claims

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claims it has greatly expanded how it defines the Strait of Hormuz, which it has closed to most shipping since the start of the now-paused war. The move comes as that closure has wide-ranging impacts on the global economy and with U.S. President Donald Trump mulling new military actions against Tehran amid deadlocked peace negotiations and a tenuous ceasefire barely holding.

Under its new definition, the IRGC claimed a tenfold expansion “forming a complete crescent” of “about 20 to 30 miles to one now over 200 to 300 miles,” Political Deputy of IRGC Navy Mohammad Akbarzadeh said in a TV interview, according to the official Iranian FARS news agency.

“The Strait is no longer viewed as a narrow stretch around a handful of islands but instead has been greatly ​enlarged in scope and military significance,” Akbarzadeh noted. “In the past, the Strait of Hormuz was defined as a limited area ​around islands such as Hormuz and Hengam, but today this view has changed. The Strait is now defined as a strategic zone stretching from ‌the ⁠city of Jask in the east to Siri Island in the west.”

We asked the White House and CENTCOM for reactions to the IRGC Navy announcement. The White House dismissed it.

“During Operation Epic Fury, Iran was crushed militarily – their ballistic missiles are destroyed, their production facilities are dismantled, their navy is sunk, and their proxies are weakened. Now, they are being strangled economically by Operation Economic Fury and losing $500 million per day thanks to the United States military’s successful blockade of Iranian ports,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told us. “The Iranian regime knows full well their current reality is not sustainable, and President Trump holds all the cards as negotiators work to make a deal.”

CENTCOM has not responded to our query.

The reported expansion is the second announced by Iran since the start of its conflict with the U.S. and Israel.

The IRGC did not specify what actions it would take under its expanded definition. However, while the vast majority of Iran’s naval forces have been destroyed during Epic Fury, it has been attacking ships in the region with cruise missiles, drones and its fleet of small attack boats that remains largely intact. In addition, Iran has reportedly continued mining the Strait even after the April 7 ceasefire.

Both U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and Iran say the IRGC launched strikes against U.S. Navy warships and commercial vessels they were helping to protect during the short-lived Project Freedom on May 4. That was an effort, created by Trump, to help guide ships through the Strait that was paused after about 36 hours. CENTCOM forces responded with strikes on attacking ships. Days later, another exchange of fire took place, with CENTCOM saying it bombed Iranian targets after destroyers came under fire transiting the Strait to the Gulf of Oman.

Meanwhile, the Navy has disabled four Iranian vessels trying to run the ongoing blockade.

The IRGC said the new definition was created in response to yesterday’s statements by President Donald Trump repeating that Iran’s Navy has been destroyed by U.S. attacks during the now-paused Operation Epic Fury.

“This very design and implementation of the new plan shows that this force is present on the scene with authority,” Akbarzadeh proffered.

As we noted yesterday, frustrated by the pace of negotiations, Trump threatened new military action against Iran ranging from resuming Project Freedom to new airstrikes against Iranian targets and perhaps even a ground incursion to retrieve Iran’s highly enriched uranium.

The closure of the Strait is having a direct impact in the U.S., spurring Trump to consider pausing the federal gas tax as a form of relief for American consumers as energy prices soar, The Washington Post noted. The move — which requires congressional approval to pass — would mark the latest in a string of government interventions to address fallout from the war.

“Since the war began in late February, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, has skyrocketed from about $70 to more than $107. U.S. gas prices — now an average of $4.50 a gallon — have reached levels not seen since 2022 and contributed to Trump’s falling approval ratings ahead of the November midterms,” the Post stated.

The impacts of the closure are even greater in Asia, which relies more heavily on oil that normally transits the Strait. For instance, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked his nation’s 1.4 billion people to spend less on fuel, fertilizer, and travel, The New York Times reported. 

Modi “made these sweeping recommendations in a national address on Sunday after securing a big win for his party in recent state elections,” the newspaper added. “With that victory in hand, he no longer has to worry that voters might punish his candidates for higher prices of fuel, food and transport, which are tightly controlled by India’s government. Instead of subsidizing the losses and running huge budget deficits, India’s leader appears emboldened to ask its people to bear the burden.”

Caracas, May 15, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government expressed “deep concern” on Wednesday over the “escalation of violence” in Colombia’s border region of Catatumbo.

Caracas’ reaction came one day after the Colombian Armed Forces announced the killing of seven combatants from the National Liberation Army (ELN) during a bombing operation that Colombian President Gustavo Petro said was carried out “within the framework of agreements” with Venezuela.

“Venezuela has been taken by surprise by these events and rejects any armed action that jeopardizes peace, stability, and the security of border communities,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil stated in an official communiqué. The statement added that Venezuelan authorities are concerned with “how this new escalation once again impacts the lives of people on both sides of the border,” causing “serious consequences” for local populations.

However, just 24 hours earlier, Petro had stated on social media that the Colombian army and air force carried out the attack against the ELN “within the framework of agreements with Bolivarian Government of Venezuela” led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

At the same time, Petro clarified that there is currently no peace process with the ELN, rejecting claims that the guerrilla organization resumed armed operations because of state noncompliance.

“Organizations that continue to seek total or partial control over illicit economies and reject agreements aimed at dismantling those structures are not part of any peace process,” he wrote.

Petro and Rodríguez met in Caracas on April 24, where they pledged to “combat organized crime” along the more than 2,200-kilometer shared border between the two countries. The meeting also resulted in plans for joint military coordination, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, and expanded security cooperation.

Details of the Operation

According to Colombian Armed Forces commander General Hugo López, the operation dealt a “major blow” to a unit of the Luis Enrique León Guerra Front, commanded by the guerrilla leader known as “Sucre,” which was reportedly responsible for providing security to the ELN’s Central Command and National Directorate.

The military stated that seven guerrillas were killed during the bombing operation. Nevertheless, insurgents reportedly abandoned the camps and removed the bodies of those killed, according to local outlet Blu Radio.

Colombian forces also reported discovering fortified camps, explosives, drone-launching devices, and materials used in the fabrication of anti-personnel mines.

The ELN, however, denied suffering casualties. In a video posted on Facebook, the guerrilla organization claimed that the attack “fell flat.”

“They attempted to surprise ELN guerrilla units fighting the 33rd Front, but this time they failed (…) We suffered no casualties as a result of this bombing,” the group stated. “Our forces remained active in responding to enemy aggression and continue to hold territory.”

The 33rd Front is a dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The group joined peace talks with the Colombian government and currently maintains a ceasefire while Temporary Location Zones are established for regrouping under Resolution 161 of May 2026. Nevertheless, it is now facing an escalating conflict with the ELN in border.

The latest attack was the third bombing operation carried out in Colombia in 2026 and the twentieth such military strike under Petro’s administration. Of those, three targeted the ELN, five targeted the Clan del Golfo, and twelve were directed against FARC dissident groups.

Colombia’s armed conflict, which has persisted for more than six decades, has intensified again in 2026 amid growing fragmentation among armed groups competing for territorial control. Despite the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC, as well as Petro’s ongoing “total peace” initiative, forced displacement and violence against civilians have reached record levels in regions such as Catatumbo and Colombia’s Pacific coast.

The porous and extensive border has also led armed groups such as the ELN to establish a significant presence inside Venezuelan territory, controlling territories and with documented involvement in drug trafficking and mining activities.

Venezuela on different occasions attempted to facilitate peace negotiations in the Colombian conflict. Caracas hosted dialogue rounds between the Petro government and the ELN before talks broke down.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding claimed his first ProTour title on his 442nd attempt by winning the Players Championship 16 event in Leicester.

Previously a six-time runner-up, Gilding defeated Jonny Clayton 8-3 in the final on Wednesday.

The 55-year-old Englishman scooped the £15,000 top prize after racing into a 5-1 lead, hitting double 10 to secure victory.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long while. I can’t believe it,” Gilding said.

“I’ve had some great finals before. I remember playing Gary Anderson many years ago, he had a 112 average and I had a 107 average. But I finally got over the line.

“Your form dips and rises. You just have to be patient. I’ve had such a good start to the season, I’ve more or less qualified for everything now.”

KATIE Price is plotting to get around her seventh driving ban after her husband Lee Andrews claimed he bought her a Ferrari.

The former glamour model, 47, has received bans totalling more than six years since she was first disqualified in 2010.

And last month, Katie was banned for a seventh time after failing to respond to police letters about an 80mph speeding ticket.

But the media personality said she is now planning to get an international driving licence – despite her UK driving ban.

Katie shared a life update with her social media fans today.

She was joined by her husband Lee as she filmed a clip from the back of a moving car.

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Katie said: “Hey guys, we are just going to the hospital to get my stitches taken out and then we are going to Lee’s dad for a cup of tea.”

She added: “And to get my international driving licence…”

Lee interjected and said: “That’s the easy one, then you’ll see the car,” referring to the  £180k Ferrari that Lee claimed he gifted his wife.

But Katie’s followers were quick to correct the star, with one writing: “You cannot drive with an international driving licence with a driving ban. It still stands in other countries, there is no way around it.”

A second said: “I hope Katie realises as I wouldn’t want her to do anything illegal in Dubai.”

A third said: “Not with a ban in the UK, you can’t as the Dubai authorities do checks.”

Another commented: “You cannot get an International Driving Permit or drive in Dubai if you have a current UK driving ban. You must hold a valid full driving licence to apply for an International one and the UK court will have taken her licence so she cannot apply for one.”

This person added: “It appears you cannot legally drive in Dubai with a revoked UK licence.”

According to the GOV UK website, you cannot obtain an International Driving Licence if you are banned from driving in another country.

It is only issued to holders of a valid UK driving licence, which is revoked or suspended when you are banned.

In March, Katie was seen in the driver’s seat of a red Ferrari.

But the motor was completely different from the Ferrari she previously claimed had been a gift from self-confessed multi-millionaire Lee.

She previously told how the flash car, believed to cost around £180,000, had to remain in the UAE.

It is not clear how or when Lee purchased the car and whose name it is in ownership of.

Yet despite previously gushing over the “beautiful” gift it was nowhere to be seen during her recent video.

Lee took charge of filming as Katie got settled behind the wheel and said: “Kate is driving now – is this your first time driving in Dubai?”

She was then heard swearing as she got to grips with the automatic before he assisted and said: “There you go”.

Katie then added: “First time driving in Dubai.

The former glamour girl’s latest run-in with the law comes after a Ford Capri registered to her was caught at 80mph on the A64 near Strutton in North Yorkshire.

CCTV released by the police showed Katie behind the wheel during the incident on October 15, 2025, the same day she appeared on stage with celeb pal Kerry Katona for An Evening with Katie Price & Kerry Katona at Scarborough Spa.

Katie, who was first banned in 2010, was subsequently prosecuted and convicted of failing to respond to police, landing her with a six-month driving ban and a legal bill topping £1,000.

The former pin-up was keen to set the record straight last month.

Speaking on her podcast, The Katie Price Show the star revealed: “I found out I was banned by the papers.

“I am actually livid about that because if I’d got the letters I would have replied to it.”

Revealing what happened, Katie said: “Basically I’ve paid someone to do a job.

“They haven’t done it and… now I’m now banned from driving for six months, but I am gonna go back and see if I can appeal it.”

She then added: ” Yeah, or I just think it’s only six months where I live now, I can walk to the shop. the kids schools are ten minutes up the road.

“I get shopping delivered here anyway, because I’m always at home when I work at home.

“So it’s not like in the past where I’ve been stuck right in the middle of nowhere.”

It comes after Katie’s after new husband Lee claimed he is moving to the UK in May AND revealed details of a second wedding.

Lee popped the question to the star in January, and the couple tied the knot in Dubai just 48 hours later.

However, Katie later revealed they actually officially wed in February.

A child sexual assault case filed against Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will proceed to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The singer is accused of grooming, sexually assaulting and impregnating 16-year-old Julia Misley in the 1970s. The suit, first filed in 2022 in Torrance, claims he “used his role, status, and power as a well-known musician and rock star” to exploit Misley. The complaint also argues Tyler admitted to the alleged crimes in his own memoir, “Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?,” where he refers to her as his “teen bride.”

Earlier this week, a judge dismissed most of the case, citing the statute of limitations in Massachusetts, where the pair lived during their three-year relationship. But they allegedly crossed state lines while Tyler toured the country with his band, including to California, according to the complaint. Because of California’s Child Victims Act — a 2020 statute that allowed a “lookback window” where alleged victims can file lawsuits regardless of a statute of limitations — a portion of the case will still be tried.

“This is a massive win for Steven Tyler. Today, the Court has dismissed with prejudice 99.9% of the claims against Mr. Tyler in this case,” Tyler’s lawyer, David Long-Daniels, said in a statement to The Times. “The court has decided that only one night, 50-plus years ago, out of a three-year relationship is allowed to remain.”

New York has a similar statute that was recently employed by singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in her case against Sean Combs. She filed a sex-trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against the music mogul in 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, just days before the expiration of a lookback window.

The lawsuit against Tyler, who previously appeared as a judge on “American Idol,” claims he and Misley first met at an Aerosmith concert in 1973. According to the document, he “performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon Plaintiff that night.” At the time, Tyler was in his mid-20s and Julia was 16.

The alleged encounter was the first of many, the lawsuit claims. In 1974, Tyler was named Misley’s legal guardian and took her on tour with the band.

According to the complaint, he described the nature of the relationship in his 2011 memoir, writing, “She was 16, she knew how to nasty … with my bad self being twenty-six and she barely old enough to drive and sexy as hell, I just fell madly in love with her. … She was my heart’s desire, my partner in crimes of passion. … I was so in love I almost took a teen bride. I went and slept at her parent’s house for a couple of nights and her parent’s fell in love with me, signed paper over for me to have custody, so I wouldn’t get arrested if I took her out of state. I took her on tour with me.”

The lawsuit also describes Misley’s alleged pregnancy with Tyler’s child, which ended in a “pressured” abortion.

In previous court documents, Tyler has denied the allegations and attempted to get the case dismissed.

“This reflects years of resilience and courage by Ms. Misley, driven by an unwavering pursuit of truth and justice. It is time for justice and for Tyler to be held accountable by a jury,” Misley’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, said in a statement.

The trial is scheduled for August.

GAIL Porter has slammed Katie Price online for all to see, claiming she cruelly mocked her hair loss.

The 90s pin-up, 55, lost her hair as a result of alopecia, which she developed in 2005.

Now Gail has claimed that Katie made a horrible remark about her in the past when introducing her to one of her boyfriends.

Taking to the comments section of an Instagram post by Sky TV showing the trailer for Katie’s upcoming tell-all documentary, Katie: Nothing to Hide, Gail made a direct comment about the star.

Referring to Katie, Gail claimed: “The person who introduced me to one of her boyfriends and said ‘this is Gail. She used to be pretty when she had hair… Google her. Thanks.’”

The comment has amassed nearly 100 likes to date as well as a flood of replies from other Instagram users.

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One response said: “Whhhhhat?!,” in clear shock.

A second reads: “That must have been awful for you. I hope you’re okay x.”

A third person added: “So sorry she said that! You are beautiful.”

Gail was a model in the late 90s, most known for her pin-up content in “lad-mags” such as FHM.

This was the same decade when Katie launched her glamour modelling career under the pseudonym of Jordan.

She regularly starred in the pages of magazines and newspapers including The Sun, The Daily Star, FHM, Loaded, and Playboy.

Katie’s tell-all documentary is in the process of production, and is being made by Louis Theroux.

The four-part docu-series promises it will have “intimate access” to the model and the mini series will go “beyond the headlines”, with Sky already promising that it will be absolutely “jaw-dropping”.

Speaking about the production Arron Fellows, co-founder and creative director at Mindhouse, said: “Katie’s 30 years in the spotlight have been truly extraordinary.

“This series doesn’t shy away from – in Katie’s own words – ’the good, the bad and the ugly’; and this is an unexpected re-appraisal of a woman many people feel they have already figured out.

“The team have spoken to a range of contributors who have crossed paths with Katie at different junctures of her life – through the ups, the downs and everything in between.

“In doing so have crafted a series that is as jaw-dropping and unpredictable as it is tender and surprising. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

The series is set to air on Sky and streaming service NOW sometime this summer.

Gaelic Warrior raced clear to claim the Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday.

With Paul Townend on board, the 5-6 favourite powered home ahead of stablemates Fact To File (13-8) and Grangeclare West (28-1). All three are trained by Willie Mullins.

It was eight-year-old Gaelic Warrior who got the better of his rival this time after Fact To File’s win in the Irish Gold Cup came following defeat in the John Durkan.

It was another excellent race with Gaelic Warrior making his move in the penultimate jump and storming home with 26 lengths to spare.

“It was a huge performance,” Mullins told RTE Sport.

“My heart was in my mouth when Paul joined him (Fact To File) between the fourth-last and the third-last. I was thinking ‘would they knock one another’ or what would they do? They were going some lick.

“Both jockeys just let fly. Over that trip Gaelic Warrior seemed to have the measure of Fact To File. Over a shorter trip it might be different. It was a hell of a horse race.”

With Nolimit (14-1) came through to win the Grade One Punchestown Champion I.N.H. Flat Race.

Trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Josh Halford, the five-year-old got the better of pre-race favourite The Mourne Rambler (11-8) with Boycetown (5-1) third.

In the Novice Hurdle, Le Frimeur (18-1) maintained his unbeaten record to see off Zanoosh (11-4f) and I Started A Joke (11-1).

WITH a rocketing career and A-list girlfriend Sabrina Carpenter on his arm, Barry Keoghan had the world at his feet in 2024.

But after his relationship soured — amid false claims the actor cheated — he was so badly burned by the fallout that he has become a recluse.

Barry has quit all social media, stopped seeing his mates and has even moved house — all while internet trolls continue to hurl insults his way.

The strife all stems from a rumour that he had an affair while seeing Espresso singer Sabrina, 26, which she herself has said was false.

Saltburn actor Barry, 33, who is currently filming the upcoming Beatles biopics as Ringo Starr, said: “I have been avoiding stuff.

“I’ve stopped socialising. And again, it’s because there was a narrative that’s not true.

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BARRY’S TRUTH

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“I never confirmed or said anything about it, and, you know, I just disappeared.”

Pushed on what that narrative is, he continued: “It’s that I cheated.

“I don’t want to ever bring anyone else into it, but unfortunately having a relationship in the public eye, we all know this, it gets put out there, and it’s amplified.

“A girl made a video and then the girl actually made [another] video and went, ‘Sorry for making that up’, but no one seemed to latch on to that video.”

Gossip site DeuxMoi and social media influencers had claimed he was seen at a members’ club and steakhouse with another blonde woman while he was dating Sabrina.

Fans believed he had cheated with influencer Breckie Hill, although she insisted it was untrue and that they had never even met.

Barry now says that despite deleting his accounts, he is still drawn to the vicious things people write about him online, almost 18 months after his year-long romance with the chart-topper ended.

He explained: “I’m not on Instagram or Twitter or any of that but I still go on and have a little . . . I go on my brother’s account. I can access it that way.

“I do go on and have a look because I’m curious, but there’s a lot of hatred towards me for just looking like this. It’s just crazy.

“There’s videos on TikTok that literally go, ‘I hate him’.

“I went through addiction myself and then sobriety, and to battle all of that, to then want to drag that person down . . . ”

Sabrina did little to suppress the online noise against him when she released her No1 album Man’s Best Friend last August — on which she sang about dating a “manchild”.

And Barry says he struggled in the aftermath, as he did not want her to have to deny the cheating rumours following their split.

He explained: “It’s a hard one because I never want to speak on behalf of other people. And I also never want to mention other people or involve them.

“And even if it is those people that were in a relationship, it’s not their place to come forward and speak on my behalf.

“It’s unfair to them. They’re also in a relationship. It’s both of us being out there, so I’m very aware of that.”

Barry, who hails from Dublin, said he has even relocated from London to the Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames due to the mental toll events have taken on him.

But it is fair to say he has faced plenty of other challenges in his life, having largely grown up in foster homes.

His mum died when he was 12 after years spent battling a drug addiction.

Now, speaking on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast, Barry has talked about how he fell into a similar spiral of addiction and has only managed to overcome his substance dependence in recent years.

Barry said: “I’m clean now. But my mum died at 32 from heroin and my dad passed away. But the curiosity of still wanting to do this, for me, was absolutely . . . 

“It took me three attempts at rehab and it was finally Malibu, The Pointe, where there was a sudden switch and it was when I was 32, the same age my mum was. Like, ‘That’s it, I’m not doing it’.”

Asked if he ever drinks now, he added: “I don’t do anything.

“I used to try to justify it by going, ‘Maybe I’ll be off the drink for a while’, but now I like to think I’m allergic to alcohol because my reaction is: Cocaine. That reaction can make me die.”

And he claims he actually has died — and was brought back to life — in 2021 due to being high on drugs.

He was hit by a bottle in a pub and developed the rare bacterial infection necrotising fasciitis.

Barry explained: “This is a flesh-eating bacteria infection that I got and almost died.

“I got it right before I filmed the movie Banshees Of Inisherin and literally, I got it three weeks beforehand. I got it because I went through psychosis.

“An event happened and I got hit with a bottle, and something happened to my arm. It went to my blood system and whatever. But it’s a very rare infection.

“This basically eats your limbs and they have to remove it.

“I technically did die for a few seconds.”

He went on to deliver an outstanding performance in The Banshees Of Inisherin, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.

But the infection was so touch-and-go that he even believes he had a “post-death vision”.

He said: “I did. I swear to you, it was almost like a f***ing painting. It happened in London. I went for a few seconds and there was this sort of image. There was this girl walking away and she wouldn’t look back.

“She had blonde hair, but she was walking away and I kept calling her.

“She just kept walking and I wanted to see who it was.

“It was almost like she was walking away to get me to follow.

“On this side was council flats, it was black and white, and this side was in colour.

“On this side, there was loads of lads stabbing me and trying to push me over and, obviously, it was the doctors doing the work on me, you know, that’s what I was feeling.

“But in this vision, they were stabbing me and pushing me, and I was holding on to them, and they were trying to push me over to this side.

“I swear, I was begging them that I could stay. I said, ‘Please let me stay’.”

In 2022 he was arrested in Dublin for public intoxication. Months later he became a dad to a little boy with partner Alyson Kierans, a dental nurse. But they split in mid-2023.

Later that year, he got together with Sabrina, and gained mainstream success in the dark comedy Saltburn.

That led to an outpouring of love and support, which no doubt helped him land his next role — and the most important one of his career so far.

He is playing Beatles drummer Ringo in the four-film cinematic biopic being created by director Sam Mendes.

Asked about how he is finding work on the project, which is halfway through a year-long filming schedule, he said: “I’m loving it.”

He will appear alongside Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

However, Barry revealed the tight work schedule is having a major affect on his body — and he has lost a stone since the cameras started rolling.

He said: “I’ve lost so much weight on this movie. I was 65 or 66 kilos and I’m like 58 kilos now. But it’s because of my ADHD meds as well.

“No one tells you to lose weight and I don’t need to lose it for Ringo either. But it’s more of getting into character and the stamina.

“Movies usually last six or seven weeks and I always lose weight by the end, but by that time I’m gone. But this one’s a year.”

He is expected to spend the majority of this year finishing the movies, before they hit screens in April 2028.

And hopefully by that time, at least, he will feel able to leave the house with his head held high.

A Ukrainian attack on the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant kills a worker, according to the site’s Russia-installed authorities.

Ukrainian officials say Russian drones have again attacked the southern port city of Odesa, injuring at least 11 people, including two children, and damaging homes and important infrastructure.

Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said the attack affected three districts, hitting residential buildings, vehicles and civilian facilities, including a hotel, warehouses and funicular railway. Windows shattered in many buildings and the port area sustained damage.

“All specialised and municipal services are working to mitigate the consequences. Law enforcement agencies are documenting the latest war crimes committed by Russia against the peaceful population of [the] Odesa region,” Kiper said.

Russian attacks killed one person in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov.

“A 59-year-old man died as a result of an enemy attack on the Zaporizhzhia region,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram.

A Ukrainian drone attack killed an employee at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was captured by Russian forces and is shut down.

“A driver was killed today when a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck the transport department at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” said a statement from plant managers who were installed by Russia.

Regional governor Fedorov said Russian forces launched 629 strikes across 45 settlements in the region in a single day, with at least 50 reports of damage to homes and infrastructure.

Russian officials reported Ukrainian drone attacks in the Belgorod border region, where at least one person was killed and four women injured, alongside damage to buildings and vehicles.

Stalled diplomatic efforts

The attacks come as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled. Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has had “good conversations” with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We’re working on the Russia situation, Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we’re going to get it,” Trump said on Fox News.

“I do have conversations with him, and I do have conversations with President Zelenskyy, and good conversations,” he said.

“The hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy is ridiculous. It’s crazy. And hate is a bad thing. Hate is a bad thing when you’re trying to settle something, but it’ll happen.”

Zelenskyy said he signed agreements on security and energy cooperation with Azerbaijan during a visit to Baku, adding that Kyiv had discussed the possibility of future talks with Russia there.

A former female staffer who worked for Beast Industries, the media venture behind the popular YouTube channel MrBeast, is suing the company, alleging she was sexually harassed and fired shortly after she returned from maternity leave.

The employee, Lorrayne Mavromatis, a Brazilian-born social media professional, alleges in a lawsuit she was subjected to sexual harassment by the company’s management and demoted after she complained about her treatment. She said she was urged to join a conference call while in labor and expected to work during her maternity leave in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, according to the federal complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

“This clout-chasing complaint is built on deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements, and we have the receipts to prove it. There is extensive evidence — including Slack and WhatsApp messages, company documents, and witness testimony — that unequivocally refutes her claims. We will not submit to opportunistic lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us,” Gaude Paez, a Beast Industries spokesperson, said in a statement.

Jimmy Donaldson, 27, began MrBeast as a teen gaming channel that soon exploded into a media company worth an estimated $5 billion, with 500 employees and 450 million subscribers who watch its games, stunts and giveaways.

Mavromatis, who was hired in 2022 as its head of Instagram, described a pervasive climate of discrimination and harassment, according to the lawsuit.

In her complaint, she alleges the company’s former CEO James Warren made her meet him at his home for one-on-one meetings while he commented on her looks and dismissed her complaints about a male client’s unwanted advances, telling her “she should be honored that the client was hitting on her.”

When Mavromatis asked Warren why MrBeast, Donaldson, would not work with her, she was told that “she is a beautiful woman and her appearance had a certain sexual effect on Jimmy,” and, “Let’s just say that when you’re around and he goes to the restroom, he’s not actually using the restroom.”

Paez refuted the claim.

“That’s ridiculous. This is an allegation fabricated for the sole purpose of sparking headlines,” Paez said.

Mavromatis said she endured a slate of other indignities such as being told by Donaldson that she “would only participate in her video shoot if she brought him a beer.”

“In this male-centric workplace, Plaintiff, one of the few women in a high-level role, was excluded from otherwise all-male meetings, demeaned in front of colleagues, harassed, and suffered from males be given preferential treatment in employment decisions,” states the complaint.

When Mavromatis raised a question during a staff meeting with her team, she said a male colleague told her to “shut up” or “stop talking.”

At MrBeast headquarters in Greenville, N.C., she said male executives mocked female contestants participating in BeastGames, “who complained they did not have access to feminine hygiene products and clean underwear while participating in the show.”

In November 2023, Mavromatis formally complained about “the sexually inappropriate encounters and harassment, and demeaning and hostile work environment she and other female employees had been living and experiencing working at MrBeast,” to the company’s then head of human resources, Sue Parisher, who is also Donaldson’s mother, according to the suit.

In her complaint, Mavromatis said Beast Industries did not have a method or process for employees to report such issues either anonymously or to a third party, rather employees were expected to follow the company’s handbook, “How to Succeed In MrBeast Production.”

In it, employees were instructed that, “It’s okay for the boys to be childish,” “if talent wants to draw a dick on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them” and “No does not mean no,” according to the complaint.

Mavromatis alleges that she was demoted and then fired.

Paez said that Mavromatis’s role was eliminated as part of a reorganization of an underperforming group within Beast Industries and that she was made aware of this.

April 20 (UPI) — Iran said that it carried out drone strikes on Monday against U.S. military vessels blockading its ports after the U.S. Navy attacked an Iranian-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Oman.

The state-run Tasnim News Agency said the Iranian military “launched drone strikes toward several U.S. military vessels in the area” in retaliation for the boarding and seizure of the Touska on Sunday night while it was en route to Iran from China.

“We caution that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate for this act of piracy and armed aggression by the US military,” Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, the Iranian military’s central command, said in a statement

Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters said the Iranian Armed Forces had held off from delivering “a decisive response” to “blatant aggression by U.S. terrorist commandos” due to concerns for the safety of family members of the ship’s crew who were on board the Touska.

“Iran’s operational action was delayed in order to protect their lives and security, which were in constant danger,” the statement added.

The U.S. military did not immediately comment on Iran’s claim it conducted drone strikes.

However, U.S. Central Command posted video of the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance warning the Touska to “vacate your engine room” because it was about to open fire and, some time later, night-vision footage of helicopter-borne U.S. Marines from USS Tripoli conducting an amphibious assault operation to take over the vessel.

CENTCOM said the Spruance intercepted Touska as it was steaming toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, issuing multiple warnings over a six hour period that it was in violation of the U.S. blockade. When it refused to stop, the Spruance fired several rounds from its 5-inch gun hitting the engine room and disabling the vessel.

U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the vessel and took control of the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.

CENTCOM said U.S. forces had ordered 25 commercial vessels to turn back, or return to an Iranian port, in the week since the United States implemented its blockade of Iranian ports on April 13.

However, Sunday was the first time that the U.S. military is known to have opened fire on merchant shipping since the war started Feb. 28.

The escalation came after a rollercoaster weekend that began with Tehran declaring that the Strait of Hormuz was fully open to all commercial shipping for the remainder of the 14-day cease-fire currently in place, which is due to expire on Wednesday.

The move was welcomed by the United States, but the administration of U.S. President Trump made it clear its blockade would remain in place. That prompted Tehran to accuse the United States of violating the cease-fire and by Saturday it declared the strait closed again and at least one tanker was fired on by two Iranian gunboats as it attempted to enter the sea lane.

The developments have cast doubt over peace talks, which are due to resume in Islamabad, Pakistan, later Monday or first thing Tuesday.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that U.S. negotiators would arrive in the Pakistani capital on Monday night, with the White House later confirming that Vice President JD Vance would again head up the U.S. delegation, picking up from where he left off from in an initial round of talks on April 11 that failed to produce a breakthrough.

Tehran said Monday it had not yet decided whether it would attend.

“As of now, while I am speaking to you, we do not have a plan for the next round of negotiations, and no decision has been taken in this regard,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference in Tehran.

Referencing the ongoing U.S. blockade and seizure of the container ship, Baqaei accused the United States of actions that “are in no way indicative of seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process.”

However, the comments do not mean Iran will not show in Islamabad.

The Iranian side only confirmed participation in the first round of negotiations at the last minute.

Global oil prices, which fell sharply on Friday after Iran said the Hormuz Strait was open, rose again over the weekend but were holding steady in late morning trade in London where Brent crude for June delivery contract was changing hands at $95.24 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was changing hands at $88.89 a barrel.

Russia’s FSB accused the woman, found with a bomb in her backpack, of taking part in a plot hatched by Ukraine.

Russian authorities say they have thwarted a Ukraine-linked bomb plot against security services and arrested a German woman found with a makeshift bomb in her backpack.

Russia’s FSB security agency said the unnamed woman was detained on Monday in the southern city of Pyatigorsk.

In a statement cited by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, the FSB said it had “prevented a terrorist attack planned by the Kyiv regime against a law enforcement facility in the Stavropol region, involving a German citizen born in 1969”.

It said the woman had been recruited by a citizen from a Central Asian country, who was working on orders from Ukraine. That man was found and arrested near the targeted site.

According to the FSB, the device contained an explosive charge equivalent to 1.5kg (3 pounds) of TNT and was intended to be detonated remotely. The agency said the blast was ultimately prevented by electronic jamming.

Video of the purported arrest published by Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency showed armed Russian security agents approach the woman as she was face down in a car park.

Another video showed masked plainclothes agents pulling a man into a station, followed by a controlled explosion of the backpack.

Russia’s previous allegations

Russia has arrested dozens of people throughout the four-year war, mostly its own citizens, on allegations of working for Ukraine to carry out sabotage attacks.

Russia has previously accused Ukraine of working with Islamic fundamentalists to carry out attacks inside Russia, without providing evidence.

Officials initially alleged that the perpetrators of a 2024 massacre at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow that killed 150 people were ISIL (ISIS) members in coordination with Ukraine.

ISIL claimed responsibility for that attack, making no reference of any Ukrainian involvement, for which no evidence was presented by Moscow and which Kyiv denies.

Ukraine’s military intelligence says it struck two large landing ships in Sevastopol Bay in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Ukraine and Russia have attacked each other overnight, with Ukrainian drones striking Russian assets in Black Sea ports and Russia hitting several regions across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence unit claimed attacks on two Russian landing ⁠ships and a radar station in Sevastopol Bay in Russian-occupied Crimea. It says the $150m vessels were successfully hit and radar equipment destroyed.

In Russia, Ukrainian drones targeted the port of Tuapse, killing at least one person, injuring another and damaging transport infrastructure, according to regional governor Veniamin Kondratiev.

The strike was the second on the port in three days, hours after a fire from a previous attack was extinguished.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukraine reported a series of Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory overnight, including in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy and Zaporizhia regions.

Drones hit a car in the city of Putyvl in Ukraine’s border region of Sumy, injuring three women, as well as two homes in Kyiv’s Brovary district, damaging them and injuring one person, according to Ukrainian officials.

“Tonight, the enemy is again attacking the Kyiv region with drones. Under the sights are peaceful people, homes,” said Kyiv regional military administration head Mykola Kalashnyk.

Russian attacks also damaged railway infrastructure in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Over the past 24 hours, Russian attacks in the Kherson region killed one person and injured seven, while injuring four others in the Zaporizhia region, Ukrainian officials said.

Moscow’s forces have hit civilian areas almost daily since the all-out invasion of its neighbour more than four years ago, with the regular assaults occasionally punctuated by massive attacks.

More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died in the strikes, according to the United Nations.

There have been several rounds of United States-brokered negotiations in recent months, but they have failed to reach an agreement to stop the fighting, with the process further stalled since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Even before the war on Iran, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine had been slow, due to differences over territorial issues.

Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along current front lines. Russia rejects that, saying it wants the whole of the Donetsk region, despite it being partly controlled by Ukraine – a demand Kyiv says is unacceptable.

Tehran, Iran – United States President Donald Trump’s announcements about securing major concessions from Tehran have riled supporters of the Iranian establishment, prompting rejections and clarifications from the authorities.

Several current and former senior officials, state media and the Islamic Republic’s hardcore backers expressed anger, frustration, and confusion after the US leader made a series of claims, with days left on a two-week ceasefire reached on April 8.

Trump on Friday said Iran and the US would jointly dig up the enriched uranium buried under the rubble of bombed Iranian nuclear sites, and transfer it to the US. He claimed Iran had agreed to stop enriching uranium on its soil.

He also said the Strait of Hormuz had been opened and would never be closed again, while the US naval blockade of Iran’s ports remained in place, and sea mines were removed or were in the process of being removed.

Trump also emphasised that Iran would not receive billions of dollars of its own frozen assets abroad due to US sanctions, and that the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was completely unrelated to Iran.

Amid Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to mediate another round of negotiations, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation to the Islamabad talks earlier this month, rejected all of Trump’s claims.

“With these lies, they did not win the war, and they certainly will not get anywhere in negotiations either,” he posted on X early on Saturday.

By Saturday noon, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement, saying the Strait of Hormuz is once again heavily restricted and under “strict management” of the armed forces. It cited continued “acts of piracy and maritime theft under the so-called label of a blockade” by Washington as the reason.

‘Haze of confusion’

In the hours it took between Trump’s flurry of announcements on Friday and official responses from Iranian authorities, supporters of the establishment voiced serious concerns about any major concessions.

“Is there no Muslim out there to talk to the people a bit about what is happening?!” Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former state television chief and current member of the Supreme Cyberspace Council that controls the heavily restricted internet in Iran, wrote on X.

Alireza Zakani, the hardline mayor of Tehran, said if any of Trump’s claims are true, then the Iranian establishment must beware “not to gift the vile enemy in negotiations what it failed to achieve in the field”.

A fan account on X for Saeed Jalili, an ultrahardline member of the Supreme National Security Council who has opposed any deals with the US for decades, said “dissent” may be at play. It said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard from outside of several written statements attributed to him, must release a voice or video message to confirm what is happening.

Jalili’s main account distanced itself from the comment, saying the fan account – which was subsequently deleted – was a sign of “infiltration” by enemies of Iran who were trying to sow discord.

Iranian state media released another written statement attributed to Khamenei on Saturday to mark Army Day, but made no mention of the political drama unfolding hours earlier, or the negotiations with the US.

The dissonance was clearly on display on state television and other state-linked media on Friday, especially those affiliated with the IRGC.

Multiple state television hosts and analysts harshly attacked Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi because he tweeted on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was “declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation”.

One of the hosts demanded Araghchi must immediately clarify. Another said the top diplomat’s tweet was in English, and since the Iranian people do not have access to X due to the state-imposed near-total internet shutdown for seven weeks, the message was not directed at the people.

With a huge Hezbollah flag in the background, a furious presenter on state television’s Channel 3 claimed that Araghchi was somehow “the representative of the people of Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq” because they are a part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” of armed forces, so he should demand concessions on their behalf from Trump.

Morteza Mahmoudvand, a representative for Tehran in the Iranian parliament, went as far as saying Araghchi would have been impeached had it not been for “the excuse of war”.

The Fars and Tasnim news sites, which are affiliated with the IRGC, also heavily criticised Araghchi and called for further explanations on Friday evening, with Fars arguing that “Iranian society was plunged into a haze of confusion.”

Armed supporters in the streets

Critical comments from supporters of the Iranian government also flooded social media, including local messaging applications and the comments section of state-run sites.

“We took to the streets every night with clear demands, but you shook hands with the killer of our supreme leader and handed our strait to the Zionists,” one user wrote on Friday in the local app Baleh, in reference to Israel.

“After all these years of sanctions and war and costs imposed on the people, if you are to give up the uranium and the strait, then why did you play with the people’s livelihoods and the blood of the martyrs for so long?” another user wrote.

A large number of analysts and media personalities, including Hossein Shariatmadar, the head of the Kayhan newspaper, who was appointed by late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also voiced criticism and demanded answers on Fars and other outlets.

Regardless of whether there will be more mediated negotiations in Pakistan or whether the war will continue, Iran continues to encourage and arm backers to take to the streets to maintain control.

State media on Friday aired footage of more armed convoys moving through the streets of Tehran while waving the flags of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi and other groups. The video below shows women and children crewing heavy machineguns mounted on the back of pick-up trucks during a rally in downtown Tehran.

With no end in sight to the state-imposed internet shutdown that has wiped out millions of jobs in Iran, in addition to steel factories and other infrastructure that were destroyed, the Iranian economy continues to suffer.

The timing of the back-and-forth between Trump and the Iranian officials meant that oil prices dropped before Western markets closed on Friday, and the Iranian currency experienced more volatility.

The rial was priced at about 1.46 million against the US dollar on Saturday morning, the first day of the working week in Iran. But it shot back up to about 1.51 million after the IRGC announced the repeated closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

KATIE Price’s husband Lee Andrews has claimed he’ll move to the UK in May AND revealed details of a second wedding.

Katie, 47, married Lee, 43, in February following a whirlwind romance, and has since revealed she won’t be moving out to Dubai to be with him.

The former glamour girl, who last week was banned from driving for the seventh time, is settling into life with husband number 4, who is based in the UAE.

Lee popped the question to the star on January 23, and the couple tied the knot in Dubai just 48 hours later.

However, Katie later revealed they actually officially wed in February.

Today Lee is promising ANOTHER wedding.

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Posting on his Instagram Stories he shared an image of him with Katie, which read: “LEE ANDREWS CONFIRMS RETURN TO UK.

“With his gorgeous wife Katie to support her family and career commitments.

“The couple are stronger than ever and will make the commitment to live together this coming May.

“Ahead of their Winter Wedding this Year.”

Lee also posted a video of himself, where he gave fans an update on his relationship with Katie, and said: ” Life is good with us at the moment.

“We’ve got a lot going on and, uh, yes, we are making a good go of it in England.

“And then we’re also going to be sort of 50 50 in Dubai, which is our problem.

“It’s not really a problem.”

Lee’s revelation about coming to the UK comes after it was previously alleged that he is unable to leave Dubai after allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend Dina Taji’s signature to secure a £200,000 loan. He vehemently denies this.

The self-proclaimed businessman’s latest reveal also comes a week after Katie revealed she has no plans to move out to Dubai.

“I don’t know why people think I’m moving to Dubai,” Katie said in her recent YouTube vlog, which has since been removed but seen by The Sun.

“My family’s here. The husband is there, but the husband can come here and I can go to Dubai when I can.”

She added: “It’s a lot of hoo-ha.”

Also last week, Katie revealed she also had no current plans to go back out to Dubai anytime soon.

The TV star recently returned back to Britain, after an extended break out in Dubai to spend time with Lee.

Speaking in her YouTube vlog, Katie said: “I love that I’m back [in the UK].

“I’m not going to go to Dubai now for a bit. I’ve done my bit in Dubai and with everything going on there, it’s all quiet and I‘ve got things to do back here as well.

“I still want to sort the house out, work, even though I can work there, I just like being home, everything is here.

“Where I’ve been in Dubai, it hasn’t even been sunny, it’s been raining.”

Revealing her husband’s plans to visit her over here, she said: “But hopefully Lee will be flying to the UK soon.

“When he can, he’ll come over and just do normal stuff here.”

Meanwhile, Lee also told The Sun last month that he bought a £36million mansion for him and Katie, saying he paid in cash for their marital home.

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.

April 15 (UPI) — U.S. advertising companies Dentsu, Publicis and WPP settled Wednesday with the Federal Trade Commission, which claimed they colluded over anti-misinformation policies that affected ad money for conservative publishers. The companies did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

In a press release, the FTC said the agencies “distorted America’s modern public square” and worked together to establish “brand safety” policies that limited the ads that could run on sites with content designated as misinformation. This affected ad revenues for conservative political websites and made it more difficult for them to make money from “disfavored political viewpoints,” the FTC release said. The commission filed a complaint Wednesday in the U.S.District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

A court must approve the settlement. The companies agreed not to collude to restrict ad-buying services over “news and political and social commentary content,” the FTC said.

The New York Times reported that a representative for Dentsu said the company was “fully committed to operating transparently, with integrity and in strict compliance with all applicable laws.” A representative for WPP told that Times the agreement “reflects our existing and ongoing commitment to provide our clients with unbiased advice as they decide where to place their media.” The companies own multiple ad agencies and buy digital ads on behalf of advertisers.

FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in the release that the agencies’ brand safety policies “turned competition in the market for ad-buying services on its head.” The collusion, he said, “distorted the marketplace of ideas by discriminating against speech and ideas that fell below the unlawfully agreed-on floor.”

This follows a longstanding claim by the Trump administration that the media and websites treat conservatives unfairly. Ferguson and the FTC in 2025 also opened other inquiries into alleged anti-conservative censorship through online content moderation.