only performer to bring out a special guest at this year’s Coachella festival.

Justin Bieber brought out Billie Eilish during weekend two, who has been a longtime fan of his.

He then sang he song One Less Lonely Girl to her midway through his Coachella set.

Clearly overcome by the special moment, Billie appeared emotional as she enjoyed being serenaded.

Fans took to X to react to the moment as one said: “THE FACT that it wasn’t planned, literally it was Hailey Bieber herself who pushed Billie Eilish to get on stage and be the OLLG.”

A second wrote: “No way that Billie Eilish became one less lonely girl in 2026.”

“This is so cute I love how Billie still stays in her fangirl zone around Justin,” said a third.

“Will go down as one of the most iconic Coachella performances ever,” added a fourth.

During her own set, Sabrina Carpenter stunned revellers by bringing out the icon that is Madonna.

The 67-year-old legend teamed up the Espresso singer for a show-stopping finale – dressed-to-impress in purple lingerie.

Two decades after her own epic headlining slot at the Californian festival, the queen of pop turned heads in a flesh-flashing frilly outfit.

The duo delighted the crowds with classic hits including Vogue, Like A Prayer and I Feel So Free from Madonna’s new album.

Sabrina had been mid-performance when an instrumental tease of Madonna‘s 1990 hit song Vogue weaved in.

Madonna told the cheering audience: “Wow, thank you.

“Sabrina, thank you so much for inviting me on your show.”

Holding hands, she replied: “No thanks needed, Madonna.”

ADDISON Rae surprised music lovers at Coachella weekend two by bringing out Olivia Rodrigo to perform her new single Drop Dead.

The track came out on Friday, marking itself as the lead single off of Olivia’s much-anticipated third album “you look pretty sad for a girl so in love.”

The Diet Pepsi singer turned to the crowd and asked them if they had been listening to any new music during the week, before beginning to sing her 2025 single, Headphones On.

However, when Addison sung the lyrics “I compare myself to the new IT girl,” Olivia came out of nowhere and joined in the performance.

The moment was met with enormous cheers from the crowd, as no one expected a special guest to arrive.

But the roaring reception only got louder as the ladies launched into singing Drop Dead.

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Olivia announced that she was releasing her third album earlier this month via a post to her Instagram channel.

In the post she shared a photo of the front cover, showing her with her eyes shut on a swing set.

In the caption she revealed the release date as June 12, sharing: “My third album ‘You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ is out June 12th.

“I am so proud of this record and I can’t wait for you to hear it.”

Drop Dead is the first new music to arrive from Olivia since September 2023 when she released her Sophomore album, GUTS.

GUTS achieved massive success with hits including Vampire and Bad Idea Right?

It followed the success of her debut album SOUR from 2021, adored for smash-hit Drivers License.

Weekend two of Coachella has been incredibly popular, abundant with A-list celebrities and more surprise guests.

Sabrina Carpenter wowed the audience on Friday night with a long set that told the story of a young girl navigating Hollywood throughout each song.

But just when fans thought the show couldn’t get any better Sabrina brought out Madonna, and they dueted a rendition of Like A Prayer.

Justin Bieber also wowed the crowd and got them in their feelings, bringing a laptop on stage to sing along to his old hits karaoke-style.

But PinkPantheress pulled out all the stops when it came to surprise guests.

The songstress brought out not one but three fellow musicians including Zara Larsson and Janelle Monae.

KATSEYE concluded the trio of surprise singers, and the crowd absolutely loved it.

Coachella festival is held annually at the Empire Polo Club in California.

Anyone who thinks Coachella’s biggest surprises are reserved for Weekend 1 was proven wrong Friday night as Sabrina Carpenter welcomed Madonna on stage during her Weekend 2 headlining set. The crowd exploded with waves of cheers as the iconic pop star came on stage.

Madge joined Carpenter as a surprise guest during “Juno,” in which Carpenter reemerged in a gown that was a nod to Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” for a torch-passing duet of Madonna’s 1990 pop-house gauntlet “Vogue.”

The classic was followed by the debut of the gloriously upbeat “I Feel Free,” the first track from the pop icon’s forthcoming new album “Confessions II,” due out July 3.

The singer announced the record, a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions On A Dancefloor,” on April 15, alongside a 60-second teaser video for “I Feel Free.”

The Coachella performance, however, marks the first time the song has been heard in full — a fitting full circle moment 20 after Madonna played the Sahara Tent in 2006, complete with the same boots and costuming from that gig. “Confessions II” will be Madonna’s first full-length album since 2019’s “Madame X.”

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“Let’s try to be together. Let’s try to avoid disagreements,” Madonna said as she spoke about the moon and planets aligning.

Before the pair ended with “Like a Prayer,” accompanied by a choir, Madonna had another reason to be grateful.

“This is probably the first time I’ve ever performed with someone shorter than me,” Madonna said to Carpenter as the crowd laughed. “Thank you for giving me that experience.”

Senior Audience Editor Vanessa Franko contributed to this report.

Back when late-night TV sets were still the primary route for a comedian to reach a mainstream audience, Ari Shaffir found a different way to make his mark. It started with creating a show where comics could tell completely uncensored, unhinged real-life stories. What started as a live show grew into “This Is Not Happening” on Comedy Central, and later, into “Ari Shaffir’s Renamed Storytelling Show,” building a loyal fan base along the way, with clips still making the rounds 15 years later.

Supporting shows leads to new opportunities, and while Shaffir’s latest chapter may close the book on his storytelling run, his final offering is certainly a strong one. Aptly titled “The End,” and taped live at the Box NYC, this seven-part series will be released and available for purchase through YMH Studios on Thursday , and it’s jam-packed with comedians that quite literally might kill you. Especially one.

The lineup is too stacked to leave anyone out, so buckle up for wild, unforgettable stories from Shaffir, Tom Segura, Ali Siddiq, Nate Bargatze, Tony Hinchcliffe, Ms. Pat, Shane Gillis, Sam Tallent, Steph Tolev, Jim Breuer, Robert Kelly, Chris Distefano, Big Jay Oakerson, Jordan Jensen, Joe List, Steve Simeone, Mark Normand, Duncan Trussell, Roy Wood Jr., Jessa Reed, Sarah Tollemache, Dan Soder and Colum Tyrrell.

Dan Soder, left, and Shane Gillis appear in Chapter 6.

(Troy Conrad)

Everyone’s stories are so next–level, and I almost choke-laughed and died during Ms. Pat’s. It also looks incredible, tell me everything about the room.

Ari Shaffir: The room is called the Box, and it’s this burlesque place. Or maybe you call it modern burlesque because it’s not just those feathers. I really don’t know, but I feel like burlesque has evolved and that’s what this place is. It’s kinda crazy, and it’s definitely a night out. Dave Chappelle used to have these “comedian balls,” which were so cool because he would just invite comics. Like, all of the comics. He’d invite everyone out and pretty much without saying it was like, talk to each other and trade ideas about the industry. It was just so cool in there, and we scouted a bunch of places, but the look of this place, it was just right.

It makes so much sense that the room is called the Box now, visually.

What you saw wasn’t even color-corrected, so I appreciate it. I went to test the sound because we put the stage in a different place. It moves around and we just thought it looked better with all the red, but I wanted to hear what the sound was like when they were not on the stage too. They were like, oh the emcee will have a cordless as they move around, and I watched it, and it was great. But man, I was so f— up on molly that I was grinding my teeth so hard that I cracked a molar, so yeah, that place rules!

Ali Siddiq appears in Chapter 7.

(Troy Conrad)

Well, the room took my breath away, kinda like the lord took your solid tooth away. It’ll make sense to fans of your podcast You Be Trippin’ that ‘The End’ is produced by YMH Studios, but how did this series even end up happening?

Tom [Segura] and I have a relationship, we were openers for Rogan together, and we were kinda broke together, so we just talk about things. He’s so funny and prolific and I like talking things out with him. I talked to him about doing my special “Jew” too, but they were busy with the show, and you know back then, people weren’t jumping on getting into YouTube specials. So I had a chance to think about doing this show over the pandemic and finally was like, alright, let’s start working on this, and they said, “Come talk to us about it because we can help you now.” They have a great infrastructure there, and a streaming service too, so it’s like they already have everything built in, and Tom was like, “Dude, this show meant a lot to me, and we should make it again.” It’s not going to be a huge moneymaker for Tom, you know, it’s like pro bono work for lawyers, so it’s really cool of them. Another cool thing about this is the way the staff kicked in too. They’re all super talented, and kind of wasting their time on podcasts because they’re more talented than that, but it’s cool to work with a family and I liked the way they really took ownership of the work they did.

They’re a well-oiled machine of fun over there! With so many wild stories in the mix, is there anyone you are especially excited for people to see?

I’m excited to show some people new people. Even with the live shows, it’s always like, let me show you two headliners you know, a mid-level guy you’ll know and let me show you two people that you just don’t know. That’s what stand-up is in New York, L.A. and even Austin. There are some killers no one has ever heard of, and they’re destroyers. So I’m excited to show people Colum Tyrrell because he rules, he’s so funny, and his story is great. Tony Hinchcliffe’s story was really good, he’s just a monster storyteller in every sense of the word now. I just rewatched all of these a few times in a row for sound, and Roy Wood Jr. is so smooth it makes me feel like I’m needy and insecure on the stage. He’s just so calm and so good you’re like, “Damn, I’ve never been this smooth.” Sam Tallent is going to be one people talk about, Jim Breuer is so great, Steph Tolev crushed it with something fun and interesting and wow, this is really tough. Every time I’m doing a promo for this show it’s like, but what about this person, and this one?

It was also nice to see past killers on, definitely love to see the classics doing something new.

Yeah, having Big Jay [Oakerson] back was a key because he’s on the Mount Rushmore of this show, and we have three of those on “The End.” Jay, Ms. Pat and Ali Siddiq. We couldn’t get Sean Patton out because he was shooting something, and Bert [Kreischer] had a movie or something with his daughter moving or maybe it was a graduation…

Ms. Pat, from left, Ari Shaffir, Dan Soder, Duncan Trussell, Shane Gillis and Colum Tyrrell.

(Troy Conrad)

What a funny world, though, if Bert Kreischer paid to have a graduation moved so he could do your show.

Yes! Just pay the school to move the graduation for a week! Don’t you make like $50 million a year? It’s so funny how it used to be crazy to think of someone making $100 million and now there are like 10 comics who make at least half of that. And without doing press! It is really cool, though, I haven’t paid for lunch in so long. And Ali Siddiq has become so huge, he’s like the success story of this storytelling show in its entirety. Everyone got helped a little bit, but Ali kind of broke off of these stories and to see him so successful and still so smooth, it’s really cool. You can’t be “niche” doing arenas, and there’s this independent boom that’s not going to wait for anybody. So it’s another big win for us, it’s our turn in the whole story of this.

So then is this really “The End” or could it be a new start?

There is a very, very small percentage of a chance that it comes back. The plan is that this is it, and that’s why we called it that. I’m just glad you liked the show. I’m glad you liked the look and the intimacy, and that you picked up on all of that. It feels so long ago that you forget, but that’s so awesome to hear because it was a lot of fun. I think comedy fans that knew about the show before will want to see more of it because it’s just this funny televised storytelling, and they missed it. And everything turns over every five years anyway, so new people can now be like, actual stories being told like this in front of an audience? What is this cool new thing?

A POPULAR European city is set to bring back its ‘tourist tax’ for visitors this summer.

The city became the first metropolitan area globally to charge day-trippers an admission fee, which was introduced on April 25, 2024.

Day-trippers who book last-minute trips to Venice this summer will feel the biggest sting, with reservations that are made less than four days in advance costing €10 per person.

Holidaymakers who are a bit more organised, and book their trips more than four days ahead of their planned visit, will only have to pay €5.

Entering the city before 8.30am or after 4pm exempts you from paying, as does being a current resident or a Venetian-born visitor, a student, worker, or someone in the city on an overnight stay.

When you’ve secured your QR code via the booking platform, it will be checked at one of seven entry points across Venice, which includes Santa Lucia railway station.

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However, if you do not pay the fee and are not registered for exemption, or if you fail to produce the QR code, you could be fined anywhere between €50-300.

That’s equivalent to up to £260.

The number of pay-to-enter days is increasing from 54 to 60 this year.

However, last year’s stats show visitor numbers dropped only slightly over the summer, from an average of 16,676 in 2024 to 13,046 in 2025.

The new tax is to help incentivise tourists to visit the small Italian city on weekdays, rather than during the weekend.

But it faces opposition as critics argue that it would not teach visitors ‘respect’.

Giovanni Martini, the city council member, said: “Wanting to raise this to 10 euros is absolutely useless. It makes Venice a museum.”

There are now more tourist beds in Venice than official residents, whose numbers stand at an all-time low of 50,000.

The dates the fee will be in place this year

• April: 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
• May: 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31
• June: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28
• July: 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26

“How you feeling, Sabrinawood?” Sabrina Carpenter asked as she gazed out at the tens of thousands of fans she’d gathered into a makeshift city Friday night. “I can’t believe I’m headlining Coachella.

“I mean, I can a little bit.”

Indeed, when Carpenter made her Coachella debut in 2024, the Disney kid turned pop icon vowed that the next time she played the desert festival, her name would be atop the bill.

She returned as promised this weekend as one of music’s biggest acts, with two No. 1 singles and a pair of Grammy-nominated albums under her belt and a story to tell about her rise to stardom.

Heading into Coachella, I’d wondered whether Carpenter, 26, would simply play the same show she’d already brought several times to L.A. (as recently as November) on tour behind 2025’s “Short n’ Sweet” and last year’s “Man’s Best Friend.”

To her credit, though, she created a whole new production, which began with a video in which Carpenter is pulled over by a police offer played by the actor Sam Elliott as she drives toward a new life in Hollywood. In the video, Elliott lets her go, after which she turned up in the flesh at Coachella to strut down a Walk of Fame situation and end up onstage in a detailed simulacrum of the Hollywood Hills.

The first half of the show featured a bunch of songs from the singer’s last two LPs — she sang “Please Please Please” in a mock-up of a recording-studio vocal booth, while “When Did You Get Hot?” sounded like En Vogue’s “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” — as well as an oldie in “Because I Liked a Boy.”

Sabrina Carpenter performs at Coachella on Friday, April 12, 2024.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Then came a very long appearance by Susan Sarandon, who delivered a monologue about … the trauma of childhood celebrity? Honestly, it was hard to tell — a bit of a miscalculation on Carpenter’s part, as though she’d assumed that everyone at Coachella wanted to hear her deepest (if vaguest) thoughts about the pain of growing up in the Mouse House.

“She better come out in an amazing outfit,” one woman next to me said of Carpenter as Sarandon continued to extend the singer’s costume change.

Once Carpenter was back — wearing leggings and a blue sweater — she did “Go Go Juice” and “Sugar Talking” in a sort of dance-studio setting then interpolated a bit of Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana (At the Copa)” into “Feather” before Will Ferrell appeared as an irritated stage tech moaning and groaning about the demands of Carpenter’s show. (Again: kind of a fail.)

Yet she finished strong with speedy versions of “Juno,” “Espresso” and “Goodbye” into “Tears,” which got an elaborate water show that proved Carpenter can provide the right amount of razzle-dazzle when she wants to.

NEW YORK — In his first 100 days in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has governed with a star power unusual in politics.

Crowds of supporters show up to his news conferences. Basic municipal services have been infused with newfound excitement. Celebrities help him promote his agenda.

In the process, he’s been able to notch a few notable early wins. And he’s reached a detente, at least for now, with President Trump, a mercurial leader with an affinity for celebrities.

But as Mamdani, a Democrat, marks an early milestone in his mayoralty, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to leverage his fame into achieving the progressive policy proposals that propelled him to office.

Though he still has staunch critics, many of whom still view his past criticisms of the police department and Israel as major problems, Mamdani has been able to ease concerns among at least some skeptics.

“It’s early but so far, so good,” said Jay Jacobs, chair of the state’s Democratic Party, who made waves for not endorsing Mamdani during the election. “We may not agree on everything philosophically, but he is getting the job done.”

‘The biggest needs and the smallest needs’

As the mayor approached his 100th day — long a benchmark for judging an administration’s opening vision — his team has moved to highlight the administration’s commitment to the everyday responsibilities of the job.

While much of those duties are typical for his local office — picking up trash, plowing snow and filling potholes — the 34-year-old mayor has leaned on his knack for viral content creation to drive interest and awareness of government programs.

To hype up his child-care program for 2-year-olds, Mamdani recruited Cardi B to help judge a jingle contest that will determine the initiative’s theme song. His slick social media videos helped recruit thousands of new snow shovelers as a storm bore down on the city. A public service announcement he made brought more than 50,000 new subscribers to the city’s emergency alert system in a single week.

A few weeks ago, alongside Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty, Mamdani announced a bracket-style competition in which people could vote on small projects for him to come and personally fix on his 100th day.

On Friday, Mamdani selected a winner — a garbage-filled lot in the Bronx — and helped pick up some of the junk with a sanitation crew, following a celebratory event that featured an overflowing trash can mascot and a cheerleading squad.

“I think every single day it’s an opportunity to meet the needs of New Yorkers,” he said. “And what we’ve seen over the course of this 100 days is that New York City wants to see a city government that is able to meet the biggest needs and the smallest needs.”

The celebrity status, though, can also prompt backlash. During a bitter cold snap, his surprise appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” was seen by some as insensitive at a moment when the death toll of homeless New Yorkers was rapidly rising.

“Too much styling and profiling,” said Curtis Sliwa, a Republican who ran against Mamdani during last year’s election, noting longstanding problems with street homelessness, public housing and infrastructure.

Still, Sliwa, who hammered Mamdani during the campaign but recently appeared in a comedy skit with the mayor during the City Hall press corps’ annual roast, appeared to give Mamdani some credit, even if it came with a caveat.

“We just had Eric Adams, swagger man who’d party to the break of dawn, and now we have a guy who seems like he’s got a normal working schedule,” said Sliwa, referencing the city’s previous mayor. “So having Zohran as the alternative, I think for a lot of people even if they disagree with him, there’s some stability.”

Still a star among supporters

On the night of Mamdani’s election party, hundreds packed the streets, some spontaneously, waiting for a glimpse of the mayor-elect leaving the venue. Departing campaign aides were cheered, by name, well after midnight. One attendee likened the street party to Beatlemania.

“I feel like I’m at a presidential inauguration,” said Medhavie Agnihotri, a 25-year-old tech consultant. “This is the first time in a while I’ve felt this hope.”

His star power has not appeared to wane since then.

Outside City Hall, New Yorkers and tourists frequently stop for selfies, peering through the iron gates in search of the mayor.

This week, on the mayor’s 97th day in office, a crowd gathered in the lobby of the busy Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan to watch as Mamdani announced the city would start transferring Rikers Island jail detainees with serious medical illnesses to a specialized unit at the hospital.

He entered to woos and applause from the onlookers, as many held up cellphones to record videos of the mayor. Dozens more watched along from a set of elevated walkways.

One man, Ricardo Granados, a 67-year-old retiree, was on his way to take his son to a medical appointment but stopped to see what all the hubbub was about just before the news conference started. He appeared delighted to learn the mayor was going to show up, saying he met Mamdani previously when the mayor was campaigning in his neighborhood.

“I’m extremely fond of him. I think he’s going to make a real difference,” Granados said. “He wants to find out who needs what and he wants to help.”

Izaguirre writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.

“Everyone is at least a dormant ballet nerd,” declares 22-year-old Eden Lim, while sitting for an interview in the suburban Dallas studio where she and her sister, Jordan, 24, film and edit their popular YouTube channel “Ballet Reign.”

Judging from the near-universal backlash to Timothée Chalamet’s recent bad-mouthing of ballet, Eden’s summation of the central tenet of their show may be true. With 67,000 subscribers in 166 countries and growing, the Lim sisters are mixing Gen Z humor and exuberance with astounding erudition to bring ballet to a new generation and fire up older, longtime fans.

With episode titles such as “Addictive Ballet Moments to Alter your Brain Chemistry” and promises like “This will increase your lifespan and double your morale,” they are on a mission to ensure that ballet not only survives but thrives.

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Mirthfulness is the Lim sisters’ medium, but their message is serious. During each show, they parse video clips of great performances, often by explaining the history of the piece and giving detailed behind-the-scenes stories. They dissect the most famous pas de deux with trenchant insight and introduce their audience to the greatest dancers, including Natalia Osipova and Roberto Bolle. With signature, irrepressible enthusiasm, the sisters help viewers see precisely what makes the shows and dancers so extraordinary.

Eden, left, and Jordan Lim of YouTube channel “Ballet Reign” trained as professional dancers before deciding to focus on their show full time.

(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)

A video clip featured in the “Addictive Ballet” episode shows New York City Ballet principal dancer Ashley Bouder launching herself into a jeté so high she seems to leave Earth’s gravity. In midair she manages to turn herself 180 degrees before being caught by her partner, despite her momentum seeming to drift into his arms like a feather blown by a breeze.

While watching the singular feat, Eden exclaims, “Call the news channels! We found a person who can actually levitate!”

Jordan says the goal is to make viewers feel equipped to say, “I understand what’s going on, and I can appreciate it, and I can appreciate that this was done well.”

“Ballet Reign” launched three years ago with modest hopes. The sisters sought a mere toehold in the YouTube universe, aiming for a narrow niche audience of fellow ballet fanatics (“ballet nerds”) ages 16 to 25. To their initial astonishment, they have attracted a far wider viewership spanning all ages, even followers who hitherto had only scant interest in ballet. They have drawn in many young children and older adults, with those 65 and up now their third-largest subscriber group.

The show has rapidly won acclaim from within and outside of the ballet world — perhaps because the depth and breadth of their knowledge makes it hard to shake the suspicion that they secretly are Ivy League professors.

The Lim sisters speak with sophistication about classic ballets and dancers they love — delivering their message through a whimsical show that has attracted fans of all ages.

(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)

They comment with equal sophistication on ballet steps, choreography, history, musicology and the minute details of costume design. Eclectic references pop out of nowhere — a metaphor from quantum physics, an aside that the flute is the instrument whose sound is closest to a sine wave, that a serinette is an 18th century music box used to teach caged canaries to sing.

Even actual professors laud the show.

Nicolas Krusek routinely shows “Ballet Reign” episodes in his classes for adults on ballet history at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Krusek says what makes the show compelling “is the spirit of the videos, just the sense of joyousness and benevolence that they communicate, and a real sense of reverence for the art and the artists.”

John Meehan, a Vassar College professor of ballet and former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, calls their episode on Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” ballet “amazing,” adding that it conveys at least as much information in much more palatable form than a “dry” university lecture.

Julie Cronshaw, director of the Highgate Ballet School in London, says even for learned, longtime balletomanes the show opens up a whole new realm of understanding and appreciation. For those weighed down by adult concerns, watching an episode leaves them feeling uplifted.

This is why Jordan believes “Ballet Reign” has attracted a significant older audience — and also because the sisters honor tradition.

“They’re looking at the content and saying, ‘These are pieces that I grew up watching. And these are the dancers that I adored when I was younger,’” Jordan says.

Eden says she hopes “it’s because our content, and the way we deliver it, is able to touch hearts.”

The Lim sisters keep a disciplined schedule, turning out polished, deftly produced episodes 52 weeks a year.

(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)

The show also benefits from its high production values, with expertly edited clips from performances, clever blurbs of text and quirky cutaways to, say, a pole vaulter as an allusion to how high a dancer jumps.

Episodes generally begin the same way, with the sisters sitting behind a table with an old-fashioned radio-days microphone nicknamed “Mike-elangelo” between them. Eden kicks things off by announcing, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ballet Reign.”

A flash of superimposed text identifies them as “*Very certified*, extremely serious ballet experts.”

Jordan and Eden revel in each other’s company, finish each other’s sentences and play off each other with insightful or witty interjections.

“We grew up best friends from the beginning, and that’s never changed,” Jordan says.

They keep a disciplined, grueling schedule, turning out polished, deftly produced episodes 52 weeks a year.

Comments validating their efforts come in frequently. “You really helped me through a dark time,” reads one. Another notes, “I was going through a really difficult life transition and having your videos helped me get through.”

Jordan says, “That’s a sort of impact that I genuinely did not see coming.”

The sisters are openhearted and enjoy revealing ballet’s best-kept secrets, but they have kept a remarkably mysterious online profile. Until now, they have never even disclosed their last names, let alone anything about their background, education or experience.

There is also nearly nothing on the internet, and fans have long wondered about their credentials, including whether they are professional dancers themselves.

On the show the sisters certainly come across as if they were. Surprisingly, the answer is no — with an “almost” caveat.

The oldest of four siblings, Jordan and Eden spent nearly all of their childhood in Ottawa. From the time they were small the sisters beelined toward becoming professional ballet dancers. Jordan says when she was 4 she got up at the crack of dawn every day and put in a VHS tape of a ballet class that her mother, Mary Lim, had bought. With fierce determination, she performed tendus and relevés along with the older students on the tape.

Eden’s ballet fascination quickly followed. Mary says she soon realized she had no choice but to send them to ballet school.

“Obviously, if you look at a 4-year-old doing ballet at 7 a.m. every single day, you’re like, OK, let’s try lessons,” Jordan says.

Eden, left, and Jordan Lim of “Ballet Reign” are the oldest of four siblings and spent nearly all of their childhood in Ottawa before relocating to Texas to pursue their careers.

(Larsen & Talbert / For The Times)

By 2015, the girls needed a better ballet school than was available in Ottawa. Their parents packed up the family and moved to Dallas, where the pair enrolled in the Ballet Academy of Texas. Aside from ballet classes they were entirely homeschooled, but they had plenty of experience dancing in school performances, ballet competitions and with real companies.

Mary says the intent was “to give them an opportunity to move and carve their own path … We wanted them to find their passions.”

The moment the sisters had worked for all their lives arrived in 2020, when the time came to set off around the country — and the world — to audition for ballet companies. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit just as they got started, and almost everything in the ballet world shut down.

Jordan says the hiatus led them to reflect for the first time on whether their lifelong ambition was truly what they wanted. At the same time they groped for a way to put their passion for ballet to temporary use.

For years the sisters had fantasized, half-seriously, about having their own YouTube channel. Eden convinced an initially reluctant Jordan it was time to make the daydream real, and “Ballet Reign” premiered on Dec. 21, 2022.

The sisters say they convinced themselves they were using the show to take “a gap year” while waiting out the pandemic. As the first months passed, and their audience widened and sent glowing feedback, they began to realize they were having a big impact and touching lives. It dawned on them that this wasn’t just an interlude but their calling.

In an agonizing twist, just as the show had gotten underway, Jordan received word she had been accepted by a professional ballet company. She turned down the offer.

“It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Jordan says, but in retrospect the right one.

On a night when my family watched Austin Reaves pull off the miraculous intentional missed free throw put-back basket on the way to a thrilling Laker overtime win against the Denver Nuggets, we talked more about the newest Lakers super fan on the way home. Kudos to Bill Plaschke for recognizing and capturing the power of 6-year-old Jackson Tuyay’s passionate cheering that helped ignite the laid-back crowd and inspire the Lakers to a huge comeback win. As a lifelong Laker fan since the same age as Jackson it was so awesome to see such innocent and authentic passion for the Lakers. In an arena full of stars in the stands and on the court it was the voice of a 6-year-old that reminded us how awesome it is to be a Lakers fan for life!

Paul Stapleton
Los Angeles

To quote Jackson Tuyay, “Yeaaaaah!” It looks like the Lakers can play some defense and beat the better teams after all.

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

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The village has been crowned the world’s most beautiful by Forbes and receives 20,000 visitors on weekends – but overtourism has caused serious problems

A UK village crowned the most beautiful in the world has moved forward in the fight against overtourism, with a huge cash boost and a raft of new potential measures.

Bibury, nestled in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, is an undeniably charming spot. It boasts honey-hued stone cottages, a gently winding river, and a historic, fairytale-like atmosphere. Its allure led Forbes to name it the world’s most attractive village for 2025, approximately 150 years after poet William Morris declared Bibury “the most beautiful village in England.”

The cottages of Arlington Row are often hailed as the most photographed and breathtaking cottages in Britain. Built in 1380 as a monastic wool store, it was later converted into a row of weavers’ cottages in the 17th century.

It’s easy to see why Bibury garners such accolades, with accommodation options like the Swan Hotel and The Catherine Wheel pub both welcoming inside and festooned with climbing plants outside. The village’s charm has put Bibury firmly on the tourist trail. And now, some locals say, things are getting out of hand.

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Chairman of the local parking action group, Mark Honeyball, who has resided in Bibury for a decade, has had some rather unpleasant experiences with visitors. He revealed to the Express that he asked a coach driver to move on from some double yellow lines before drama unfolded.

He said last year: “I’ve been physically attacked four times now, but once really quite badly two weeks ago, I was kicked in the chest and stomach and kneed and punched in the face full force by a driver that I’d just asked simply to move on from double yellows at the top of the village.

“The coach drivers themselves are being pushed here by their coach companies, they don’t really want to be here, they find it really difficult to park. The tour operators are the key behind this, the coach operators are doing what the tour operators ask them to do, primarily with people from China, India, and South Korea at the moment.”

Up to 20,000 tourists flood into Bibury over weekends in the high season, with as many as 50 coaches arriving daily. That’s a staggering number for a village home to merely 600 residents.

This week, Gloucestershire County Council announced it was investing £175,000 in a project to combat ‘overtourism’ in Bibury, Punchline Gloucester reports.

Following the period of consultation, the county council is considering a series of measures to control the impact of tourism. They include:

• Permanent removal of coach parking bays and implementation of on-street parking restrictions.
• Additional enforcement of parking restrictions.
• Introducing pay-and-display parking.
• Restricting coach parking/waiting using enforcement officers to support traffic flow.
• Exploring if there are improvements that can be made to local bus services including options such as park and ride.

Restrictions on coaches entering the village were implemented in May last year. At that point, parking bays in the heart of the village were shut and new public bus stop clearways were established. The objective was to put a stop to “unsafe coach manoeuvres.” Following the summer trial period, Gloucestershire County Council decided to implement permanent restrictions on coaches entering the area.

Cllr Lisa Spivey, leader of the county council, said: “Hopefully we are getting somewhere. We did a trial last year which has been extended where we essentially removed the coach parking bays in the centre of the village and created drop off and pick up points for coaches, so we are now going to make that a more permanent solution.

“They have currently got some red and white plastic barriers which don’t look very nice in a historic village so we want to make that look nice. We are going to introduce pay and display parking so we can pay for more enforcement to make sure people aren’t parking where they shouldn’t be and causing an issue.

“We’ve been working alongside the coach operators and other stakeholders to really encourage the use of smaller vehicles to come into the village. There’s been a huge amount of engagement with the coach operators, Cotswold Tourism, the parish council, businesses, the police etc. Lots of people have been involved.”