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MODEL Emily Ratajkowski looks a real treasure at an exhibition to celebrate the Swarovski jewellery brand.

The US star, 34, wore a revealing black coat and glittering crystal necklace at the Los Angeles event marking the Austrian company’s links to Hollywood.

Reality TV sisters Sarah Jane Nader, 23, and Brooks Nader, 28, also sparkled on the red carpet.

They are appearing in the Disney+ show Love Thy Nader, which follows their attempts to make it as models in New York.

Brooks said: “I’m shocked because I know that we’re just psychos at heart.”

It comes as Emily last week bared her soul about how she suffered from self-doubt.

‘I’M SHOCKED’

Kirsty Gallacher breaks down after being kicked ‘like a football’ by man

NOT HOLDING BACK

Lily Allen’s fresh scathing attack on David Harbour’s ‘mistress’ Madeline

She revealed how writing her 2021 memoir My Body had sparked feelings of inadequacy.

The best-selling author, whose memoir has sold millions of copies, recently teamed up with Lena Dunham, 39, creator of TV series Girls, for a brand new show. 

Talking to Beyond Noise magazine, Emily said: “I’ve had a real journey related to imposter syndrome. I wrote my book literally on my phone.” 

She added: “That was five years ago.

“Now I have a desk. I have my bookshelf. I have a proper computer.

“I’ve really embraced it, but I loved how I could trick myself into thinking what I was doing wasn’t important.” 

Oct. 28 (UPI) — Hurricane Melissa was regaining strength Tuesday night as it was taking aim at Cuba after battering Jamaica throughout the day, forecasters said.

The eye of Melissa was situated about 110 miles southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, and 300 miles south of the central Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. EDT update. It was moving northeast at 9 mph.

Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, making it a Category 4 storm, and significantly weaker than the Category 5 storm when it hit Jamaica.

It had lost strength as it traveled over Jamaica’s western mountains, but forecasters said it appeared to be strengthening.

Melissa made landfall as a powerful major hurricane, the strongest direct hit on Jamaica since records have been kept in the Atlantic basin. It was also be the first storm to make landfall in the Caribbean this season.

Melissa is anticipated to make a second landfall along Cuba’s southeastern coast soon, while still maintaining major hurricane strength. It’s also expected to remain a hurricane when it reaches the Bahamas. Bermuda also could be threatened.

“Melissa is expected to continue to strengthen until it reaches Cuba in a few hours, and it is expected to make landfall there as a very dangerous major hurricane,” NHC forecaster John Cangialosi said in a late Tuesday discussion on the storm.

“Melissa is still expected to be a powerful hurricane when it moves through the Bahamas and near Bermuda.”

Catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in parts of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica were expected through early next week.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin; and the southeastern and central Bahamas.

A hurricane watch was in effect for Bermuda.

There was a tropical storm warning for Jamaica, Haiti, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cuban province of Las Tunas.

Hurricane-force winds extended up to 30 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward to 195 miles.

Rainfall of 15 to 30 inches through Wednesday was forecast for portions of Jamaica and an additional 6 to 12 inches for southern Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica is to get a local maximum of 40 inches, the NHC said.

“Catastrophic flash flooding and numerous landslides are likely,” the NHC said.

Cuba is expected to receive rainfall of 10 to 20 inches, with local amounts up to 25 inches, into Wednesday, “resulting in life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding with numerous landslides,” the NHC said.

Over the southeastern Bahamas, rainfall is forecast to total 5 to 10 inches into Wednesday with flash flooding in some areas.

Life-threatening storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall and are expected to be accompanied by large and destructive waves, NHC said.

Along the Cuban coast late Tuesday and Wednesday, there is a potential for a significant storm surge of 7 to 11 feet.

And in the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, there is the possibility of a storm surge of 4 to 6 feet.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season and fifth hurricane. The other Category 5 storms in the Atlantic have been Erin and Humberto.

In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and devastated the Bahamas islands, including Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, as a Category 5 storm.

The all-time highest sustained wind speed was Hurricane Allen at 190 mph in August 1980 over the Yucatan Peninsula before weakening to a Category 3 when it struck South Texas.

The most destructive Category 5 storm in the United States was Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, with $27.3 billion in damage. Hurricane Michael, also a Category 5 storm, struck the less populated Florida Panhandle in October 2018.

The United States is not threatened this time.

Hurricane Gilbert struck Jamaica in 1988 as a Category 3 storm.

Nigeria’s corridors of power are again trembling under the weight of suspicion. President Bola Tinubu’s dramatic overhaul of the nation’s military command has ignited debate, fear, and whispers of betrayal within the ranks, days after reports of a foiled coup attempt surfaced.

On Oct. 24, the President dismissed General Christopher Musa, his Chief of Defence Staff, replacing him with General Olufemi Oluyede, formerly Chief of Army Staff. Major General Waidi Shaibu now heads the army, Air Vice Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke becomes the new Air Chief, and Rear Admiral Idi Abbas takes charge of the navy. Only Major General Emmanuel Akomaye Parker Undiandeye, Chief of Defence Intelligence, retained his seat — a notable exception in an otherwise sweeping purge.

A State House statement signed by Sunday Dare, Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, claimed the changes were made “to strengthen Nigeria’s national security architecture.” But some Nigerians are taking the government’s explanation at face value.

The shake-up comes amid rumours of an attempted coup — reports that Tinubu’s administration has tried to downplay but cannot entirely dismiss.

Although the Defence Headquarters did not directly acknowledge any intentions of a coup, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, a representative of the organisation, mentioned on Oct. 4 that 16 officers were being investigated for disciplinary issues and breaches of service protocols. This situation arose a year after Nigerians demanded a military intervention in response to escalating economic difficulties.

However, sources within Nigeria’s corridors of power have told HumAngle that more reshuffling will occur in the coming weeks as the Tinubu-led administration fights to maintain its grip on democratic power. The sources stated that amid ongoing investigations, the service chiefs were rejigged to fill the gaps in the military intelligence system. 

Over 20 officers are now under detention following what officials described as “disciplinary breaches”. However, insiders suggest something deeper, pointing to a widening rift inside the armed forces and a purge disguised as reform.

“All the suspects are from one region,” a source familiar with the investigation said. “If this were really a coup, how could it have succeeded? What’s happening looks more like a purge than a coup plot. Perhaps they may be clearing the path for someone not yet in the picture.”

The officer added that growing grievances among northern officers have festered for months, notably since recruitment shifted from state-based quotas to geopolitical zones. “The north, which has three regions, has now been reduced to one,” another senior officer lamented.

For many within the ranks, the move feels political. Yet the government remains tight-lipped, neither naming nor prosecuting the detained officers. And “the evidence is sketchy,” one insider admitted. “In the end, what may happen is compulsory retirement for many of them, and rarely will there ever be a treason trial.”

Nigeria has experienced this troubling pattern in its history. The country’s modern timeline is marked by a series of military interventions, beginning with the first coup in 1966 and continuing through violent takeovers in 1975, 1983, and 1985, culminating in the Abacha dictatorship that suffocated the nation during the 1990s. Each coup was accompanied by promises of reform, yet the reality was one of repression, economic decline, and bloodshed.

What makes today’s situation chillingly familiar is the regional context. Across Africa, coups are no longer distant echoes of a troubled past; they have become resurgent realities. From Mali and Burkina Faso to Niger, Gabon, and now Madagascar, nine coups have shaken the continent since 2020, eroding democratic norms and emboldening soldiers who see themselves as saviours of failed civilian governments.

In Nigeria, where frustration is soaring over economic collapse, inflation, and insecurity, the thin line between democracy and disorder is wearing dangerously thin.

For President Tinubu, the latest reshuffle is both a desperate consolidation of power and an implicit admission of fragility. Analysts warn that internal divisions within the military, especially along regional lines, could prove explosive if left unchecked.

“There’s no better time to reform the armed forces than now,” one senior intelligence officer told HumAngle. “It’s far more important than even a constitutional review. We cannot afford a significant population bearing guns to remain aggrieved.” There are so many things wrong with the security sector that we must pay attention to, said the senior intelligence officer. 

Four years after the “Rust” movie shooting, New Mexico officials have moved Alec Baldwin’s lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution to federal court.

This week’s filing is the latest twist in the long legal saga after the October 2021 on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin, the 67-year-old star and a producer of the western film, had been facing a felony involuntary manslaughter charge for his role in Hutchins’ accidental shooting. But the judge overseeing Baldwin’s case abruptly dismissed the charge against him during his July 2024 trial after concluding that prosecutors withheld evidence that may have been helpful to his legal team.

Six months later, Baldwin sued New Mexico’s district attorney and special prosecutors, asserting malicious prosecution. The actor claimed he had been made a celebrity scapegoat because of the intense media pressure on local authorities to solve the high-profile case.

His lawsuit targeted New Mexico special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey, 1st Judicial Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies and Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies, who led the investigation into Hutchins’ death.

The defendants have denied Baldwin’s allegations.

Baldwin’s wrongful prosecution suit was first filed in New Mexico court in Santa Fe.

On Tuesday, the defendants, including Morrissey, exercised their legal right to shift the case to federal court. The decision was made, in part, because “Mr. Baldwin brought federal civil rights claims in his lawsuit,” said Albuquerque attorney Luis Robles, who represents the defendants.

In addition, Baldwin does not live in New Mexico, where the case was filed.

Baldwin could object to the move and petition for it to be brought back to state court. On Wednesday, his team was not immediately available for comment.

A New Mexico judge had dismissed Baldwin’s malicious prosecution claims in July, citing 90 days of inactivity in the case. Baldwin’s legal team petitioned to get the case reinstated and the judge agreed to the request.

That prompted the defendants’ move to shift the case to the higher court.

During his Santa Fe trial last year, Baldwin’s lawyers had sought to turn the focus away from whether Baldwin pulled his gun’s trigger in the accidental shooting to where the lethal bullet came from.

Baldwin’s attorneys repeatedly accused law enforcement officers and prosecutors of bungling the case, including by allegedly hiding potential evidence — a batch of bullets that they said may have been related to the one that killed Hutchins.

Oct. 21 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Melissa has begun churning in the Caribbean and is moving toward Haiti, to possibly become a hurricane.

In its 2 p.m. EDT update, the National Hurricane Center said Melissa was about 300 miles south of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and is moving west at 14 mph.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the southern coast of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince, and for Jamaica. Those elsewhere in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba should monitor the progress of Melissa, the NHC said.

A decrease in speed and a gradual turn to the northwest and north is expected in the next few days, the NHC said. Melissa is expected to approach southwestern Haiti and Jamaica later this week, bringing heavy rains.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic can expect 5 to 10 inches through Friday, NHC said. More heavy rainfall is possible after Friday, but forecasters aren’t confident of predictions because of the uncertainty of Melissa’s speed and direction. Areas of significant flash flooding and mudslides are possible.

Over Aruba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica rainfall of 1 to 3 inches is expected through Friday. Flash and urban flooding will be possible across Puerto Rico through at least Friday.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season, and it’s the first in the Caribbean. This season has seen few storms, which has warmed the Caribbean Sea. Now, the warm water is fuel for stronger, more dangerous storms.

The first Japanese warship destined to receive a Tomahawk cruise missile capability is now sailing to the United States for the required modifications. The Kongo class destroyer Chokai is at the forefront of Japan’s long-standing ambition to receive the long-range land attack cruise missiles, which it initially plans to field on its Aegis warships, although ground and submarine launch platforms could also follow in the future.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) announced yesterday that the process of reworking Chokai for Tomahawk had begun. On September 26, the warship conducted missile-loading training, involving dummy Tomahawk rounds, supported by U.S. Navy personnel, at Yokosuka Base. The 90 “strike length” Mk 41 vertical launch system (VLS) cells on the Kongo class are already long enough to accommodate the Tomahawk.

“The training was conducted to familiarize the ship with the procedures required for Tomahawk operation and to confirm the safety management system,” the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The following day, Chokai departed Yokosuka for San Diego, California, where modifications and crew training will be carried out. The process is due to be completed by mid-September of next year. Ahead of that milestone, the first Tomahawks are expected to be handed over to Japan before the end of March next year, and it is planned for the destroyer to conduct live-fire tests around summer 2026. These will verify the ship’s readiness and crew proficiency to carry out operational missions.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense describes the Tomahawk plan as a crash program to supplement its efforts to locally develop new standoff missiles. Once fielded, the Tomahawks will enhance “standoff defense capabilities in order to intercept and eliminate invading forces against Japan at a rapid pace and at long range.” The U.S.-made cruise missiles are planned to be delivered between Japan’s fiscal years 2025 and 2027, which run from April 1 to March 31.

The U.S. Navy began training the JMSDF on the Tomahawk missile launch system in March 2024.

Ultimately, the JMSDF will field the Tomahawk on all eight of its currently fielded Aegis destroyers. These comprise four Kongo class, two Atago class, and two Maya class — the latter are Japan’s latest in-service Aegis-capable destroyers.

The cruise missiles will also be used on the two Aegis System Equipped Vessels (ASEV) destroyers that are under construction. Lockheed Martin announced today that the first example of the advanced AN/SPY-7(V)1 radar system for the ASEV has begun testing at a shore-based facility in Moorestown, New Jersey. You can read more about its capabilities here.

Returning to the Tomahawk, the U.S. State Department approved the $2.35-billion sale to Japan of 400 of these missiles in November 2023, and a corresponding deal was struck in 2024. This will provide Japan with 200 Tomahawk Block IV and 200 Tomahawk Block V All-Up Rounds (AUR) and related equipment.

The deal came after years of talk that Japan would procure Tomahawks to give it a new long-range land-attack cruise missile capability.

The Tomahawk acquisition is a prime example of Japan’s changing military policy, including the fielding of what would previously have been considered ‘offensive’ weaponry.

This has been driven by growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, which have led to Japan increasing its counterstrike capability against potential threats, in particular those from China and North Korea.

The urgency of the situation has seen Japan accelerate its Tomahawk procurement, bringing it forward by one year, after it was originally planned to acquire the missiles in fiscal year 2026. Officials cited the “increasingly severe security environment around Japan” as the reason for this.

Already, the JMSDF’s Kongo class destroyers, like Chokai, are notably well-equipped, although they are primarily air and missile defense platforms. They are outfitted with powerful radar systems and an assortment of surface-to-air missiles, as well as anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons. The addition of Tomahawk missiles will make them much more well-rounded warships, with a very significant offensive capability.

The Block IV Tomahawk can strike targets at a range of almost 1,000 miles, carrying a 1,000-pound unitary warhead. It can be re-routed mid-flight and is also able to loiter over an area to hit ‘pop-up’ targets, using its imaging infrared seeker. Japan is also receiving the Block V Tomahawk, an improved version with survivability upgrades that can also be used to hit moving targets, especially in the long-range anti-shipping role.

Japan is now joining a select group of Tomahawk-operating countries outside the United States.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy uses Tomahawk missiles to arm its Astute class nuclear-powered attack submarines. It also plans to provide a Tomahawk capability on its forthcoming Type 26 and Type 31 frigates.

In December last year, Australia became the third country to launch a Tomahawk missile after the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Hobart class destroyer HMAS Brisbane successfully test-fired the weapon for the first time, as you can read about here.

Since then, the Royal Netherlands Navy launched a Tomahawk for the first time, from one of its De Zeven Provinciën class frigates, HNLMS De Ruyter, off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, in March of this year.

While Japan is procuring the Tomahawk as an interim weapon, it will almost certainly continue in service once the country fields its own long-range land-attack cruise missile capability. This is an area in which Japan has been active for some time now, starting with efforts to increase the range of its Type 12 anti-ship missile now in development.

At the same time, Japan is also acquiring air-launched cruise missiles for land-attack missions.

Overall, Japan’s forthcoming introduction of the Tomahawk and its longer-term ambition to field more domestically produced standoff missiles reflect the country’s changing defense posture — including procuring ‘offensive’ weapons that would previously have been off the table. With China flexing its military muscle in the region and North Korea expanding its missile arsenal, Japan’s focus on bolstering its long-range conventional deterrent options will surely continue.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Sept. 22 (UPI) — Hurricane Gabrielle was expected to continue rapidly moving toward the Azores in the Atlantic on Wednesday, where the government has upgraded a hurricane watch to a warning.

The eye of the storm was located about 1,360 miles west of the Azores, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 a.m. AST update.

It was moving east-northeast at a blistering 25 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, a significant decrease from Tuesday when it was a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. As of Wednesday morning, it was a Category 3 hurricane.

The government of Portugal had issued a hurricane watch for all of the Azores, an autonomous region of the European nation, due to Gabrielle on Tuesday, but upgraded it to a warning on Wednesday.

A hurricane warning is generally issued 36 hours before the anticipated first impact of tropical-storm-force winds and is a signal that one should complete storm preparations.

“On the forecast track, the center of Gabrielle will approach the Azores during the day on Thursday, and move across the island chain Thursday night into Friday,” the NHC said.

Gabrielle had been traveling northwest and made a turn to the north toward Bermuda as it gathered strength last week. But the storm made a turn toward the east on Monday and passed east of the island Monday night.

Forecasters said Gabrielle was weakening and will continue to do so as it travels over the northeastern Atlantic.

The swells from the storm will continue to reach the U.S. eastern coast from North Carolina northward, as well as Atlantic Canada, the NHC said, adding that they are expected to continue through this week.

“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” it said.

Gabrielle is the seventh named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

Last month, Erin became a Category 5 hurricane with 160-mph winds spreading across a 500-mile area.

WASHINGTON — Completing an accurate count in the 2020 census is in doubt as the government grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and attempts by President Trump to exclude residents who are in the country illegally, four former Census Bureau directors told Congress on Wednesday.

“The chances of having a census accurate enough to use is unclear — very, very much unclear,” said Kenneth Prewitt, who was director from 1998 to 2001.

A count of all persons living in the United States is mandated every 10 years by the Constitution. The resulting statistical information is the bedrock of public policy and business decisions for the next decade, used to redraw congressional districts and allocate government funding.

At a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, Steven Dillingham, the bureau’s current director, said the agency is racing to finish the count by Dec. 31, the deadline set under federal law.

In April, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the bureau, asked Congress to give it four extra months to finish the count, noting that the COVID-19 outbreak had delayed much of its outreach, including the scheduled knocking on millions of doors to gather information about people who have not already responded.

The Democrat-led House passed legislation to allow the additional time, but the Republican-led Senate has not followed, and the administration appears to have withdrawn its request for additional time.

“I’m not involved directly with the Hill negotiations on revising the schedule,” Dillingham told representatives.

About 63% of U.S. homes have responded to the census so far, and door-knocking by census takers that was supposed to start in April is only now beginning — just as COVID-19 cases are rising in many states.

Without the extra time to follow up in person with households that don’t respond and to visit homeless camps, rural areas and other traditionally hard-to-contact communities, people won’t be counted, lowering the federal and state funds tied to their regions’ populations and lessening their political representation, the former Census directors told lawmakers.

“Not extending those deadlines is going to put tremendous pressure on the Census Bureau. It’s not clear what kind of quality counts they can produce if they don’t get the extension,” said John H. Thompson, who was director from 2013 to 2017.

Adding to the pressure is a memo from Trump last week ordering his administration to exclude immigrants who are in the country illegally when calculating how many seats in Congress each state gets after the current census.

The census questionnaire does not ask about citizenship or legal status. The Supreme Court last year rejected an attempt by the administration to include a citizenship question, which critics said was an effort to suppress responses from Latinos and lower the count in states like California that are heavily Democratic and have large immigrant populations.

There has been broad speculation about whether Trump’s directive is constitutional, and if so, how the bureau could comply. At least four lawsuits have been filed over the memo, including one by California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Tuesday.

Dillingham said the bureau was researching whether it could use data collected by other federal agencies and states to estimate the total number of noncitizen immigrants in an area. He said the agency was not consulted about the memo in advance, and he learned in a news report that Trump was going to issue it.

Several of the former census directors raised concerns about using such an untested process to modify the results.

“The Census Bureau does not know how to do what the president is asking them to do, and it’s going to hurt the census,” Prewitt said.

Noting that the bureau sometimes uses outside records to supplement the official count when people don’t respond to the census, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) asked why the bureau could not do the same thing to subtract people.

“This is a reality of what our Census Bureau does in order to achieve numbers,” Roy said.

Prewitt said supplementation is used as rarely as possible, and like other ways the bureau gathers information, it is based on statistical principles and tested in small populations over months or years before being put into place.

Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) said she was worried that the president is pressuring the bureau to finish by the end of December so that if he loses the election in November, he will have time before leaving office on Jan. 20 to certify the results and inform states about their new seat-apportionment figures in Congress. Decertifying census results would be difficult and unprecedented.

“I am concerned that the administration is seeking to rush the process and sacrifice the accuracy of the census for political gain — that the president’s intent is to have all of this done before he leaves office,” Maloney said.

Nearly 37% of the country’s households have not yet responded to the census, according to bureau figures.

Self-response rates vary significantly among the states, and from county to county. For example, about 64% of Californians have responded to the census at this point, compared with 49% in Alaska and 27% in Puerto Rico.

Within California, fewer than 30% of households in Alpine, Mono and Trinity counties have responded. Under 50% of households have responded in many counties along the state border with Nevada.

Sept. 4 (UPI) — Hurricane Kiko weakened to a Category 3 hurricane late Thursday as it made its way northwest toward the general direction of Hawaii, forecasters said.

Kiko had reached Category 4 strength late Wednesday but weakened to 125 mph maximum sustained winds in the National Hurricane Center’s 3 p.m. HST update. Despite the weakening, the storm is still considered a major hurricane that could cause severe damage if it reaches land.

The eye of the storm was located about 1,360 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and 1,565 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. It was traveling west at 9 mph and was expected to continue in that direction and toward the northwest over the next several days.

“Kiko is forecast to approach the Hawaiian Islands during the early to middle portion of next week,” the NHC said in a statement Thursday.

“The risk of direct impacts from wind and rainfall is increasing. However, it is too soon to determine the exact location or magnitude of these impacts, and interests there should continue to monitor the progress of this storm.”

The NHC said swells generated by Kiko could reach the Hawaiian islands toward the end of the weekend, causing life-threatening surf and rip currents.

There were no weather watches or warnings in effect because it was well away from land Thursday.

The storm formed on Sunday, making it the 11th named storm in the Eastern North Pacific this year.

People in Bolivia are headed to the polls to elect the next president as well as the members of the Congress, with the governing socialists expected to lose power after almost 20 years due to a deep economic crisis and division within the leftist coalition.

Ballot stations opened on Sunday at 8am (12:00 GMT) and will close at 4pm (20:00 GMT), with initial results expected after 9pm (01:00 GMT on Monday).

The election is also the first time in almost two decades that polling indicates Bolivia’s incumbent Movement for Socialism, or MAS, could face defeat. MAS-affiliated and other left-leaning candidates trail the right-wing opposition by about 10 percent, according to the latest August Ipsos MORI survey.

Eight presidential candidates are in the running – from the far-right to the political left. But two candidates appear to have a comfortable lead: Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who served as interim president and vice president under former military ruler Hugo Banzer, and Samuel Doria Mediana, a wealthy businessman and former planning minister.

Medina, 66, and Quiroga, 65, are neck-and-neck, according to the polling survey.

Former leftist President Evo Morales has been barred from running, and the outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, who had fallen out with Morales, opted out of the race.

Divided left

Eduardo del Castillo, who is backed by outgoing President Arce, is the official MAS party candidate. Andronico Rodriguez, who has distanced himself from the MAS party, is running as an independent.

Morales, Bolivia’s undisputed left-wing leader for the last 15 years, is holed up in his tropical stronghold, where he still leads the coca growers union. He has asked his followers to cast invalid votes.

“Brothers, we are on the right track. Absenteeism, blank ballots, undecided voters, all of it,” Morales told Radio Kawsachun Coca, his media outlet in the Bolivian jungle of Chapare, where he has been holed up for months among fiercely loyal coca-growing labour unions.

If Morales leaves his tropical stronghold, he risks arrest on charges related to statutory rape. He denies the allegations.

Official results are due within seven days. Voters will also elect all 26 senators and 130 deputies, and officials assume office on November 8.

A run-off will take place on October 19 if no candidate wins an outright majority.

‘Worst crisis in a generation’

The Andean country is struggling through its worst crisis in a generation, marked by annual inflation of almost 25 percent and critical shortages of dollars and fuel.

The two frontrunners have pledged significant changes to Bolivia’s big-state economic model if elected.

Doria Medina, a millionaire former planning minister, made a fortune in cement before going on to build Bolivia’s biggest skyscraper and acquire the local Burger King franchise.

Seen as a centrist, he has promised to halt inflation and bring back fuel and dollars within 100 days, without cutting anti-poverty programs.

“We will change everything, absolutely everything after 20 lost years,” said the tough-talking Quiroga, who trained as an engineer in the United States, during his closing rally in La Paz on Wednesday.

Bolivia enjoyed more than a decade of strong growth and Indigenous upliftment under Morales, who nationalised the gas sector and ploughed the proceeds into social programmes that halved extreme poverty during his stint in power between 2006 and 2019.

But underinvestment in exploration has caused gas revenues to implode, falling from a peak of $6.1bn in 2013 to $1.6bn last year.

With the country’s other major resource, lithium, still underground, the government has nearly run out of the foreign exchange needed to import fuel, wheat and other foodstuffs.

Bolivians have repeatedly taken to the streets to protest rocketing prices and hours-long waits for fuel, bread and other basics.

Aug. 11 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Erin is moving quickly and forecast to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season by the “latter part of this week,” the National Hurricane Center said Monday.

Erin had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was moving west at 21 mph, according to the NHC in a 5 p.m. EDT update. That was the same strength three hours earlier when the NHC announced the fifth named storm of the season.

Erin was about 430 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands in the central Atlantic Ocean near west Africa.

NHC added Erin’s storm coordinates show it heading west while some 2,155 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands to the Caribbean.

“It is still too early to determine what impacts, if any, Erin may bring to the northern Leeward Islands, Bermuda, or the east coast of the United States,” NHC forecaster Philippe Papin said in a discussion.

An NHC tracking map shows Erin becoming a hurricane by Wednesday. It is then forecast to turn to the northwest from Thursday to Friday and become a major storm on Saturday.

Papin said that “Erin’s structure this afternoon looks like a tropical cyclone that is struggling with the nearby thermodynamic environment, with only a small patch of deep convection pulsing near the estimated center.”

Chad Merrill, an AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said: “Several factors are working in its favor, including lack of dust, warm water and a lack of disruptive breezes (wind shear).”

People in Bermuda and the Bahamas should closely monitor Erin’s progress, Merrill said.

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect given how far out to sea the storm is now. Tropical force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center.

“It is far too early to determine what, if any, impacts for southeast Georgia and northeast Florida,” NWS Jacksonville said Monday.

The previous four named Atlantic storms this year were Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter. None of them became hurricanes, and Chantal was the only one to make landfall in the United States, causing significant flooding in North Carolina.

Helene struck that state last year as a tropical storm, causing an estimated $53 billion in damage, after hitting western Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.

Four other hurricanes made landfall in the United States in 2024: Beryl, Debby, Francine and Milton.

The son of former Aberdeen and Falkirk striker Lee Miller has already made 76 senior appearances.

He was a near ever-present last season as Motherwell finished eighth in the Scottish Premiership, scoring four goals in his 41 appearances and earning his first two Scotland caps.

Asked about Miller’s absence on Saturday, Askou said: “Yes, it was a final call with everything taken into consideration.

“It’s not a secret that there are things going on in the background. We know he’s been out for four weeks.

“How much risk are you willing to take on a player like him in that situation? The decision was that we kept him out of it.”

England needs 35 more runs to beat India as fifth Test thriller goes to the last day of the five-match series.

It’s going to be a Monday morning thriller to decide the cricket series between England and India after bad light and rain forced an early end to play in the fifth and final Test, with England needing another 35 runs to win.

England was 339-6 at stumps on day four on Sunday, chasing a target of 374. England leads the series 2-1.

India needs to claim another four wickets – perhaps three – for victory and tie the series.

England has potentially only three wickets left because of all-rounder Chris Woakes’s shoulder injury. Woakes was seen in his cricket whites at the Oval on Sunday, but with his left arm in a sling amid speculation he would come out at number 11 if needed and bat one-handed.

Joe Root was again England’s saviour on Sunday with 105 runs, and Harry Brook hit 111, as England aimed to pull off another awe-inspiring run chase.

Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith (2 not out) and bowler Jamie Overton (0 not out) are at the crease.

England chased down 371 in the Leeds opener, its record run chase at Headingley.

Root and Brook had hit what looked to be series-clinching Test centuries – Root’s 39th and Brook’s 10th – before India stormed back to set up an agonizing day five finish as the two batters stumbled with victory in sight.

Jacob Bethell also fell to a dreadful shot, piling the pressure on England.

England had been set to achieve its most audacious chase of the Bazball era, and the second-highest in its history, with apparent ease. But its late stumble started when Brook threw his bat and wicket away against Akash Deep, skying a catch to mid-off. The century in his 30th test made Brook the fastest man to 10 hundreds in 70 years. Brook had made India dearly pay for not getting him out on 19 before lunch, when Mohammed Siraj caught Brook but carried it over the boundary rope.

Then the jittery Bethell produced an ugly swipe to drag down his stumps, before Root was caught behind in a wicket maiden for Prasidh Krishna (3-109), with the hosts still needing another 37 runs.

Root and Brook had reversed the momentum of the match in a cruisy afternoon session after India won the morning session and was heavily favoured at lunch.

Aug. 3 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate began its month‑long recess Saturday night amid negotiations to advance the nomination of dozens of Donald Trump‘s pending nominees, as the president told Sen. Chuck Schumer to “go to hell” when the talks collapsed.

Trump, in a post to his Truth Social platform on Saturday, had wanted the Senate to stay in session but accused Schumer of “political extortion” for allegedly demanding a billion dollars in funding in order to approve dozens of his remaining “highly qualified nominees” for appointment to the administration.

A source familiar with Schumer’s alleged demands told Axios that Schumer wants the White House to release withheld federal funding in exchange for passing a small batch of the nominees.

“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump said in his post. “Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our country.”

Schumer later shared Trump’s post and quipped, “The Art of the Deal.” He later added that Trump had “attempted to steamroll” the Senate into approving his “historically unqualified nominees.”

But the standoff has led Senate Republicans to express support for the possibility that Trump use recess appointments, a controversial constitutional mechanism that allows the president to “temporarily” fill vacant positions when the Senate is in recess.

“The Senate should immediately adjourn and let President Trump use recess appointments to enact the agenda 77M Americans voted for,” Sen. Roger Marshall posted on Saturday.

Senate Republicans also indicated they might pursue a change to Senate rules after they return from recess to make it easier to pass through confirmations. Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Fox News that lawmakers would be moving forward with a rule change in September.

WASHINGTON — The Senate is leaving Washington on Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!”

Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Trump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any fast unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each one, a lengthy process that can take several days per nominee.

“I think they’re desperately in need of change,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said of Senate rules Saturday after negotiations with Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Trump broke down. “I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.”

The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have escalated their obstruction of the other party’s executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations — and make them less bipartisan.

In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans refused to consider any of President Obama’s judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch.

Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration’s spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues.

But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told senators to pack it up and go home.

“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump posted on his social media platform. “Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.”

Thune said afterward that there were “several different times” when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end “we didn’t close it out.”

It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try to confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.

But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation.

“We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,” Schumer said Saturday.

Jalonick and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press.

OCEARCH, a non-profit research organisation that tracks marine animals, tagged the 30-year-old male great white shark named “Contender” in the waters east of Massachusetts

The world’s biggest shark is heading straight towards Martha’s Vineyard in the US, after being pinged near an affluent tourist destination.

The 14ft predator, which weighs a whopping 1,653 pounds, was recently detected on Friday afternoon, around 50 miles off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

OCEARCH, a non-profit research organisation that tracks marine animals, tagged the 30-year-old male named “Contender” in the waters east of Massachusetts, between Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank.

It was seen heading towards the wealthy holiday destination of Martha’s Bay, home to celebrities and multi-millionaires. Former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama own a £10million mansion on the island.

OCEARCH first tagged the shark in the North Atlantic, 45 miles off the Florida-Georgia coast, off Jacksonville.

It took six people, including three fishermen and scientists, to tag and release “Contender”, which is then electronically tracked through the Argos satellite system, according to Dr Harley Newton, OCEARCH Chief Scientist & Veterinarian.

The predator can be tracked through OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker app, where anyone can follow the animal as it moves. The animal has been pinged several times, including on January 26 and February 6, which means the tag attached to the fin was spotted above the surface for a brief period of time as it swam. It was last pinged on June 7.

Dr Harley Newton, OCEARCH Chief Scientist & Veterinarian, previously told The Mirror there were some tourist hotspots the shark might visit.

She said: “This is the exciting question about Contender, as this is the first season we will be able to watch him migrate to a summer/fall foraging area.

“Although there are many places in the Northeastern US and Canada where he could go, there are two primary locations where many white sharks spend the summer: Cape Cod, Massachusetts or Nova Scotia, Canada.

“Though Contender is an adult male white shark, and the largest we at OCEARCH have ever tagged and sampled in the Northwest Atlantic, but he is certainly not the largest male white shark ever caught.

“Contender was 13 feet 9 inches total length and estimated to weigh 1653 lbs. But male white sharks can grow up to 18 feet.

“The adult age class animals have been more elusive than smaller, younger, age classes so we were excited to have the opportunity to tag, sample and release him. Based on our Global Shark tracker, he has travelled 1870 miles to date from the place he was first tagged and released. We won’t know until he shows us, which is all the more reason to follow him on the tracker.”

US president attacks John Brennan and James Comey amid reports two men are under investigation over Trump-Russia probe.

United States President Donald Trump has suggested that former CIA director John Brennan and ex-FBI chief James Comey may have to “pay a price” amid reports that the two men are under criminal investigation.

Asked about reports on Wednesday that Brennan and Comey are being investigated by the FBI, Trump said he did not know anything other than what he had read in the news, but he viewed both as “very dishonest people”.

“I think they’re crooked as hell and maybe they have to pay a price for that,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with African leaders at the White House.

“I believe they are truly bad people and dishonest people, so whatever happens happens.”

Fox News, which first reported on the probe, said the two men were being scrutinised over unspecified “potential wrongdoing” related to investigations into the 2016 Trump campaign’s connections to Russia.

Multiple other outlets, including CNN and The New York Times, confirmed the investigation.

The FBI declined to comment. The US Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment.

In an interview with MSNBC, Brennan said he had not been contacted by the authorities, but any investigation was “clearly” politically biased.

“I think this is, unfortunately, a very sad and tragic example of the continued politicisation of the intelligence community, of the national security process,” Brennan said.

“And quite frankly, I’m really shocked that individuals are willing to sacrifice their reputations, their credibility, their decency.”

Comey did not respond to a request for comment sent through his website.

Trump has repeatedly hit out at Brennan and Comey over their role in what he has dubbed the “Russia hoax”.

A 2019 report released by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump, but did not find that his campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Moscow.