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It’s been several days now since Israel launched its surprise attack on Iran.

The conflict has since escalated with each side launching dozens of strikes.

And because the warring sides don’t share a border, the attacks have largely been focused on air strikes.

While Iran may have the largest stock of missiles and drones in the Middle East, Israel’s air force is considered one of the most powerful in the world – and its air defence system, one of the most advanced.

And more crucially, Israel has the backing of the United States.

So is one military at a clear advantage?

Will the length of the conflict make a difference?

And are there other factors at play in this conflict?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Mamoun Abu Nowar – retired Jordanian air force general

Marina Miron – military analyst and researcher in the War Studies Department at King’s College London

Justin Bronk – senior research fellow for airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute

MINNEAPOLIS — Napheesa Collier scored 26 of her 32 points in the first half while Courtney Williams added 17 points and the Minnesota Lynx returned to their winning ways by beating the Los Angeles Sparks 101-78 on Saturday.

Reserves Natisha Hiedeman had 14 points and Maria Kliundikova finished with 11 for the Lynx (10-1), who were handed their first loss of the season on Wednesday by the Seattle Storm, 94-84.

Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, Rickea Jackson added 18, reserve Emma Cannon had 14 and Dearica Hamby finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks (4-8).

It was Collier’s third 30-plus point effort of the season. She started the year with season-high 34 points in a win over Dallas on May 16. Collier followed that with a 33-point effort a week later against Connecticut.

Against the Sparks, however, with the game in hand, Collier sat the fourth quarter after a 13-for-16 shooting performance including three for four from three-point range.

Collier recorded more field goals in the first quarter than Los Angeles as a team. She was seven-for-nine shooting compared to the Sparks who were four for seven. Minnesota led 34-15 at the end of one.

By halftime, Collier was at 10-for-12 shooting while Los Angeles overall still trailed her by shooting only seven for 30. Minnesota led 58-26 at halftime for its highest scoring half of the season.

Politicians typically don’t mind campaign documentaries, because a race is a road show and the camera is a practice run for the performance part of the gig. Having a lens on what postelection governance looks like, however, is a rarity in nonfiction, which makes “Prime Minister” something of a unicorn: an intimate view inside the consequential, galvanizing five-year administration of New Zealand’s progressive leader Jacinda Ardern, who also became a first-time mother simultaneous to taking her country’s highest seat of power.

Of course, partnering with someone who has behind-closed-doors access is a terrific asset, and co-directors Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz have a key one in Ardern’s partner and now husband Clarke Gayford, one of the film’s cinematographers (and sometimes its most humorously hesitant interviewer, especially when your formidable girlfriend has had a tough day). Despite the laughable scrutiny Ardern endured from critics about whether a new mom could govern (or whether a head of state should “mommy”), “Prime Minister” makes clear in its many relatable domestic scenes featuring new daughter Neve (who’s adorable) that such questions are ridiculous.

The point made by the filmmakers is that the job of looking after a country’s people — and the mix of love and steel required to personally care for a child — might just go hand in hand. We certainly know which looming responsibility triggered the most reluctance in Ardern, as early on we watch the special minority coalition circumstances in 2017 that thrust a then-37-year-old Ardern from opposition-party leader to prime minister in only two months.

For Ardern, an articulate spokesperson of heart and mind, it was an unexpected chance to effect change on a platform of issues that mattered to her. That opportunity was greater than any personal doubts she may have had, including a nagging sense of impostor syndrome. As she says, “I could only be myself.”

Which means: compassionate, wry and unbowed. Ardern was quick-witted enough to sparkle on Stephen Colbert and shrewd enough to pass effective climate change legislation and protect a woman’s right to choose. “Prime Minister” is not be that interested in wrangling, dealing and lawmaking, or even the nuts and bolts of her progressive views. (You crave more scenes of her debating — she seems especially strong at it.) But in the fleet, pacey manner of the editing, toggling between private and public moments with highlight-reel efficiency, the film is a stirring glimpse of top-down kindness as a winning leadership style. After the Christchurch tragedies, twin shootings that took 51 lives, she showed the most heartfelt empathy, then knuckled down and got assault weapons off the streets. Tears beget toughness.

Ardern is so appealing, her manner so purposeful despite her admitted anxieties, that her struggle to respond forcefully and humanely to the pandemic — then endure threatening protests fueled by American-grown disinformation — is hard to watch. She became a rageful minority’s easy target, exemplary COVID management statistics be damned. Stepping down in 2023, Ardern sacrificied power for her own sanity. (One wonders if 21st-century leadership is just too chaotic for thoughtful people — and only suited to megalomaniacs.)

“Prime Minister” is an essential political portrait in how it seeds optimism and concern, leaving you with hope that more Jacinda Arderns are in the wings ready to enshrine common sense, despite the risks. There’s no doubt that when it mattered most, her high-wattage sensitivity was a towering strength. As showcased in this film, it’s a precious resource we could use a lot more of.

California Sen. Alex Padilla was handcuffed by federal agents Thursday after he interrupted a press conference held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.

About five minutes into a press conference at the Westwood federal building, Noem told the media that the Trump administration planned to “liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that the governor and the mayor have placed on this country.”

Padilla, who was standing near a wall on one side of the room, then tried to interrupt Noem to ask a question, video footage shows. Cameras turned toward him as two Secret Service agents tried to push him backward, one saying: “Sir, sir, hands up.”

“I’m Senator Alex Padilla,” he said, as one agent grabbed his jacket and shoved him backward on the chest and arm. “I have questions for the secretary, because the fact of the matter is that half a dozen violent criminals that you’re rotating on your — on your …”

“Hands off!” Padilla said, as three agents pushed him into a separate room.

Padilla, a Democrat who was raised by Mexican immigrants in the northeast San Fernando Valley, got into politics in the 1990s over his dismay with anti-immigrant sentiment, and this week has encouraged Los Angeles residents to protest the immigration sweeps.

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question,” Padilla said later, his eyes welling with tears, “if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they’re doing to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”

Laura Eimiller, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Padilla was escorted out of the room by the Secret Service and FBI police officers who act as building security, but was not arrested. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said that Padilla had not been wearing a security pin and “physically resisted law enforcement when confronted.”

Noem continued without mentioning the disruption, telling reporters that immigration agents have been “doxxed from doing their duty, how they have been targeted and their families have been put in jeopardy.”

The video of Padilla’s “freakout,” said White House Communications Director Steven Cheung in a post on X, “shows the public what a complete lunatic Padilla is by rushing towards Secretary Noem and disturbing the informative press conference.” Videos from the room showed Padilla interrupting Noem, but did not show him rushing toward her.

After being escorted to the separate room and led a few doors down, Padilla raised his hands in front of his chest as the agents marched him past an office cubicle and down a hallway, a video taken by a member of Padilla’s staff and shared with The Times showed.

The agents forced Padilla to his knees and then to his chest, his face against the carpet. One agent said, “On the ground, on the ground, hands behind your back.”

The officers bent one of Padilla’s arms behind his back and attached a handcuff, then said, “Other hand, sir? Other hand.”

One federal agent turned to the member of Padilla’s staff who was filming and said, “There’s no recording allowed out here, per FBI rights.”

Noem told reporters she met with Padilla privately for about 15 minutes after the incident, then said, “I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk.”

His approach, she said, “was something that I don’t think was appropriate at all, but the conversation was great, and we’re going to continue to communicate.”

At a makeshift podium outside the federal building, Padilla said he was attending a briefing with Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, when he learned of the press conference.

He said he and fellow Democrats have received “little to no information” from the administration, so he attended the press conference “to hear what she had to say, to see if I can learn any new additional information.”

“At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question,” Padilla said. “I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained.”

Padilla’s run-in with federal agents was decried by Democrats in California, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the detainment “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful.”

“Trump and his shock troops are out of control,” Newsom said. “This must end now.”

At a press conference downtown Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said federal agents had “shoved and cuffed a sitting U.S. senator,” as people behind her booed.

“How could you say that you did not know who he was?” Bass said. “We see the video tape, we see him saying who he was — but how do you not recognize one of two senators in our state? And he is not just any senator. He is the first Latino citizen senator to ever represent our state.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, the other Democrat representing California in the Senate, blasted the behavior of federal agents as “disgraceful and disrespectful,” saying it “demands our condemnation.”

Padilla “represents the best of the Senate,” Schiff said on X. “He will not be silenced or intimidated. His questions will be answered. I’m with Alex.”

Some Republicans in California condemned Padilla’s behavior, including John Dennis, the chairman of the California Republican County Chairmen’s Association, who said on X that “Padilla represents the emotional, violent, self-indulgent California Democrats leadership.”

“Do you want your senator behaving this way?” Dennis asked.

And Republican state Assemblymember Joe Patterson of Rocklin wrote, “If I busted into a press conference with the Governor or Sen. Padilla, I promise you, the same exact thing would happen to me.” He later added: “The whole entire incident really sucks. I didn’t like to see this occur at all.”

In Washington, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said on the Senate floor that the video of Padilla being handcuffed “sickened my stomach.”

“It’s despicable. It’s disgusting,” he said. “It is so un-American, so un-American, and we need answers. We need answers immediately.”

Times staff writers Richard Winton and Nathan Solis contributed to this report.

No one wants to be delayed, or for their flight to be suddenly cancelled, but in such ‘worst case’ events travel experts urge passengers to store two items in their hand luggage

Travellers have been urged to pack two essential items people nearly always put into their suitcase instead.

The team at Flash Pack, the social travel platform, has created an extensive list of the key items you should keep in your hand luggage. Apart from your passport and travel documents, there are two basic but noteworthy items they think you should be adding to your carry-on bag.

These are a pair of socks and spare pair of underwear. Flash Pack writes: “While nobody wants their hold luggage to be delayed, we always prefer to live by the old adage of ‘prepare for the worst, hope for the best.’ Hedge your bets and pack an extra pair of socks and underwear in your carry-on.”

An change of socks and underwear can also come in hand if your flight has been significantly delayed or diverted unexpectedly. While some airports have showers you can use, switching out these items can be a small relief after a gruelling travel day.

READ MORE: UK airline copying Ryanair with strict hand luggage allowance rules

The hand luggage checklist also notes that passengers may want to have noise-cancelling headphones and a blanket on hand. Both of these items are must-packs for germaphobes as its now common knowledge that airlines repackage and redistribute these items.

While the checklist advises passengers to pack a portable charger in their hand luggage, you should double check the guidelines of your airline before doing this. That’s because recent incidents have led many airlines to enforce stricter regulations around the carry of power banks.

The extra precautions stem from the fact that power banks use lithium-ion batteries, which are known to be highly flammable and difficult to extinguish. South Korea’s transport ministry’s initial investigation of the Air Busan incident even found a scorched power bank in an overhead luggage compartment where the fire was first observed.

Essential medications should also always been packed in your hand luggage. Again, travellers should double-check their airline’s specific guidelines around the carry of liquid medications as you may be asked to present a prescription or note from a healthcare professional.

One final noteworthy item you will want to carry is a reusable water bottle, which can be filled up before boarding. Flight attendants have disclosed that the hot water provided on planes may not be the most sanitary so you should come prepared with your own aqua.

Full checklist for carry-on essentials from Flash Pack:

• Passport
• Portable charger
• Jewellry and other valuables
• Headphones
• Wash bag packed with all the essentials (toothbrush, face wipes, deodorant, etc.)
• Essential medications
• Refillable water bottle
• Socks & underwear
• Chewing gum or sweets
• Entertainment (book, magazine, tablet)
• Eye mask
• Ear plugs
• Neck pillow
• Compression socks
• Blanket
• Hand sanitiser

Making the one change not only saves you time and money but also helps the environment

UK airports are keen to ditch the 100ml liquids rule for anyone carrying hand luggage through security this summer. However, until that happens, travellers must continue to limit and pack any liquids from their hand luggage in a clear bag for security reasons.

This has led to a surge in the use of disposable clear plastic bags for toiletries and other liquids across the country. Some UK airports have relaxed the rules around liquids in hand luggage, reducing the need for these plastic bags. However, others still enforce the rule.

The lack of consistency across the UK means many holiday-goers will continue to rely on putting their 100ml liquids in a disposable plastic bag. Even though the UK is eager to abolish the rules as soon as possible, thanks to advanced scanners, you may find that the airport you’re returning from still insists on bagged 100ml liquids.

Fresh data from plastic waste experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk suggests that a staggering 235 million single-use plastic bags could be used in 2025. The data also reveals that an astonishing 3.5 billion bags have been used since the rules were first introduced in 2006, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The 100ml liquid regulation at airports, which mandates that liquids be stored in transparent, resealable plastic bags, was put in place in 2006 after a terror plot to blow up transatlantic flights was prevented. This plot involved the use of liquid explosives that were concealed as soft drinks in carry-on luggage.

With an estimated 313 million passengers expected to pass through UK airports this year, the number of single-use plastic liquid bags used and discarded could hit 235 million. That’s enough to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools in just one year in the UK.

Data projections indicate that a staggering 3.5 billion bags may have been used at UK airports over the last 19 years. When arranged end to end, this quantity of bags equates to 18 journeys around the Earth’s equator or four times the height of Mount Everest when piled up.

Why does it matter?

These bags are crafted from soft plastics, which are rarely recyclable. They frequently end up in landfill sites, where they can take as long as 1,000 years to decompose.

As these plastic items deteriorate, they can generate minuscule particles known as microplastics. Studies reveal that these pose a threat to both human and animal health. The energy and materials needed to manufacture these bags are depleting our planet’s natural resources, with 98% of single-use plastic products made from fossil fuels or virgin feedstock.

What steps can you take?

Firstly, make sure you’re familiar with the regulations of your departure airport. With many soon to adjust to new rules, there might be no need to bag liquids at all. If you’re checking in luggage, avoid placing any liquids in your hand luggage. This eliminates the requirement for any small plastic bags and could also save you time at security checks, as many will wait until they arrive at security to bag up their liquids, which adds to the queue.

If reusable options aren’t feasible, BusinessWaste is requesting travellers ditch single-use clear plastic bags in favour of reusable ones at UK airports this summer. The company recommends switching to reusable ones and says there is an array of reusable choices available online and in stores, like Boots and Superdrug. However, just make sure they measure 20cm x 20cm, are transparent, have a capacity no greater than one litre, comply with airport regulations, and can be securely sealed (by a zipper).

Another tip is to use airside click-and-collect services for toiletries. This not only bypasses steep airport prices but also eliminates the need to carry liquids in hand luggage, saving space, money, and benefiting the environment.

If you do take liquids in your hand luggage, at most airports:

• 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
• contents must fit comfortably inside the bag so it can be sealed
• the bag must not be knotted or tied at the top
• you’re limited to one plastic bag per person
• you must show the bag at the airport security point

For those who do bring liquids in their carry-on, Gov.uk advises: “Liquids in containers larger than 100ml generally cannot go through security even if the container is only part full. There are some exemptions. Some airports may allow you to take containers of liquid up to 100ml through security in your hand luggage. Check with the airport before you travel. Also, check the rules at other airports you’ll be travelling through – for example, on your return journey.”

Graham Matthews, a plastic waste expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, says making the swap from disposable plastic bags to reusable ones for 100ml hand luggage liquids should be done as soon as possible to avoid even more waste building up. He said: “The plastic bags we use to bring liquids through airports are a huge blight on the environment.

“While you may only go on holiday once or twice a year, this quickly adds up as the UK now sees around 300 million air passengers a year. We’re really happy to see the new scanners in place and hope that this reduces the reliance on single-use plastic bags.

“However, old habits die hard, and many people will be nervous to change to the new system, or find that their return airport still requires liquids to be bagged. For anyone in this position, and until the new rules are firmly in place, we strongly encourage passengers to consider utilising hold luggage, switching to reusable options, or making use of airside click-and-collect.”

Passengers may think they’re ahead of the game by bringing their own food and drink onto the plane – but not every airline is so lax when it comes to allowing consumption on-board

Most UK airlines allow passengers to carry food in both their hand luggage and checked baggage, though it is the quantity that may vary.

If you are planning to bring food into an aeroplane for consumption at your end destination, you should also keep in mind the customs regulations for the country you are visiting, as they all differ. Every passenger will have their hand luggage screened by security ahead of boarding – and it is here that people carrying specific items may be pulled up on what they’ve packed.

See below for a list of some of the most popular UK carriers and what they say about bringing food on-board a flight.

READ MORE: Ryanair travel rules for Brits visiting Spain, Greece, France or Portugal this summer

Ryanair

Ryanair permits passengers to bring food and non-alcoholic beverages on board, so long as they fit within the airline’s cabin bag size and weight restrictions. However, hot drinks and alcoholic beverages are not permitted onboard.

Baby food is subject to more lenient liquid rules. Ryanair mandates that if you are travelling with an infant (8 days-2 years), there is no limit to the amount of baby milk, powdered milk, sterilised water and baby food you can bring onboard. Additionally, baby food does not need to be placed in transparent plastic bags like other liquids.

easyJet

Yes, easyJet passengers can bring food into the cabin. However, when it comes to liquid foods, the carrier’s 100ml limit on liquids and gels still applies. That means large quantities of soups and custards are not permitted.

Only alcohol bought in the airport departure lounge and unopened can be brought into the cabin. It must also be lower than 70% abv and stored in either your cabin bag or an airport shopping bag. Passengers are forbidden from drinking their own purchased alcohol on board and can face prosecution for doing so.

Baby food, sterilised water and milk are the only exceptions to the 100mL liquid maximum. However, easyJet warns there is still a 2L maximum and you may be asked to taste the food for security purposes.

British Airways

The British Airways website states that passengers: “Can take solid foods like sandwiches, biscuits, fruit, nuts, etc. into the cabin but the same restrictions for liquids apply to liquid foods, e.g. drinks, soups, sauces, jam or jelly.”

The carrier also warns passengers to verse themselves in the restrictions of the country that are travelling to and from. “The country of your destination may restrict the types of food allowed into the country, e.g. meat, fresh fruit and vegetables are forbidden by many countries.”

TUI

TUI passengers are permitted to bring food into the cabin, but the airline advises passengers to pack “low-risk food such as pre-made sandwiches and snacks that can be eaten cold.” This is because refrigerators and microwaves are not available for passenger use. That said, flight crews are able to warm milk bottles for infants in hot water as needed.

Jet2

Jet2 does not clearly outline its hand luggage restrictions when it comes to food. However, the airline does state that passengers are not permitted to carry: “Items which in our reasonable opinion are unsuitable for carriage by reason of their weight, size or character or which are fragile or perishable or which may affect the safety, health or comfort of other passengers or crew, this may include hot or strong smelling foods and drinks”.

Jet2 also doesn’t allow hot drinks or hot food on their planes. It also says you cannot bring food onboard if it’s not allowed by the laws of the country you’re flying from, to, or over.

A warning has been issued that there are a number of items that tourists should avoid packing in their hand luggage – with certain goods potentially causing accidents

As Brits prepare for their summer holidays, a warning has been issued about what not to pack in your hand luggage. Hand luggage is often used to store valuables or items needed on the flight, but the company advises travellers to be cautious about what they include.

Firstly, Fulton Umbrellas warns holidaymakers to be mindful when packing electronic items with lithium ion batteries. While rules can vary between airlines, generally only electronics with batteries between 100Wh and 160Wh should be packed in hand luggage. The firm also advises ensuring all devices are fully charged and switched off before being stowed away.

READ MORE: Luxury hotel offering Elemis spa treatment with a free £101 beauty gift

Fulton Umbrellas also urges travellers to think carefully about the food they pack in their carry-on cases, reports the Express. While many people take food home or snack on the plane, items like jams, soft cheese and chutneys could be seized as they count towards the 100ml limit on liquids.

Furthermore, different countries have additional restrictions on certain types of food, so it’s crucial to research banned items before travelling to avoid disappointment and confiscation.

Finally, the company suggests passengers should steer clear of packing certain types of umbrella in their hand luggage, depending on their size.

While there are generally no restrictions on carrying a brolly in your hand luggage, larger ‘golf-style’ umbrellas could pose a risk, especially when packed in soft cases.

Instead, holidaymakers are advised to stow these larger umbrellas in their checked luggage, freeing up more space for other items in their carry-on bag.

In addition, Fulton Umbrellas has issued a warning to those fitness enthusiasts who plan to maintain their regimen while on holiday, advising them to reconsider packing protein powders in their bags.

Although not explicitly prohibited by airlines, these powders can obscure the view on X-ray machines, hiding items that are placed behind them.

Consequently, travellers who opt to pack protein powders in their hand luggage may find themselves spending extra time at security, as staff will likely need to manually inspect the case.

Not that you asked, but yes, I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the bad news out of Washington:

Pardons for tax cheats who line President Trump’s pockets. Talk of pardons for the violent criminals who conspired to kidnap and kill Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Dinners for crypto moguls who shower him with money. His monomaniacal quest to extinguish the light of the country’s most prestigious university. His budget that will deprive millions of their healthcare coverage, while slashing taxes for the rich and swelling the $36 trillion national debt by an estimated $3.8 trillion.

And don’t get me started on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s inane move that could make it harder for pregnant women to get COVID-19 shots, thus depriving their infants of protection against the virus when they are vulnerable and not yet eligible for vaccination.

Good heavens, I needed a distraction. Happily, it arrived in the form of an unexpected video.

You may have seen it: Last Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte, got tongues wagging when she did something that seemed entirely out of character for the painfully elegant first lady. She was caught on camera squishing her hands right into his handsome face. It looked like an act of hostility. I was intrigued.

I know, I know. It’s hardly world-shattering news. But who doesn’t perk up a bit when the scrim of perfection that shields the private lives of high-profile, perfectly turned-out couples is torn, even for one brief moment?

Who can forget the sight of First Lady Melania Trump swatting away her husband’s hand during a 2017 visit to Tel Aviv? Or the way her smile faded during his first inauguration the moment he looked away from her, inspiring the #FreeMelania hashtag?

For all the drama and rumor that swirled around the Clintons’ marriage, I can’t think of any public moment when they did not appear civil with one another, even after his disastrous relationship with a White House intern.

And the Obamas? Is there any other intensely scrutinized political couple who seem so downright normal? Not that anyone ever really knows what’s going on in anyone else’s marriage.

Which brings us back to the Macrons.

His plane was on the tarmac in Hanoi, where he was kicking off a tour to strengthen ties with countries in Southeast Asia. As the plane door opened, the couple were caught unawares. A startled-looking Macron backed up as disembodied hands smushed his face. He instantly collected himself, and his wife appeared at his side. As they began to descend the staircase, he offered her his arm, which she did not take.

The bizarre clip went viral, and sent the French government, known as the Élysée Palace, into what one headline described as “chaos.”

Part of the chaos stemmed from the government first claiming that the clip was not real but was possibly a deep fake created by AI and exploited by Russia to make Macron seem weak. After the Associated Press authenticated the video, the French government changed its tune, describing the moment as merely a playful interaction between the couple.

Unsurprisingly, given their back story, the Macrons have been the subject of intense fascination for years.

They met in 1993 at a Catholic high school in northern France when he was 15. She, nearly 40 at the time, and a married mother of three, was his drama teacher. His parents were so concerned about the impropriety of their relationship that they sent him away to Paris for his senior year.

In 2006, she divorced her husband, and married Macron the following year. He was 29. She was 54.

“Of course, we have breakfast together, me and my wrinkles, him with his youth, but it’s like that,” Macron told Elle France in 2017. “If I did not make that choice, I would have missed out on my life.”

Unfortunately, Le Slapgate threatened to overshadow the Macrons’ trip.

“We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,” he told reporters, complaining that the incident was being overblown into “a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”

A few days later, though, he was making light of the incident. Or at least trying to.

On Tuesday in Jakarta, Indonesia, as his plane door opened, another disembodied hand appeared, this time waving before Macron stepped into the camera frame smiling before he walked down the stairs arm in arm with his wife. Ha ha.

For a brief moment, the squabbling of one of the world’s most interesting couples gave us a much needed break from the actual geo-planetary catastrophe unfolding around us. For that, the Macrons have my gratitude. Merci, you crazy lovebirds.

‪@rabcarian.bsky.social‬ @rabcarian

Donegal selector Neil McGee admitted the Ulster champions “weren’t at it from the start” as they fell to a 2-17 to 0-20 defeat by Tyrone in Saturday’s All-Ireland round-robin opener in Ballybofey.

In a game that ebbed and flowed, Donegal led with seven minutes remaining, but Tyrone rallied late, hitting the last five scores – including Peter Harte’s two-pointer – to hand Jim McGuinness a first defeat at Ballybofey in league or championship football.

Seanie O’Donnell scored both of Tyrone’s goals while Darren McCurry chipped in with seven points.

“We took the ball into contact too many times, turned the ball over too many times, we weren’t at it from the start and Tyrone probably deserved it,” McGee told GAA+.

“It’s a long season. You’re going to the well every week and trying to get up there every day, we just didn’t get to the pitch of it today and Tyrone were at it.

“At 66 minutes, we were two points up, we had possession and give it away, Tyrone went up and I don’t think we touched the ball again after that.

“We had the game in our hands, give it away and they got three points. Slim margins but we only have ourselves to blame.”

In contrast, Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke hailed the character his side showed after losing experienced duo Brian Kennedy and Padraig Hampsey to injury.

“We got a good start but at half-time we lost two leaders (Brian Kennedy and Padraig Hampsey) and it could have been a night where we said, ‘we’ve put in a good show but it wasn’t going to be our night’,” O’Rourke, the only manager to have beaten McGuinness in the Ulster Championship, told GAA+.

“The way Donegal came back and we always knew they would as they are a quality team. They went ahead and again, we could have folded up our tents, but the composure the boys showed and willingness to fight for each other, get back ahead and hold it was really pleasing.

“It only gets us two points, but it’s a good start to the group and we just have to settle down and look towards next week.”

Next week in Group One, Tyrone host Mayo in a rerun of the 2021 All-Ireland final while Donegal will attempt to bounce back away to Cavan.

Jordan Thomas didn’t want to just research and write about fire, he wanted to see it up close, and he has turned that experience into the exceptional new book, “When It All Burns.” A specialist in the cultural forces that shape fire, Thomas joined the Los Padres Hotshots, a crew that might be viewed as the Navy SEALs of firefighting. He spent 2021 battling wildfires extreme and treacherous even by the standards of these globally warmed times.

A first-person account would be compelling enough, especially given Thomas’ gift for terse, layered expository writing. But Thomas has more on his mind here. He alternates sequences of harrowing action and macho team-building with deep dives into the ecology, science, economics and, most important, Indigenous cultural practices related to fire. In Thomas’ hands these subjects are interconnected, and his writing brings new heat to an ubiquitous subject.

If you live anywhere near Los Angeles, you may very well prefer not to read “When It All Burns.” But you should. Just this last January, a series of wildfires ravaged the region, fed by gusting Santa Ana winds, drought conditions and low humidity. Projected damage from the fires had ballooned to more than $250 billion in damages in January, The Times reported. At least 30 people were killed in the fires, with economic ramifications expected to stretch into the unforeseeable future. “When It All Burns” was written well before any of this happened, and it sometimes carries the force of prophecy. The fire next time has already burned, though there will surely be more.

Thomas sets the table early on: “In the past two decades, wildfires have been doing things not even computer models can predict, environmental events that have scientists racking their brains for appropriately Dystopian technology: firenados, gigafires, megafires. Scientists recently invented the term ‘megafire’ to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have been impossible just a generation ago, burning through winter, exploding in the night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction.”

In other words, it’s only going to get worse. As a member of the Hotshots crew, Thomas hacked away at undergrowth with a chainsaw as the firefighters made their advance, and he found himself fascinated by the subculture of people, mostly men, assigned to combat these otherworldly infernos. But the education and knowledge he carries also makes him deeply ambivalent about the very nature of fire suppression.

Author Jordan Thomas.

(Sari Blum)

For centuries, Indigenous peoples the world over have used controlled fires, or “cultural burning,” for any number of purposes, from agriculture to reducing the risk of uncontrolled fires. But such practices didn’t jibe with increasingly modern economies, and colonialists, especially in North America, saw burning as both barbaric and a threat to industrialized capitalism. Fire surpression was more than a byproduct of Native American genocide, it was part of the master plan: “In California, fire had always connected people to their food, and Americans set about its suppression with unprecedented brutality.” Researchers who tried to bring this history to light often had their work suppressed like one more controlled fire. And as the practice declined, wildfires entered the breach.

As you might expect, life as a Hotshot is fraught with medical risk: Hotshots tend to work sick and injured, loathe to pass up the overtime and hazard pay on which they depend. As Thomas writes, “The precarious lives of Hotshots are one flashpoint in an expanding field of self-reinforcing social and environmental crises. Scientists call this a sacrifice zone — a place where low-income people shoulder the burden of industrial misconduct.”

Every time “When It All Burns” threatens to get dry, like a combustible piece of brush, Thomas brings it back to his own firefighting travails, and the cast of Hotshot characters who showed him the ropes, berated him and bailed him out.

The two Los Padres leaders are Edgar, a stern drill sergeant-type who rides everyone with equal venom, and Aoki, just as demanding but with more of a shaman-warrior demeanor. Aoki conducts Thomas’ job interview as the two men hike a steep hill; Thomas eventually has to decide between asking questions, which takes up oxygen, or concentrating on the task at hand.

“At a certain level of physical suffering, the pain becomes almost comedic,” he notes, as he assesses his condition before hiking a mountain to carry an injured firefighter back downhill. “My feet were torn and oozing within my elk leather boots, and every inch of my skin was a rash of poison oak. Hours before I had been incapacitated by muscle cramps.” And moments later: “The only antidote to the discomfort was to return to the level of exhaustion where the body becomes numb.”

“When It All Burns” is one of those books that immerses the reader in the nuances of a world most of us know only through the lens of tragedy and destruction. Thomas’ visceral, crystalline prose only adds fuel to the fire.

Vognar is a freelance culture writer.

Decision comes after two British nationals born on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, claimed the islands should remain under UK control. 

A British High Court judge has temporarily blocked the government from transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The last-minute injunction on Thursday morning came hours before the agreement was expected to be signed at a virtual ceremony with representatives from the Mauritian government.

The High Court decision was granted after action was taken by Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, two British nationals who were born at the Diego Garcia military base on Chagos and claimed that the islands should remain under British control.

High Court judge Julian Goose temporarily blocked the British government from taking any “conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government”.

“The defendant is to maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further order,” he said.

Another court hearing is set for 10.30am (09:30 GMT).

Earlier this year, the lawyer for the two nationals, Michael Polak, said on his chambers website that the government’s attempt to “give away” the islands without formal consultation with its residents is a “continuation of their terrible treatment by the authorities in the past”.

“They remain the people with the closest connection to the islands, but their needs and wishes are being ignored,” Polak said.

The UK, which has controlled the region since 1814, separated the Chagos Islands in 1965 from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In the early 1970s, the government evicted about 1,500 residents to Mauritius and Seychelles to make way for the Diego Garcia airbase on the largest island.

In October, the government announced a draft agreement to hand the islands to Mauritius and allow Britain and the United States to continue using the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease.

US President Donald Trump’s administration, which was consulted on the deal, gave its approval. However, finalising the agreement was delayed by a change in government in Mauritius and reported last-minute negotiations over costs.

Budget airline Ryanair has shared a simple packing tip which can help passengers “save space” in their hand luggage – and it’s something that is often recommended by travel experts

Ryanair, famed for its budget-friendly fares, has a strict baggage policy that can catch passengers off guard, leading to unexpected fees at the airport. The amount of luggage you can bring depends on whether you’ve purchased a standard fare, chosen Priority, or paid extra for cabin or hold baggage.

No matter your baggage allowance, Ryanair has shared a simple packing tip they claim will help you “save space”. The airline advises against leaving any space unused, suggesting: “Roll your clothes instead of folding. They’ll wrinkle less and you’ll have much more room in your luggage to fit in any extras you pick up while you’re away.”

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This rolling technique is often endorsed by seasoned travellers. For those flying with a standard ticket on Ryanair, only one small bag is allowed free of charge, which must not exceed 40 x 20 x 25cm.

Should your bag be larger than these limits, you might end up paying an additional fee at the airport, so it’s crucial to ensure everything fits within the permitted dimensions.

Lifestyle experts from Oakley have weighed in on the matter, highlighting that the effectiveness of rolling clothes to maximise luggage space actually hinges on the technique used.

They explained: “While the age-old advice of rolling clothes to save space is nothing new, the real game-changer lies in the technique.

“Instead of simply rolling each garment individually, consider layering items within each other before rolling. For example, place socks and underwear inside shirts or pants to create compact bundles that save both space and preve.”

You can boost your luggage allowance by purchasing a Priority ticket which not only allows you to board earlier but also entitles you to a second larger cabin bag measuring 55 x 40 x 20cm and weighing up to 10kg.

When it comes to distributing weight, Ryanair also shared a handy tip for customers, reports the Express. They said: “Do pack your heaviest items, for example, shoes [and] jeans, in the bottom of your wheelie suitcase. You’ll find it’s much easier to roll as the weight will be more evenly distributed.”

Passenger who want to take extra luggage but also save money, in the long run, should always book and pay for any additional bags in advance of their flight. It’s always cheaper to do this online before you arrive at the airport.

What is Ryanair’s luggage allowance?

All Ryanair fares include one small personal bag which can be brought on board, such as a handbag or laptop bag, but this can only measure up to 40 x 20 x 25cm and must fit under the seat in front of you. Anything more than that and you’ll have to pay extra.

Passengers can pay for Priority which entitles them to board via the Priority boarding queue at the gate, plus take one small personal bag measuring 40 x 20 x 25cm and a 10kg bag measuring 55 x 40 x 20cm.

If you’re looking to check in a bag, you have the option to add either a 10kg or 20kg check-in bag to your booking.

However, these must be dropped off at the check-in desk prior to going through security and both options come with an extra charge.

For the second time in less than a year, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan played the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night, bringing together two legends of American song on one stage. The concert — actually Nelson’s third recent visit to the Bowl after his 90th-birthday bash in 2023 — was part of the annual traveling Outlaw Music Festival, which will keep Nelson, now 92, and Dylan, who’ll turn 84 next week, on the road through mid-September. Here are nine highlights from the show:

1. Last year’s Outlaw tour stopped at the Bowl in late July, which at that time meant Nelson didn’t have to ward off the chilly May gray that inevitably settles after dark over the Cahuenga Pass. Here, a day after reportedly suffering from a cold in Chula Vista, Nelson kept warm in a stylish black puffer jacket to go with his signature red bandanna.

2. John Stamos played percussion in Nelson’s six-man band Friday — a somewhat lower-key role than the prominent guitar-and-vocals spot he often holds down these days in Mike Love’s touring Beach Boys. Yet the TV star looked pleased as punch to be back there, shaking a shaker as Nelson opened his set, as always, with “Whiskey River.” Also on hand, filling in for Nelson’s son Lukas was singer-guitarist Waylon Payne, who sang lead in a moving version of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night” — the folk-soul masterpiece made a hit in 1970 by Payne’s mother, the late Sammi Smith.

3. My favorite of Nelson’s styles to hear him do at this point in his career, with a voice and a soloing hand as free as they’ve ever been, is the spectral country-jazz mode of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” and “Always on My Mind,” which gave him a pair of No. 1 country hits between March 1981 and May 1982. On Friday, he nailed high notes you might not have expected him to in the former and used the latter to show off the rhythmic daring of his line readings. Both were achingly beautiful.

4. Nelson didn’t perform anything from his latest album, “Oh What a Beautiful World,” which came out last month and collects his interpretations of a dozen Rodney Crowell tunes. (By some counts, it’s Nelson’s 77th solo studio LP — and the 15th he’s dropped since 2015.) He did, however, do a cut from his second-most-recent effort: a stately rendition of Tom Waits’ “Last Leaf,” in which he rhymes “They say I got staying power” with “I’ve been here since Eisenhower.” In fact, Nelson’s been here since FDR.

5. The big event in Dylanology between last year’s Outlaw tour and this year’s was, of course, James Mangold’s Oscar-nominated biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” which inspired a widespread resurgence of interest in Dylan’s music — particularly the early stuff Timothée Chalamet performs in the movie. Perhaps that’s why Dylan is singing “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” on the road again for the first time in six years, including at the Bowl, where he gave the song a jaunty rockabilly vibe. (Anyone wondering why Chalamet wasn’t at Friday’s gig clearly hasn’t seen the TikToks of him wilding out after his beloved Knicks defeated the Celtics at New York’s Madison Square Garden.)

6. A rare-ish bit of stage banter from His Bobness, directed toward an audience member near the front row: “What are you eating down there? What is it?”

7. The whole point of going to see Dylan play is to be delighted — or to be outraged, or baffled — by his determination to reinvent songs so deeply etched into the history of rock music. Yet I was still thrilled by how radically he made over some of his classics here: “Desolation Row” was bright and frisky, while a sultry “All Along the Watchtower” sounded like Dire Straits doing ’80s R&B.

8. In addition to Nelson and Dylan, Outlaw’s West Coast leg also features two younger roots-music acts in Billy Strings and Sierra Hull. (Later in the summer, the tour will pick up the likes of Nathaniel Rateliff, Sheryl Crow, Waxahatchee and Wilco, depending on the city.) Strings, who’s been bringing bluegrass to arenas lately — and whose tattooed arms meshed seamlessly with the sleeves of his tie-dyed T-shirt — sang “California Sober,” which he recorded in 2023 as a duet with Nelson, and offered a haunting take on “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess.”

9. A former child prodigy on the mandolin, Hull opened the evening flexing her Berklee-trained chops in a series of lickety-split bluegrass numbers that got early arrivers whistling with approval. But she also showed off a winsome pop sensibility in originals like “Muddy Water” and “Spitfire” — about “my spitfire granny back in Tennessee,” she said — and in a yearning cover of “Mad World” by Tears for Fears.