Earth

Drew Binsky, who has visited all 195 countries in the world, has returned to a war-torn state widely regarded as the most dangerous place to visit – and says it’s “scary and unpredictable”

A fearless globe-trotter, who has explored all 195 nations across the world, has made a return journey to a conflict-ridden territory widely considered the planet’s most perilous destination.

YouTuber Drew Binsky ventured to Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital in East Africa, where he claims there are “no rules” in the bustling metropolis, which is regularly monitored by heavily-armed militants.

Whilst filming a piece for his channel at Mogadishu’s scenic Lido Beach, he outlines how firearms are omnipresent: “There are so many AK-47s around me, I’m not joking you when I say this.

“There’s six guys on that side of the beach, there’s a pocket of six guys right there on the ground, there’s a dude walking towards me in a blue shirt. I feel like I’m just going to be stuck in crossfire.

“All eyes are on me right now and we should probably get the f*** out of here. The longer we stay here, the more attention we get.”

It’s a sensible measure, as in August 2024, the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist organisation Al-Shabaab executed a devastating assault on the beach that claimed 56 lives and wounded over 200 people.

In the UK, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office recommends against all journeys to Somalia.

However, the locals Drew encounters on the beach maintain that the gravest threats are behind them, and that “everyone should come to Mogadishu.”

Dozens can be seen enjoying themselves, with young men playing football and many women in full traditional Islamic dress paddling in the crystal-clear waters while surrounded by AK-47-toting men.

The well-travelled Arizona teacher describes Mogadishu as “one of the most intense places I’ve ever been,” saying it’s “scary and unpredictable,” and quite possibly “the most dangerous city on Earth.”

Drew explained how, during his initial journey to Mogadishu, he was flanked by an enormous security detail.

“Every time I left my hotel,” he said, “I was accompanied by eight soldiers with AK-47s and I was hardly able to leave the car and explore.”

During his second visit, he travelled with a far more discreet protection squad, carrying handguns instead of assault rifles.

Yet Drew emphasises that the capital remains in a constant state of vigilance.

Checkpoints appear every few miles along each main thoroughfare, whilst the impact of more than three decades of conflict has reduced whole streets to little more than debris.

Five years following his initial visit, he notes that the security circumstances on the ground remain unchanged: “All the checkpoints, all the barricades, to enter buildings, the barbed wire fences. Just the hostility that you feel on the streets.”

Conservative estimates place the fatality count from Somalia’s numerous intersecting wars since 1991 at beyond 500,000.

The wounds of perpetual warfare are visible throughout Mogadishu, Drew observes: “Bombings, kidnappings, and street battles have turned everyday life into a battleground.

“To make matters worse, Mogadishu’s lawlessness extends offshore, where Somali pirates hijack ships along global trade routes.”

Despite the risks, Drew found his time in Somalia exhilarating: “Nothing gets my adrenaline rush going than being in a place like Mogadishu,” he says.

Giving back all of its 5.7% gain from last week, shares of USA Rare Earth (USAR 2.24%) have been in free fall this week. Several news events out of the rare-earth-mining industry have investors feeling less than bullish on the stock’s prospects.

According to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, shares of the metals stock have plunged 18% from the end of last Friday’s trading session through 12:25 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Image source: Getty Images.

News from around the world has investors feeling woeful

The week began on an inauspicious note when investors learned that rare-earth exports out of China have ramped up this summer. According to Bloomberg, the export volume of Chinese rare-earth products rose 69% from June to July. With rare earth products at the core of trade tensions between the U.S. and China, investors are hyperfocused on news that the world’s leading rare-earth producer has escalated its exports of the prized critical minerals.

Tuesday didn’t provide much relief. Reuters reported that Vulcan Elements, a producer of rare-earth magnets, recently signed a supply deal with ReElement for rare-earth oxides. USA Rare Earth recognizes the commencement of operations next year at its rare-earth-magnet production facility as a major catalyst. Investors are likely fretful about the company’s prospects if peers are inking rare-earth-magnet deals while USA Rare Earth isn’t enjoying the same interest.

Yet another factor behind the stock’s tumble this week is news from rare-earth peer Critical Metals (CRML -3.28%), which reported favorable drilling results from a project in Greenland. Besides magnet production, USA Rare Earth is also focused on mining at its resource in Texas. With the promising results that Critical Metals reported for its Greenland asset, investors may be finding USA Rare Earth less appealing.

What’s an investor to do now?

Because USA Rare Earth is a highly speculative investment, the volatility this week is unsurprising. Current shareholders should simply sit tight at this point, since nothing materially has changed for the company.

A top five-star London hotel has been named the third best place to stay in the world – and it’s had guests such as the royal family and A-list celebrities come to stay

London is full of allure and charm so it’s no wonder one of the oldest and grandest hotels is a go-to favourite fit for royals and celebrities.

Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair still ranks as one of the world’s top places to stay – and named as one of the 50 greatest luxury hotels on Earth by luxury lifestyle guide Robb Report.

It’s the only UK hotel to make the cut, and came in impressively at third place, just behind Florence’s Collegio alla Querce in second, and Rosewood Amsterdam in first place. The historic five-star hotel was opened in 1821, and has been home to many iconic names including Queen Victoria and Kate Moss.

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The hotel has 269 rooms, all fit for royalty, as well as a subterranean spa, a fancy gym and two very prestigious restaurants, making it a seriously luxurious place to lay your head.

Robb Report said: “This grande dame of the London hotel scene is a beloved, determinedly British institution that’s been part of English life for decades, yet it retains a youthful vigor.”

Claridge’s has one of the most expensive suites to book in London called the Royal Suite. A one-night stay in the regal room will set you back a staggering £21,600, but it’s your chance to live like royalty for the day. The Royal Suite does luxury in an old-school way, decked out with regal and historical motifs throughout.

From design elements reflecting the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II, to an original Gilbert and Sullivan grand piano in the lounge, and hand-painted national flowers by the artisans of de Gournay lining the dining room.

There is also a round-the-clock butler for all your needs during your stay. For a regular balcony room, prices start from around £1,269 per night, and while it’s pricey, guests have rated it an impressive 9.6 star rating.

One visitor said: “This was our first time at Claridges. Everything was top notch, our room 521 was stunning, a massive room with a really good size balcony. It’s not cheap, but, treat yourselves. Life’s short. We have already started saving again for another visit.”

A second commented: “The best place on earth. Luxurious, yet warm and welcoming. Staff and service like no other! 2nd to none!!”

And a third said: “We had a wonderful 2-night stay. The hotel was superb and the staff were impeccable. The experience we had in the hotel restaurants and bars was amazing.”

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Is there anything more glamorous than an overnight train? Even when you’re climbing aboard wearing your husband’s raincoat, carrying an oat-encrusted car seat, with a six-month-old in a sling and an apple core fermenting gently and secretly in the side pocket of your rucksack?

Not that I know of. I love travelling by train – even now, when it’s as comprehensively bad as British rail privatisation has made it for, well, just about everyone save a few shareholders and the CEO of Pumpkin Cafe. But travelling at night? With the whisper of romance in the buffet car, the flash of sunset from the vestibule and a white-sheeted bunk bed to call your own? I love it even more.

Fourteen minutes before being invited on to the night train from London to Penzance, you would have found me in the customer lounge, eating shortbread and drinking apple juice like a woman who has just been told she must consume 7,000 calories in 15 minutes or the whole of Paddington station is going to blow. Luckily, I wasn’t averting an extremely specific act of terrorism; I was just getting my money’s worth because, let me tell you, night trains aren’t cheap. My husband and son managed to get to Italy and back by rail for less than it cost me to cross the Tamar on Great Western Rail.

But then again, can you really put a price on the extremely low-key glamour of washing your feet in the basin of a cabin that’s approximately the dimensions of an understairs coat rack but with more lighting options than my entire house? To lose none of your holiday but be offered a shower at five in the morning at Truro station? To wake up in the middle of the night and take a pee outside Plymouth at 80mph? To get porridge delivered to your door by a woman in a bottle-green polyester uniform before looking out of the window and muttering “Erth?” This is heaven. Or as Philip Larkin wrote, probably while on the 21.19 British Rail service to Hull: “Here is unfettered existence: Facing the sun, untalkative, out of reach.”

The cast of the terrifying new Alien series have admitted they weren’t particularly scared of the iconic space menace on set for one simple reason

Alien: Earth’s cast have revealed the man inside the iconic Xenomorph suit was anything but frightening behind the scenes.

Created by award-winning Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley, the new FX series, premiering this week on Disney+ in the UK, serves as a prequel to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi nightmare from 1979.

The series’ ensemble cast includes newcomers and familiar faces, including Timothy Olyphant, Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther and Babou Ceesay.

Of course, no entry in the Alien franchise is complete without the terrifying titular extraterrestrials and Hawley has emphasised a return to visceral practical effects to bring the horror to life.

Previewing the series at Alien: Earth’s London premiere, the cast revealed performer Cameron Brown was primarily inside the classic black suit that’s been horrifying fans for over 40 years.

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“It was Cameron Brown, who’s a vegan,” Ceesay shared. “Dressed in an eight-foot suit.

“Snarling in your face, K-Y jelly dripping out of his mouth. Yeah, scary.”

However, Ceesay and the rest of the cast couldn’t help giggling as they fondly remembered their time with Brown on set.

Lawther added: “It’s really easy to run away scared from a Xenomorph when it’s really a man who’s a Xenomorph chasing you.”

The cast also revealed their alien-suited co-star would frequently take breaks to munch on carrot sticks and hummus, in stark contrast to his flesh-eating screen persona.

During a panel discussion at Comic-Con’s Hall H, lead actress Chandler previously admitted she was “giddy” to be chased by a Xenomorph, calling Brown “the sweetest person in the world“, per GoldDerby.

And Lawther agreed at the time: “There’s something hysterical about the fearsomeness of the Xenomorph, but then he takes off his head, and he’s from New Zealand, and he doesn’t eat meat.

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“If you think me and Sydney are soft-spoken, just wait till you meet the Xenomorph.”

Die-hard fans of the original film by director Ridley Scott, as well as its subsequent sequels, will be thrilled to discover that Hawley relied on practical effects and sets as often as possible.

Elaborating on the advantages of practical techniques versus CGI, he explained: “I think it’s meaningful, both to the cast and, I think audiences know when something’s real or not real.

“We’ve gotten very good at tricking them, but, usually, what you need is some realistic element in the shot.

“The thing with horror is your imagination does most of the work for you, so you don’t want to see the monster for too long. You want to see the shadows, you want to see the open door.

“The shot is half a second and you’ve got a tail on a fishing line and that’s probably gonna work, you know what I mean?”

Critics are saying the Alien franchise is better than ever with the new TV prequel, but will it win fans over who think the Xenomorphs should have stayed in space? Find out soon.

Alien: Earth premieres Wednesday, 13th August on Disney+.

For a limited time only, witness the first stage of the life cycle of the Xenomorph up close with a thrilling new display at London’s Natural History Museum.

Visitors can touch real pieces of the solar system at the Museum’s blockbuster exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?, and discover more about one of pop culture’s most iconic and frightening creatures just by the entrance until Friday, 22nd August.

The landing marks a successful end to their mission on board the International Space Station to help stranded pilots.

Four astronauts have returned to Earth after hurrying to the International Space Station (ISS) five months ago to relieve stranded test pilots of Boeing’s Starliner.

Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the Southern California coast on Saturday, a day after departing the orbiting lab.

“Welcome home,” SpaceX Mission Control radioed.

Splashing down were NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov. They launched in March as replacements for the two NASA astronauts assigned to Starliner’s botched demo.

Starliner malfunctions kept Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the space station for more than nine months instead of a week.

NASA ordered Boeing’s new crew capsule to return empty and switched the pair to SpaceX. They left soon after McClain and her crew arrived to take their places. Wilmore has since retired from NASA.

Before leaving the space station on Friday, McClain made note of “some tumultuous times on Earth”, with people struggling.

“We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together,” she said.

McClain looked forward to “doing nothing for a couple of days” once back home in Houston. High on her crewmates’ wish list: Hot showers and juicy burgers.

It was SpaceX’s third Pacific splashdown with people on board, but the first for a NASA crew in 50 years. Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company switched capsule returns from Florida to California’s coast earlier this year to reduce the risk of debris falling on populated areas. Back-to-back private crews were the first to experience Pacific homecomings.

The last time NASA astronauts returned to the Pacific from space was during the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, a historic detente meet-up of Americans and Soviets in orbit during the Cold War years.

Bangkok, Thailand – A surge in rare earth mining in rebel-held pockets of Myanmar supplying Chinese processing plants is being blamed for toxic levels of heavy metals in Thai waterways, including the Mekong River.

China dominates the global refining of rare earth metals – key inputs in everything from wind turbines to advanced missile systems – but imports much of its raw material from neighbouring Myanmar, where the mines have been blamed for poisoning local communities.

Recent satellite images and water sample testing suggest the mines are spreading, along with the environmental damage they cause.

“Since the mining operation started, there is no protection for the local people,” Sai Hor Hseng, a spokesman at the Shan Human Rights Foundation, a local advocacy group based in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state, told Al Jazeera.

“They don’t care what happens to the environment,” he said, or those living downstream of the mines in Thailand.

An estimated 1,500 people rallied in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province in June, urging the Thai government and China to pressure the mining operators in Myanmar to stop polluting their rivers.

Villagers in Chiang Rai first noticed an odd orange-yellow tint to the Kok River – a tributary of the Mekong that enters Thailand from Myanmar – before the start of this year’s rainy season in May.

Repeated rounds of testing by Thai authorities since then have found levels of arsenic and lead in the river several times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) deems safe.

Thai authorities advised locals living along the Kok to not even touch the water, while tests have also found excess arsenic levels in the Sai River, another tributary of the Mekong that flows from Myanmar into Thailand, as well as in the Mekong’s mainstream.

Locals are now worried about the harm that contaminated water could do to their crops, their livestock and themselves.

Arsenic is infamously toxic.

Medical studies have linked long-term human exposure to high levels of the chemical to neurological disorders, organ failure and cancer.

“This needs to be solved right now; it cannot wait until the next generation, for the babies to be deformed or whatever,” Pianporn Deetes, Southeast Asia campaign director at the advocacy group International Rivers, told Al Jazeera.

“People are concerned also about the irrigation, because … [they are] now using the rivers – the water from the Kok River and the Sai River – for their rice paddies, and it’s an important crop for the population here,” Pianporn said.

“We learned from other areas already … that this kind of activity should not happen in the upstream of the water source of a million people,” she said.

‘A very good correlation’

Thai authorities blame upstream mining in Myanmar for the toxic rivers, but they have been vague about the exact source or sources.

Rights groups and environmental activists say the mine sites are nestled in pockets of Shan state under the control of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a well-armed, secretive rebel group that runs two semi-autonomous enclaves in the area, one bordering China and the other Thailand.

That makes the sites hard to access. Not even Myanmar’s military regime dares to send troops into UWSA-held territory.

While some have blamed the recent river pollution on the UWSA’s gold mines, the latest tests in Thailand lay most of the fault on the mining of rare earth minerals.

In a study commissioned by the Thai government, Tanapon Phenrat, an associate professor of civil engineering at Naresuan University, took seven water samples from the Kok and surrounding rivers in early June.

Tanapon told Al Jazeera that the samples collected closest to the border with Myanmar showed the highest levels of heavy metals and confirmed that the source of the contamination lay upstream of Thailand in Shan state.

Significantly, Tanapon said, the water samples contained the same “fingerprint” of heavy metals, and in roughly the same concentrations, as had earlier water samples from Myanmar’s Kachin State, north of Shan, where rare earth mining has been thriving for the past decade.

“We compared that with the concentrations we found in the Kok River, and we found that it has a very good correlation,” Tanapon said.

“Concentrations in the Kok River can be attributed about 60 to 70 percent … [to] rare earth mining,” he added.

The presence of rare earth mines along the Kok River in Myanmar was first exposed by the Shan Human Rights Foundation in May.

Satellite images available on Google Earth showed two new mine sites inside the UWSA’s enclave on the Thai border developed over the past one to two years – one on the western slope of the river, another on the east.

The foundation also used satellite images to identify what it said are another 26 rare earth mines inside the UWSA’s enclave next to China.

All but three of those mines were built over the past few years, and many are located at the headwaters of the Loei River, yet another tributary of the Mekong.

Researchers who have studied Myanmar’s rare earth mining industry say the large, round mineral collection pools visible in the satellite images give the sites away as rare earth mines.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation says villagers living near the new mines in Shan state have also told how workers there are scooping up a pasty white powder from the collection pools, just as they have seen in online videos of the rare earth mines further north in Kachin.

‘Zero environmental monitoring’

Patrick Meehan, a lecturer at the University of Manchester in the UK who has studied Myanmar’s rare earth mines, said reports emerging from Shan state fit with what he knows of similar operations in Kachin.

“The way companies tend to operate in Myanmar is that there is zero pre-mining environmental assessment, zero environmental monitoring, and there are none of those sorts of regulations or protections in place,” Meehan said.

The leaching process being used involves pumping chemicals into the hillsides to draw the rare earth metals out of the rock. That watery mixture of chemicals and minerals is then pumped out of the ground and into the collection pools, where the rare earths are then separated and gathered up.

Without careful attention to keeping everything contained at a mine, said Meehan, the risks of contaminating local rivers and groundwater could be high.

Rare earth mines are situated close to rivers because of the large volumes of water needed for pumping the extractive chemicals into the hills, he said.

The contaminated water is then often pumped back into the river, he added, while the groundwater polluted by the leaching can end up in the river as well.

“There is definitely scope for that,” said Meehan.

He and others have tracked the effect such mines have already had in Kachin – where hundreds of mining sites now dot the state’s border with China – from once-teeming streams now barren of fish to rice stalks yielding fewer grains and livestock falling ill and dying after drinking from local creeks.

In a 2024 report, the environmental group Global Witness called the fallout from Kachin’s mining boom “devastating”.

Ben Hardman, Mekong legal director for the US advocacy group EarthRights International, said locals in Kachin have also told his team about mineworkers dying in unusually high numbers.

The worry now, he adds, is that Shan state and the neighbouring countries into which Myanmar’s rivers flow will suffer the same fate as has Kachin, especially if the mine sites continue to multiply as global demand for rare earth minerals grows.

“There’s a long history of rare earth mining causing serious environmental harms that are very long-term, and with pretty egregious health implications for communities,” Hardman said.

“That was the case in China in the 2010s, and is the case in Kachin now. And it’s the same situation now evolving in Shan state, and so we can expect to see the same harms,” he added.

‘You need to stop it at the source’

Most, if not all, of the rare earths mined in Myanmar are sent to China to be refined, processed, and either exported or put to use in a range of green-energy and, increasingly, military hardware.

But, unlike China, neither Myanmar, Laos nor Thailand have the sophisticated processing plants that can transform raw ore into valuable material, according to SFA (Oxford), a critical minerals and metals consulting firm.

The Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, a local think tank, says Chinese customs data also show that Myanmar has been China’s main source of rare earths from abroad since at least 2017, including a record $1.4bn-worth in 2023.

Myanmar’s exports of rare earth minerals were growing at the same time as China was placing tough new curbs on mining them at home, after witnessing the environmental damage it was doing to its own communities. Buying the minerals from Myanmar has allowed China to outsource much of the problem.

That is why many are blaming not only the mine operators and the UWSA for the environmental fallout from Myanmar’s mines, but China.

The UWSA could not be reached for comment, and neither China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor its embassy in Myanmar replied to Al Jazeera’s emails seeking a response.

In a June 8 Facebook post, reacting to reports of Chinese-run mines in Myanmar allegedly polluting Thai rivers, the Chinese embassy in Thailand said all Chinese companies operating abroad had to follow local laws and regulations.

The embassy also said China was open to cooperating with Mekong River countries to protect the local environment, but gave no details on what that might entail.

Thailand has said it is working with both China and Myanmar to solve the problem.

In a bid to tackle the problem, though, the Thai government has proposed building dams along the affected rivers in Chiang Rai province to filter their waters for pollutants.

Local politicians and environmentalists question whether such dams would work.

International Rivers’ Pianporn Deetes said there was no known precedent of dams working in such a manner in rivers on the scale of the Mekong and its tributaries.

“If it’s [a] limited area, a small creek or in a faraway standalone mining area, it could work. It’s not going to work with this international river,” she said.

Naresuan University’s Tanapon said he was building computer models to study whether a series of cascading weirs – small, dam-like barriers that are built across a river to control water flow – could help.

But he, too, said such efforts would only mitigate the problem at best.

Dams and weirs, Tanapon said, “can just slow down or reduce the impact”.

“You need to stop it at the source,” he added.

Alien: Earth is the latest instalment in the Alien franchise and is set to arrive on Disney+ in just a week’s time

Alien: Earth, the eagerly awaited TV extension of the iconic Alien franchise, takes its cues from Ridley Scott’s seminal 1979 horror film.

Hot on the heels of last year’s Alien: Romulus, the blood-curdling space thriller is back with a vengeance, offering another chilling perspective on the lethal Xenomorphs.

This eight-part series springs from the creative genius of showrunner Noah Hawley, celebrated for his work on Fargo and Legion, both critically lauded reinterpretations of the Coen Brothers’ eponymous film and the X-Men universe.

Hawley is gearing up to unveil his latest FX collaboration shortly, with Alien: Earth set to land on Disney+ and Hulu in just a week’s time, ready to send shivers down the spines of fans across the globe.

As the new series stands on the brink of becoming another streaming sensation, let’s delve into what we know so far about this enigmatic extension of the Alien narrative, reports the Express.

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When does Alien: Earth hit our screens?

The opening two episodes of Alien: Earth are slated for release on Tuesday, 12th August on FX and FX on Hulu stateside.

However, British viewers will have to exercise a bit more patience as the episodes will be available the following day, Wednesday 13th August, on Disney+.

The remainder of the inaugural season will then unfold episodically, with fresh episodes dropping every Tuesday in the US and Wednesdays in the UK.

So far, four episodes have been given official titles, kicking off with the two-part opener Neverland and Mr. October, followed by Metamorphosis and Observation.

Who is in the cast of Alien: Earth?

The series boasts a star-studded cast led by up-and-coming actress Sydney Chandler, who portrays Wendy, a synthetic body imbued with human consciousness, referred to as a hybrid.

Chandler, daughter of Hollywood star Kyle Chandler, is recognised for her performance in Don’t Worry Darling and last year’s Colin Farrell-fronted thriller, Sugar.

Other big names include Deadwood’s Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, a synthetic, and Andor’s Alex Lawther as CJ ‘Hermit’, Wendy’s human brother and a medic.

The main cast also comprises:

• Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier, the human CEO of the Prodigy Corporation
• Essie Davis as Dame Silvia, a human
• Adarsh Gourav as Slightly, a hybrid
• Kit Young as Tootles, a hybrid
• David Rysdahl as Arthur, a human scientist and Dame Silvia’s husband
• Babou Ceesay as Morrow, a cyborg (human with some synthetic parts) security officer
• Jonathan Ajayi as Smee, a hybrid
• Erana James as Curly, a hybrid
• Lily Newmark as Nibs, a hybrid
• Diêm Camille as Siberian, a human soldier
• Adrian Edmondson as Atom Eins

The series will additionally feature Moe Bar-El, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Richa Moorjani, Karen Aldridge, Enzo Cilenti, Max Rinehart, Amir Boutrous, Victoria Masoma, Tom Moya, Andy Yu, Michael Smiley, Jamie Bisping and Tanapol Chuksrida in supporting roles.

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What happens in Alien: Earth?

While most plot details remain shrouded in mystery, fans can glean a rough idea of what the first season holds from its brief synopsis.

Confirmed as a prequel set two years prior to the original Alien film, it sees a terrifying alien menace pitted against an unlikely band of heroes following a catastrophic collision with Earth.

The synopsis teases: “When the space vessel Maginot crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s biggest threat.”

Is there a trailer for Alien: Earth?

Eager Alien fans can now feast their eyes on the thrilling new series with a two-minute trailer that dropped in early June.

The gripping teaser, launched with the ominous words “We were safer in space”, introduces Wendy’s character as the first-ever hybrid leading a squad of synthetic-humans on a daring rescue mission in the wake of the Maginot’s downfall.

Moreover, the trailer unveils a pivotal twist for the Alien saga, revealing that the Xenomorph wasn’t the only creature aboard the ship; four other entities from the “darkest corners of the universe” are also set to unleash chaos on Earth.

Alien: Earth premieres Tuesday, 12th August on FX and FX on Hulu and Wednesday, 13th August on Disney+.

Cameron Mofid has recently completed his mission to visit every UN-recognised country and territory in the world and has now named two surprising countries among his favourites

An intrepid explorer who’s visited every country on Earth by the age of 25 has named two surprising countries among his favourites. Cameron Mofid, who hails from San Diego, California, set out on a mission to visit every UN-recognised country and territory in the world (a total of 195) while he was battling obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) during the pandemic.

In April, the plucky traveller ticked off his final nation when he and his friends visited the hermit kingdom of North Korea. With nearly 200 countries under his belt, picking a favourite may seem like an impossible task.

However, two nations stood out in particular for Cameron, both of which carry some strong warnings from the Foreign Office (FCDO). The first nation that he highlighted was Algeria, a destination he described as “unbelievable”.

He told CNN: “It’s one of my favourite countries in the whole world. The countries that receive the least amount of tourism are often the ones where you have the best experience, because you feel totally immersed in their culture.”

Cameron also expressed his appreciation for the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen, having visited the country in February 2023. He noted that walking through the streets was like “going back in time.”

He added: “To see people dress the same way that they were hundreds if not thousands of years ago. To see people living in mud houses, to see people still using flip phones.”

Algeria is in the north of Africa and is largely encompassed by the Sahara Desert, with the exception of the north, which is situated along the coast and is home to most of the population.

Its rich history includes a number of Arab and Berber dynasties that ruled between the 8th and 15th centuries, prior to its links to the Ottoman Empire and later annexation by France in 1848.

In terms of travel to Algeria, the FCDO has highlighted much of the country in green on its website. It means “see our travel advice before travelling”, but the border areas carry orange and red advisories.

It advises against all travel to within 30km of the country’s borders with Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and certain provinces of Tunisia. In addition, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel within 30km of the rest of the Tunisian border.

A comparatively new state, Yemen is located in Western Asia on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering both the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, south of Saudi Arabia.

It has experienced a political crisis since 2011. It continues to be in the throes of a brutal civil war that has reportedly resulted in the deaths of more than 150,000 people and led to a humanitarian crisis that has seen 23 million people requiring aid.

The Foreign Office’s travel advice for Yemen is resolute. It advises against all travel to Yemen and urges anyone in the country to leave “immediately”, citing “unpredictable security conditions”.

It said terrorist attacks are very likely in Yemen, as well as a “very high and constant threat” of kidnapping, noting that propaganda produced by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has urged the kidnapping of westerners.

SAN DIEGO — Over the years, Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con has built a reputation — and an expectation — as the room where Hollywood juggernauts in attendance at the annual pop culture extravaganza unveil exclusive footage, break news and share behind-the-scenes stories with devoted fans, who often spend hours in line just for a chance to make it through the doors.

It’s not surprising, then, that headlines going into this year’s Comic-Con, which concludes Sunday, carried an air of disappointment about the absence of Marvel and other major film studios from Hall H’s programming schedule — even if 2025 is not the first time Marvel and others have sat out Comic-Con for one reason or another.

But for many fans in attendance, the news merited little more than a shrug.

Hector Guzman, who along with his friend Joaquin Horas made the trip from Los Angeles, acknowledged that the Hall H slate “felt a little bit different this year” with no Marvel Studios panel.

But “there’s still a wide presence of Marvel,” he added. “The ‘Fantastic Four’ movie that just came out — we’ve been seeing a heavy push on that this year.”

Guzman and Horas had spent a little over an hour in the Hall H line Friday afternoon trying to make it to the “Tron: Ares” panel before bailing, but they said that in their three years of attending the event, Hall H usually isn’t on their itinerary.

“If it’s interesting to us, we’ll give it a shot, and if it’s not, then there’s always plenty of other events and stuff going around [the convention],” said Horas. He and Guzman explained that they are generally more interested in exclusive merchandise, custom works by artists and getting together with their friends in cosplay.

Other attendees like Jennifer Moore and Sam Moore of British Columbia, Canada, took advantage of the absence of popular Hall H mainstays to get into Friday presentations they were excited about, including for “Alien: Earth” and “The Long Walk.”

“Last year was my first time [in Hall H],” said Jennifer Moore, who said they’d been attending the event for 10 years.

“Now [that] there’s no Marvel thing or DC thing, it’s pretty easy to get in,” said Sam Moore. “We’ve just been doing walk-ins [for Hall H] this year.”

That’s not to say Hall H was entirely without spectacle: Highlights included an ensemble of bagpipers performing “Scotland the Brave,” a dazzling laser light show, the world premiere of the “Alien” franchise’s first ever television series and an appearance by “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas to promote the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

A look inside the “Tron: Ares” Hall H panel at Comic-Con.

(Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP)

And although the Comic-Con experience has grown beyond the walls of the San Diego Convention Center, with immersive experiences and pop-ups spilling into the city’s Gaslamp Quarter and the Embarcadero, Hall H remains a venerated programming space for panelists and attendees alike.

“I want to give people the experience that they bought their tickets for to come here,” said Noah Hawley, the creator of “Alien: Earth” before the upcoming FX series’ Hall H presentation on Friday. “I was surprised the first time I came to Comic-Con, how emotional it is for the people who attend. There’s a lot of people for whom [361] days a year, they have to pretend to be somebody else. These [four] days of the year, they get to be who they really feel like they are on the inside.”

The Moores were among those who were able to make it into Hall H without much of a wait on Friday morning. But by Friday afternoon, the line had grown much longer in anticipation for later panels, which included capacity crowds. Other big draws included anime franchise entry “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who received an ovation for the success of his recent “Superman” reboot while presenting the second season of the John Cena series “Peacemaker.”

Even those who were attending Comic-Con to promote their own projects couldn’t hold in their excitement for anime juggernaut “Demon Slayer.” Besides the Hall H, panel ads promoting the upcoming movie — which has already broken attendance records in Japan — adorned a nearby hotel and the trains of the Trolley.

“There is a part of me that just wants to be out with the fans in my Tanjiro outfit with the earrings with my daughter,” said actor Babou Ceesay of “Alien: Earth,” referencing the young warrior with a gentle heart at the center of “Demon Slayer.”

The growth of anime and animation programming at Comic-Con and inside Hall H is a reminder that the convention is best understood as a reflection of ongoing shifts in nerd culture and fandom. Having evolved from a gathering primarily for comic book collectors to a broader celebration of pop culture where blockbuster movies once had a stranglehold, Comic-Con may now be witnessing the loosening of comic book superhero films’ grip on the zeitgeist as a whole. Indeed, television has steadily increased its Comic-Con footprint for years. Studios and streamers have also been organizing their own promotional events, such as Disney’s D23 and Netflix’s Tudum, to build up buzz on their terms, too.

Plus, as fan Robbie Weber of Los Angeles reiterated, Comic-Con is more than just what happens in Hall H. When he first attended the event 11 years ago he was among those that camped out overnight in order to get into the hall, but this time around he skipped it, opting to explore activations and other panels instead.

“We saw [comic book writer] Jonathan Hickman [on Thursday],” said Weber. “We saw a friend on the “Primitive War” panel [on Friday], which was really cool. It was the first time I’ve been able to see a friend do something like that.”

For many, Comic-Con’s main draw remains how fans can freely celebrate their passions.

“Alien: Earth” actor Alex Lawther said it was nice to hear the excitement of the people around him on his San Diego-bound train as they reminisced about their past experiences and shared photos of their cosplay.

“I really get that intense enjoyment of something to the point where you want to walk down the street wearing the costumes,” he said.

SAN DIEGO — Sydney Chandler has wanted to attend San Diego Comic-Con as a fan for years.

So it’s “surreal” that the actor’s first experience with the annual pop culture expo is to promote her upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth.” Chandler stars in the “Alien” prequel as Wendy, a young girl whose consciousness has been transferred to an android.

“To be able to do it in this capacity is just mind-blowing,” she tells The Times in advance of the show’s Hall H premiere on Friday. “It’s emotional because we worked on this for so long and I learned so much. … I’m kind of at a loss of words.”

She does have words of appreciation, though, including for what she’s learned from her character.

“Her journey of finding out how to hold her own and stand on her own two feet taught me so much,” says Chandler. “I’m an overthinker. I’m an anxious person. I would have run so fast. I would not be as brave as her, but she taught me … that it’s OK to just stand on your own two feet, and that’s enough. That’s powerful.”

Even before the show’s Hall H panel, fans have gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego to catch a glimpse of Chandler and her “Alien: Earth” cast mates Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin and Babou Ceesay, along with creator Noah Hawley and executive producer David Zucker, on their short trek to the bus that would transport them to the convention center for the show’s world premiere.

On the ride over, Hawley betrays no nerves about people seeing the first episode.

“I really think, in a strange way, it plays for all ages because it is about growing up on some level,” says the showrunner. “But it’s also ‘Alien,’ and it is a meditation on power and corporate power. ”

Huddled together on the bus with Lawther and Blenkin, Ceesay is surprised to learn that this is the first time attending San Diego Comic-Con for all three. There’s plenty of good-natured ribbing as they talk about the early interviews they’ve completed at the event.

“I just sort of want to make jokes with you all the time,” says Lawther as he looks towards his cast mates. “I find it quite giddy in the experience, and I had to remind myself that I’m a professional.”

“Sometimes the British sarcasm instinct just kicks in,” Blenkin adds.

Their playful dynamic continues as they joke about crashing Ceesay’s other panel, and also backstage at Hall H as they try to sneak up on each other in the dark.

After the panel, the cast is whisked away for video interviews and signing posters at a fan meet-and-greet at a booth on the exhibit floor. (“Timothy, you’re the man!” shouts a fan passing by.) Later, Hawley, Chandler and Ceesay will hit the immersive “Alien: Earth” activation where they will explore the wreckage of a crashed ship.

“It’s such a safe space for people who just enjoy cinema and enjoy film,” Chandler says of Comic-Con. “And that’s me. I’m a complete nerd for all this stuff, so just to be around that group — it reminds me of why I love film so much in the first place.”

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” slots into summer blockbuster season like a square peg in a round popcorn bucket. Prestige TV director Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) isn’t inclined to pretzel himself like the flexible Reed Richards to please all four quadrants of the multiplex. His staid superhero movie plays like classic sci-fi in which adults wearing sweater vests solemnly brainstorm how to resolve a crisis. Watching it, I felt as snug as being nestled in the backseat of my grandparents’ car at the drive-in.

This reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise — the third in two decades — is lightyears closer to 1951’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” than it is to the frantic, over-cluttered superhero epics that have come to define modern entertainment. Set on Earth 828, an alternate universe that borrows our own Atomic Age decor, it doesn’t just look old, it moves old. The tone and pace are as sure-footed as globe-gobbling Galactus, this film’s heavy, purposefully marching into alt-world Manhattan. Even its tidy running time is from another epoch. Under two hours? Now that’s vintage chic.

“First Steps” picks up several years after four astronauts — Reed (Pedro Pascal), his wife, Sue (Vanessa Kirby), his brother-in-law Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and his best friend Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — get themselves blasted by cosmic rays that endow them with special powers. You may know the leads better as, respectively, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing. For mild comic relief, they also pal around with a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E., voiced by Matthew Wood.

Skipping their origin story keeps things tight while underlining the idea that these are settled-down grown-ups secure in their abilities to lengthen, disappear, ignite and clobber. Fans might argue they should be a bit more neurotic; screenplay structuralists will grumble they have no narrative arc. The mere mortals of Earth 828 respect the squad for their brains and their brawn — they’re celebrities in a genteel pre-paparazzi time — but these citizens are also prone to despair when they aren’t sure Pascal’s workaholic daddy will save them.

Lore has it Stan Lee was a married, middle-aged father aging out of writing comic books when his beloved spouse, Joan, elbowed him to develop characters who felt personal. The graying, slightly boring Reed was a loose-limbed version of himself: the ultimate wife guy with the ultimate wife.

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But Hollywood has aged-down Lee’s “quaint quartet,” as he called them, at its own peril. Make the Fantastic Four cool (as the movies have repeatedly tried and failed to do) and they come across as desperately lame. This time, Shakman and the script’s four-person writing team of Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer valorize their lameness and restore their dignity. Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic is so buttoned-down that he tucks his tie into his dress shirt.

The scenario is that Sue is readying to give birth to the Richards’ first child just as the herald Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), a.k.a. the Silver Surfer, barrels into the atmosphere to politely inform humanity that her boss Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson) has RSVP-ed yes to her invitation that he devour their planet. In a biologically credible touch, the animators have added tarnish to her cleavage: “I doubt she was naked,” Reed says evenly. “It was probably a stellar polymer.”

Typically, this threat would trigger a madcap fetch-this-gizmo caper (as it did in the original comic). Shakman’s version doesn’t waste its energy or our time on that. Rather, this a lean showdown between self-control and gluttony, between our modest heroes and a greedy titan. It’s at the Venn diagram of a Saturday morning cartoon and a moralistic Greek myth.

The film is all sleek lines, from its themes to its architecture to its images. The visuals by the cinematographer Jess Hall are crisp and impactful: a translucent hand snatching at a womb, a character falling into the pull of a yawning black hole, a torso stretched like chewing gum, a rocket launch that can’t blast off until we get a close-up of everyone buckling their seatbelts. Even in space, the CG isn’t razzle-dazzle busy. Meanwhile, Michael Giacchino’s score soars between bleats of triumph and barbershop-chorus charm, a combination that can sound like an automobile show unveiling the first convertible with tail fins.

There is little brawling and less snark. No one comes off like an aspiring stand-up comic. These characters barely raise their voices and often use their abilities on the mundane: Kirby’s Sue vanishes to avoid awkward conversations, Moss-Bachrach’s Ben, in a nod to his breakout role as the maître d’ on “The Bear,” uses his mighty fists to mash garlic. Johnny, the youngest and most literally hotheaded of the group, is apt to light himself on fire when he can’t be bothered to find a flashlight. He delivers the meanest quip in a respectful movie when he tells Reed, “I take back every single bad thing I’ve been saying about you … to myself, in private.”

Yes, my audience giggled dutifully at the jiggling Jell-O salads and drooled over the groovy conversation pits in the Richards’ living room, the only super lair I’d ever live in. The color palette emphasizes retro shades of blue, green and gold; even the extras have coordinated their outfits to the trim on the Fantasticar. Delightfully, when Moss-Bachrach’s brawny rock monster strolls to the deli to buy black-and-white cookies, he’s wearing a gargantuan pair of penny loafers.

If you want to feel old, the generation of middle schoolers who saw 2008’s “Iron Man” on opening weekend are now beginning to raise their own children. Thirty-seven films later, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten so insecure about its own mission that it’s pitching movies at every maturity level. The recent “Thunderbolts*” is for surly teenagers, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the drunk, divorced uncle at a BBQ, and “First Steps” extends a sympathetic hand to young families who identify with Reed’s frustration that he can’t childproof the entire galaxy.

Here, for a mass audience, Kirby gets to reprise her underwatched Oscar-nominated turn in “Pieces of a Woman,” in which she extended out a 24-minute, single-take labor scene. This karaoke snippet is good (and even a little operatic when the pain makes her dematerialize). I was as impressed by the costumer Alexandra Byrne’s awareness that even super moms won’t immediately snap back into wearing tight spandex. (By contrast, when Jessica Alba played Sue in 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” the director notoriously asked her to be “prettier” when she cried.)

This reboot’s boldest stride toward progress is that it values emotionally credible performances. Otherwise, Pascal aside, you wouldn’t assemble this cast for any audience besides critics and dweebs (myself included) who keep a running list of their favorite not-quite-brand-name talents who are ready to break through to the next level of their career while yelling, “It’s clobbering time!”

Still, this isn’t anyone’s best role, and it’s a great movie only when compared to similarly budgeted dreck. Yet it’s a worthy exercise in creating something that doesn’t feel nostalgic for an era — it feels of an era. Even if the MCU’s take on slow cinema doesn’t sell tickets in our era, I admire the confidence of a movie that sets its own course instead of chasing the common wisdom that audiences want 2½ hours of chaos. Studio executives continuing to insist on that nonsense deserve Marvel’s first family to give them a disappointed talking-to, and send them to back their boardrooms without supper.

The charming village is officially one of the most colourful places in the world – making it the perfect spot for your next holiday.

A delightful coastal town in Scotland has been scientifically ranked as one of the most vibrant places on the planet, making it an ideal destination for your next getaway. Tobermory, tucked away on Scotland’s west coast, has outshone renowned European competitors to secure a place in the top 25 most colourful locations worldwide – a testament to the quality of British holidays.

Ranked at number 11, this seaside hamlet on the Isle of Mull is awash with vivid reds, oranges, radiant yellows and sharp blues, courtesy of its lively waterfront residences.

The brightly coloured houses lining the harbour were designed to help fishermen identify their homes and local businesses from the harbour or while at sea, particularly in foggy or cloudy conditions.

These buildings are a signature sight along the harbourfront and even served as the backdrop for the television series Balamory.

In addition to its stunning homes, one of Tobermory’s main draws is its wildlife.

Boat tours around the bay provide visitors with picturesque cruises.

The more daring tourists can join Sea Life Mull for a chance to spot minke whales, basking sharks, and bottlenose dolphins in their natural habitat, reports the Express.

There’s also plenty to keep you occupied back on dry land.

One of the most popular attractions is the two-hour walking trail that leads tourists from the village to Rubha nan Gall Lighthouse.

The path meanders along the coastline, offering breathtaking views over the ocean.

If you’re more inclined towards a laid-back experience, the renowned Tobermory Distillery might be just your cup of tea, offering some of the finest whisky on offer.

This iconic Scottish distillery, founded in 1798, is conveniently nestled in the town centre.

Guests can delve into the fascinating 200 year old history of whisky production and naturally, savour some of the top-notch spirits.

He inveighs against illegal immigration in terms more appropriate for a vermin infestation. He wants all people without papers deported immediately, damn the cost. He thinks Los Angeles is a cesspool and that flying the Mexican flag in the United States is an act of insurrection. He uses the internet mostly to share crude videos and photos depicting Latinos as subhuman.

Stephen Miller? Absolutely.

But every time I hear the chief architect of Donald Trump’s scorched earth immigration policies rail in uglier and uglier terms, I recall another xenophobe I hadn’t thought of in awhile.

For nearly 30 years, Glenn Spencer fought illegal immigration in Los Angeles and beyond with a singular obsession. The former Sherman Oaks resident kicked off his campaign, he told The Times in a 2001 profile, after seeing Latinos looting during the 1992 L.A. riots and thinking, “Oh, my God, there are so many of them and they are so out of control.”

Spencer was a key volunteer who pushed for the passage of Prop. 187, the 1994 California ballot initiative that sought to make life miserable for undocumented immigrants and was so punitive that a federal judge later ruled it unconstitutional. A multiplatform influencer before that became commonplace, Spencer hosted a local radio show, produced videos that he mailed to all members of Congress warning about an “invasion” and turned his vitriolic newsletter into a website, American Patrol, that helped connect nativist groups across the country.

American Patrol’s home page was a collection of links to newspaper articles about suspected undocumented immigrants alleged to have committed crimes. While Spencer regularly trashed Muslims and other immigrants, he directed most of his bile at Mexicans.

A “Family Values” button on the website, in the colors of the Mexican flag, highlighted sex crimes allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants. Editorial cartoons featured a Mexican flag piercing a hole in California with the caption “Sink-hole de Mayo.”

Long before conservative activists recorded themselves infiltrating the conferences of political enemies, Spencer was doing it. He provoked physical fights at protests and published reams of digital nonsense against Latino politicians, once superimposing a giant sombrero on an image of Antonio Villaraigosa with the epithet, “Viva Mexico!”

On the morning Villaraigosa, the future L.A. mayor, was to be sworn in as speaker of the assembly in 1998, every seat in the legislative chamber was topped by a flier labeling him a communist and leader of the supposed Mexican takeover of California.

“I don’t remember if his name was on it, but it was all his terminology,” said Villaraigosa, who recalled how Spencer helped make his college membership in the Chicano student group MEChA an issue in his 2001 mayoral loss to Jim Hahn. “But he never had the balls to talk to me in person.”

Spencer became the Johnny Appleseed of the modern-day Know Nothing movement, lecturing to groups of middle-aged gringos about his work — first across the San Fernando Valley, then in small towns where Latinos were migrating in large numbers for the first time.

“California [it] has often been said is America’s future. Let me tell you about your future,” he told the Council of Conservative Citizens in Virginia in 1999.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks with the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, on May 9, 2025.

(Saul Loeb/ AFP via Getty Images)

Spencer is the person most responsible for mainstreaming the lie of Reconquista, the wacko idea that Mexicans came to the U.S. not for economic reasons but because of a plot concocted by the Mexican government to take back the lands lost in the 1848 Mexican-American War. He wrote screeds like “Is Jew-Controlled Hollywood Brainwashing Americans?” and threatened libel lawsuits against anyone — myself included — who dared point out that he was a racist.

He was a favorite punching bag of the mainstream media, a slovenly suburban Ahab doomed to fail. The Times wrote in 2001 that Spencer “foresaw millions of converts” to his anti-immigrant campaign, “only to see his temple founder.”

Moving to southern Arizona in 2002, the better to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border, Spencer spent the rest of his life trying to sell state and federal authorities on border-monitoring technology he developed that involved planes, drones and motion-detection sensors. His move inspired other conservatives to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border on their own.

By the Obama era, he was isolated even from other anti-immigrant activists for extremist views like banning foreign-language media and insisting that every person who came to this country illegally was a drug smuggler. Even the rise of Trump didn’t bring Spencer and his work back into the limelight.

He was so forgotten that I didn’t even realize he was dead until Googling his name recently, after enduring another Miller rant. Spencer’s hometown Sierra Vista’s Herald Review was the only publication I found that made any note of his death from cancer in 2022 at age 85, describing his life’s work as bringing “the crisis of illegal immigration to the forefront of the American public’s consciousness.”

That’s a whitewash worthy of Tom Sawyer’s picket fence.

We live in Glenn Spencer’s world, a place where the nastier the rhetoric against illegal immigration and the crueler the government’s efforts against all migrants, the better. Every time a xenophobe makes Latinos out to be an invading force, every time someone posts a racist message on social media or Miller throws another tantrum on Fox News, Glenn Spencer gets his evil wings.

Spencer “stood out among a vile swamp of racists and crackpots like a tornado supercell on radar,” said Brian Levin, chair of the California Civil Rights Department’s Commission on the State of Hate and founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, who monitored American Patrol for years. “What’s frightening now is that hate like his used to be well-segregated from the mainstream. Now, the guardrails are off, and what Spencer advocated for is federal policy.”

I first found out about Spencer in 1999 as a student activist at Chapman University. Spencer applauded the Anaheim Union High School District’s decision to sue Mexico for the cost of educating undocumented immigrants’ children, describing those of us who opposed it as communists — when he was being nice. His American Patrol described MEChA, which I, like Villaraigosa, belonged to, as a “scourge” and a “sickness.”

His website was disgusting, but it became a must-read of mine. I knew even then that ignoring hate allows it to fester, and I wanted to figure out why people like Spencer despised people like me, my family and my friends. So I regularly covered him and his allies in my early years as a reporter with an obsession that was a reverse mirror of his. Colleagues and even activists said my work was a waste of time — that people like Spencer were wheezing artifacts who would eventually disappear as the U.S. embraced Latinos and immigrants.

And here we are.

Spencer usually sent me legal threats whenever I wrote about his ugly ways — threats that went nowhere. That’s why I was surprised at how relatively polite he was the last time we communicated, in 2019.

I reached out via email asking for an interview for a Times podcast I hosted about the 25th anniversary of Prop. 187. By then, Spencer was openly criticizing Trump’s planned border wall, which he found a waste of money and not nearly as efficient as his own system. Spencer initially said he would consider my request, while sending me an article he wrote that blamed Prop. 187’s demise on then-California Gov. Gray Davis and Mexico’s president at the time, Ernesto Zedillo.

When I followed up a few months later, Spencer bragged about the legacy of his website, which he hadn’t regularly updated since 2013 due to declining health. The American Patrol archives “would convince the casual observer that The Times did what it could do [to] defeat my efforts and advance the cause of illegal immigration,” Spencer wrote. “Do I think The Times has changed its spots? No. Will I agree to an interview? No.”

Levin hadn’t heard about Spencer’s death until we talked.

“I thought he went into irrelevance,” he admitted with a chuckle that he quickly cut off, realizing he had forgotten about Spencer’s legacy in the era of Trump.

“We ignored that cough, that speck in the X-ray,” Levin concluded, now somber. “And now, we have cancer.”

Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the United States returned to Earth early Tuesday after the 20-day SpaceX Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station. They parachuted into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California.

This story contains some spoilers for “Superman.”

In James Gunn’s “Superman,” the titular superhero is devastated when he learns that his birth parents sent him to Earth to subjugate humanity.

In theaters now, the film is set a few years into Superman’s caped career. The Kryptonian — who grew up as Clark Kent on a farm in Smallville, Kan. — always believed a message left to him by these birth parents was an encouragement to use his powers to be a protector and hero. He is more than shaken to learn that was never the case.

It’s Clark’s human father, Jonathan, who points out that the message’s intent doesn’t really matter.

“Your choices [and] your actions, that’s what makes you who you are,” he says to his son.

Being an alien refugee might be why Superman has his superpowers, but it’s who he is as a person that makes him a superhero. And although it is mostly left unsaid, Clark’s kindness and values come from how he was raised — by loving parents in America’s heartland.

Despite “Superman” being as all-American as ever, the movie has become the most recent front in America’s never-ending culture war because of comments made by Gunn acknowledging the character is an immigrant.

But Superman is more a story about the triumph of assimilation and opportunity. As the new movie also shows, Superman would not be Superman if he was not raised by Martha and Jonathan Kent on a farm in Kansas. And as much as Superman is undeniably an immigrant, it’s hard to deny in the current political climate that he also resembles the type of immigrants who have traditionally been more embraced in this country.

Since early last month, the Trump administration has aggressively targeted Latino communities across California. Immigration raids have seemingly indiscriminately taken people from their workplace, on their way to court and even in parking lots. Federal officials have pushed back on claims that these operations have targeted people “because of their skin color.” According to federal authorities, more than 2,700 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in L.A. since early June.

This is not the first time the U.S. government has targeted specific communities of color because of their ancestry. During World War II, 120,000 people of Japanese descent were incarcerated in wartime camps regardless of their citizenship.

Gunn, however, has long maintained that his “Superman” is “a movie about kindness [and] being good.”

The filmmaker, who has been outspoken in his criticism of President Trump, told the London Times that “Superman is the story of America. … An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country.” He reiterated that the movie is about “human kindness.”

The backlash was swift, with familiar right-wing commentators and personalities criticizing the film for allegedly being “superwoke” before it was released. Even former Superman actor Dean Cain has spoken out against Gunn’s comments and the perceived politicization of the character’s story.

In response, comic book fans, including Democratic politicians, have pointed out that Superman — an alien born on the planet Krypton, sent to Earth to escape his planet’s destruction — has always been an immigrant.

“The Superman story is an immigration story of an outsider who tries to always do the most good,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) posted Wednesday on X. “His arch nemesis is a billionaire. You don’t get to change who he is because you don’t like his story. Comics are political.”

“Superman was an undocumented immigrant,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office wrote Thursday on X in response to an image of Trump as Superman posted by the White House.

Others on social media have circulated clips from past Superman media, including from Cain’s show “Lois & Clark,” where the character’s immigration status is addressed.

Despite the accusation and backlash, Superman has never been as “woke” as the current debate makes him seem.

Created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, both children of Jewish immigrants, Superman’s first official appearance was in the first issue of “Action Comics” in the 1930s. With his iconic red and blue caped costume, the character is known as much for his godlike superpowers as he is for being the ultimate good guy with all-American looks and charm.

His adventures have spanned comics, radio, television and film. Besides evil billionaires, Superman has taken on superpowered supervillains, alien invaders and even his clones, as well as human threats like Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Yes, some Superman stories are more political than others.

But Superman has never been radical in his politics. As a Kryptonian raised on Earth by human parents, the character has been shown in stories where he struggles with his own sense of otherness and belonging because he straddles two worlds. But other than rare outliers, his story has never delved deeply into how immigrants or those perceived as other are treated in the U.S. (For that, consider checking out some “X-Men.”)

That’s because Clark Kent’s immigration status or Americanness will never be questioned because of his appearance. That itself could be subversive, but that’s a debate for a different “Superman” movie.

Nicolás Pasquali, 44, who describes himself as the “first Argentinean to visit every country in the world”, has finally managed to tick off North Korea from his list after eight years of travel

Nicolás Pasquali, a man who has travelled to every country on Earth, has revealed that his favourite place is closer to home than one might expect. Nicolás, who considers himself to be the “first Argentine to visit every country in the world”, has recently smashed his impressive target after spending a remarkable eight years travelling.

In February, he finally put a pin in the last country on his list after a year waiting, the hermit kingdom of North Korea in East Asia, which often only grants tourists access via tightly controlled tours.

However, you’d imagine that picking a favourite from the near-200 on offer would prove to be a tricky task, but Nicolás was left in “no doubt”.

In an interview with Argentine newspaper Infobae, he stated: “As an Argentinean, there’s no doubt Argentina is number one. We have identity, culture, gastronomy, sports and unique natural landscapes. Despite economic problems, we keep standing out globally.”

A sense of unity

Nicolás pointed out that the South American nation has a “marked identity and a sense of unity” that he hasn’t “seen elsewhere”. He went on to draw comparisons with England, pointing to one aspect in particular.

He went on to say: “You go to England, and Britons aren’t proud of being British like we are proud of being Argentinean. We feel part of something bigger, which is impressive.”

Language also plays a significant role for the Buenos Aires native, who went on to explain that Spanish is the “second-most spoken language”, making it “easier for us to move around”.

It’s still a jewel

Nicolás encapsulated his experience by revealing something he’d learned while visiting all those other countries, a pearl of wisdom that may offer insight into his choice of Argentina as his favourite country.

Reflecting on his homeland, he remarked: “When you live in Argentina, you think that in other countries everything is perfect. But the truth is that it’s not. There are countries at war, countries where people don’t even have water, and countries where you can’t say what you think. And that’s when you realise that Argentina, with all its problems, is still a jewel.”

Second-largest country on the continent

Argentina, the second-largest country in South America, is divided into four distinct regions: the Andes, the Pampas, the north, and Patagonia.

The climate varies dramatically from subtropical in the north to sub-Antarctic conditions in the south, and the nation is home to an impressive array of wildlife.

In the rugged terrain of Patagonia, intrepid adventurers might spot sea lions, penguins, and seals along the coast. Meanwhile, offshore in the Atlantic, you could encounter dolphins, orcas, and even sharks.

Up in the northern parts, the wildlife includes crocodiles, caimans, flamingos, toucans, and jaguars.

How many countries are there?

The UN (United Nations) recognises a total of 195 countries, 193 of which are member states. The final two regions are the non-member observer states of Vatican City and Palestine, although the true number is actually disputed.

This is due to a number of disputed zones and countries with either full or partial sovereignty, writes the BBC. In fact, the CIA (the US’ Central Intelligence Agency) lists the full number as 237, for example.

Talks lay groundwork for a summit between EU and Chinese leaders in Beijing on July 24 and 25.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has urged China to end restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and warned that Chinese firms’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine posed a serious threat to European security.

The statement from Kaja Kallas came on Wednesday after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brussels.

The EU is seeking to improve its relations with China amid United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war, which has rocked major trading powers.

But instead of improvements, a trade spat has only deepened between Brussels and Beijing over alleged unfair practices by China. The 27-nation bloc is also railing against the flow of vital tech to Russia’s military through China.

On Wednesday in her meeting with Wang, Kallas “called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earths exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains”, a statement from her office said.

On trade, Kallas urged “concrete solutions to rebalance the economic relationship, level the playing field and improve reciprocity in market access”.

She also “highlighted the serious threat Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s illegal war poses to European security”.

China says it does not provide military support to Russia for the war in Ukraine. But European officials say Chinese companies provide many of the vital components for Russian drones and other weapons used in Ukraine.

Kallas called on China “to immediately cease all material support that sustains Russia’s military industrial complex” and support “a full and unconditional ceasefire” and a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

Wednesday’s discussions were to lay the groundwork for a summit between EU and Chinese leaders on July 24 and 25. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to China for the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Earlier in the day, Wang also met Costa as part of those preparations.

In that meeting, Wang called on both sides to respect each other’s core interests and increase mutual understanding, adding that “unilateralism and acts of bullying have seriously undermined the international order and rules”, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

Besides discussions on improving bilateral ties, Kallas and Wang also discussed the situation in Iran.

While both leaders welcomed the de-escalation between Israel and Iran, Kallas said she had “urged Iran to immediately restart negotiations on its nuclear programme and that Europe stands ready to facilitate talks”, according to a statement from her office.

Kallas and Wang also “agreed on the importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime”.

The EU, the United Kingdom, France and Germany are parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that the United States abandoned in 2018, which they hope to revive. Iran has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful and denies seeking a weapon.

Sciver-Brunt understandably did not comment on whether there would be any changes in the immediate aftermath of the Bristol defeat, saying she had “full confidence” in all the players.

She also highlighted England’s significant improvement in the powerplay, where they restricted India to 35-3, but India’s counter-attack appeared to catch the bowlers off guard and they deviated from their plans.

In the powerplay 33% of their deliveries were on a good line and length at a run-rate of 4.2, but that dipped to 15% in the middle overs as India added 103-1 and 11% in the final four overs as Amanjot Kaur and Richa Ghosh took the game away from England.

Lauren Bell was one of few England players to come away from the Ashes with credit and has continued that form this summer, taking 2-17 at Bristol as she now leads the attack with much-improved maturity and consistency.

She executed her slower-ball plan effectively, setting the field accordingly and forcing India’s batters to adjust to her.

But India have been smart, and England have not responded quickly enough. Linsey Smith, who starred against West Indies with her left-arm spin, has been clearly targeted with 0-41 from three overs at Trent Bridge and 0-37 off three at Bristol.

It is unfamiliar territory for England, who are so dominant at home – prior to the Windies series, they had won 79.3% of their completed white-ball games at home since 2020.

They should not be written off after just two matches against a side that are turning into genuine World Cup contenders, particularly on home turf, and it is not yet crunch time for England or Edwards in terms of whether they can turn this around.

But the new coach is said by those around her to be ruthless, and unafraid to make tough decisions if best for the team.

This is England’s first challenge under her leadership, and how Edwards responds to it will reveal just how much has really changed in the set-up which was previously accused of cosiness and complacency.

Ryan Gosling puts the “not” in “Astronaut” in the new trailer for “Project Hail Mary.”

The upcoming sci-fi film, based on Andy Weir‘s novel of the same name, stars Gosling as middle school teacher turned reluctant astronaut Ryland Grace, who’s tasked with saving humanity from the effects of a dimming sun. However, when he wakes up from a coma as the sole survivor aboard a spaceship, he must overcome his amnesia to remember where he is and why he was sent there.

“It’s an insanely ambitious story that’s massive in scope and it seemed really hard to make, and that’s kind of our bag,” Gosling said of “Project Hail Mary” at CinemaCon in April, where he debuted footage from the film, according to Variety. “This is why we go to the movies. And I’m not just saying it because I’m in it. I’m also saying it because I’m a producer on the film.”

The trailer, released Monday by Amazon MGM Studios, opens with Gosling startling awake on the spacecraft, his hair and beard uncharacteristically long. “I’m several light-years from my apartment,” he proclaims, “and I’m not an astronaut.”

It then jolts back in time to show Grace pre-launch as he learns from Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) that if he does not journey into space, everything on Earth will go extinct. According to Stratt, who heads the mission, Grace is the only scientist who might understand what is happening to the sun and surrounding stars.

The trailer, which progresses through an intense montage set to Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times,” teases Gosling’s signature humor. “I can’t even moonwalk!” the “Barbie” actor declares at one point. (Gosling portrayed moonwalker Neil Armstrong in another recent space movie, Damien Chazelle’s “First Man.”)

Everything leads up to Grace meeting an alien, who isn’t shown in full — but fans of the book know it plays an integral role in saving planet Earth and beyond.

The film, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, marks the second book-to-movie adaptation for Weir, whose novel “The Martian” became an Oscar-nominated 2015 blockbuster starring Matt Damon. An adaptation for his book “Artemis” is also in development with the same directing team.

“Project Hail Mary” hits theaters March 20.