common

Experts warn your medication could be confiscated and you could be held by the authorities

Travel and health experts have warned anyone taking weight-loss jabs to check before they go on holiday as they are banned or restricted in some countries. Mounjaro has been released for use as a weight-loss jab on the NHS in the UK and other jabs are available to buy privately.

But while weight-loss medication is legal in the UK, other countries have not approved it – meaning it could be confiscated or you could be held by the authorities if you try to import it.

Travel and health experts have explained what you need to do if you want to take your weight-loss jabs abroad this summer.

NHS GP Dr Asimah Hanif said: “There are countries where weight loss injections are restricted or banned – unlike the UK where they are more widely accepted. For example, if you were to go to the UAE, you would need pre-approval from the Ministry of Health. Or if you were to go to Japan, you would require an import certificate.

“In Singapore – you would need approval from the health services authority before travel. There are many ways you can prepare yourself according to the country you’re travelling to. This will ensure a smooth journey and also allow you to continue administering your weight loss injections.”

The jabs are often used for their original purpose – managing diabetes – as well as being taken for weight loss. This can mean there is an even more urgent need to keep talking them.

GP Dr Ola Otulana said: “At the moment weight loss injections such as semaglutide are widely prescribed in the UK for diabetes management and now more recently for weight management. However people may not realise that rules can differ significantly abroad as in some countries (in Asia and the Middle East), medications like semaglutide can be heavily regulated or banned entirely if they are not licensed for weight loss there.

“Even in places where they are legal, carrying injectable medications without a letter from a doctor and proof of prescription can raise issues at customs, which may lead to items being confiscated.

“If you are prescribed a weight loss injection in the UK and are planning to travel, the safest approach is to check the embassy website of your destination country in advance to confirm the rules on your medication. You should also carry your prescription, a formal letter from your GP explaining the indication and dosing, and also keep the medication in its original packaging. Some countries require you to declare any injectable or controlled medications when you arrive. Prepare and bring any necessary documentation to avoid stress while travelling / abroad and talk to your GP or pharmacist before travelling.”

Travellers say they have come across a number of countries where the jabs – and other medication – can land you in trouble.

Isheeta Borkarm co-owner of Travelicious Couple, said: “Weight-loss injections like Wegovy are legal and widely used in the UK, but they’re not allowed everywhere else. We’ve come across a few countries where bringing them in could actually get you into serious trouble.

“For example, Japan has extremely strict rules around medication import. Even certain asthma inhalers are banned, so bringing in injectable weight-loss medication, especially with a needle, without prior approval could lead to confiscation or worse.

Singapore requires prior authorisation for any injectable medication. We’ve heard in Thailand even prescription drugs can be flagged at customs if the paperwork isn’t clear.”

Five steps to take if travelling with weight loss jabs:

1. You should check embassy websites for the latest information 2. Carry your prescription and a letter from your doctor (ideally stating dosage and medical necessity). 3. Declare it at customs. 4. Avoid packing injectables in carry-ons. Use the original packaging and keep medication with their official labelling. 5. Some of these medications need refrigeration. Call hotels in advance to ensure they had a minibar fridge.

Greece has put in place strict rules to preserve its ancient heritage and breathtaking landscapes, meaning holidaymakers jetting off should be aware of the laws

Holidaymakers heading to the sun-drenched beaches of Greece should be aware of local laws that could result in hefty fines. Greek authorities are taking a firm stance on preserving their ancient heritage, imposing bans on removing pebbles and wearing high heels at historic sites.

In an effort to protect its landscapes and cultural treasures, Greece has gradually introduced strict regulations. The Greeks take great care of their ancient stones, banning the wearing of high heels at historical attractions to prevent potential damage. As British families head to airports for their eagerly awaited holidays to destinations including Greece, Spain and Italy, they should be aware of the unusual rules in place.

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Since 2009, visitors to iconic Athens landmarks such as the Acropolis and the Epidaurus Theatre have been required to leave their stilettos behind, according to findings by Parkdean Resorts.

While many travellers like to keep up their style while on holiday, the Greek Government introduced this law to prevent visitors from wearing shoes that could damage historical attractions.

Those found wearing potentially damaging shoes at ancient sites could face a fine of up to €900 (£771), reports the Express. Greece has also introduced other regulations to limit the risks posed to its heritage and land.

Tourists tempted to take pebbles as souvenirs from picturesque spots like Lalaria Beach in Skiathos might find themselves out of pocket by as much as £771.

Spain is cracking down on tourism’s toll with a series of eccentric rules, especially in Barcelona, where holidaygoers caught in beachwear away from sandy shores might be forking out between £86 and £171.

Majorca is not far behind, with new penalties designed to deter “undesirable” behaviour along its popular coastlines.

Even Benidorm is getting tough on fun in the sun, as sandcastle builders on Levante beach could end up shelling out as much as £129 if they lack a permit.

The fines don’t stop there – smoking, kipping or using soap products on Benidorm’s beaches could hit tourists’ wallets even harder.

Zohran Mamdani is a stylish, millennial, African-born Muslim with a Hollywood pedigree who just won the Democratic primary in the New York City mayor’s race.

If he sounds like Donald Trump’s worst nightmare, he just might be. But he’s also a lot like him.

They’re both charismatic leaders who have bucked their parties, tapped into the current political ethos that eschews traditional loyalties and by doing so, made themselves popular enough with fed-up voters to win elections when — to many in the political elite — they seem exactly like the kind of candidate who shouldn’t be able to get their grandmother’s vote.

“Working-class people want somebody who really takes on the status quo, who pushes an economic populist agenda and convinces them that something’s going to change,” Lorena Gonzalez told me.

She’s the head of the California Labor Federation, which represents unions, and even she’s fed up with Democrats.

“There are days that I’m like, why am I still in this party?” she said. “When I see them cozy up to tech, when I see this abundance issue that streamlines worker protections, when I see this fascination with billionaires and this acquiescing to not taxing billionaires and not doing anything about rent control, you know, there’s a point where I’m like, come on, grow some balls, go decide who you’re for.”

Or, as Trump put it in a social media post after Mamdani’s win, “Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!”

Trump is right, words that I don’t often say — Mamdani’s victory may signal something deeper than a lone mayor’s race on the East Coast. People — both on the left and the right — crave authenticity, and want someone to believe in, be it an orange-hued boomer or a brown-skinned hipster.

The Democrats, as political strategist Mike Madrid put it, are having their own Tea Party moment, when populist anger eats the old guard, as it did beginning in 2007 when the far-right of the Republican party began its now-successful takeover. Trump was never the impetus of the party’s swing to the fringe, he just capitalized on it.

“This is just a populist revolt of the Democratic Party against the establishment base,” Madrid said.

There’s been ad nauseam amounts of pontificating about the current state of the Democratic party. Should it go more centrist? Should it embrace the progressive end? But the truth is the voters have already decided. They do indeed want lower grocery prices, as Trump promised but failed to deliver. But they also want democracy to not crumble. And they want to buy a house, and maybe not have their neighbors deported. But really, in that order.

And they don’t trust many, if not most, of the current Democrats in office to deliver. Like Republicans before them, they want outsiders (Mamdani, 33, is serving in the state Assembly), or at least someone who can sound like one.

Gonzalez spends a lot of time talking to voters and she said left and right, Democrat and Republican, they see few differences remaining between the two parties, and are tired of voting for career politicians who haven’t delivered on economic issues.

Mamdani, whose mother is the film director Mira Nair (and who once rapped under the name Young Cardamom), campaigned on “a New York you can afford.” That included freezing payments on rent-controlled apartments, building new affordable housing with union labor, making both transit and child care free and — you guessed it — cheaper groceries. Whether he delivers or not, those were messages that a broad swath of New Yorkers, struggling like all of us with the cost of living, wanted to hear.

And he delivered them not just with credibility, but with an entertainment value that nods to his mom’s influence: hamming it up Bollywood style for the South Asian aunties, walking the length of Manhattan to talk with people, jumping in the Atlantic ocean in a suit with a skinny tie.

Charisma and chutzpah.

Which, of course, is how Trump made his own rise, promising, with showman verve, to be the voice of the toiling voiceless who increasingly are in danger of becoming the working poor. Yes, he is a con man who is clearly for the rich. But still, he knows how to deliver a line to his base: “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the dogs.”

That may be the biggest lesson for California, where we will soon be voting for a new governor from a crowded field — of establishment candidates. Even Kamala Harris, maybe especially Harris, fits that insider image, and certainly Gavin Newsom, despite zigzagging from centrist to pugilist, can’t forward his presidential ambitions as anything but old-guard.

“What makes someone like Zohran so compelling, is even if you don’t agree with him on everything, which few voters do, you understand that he believes it and that you know where he’s coming from,” said Amanda Litman, the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, a PAC that recruits young progressives to run for office.

“I think that’s the distinction between him and say someone like Gavin Newsom, which is, like, does Gavin believe what he says? Does he buy his own bull—? It’s sort of unclear,” Litman added.

The anger of voters is strikingly clear, though, especially for ones who have for so long been loyal to Democrats. A new Pew analysis out this week found that about 20% of the Republican base is now nonwhite, nearly doubling what it was in 2016. Republicans have made gains with Black voters, Asian voters and Trump drew nearly half of Latino voters. Ouch.

“One of the real challenges for the Democrats is two central pieces of the orthodoxy has been that they are the party of the working class and that they are the party of nonwhite voters,” Madrid said. “Both of those are increasingly proving untrue, and the question then becomes, well, how do you get them back? The way you get them back is by having some sort of economic populist policy framework.”

Litman said that the way to capture voters is by running new candidates, the kind who don’t come with history — and baggage. In the 36 hours after Mamdani was elected, her organization had 1,100 people sign up to learn more about how to run for office themselves, she said. It’s the biggest spike since the inauguration, and it shows that voters aren’t disinterested in democracy, but alienated from the existing options.

“The establishment is not unbeatable. They’re only unchallenged,” Litman said. “And I think the more that the Democratic Party establishment, as much as it exists, can understand that the people and the playbooks that got us here will not be the people and playbooks that get us out of it, the better off we’ll be.”

So maybe there are more Mamdani’s out there, waiting to lead the way. If Democrats are looking for advice, Trump may have offered the best I’ve seen in a while — highlighting the insider/outsider Democrats who have, like Mamdani, made their name by rattling the establishment.

“I have an idea for the Democrats to bring them back into ‘play,’” he wrote on social media. “After years of being left out in the cold, including suffering one of the Greatest Losses in History, the 2024 Presidential Election, the Democrats should nominate Low IQ Candidate, Jasmine Crockett, for President, and AOC+3 should be, respectively, Vice President, and three High Level Members of the Cabinet — Added together with our future Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani and our Country is really SCREWED!”

Or not.

Wouldn’t that be a slate?

Emily Jansson, 34, was on a flight from Canada to Dubai for a girls’ trip when she suddenly began experiencing ‘weird chest pains’ and coughing fits

A terrifying mid-air medical emergency has been recounted by a woman who suffered a life-threatening blood clot in her lungs during a long-haul flight. Emily Jansson, a 34 year old mother of two, was on her way from Canada to Dubai International Airport for a getaway with friends on February 5, 2025.

However, the lengthy journey took a nearly fatal turn when she started to experience “weird chest pains” alongside uncontrollable coughing.

Jansson had just awoken after sleeping for a significant portion of the 13-hour flight and was waiting to use the bathroom when she lost consciousness and collapsed, remaining out for about five minutes. “I was waiting for the bathroom and I got this really deep, dull aching pain in my chest out of nowhere,” she recalls of the ordeal.

In the fall, Jansson sustained injuries as she knocked her head, resulting in a bruised eye and arm, and afterwards found herself grappling with confusion and fragmented memories.

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Upon landing, which luckily occurred only two and a half hours later, she was swiftly taken to Rashid Hospital Dubai where urgent medical scans revealed a chilling diagnosis. A bilateral saddle pulmonary embolism.

This is an extensive blood clot situated within the primary artery of the lung which divides into branches for each lung.

The seriousness of her condition meant that any delay in treatment could have been catastrophic, reports the Mirror US. Doctors were astonished at her survival, admitting that given the circumstances, “it was essentially a miracle” she didn’t succumb to cardiac arrest.

In hindsight, Jansson identified multiple risk factors that contributed to her in-flight emergency. These included prolonged immobility despite wearing compression stockings, and the estrogen birth control pill Zamine, both posing substantial threats to her wellbeing during the flight.

This combined contraceptive pill, containing both progestogen and estrogen, can increase the likelihood of blood clots. She is currently on anticoagulant medication to prevent further clotting and will remain on this treatment for a minimum of six months.

She explained: “I was restricting my body’s blood flow, which contributed to my clot developing. I had little idea about the danger I was in. After taking estrogen birth control for six years before consistently, I didn’t know my risk of blood clots was so high.”

A saddle pulmonary embolism, a condition where a blood clot obstructs the artery feeding the lungs, only represents 2 to 5 per cent of all pulmonary embolism cases. If not addressed promptly, it can result in heart failure and cause sudden death in approximately 30 per cent of instances.

“I was terrified and partly in denial when they told me what I had. I knew someone who had the same thing and how serious it was and I was just freaking out,” Jannson admitted.

Jannson spent six days in hospital receiving thrombolytic therapy and clot-dissolving medication. She recuperated with a friend in Dubai for three weeks post-treatment.

“It’s important that people know about the risks of this particular birth control, Zamine, and the safety of flying. If you’re on a long-haul flight, make sure you move around and let your body breathe,” she cautioned.

Jannson elaborated: “I was fortunate that there was a doctor on board and some very amazing, competent flight attendants. They essentially saved my life when it shouldn’t have been possible.

“I’m still recovering from this episode, and my body has been through a lot. But I’m hopeful my experience can educate people about the risks of blood clots. And just as a reminder that life is so precious and to just really appreciate it.”

WEIGHT loss jabs could prevent a medication taken by millions of women from working – and increase patients’ risk of cancer.

The British Menopause Society said the jabs could cause hormone imbalance in women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), particularly for those with obesity, putting them “at increased risk of womb cancer”.

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It follows warnings to women on weight loss medications to take effective contraception, as the jabs could render the pill less effective.

That’s because weight loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro – as well as diabetes jab Ozempic – can delay the absorption of pills taken orally, as well slowing down the passage of food through the gut.

Guidance suggests women taking HRT in pill form may also be at risk.

The British Menopause Society (BMS) told doctors to closely monitor menopausal women on HRT who are also using weight-loss jabs.

The treatment tops up the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which dip to low levels as the menopause approaches.

Data from 2023-24 showed that 2.6 million women in England rely on the drugs to alleviate hot flushes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping and mood changes.

“During the last two years, since semaglutide and tirzepatide [the active ingredients in Wegovy and Mounjaro] received licenses for weight loss, there has been an increase in uptake of these medications through private clinics, while NHS prescribing is limited to specialist weight management services,” the BMS guidance stated.

“There are no current data available about numbers of women receiving HRT concurrently with semaglutide or tirzepatide.”

The most common form of HRT is a progesterone pill alongside a skin patch or gel to deliver oestrogen, but some people opt for a combined pill.

Progesterone balances out the effects of oestrogen, which on its own stimulates the growth of the womb lining, and can cause “abnormal cells and cancer” to grow.

The menopause experts expressed concern over the loss of the progesterone’s protective effect on the womb as a result of weight loss jabs.

They recommended that doctors move women taking progesterone orally to an intrauterine device, such as a Mirena coil, or increase their dose of progesterone.

Prof Annice Mukherjee, a consultant endocrinologist and member of the society’s medical advisory council, who led on the guidance, told The Telegraph that a hormone imbalance could put women “at increased risk of womb cancer” – particularly if they are obese.

“Oestrogen is almost always given through the skin for HRT in women living with obesity, but progesterone is frequently given as a tablet, and that formulation is thought to be the safest route for women who have complicated health issues,” she said.

“If we then start one of these injectable weight-loss drugs, then you’re preferentially stopping absorption of the progestogen that’s coming in orally, but you’re allowing plenty of the oestrogen through the skin.

“The rules are very clear that if you give a very high dose of oestrogen and you don’t give enough progesterone, however that happens, you’re putting that woman at risk of womb cancer,” she said.

Prof Mukherjee said there was currently a “culture of putting women on very high doses of oestrogen”, which can make the womb lining thicken.

“It’s like having a lawn in a woman’s womb. Oestrogen makes the lawn grow. Progestogen cuts the lawn. But if it’s not being cut, it grows thicker, and then you can get abnormal cells and cancer.”

But she also stressed that the biggest risk factor for womb cancer was obesity – meaning that on the whole, weight loss jabs can cut the risk of disease.

“These drugs reduce the risk of cancer,” Prof Mukherjee said.

“But if they are prescribed to a woman who’s on oestrogen through the skin, and she might already have womb thickening because she’s living with obesity, and she’s not absorbing the progesterone because she’s been put on a weight-loss injection, she’s potentially getting loads of oestrogen on top of her thickened womb lining, and that could potentially unmask cancers that are there or drive an early cancer to a more advanced stage.”

The BMS put together the guidelines after calls from GPs for advice to give to patients.

Dr Janet Barter, the president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, told The Telegraph that weight loss jabs can cause side effects such as “vomiting and severe diarrhoea in some patients”.

“Obviously this could render any medication, such as HRT tablets or oral contraception, ineffective if there hasn’t been enough time for them to be fully absorbed,” she said.

“If these side-effects are occurring, then people should discuss the matter with their doctor or specialist clinician to find the combination of drugs that’s right for them.”

Sun Health has contacted Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly – the makers of Wegovy and Mounjaro – for comment.

It follows warnings from the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) that GLP-1 weight loss drugs could reduce the absorption of contraceptives, due to the fact they slow down the emptying of the stomach.

The watchdog also said the jabs should not be used during pregnancy, while trying to conceive or breastfeeding, over fears they could lead to miscarriage or birth defects.

The MHRA explained: “This is because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby.”

Dr Bassel Wattar, a consultant gynaecologist and medical director of clinical trials at Anglia Ruskin University, told The Sun: “It’s not the medication itself, but the weight loss that helps regulate a woman’s hormones allowing her ovaries to function properly again.

“Pregnancy is more of a happy side effect.”

Budget airline Ryanair is known for its cheap flights across Europe, but some holidaymakers may not be aware of its ban on a certain item that could be in your hand luggage

Ever jetted off on holiday with Ryanair? As bargain-hunting globetrotters will be aware, the airline is a go-to for snagging smashing flight deals throughout Europe. Yet, there’s a lesser-known fact about the low-cost carrier that could catch you off-guard when packing your carry-on.

We’ve all experienced that worrying moment at airport security, mentally checking if every lotion and potion is snug in their transparent bag or recalling if we ditched that water bottle from our backpack. But it turns out there’s a particular item that Ryanair frowns upon, and naturally, we’re all obliged to abide by the established baggage rules, reports the Express.

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So, what’s this contraband piece? While some UK airports are working towards axing the 100ml liquid restriction, you might need to think twice before slipping a lighter into your travel essentials.

Travel advise from the Government has highlighted the advisories on carrying lighters aboard. The guidance from GOV.UK states: “You should put it inside a resealable plastic bag (like the ones used for liquids), which you must keep on you throughout the flight.”

Yet, despite such counsel, placing the lighter in your carry-on post-security is a no-go. Turning to Ryanair’s own digital domain for further clarity, one finds the item clearly listed under forbidden articles.

Their directive specifies: “You must not carry any of the following items in checked-in luggage or carry-on baggage, or go through security with them on you (for example in your pockets).”

Airport security rules can be confusing for many travellers with liquid restrictions in place at many flight hubs – but there is one common food item that is banned

Airport shops are hitting passengers in the pocket by charging up to a staggering 48 per cent more for snacks and drinks compared to high street prices. In a move away from complimentary in-flight refreshments, British Airways is one of the airlines now asking customers to splash out on food during short-haul journeys with their paid-for menu options.

But be advised, packing certain common food items might land you in hot water at security checks, potentially leading to a search or even confiscation of your beloved nibbles. Whilst some UK airports have started updating their security measures, the liquid restrictions linger stubbornly across numerous global terminals.

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The official guidance on the UK Government’s website currently states: “If you do take liquids in your hand luggage containers must hold no more than 100ml.

“Containers must be in a single, transparent, resealable plastic bag, which holds no more than a litre and measures approximately 20cm x 20cm and contents must fit comfortably inside the bag so it can be sealed.”

Beware, traveller: while it’s widely known that water and beverages are part of the liquid restrictions, many are unaware that certain foods, including hummus, also qualify under this category due to their consistency, reports the Express.

It’s not just the popular chickpea spread either; other favourites like guacamole and salsa are similarly subjected to these stringent security stipulations.

A travel guru from Ski Vertigo has issued a warning to holidaymakers: “Certain food items, especially those that are liquid or gel-like, such as peanut butter, jam, or yoghurt, are subject to the liquids rule.

“Solid foods generally pass through security without issues, but any food that can be spread, squirted, or poured may be confiscated if it exceeds the allowed liquid limits. Food items can also trigger additional screening if they appear suspicious on the X-ray.”

Despite some UK airports adopting cutting-edge CT scanners that could see the end of the current liquid restrictions, many still lag behind in this tech upgrade.

Even if you’re flying out from a UK airport equipped with these new scanners, remember that numerous international airports continue to enforce the traditional liquid regulations.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Passengers should continue to check security requirements with their departure airport before travelling.”

So, for now, it’s wise for travellers to stick to the established liquid guidelines until further notice, as there’s no confirmed date for when the rules will be universally relaxed.

Long before Clayton Kershaw donned No. 22 and Fernando Valenzuela wore No. 34, another number told fans it was time for Dodger baseball: 76.

Union Oil Co., the 76 gasoline brand’s former owner, helped finance Dodger Stadium’s construction. The brand’s current owner, Phillips 66, remains a major sponsor. Through six World Series titles, orange-and-blue 76 logos have been a constant presence at Chavez Ravine. They tower above the scoreboards and grace the outfield walls.

So when 76 recently posted on Instagram that it had begun sponsoring L.A.’s rivals in San Francisco — with an orange-and-blue logo on the center field clock at Oracle Park — some Dodgers fans weren’t pleased.

“THE BETRAYAL,” one fan wrote on Instagram.

“bestiessss nooooo,” another lamented.

76 was unfazed, responding: “Still a bestie, just spreading the love!”

Strange as the reactions may sound, it’s not unheard of for long-lived ad campaigns to take on a life of their own, evolving from paid promotions to cultural touchstones. Outside Fenway Park in Boston, Red Sox fans have fought to preserve the massive Citgo sign, with its logo of a Venezuelan-owned oil company.

Nor is it shocking that Houston-based Phillips 66 would market itself through another baseball team. The 76 gasoline brand, after all, evokes the patriotism of 1776 — a clever marketing ploy. And what’s more American than Major League Baseball?

Still, the timing of Phillips 66’s decision to start sponsoring the Giants is intriguing.

Since last summer, nearly 30,000 people have signed a petition urging Dodgers ownership to cut ties with the oil company. California is currently suing Phillips 66 and other oil and gas companies for climate damages, accusing them of a “decades-long campaign of deception” to hide the truth about the climate crisis.

Climate activists protest outside Dodger Stadium before a game May 15, 2025, calling on the team’s ownership to drop Phillips 66 as a sponsor.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Sierra Club Angeles Chapter held its third protest at Dodger Stadium before a game against the Athletics on May 15. Activists cloaked in sackcloth marched outside the parking lots. One played a bagpipe.

“It was a bit hard for the fans to comprehend,” organizer Lisa Kaas Boyle acknowledged.

Still, she believes the cause is righteous.

A former environmental crimes prosecutor and a co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Kaas Boyle lost her home in the Palisades fire. She’s also a Dodgers fan, having caught the bug from her husband, whose 89-year-old mom grew up cheering for the team in Brooklyn. She has a special place in her heart for Kiké Hernández.

So when the Dodgers joined other sports teams in pledging $8 million to wildfire relief, she felt the organization was “speaking out of two sides of its mouth.” She pointed to a study concluding that the weather conditions that helped drive the Palisades and Eaton fires were 35% more likely due to climate change.

“If you really care about us fire victims, you wouldn’t be promoting one of the major causes of the disaster,” Kaas Boyle said. “If you really care, you wouldn’t be boosting their image, greenwashing it through baseball.”

At least one member of the Dodgers ownership group cares about presenting a climate-friendly image.

Tennis star Billie Jean King posted on Facebook, Instagram and X in the fall promoting a climate summit being held next week at the University of Oxford, co-hosted by an arm of the United Nations. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all countries to ban fossil fuel advertising.

So, what does King think of the 76 ads at Dodger Stadium?

Hard to say. Her publicist didn’t respond to my request for comment.

Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas scratches a message in the dirt near second base at Dodger Stadium on May 18, with a 76 logo on the outfield wall in the background.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers also declined to respond. Same goes for the Giants and Phillips 66.

So why is the oil company “spreading the love” to the Bay Area?

Again, hard to know for sure. But Duncan Meisel has a theory. He runs the advocacy group Clean Creatives, which pressures ad agencies to stop working with fossil fuel clients. And he suspects that lawmakers and regulators based in Sacramento are less likely to attend a baseball game in L.A. than in nearby San Francisco.

“If you’re 76, and you’re worried about decision-makers in California, that’s where you’d want to be,” he said.

Indeed, Phillips 66 may have reasons to be worried.

The company plans to close its Los Angeles County oil refinery this year — a troubling sign of the economic times for Big Oil as California shifts toward electric cars. Lawmakers are also weighing a “polluters pay” bill that would require fossil fuel companies to help pay for damages from more intense heat waves, wildfires and storms.

Phillips 66, meanwhile, was arraigned this month on charges that it violated the U.S. Clean Water Act by dumping oil and grease from its L.A. County refinery into the local sewer system. (It pleaded not guilty.) That followed a win for climate activists in March, when state Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) wrote to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter, urging him to dump Phillips 66.

Hence, perhaps, the newfound relationship with the Giants.

“That’s why you advertise,” Meisel said. “If you’re a company like Phillips 66 that’s under threat from political and cultural pressures in California, it’s hard to get a better deal than sponsoring a local sports team.”

If you look closely, you can see the 76 ad on the digital clock high above the center field fence at San Francisco’s Oracle Park on May 4 (Star Wars Day, hence the Stormtroopers).

(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

It’s not just California turning up the heat on Phillips 66. Executives have been battling a pressure campaign from Elliott Investment Management, which won two seats on the company’s board last week.

As Elliott ramped up the pressure on Phillips 66 earlier this year, executives announced an expanded sponsorship deal with their hometown ball club — another Dodgers nemesis, as it happens, the cheating Houston Astros.

Phillips 66 now sponsors the home run train atop the high left-field wall at Houston’s Daikin Park (formerly Minute Maid Park). The train is filled with 25 oversized baseballs, each representing a special moment in Astros history — yes, including the World Series title they stole from the Dodgers.

As Phillips 66 brand manager John Field said in an April news release: “Sponsorships like these are more than just fun — they’re a strategic investment.”

Fun and strategic, sure, if you’re mainly invested in oil industry profits. If you care about watching baseball games in safe temperatures, without choking on wildfire smoke, you might reach a different conclusion.

One thing’s for sure: Fossil fuel companies will keep pumping money into baseball so long as teams let them. The Astros, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians all wear jersey patches sponsored by oil and gas companies.

In California, meanwhile, Phillips 66 will keep reminding Dodgers fans how much they love looking at 76 logos — a playbook so successful it once inspired a campaign to save the rotating 76 balls above gas stations.

“This is a heavy play on Americana,” Roberta J. Newman said.

A Yankees fan and professor in New York University’s Liberal Studies program, Newman wrote the fascinating book, “Here’s the Pitch: The Amazing, True, New, and Improved Story of Baseball and Advertising.” There may be nobody with a better understanding of the cultural and political power of baseball-linked advertising.

The former 76 gas station in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, seen in 2003.

(Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times)

When a brand like 76 associates itself with the Dodgers — through special ticket deals, joint promotions with the team charity and TV commercials starring Vin Scully — it’s engaged in “meaning transfer,” Newman said.

“Your positive associations of the Dodgers will become positive associations with 76,” she said.

Most fans won’t drive away from Dodger Stadium and immediately choose 76 over a rival gasoline station. But in the long run, they’ll have good vibes when they see the orange-and-blue logo. It’ll feel familiar, friendly.

If that sounds nuts — well, you might want to tell business executives they blew $1 trillion on ads last year.

“People might think, ‘Oil is terrible. But 76 is the Dodgers,’” Newman said.

Now it’s the Giants, too — not that Newman thinks the dual loyalty will hurt the company. As one Instagram user, a Giants fan, wrote: “Hey Dodger fans, it’s OK! … 76 is a California icon and tradition from North to South!”

Fair enough. Wildfires are getting bigger and more destructive up there too.

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our “Boiling Point” podcast here.

For more climate and environment news, follow @Sammy_Roth on X and @sammyroth.bsky.social on Bluesky.

A recent report by The Associated Press that exposed the Israeli military’s “systematic” use of Palestinians as human shields has shone a light on an illegal practice that has become commonplace over the 19-month war in Gaza and parallel offensives in the West Bank.

The report, published on Saturday, featured the testimonies of seven Palestinians who had been used as human shields in Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank, with two Israeli military officers confirming the ubiquity of the practice, which is considered a violation of international law.

Responding to the allegations, Israel’s military told the news agency that using civilians as shields in its operations was strictly prohibited and that several cases were under investigation.

So what are human shields? How widely have they been used by the Israeli military? And is Israel likely to launch a crackdown any time soon?

What are human shields, and how has Israel used them?

Under international humanitarian law (IHL), the term “human shields” refers to the use of civilians or other protected persons, whether voluntary or involuntary, in order to shield military targets from attacks.

The use of human shields in warfare is prohibited under IHL, but Israeli soldiers have allegedly employed it widely during the Gaza genocide.

Earlier this year, Israeli newspaper Haaretz published the first-hand testimony of an Israeli soldier who said that the practice had been used “six times a day” in his unit and that it had effectively been “normalised” in military ranks.

Back in August, the newspaper had revealed that Palestinians used as human shields in Gaza tended to be in their 20s and were used for periods of up to a week by units, which took pride in “locating” detainees to send into tunnel shafts and buildings.

“It’s become part of [Israel’s] military culture,” said Nicola Perugini, co-author of Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire, noting the “huge archive” of evidence provided, not only by human rights groups, but also by soldiers, who were until recently posting evidence of Palestinians being used as “fodder” on social media with an apparent sense of total impunity.

“Israeli army investigations have proven throughout the decades to be non-investigations,” Perugini said, noting that documentation of the practice, forbidden by Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions, started during the second Intifada of the early 2000s.

“What we have now in the live-streamed genocide is the most documented archive of human shielding in the history of the different wars between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.

“What we have discovered is precisely that it is a systematic practice.”

How has Israel responded to allegations?

Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military’s response to allegations has been to withhold comment, to point to a lack of details, or, when faced with undeniable proof, to announce a probe.

Last year, Israel declined to respond to a range of allegations put to it by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, which examined thousands of photos and videos – the bulk of them posted online by Israeli soldiers – and testimonies pointing to a number of potential war crimes, including the use of human shields.

Among the atrocities revealed by the team in the resulting documentary was the case of Jamal Abu al-Ola, a detainee forced to act as a messenger by the Israelis. Footage showed the young man dressed in a white hazmat suit, with hands bound and head wrapped in a yellow cloth, telling displaced people at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to evacuate. His mother followed him out, and witnessed him being shot dead by a sniper.

Commenting on the case for the documentary, Rodney Dixon, an international law expert, said that al-Ola had been used as a “military asset”, which was “in many ways the definition of using persons as a human shield”.

This year, the military pushed back on calls to investigate a report on an 80-year-old man forced to act as a human shield in Gaza City, saying that “additional details” were needed.

The joint report from Israeli outlet The Hottest Place in Hell and +972 Magazine revealed a horrific new dimension of the so-called “mosquito procedure”, with anonymous Israeli soldiers recounting that a senior officer had placed an explosive cord around the man’s neck, threatening to blow his head off if he made any false moves.

Ordered afterwards to flee his home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, the man was shot dead with his wife by another battalion.

However, the military will acknowledge violations when confronted with undeniable evidence provoking widespread outrage, such as last year’s video of wounded Palestinian man Mujahed Azmi, strapped to the hood of an army jeep during a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin.

That particular case was described as “human shielding in action” by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory.

In a statement, Israel’s military said its forces were fired at and exchanged fire, wounding a suspect and apprehending him. It added that the “conduct of the forces in the video” did not “conform to the values” of the military and that the incident would be investigated.

However, as Perugini observes, the very reason why the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza is because legal experts doubt Israel’s ability to investigate itself.

Who issues the orders to use human shields?

Despite vast evidence, the question of whether the military will be launching a crackdown aimed at banishing the apparently systematic practice is moot. Even so, pressure for accountability is growing.

Rights groups say the practice of using human shields has been going on in the occupied Palestinian territories for decades. Breaking the Silence, a whistle-blower group gathering testimonies of former Israeli soldiers, cites evidence of what one high-ranking officer posted to Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank back in 2002 called “neighbour procedure”.

“You order a Palestinian to accompany you and to open the door of the house you want to enter, to knock on the door and ask to enter, with a very simple objective: if the door blows up, a Palestinian will be blown up, and soldiers won’t be blown up,” said the officer, ranked as a major.

In 2005, an Israeli Supreme Court ruling explicitly barred the practice. Five years later, two soldiers were convicted of using a nine-year-old boy as a human shield to check suspected booby traps in the Gaza City suburb of Tal al-Hawa.

It was reportedly the first such conviction in Israel.

But the military’s use of human shields appears to have been normalised since then, particularly over the past 19 months of war in Gaza.

Indeed, there are indications that orders may be coming from the very top.

Haaretz’s investigation from last August cited sources as saying that former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was among the senior officers aware of the use of Palestinians in Gaza as human shields.

And this week’s report by the AP cited an anonymous Israeli officer as saying that the practice had become ubiquitous by mid-2004 in Gaza, with every infantry unit using a Palestinian to clear houses by the time he finished his service, and with orders “to bring a mosquito” often being issued via radio.

The report also cited an anonymous Israeli sergeant as saying that his unit had tried to refuse to use human shields in Gaza in 2024, but was told they had no choice, a high-ranking officer telling them they shouldn’t worry about international humanitarian law.

Responding to claims in the AP report, the Israeli military told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that it would investigate the claims “if further details are provided”.

“In several cases, investigations by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division were opened following suspicions that the military was involving Palestinians in military missions. These investigations are ongoing, and naturally, no further details can be provided at this time,” it said.

In March, Haaretz reported that Israel’s military police were investigating six cases in which Israeli soldiers were alleged to have used Palestinians as human shields after the publication of a Red Cross report earlier in the year that highlighted the abuses.

In the face of growing evidence that Palestinians are systematically being used as fodder for the Israeli military machine, in a war that has already killed more than 54,000 people, the military may find it increasingly difficult to kick the biggest can of all down the road.

Said Perugini: “When you are in a genocide, then human shielding becomes a tool for something else. It becomes part of a different kind of crime, of the crime of crimes.”