claims

Offering another rationale for the US-Israeli war on Iran, Donald Trump claimed he ordered strikes to prevent a nuclear conflict that would have turned into World War III. He also said not even the “greatest experts” thought Iran would retaliate with attacks on Gulf states.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, accused the US and Israel of orchestrating a ‘diabolical plot’, claiming they copied Iran’s Shahed-136 drone design and repurposed it as a modified ‘Lucas’ drone to falsely blame Tehran for drone attacks across the region.

Frustrated players say they were left in the dark for days over their travel while England flew out within two days.

Cricket’s governing body has rejected suggestions of unequal treatment after the West Indies and South Africa squads were stranded in India for more than a week following their exit from the T20 World Cup, while England flew out in less than two days.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been accused of giving preferential treatment to one team over the other two amid the travel chaos resulting from airspace closures and rerouted flights because of the war in the Middle East.

However, the ICC said on Wednesday it “rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare”.

“We understand that players, coaches, support staff and their families who have completed their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns are anxious to return home,” it said in a statement.

Cricket West Indies said on Tuesday its squad had waited nine days for a charter flight that was “repeatedly delayed”, calling the uncertainty “increasingly distressing”.

West Indies ‌players were leaving India on commercial flights in batches 10 days after their scheduled departure, which led to frustrated players airing their thoughts in social media posts.

The ICC said nine West Indies players and staff members were already travelling to the Caribbean, with the remaining 16 booked on flights departing India within 24 hours.

Indian media reported that a charter flight for the West Indies and South ⁠Africa Twenty20 World Cup teams scheduled to fly to Johannesburg before continuing on to Antigua was cancelled earlier on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, South Africa, who have been stranded in ⁠India since March 4, will begin to fly home on Wednesday, with the entire contingent ⁠departing in the next 36 hours, the ICC said.

England flew home ‌less than two days after being beaten in the semifinals, prompting criticism of the ICC from the South African and West Indian camps.

Darren Sammy, head coach of West Indies, began venting his frustration on social media on the fifth day since his team’s exit from the T20 World Cup.

“I just wanna go home,” he wrote on X, followed by another tweet requesting an update after being left in the dark for five days.

Three days after South Africa were knocked out, in the first semifinal, their players Quinton De Kock and David Miller said the team had heard nothing from the ICC regarding their departure while England, who were eliminated a day later in the second semifinal had already left.

“England are leaving before us somehow?! Strange how different teams have more pull than others,” De Kock wrote in an Instagram story.

Miller, commenting on a post announcing England’s departure, said: “It doesn’t take the ICC long to organise England charter. WI have been waiting for 7 days for a charter and SA coming on 4 days now. And yet we still wait.”

The ICC said the criticism was “incorrect” and that there was no comparison between arrangements for South Africa and the West Indies and those made for England, “which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions”.

“Throughout this period, the ICC’s overriding ⁠priority has been the safety and welfare of everyone affected,” the sport’s global governing body said.

“We will not move people until we are satisfied that the travel ‌solution in place is safe, and that commitment will not change.”

Windies coach Daren Sammy has been vocal on social media throughout the issue. On Thursday he posted “I just wanna go home”. “At least an update, tell us something,” he also said.

After England’s departure was confirmed, South Africa batter Quinton de Kock said “Funny, we have heard nothing! Strange how different teams have more pull than others.”

West Indies, South Africa and England were all scheduled to depart India via the Gulf – a situation made difficult by the Iran war and subsequent air strikes across the region.

England departed via Egypt on Saturday. West Indies and South Africa will finally travel together on a chartered plane on Monday.

“The safety and well-being of players, support staff, officials, and our own workforce remain our absolute priority as we respond to the evolving situation affecting air travel across parts of the Middle East,” the ICC said.

“The current disruption to multiple airspaces has created a highly complex and fast-moving logistical challenge.

“For instance, the England team and their staff were able to fly out from Mumbai without restriction due to the route’s airspace being unaffected and flights operating as usual.

“The ICC categorically refutes any claims of bias in this or other instances, and has been fully accommodating of specific demands and conditions put forth by teams.

“The ICC’s logistics and events teams have been working continuously with governments, aviation authorities, airlines and charter providers to secure safe travel options for all participating teams and tournament personnel.

“Furthermore, they and the ICC chief executive have maintained regular dialogue with the members’ representative ICC directors, board chairs and CEOs to assure all involved of their teams’ safety and the impact of the rapidly-changing situation.”

New Delhi, India — Dressed in a blue Navy uniform and sleek sunglasses, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in late October, addressed a gathering of the country’s sea warriors.

He listed out the strategic significance of the Indian Ocean — the massive volumes of trade and oil that pass through it. “The Indian Navy is the guardian of the Indian Ocean,” he then said, to loud, proud chants of “Long Live Mother India” from his audience.

Less than five months later, India has been shown up as a “guardian”, unable to protect its own guest.

On Wednesday, the Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, was torpedoed by a US submarine just 44 nautical miles off (81km) southern Sri Lanka, as it was returning home from naval drills hosted by India. During the “Milan” biennial multilateral naval exercise, Indian President Droupadi Murmu had posed with sailors from the Dena.

Yet it took the Indian Navy more than a day after the Iranian warship was struck to respond formally to the attack, which US officials made clear was a sign of how the Donald Trump administration was willing and ready to expand its war against Iran.

“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Pentagon on Wednesday. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.”

Tehran is furious over the attack on its warship hundreds of miles away from home. And Iran made sure to note that the IRIS Dena warship was  “a guest of India’s navy”, returning after completing the exercise it joined upon New Delhi’s invitation.

“The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles [3,218km] away from Iran’s shores,” Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said, referring to the sinking of the frigate. “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret [the] precedent it has set.”

Now, the IRIS Dena is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, and more than 80 Iranian sailors, who marched during joint parades and posed for selfies with Indian naval officers during their two-week visit, are dead.

What has also fallen, said retired Indian naval officers and analysts, is India’s self-image as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean. Instead, they said, the US attack on the Dena has exposed the limits of India’s power and influence in its own maritime back yard.

‘War reaches India’s backyard’

After participating in the naval exercises, IRIS Dena left Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast on February 26. It was hit in international waters, just south of Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, in the early hours of March 4, local time.

In response, Sri Lankan Navy rescuers recovered more than 80 bodies and picked up 32 survivors, reportedly including the commander and some senior officers from the warship. More than 100 men are still missing.

In a tweet welcoming the Dena to the naval drills, the Indian Navy’s Eastern Command had posted: “Her arrival … [reflects] long-standing cultural links between the two nations [Iran and India]”.

Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, the former vice chief of India’s naval staff, told Al Jazeera that he attended the Iranian parade at the function.

“I met and really liked them, especially their march for sailors travelling thousands of miles,” Sinha said. “It is always sad to see a ship sinking. But in a war, emotions don’t work. There’s nothing ethical in a war.”

Sinha said that the Indian Ocean — central to the strategic and energy security of the nation with the world’s largest population — was thought to be a fairly safe zone earlier. “But that is not the case, as we are learning now,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The unfolding battle [between the US and Israel on the one hand, and Iran on the other] has reached India’s back yard.
New Delhi has to be concerned,” Sinha, who served in the Indian Navy for four decades, added. “The liberty we enjoyed in the Indian Ocean has apparently shrunk.”

India’s Catch-22 situation

Only on Thursday evening did the Indian Navy issue any formal statement on the attack — more than 24 hours after the Dena was hit by a torpedo.

The Navy said that it received distress signals from the Iranian ship and had decided on deploying resources to help with rescuing sailors. But by then, it said, the Sri Lankan Navy had already stepped to lead the rescue effort.

Neither New Delhi nor the Navy has criticised — even mildly — the decision by the US to sink the Iranian warship.

Military analysts and former Indian naval officers say India is caught in a classic catch-22: Was India aware of the incoming US attack in the Indian Ocean on an Iranian warship, or was it blindsided by a nuclear-submarine in its backyard?

Admiral Arun Prakash, the former chief of India’s naval staff, told Al Jazeera that if New Delhi was blindsided, “it reflects on the US-India relationship directly.”

“If it is a surprise, then that’s a great concern since we have a so-called strategic partnership with the USA.”

And if India knew about the attacks, it would be seen by many as strategically siding with the US and Israel over their war on Iran.

C Uday Bhaskar, a retired Indian Navy officer and currently the director of the Society for Policy Studies, an independent think tank based in New Delhi, said that the US sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean muddies the Indian perception of itself as a “net security provider” in the region.

Bhaskar said the incident is a “strategic embarrassment” for India and weakens New Delhi’s credibility in the Indian Ocean, while its moral standing “takes a beating” because of the Indian government’s near-silence.

‘India on aggressor’s side’

In the post-colonial world order, India was a leader of the non-alignment movement, the Cold War-era neutrality posture adopted by several developing nations.

India now no longer calls its approach non-alignment, instead referring to it as “strategic autonomy”. But, in reality, it has inched closer to the United States and its allies, most importantly, Israel.

Merely two days before the US and Israel bombed Iran, Modi was in Israel, addressing the Knesset and warmly hugging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called his Indian counterpart a brother.

But Iran, under the late Supreme Leader Khamenei, was a friend of India as well, with New Delhi making strategic, business, and humanitarian investments in the country.

However, Modi has not said a word in condolence after Khamenei’s assassination. On Thursday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy in New Delhi to sign a memorial book. Indian governments normally deploy ministers — not bureaucrats or diplomats — for such sombre occasions.

It is against that backdrop that India’s response to the attack on the Dena has come under scrutiny.

Because the frigate was hit when it was in international waters, India had “no formal responsibility”, said Srinath Raghavan, an Indian military historian and strategic analyst.

“But the US Navy’s actions underline both the spreading geography of this war and the sharp limits of India’s ability to manage, let alone control, its fallout,” Raghavan told Al Jazeera.

Diplomatically, India has “objectively positioned itself on the side of the aggressors in this war,” he said, by “acts of commission — visit to Israel on the eve of war — and of omission, with not even [an] official condolence, let alone condemnation, of the assassination of the Iranian head of state.” Modi visited Israel on February 25-26.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of India’s opposition Congress party, said the Modi government had recklessly abdicated “India’s strategic and national interests”. And the government’s silence “demeans India’s core national interests and destroys our foreign policy, carefully and painstakingly built and followed by successive governments over the years.”

In addition, Raghavan highlighted that Modi has only criticised Iran’s retaliation, which threatens to drag the Gulf region to the brink of war.

“It is difficult not to conclude that India has drastically downgraded its interests in the relationship with Iran,” he said.

“All of this detracts from India’s credibility as a player in the region and will have short and long-term consequences for the equities in West Asia [as the Middle East is referred to in India],” Raghavan told Al Jazeera.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the U.S. economy as “roaring” and declared inflation “defeated” since returning to office in January 2025. In his recent State of the Union address, he called it “the golden age of America,” claiming unprecedented economic prosperity.

However, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests that most Americans across party lines do not share that view. The poll, conducted online with 4,638 adults and a two-point margin of error, finds that 68% of respondents disagree with the statement that “the U.S. economy is booming.” Even among Republicans, who form Trump’s political base, opinion is sharply divided: 56% agree the economy is booming, while 43% disagree.

Cost of Living Remains Top Concern

Americans interviewed cited rising costs as their primary worry. In Tennessee, manufacturing worker Marcus Tripp said: “Even as a two-income household, we are struggling… I am worried more about how much my rent and everything is going up than I am about whether the guy down the street has citizenship documents or not.”

Poll respondents overwhelmingly rejected Trump’s claim that inflation has been defeated. Only 16% agreed with the statement that “there is hardly any inflation in the U.S.,” while 82% of independents and 72% of Republicans disagreed. Democrats were even more skeptical, with a strong majority rejecting the notion of a booming economy.

Awareness of Trump’s Economic Policies

The poll also revealed limited public knowledge of Trump’s specific proposals:

• 44% had never heard of the plan to restrict large investors from buying single-family homes.
• 48% were unaware of the proposed cap on credit card interest rates at 10%.
• By contrast, 78% were aware of tariff increases on imported goods, with many expecting the tariffs to raise the cost of living 54% overall, including 69% of Democrats and 42% of Republicans.

Some voters expressed frustration that policies emphasizing tariffs may not address the issues they feel most acutely. Independent voter Tiffany Ritchie of Corpus Christi said, “We’re not going to tariff our way out of this.”

Political Implications Ahead of Midterms

The poll’s results are a warning for Trump and the Republican Party as they head into the November 3 midterms, defending majorities in both the House and Senate. Cost-of-living concerns are emerging as a decisive factor for voters, potentially outweighing immigration and other campaign issues that Trump has emphasized.

Primaries are already underway in states such as Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas, with both parties beginning to select candidates for the midterms. Economists predict modest growth this year, but few expect the kind of “booming” economy Trump describes.

Analysis

From my perspective, the poll highlights a growing disconnect between Trump’s rhetoric and the lived experience of many Americans. While the administration touts economic successes, households are still struggling with rising rents, groceries, and energy costs.

The division among Republicans is also notable. While Trump’s base remains partially supportive of his economic claims, nearly half of the party’s voters see little evidence of a boom. This split could weaken the Republican message in key battleground districts, especially where cost-of-living pressures are most acute.

Moreover, the limited public awareness of some Trump policies suggests that policy communication is lagging. Tariffs are well-known, but policies targeting housing and credit remain obscure, potentially limiting their political impact.

In short, while Trump frames the U.S. economy as a “golden age,” the reality for many voters is very different. Rising living costs, skepticism among independents, and division within his own party suggest that economic messaging alone may not be enough to secure midterm victories.

With information from Reuters.

Tehran, Iran – Another round of indirect talks between Iranian and United States officials ended with a mediator claiming “significant progress” but still no clear evidence that either side was willing to concede enough on their positions to avoid war.

After the conclusion of the talks in Geneva on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said further technical talks would be held next week in Vienna and progress had been “good”.

“These were the most serious and longest talks,” Araghchi said.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who mediated the talks, said Iranian and US diplomats would consult with their governments before the Vienna talks.

Few details have emerged about the discussions, but Araghchi was reported to have met US envoy Steve Witkoff – if only briefly, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian team, led by Araghchi, handed over on Wednesday night Tehran’s written proposals to Al Busaidi, who also mediated previous rounds of talks in Geneva and Muscat.

The Omani diplomat then met with the US delegation on Thursday, led by Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Al Busaidi mediated between the two teams throughout the day, and the US delegation also held separate talks over Ukraine.

Also taking part in the talks was Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which will have to undertake nuclear monitoring and verification duties in Iran in case of any agreement.

The UN watchdog will hold several days of board meetings starting on March 6, which is around the 10- to 15-day deadline floated by Trump last week for Iran to reach a deal.

Western media outlets have suggested the board could once again consider a move to censure Iran depending on the results of the Geneva talks. Iran has accused Grossi of taking politicised action and criticised the IAEA after Israel attacked Iran in June, one day after the agency passed a resolution saying Tehran was not complying with its commitment to nuclear safeguards.

Fundamental differences

The two sides have been at odds over key issues, including uranium enrichment and missiles.

Washington has repeatedly emphasised, in lockstep with Israel, that it will not accept any nuclear enrichment taking place on Iranian soil, even at civilian-use levels agreed during the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran agreed with world powers. Trump unilaterally abandoned that deal in 2018.

In the days leading up to the Geneva talks, US officials increasingly focused on Iran’s ballistic missile programme, saying the missiles threaten US military bases across the Middle East as well as Israel. Iran has refused to entertain any talks on its conventional weapons. Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, have repeatedly said they will never develop nuclear weapons.

Speaking to local officials during a provincial visit, Pezeshkian also shot back at Trump’s assertion during a lengthy State of the Union speech that Iran was “the world’s number one sponsor of terror”.

Pezeshkian said numerous Iranian officials and nuclear scientists have been assassinated over the decades, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

“If the realities are seen fairly, it will become clear that Iran is not only not a supporter of terrorism, but one of the main victims of terror in the region and across the world,” he said.

The Iranian government’s IRNA news agency said Tehran’s proposal was expected to gauge US “seriousness” in the talks because it contained “win-win” offers.

Iranian officials have not publicly discussed all the details of their proposals, but they are believed to include diluting part of the country’s 60-percent enriched uranium and keeping the uranium inside the country. Iranian authorities envisage that could be paired with economic opportunities for the US related to Iranian oil and gas and the purchase of airplanes.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has maintained his tough rhetoric against the US as well, casting doubt on the chances of any agreement. He also said Trump would be unable to overthrow Iran’s government after the US president said regime change would be “the best thing that could happen” in Iran.

Araghchi said during an interview on Wednesday that even if Khamenei is killed, the theocratic establishment in Iran would carry on because it has legal procedures in place to appoint a successor. Pezeshkian added on Thursday: “They can eliminate me, eliminate anyone. If they hit us, a hundred more like us will come up to run the country.”

Double-digit inflation as Iran braces for war

Iranian and US officials have been hailing supposed “progress” in the indirect talks this month, but many Iranians continue to prepare for war.

In Tehran and across the country, people are buying bottled water, biscuits, canned foods and other essentials in case of a war.

“A few days ago, I bought a power bank to keep the electronics charged. Now I’m looking for a short-wave radio so we can hear the news if the state shuts down the internet and electricity infrastructure is bombed,” said a 28-year-old resident of the capital who asked not to be named.

As bombs fell during the 12-day war with Israel in June, Iranian authorities cut off almost all internet access for several days, followed in January by an unprecedented 20-day total blackout imposed on about 92 million people as thousands of people were killed during nationwide protests.

The Iranian government, which blames “terrorists” armed and funded by the US and Israel for the protests, has rejected Trump’s claim that 32,000 Iranians were killed during the demonstrations. It said more than 3,000 people were killed, and rejects documentation by the United Nations and international human rights organisations that its security forces were behind the killings.

As the threat of war intensifies, not all Iranians are capable of stocking up on food and other necessities due to rising inflation that has gripped the country for more than a decade as a result of a mix of chronic local mismanagement and US and UN sanctions.

According to separate reports by the Statistical Centre of Iran and the Central Bank of Iran released on Thursday, inflation has now shot beyond 60 percent.

The Statistical Centre put annual inflation in the Iranian month of Bahman, which ended on February 19, at 68.1 percent, while the Central Bank said it was 62.2 percent.

Food inflation was by far the strongest driver at a whopping 105 percent. That included a 207-percent inflation rate for cooking oil, 117 percent for red meat, 108 percent for eggs and dairy products, 113 percent for fruit and 142 percent for bread and corn.

Iran’s national currency, the rial, stood at about 1.66 million rials to the US dollar on Thursday, near an all-time low.

In his State of the Union address, US President Trump reiterated claims the US “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme last year, contradicting his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said Iran is “one week away” from a nuclear bomb.

Afghan officials deny claims, as they accuse Pakistan of targeting civilians and violating its sovereignty in Sunday’s border air raids.

A senior Pakistani government official has claimed that its military killed at least 70 fighters in air raids along the border with Afghanistan, claims Kabul has denied, amid escalating tensions between the two South Asian neighbours.

Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News on Sunday evening that at least 70 rebels were killed in the attack. Pakistan’s state media reported that the death toll had jumped to 80; however, there was no official confirmation.

Pakistan’s military carried out the air raids early on Sunday, targeting what it called “camps and hideouts” belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad.

The country’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps belonging to the Pakistan Taliban group, known by the acronym TTP, and its affiliates.

Tarar said Pakistan “has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region”, but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a top priority.

President Asif Ali Zardari said late on Sunday that Pakistan’s recent attacks along the Afghan border were “rooted in [its] inherent right to defend its people against terrorism” after repeated warnings to Kabul went unheeded.

The attacks threaten a fragile ceasefire between the South Asian neighbours, negotiated following deadly border clashes that killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected fighters in October last year.

Pakistan said it has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to take action to prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks, but that Kabul has failed to “undertake any substantive action”.

Afghanistan has rejected Pakistani allegations that its territory is used by armed groups linked to attacks in Pakistan.

Afghanistan denies claims

The Afghan Ministry of Defence said in a statement that “various civilian areas” in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika were hit, including a religious school and several homes. The statement called the attacks a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty.

Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said “people’s homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act” with the bombardment of the two eastern provinces.

Residents from around the remote Bihsud district in Nangarhar joined searchers to look for bodies under the rubble using shovels and a digger, the AFP news agency reported.

“People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives. When the bombing happened, one person who survived was shouting for help,” resident Amin Gul Amin, 37, told AFP.

Spokesperson Mujahid also said Pakistan’s claim of killing 70 fighters was “inaccurate”.

Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar province, said 18 people were killed and several others were wounded.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul to protest against the attacks.

In a statement, the ministry said protecting Afghanistan’s territory is its “Sharia responsibility”, warning that Pakistan would be held responsible for the consequences of such attacks.

With Gordon Ramsay’s new Netflix docu-series accused of being a “sanitised” version of the celebrity chef’s family life, there are some key parts of his past that were completely missed out

Following the release of Being Gordon Ramsay on Netflix, the celebrity chef has been accused of portraying a ‘sanitised’ version of his life.

And although the six-parter mainly follows the opening of his ambitious 22 Bishopgate venture, the Hell’s Kitchen star does delve into parts of his past – including the “mess” he was born into, and his abusive father.

But there are some murkier elements of Gordon and his family’s history that were glossed over in the documentary. The docu-series is described by Netflix as “unflinchingly honest” – but some have criticised the absence of some major incidents from the Ramsays’ past.

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Prison sentences

The Ramsay family was rocked by a devastating betrayal in 2017, when it was revealed that certain members of Tana’s family had attempted to hack into multi-millionaire Gordon’s business accounts. Christopher Hutcheson, 77, and his sons, Adam and Christopher, admitted they had plotted to access his emails and finances almost 2000 times over a five-month period from October 2010 to March 2011.

It came after Tana’s dad was sacked as CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd, leading to a public fallout with his son-in-law. Between the three of them, they had managed to obtain information – including claims of a hair transplant and a fishing trip – which then later appeared in newspapers. After their crime was uncovered, Hutcheson Sr emailed his son saying: “Guess we have been rumbled. Bit late though..

Despite the family making up and Tana and Gordon not supporting the court case, the judge still deemed a prison sentence necessary. Tana’s dad was handed a six-month sentence, while Adam and Chris Jr. were each sentenced to four months suspended for two years.

Affair claims

It’s been widely reported that Sarah Symonds, claimed she was seeing Gordon for seven years, after meeting in 2001. Something he has always denied. Sarah, now 56, was was once dubbed a “professional mistress”, having had affairs with other married men, including politician Jeffrey Archer.

Sarah, who published the book Having an Affair? in 2007, ranted to the Daily Mail: “The title of the docu-series ‘Being Gordon Ramsay’ is totally fake – just like him.

“It’s misleading and disingenuous. A travesty in fact, as nothing about it was ‘Being Gordon’ at all.” She added the show is a “glossed over” version of Gordon, who she describes as a “bully, cheat, liar and serial philanderer”. Sarah said that the Netflix description of the show as “unflinchingly honest” makes her want to scream, adding that she is “trying to heal” from the trauma of her affair. Ramsay has denied ever having had an affair.

Ramsay’s brother

Gordon Ramsay was born in Glasgow, and lived on different council estates in the city, in Birmingham and in other areas of the UK. He does mention his younger brother Ronnie in the series, telling viewers when pressed that he is a heroin addict, but we don’t meet Ronnie.

He says: “We shared a bunk bed together. He’s 15 months younger than me, and he’s been an addict for the last four decades. I’ve gone to hell and back with him, and so I have a guilt complex. That could have been me. It could’ve been switched.”

Gordon has spoken more about Ronnie previously. It was revealed that back in 2007, he was arrested in Bali, after 100mg of heroin was reportedly found in his pocket, landing him a 10-month jail term. Speaking in the early 2000s to Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine, Gordon said: “I feel the pain, I feel it big time. I don’t think that my mum at 60 should still be putting up with it.

“It is hard dealing with Ronnie. He is a major responsibility. It is like having an 18-year-old to look after.” He also revealed, prior to the documentary, to the Mail that Ronnie had asked to perform at his daughter Holly’s wedding.

Gordon explained: “It was tough. It still pains me. He said: ‘Hey, have you got a music gig for the wedding? I’m free.’ I put down the phone and I said to Tana, ‘F**king hell, here we are in the house we sleep in and there’s my little brother still with two pit bulls in a council flat in Birmingham, busking.'”

Holly and Adam Peaty’s family feud

Gordon’s eldest daughter, Holly, and her new husband, Adam Peaty, were embroiled in a bitter family feud with the groom’s family in the lead-up to their wedding in December. The couple sensationally ended up uninviting all of Adam’s family, except for his sister Bethany, who was one of Holly’s bridesmaids.

The Netflix documentary makes no mention of the tension, although it does show scenes from the couples’ engagement party. According to Adam’s family, they were all cut from the show, despite being there to celebrate Adam’s proposal to Holly.

His mum, Caroline, and his cousin, Krystal, have claimed they were removed from scenes from Adam and Holly Ramsay’s engagement party. They reportedly made a number of touching speeches as part of the event, but these weren’t shown.

The pair vented on social media, with Krystal sharing a photo of her watching the engagement party scene on the doc. She said: “I was here in person, guess I didn’t make it on Netflix for my minute of fame.”

She sarcastically added: “How will I sleep at night?” And Adam’s mum Caroline shared a response in the comments section, asking: “Did they film my speech Krystal?”

She went on: ““I bet they didn’t because it was 100% full of love and positivity x.” Krystal replied: “I haven’t watched it all to be honest but no I haven’t see you and you look blurred out xx.”

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President Trump has long spread conspiracy theories about voting designed to explain away his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Now that he’s president again, Trump has stocked his administration with those who have promoted his falsehoods and in some cases helped him try to overturn his loss.

Those election conspiracists now holding official power range from the attorney general to lawyers filing lawsuits for the Justice Department. Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who unsuccessfully pushed the Justice Department in 2020 to back the president’s false claims, is now leading a sweeping probe of the vote from that election.

The most dramatic action from that mandate was the seizure in late January of ballots and 2020 election records from Fulton County in Georgia, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta. The county has long been a target of election conspiracy theorists aligned with Trump, and the affidavit for the search warrant shows the action was based on 2020 claims that in many cases had been thoroughly investigated.

Election officials across the country, especially those in states controlled politically by Democrats, are bracing for more turmoil during this year’s elections, when control of Congress is on the line.

“The election denial movement is now embedded across our federal government, which makes it more powerful than ever,” said Joanna Lydgate, chief executive of States United Democracy Center, which tracks those who promote election conspiracy theories. “Trump and his allies are trying to use all of the powers of the federal government to undermine elections, with an eye to the upcoming midterms.”

Trump has remade the federal government as an arm of his own personal will, and his attorney general, Pam Bondi — who helped try to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss — has declared that everyone working at the Justice Department needs to carry out the president’s demands. Even with all the issues facing him in his second term, from persistent concerns about the economy to his immigration crackdown, Trump continues to push the false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Some of the people who populate his administration are, like Bondi, longtime supporters who continued to help Trump even as he sought to overturn an election. Some played minor roles in supporting the false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Still others have pushed conspiracy theories, often fantastical or debunked, that have helped persuade millions of Republicans that Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him.

Riccardi writes for the Associated Press.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi declared a triumph against California on Friday, touting an appellate court ruling that she said blocked a state ban on immigration agents and other law enforcement officers wearing masks.

“The 9th Circuit has now issued a FULL stay blocking California’s ban on masks for federal law enforcement agents,” Bondi posted on the social media site X, calling the Feb. 19 decision a “key victory.”

Bondi, however, appeared confused about which case the court was ruling on this week.

A federal judge in Los Angeles blocked California’s first-in-the-nation mask ban 10 days earlier, on Feb. 9.

At the time, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder said she was “constrained” to block the law because it included only local and federal officers, while exempting state law enforcement.

The state did not appeal that decision.

Instead, on Wednesday, the law’s author Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced a new mask bill without the problematic carve-out for state officers.

With the initial legal challenge already decided and the new bill still pending in the legislature, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has no reason to revisit the mask ban.

The ruling that Bondi appeared to reference involves a separate California law requiring law enforcement officers to display identification while on duty.

Snyder had previously ruled the “No Vigilantes Act” could take effect because it did not exempt state police, a decision the Justice Department appealed to the 9th Circuit.

The appellate court is set to review the matter early next month. Until then, the court issued an injunction that pauses the state law from taking effect.

Issuing a temporary administrative injunction is a common procedural move, allowing judges to freeze things in the status quo until the court has a chance to weigh the law and come to a decision.

Thursday’s order set a hearing in the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals in Pasadena for March 3, indicating the case is far from over.

Bill Essayli, who leads the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, also celebrated with a post on X, calling Thursday’s order “another key win for the Justice Department.” He too suggested the injunction somehow involved the mask case.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The law requiring officers to show ID is less controversial than the mask ban. But it may still face an uphill battle in the appellate court. A three-judge panel is set to hear the case, comprising two judges nominated to the bench by President Trump and one by President Obama. One of the Trump appointees, Judge Mark Bennett of Hawaii, has previously signaled skepticism over the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.

At issue in the ID case is whether California’s law interferes with or controls the operations of the federal government, actions prohibited by the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. Snyder ruled that the identification law was more akin to speed limits on the highway, which apply equally to everyone, a decision the appellate court could reject.

A ruling is not expected before mid-March, and would not directly affect the push by state lawmakers to pass a revised mask ban.

Recent polls show more than 60% of Americans want U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and other federal agents unmasked. More than a dozen states are pursuing laws similar to California’s.

In Washington, congressional Democrats have made a mask ban for ICE a key issue in the ongoing partial government shutdown, vowing not to fund the Department of Homeland Security until one is enacted.

Legal experts have said the issue likely will not be resolved until it reaches the Supreme Court.

Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States, has confirmed that the agency launched an investigation against ABC’s daytime talk show The View over a recent appearance by a politician.

In comments to reporters on Wednesday, Carr indicated the probe would examine whether The View violated a new interpretation of an “equal time” rule implemented under President Donald Trump.

Fox News had been the first to report on the investigation in early February. The segment in question involves an appearance from Texas state Representative James Talarico, a Democrat who is vying for the US Senate.

The confirmation comes as Carr attempted to shut down claims that the government censored an interview between Talarico and late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert.

“There was no censorship here at all,” Carr said.

“Every single broadcaster in this country has an obligation to be responsible for the programming that they choose to air, and they’re responsible whether it complies with FCC rules or not, and it doesn’t, and those individual broadcasters are also going to have a potential liability.”

The controversy with Colbert likewise stems from the Trump administration’s decision to shift definitions under the “equal time” rule.

What is the ‘equal time’ rule?

The rule is part of section 315 of the 1934 Communications Act. Under that law, if a broadcaster allows one candidate for public office to use its facilities, it is required to “afford equal opportunities” to all other candidates in the same race.

But the law includes exceptions for “bona fide newscasts” and “bona fide news interviews”.

For nearly 20 years, talk shows and late-night comedy programmes were included in those categories.

In January, however, the FCC issued new guidance (PDF) that significantly narrows how it interprets the “bona fide news” exemption. In a memo, it described daytime talk shows and late-night comedy as “entertainment programs” that fall outside the exception.

“The FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” the memo reads.

The commission also suggested that many such programmes are “motivated by partisan purposes” and are therefore not “bona fide” news.

The new interpretation of the “equal time” rule, the FCC argued, is designed to “ensure that no legally qualified candidate for office is unfairly given less access to the public airwaves than their opponent.”

Controversy with Colbert

That new interpretation came roaring into the spotlight on Monday, after a broadcast of the CBS comedy programme The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

In one of his opening segments, Colbert alleged that the network lawyers barred him from airing a planned interview that night with Talarico.

“Let’s just call it what it is,” Colbert told his audience. “Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV. OK? He’s like a toddler with too much screen time.”

Trump has previously criticised both Colbert’s show and The View for what he considers a left-wing slant.

Instead of broadcasting his interview with Talarico on network television, Colbert instead posted the segment on the programme’s YouTube page, where it has gained more than 6 million views as of 3:30pm Eastern Time (20:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

According to Carr, Colbert’s show could have aired the Talarico interview if it had complied with the equal time rule.

That would have involved allowing other candidates in Texas vying for the Senate seat to come on the show. Carr also suggested that another solution could have been to restrict the broadcast in Texas.

But the FCC has continued to face criticisms for its actions. In Tuesday’s broadcast, Colbert addressed the issue a second time.

He read aloud a statement from his broadcast channel that read, in part, that The Late Show “was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview” and that it was instead “provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule”.

CBS added, in the statement, that Colbert could have invited onto the show Talarico’s rivals, including fellow Democrat Jasmine Crockett.

“I am well aware that we can book other guests,” Colbert responded. “I didn’t need to be presented with that option. I’ve had Jasmine Crockett on my show twice. I could prove that to you, but the network won’t let me show you her picture without including her opponents.”

Colbert has been a vocal critic of CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, particularly after it settled a lawsuit last year with the Trump administration for $16m in the run-up to a critical merger for which it needed government approval.

Talarico, meanwhile, accused the FCC of censoring his interviews. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, he noted that the uptick in media attention from the scandal has helped him gather donations.

“Our campaign raised $2.5 million in 24 hours after the FCC banned our Colbert interview,” he wrote on social media.

VOGUE Williams has hit back at an online troll who made cruel claims about her.

The troll claimed Vogue, 40, “leeches off men for money and exposure” in a cruel attack.

The TV personality took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a screenshot of the cruel comment which was left underneath one of her posts.

The comment was left under a post Vogue shared about becoming Grand Marshall for the St Patrick’s day parade.

Under the post she had shared, the troll wrote: “The brain to leech off men for exposure and money while p***ing on everyone around me?

“Nah thanks, I’d rather be a nice person that doesn’t use others around her. But carry on.”

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Vogue, who was seemingly angered by the comment, responded: “Well you’re certainly not doing well on the nice front! 

“Go check MY company accounts and then come back and tell me I’m leeching off men. See you at the parade hun!”

Sharing the interaction to her stories on Instagram, Vogue penned: “I’m never sure of the motive or need for people to publicly scrutinise someone they know nothing about.

“It’s so s**t.”

She added: “I’m sick of seeing horrible cr** on the internet and people just abusing other people because they feel like it. 

“This person should practice being a nice person a bit more…”

This comes after Vogue’s son Otto, whom she shared with husband Spencer Matthews, was rushed to A&E at the weekend.

The ITV star, who featured in the 2025 instalment of the jungle reality series, documented the three-year-old tot’s woe in a series of candid Instagram snaps.

She told how brave son Otto had been rushed to A&E after breaking his collarbone.

She started her grid post with an image of the adorable youngster with his right arm in a sling, attempting to flash a smile.

The Lorraine host wrote in her caption: “What a weekend ended up in A and E with Otto and a broken collarbone.

“Otty keeps telling us it’s not broken it’s better!

“Staff at Chelsea Westminster are amazing and flew through everyone… v impressive and thankful to them.”

Referring to her subsequent images, which showed her kids playing at home, she added: “Play Doh fixes all!”

Vogue shared three children with her husband Spencer.

Theo was born in 2018, Gigi arrived in 2020 and youngest Otto was born in 2022.

MYSTERY continues to surround Katie Price and new husband Lee Andrews after the pair STILL haven’t returned to the UK.

It came after speculation the businessman, who is now based in Dubai, was banned from touching down on home turf after “taking out a £200K loan in his ex’s name”.

Lee, 41, married the mum-of-five in Dubai last month, with the former glamour model returning back to the UK on her own just days later – as her husband explained she needed to return for her children.

After Katie returned to the UK to face her “horrified” family following her shock nuptials, Lee vowed he would soon be on a flight from the UAE to join her.

Sadly, her new spouse was a no-show in the UK and last week, we exclusively reported how Katie appeared to confirm her move to the UAE after splashing cash on luxury resorts.

In her latest Instagram video, Katie was seen wearing a grey vest as she stretched out on a bed.

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She propped herself on her headboard for the clip and told fans: “Hey guys, so I’m still in Dubai”.

She told how she was “really missing” her CBD products which assist with her sleep.

At the end of her clip, she zoomed in on her face as she demanded: “Get me back to the UK for CBD”.

In her caption, she added further detail and wrote: “I miss my sleeping pattern.

“I couldn’t bring my products over to Dubai due to the laws but wow… this is when you realise it most, I miss taking my oil before bed and sleeping through the night”.

The Sun exclusively revealed the former glamour model said I Do with businessman Lee Andrews in a plush ceremony in Dubai last month.

The shock engagement news came only a matter of weeks after Katie and former partner JJ, 32, called time on their two year romance.

In another video, which saw Lee brand Katie his “sweet little wife” and the TV star reply: “So we are still in Dubai but we are coming to England very soon”.

Lee then replied: “Within a day”.

Katie Price’s relationship history

We take a look back at the highs and lows of Katie Price’s relationship history.

1996-1998: Katie got engaged to Gladiators star Warren Furman – aka Ace – with a £3,000 ring. But their relationship didn’t make it as far as ‘I do’.

1998-2000: Katie described Dane Bowers as ‘the love of her life’ but she broke up with the singer after he allegedly cheated on her.

2001: Footballer Dwight Yorke is the father of Katie’s eldest child Harvey. He has had very little to do with his son throughout his life.

2002: Rebounding from Dwight, Katie famously had one night of passion with Pop Idol star Gareth Gates, allegedly taking his virginity.

2002-2004: Katie was dating Scott Sullivan when she entered the jungle for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!. He threatened to “punch Peter’s lights out” when chemistry blossomed between her and Peter Andre.

2004-2009: The jungle romance resulted in Katie marrying Aussie pop star Peter. They had two kids, Junior and Princess, before their bitter split in 2009.

2010-2011: Fresh from her break-up with Peter, Katie enjoyed a whirlwind relationship and marriage with cage fighter Alex Reid. They split 20 months after their Las Vegas wedding.

2011: Katie briefly dated model Danny Cipriani… but it ended as quickly as it begun.

2011-2012: They didn’t speak the same language, but Katie got engaged to Argentinian model Leandro Penna in 2011. He later fled home to South America.

2012-2018: Wedding bells rang once more after Katie met Kieran Hayler in 2013. They eventually called it quits after a rocky marriage.

2018-2019: Katie moved on quickly with Kris Boyson. They had an on-off romance for one year and even got engaged. They split for good in 2019.

2019: Katie was linked to Charles Drury during her on-off relationship with Kris. Charles, who also dated Lauren Goodger, has always denied being in “official relationship” with her.

2020-2023: Car salesman Carl Woods took a shine to Katie in 2020. Their relationship was up and down for three years. They broke up for a final time last year.

2024-2026: After weeks of rumours, Katie confirmed her relationship with Married At First Sight star JJ Slater in February 2024. The pair split in January 2026 after two years together.

2026: Katie shocked fans when she revealed she had married Dubai-based businessman Lee Andrews after a 48-hour engagement and only knowing him a week.

It remains to be seen if the pair will touch down on home turf any time soon.

After the pair became man and wife, reports – which Lee has denied – suggested he had been banned from leaving the country after he forged his ex’s signature for a £200,000 loan.

Lee allegedly applied for a mortgage in personal trainer Dina Taji’s name last year without her knowledge.

When she received a call from the bank about the application, she took legal action.

He spent three weeks inside the notorious Al-Awir central prison shortly before meeting Katie. It is unclear at what stage the investigation is at.

The city’s law prevents people involved in active criminal and civil cases from leaving the country, though Lee told the Mail it was “complete b******s” that he couldn’t leave.

Who is Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews?

KATIE Price tied the knot with Lee Andrews in January 2026. Yet who is he?

• Katie Price has married businessman fiancé Lee Andrews in a whirlwind wedding
• It is the fourth time Katie, 47, has been a bride. She has also been married to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler
• Katie and Lee met just after being introduced on social media
• Lee claimed he is a billionaire in a failed clip from his acting career
• He now claims to be a Dubai-based businessman
• Yet The Sun has unmasked him as a fantasist who faked celebrity links using AI-generated photos and recently talked about marrying two other women
• Failed actor is just another title to add to Lee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
• Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
• It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
• But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
• His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
• Lee was also mocked for repeating the exact same wedding proposal on Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.

He went on to say: “First of all, I’ve been travelling all over Christmas, prior to January, and I’m actually travelling tonight to the UK so no, I don’t have a travel ban. 

“And the Dina Taji issue was something else, but I don’t have a mortgage either for £200,000, that’s completely not right.”

He added that he has been house-hunting for a new home for him and Katie.

We revealed over the weekend how Lee was arrested at his home in the emirate over allegations of obtaining money by deception.

The Mail also reports that Andrews “begged” other inmates for £5,966 to help secure his release, before turning to one of his ex-wives.

The Sun contacted Lee for comment at the time.

During his three weeks in the overcrowded prison – where violence and infections are rife – Lee shared a huge cell with 65 other inmates.

Lee, whose fantasist online claims were exposed by The Sun, was finally freed after apparently paying court fines.

Just weeks after his release last November, he struck up an online romance with Katie – before the pair stunned relatives by tying the knot in Dubai.

Hollywood groups say the AI video tool uses the likeness of actors and others without permission.

China’s ByteDance has pledged to address concerns over its new artificial intelligence video generator, after Hollywood groups claimed Seedance 2.0 “blatantly” violates copyright and uses the likenesses of actors and others without permission.

The company, which owns TikTok, told The Associated Press news agency on Sunday that it respects intellectual property rights and pledged action to strengthen safeguards.

The tool, called Seedance 2.0, is available only in China for now and lets users generate high-quality AI videos using simple text prompts.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) said last week that Seedance 2.0 “has engaged in unauthorized use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale”.

“By launching a service that operates without meaningful safeguards against infringement, ByteDance is disregarding well-established copyright law that protects the rights of creators and underpins millions of American jobs. ByteDance should immediately cease its infringing activity,” Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPA, said in a statement on February 10.

Screenwriter Rhett Reese, who wrote the Deadpool movies, said on X last week, “I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us.”

His post was in response to Irish director Ruairi Robinson’s post of a Seedance 2.0 video that went viral and shows AI versions of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Actors union SAG-AFTRA said on Friday it “stands with the studios in condemning the blatant infringement” enabled by Seedance 2.0.

“The infringement includes the unauthorized use of our members’ voices and likenesses. This is unacceptable and undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement.

“Seedance 2.0 disregards law, ethics, industry standards and basic principles of consent. Responsible AI development demands responsibility, and that is nonexistent here.”

ByteDance said in response that it has heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0.

“We are taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users,” it told the AP.

Jonathan Handel, an entertainment journalist and lawyer, told Al Jazeera the developments mark “the beginning of a difficult road” for the film industry.

Until courts make a significant ruling, AI-generated videos will have major implications on the film industry,” he said.

“Digital technology moves a lot quicker, and we are going to see in several years full-length movies that are AI-generated,” he said.

These tools are trained primarily on unlicensed data, Handel said, and the output could resemble faces and scenes from famous movies, “and so you’ve got copyrights, trademarks, all of those rights are implicated here”.