Scotland assistant coach Steven Naismith hailed Curtis’ drive to move out on loan and not be content with being a squad player at Rangers.
“This desire, this instinctive nature to get chances,” Naismith added on BBC Sportscene when analysing the youngster’s weekend goal.
“He’s got a bit of pace, he’s direct, he commits defenders – these are all things that have caught the eye.”
Former Celtic and Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan added on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast: “When we don’t have Gannon-Doak, we don’t have someone who can really travel with the ball. Curtis does have that.
“Yes, he’s still developing and doesn’t always have that final ball, but that can be worked on. We aren’t blessed with a lot of pace, especially in the attacking areas.
“You have to have pace in those areas, especially when at times we’ll be forced back and when we’re then trying to get up the pitch. Players with pace can be the difference.”
One of the drone overflights took place earlier this month at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, home of B-52 Stratofortress bombers and nuclear weapons storage facilities, and a key part of the airborne leg of America’s nuclear triad. Another was at an unspecified installation last month, the commander of U.S. Northern Command mentioned in recent written testimony for the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). Both situations took place after the U.S. began bombing Iran in a campaign that has included B-52, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers. It is unknown at this point if there is a connection, however, as we have frequently reported, the military is highly concerned about drones operating with near impunity over its facilities. In addition to interfering with flights and their potential use as weapons, drones can surveil and map the electronic emissions throughout a base, gaining insight into vulnerabilities. They can also photograph key areas and operations, providing additional valuable intelligence for any adversary.
One of these incidents spurred NORTHCOM to deploy its new counter-drone fly-away kit, designed to give installation commanders the ability to detect, quantify, and defeat small drones that they cannot defend against on their own. We’ll discuss that in greater detail later in this story.
A B-52 Stratofortress from the 5th Bomb Wing taxis at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., Oct. 26. 2025. The U.S. Northern Command Counter-small Unmanned Aerial System fly-away kit, seen in the foreground, and operators were rapidly deployed to the North Dakota base as part of an exercise to demonstrate the command’s ability to quickly support installation commanders experiencing a drone incursion. (Department of War photo by John Ingle) John Ingle
The incursions at Barksdale began the week of March 9, a spokesperson for the 2nd Bomber Wing at the base told us, offering few details about what happened beyond saying “we are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to investigate these incursions.”
The incident sparked a shelter-in-place order lifted later that day.
According to ABC News, a confidential briefing document dated March 15 stated that the “drones came in waves and entered and exited the base in a way that may suggest attempts to ‘avoid the operator(s) being located,’” the network reported. “Lights on the drones suggested the operators ‘may be testing security responses’ at the base.”
“Between March 9-15, 2026, BAFB Security Forces observed multiple waves of 12-15 drones operating over sensitive areas of the installation, including the flight line, with aircraft displaying non-commercial signal characteristics, long-range control links and resistance to jamming,” the document stated. “After reaching multiple points across the installation, the drones dispersed across sensitive locations on the base.”
The document added that more drone incursions could be expected and that they “pose a significant threat to public safety and national security since they require the flight line to be shut down while also putting manned aircrafts already inflight in the area at risk.”
It is not publicly known if there have been any additional incursions since the document was issued. Base officials declined to tell us.
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircraft assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing sits on the flightline at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Laiken King) Senior Airman Laiken King
Another incident took place at an unspecified location in February as the U.S. was beginning to attack Iran.
“In the early hours of Operation EPIC FURY last month, a deployed [fly-away kit] successfully detected and defeated sUAS operating over a strategic U.S. installation,” Air Force Gen. David M. Guillot, the commander of NORTHCOM, explained in a written statement to SASC on March 19.
Guillot did not say which base or provide any other details. On Tuesday, a NORTHCOM spokesperson declined to specify which base Guillot was referring to but confirmed there were multiple incursions and personnel used the flyaway kit’s “jamming protocol.”
“We will not name the base nor the type of installation where our Flyaway Kit is deployed in order to preserve operational security,” NORTHCOM added. “Specifically, connecting the Flyway Kit to a specific base can potentially illuminate that base’s vulnerabilities to an adversary. Additionally, by confirming a specific Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) platform, we would potentially give an adversary an advantage in circumventing our C-sUAS capabilities at that location.”
So far, NORTHCOM has only one fly-way kit, but more should be delivered “in the Spring of 2026,” Guillot added in his written statement.
The kit currently deployed is produced by Anduril. The company describes it as a “rapidly deployable, modular, and battle-tested counter-UAS system designed to detect, track, identify, and defeat Group 1-3 drones.” It uses Anduril’s Pulsar system for radio-frequency detection and electromagnetic effects to jam radio signals controlling drones. There are also drone-on-drone interceptors. You can read more about that in our story about the system here.
While Guillot offered scant details in his written testimony, he provided some additional insights into the military’s efforts to counter drones over the homeland. His command is tasked with coordinating those efforts.
“We’ve seen an increase from last year in the number of detections over military installations over the course of the year.,” he said in response to a question from Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who represents Whiteman Air Force Base, home of B-2s used in Epic Fury. “Some of that might be due to the fact that we have more detection capability now than we did in the past, and then our ability to defeat them has improved. Whereas a year ago, almost every one that was detected was not defeated, now about a quarter of the ones that we detect we’re able to defeat. I pay particular attention to Whiteman and other strategic bases, whether submarine silos or aircraft, and work very closely with Admiral [Richard. A] Correll at STRATCOM to make sure that either through the services or through our own capabilities at NORTHCOM, we are protecting those vital locations from UASs.”
Northcom, Southcom Commanders Testify Before Senate Armed Services Committee 03.19.2026
Whiteman declined to comment about whether that base has seen any drone incursions, citing operational security concerns.
That these latest drone flights took place in the wake of Epic Fury is alarming. Iran’s drone capabilities loom large in the mind of U.S. intelligence even here in the homeland. Also, it’s worth noting that B-52s at Barksdale sit almost entirely out in the open and, with just 76 of these airframes available across the force, they are extremely valuable assets and thus potentially very high-value targets. This is especially true since there are just a few that could be regenerated if any are lost. Moreover, Stratofortresses are expected to provide a large portion of U.S. conventional and nuclear aerial strike capabilities for decades to come.
We have been warning about the threat to American aircraft on flightlines from even the lowliest of drones for many years. These warnings have taken on new urgency after last year’s Ukrainian near-field attacks on Russian long-range aviation, dubbed Operation Spider Web. This operation alone suddenly turned what were once theoretical nightmares into very real possibilities.
We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates when warranted.
Key was also a guest on the the TMS programme and he said England will make changes in the way they approach selection.
There had been a perception that the England Test team felt like a ‘closed shop’, particularly to players in county cricket who did not fit the aggressive Bazball style.
Key said the introduction of a “county insight group” to offer input into selection will attempt to formally rebuild relations with stakeholders, including directors of cricket, in the domestic game.
The 46-year-old former Kent captain also said England’s selection policy will become more cut-throat compared to the past when certain players have almost appeared undroppable.
“We’ve overvalued loyalty and overvalued having a settled team,” Key said.
“We thought what we wanted to do is make sure we have a team that is settled out there [in Australia], that we go out there and we’re not giving debuts to opening batters [during the Ashes] and stuff like that.
“But what that does is it creates an environment where there’s not enough consequence. We need to be more ruthless with our selection.”
McCullum is due to return to work towards the end of May as England gear up for a Test series against his native New Zealand which starts at Lord’s on 4 June.
However, Vaughan felt it would have been worthwhile McCullum spending time on the circuit during the early rounds of the County Championship – for good PR if nothing else.
“I’m a bit disappointed that he’s not coming a bit earlier,” Vaughan said.
“I think at this stage, when you’re trying to win back the fans, trying to win back a little bit of the game, if I was Brendon McCullum, I’d come a few weeks earlier, get seen around the counties.
“I’d go and talk to a few coaches, go and speak to a few umpires, get seen out and about just for the optics. Because at this stage he needs the fans, and he needs the game to kind of get behind his philosophy a little bit more.”
We are deeply grateful for the outpouring from neighbors, friends, and the people of Tucson. We are all family now.
We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater Southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding resolution in this case.
Someone knows something. It’s possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant.
We hope people search their memories, especially around the key timelines of January 31 and the early morning hours of February 1, as well as the late evening of January 11.
We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom’s case— please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance.
No detail is too small. It may be the key.
We miss our mom with every breath, and we cannot be in peace until she is home.
We cannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder. Our focus is solely on finding her and bringing her home.
We want to celebrate her beautiful and courageous life, but we cannot do that until she is brought to a final place of rest.
Thank you for continuing to pray without ceasing.
The Guthrie Family: Camron and Kristine, Annie and Tommaso, Savannah and Michael”
A smelter of Korea Zinc. The company is scheduled to hold a high-stakes shareholders’ meeting Tuesday. Photo by Korea Zinc
SEOUL, March 20 (UPI) — Korea Zinc’s incumbent management and its major shareholder, Young Poong, are locked in a fierce showdown ahead of a regular shareholders’ meeting Tuesday.
The world’s largest non-ferrous metal producer said Friday that it posted record sales and profits last year, which led to high dividends and other shareholder-friendly policies.
Citing the strong performance, Korea Zinc has called for the leadership continuity, as the 2026 shareholders’ meeting would select at least five board members out of 15 seats. The term of Chairman Yun B. Choi is also set to expire.
“We believe that our continued efforts to improve corporate governance and expand shareholder returns have laid the foundation to steadily grow our business and operate our organization in a stable manner,” the firm said in a statement.
But, Young Poong argued that proxy advisers and the National Pension Service, another key Korea Zinc shareholder, have effectively supported its position by opposing the reappointment of Choi as an inside director.
According to Young Poong, such decisions suggest that “this is no longer merely a management control dispute, but judgment over potential structural flaws in corporate governance and failures of oversight.”
Since early 2025, Korea Zinc has been fighting to repel an aggressive takeover bid from Young Poong, which has teamed up with the country’s leading private equity firm, MBK Partners.
The battle came to a head at the March 2025 shareholders’ meeting, and another high-stakes clash is looming at this month’s gathering.
Each side reportedly controls roughly 40% of the voting shares, while NPS holds a 5.2% stake.
Meanwhile, the labor union at Korea Zinc expressed strong support for the current board, urging the NPS to immediately reverse its decision.
“We will fight to the end to prevent the dark hand of speculative capital from tainting our sacred workplace at this shareholders’ meeting,” the union said in a statement.
“If our warning is ignored and the company is undermined, we will mobilize all possible means, including a general strike, to wage an all-out struggle,” it said.
5 key hand luggage rules explained as Ryanair warns travellers on restricted item – The Mirror
Need to know
Before jetting off abroad, there are five key hand luggage rules you need to be aware of, with Ryanair warning passengers ahead of the Easter and summer holidays to stop packing one particular item
There are five crucial hand luggage restrictions to be aware of before jetting off abroad(Image: Getty Images)
Hang luggage rules you need to be aware of
Liquids:UK airports have restrictions on the amount of liquids you can take in your hand luggage and through security. Many airports require liquids to be under 100ml, while some UK airports have ditched this rule. As rules have changed, it’s best to check directly with the airport for both your outbound and inbound flights, as countries outside the UK may have different restrictions in place.
Lighters: As outlined on the government website, travellers can only carry one lighter on board a plane. It cannot be packed in hold luggage, and instead, should be put in a resealable plastic bag in carry-on luggage and kept in your possession throughout the flight.
Food and powders: While you can carry certain food items and powders in your hand luggage, they can obstruct images on X-ray machines. This means that bags may need to be manually checked at security, which can cause delays. The government advises packing suitable items into your hold luggage to minimise delays.
Frozen items: Typically, you cannot carry frozen items in your hand luggage onto your flight, such as food, liquids or ice packs. However, there are some exceptions, such as for medicines, medical equipment, dietary requirements, baby food and baby milk. It’s best to check directly with the airline you’re flying with to ensure you meet their requirements.
Sharp objects: Ryanair has warned passengers to stop packing “objects with a sharp point or sharp edge” in their hand luggage, including “scissors with blades of more than 6cm”. While you can carry scissors on a plane, the blade must be shorter than 6cm to be placed in carry-on luggage. Small sewing or embroidery scissors are generally allowed, while other larger, sharp items can be packed into hold luggage. It’s best to check directly with your airline for specific requirements.
Iran stepped up its targeting of Gulf neighbors, attacking and setting on fire a fuel tank close to Dubai International Airport, forcing flights to be suspended, and the key Fujairah oil export hub on the UAE’s east coast, on the supposed “safe” side of the Strait of Hormuz. Photo by Stringer/EPA
March 16 (UPI) — Emergency services in the United Arab Emirates were battling a major blaze at the country’s strategically key Fujairah oil export hub on Monday morning after the second drone strike on the facility in two days.
Emirate of Fujairah authorities said in a post on X that no one had been hurt in the attack on the Fujairah Industrial Petroleum Zone and that efforts were ongoing to bring the fire under control. They appealed to people to refrain from spreading misinformation.
“Civil defense teams in the Emirate immediately responded to the incident and are continuing their efforts to control it. The competent authorities call on the public not to circulate rumours and to obtain information only from official sources,” wrote the Fujairah Media Office.
The facility is strategically important because it is the only oil export terminal on the UAE’s eastern coast, located on the Gulf of Oman, the “good” end of the Strait of Hormuz.
Critically, it means oil tankers servicing the port do not need to run the gauntlet of the 21-mile-wide sea lane that Iran has effectively closed.
An approximately 250-mile-long cross-country oil pipeline from Habshan, a key onshore field 80 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, feeds as much as 1.8 million barrels per day of crude into Fujairah.
However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened ports, docks, military facilities and other “legitimate”U.S. targets in the UAE while the state media uged workers and residents in and around Fujairah, Jebel Ali and Khalifa ports to evacuate due to the presence of U.S. military forces.
Monday’s incident, following on from a separate strike and fire on Saturday, highlighted how exposed Fujairah — one of the world’s key crude oil and fuel storage hubs — was to Iranian threats.
The UAE has been repeatedly targeted by Iranian drones and missiles since the United States launched its airborne offensive against Iran on Feb. 28.
A drone attack earlier Monday that forced the temporary grounding of all flights at Dubai International Airport after a fire erupted in a fuel tank close by and an announcement by Israel that it was nowhere near done with hitting Iran indicated the war was likely headed into a third week.
Israel also announced plans for an expansion of its ground offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah operatives and strongholds after the Iranian proxy group attacked Israel with rockets and missiles on March 2, two days into the war.
An Israeli bombing campaign and targeted actions by ground forces has already forced hundreds of thousands of civilians in the country to flee their homes and killed more than 850, more than 170 of them women and children, according to the Lebanon Health Ministry.
European Union foreign ministers were set to meet on Monday in Brussels to discuss the situation in the region as oil prices continued their upward trajectory with the benchmark Brent crude futures briefly hitting $106 per barrel during trade on Monday.
Shipping of oil, gas and all cargo through the Strait of Hormuz remains stalled despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump at the weekend for countries that get their oil from Gulf producers to step up and help restart movement of ships in and out of the Persian Gulf.
Iranians attend a funeral for a person killed in recent U.S.-Israel airstrikes at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery on the southern outskirts of Tehran in Iran on March 9, 2026. Photo by Hossein Esmaeili/UPI | License Photo
Travelling with kids can be expensive, even if you stay within the UK, but changing your travel dates could potentially save you hundreds of pounds – according to Expedia some dates could be the key to nabbing bargains
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Here’s what you need to know ahead of the summer holidays(Image: Jacob Wackerhausen via Getty Images)
When you have kids, it feels like the days of cheap holidays are over, especially once they hit school age. Holidays can take a lot more planning and careful budgeting.
However, travel booking site Expedia has given parents a hand, putting together data that shows the cheapest exact dates to travel as a family, as well as the peak travel dates to avoid. Melanie Fish, spokesperson for Expedia Group Brands said: “Using the right dates to dodge peak travel times is a great money‑saving hack, especially when paired with booking everything you need for your trip on Expedia for a hassle‑free holiday.”
It also revealed some up and coming destinations for spring that are seeing a surge in searches, potentially making them popular places for a spring break. These include Conwy, Tenby, and the Cotswolds, all classic family holiday staycation spots.
As you may expect, late-March and early-April are expensive times to travel as parents try to get some time away for the Easter holidays. For domestic travel, the most expensive dates are between May 23 and 31, which is half-term in most schools across the UK. The most expensive dates for international travel were revealed as April 5 and May 23, again both coinciding with school holidays.
The busiest dates for staycations were found to be March 6 and 27, while for international travel, you can expect packed airports and ferry ports on April 2 and 3. If you’re someone who prefers to avoid the crowds and traffic, it’s best to rethink booking a departure on these dates.
When it comes to the cheapest dates, for domestic travel these fall on March 1 and 2, early in the spring, as it’s before the main tourist season kicks off in most staycation spots.
For international travel, the cheapest departure dates include March 2 and April 27. Unfortunately, these do fall outside of school holiday dates, but some parents may be tempted to book a break anyway. However, it’s worth making sure you research school holiday fines before you pull the kids out of school, as a family of four could rack up a £320 bill even for a first offence.
The quietest times to travel also fall outside of school holidays: April 28 and May 31. However, if your school has a later May half-term or inset days tacked onto the holiday, then going slightly later could cut the cost of a break later in the month. Choose flexible dates when searching for flights or holidays to see how much you could save by departing a few days later.
If you’re in a particularly strict area for school holiday fines, don’t worry, shifting your dates within the school holidays can also cut costs. For example, the cheapest dates to book in the six week summer holidays tend to be closer to the end of the holiday, as most people want to go away as soon as school finishes. By opting for a late-August rather than mid-July break you could save hundreds and still be back in time for school.
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
Tenerife is a top holiday destination for countless Brits and one man, who made a permanent move there, has shared a key step for any Brits considering moving to the Spanish island for good
Jess Flaherty Senior News Reporter
14:18, 16 Mar 2026Updated 14:21, 16 Mar 2026
Lots of Brits are looking to make a permanent move to Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands(Image: mvaligursky via Getty Images)
Any Brits weighing up a move to sunny Tenerife have been advised to do key one thing before committing to a permanent decision. The Spanish island is a hugely popular holiday spot for many UK residents.
As the largest of the beloved Canary Islands, Tenerife is celebrated for its sweeping beaches, extensive resorts, eclectic bars and restaurants, and much more – all of which provide locals and holidaymakers alike with no shortage of things to do.
Additionally, nature enthusiasts can make the most of the island’s breathtaking scenery, which includes volcanic peaks, vast and diverse national parks, dramatic coastal cliffs and even lush forests. Tenerife’s appeal is enhanced by its status as the “Island of Eternal Spring”, earned thanks to its year-round warm and stable temperatures, typically ranging between 20-28 degrees.
The island’s charm has plenty of Brits eager to move there permanently. A man, who posts content online under the username Mattie Baarnett, is currently living in Tenerife and took to TikTok to offer his guidance for those considering a permanent move to the Spanish island.
Speaking directly to the camera, he began: “These would be my tips if you’re wanting to move to Tenerife – before we get the video started, hang on a second.”
He then turned around to capture the sun setting behind him, bathing the evening sky in a warm glow. Mattie went on: “That tip alone is ‘just do it’ because you’ll get sunsets like that.
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“I would always recommend, if you’re wanting to come to Tenerife and you don’t really know if you want to actually live in Tenerife, go on Airbnb, rent an apartment for a month, see if you like it.
“Try and get a job, get all your legal paperwork in order and then, after you’ve done that, then source a long-term rental on one of the Facebook pages for an estate agent and then just go from there.”
Mattie reiterated his advice and continued: “Come for a month, rent an Airbnb, that’s gonna cost you £1,500 to two grand for the month – Airbnb, tourist prices – get here, get a job, see if you like it, get a job contract, make yourself legal then go for the long term, and then that’s it.”
He added: “You can do it in a month. Piece of p**s, mate.”
What Brits need to do if they want to move to Spain
Brits can move to Spain, but post- Brexit regulations have made the process significantly more complex. A visa isn’t required for short visits to the EU or countries in the Schengen area, which is a vast, border-free zone in Europe allowing more than 450 million people to move freely between 29 countries, including Spain, without internal border checks.
If you’re planning to spend 90 days or less in Spain over a 180-day period, a visa isn’t required. You also won’t need one if “you’re visiting as a tourist or for certain other reasons”, or you’re “studying a short course, getting medical treatment, travelling for business for your UK employer, for example to attend a business meeting or conference”, or if you’re visiting for “journalism or other media activities”, according to UK government advice.
Government guidance states: “The type of visa you need depends on the length of time you’re carrying out the work. You need to apply for a:
C-type EET visa if you’re working up to 90 days
long-term D visa if you’re working for more than 90 days
“If you’re staying for longer than six months, you will need to apply for a residence card once in Spain.”
Countries in the Schengen are include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
As anticipated, it ended up being One Battle After Another’s night at the 98th annual Academy Awards, with the political thriller carting away six Oscars out of a total of 13 nominations.
But while Paul Thomas Anderson’s magnum opus continued its march towards award-season domination, there were moments of genuine surprise and subversion in Sunday’s ceremony.
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Some of those moments had to do with the current political climate in the United States.
Host Conan O’Brien and his fellow presenters deftly avoided mentioning President Donald Trump by name, but their barbs took direct aim at his policies since returning to office.
Other surprises came from within the filmmaking community itself. For only the seventh time in Oscar history, a tie was announced: Two films had gotten an equal number of votes for Best Live Action Short.
As a result, both the surrealist thriller Two People Exchanging Saliva and the moody bar-room drama The Singers shared the Academy Award.
Here are six key takeaways from the night.
Actor Michael B Jordan holds the Oscar for Best Actor next to director Ryan Coogler, who earned an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay [Valerie Macon/AFP]
A two-horse race between Sinners and One Battle
The vampire film Sinners came into Sunday night’s ceremony with a record 16 Oscar nominations. But the big question of the night was: How many nods could it actually convert into wins?
Its biggest competition was, of course, Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which had the second highest tally of nominations.
Sinners director Ryan Coogler and Anderson were in direct competition in several top categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.
In both cases, Anderson came out ahead, though he acknowledged how fickle such awards can be.
“ I just want to say that, in 1975, the Oscar nominees for Best Picture were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Jaws, Nashville and Barry Lyndon,” the four-time Best Director nominee said, listing films now considered to be Hollywood classics.
“There is no best among them. There is just what the mood might be that day.”
In the categories for Best Supporting Actor and Best Film Editing, One Battle After Another also triumphed, as well as for the inaugural award for Best Casting.
But in a sign of how well matched their two films were, both Coogler and Anderson emerged from the night with writing Oscars.
Anderson picked up Best Adapted Screenplay award for his use of the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, while Coogler made off with the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Sinners, a work inspired by his uncle’s love of the blues.
US cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw poses in the press room with her Oscar for Best Cinematography [Valerie Macon/AFP]
Jordan dunks on Chalamet in Best Actor race
Sinners, which won four Academy Awards overall, earned some of the most emotional, nail-biting victories of the night.
In the Best Cinematography category, for instance, Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to top the field.
It was her first nomination and first win, with Arkapaw besting veteran cinematographers like Marty Supreme’s Darius Khondji and Frankenstein’s Dan Laustsen, both multiple nominees.
Another big win for Sinners came in the form of Michael B Jordan, the actor whom Coogler has cast in every film since his directorial breakout in 2013’s Fruitvale Station.
Jordan, 39, was in a tight race for Best Actor with another young performer, 30-year-old Timothee Chalamet of the 1950s ping-pong drama Marty Supreme.
But Chalamet’s aggressive campaigning may have ultimately sabotaged his prospects. Multiple cracks were taken throughout the night at Chalamet’s recent comments disparaging opera and ballet.
“Nobody cares anymore” about either art form, Chalamet said in an interview last month.
“We can change society through art, through creativity, through theatre and ballet and also cinema,” director Alexandre Singh said pointedly during his acceptance speech for Best Live Action Short.
O’Brien, meanwhile, acknowledged the backlash with a joke about heightened security at the night’s Oscar ceremony.
“I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities,” O’Brien said, before turning to Chalamet. “They’re just mad you left out jazz.”
Irish actress Jessie Buckley celebrates her win during the 98th Annual Academy Awards [AFP]
A conga line of snubs
Given the dominant performances from Sinners and One Battle After Another, plenty of critically acclaimed films left empty-handed, or nearly so.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, as expected, earned three wins in technical categories, including Best Production Design, Best Costumes and Best Hairstyling and Makeup.
Netflix’s smash hit KPop Demon Hunters, meanwhile, also fulfilled expectations that it would dominate in its categories, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
But then there were former frontrunners like Hamnet that failed to generate much traction, including for director Chloe Zhao, a past Oscar winner. Out of eight nominations total, it only came away with one win: a Best Actress trophy for Irish performer Jessie Buckley.
Marty Supreme and the Brazilian film The Secret Agent fared worse, however. Despite having nine nominations and being considered an early shoo-in for Best Actor, Marty Supreme scored no wins.
The Secret Agent, which swept the Best Actor and Best Director categories at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, also earned nothing at this year’s Oscars.
Same was true for the quirky kidnapping drama Bugonia, from Oscar darling Yorgos Lanthimos.
South Korean-US singer Ejae poses with the Oscar for Best Original Song for the film KPop Demon Hunters[Angela Weiss/AFP]
Fears about artificial intelligence
The ceremony, however, did occasionally veer away from the competition between the films to discuss issues facing the film industry and the country as a whole.
Among those was the creeping growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative sector.
In the weeks leading up to the 98th Oscars, an AI-generated video clip had gone viral, appearing to show Hollywood icons Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a rooftop brawl worthy of a James Bond movie.
The clip had been generated through AI software developed by the Chinese firm ByteDance, and Hollywood leaders quickly denounced it as a threat to their livelihood, not to mention a copyright infringement.
Those concerns reverberated on the Oscar stage on Sunday, with O’Brien and others addressing the growing use of AI.
“Tonight we are celebrating people, not AI, because animation – it’s more than a prompt,” actor Will Arnett said emphatically as he introduced the animation awards.
O’Brien, meanwhile, joked that, by next year, his hosting gig would be taken by “a Waymo in a tux”.
Host Conan O’Brien performs onstage during the 98th Annual Academy Awards [Patrick T Fallon/AFP]
Trump skewered for threatening free speech
Another concern looming over the night’s Oscar ceremony came in the form of President Donald Trump, who has courted controversy by launching deadly military attacks in Venezuela and Iran, as well as leading a violent immigration crackdown in the US.
At no point was Trump mentioned by name. But his leadership was alluded to throughout the night.
O’Brien, the host, set the tone early on with his oblique jabs at the Republican president in his opening monologue.
“When I hosted last year, Los Angeles was on fire,” the two-time Oscar emcee said in remarks dripping with sarcasm. “But this year, everything’s going great.”
Fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel was even more direct. Last September, his show was briefly suspended after Trump criticised the comedian.
The head of the Federal Communications Commission, a Trump appointee, subsequently threatened the broadcasting license of the TV channel Kimmel performs on.
“There are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS,” Kimmel quipped, referring to another channel that cancelled a fellow late-night comedy show.
Several filmmakers honoured at the Oscars likewise waded into the controversies surrounding Trump.
Best Documentary Feature winner David Borenstein, for instance, implied a parallel between his film — an exploration of authoritarianism in Russia — and what is currently happening in the US.
“Mr Nobody against Putin is about how you lose your country,” Borenstein explained.
“What we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity: when we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media.”
Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and Spanish actor Javier Bardem present the award for Best International Feature Film [Patrick T Fallon/AFP]
Political speeches avoid mention of Iran war
The Oscars come roughly seven months ahead of the pivotal midterm elections in the US, which could see Trump’s Republican Party lose its majorities in Congress.
But while several filmmakers did hint at their anti-Trump stances, few explicitly denounced his policies.
For example, Norway’s Joaquim Trier, the winner of the Best International Feature category, veiled his criticism in a James Baldwin quote about the duty to protect children.
“Let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account,” Trier said.
No artist during the night referenced the US and Israeli war against Iran either, though its effects were felt among the participants of this year’s Oscar crop.
Writer-director Jafar Panahi, whose work was up for two Oscars on Sunday, has already said he plans to return to his native Iran after the awards season concludes.
Meanwhile, Iranian politician Sara Shahverdi — the subject of a nominee in the Best Documentary Short category — was prevented from attending the Oscars at all due to Trump’s ban on visas for 39 countries.
Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees, star of the Oscar nominee The Voice of Hind Rajab, likewise told media outlets he could not be present at the ceremony due to the travel ban.
The most pointed acknowledgements of the US-led and US-backed conflicts in the world were brief. When Spanish actor Javier Barden took the Oscar stage to present an award, he offered up six words, “No to war, and free Palestine!”
Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin, meanwhile, made a similar appeal to the audience. “In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now,” he said.
But by and large, the Oscar winners and presenters kept their remarks vague, emphasising global unity over political criticism.
“If I can be serious for just a moment, everyone watching right now around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,” O’Brien told the audience at the outset of the night.
“It is at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant. Check it out. Thirty-one countries across six continents are represented this evening, and every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages.”
Cinema, he and others argued, transcended borders. The talent on stage was not the US’s alone.
The HM Passport Office has issued a warning to Brits about passport checks they must carry out well in advance of any impending holidays over spring and summer
10:30, 12 Mar 2026Updated 10:38, 12 Mar 2026
HM Passport Office has issued a warning to holidaymakers (Image: Getty Images)
HM Passport Office has issued a warning to Brits ahead of the peak travel season.
With the Easter half-term just weeks away and plans already made for a summer getaway, thousands of holidaymakers will be jetting off abroad during one of the busiest travel periods. To ensure their journey gets off to a flying start, Brits are being urged to check their passports; otherwise, they risk being turned away at the airport.
In a stark reminder, the HM Passport Office advised Brits to “check your passport now” in a post shared on X, ahead of any spring or summer trips. A link in the post directed travellers to the government website, where they can apply online to renew, replace, or update their passports.
There are two key dates you should check on your document; the expiry date, and the issue date, especially if you’re planning to head to a European hotspot such as France, Spain or Greece. This is because of a post-Brexit regulation on travel to the European Union or Schengen countries, which stipulates that UK passports must have been issued less than 10 years before your departure and must be valid for at least 3 months after your return.
Meanwhile countries such as Australia, China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and India require at least 6 months of passport validity from the date of arrival. It’s vital to check any entry requirements and passport validity before making any travel plans.
You must also ensure your passport has not been physically damaged, as this may render it invalid. This could include ripped pages, water damage, separated covers, or anything else that might make the personal information difficult to read.
Travel expert Jamie Fraser at Wild Packs warned that the general wear and tear of a passport can also be problematic when passing through automated scanners or at airport border control points. So it’s vital to check that your passport is in good condition, or if you need to apply for a replacement.
There must also be a blank page at the back of the passport for any necessary stamps or visas. If the passport is crammed with stamps from past trips, it could create problems at the border if there aren’t enough blank pages, leaving you unable to travel.
If your passport has expired or needs to be replaced, you can apply for a new one through the government website. However, it’s crucial to do it well in advance, as it can take around three weeks and sometimes longer.
There are fast-track passport services available, but Jamie cautioned that these are not “always guaranteed and appointments can be limited during peak travel periods”. HM Passport Office also advised: “Do not book travel until you have a valid passport – your new passport will not have the same number as your old one.”
To renew or replace your standard passport online, it will cost £94.50, or £107 if you opt for a paper application. Meanwhile, a child’s passport will cost £61.50 online or £74 by post.
Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
The National People’s Congress signals firm stance against corruption as China’s 15th five-year plan is approved.
Published On 12 Mar 202612 Mar 2026
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China’s annual legislative meeting is wrapping up after setting the country’s lowest economic growth target in nearly 30 years, excluding during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Nearly 3,000 delegates participating in the National People’s Congress (NPC) were due on Thursday to formally approve an economic growth target of “4.5 to 5 percent”, as set out in China’s latest five-year plan.
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The 15th iteration of the five-year plan, an economic roadmap for 2026 to 2030, also set targets for inflation, the fiscal deficit ratio and urban unemployment.
China has set the longterm goal of becoming a “moderately developed” country by 2035 and raising gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to $20,000. The figure was $13,303 in 2024, according to the World Bank.
Planners in Beijing also continue to grapple with deep economic problems driven by the collapse of the property sector, low consumer confidence and a prolonged period of deflation.
China’s targets for the next five years include industrial self-reliance and increased state support for industries such as AI, aerospace, aviation, biomedicine and integrated circuits, as well as the development of “future energy, quantum technology, embodied artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G technology”, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
Beijing also aims to expand the use of the digital yuan, known as the e-CNY, to improve cross-border payments, according to the Reuters news agency. The digital currency is currently under development by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank.
Among the most closely watched elements of the NPC over the past week has been the release of government “work reports” from China’s many government ministries, which give insight into China’s progress in meeting its goals and the direction of its future policy.
The NPC’s Standing Committee released a work report indicating that China will soon pass a law on combatting cross-border corruption, Xinhua said.
The measure is seen as an extension of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s long-running anticorruption drive across the Chinese state, military and private sector.
The campaign appears to be gaining momentum as the Supreme People’s Court, China’s highest court, reported a 22.4 percent increase in corruption cases last year involving 36,000 individuals, according to Xinhua.
The state also recovered 18.14 billion yuan ($2.63bn) as part of its anticorruption crackdown in 2025, Xinhua said.
China’s military also identified combatting corruption as an important target in its annual work report, as well as ensuring political loyalty to Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.
The NPC typically runs for a week, and it is held alongside the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body.
The meetings are known as the “Two Sessions”, and they bring thousands of delegates to Beijing to approve short- and mid-term policy measures.
Coming into her senior year, Ciena Alipio wanted to be as present as humanly possible and learn how to trust herself going into every competition.
She set forth goals for herself and a bigger one for the UCLA gymnastics team. With the first box checked after clinching their second consecutive Big Ten title, the work toward meeting each of her standards is just beginning.
“You’re seeing the result of every hard practice that we’re having,” Alipio said after Friday’s victory over Maryland. “We’re putting in work and we’re doing what we absolutely have to every single day in the gym and I think it’s just putting it all together on the same day.”
After an unbeaten conference season, Alipio has not only transformed herself into a three-event staple in the lineup, she was among the 45 nominees for the 2026 AAI Award along with her teammate Jordan Chiles — an NCAA honor that is given to the most outstanding senior female gymnast of the season.
“She’s just one of those athletes that’s really willing to do whatever it takes to be at her best for the team, and she’s an incredibly hard worker,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “She puts her heart into everything she does and she really has a growth mentality that she takes into every aspect of her life.”
During the first three years of her college career, Alipio was known as a balance beam expert. That fact hasn’t changed, except now she added success on the uneven bars and the floor exercise.
She’s currently ranked No. 4 in the nation on beam and leads the team with six individual titles in the event. Against Nebraska in January, Alipio led the meet in the floor exercise. On her way to another Big Ten title, she has shown consistency by hitting all 23 of her routines without a fall.
Alipio is averaging a mark above 9.800 on beam, bars and floor exercise. The two-time first-team All-American on beam has been named Big Ten event specialist of the week three times this season for her high performances on multiple apparatuses.
McDonald describes the Big Ten balance beam champion as a steady leader who leads by example, someone who’s willing to put her head down and go through the grind to get better — a valuable asset to any team.
“To see somebody always trying to show up and get better with that growth mindset is so great,” she said. “Ciena really has leveled up in her leadership in that she’s somebody that continually checks in on people.”
When Alipio notices someone needs a little pick-me-up, she’s there to support them, McDonald added.
“She’s also just become a really great messenger of our team culture and just [continues] to build and tighten our culture where it’s needed and to step up in those moments when the team needs a leader.”
UCLA gymnast Ciena Alipio celebrates with teammate Jordan Chiles after completing a balance beam routine.
(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)
With two meets left in the regular season — against Stanford on Saturday and Utah on March 14, senior night at Pauley Pavilion — Alipio is just going to have fun competing.
“Coming in as a freshman I was like, ‘Oh, I have so much time,’ and now it has gone by in a blink of an eye,” she said. “… But I’m really, really trying to just stay present for the next few weeks and just enjoy every single moment with this team.”
Rosen update
McDonald and the coaching staff will take a conservative approach to dealing with Katelyn Rosen’s foot injury from Friday’s meet. Resting her and making sure she is 100% to go for the Big Ten championships is the priority. Replacing her at the top of rotations is an ongoing conversation.
“We really look for that lead-off to be very steady,” she said. “Somebody that doesn’t kind of go with the ups and downs of their emotions. They can show up, be really steady, kick off the event really aggressively, confidently and so those things we’re gonna be looking for this weekend [against Stanford].”
With England needing 43 from the last 18 balls to beat New Zealand on Friday, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed put on an unbeaten partnership of 44 from 16 balls to secure the win.
Those three victories followed a group stage where England struggled to beat Nepal, Scotland and Italy and were beaten by West Indies.
Their success also follows the dismal Ashes tour of Australia in Test cricket.
“I don’t believe we need a perfect game to win the competition,” said Brook, who is leading England for the first time at a World Cup.
“We’ve won those tight games which in World Cups prove to be very important and we’ve got a lot of confidence going into the deeper parts of the game.
“We’ve got a lot of competitive lads. Everybody wants to win, which is a given really, but even off the field when we’re playing golf, playing cards, whatever, everybody is always really competitive and they always have that slight edge and they take it out into the cricket as well.”
Brook said he expects Thursday’s atmosphere to be “awesome”, with the match to be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in front of 33,000 spectators.
England resisted naming an XI before the toss, but seam-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton appears likely to replace leg-spinner Ahmed.
India were the overwhelming pre-tournament favourites but have also stuttered at times in the competition.
“I said the other day there’s a lot of pressure on both sides, potentially more on them going into here with the crowd and the disappointment they had against South Africa as well,” Brook said.
“But we’re just going to go out there, stick to what we know and assess conditions as quickly as possible and give it real good fight.”
Feb. 27 (UPI) — The Department of Defense reached an agreement with Scouting America to continue to support the organization after it committed to end its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he had been considering an end to supporting the organization because of “significant cultural changes” it made in the early 2010s.
The 116-year-old organization changed its name from Boy Scouts of America to Scouting America, allowing girls to join and introducing programs that included various DEI themes.
“The Boy Scouts lost their way, and a once-great organization became gravely wounded,” Hegseth said in a statement.
“[DEI] crept in, the name was changed to ‘Scouting America,’ girls were accepted [and] the focus of God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions,” he said in the statement.
Hegseth tied the move to an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office seeking to end “illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity,” including with the end of DEI programs among government agencies.
Scouting America said in a statement that it is making changes to align with DOD policies and goals as it has engaged in negotiations with the department for several months about its support for the organization.
The group said in a statement that it plans to waive registration fees for military families, launch a new merit badge focused on military service and veterans and reinforce its commitment to “scouting’s foundational ideas: leadership, character, duty to God, duty to country and service.”
As it has engaged the DOD about potential changes to its program, Scouting America said in the statement that it has “preserved our service to the more than 200,000 girls who participate in our programs.”
Noting that girls have participated in scouting since the 1960s, Scouting America said that its commitment to girls being part of the organization is “unwavering.”
Since 1910, more than 130 million people have participated in scouting programs and it is a well-known pipeline to the U.S. military based on its history showing that “scouts are significantly more likely to serve in uniform than the general population.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after the weekly Republican Senate caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
These are the key developments from day 1,465 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 28 Feb 202628 Feb 2026
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Here is where things stand on Saturday, February 28:
Fighting
Russia struck port infrastructure overnight in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, igniting fires and damaging equipment, warehouses and food containers, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said.
A localised truce has been established near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to allow repairs to power lines, Russian news agencies report, citing the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation.
Ukraine shot down a drone near the border with Romania during a Russian attack on port infrastructure on the Danube River, Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said.
Romania said it scrambled fighter jets and that the drone was brought down 100 metres (110 yards) from the Romanian village of Chilia Veche, on the opposite side of the Danube River to Ukraine.
Russian forces have taken control of the village of Biliakivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian RIA Novosti state news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Defence.
Ukraine’s military said it struck an oil depot in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region overnight, causing a large fire at the facility.
Firefighters were trying to bring a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region under control, local officials said early Saturday.
Ukraine is considering forming partnerships with allies to build air defences capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and to address a critical shortage of munitions for United States-made Patriot systems, the country’s defence minister said.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said 55 Ghanaians had been killed fighting in Ukraine, and that some 272 citizens of the African country are believed to have been lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine since 2022.
A multistorey residential building was destroyed in the town of Severodonetsk in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region, Ukraine [File: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]
Regional security
The Swedish military intercepted a suspected Russian drone off the country’s south coast while a French aircraft carrier was docked in Malmo, officials said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “absurd” to suggest the drone that was electronically disabled near a French aircraft carrier in Sweden earlier this week was Russian.
The European Commission said Croatia is assessing whether it can legally import seaborne Russian crude to supply Hungary and Slovakia through its Adria pipeline.
The move by Croatia follows after oil supplies via the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia – the only European Union countries still importing Russian oil – were halted last month due to damage Ukraine blamed on a Russian drone strike.
In a video posted on Facebook, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to grant Hungarian and Slovak inspectors access to repair and restart the Druzhba pipeline.
The receiver station of the Druzhba pipeline of petroleum between Hungary and Russia, with a memorial plate of its construction at the Danube Refinery of the Hungarian MOL gas company [File: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP]
President Zelenskyy said he had not been offered nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom or France, but added he would accept such an offer “with pleasure”, after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service accused both countries of working to provide Kyiv with a nuclear bomb.
Poland’s parliament approved a law to implement the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence procurement programme aimed at boosting member states’ military readiness.
Economy
The International Monetary Fund said its executive board had approved an $8.1bn, four-year loan for Ukraine, anchoring a broader $136.5bn international support package. The World Bank estimates Ukraine will need $588bn for post-war reconstruction.
Economists say Russia is grappling with heavy state defence spending alongside deepening structural challenges, including labour shortages and high inflation.
Ukraine’s major steelmaker ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said it is closing another division due to a worsening energy crisis caused by continued Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power system.
Peace talks
Bilateral talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva concluded on Thursday, with Kyiv saying preparations are under way for the next round of negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said on X that discussions were held in two formats: separate meetings with the United States and a trilateral session involving the US and Switzerland.
Umerov said participants spoke with President Zelenskyy and were working to ensure the next three-sided meeting with Russia on a settlement is “as substantive as possible”.
Politics and diplomacy
Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has begun advising the Ukrainian government on economic renewal as Kyiv works to rebuild its energy sector before next winter.
Finland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic will skip the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Paralympics in protest against the inclusion of Russian athletes competing under their own flag while the war in Ukraine is ongoing.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “diplomacy cannot succeed at the moment” with Russia, and that greater emphasis should be placed on defending Ukraine from Moscow’s aggression.
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer give a victory speech to supporters in Manchester early Friday after being declared the winner of the Gorton and Denton byelection to choose a new Member of Parliament. Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA
Feb. 27 (UPI) — Britain’s Green Party won the Gorton and Denton byelection in southeast Manchester with a more than 4,000-seat majority, beating the ruling Labour Party into third place, and 12 points clear of Reform UK.
The Greens’ new Member of Parliament, Hannah Spencer, a plumber from a neighboring suburb of Manchester, produced a convincing win in Thursday’s poll, overturning the 13,000-seat majority won in the 2024 general election by the previous Labour holder of the seat who is standing down due to ill-health.
Spencer won 14,980 seats, or 40.7% of the vote, Reform’s Matt Goodwin, 10,578 and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia trailing in third place with 9,364. The Conservative Party’s candidate came in a distant fourth with just 706 votes. Turnout was 47.6%.
The win, a first for the Green Party in a byelection, takes the party’s contingent in the House of Commons to five.
Speaking in the early hours of Friday after the results were announced, 34-year-old Spencer vowed to “fight” for the people of Gorton and Denton “who feel left behind and isolated.”
“There is an appetite here for change, and there are people across this constituency and much further beyond who are rejecting the old political parties and who are coming together to fight for something better, but who are doing it positively and in a really hopeful way.”
Spencer said her victory proved there was “no longer any such thing as a safe seat” and that there was “no part of the country where the Green Party cannot win.”
Asked if the Greens’ intention was to “eviscerate” Labour, Party leader Zack Polanski said that taking a seat Labour had held for more than 100 years showed it was “beginning already.”
“If we see a swing like this at the next general election, there will be a tidal wave of new Green MPs. This is an existential crisis for the Labour Party,” he said.
Labour’s second-straight loss of a byelection with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the helm, and with local elections just around the corner in May, could prove highly consequential for his future.
Speaking to reporters Friday, a defiant Starmer rejected any suggestion he might be considering his position, saying he would never quit.
“I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it. I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body,” he said.
Starmer played down the loss saying that while it was “very disappointing,” voters often took out frustrations on sitting administrations in mid way through their terms.
However, Strathclyde University Politics Professor John Curtice said the Green Party was now challenging Labour’s stranglehold on the left of British politics in a way that would cause the parliamentary wing of the party to seriously question whether Starmer was still the right person to lead the country.
Reform UK chairman David Bull, telling the BBC he was “absolutely thrilled” with his party’s performance,” echoed that analysis.
“Keir Starmer is in big trouble now — it is not a matter of if he leaves office, it’s when he leaves.”
Party leader, MP Nigel Farage, warned the Greens’ win would embolden the radical left and said opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch should apologize for leading the party to the worst result in its history.
“Roll on the elections on May 7. It will be goodbye Starmer and goodbye to the Tory [Conservative] party,” he wrote on X.
Badenoch, who is Black, called on Starmer to quit immediately.
“Our country is not broken, but this byelection showed that Labour, Reform and the Greens are trying very hard to break it. Labour trying to buy people off with more and more benefits spending, Reform telling people you can’t be British if you’re not white. The Greens running a nasty, sectarian campaign while simultaneously wanting to legalize crack-cocaine,” she wrote in a statement.
“The result shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is finished. He lost authority a long time ago, a mere hostage at the mercy of a divided Labour Party that cannot decide who to replace him with. He has lost the support of his MPs and the country. He is in office but not in power. If had any integrity he would go,” said Badenoch.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks to reporters outside of the White House in Washington on October 21, 1999. Mandela was famously released from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990. Photo by Joel Rennich/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump used his State of Union address to talk up his successes, railed against Democrats over the economy and immigration and warned Iran on nuclear weapons in a speech lasting more than 100 minutes. Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett was watching.
Welcome to UCLA Unlocked, our weekly newsletter featuring all things Bruins athletics. To sign up to get this newsletter delivered every Monday to your inbox, click here.
The UCLA women’s basketball team is closing in on an undefeated Big Ten season, clinched the outright regular season league title for the first time in school history, is riding a 21-win streak and is ranked No. 2 nationally.
Perhaps most remarkable, the Bruins firmly believe they can be better and have yet to peak as they push to win a national title.
How did UCLA go from being a team that got pushed around by UConn, LSU and South Carolina in the NCAA tournament the last three seasons to a loaded squad no one wants to face in March?
Bruins coach Cori Close solved the riddle by recruiting six senior leaders who accepted they had to continuously sacrifice and push to improve to achieve their goals. They echo their coach’s values, putting each other first in order to succeed.
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“Me and Kiki [Rice] came here in our freshman year and it’s just been amazing to see the program grow since then,” UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez said. “And I think that’s also a big credit to our coaches and to all the staff at UCLA to really get the fans out there and support us because we really couldn’t do it without them.”
UCLA honored Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalić, Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Rice during their final regular-season home game Sunday. The group will be back soon to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games at Pauley Pavilion, but Close wanted them to take the time to celebrate all they had accomplished together.
Betts is in the national player of the year conversation, but the big award is likely to go to another player who carries a heavier workload for their team. Close said the seniors are all projected to be WNBA draft picks, but they have sacrificed better individual statistics and potentially some awards in exchange for a better shot at winning a national championship. She said the selfless approach is rare and should be cherished.
“One of them said the other day, like, ‘I might not ever play on a team like this again,’” Close said of her senior class. “I think the combination of the depth of the relationship, excellence on the court, their love of the work — they love to work and get better together — and their connection off the court.
”… I think these seniors actually do really understand that this is really special. They’ve set a bar for the culture of our program that we will be forever measuring it against.”
Baseball makes a statement
No. 1 UCLA baseball team turned heads with a weekend sweep of No. 7 TCU. The Bruins beat the Horned Frogs 10-2 on Friday, 5-1 on Saturday and 15-5 on Sunday. Roch Cholowsky and Will Gasparino have racked up six home runs apiece during UCLA’s first seven games this season.
Softball keeps rolling
The No. 9 UCLA softball team beat No. 11 Texas A&M 15-7 in five innings on Sunday to cap a 6-0 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Bruins also beat No. 20 Duke and No. 13 South Carolina. Senior Megan Grant delivered a .545 batting average during the weekend with two home runs and nine walks.
Gymnastics knocks out Illini
No. 5 UCLA gymnastics defeated Illinois 197.675-195.475 Sunday in Champaign, Ill.
Jordan Chiles won the all-around (39.650), vault (9.950) and floor exercise (9.975), while Ciena Alipio won balance beam (9.950).
The Bruins host three top 25 programs — Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland — during the Big Fours meet Friday at Pauley Pavilion.
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
