offer

July 29 (UPI) — Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica have emerged as leading destinations for U.S. retirees this year, offering a more affordable, safer and more comfortable lifestyle overseas, according to the 2025 Global Retirement Index prepared by International Living magazine.

The rising global population over age 65 — projected to reach 16% by 2050, according to Statista — is driving a wave of retiree migration focused on mild climates, access to quality healthcare and an active lifestyle with lower financial strain.

Data from the Social Security Administration show that more than 730,000 U.S. retirees receive their benefits while living abroad, with Latin America accounting for a growing share.

Panama tops the global retirement rankings for its accessible pensioner visa, political stability and retiree perks, including 25% discounts on electricity and restaurant bills, and up to 50% off cultural activities.

The cost of living there for a couple starts at about$2,400 per month. The country also offers 18-month temporary residency through a remote work visa.

Mexico ranks fourth, driven by its low cost of living, cultural diversity and affordable healthcare. According to the report, a retiree can live comfortably on about $1,500 a month. In tourist areas such as the Riviera Maya, monthly rent averages around $500.

Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende and Chapala remain among the most popular destinations for U.S. retirees.

Costa Rica, ranked third in the index, attracts retirees with its biodiversity, peaceful environment and high-quality medical care. Residency is available with a minimum monthly income of $1,000, and housing can be found starting at $550 a month.

The Central Valley is especially popular for its mild climate and proximity to top-tier healthcare services.

Rosmery Hernández, a professor at the National University of Costa Rica, said the country “has spent decades building a quality-of-life environment based on public policy, education and civic participation, which today makes it attractive to retirees from the United States and Europe.”

She also noted that Costa Rica offers a strong healthcare system, easy access to international flights and infrastructure that makes travel within the country easy.

However, Hernández warned that the growth of the international retiree market has accelerated gentrification in areas like Guanacaste, raising the cost of services and land for local residents.

“The challenge is finding a balance that allows local communities to coexist with new international residents, creating mutual benefits without triggering displacement,” she said.

While European countries like Portugal, Spain and France also rank among the top international retirement destinations, Latin America offers advantages such as geographic proximity to the United States, more flexible immigration policies and a cultural environment that feels more familiar to many Americans, according to the retirement index.

All three Latin American countries have strengthened their immigration frameworks and services to attract this demographic, as more U.S. citizens view retiring abroad as both a financially viable and socially enriching option.

The UK has condemned the latest cash offer from Hong Kong authorities for people who help in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain.

In a joint statement, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the move as “another example of transnational repression”.

People are being offered between $25,000 (HK$200,000) and $125,000 for information leading to the arrest of 19 individuals, all of whom are pro-democracy activists living abroad.

China has denounced as “interference” criticism over this type of appeal, which it has made three times previously.

The 19 people are accused of violating Beijing’s national security law imposed in 2020 in response to the 2019 anti-government protests that rocked the city for months.

The amounts on offer vary depending on the individual. Among the highest offers on the list are those for Choi Ming-da and Fok Ka-chi, who Hong Kong police said operated a social media channel named “Tuesdayroad”.

Politician Nathan Law – who had been a lawmaker on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong – and activist and commentator Yuan Gong-Yi also appear on the lists.

The first such rewards were issued in July and December 2023. They targeted Mr Law – who told the BBC that his life became more dangerous after a bounty was announced – and Simon Cheng, a former UK consulate employee detained in 2019 in a high-profile case.

The third series of rewards targeted six pro-democracy activists living in the UK and Canada, including Tony Chung, the former leader of a pro-independence group.

A special visa scheme introduced in 2021 saw around 150,000 Hong Kong residents move to the UK, according to the Home Office.

In November last year a Hong Kong court sentenced dozens of pro-democracy leaders to years in jail for subversion, following a controversial national security trial.

In their statement in response to the latest bounty, Ms Cooper and Mr Lammy said: “This government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the UK their home.

“We take the protection of their rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously.”

Their joint statement added: “The UK is committed to human rights, the rule of law, and the safety of all individuals in the UK.

“That’s why we have taken further steps to complete the severing of ties between the UK and Hong Kong extradition systems by removing Hong Kong from the Extradition Act 2003.”

Ukraine has proposed to hold a new round of peace talks with Russia next week after negotiations stalled last month.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday that Defence Council secretary Rustem Umerov made the offer of a meeting with Russian negotiators for next week.

“Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address to the nation. “The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions.”

Ukraine’s leader also reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sit-down with Putin. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,” he said.

There was no immediate response from Russia.

Secretary of the NSDC proposed a new meeting with Russia next week. They must stop hiding from decisions. Ceasefire. Prisoner exchanges. Return of children. End to the killings. And a meeting at the level of leaders is needed to truly ensure a lasting peace. Ukraine is ready. pic.twitter.com/ksH7FzxnAE

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2025

Umerov, a former defence minister, was appointed last week as the head of the National Security and Defence Council and tasked with adding more momentum to the negotiations.

He headed his country’s delegation in two previous rounds of talks in Turkiye earlier this year, which yielded little more than an agreement to exchange prisoners and soldiers’ remains.

In previous rounds, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands that were not acceptable to Ukraine, calling on it to cede four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own and reject Western military support.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday indicated that Moscow agreed with a statement by Zelenskyy that peace efforts needed “more momentum”.

The shift came after United States President Donald Trump, who initially appeared to adopt a conciliatory approach towards Russia after entering office, upped the pressure on Moscow.

This week, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face “100 percent tariffs” and the prospect of secondary sanctions being imposed on countries that buy Russian oil.

He also promised to ramp up arms shipments to the war-battered country.

Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, said on Thursday that Russia would not accept the “blackmail” of Washington’s sanctions ultimatum, and the decision to resume weapons deliveries was a signal to Ukraine to “abandon the peace process”.

Ongoing exchange of fire

Kyiv extended its invitation for more talks with Moscow after Russian forces staged a massive drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa early on Saturday, killing at least one resident and injuring six others, according to Zelenskyy.

Posting on X on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said Russia launched more than 30 missiles and 300 drones during its overnight assault that affected 10 regions of the country.

Russia, meanwhile, had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight in the southern Rostov region when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack, which injured one railway worker.

On Saturday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that Russian air defence systems shot down three drones en route to the city.

Two Moscow airports – Vnukovo and Domodedovo – suspended arrivals and departures for safety reasons, but later resumed operations, Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in total from 3pm to 7pm Moscow time (12:00-16:00 GMT).

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II, with estimates suggesting 1.2 million people have been wounded or killed.

We’re nearing the home stretch for kiddie summer movies, moms and dads. Stay hydrated and nourished, because your multiplex chaperone duties aren’t truly over until early August or so, when the fare turns distinctively adult-themed before going full prestige in the child-unfriendly zone of fall awards season.

But with the messy, strained “Smurfs” on offer this weekend, a tired parent may want to bail early and find a last-minute sleepaway camp to shove the little ones off to instead, because this latest big-screen version of the cute-culture behemoth may test your tolerance for all things wee and cerulean. As legacy management goes, it’s more trial than celebration.

Even if you grew up with Belgian artist Peyo’s utopian woodland humanoids (rendered with Hanna-Barbera efficiency for cheap ’80s television), nostalgia isn’t on offer here — just the usual running tap of attention-driven wackiness, creating a fast-growing puddle of gags, colors, songs (including pop icon Rihanna’s contributions) and believe-in-yourself platitudes that feel random, not earned. As deployed by “Shrek” franchise veteran Chris Miller (“Puss in Boots”), animation is less a storied artistic method with which to enchant, so much as a whiz-bang weapon of mass distraction, scalable and noisy.

The Smurfs themselves have come in for something of an origin makeover. No longer simple, communal mushroom-village inhabitants with happy lives centered on personality quirks and avoiding a mean wizard, in this telling (written by Pam Brady) they hail from a line of ancient, cosmic guardians of goodness, a background that feels beholden to the superhero mindset overriding so much popcorn gruel these days. Conversely, the baddies, wizard brothers Gargamel and new antagonist Razamel (both amusingly snarled into existence by voice actor JP Karliak, channeling Harvey Korman), belong to — what else? — an Evil Alliance set on world domination.

Everything about the story, from opening to closing dance party, feels like it was made up on an especially unimaginative playdate by bored kids who’d rather be watching TV. A Smurf called No Name (James Corden) wants to be known for something, like his trait-defined pals Hefty, Vanity, Grouchy, Baker and Clumsy. Close friend Smurfette (Rihanna), the village’s confident, outgoing badass, tries to buck him up, but he sings a boring who-am-I lament anyway.

Papa Smurf (John Goodman) is kidnapped through a portal, the first of many. There’s a missing magical book given the name Jaunty (Amy Sedaris). The Smurf rescue party goes to a disco in Paris. Then the Australian Outback. Outer space too. Natasha Lyonne voices the leader of an underground species of what look like scratchy couch pillows. Razamel hates Gargamel. Papa has a red-bearded brother, Ken (Nick Offerman tiringly doing Nick Offerman), and we learn later, a long-lost sibling named Ron (Kurt Russell). All these brothers, yet I still wouldn’t say family dynamics are a going emotional concern.

Sometimes everyone floats in the air. Mostly, it’ll be your mind. But turn away for one second, and the characters will have likely gone to another dimension. Because, of course, multiverses are really popular now too. Like the kind in which no voice cast member was likely in the same city as any other when they phoned in their lines.

At least the animators looked like they stayed busy. At one point, when dimension-palooza hurtles our tiny blue posse into different animation modes — claymation, pencil drawings, 8-bit video graphics — there’s a whiff of the delightful, meta-zany chaos of classic cartoons. But for the most part, “Smurfs” hews to the textbook silliness of CGI-generated action and attitude humor, only this time so needlessly zigging and zagging it barely has time to convincingly sell its ultimate message of strength in togetherness. An incoherent movie is hardly the vessel for that kind of lesson. When it ends, though, it’ll definitely feel like an example of kindness.

More on Isak

The dramatic move came as Liverpool REJECTED Bayern Munich’s initial £58.6m bid for Colombian winger Luis Diaz while they are trying to encourage a high-price auction between AC Milan and Saudi money-pots Al-Hilal for Uruguayan Darwin Nunez.

But it is the stunning stepping up of the Reds’ long-term interest in Alexander Isak that has caught Newcastle on the hop, especially as boss Eddie Howe was hoping they were looking to play France under-21 star Etitike alongside

Liverpool chief Arne Slot has led the club’s mourning over the tragic loss of Portuguese star Diogo Jota following his car crash death earlier this month.

Slot and the Anfield hierarchy, though, are also aware that the start of the new Prem season is now less than a month away and that putting together a squad able to retain their crown is critical.

Newcastle are believed to value Isak at £150million, a sum that would be prohibitive even for Liverpool.

But a record-breaking bid, freeing up funds for Howe to bolster his squad ahead of a Champions League campaign in addition to the domestic demands might make Toon bosses think again.

Frankfurt are willing to sell Etitike but their starting price is £85m, although there may be wriggle room for negotiations.

Liverpool’s response to Bayern’s Diaz offer – the German champions fear they will be without Jamal Musiala for the entire season after his horror leg break in the Club World Cup – was a flat rejection although they are looking to offload Nunez.

When it became clear that the couple beneath the bedclothes were indeed having sexual intercourse, the West Hollywood crowd that had come to watch cheered loudly and with the exultant delight that one imagines might erupt from courtiers overseeing a royal post-nuptial bedding. Or, in a more contemporary context, from soccer fans after a final-minute, high-left-corner soccer goal.

But no. This was a “Love Island USA” watch party presented by Reality Bar at Roosterfish Tuesday night, one of hundreds of similar gatherings at bars all over the country. After living in the shadow of its wildly popular U.K. progenitor, “Love Island USA” became a hit last year with a genuinely love-filled Season 6. This year, the series has seen more scandal than romance — two contestants have been removed following outcry over their past use of racial slurs in social media posts.

But if the proliferation of watch parties is any indication, those scandals have only increased audience interest.

“I never really understood sports bars before,” my 25-year-old daughter told me. “Now I do.”

For a watch-party neophyte, it was more than a little strange to see tables full of people set aside their watermelon margaritas and mozzarella sticks to applaud the sexual consummation of strangers. But under those sheets cavorted current fan-favorite Amaya “Papaya” Espinal with her current partner Bryan Arenales, which explains the crowd’s voyeuristic joy. On “Love Island,” the couple perceived as the strongest wins the $100,000 prize (and, presumably, romantic bliss).

So the approving roar was, in part, driven by relief and hope for a team Amaya Papaya win.

Amaya “Papaya” Espinal and Bryan Arenales in Tuesday’s episode of “Love Island USA.”

(Peacock)

It was also the sound of the latest attempt to revive the smoldering embers of the electronic hearth and save linear television.

You don’t have to love “Love Island,” with its appalling candy-colored villa in Fiji, unapologetic emphasis on “hotness” and endless dramatic pauses to appreciate the fact that in the increasingly fractured and isolated viewership experience of modern television, it is drawing people together, physically, and in real time.

The platform may be NBCUniversal‘s streaming service Peacock, but “Love Island” is returning TV to its roots.

Frankly, that’s much more startling than the sight and sound of people devouring the messy drama of competitive intercourse along with their happy-hour priced drinks and bites.

Twenty years ago, reality television was viewed by many as a threat to traditional TV. Yes, there had always been daytime game shows, but after “American Idol” and “Survivor” became prime-time hits and the Kardashians began their empire building, the reality craze spread like kudzu through broadcast and cable. Cheap to make, reality series didn’t need huge audiences to be successful. Network executives couldn’t green-light them fast enough, and for a few years, it seemed that scripted programming would become the exception, found mostly on subscription-based platforms like HBO and Showtime.

That isn’t what happened, of course. Beginning with AMC, a wide variety of cable networks began producing original scripted series, followed closely by Netflix, Prime Video and other streamers. Reality TV remained popular, but there was a new cultural phenomenon in town — the prestige dramas and comedies of what some called the new Golden Age of television. For a few glorious years, highly produced scripted series were watched, and then discussed, together and in real time. A thousand recap blogs bloomed, and whether it was “Breaking Bad” or “Downton Abbey,” all anyone talked about was television.

Alas, as is so often the case, bust followed boom. The proliferation of platforms and shows splintered the audience and ad revenues. Streaming, with its binge model and personal-device availability, made viewing increasingly less about a family or group of friends gathering around a flat-screen and more about everyone balancing their laptop on their stomachs or hunching over their phones. Since no one knew who was watching what and when, watercooler chat and even many recap blogs spluttered out.

But reality TV, quietly chugging along as the number of scripted series swelled to unsustainable proportions, has always been a spectator’s sport. Sure you can binge past seasons of “The Great British Baking Show,” but when it comes to “The Bachelor,” “Love Is Blind” or “The Traitors,” it’s much more rewarding to watch and to comment in real time.

While the rise in interest in “Love Island USA” has been attributed to the Season 6 casting that led to several genuine couples, the show has also upped its social media presence and emphasized the fact that episodes air little more than a day after they are shot, making it as close to a live viewing experience as an edited series can get.

So it’s not surprising that the crowd watching at Roosterfish would act as if they were part of a live audience — groaning when one of the men suggests that his partner is “worthy,” or shouting out opinions to Huda Mustafa when she asks if she or her partner is to blame for that day’s miscommunication (according to the women at the next table, it is definitely her).

Chris Seeley and Huda Mustafa in “Love Island USA.”

(Ben Symons / Peacock)

Here is where I confess that, after watching several seasons, including 6 and 7, for the purposes of this column, I am not a fan of “Love Island USA,” and considering my aged demographic, I cannot imagine the good folks at ITV America or Peacock care at all.

I find all the blindfolded kissing troubling, the close-ups of those waiting to be voted safe or dumped gratuitously painful and the endless shots of contestant-grooming tedious. (Except when the guys are ironing — that’s my favorite part.) As a mother, I worry that between the “islanders’” sleep deprivation, complete lack of privacy and requisite emotional manipulation, whatever partnerships emerge are likely to be trauma-bonds, which is just not healthy. Mostly though, I think it’s boring — for every three minutes of “action,” the audience is expected to endure 30 minutes of analysis, mostly by people who overuse the words “queen” and “bro.” Also, I think the villa is hideous and the most fake moments are when everyone has to pretend it’s not.

But…

I did have a lot of fun at the watch party. The audience reaction, whether it was cheering or a collective cringe, amplified the drama while also making it right-sized — the show is ridiculous; that’s precisely why so many people love it.

As any theatergoer or stage actor will tell you — often ad nauseam — the audience is always part of the performance; the story is not just occurring in front of you, it’s all around you. The laughter and groans, the suspenseful silence of those watching play as big a part as whatever is happening on stage.

The same is true for television, and we are in grave danger of forgetting this. More than any other art form, television was created to be communal — to allow a large group of people to share something simultaneously.

Very few of us would give up our modern ability to watch what we want whenever we feel like it, but wholly surrendering the joys of old-fashioned, vying-for-the-best-seat, “what-did-he-say?” television is too high a price to pay for the ability to binge. The power of an audience is not limited to voting people out of the villa or determining a series’ success — it’s an energy source in itself.

Gathering with friends and family, or a group of strangers, to regularly enjoy a certain show together doesn’t just lift the spirit, it makes the show more than just something to watch.

If “Love Island USA” manages to remind us of that in a meaningful way, well, I may never like it much, but I will be a fan for life.

It is thought Malaysian businessman Tan has little interest in selling Cardiff – the club he has invested £200m-plus into since buying in 2010.

Bale recently confirmed it would be “a dream come true” to purchase the Bluebirds, outlining his desire to take the club to the Premier League.

Speaking to Sky Sports in June, he said: “We’ve been speaking about it (a takeover), trying to engage with Cardiff but more news will come out on that in the future but hopefully we can get something done.”

The 35-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Cardiff City Stadium prior to joining Los Angeles in the summer of 2022.

Bale went on to help the Major League Soccer side win the MLS Cup by scoring a last-minute equaliser in extra time of the final as LA went on to beat Philadelphia Union on penalties.

He featured in each of his country’s group stage matches against the USA, Iran and England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before retiring from football in January 2023.

Cardiff – now led by former Manchester City Elite Development Squad boss Brian Barry-Murphy – are preparing for a first campaign in the third tier since 2002-03 having finished bottom of the Championship last season.

The Bluebirds have not commented on the Bale-led consortium’s approaches to buy the club.

The Starlink constellation of satellites will provide internet to the Virgin fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline’s CEO Shai Weiss announced on Tuesday evening

Virgin Atlantic has pledged to provide free, streaming-quality Wi-Fi to all passengers on all of its planes by the end of 2027.

Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation of satellites will provide internet to the Virgin fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss announced on Tuesday evening.

According to Space Explored, Starlink for aviation is different from the typical ground-based product and uses a specially made antenna that can work at high speeds and remain reliable over long periods. A number of airlines have announced plans to use the service by the end of 2025, including United Airlines, SAS, and Air France.

Virgin Atlantic is aiming to be the first UK airline to offer the service, which will be unlimited for every passenger who signs up to the airline’s Flying Club loyalty scheme. The airline hopes to have it installed on its fleet of Airbus A330neos, A350s, and Boeing 787s by the end of 2027.

Some frequent flyers are bound to welcome the move, given the current high cost and unreliable nature of in-flight Wi-Fi. Others may feel that being disconnected from the internet for a few hours now and again is something to be cherished.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or by emailing [email protected]

CEO Shai Weiss said: “To fulfil the brief that we’ve set ourselves, which is to offer free, basically unlimited, streaming-quality connectivity on a plane, right now there’s only one solution: it is Starlink. We were the first airline to launch Wi-Fi fleet-wide across the Atlantic, and now we will be the first fleet to complete this transformation.”

The rollout of Starlink was not the only major announcement on Tuesday evening.

Virgin Atlantic also plans to invest £17 billion in a mixed fleet of 45 next-generation, fuel-efficient aircraft, including 19 A330-900s, 12 A350-1000s, and 14 B787-9s, with an average fleet age of just under seven years by 2028.

It will also increase the number of premium seats across its fleet due to high demand.

Premium economy seats will increase from 35 to 56, while business class will increase from 31 to 44. Economy seats, meanwhile, will decrease from 192 to 127.

“In the last four decades, we’ve evolved from a challenger to a leader and a premium, long-haul flag carrier. We exist to make our customers smile—it’s that simple—obsessing over finding new ways to delight our guests, delivered by our amazing people, on our journey to become the most loved travel company,” Shai said.

“We are investing billions to fly the youngest fleet across the Atlantic; the first UK airline to have free, streaming-quality, fleet-wide Wi-Fi; more premium cabins; and a full retrofit of the 787 fleet—alongside a new app featuring the world of Virgin Atlantic in your pocket, all delivered by our amazing teams. The best is yet to come.”

EXCLUSIVE: Jenny Powell says her eldest daughter Connie, 24, has been asked to be on Love Island three times but has turned it down as she’s too much of an ‘old soul’

Jenny Powell might be one of Britain’s most glamorous TV stars – but don’t expect her eldest daughter to be strutting round the Love Island villa in a tiny bikini any time soon.

In fact, Connie, Jenny’s 24-year-old first-born, has now politely declined an invite to join the smash-hit dating show not once, not twice – but THREE times, her mum reveals in an exclusive chat. “They’ve asked her three times now!” laughs Jenny, who at 57 (and looking about 37!) is still a firm TV favourite, regularly popping up on everything from Loose Women to presenting at this summer’s Rewind Festival.

Jenny, who lives in South Manchester with fiancé Martin Lowe, 51, and their youngest daughter Pollyanna, 16, says she’s secretly relieved Connie has no interest in reality fame.

“I was on Loose Women and all of a sudden I got a call,” she said. “It was during lockdown and she was at uni. She was like, I’m at UCL studying Art History, I don’t think I’m up for doing that! I think it’s quite cool that she’s turned it down three times! I quite like it. If we ever meet someone famous they are not impressed at all. They’re not bothered.”

While plenty of 20-somethings would jump at the chance for sun, scandal and a six-figure influencer deal, Jenny says Connie is cut from a different cloth entirely – and so is her youngest, Pollyanna.

“Connie posts on Instagram about once a year. Do you know what I mean? She’s not that person. And therefore I don’t think she would even realise the pressure and the attention she’d get. I think I’d worry for her.”

Jenny says she’s proud Connie didn’t get swept up in the showbiz circus, and reckons her grounded attitude comes from a solid upbringing – and the knock-on effects of a tough few years during the pandemic.

“I just think we don’t realise in this day and age, even though all these young people, they’ve got this facade, they’re all so confident and look a certain way and all that stuff. But actually, I think there is a huge fragility in these past couple of generations, especially ones that have been through shit through COVID.”

“I mean, you know, for her, she got a degree on her own, sitting in a room. Those amazing uni years at UCL, which is up there with Oxford, and UCL’s major. She’s got three A stars. Connie worked at Maddox Galleries in Mayfair.”

“Now, she decided she’s done enough there. Then she’s gone to Knight Frank, shares a flat with her friend from Manchester. She’s got a lovely boyfriend. She’s very old school. Old soul. They both are. I think it will help them through these times, because they’re not great times.”

While Connie is not the only daughter of a famous British celebrity to be associated with the show, Princess Andre, 18, was also rumoured to be entering the villa but dad, Peter, quickly turned down those rumours.

In his exclusive weekly column about the rumours that eldest daughter Princess, who just turned 18, could be signing up to Love Island – he admits that he doesn’t know where the rumours came from, and says at 17 she can’t legally apply yet anyway.

He says: “There’s been a lot of talk about Princess going on Love Island, and I don’t know where it came from. She’s not 18 yet, so it’s not even an option.” He adds that, though he would support her if she wanted to sign up to the ITV2 show, it’s not something he’d ever choose for her.

“Whether she chooses to do it in the future is up to her, but of course it’s every dad’s nightmare. Then again, I look at people like Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury, and others, and see how happy they were in their relationships that came from the show. It’s about what makes Princess happy at the end of the day. I wouldn’t stop her, but if she asks my opinion, I’ll be honest.”

In a recent episode of her podcast, Katie Price revealed that she has tried to encourage her daughter Princess Andre to sign up for competition show Love Island. However, the model and entrepreneur has tellingly responded that she doesn’t want to be known as a ‘Love Islander’.

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WOLVES face a potential fight to keep hold of boss Vitor Pereira – with Portuguese giants Benfica eyeing a move for the Molineux boss to replace one of his predecessors.

Benfica are currently in the USA for the Club World Cup, amid rumours over the long-term future of manager Bruno Lage.

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And if the Lisbon Eagles flop in the States, club President – and former Portugal midfielder – Rui Costa is ready to test Wolves’ resolve to keep Pereira after his impressive first six months at the club.

Pereira has seen the club sell both full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and playmaker Matheus Cunha this summer, with the two Manchester Clubs paying £94.7m between them for the duo.

That came after he had stabilised the club following his arrival in place of Gary O’Neil in December.

Beer-loving Pereira, 59, steered Wolves away from the drop zone to win 10 of his 22 games in charge including a seven-match winning run in March and April that secured their Premier League status.

But the prospect of a return to his homeland – with Benfica facing two Champions League qualifying rounds in August – could tempt the former Porto and Olympiacos chief.

Pereira has not coached in Portugal since quitting Porto for Saudi side Al Ahli after leading them to the title in 2013.

His stock is high with claims that Rui Costa is not happy with Lage – despite official insistence that the coach will start next season at the Stadium of Light irrespective of what happens at the Club World Cup.

Benfica face Argentines Boca Juniors, Kiwi minnows Auckland City and Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in the group stage, with Lage under scrutiny.

Lage, 49, and now in his second spell at Benfica, spent 15 months at the Molineux helm after replacing Nuno Espirito Santos in June 2021.

While they finished 10th in his first season – having been in the top six after 13 games – Wolves scored just 38 goals in the Prem campaign, with just two points from their final seven matches.

He was sacked in October 2022 after picking up a solitary win from the club’s first nine games before landing a job at Brazilian side Botofogo the following summer.

Lage then became embroiled in a legal spat with Botofogo owner John Textor, whose stake in Crystal Palace has threatened their chances of taking up their place in the Europa League.

Earlier this year, Lage – who returned to Benfica in September – launched a £6m suit claiming he had been promised in a “gentleman’s agreement” that he would be offered the Palace job that was given to Oliver Glasner.

While Benfica beating Sporting Lisbon on penalties to win the Portuguese League Cup, they finished two points behind their city rivals in the title race.

In a significant retrenchment, media mogul Byron Allen has retained investment banking firm Moelis & Co. to sell his network-affiliate television stations after spending more than $1 billion to scoop up outlets in smaller markets.

The Allen Media Group announced the news Monday morning. It owns nearly two dozen stations, including in Northern California near Redding, as well as Honolulu; Flint, Mich.; Madison, Wis.; and Tupelo, Miss.

The company needs to pay down debt, Allen said in a statement.

Allen’s firm declined to provide details on its finances.

The Los Angeles firm has spent big bucks during the last six years buying stations with a goal of becoming the largest independent television operator in the U.S. Many of Allen’s stations have standing in their markets with programming from one of the Big Four broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

“We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment,” Allen, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt.”

Allen Media Group, which was founded by Allen in 1993, also owns a dozen television channels, including the Weather Channel.

The Los Angeles entrepreneur and former stand-up comedian had been steadily expanding his empire for more than a decade.

However, the television advertising market has become increasingly challenged in recent years as media buyers shift their budgets to digital platforms where they are more likely to find younger consumers. The television advertising market has become more strained with the addition of streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ competing with legacy stations for dollars.

A decade ago, Allen brought a high-profile $20-billion lawsuit against two of the nation’s largest pay-TV distributors, Comcast and Charter Communications, alleging that racism was the reason his small TV channels were not being carried on those services.

The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court and was legally significant because it relied on the historic Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was enacted a year after the Civil War ended and mandated that Black citizens “shall have the same right … to make and enforce contracts … as is enjoyed by white citizens.”

But the Supreme Court struck down many of Allen’s arguments. In a 9-0 decision in March 2020, the high court said it was not enough for a civil rights plaintiff to assert that his race was one of several factors that motivated a company to refuse to do business with him. Instead, the person must show race was the crucial and deciding factor.

Last month, CBS picked up his show “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen” to run at 12:35 a.m.

Dimapur, Mokokchung, Wokha, Chumoukedima and Kohima, India — With its high ceilings, soft lighting and brown and turquoise blue cushioned chairs, Juro Coffee House has the appearance of a chic European cafe.

Sitting right off India’s National Highway-2, which connects the northeastern states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, the cafe hosts a live roastery unit that was set up in January by the Nagaland state government.  Here, green coffee beans from 12 districts in Nagaland are roasted live, ground and served, from farm to cup.

On a typical day, the cafe gets about a hundred customers, sipping on coffee, with smoke breaks in between.

Those numbers aren’t big – but they’re a start.

For decades, an armed rebellion seeking the secession of Nagaland from India dominated the state’s political and economic landscape. Thousands have been killed in clashes between security forces and armed rebels in Nagaland since India’s independence, soon after which Naga separatists held a plebiscite in which nearly all votes were cast in favour of separating from the Indian union. India has never accepted that vote.

The state’s economy has depended on agriculture, with paddy, fruits like bananas and oranges and green leafy vegetables like mustard leaves, the main crops grown traditionally.

Now, a growing band of cafes, roasteries and farms across the state are looking to give Nagaland a new identity by promoting locally grown Arabica and Robusta coffee. Juro Coffee House is among them.

While coffee was first introduced to the state in 1981 by the Coffee Board of India, a body set up by the Indian government to promote coffee production, it only began to take off after 2014.

Helped by government policy changes and pushed by a set of young entrepreneurs, Nagaland today has almost 250 coffee farms spread across 10,700 hectares (26,400 acres) of land in 11 districts. About 9,500 farmers are engaged in coffee cultivation, according to the state government. The small state bordering Myanmar today boasts of eight roastery units, besides homegrown cafes mushrooming in major cities like Dimapur and Kohima, and interior districts like Mokokchung and Mon.

For Searon Yanthan, the founder of Juro Coffee House, the journey began with COVID-19, when the pandemic forced Naga youth studying or working in other parts of India or abroad to return home. But this became a blessing in disguise since they brought back value to the state, says Yanthan. “My father used to say, those were the days when we used to export people,” he told Al Jazeera. “Now it’s time to export our products and ideas, not the people.”

‘Back to the farm’

Like many kids his age, Yanthan left Nagaland for higher studies in 2010, first landing up in the southern city of Chennai for high school and then the northern state of Punjab for his undergraduate studies, before dropping out to study in Bangalore. “I studied commerce but the only subject I was good in was entrepreneurship,” said the 30-year-old founder, dressed in a pair of smart formal cotton pants and a baby pink polo neck shirt.

The pandemic hit just as he was about to graduate, and Yanthan left with no degree in hand. One day, he sneaked into a government vehicle from Dimapur during the COVID-19 lockdown – when only essential services like medical and government workers were allowed to move around – to return to his family farm estate, 112km (70 miles) from state capital Kohima, where his dad first started growing coffee in 2015.

He ended up spending seven months at the farm during lockdown and realised that coffee farmers didn’t know much about the quality of beans, which wasn’t surprising considering coffee is not a household beverage among Nagas and other ethnic communities in India’s northeast.

Yanthan, who launched Lithanro Coffee, the parent company behind Juro, in 2021, started visiting other farms, working with farmers on improving coffee quality and maintaining plantations. Once his own processing unit was set up, he began hosting other coffee farmers, offering them a manually brewed cup of their own produce.

Gradually, he built a relationship with 200 farmers from whom he sources beans today, besides the coffee grown on his farm.

Yanthan sees coffee as an opportunity for Nagaland’s youth to dream of economic prospects beyond jobs in the government — the only aspiration for millions of Naga families in a state where private-sector employment has historically been uncertain. “Every village you go to, parents are working day and night in the farms to make his son or daughter get a government job,” Yanthan told Al Jazeera.

Coffee, to him, could also serve as a vehicle to bring people together. “In this industry, it’s not only one person who can do this work, it has to be a community,” he said.

Brewing success

So what changed in 2015? Coffee buyers and roasters are unanimous in crediting the state government’s decision to hand over charge of coffee development to Nagaland’s Land Resources Department (LRD) that year. The state department implements schemes sponsored by the federal government and the state government, including those promoting coffee.

Unlike in the past, when Nagaland – part of a region that has historically had poor physical connectivity with the rest of India – also had no internet, coffee roasters, buyers and farmers could now build online links with the outside world. “[The] market was not like what it is today,” said Albert Ngullie, the director of the LRD.

The LRD builds nurseries and provides free saplings to farmers, besides supporting farm maintenance. Unlike before, the government is also investing in the post-harvest process by supplying coffee pulpers to farmers, setting up washing stations and curing units in a few districts and recently, supporting entrepreneurs with roastery units.

Among those to benefit is Lichan Humtsoe. He set up his company Ete (which means “ours” in the Lotha Naga dialect) in 2016 after quitting his pen-pushing job in the LRD and was the first in the state to source, serve and supply Naga specialty coffee. Today, Ete runs its own cafes, roasteries and a coffee laboratory, researching the chemical properties of indigenous fruits as flavour notes. Ete also has a coffee school in Nagaland (and a campus in the neighbouring state of Manipur) with a dedicated curriculum and training facilities to foster the next generation of coffee professionals.

Humtsoe said the past decade has shown that the private sector and government in Nagaland have complemented each other in promoting coffee.

Nagaland’s growing coffee story also coincides with an overall increase in India’s exports of coffee beans.

In 2024, India’s coffee exports surpassed $1bn for the first time, with production doubling compared with 2020-21. While more than 70 percent of India’s coffee comes from the southern state of Karnataka, the Coffee Board has been trying to expand cultivation in the Northeast.

Building a coffee culture in Nagaland is no easy feat, given that decades of unrest left the state in want of infrastructure and almost completely reliant on federal funding. Growing up in the 1990s, when military operations against alleged armed groups were frequent and security forces would often barge into homes, day or night, Humtsoe wanted nothing to do with India.

At one point, he stopped speaking Nagamese – a bridge dialect among the state’s 16 tribes and a creole version of the Indian language, Assamese. But he grew disillusioned with the political solution rooted in separatism that armed groups were seeking. And the irony of the state’s dependence on funds from New Delhi hit the now 39-year-old.

Coffee became his own path to self-determination.

“From 2016 onwards, I was more of, ‘How can I inspire India?’”

The quality challenge

Ngullie of the LRD insists that the coffee revolution brewing in Nagaland is also helping the state preserve its forests.

“We don’t do land clearing,” he said, in essence suggesting that coffee was helping the state’s agriculture transition from the traditional slash-and-burn techniques to agroforestry.

The LRD buys seed varieties from the Coffee Board for farmers, and growers make more money than before.

Limakumzak Walling, a 40-year-old farmer, recalled how his late father was one of the first to grow Arabica coffee in 1981 on a two-acre farm on their ancestral land in Mokokchung district’s Khar village. “During my father’s time, they used to cultivate it, but people didn’t find the market,” he said. “It was more of a burden than a bonus.”

Before the Nagaland government took charge of coffee development, the Coffee Board would buy produce from farmers and sell it to buyers or auction it in their headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka. But the payments, said Walling, would be made in instalments over a year, sometimes two. Since he took over the farm, and the state department became the nodal agency, payments are not only higher but paid upfront with buyers directly procuring from the farmers.

Still, profits aren’t huge. Walling makes less than 200,000 rupees per annum (roughly $2,300) and like most farmers, is still engaged in jhum cultivation, the traditional slash-and-burn method of farming practised by Indigenous tribes in northeastern hills. With erratic weather patterns and decreasing soil fertility in recent decades, intensified land use in jhum cultivation has been known to lead to further environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change.

“Trees are drying up and so is the mountain spring water,” Walling told Al Jazeera, pointing at the evergreen woods where spring leaves were already wilting in March, well before the formal arrival of summer. “Infestation is also a major issue and we don’t use even organic fertilisers because we are scared of spoiling our land,” he added.

And though the state government has set up some washing stations and curing units, many more are needed for these facilities to be accessible to all farmers, said Walling, for them to sustain coffee as a viable crop and secure better prices. “Right now we don’t know the quality. We just harvest it,” he said.

Dipanjali Kemprai, a liaison officer who leads the Coffee Board of India operations in Nagaland, told Al Jazeera that the agency encourages farmers to grow coffee alongside horticultural crops like black pepper to supplement their income. “But intercropping still hasn’t fully taken off,” said Kemprai.

Meanwhile, despite the state’s efforts to promote sustainable agriculture, recent satellite data suggests that shifting cultivation, or jhum, may be rising again.

The future of Naga coffee

Though it is the seventh-largest producer of coffee, India is far behind export-heavy countries like Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Italy.

And while the Nagaland government maintains that exports have been steadily growing, entrepreneurs tell a different story. Vivito Yeptho, who co-owns Nagaland Coffee and became the state’s first certified barista in 2018, said that their last export of 15 metric tonnes (MT) was in 2019, to South Africa.

Still, there are other wins to boast of.

In 2024, the state registered its highest-ever production at 48 MT, per state department officials. Yeptho said Nagaland Coffee alone supplies 40 cafes across India, of which 12 are in the Northeast region. And Naga coffee is already making waves internationally, winning silver at the Aurora International Taste Challenge in South Africa in 2022 and then gold in 2023.

“To aim for export, we need to be at least producing 80-100 MT every year,” Yeptho told Al Jazeera.

But before aiming for mass production, entrepreneurs said they still have a long way to go in improving the quality of beans and their post-harvest processing.

With a washing mill and a curing unit in his farm, where he grows both Arabica and Robusta varieties, Yanthan’s Lithanro brand is the only farm-to-cup institution in the state. He believes farmers need to focus on better maintenance of their plantations, to begin with.

“Even today, the attitude is that the plants don’t need to be tended to during the summers and monsoon season before harvest (which starts by November),” Yanthan told Al Jazeera. “But the trees need to be constantly pruned to keep them within a certain height, weeding has to be done and the stems need to be maintained as well.”

Even as these challenges ground Naga farmers and entrepreneurs in reality, their dreams are soaring.

Humtsoe hopes for speciality coffee from Nagaland to soon be GI tagged, like varieties from Coorg, Chikmagalur, Araku Valley and Wayanad in southern India.

He wants good coffee from India to be associated with Nagas, not just Nagaland, he said.

“People of the land must become the brand”.

Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire proposal put forth by the United States for Gaza, according to Al Jazeera’s sources, but an American official rejected the claim and said the deal being discussed was “unacceptable” and “disappointing”.

Israeli officials also denied that the proposal was from the US, saying on Monday that no Israeli government could accept it, according to the Reuters news agency.

The conflicting reports came as Israeli forces kept up their relentless bombardment of starving Palestinians in Gaza, and continued to severely restrict the entry of aid into the besieged enclave.

Medical sources say at least 81 people, including many children, were killed in Israel’s attacks on Monday alone.

Al Jazeera’s sources said Hamas and the US’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, agreed to the draft deal at a meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha. They said it includes a 60-day ceasefire, and the release of 10 living captives held in Gaza, over two stages.

US President Donald Trump would guarantee the terms of the deal and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The agreement would also allow for the entry of humanitarian aid, without conditions, from day one, the sources said.

Witkoff, however, rejected the notion that Hamas had accepted his offer for a captive and truce deal, telling Reuters that what he had seen was “completely unacceptable”.

A US source close to Witkoff also told Al Jazeera that Hamas’s claims were “inaccurate” and the deal from the Palestinian group was “disappointing”.

New red lines

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, cited the US official as saying that the proposal on the table is only a “temporary ceasefire agreement” with Israel.

“What this would do is allow for half of the living captives, as well as half of the deceased, to be returned,” she said.

“In turn, the White House believes this would lead towards a diplomatic path of discussions that could result in a permanent ceasefire. And this is the deal that the source tells Al Jazeera is what Hamas should take,” she added.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

In Israel, meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a recorded message on social media, promising to bring back the 58 Israeli captives remaining in Gaza, of whom some 20 are believed to still be alive.

“If we don’t achieve it today, we will achieve it tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. We are not giving up,” Netanyahu said.

“We intend to bring them all back, the living and the dead,” he added.

The Israeli leader made no mention of the proposed deal.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from the Jordanian capital, Amman, said Netanyahu has long rejected Hamas’s calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and pledged to continue the war until “total victory” is achieved against the Palestinian group.

“The Israeli premier has even added new red lines for what to him would bring an end of the war,” Salhut said.

“That includes the return of the Israeli captives, the demilitarisation of Hamas [and] the exile of military and political leaders. And, also, the implementation of Trump’s plan for Gaza. This is a plan that has been widely condemned as ethnic cleansing, and the White House even walked it back several months ago,” she said.

“But Netanyahu says that’s what he wants if there is to be an end of the war.”

For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to free the remaining captives all at once in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. It has also said it is willing to cede control of the Gaza Strip to an interim government, as proposed in an Arab League-backed $53bn plan for the enclave’s reconstruction.

The Palestinian group, however, has refused to lay down arms or exile its leaders from Gaza, saying the demand is a “red line” as long as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory continues.

‘All eyes on Doha’

In Gaza, Palestinians said they were desperate for any deal to bring an end to Israel’s relentless bombardment and blockade, which has left the enclave’s entire population on the brink of famine.

“All Palestinian eyes are on Doha,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

“Since Israel resumed the war, Palestinians have been attacked in their homes, schools, makeshift tents and also in so-called safe humanitarian zones… They are also saying they are not able to even secure one meal for their families,” Khoudary said.

“Palestinians here are saying they do not have any options left, and they are trying to survive the Israeli air strikes and the mass starvation that has been imposed on them.”

Israel resumed the war on Gaza on March 18, two weeks after imposing a total blockade on the enclave.

Health authorities in Gaza say at least 3,822 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s renewed offensive, and the confirmed overall death toll has now reached 53,977. Some 122,966 people have been wounded.

Israel eased its blockade last week, saying it has let in some 170 aid trucks into Gaza, but humanitarian officials say they are nowhere near the amount needed to feed the enclave’s two million people after 11 weeks of a total siege.

MATALAN shoppers can snap up a ‘luxury’-looking bedding set for just 50p in a limited-time deal.

The White Butterfly Duvet Cover, normally priced at £21, is available for less than £1 when new customers sign up to Top Cashback.

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The deal is available online across the UK and applies to the double size set, which includes the duvet cover and matching pillowcases, both featuring a delicate embossed butterfly pattern.

New Top Cashback members can get the set for just 50p after claiming a £2 cashback bonus, while existing members can still enjoy a hefty saving, picking it up for £15.50 with the same bonus.

Offers are also available on the single and king sizes.

The single size, usually £16, is completely free after cashback for new members, or £11.33 for existing ones.

One happy customer wrote: “Outstanding in quality and style. Even more stunning than l was expecting.

So reasonably priced in fact l will be purchasing a second set.

I would 100 per cent recommend this product.”

Over at Dunelm, shoppers can find up to 50 per cent off selected duvet sets in a seasonal sale.

One popular waffle set now ranges from £25.60 to £41.60, down from £32 to £52, and comes in a choice of colours including sage green, black, grey, blue and white.

Meanwhile, Dusk is offering up to 25 per cent off bedding, including the 200 thread count Portofino Waffle Duvet Cover, reduced to between £27.50 and £49.50.

Matching pillowcases, usually £22, are now £11 for a pair.

Back at Matalan, more glowing reviews have poured in for the White Butterfly set.

One buyer said: “Beautiful butterfly design, excellent quality and great value. Looks like luxury item.”

Another added: “Looks good, feels good, just adds a bit of luxury.” A third commented: “Just gorgeous. Embossed butterflies on it.

“Feels nice too, very comfy feeling…..love it.”

A fifth review simply read: “Excellent value for money.”

However, potential buyers should note a couple of small drawbacks.

The set is machine washable, but there’s no mention of whether it’s suitable for tumble drying—something to consider for busy households.

And with the fabric’s raised design, pet owners may need to be cautious as claws could potentially snag the material.

For those looking to refresh their home on a budget, Dunelm is also offering significant discounts on various homeware items.

Shoppers can find up to 75 per cent off in their clearance sale, including items like curtains, bedding, and rugs .

Additionally, Dunelm’s outlet stores across the UK offer up to 75 per cent off stylish home items, including boucle chairs, sofas, cabinets, and lighting.

In the kitchenware department, Dunelm has launched a promotional offer, cutting the price of a 12-piece dinner set from £25 to just £12.50.

This floral-designed set includes four dinner plates, four side plates, and four bowls, and is both dishwasher and microwave safe.

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JAKE PAUL has a fight with KSI on his Christmas list after sending his bitter rival an offer to fight on December 24.

The bitter YouTube enemies are yet to settle their score in the ring – despite recent attempts to strike a deal behind the scenes.

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Nakisa Bidarian – co-founder of Most Valuable Promoters alongside Paul – revealed an offer to fight on Christmas Eve was sent to KSI.

Bidarian said KSI and Wasserman – who promote Misfits Boxing bouts – have had the contract for 15 days.

A bout over ten rounds, at 192.5lb, in an 18x18ft ring with VADA testing to be promoted by MVP and Wasserman was tabled.

He added that the offer included a 50/50 deal PPV share other but the UK which is 60/40 in KSI’s favour and 60/40 to Paul in the US.

A fan probed Bidarian on why the fight would be staged on Christmas Eve.

He responded: “What are you watching Christmas Eve? Nothing. Jake and KSI will have the entire world’s attention.”

Mams Taylor – KSI’s manager and co-founder of Misfits which homes to celebrity-style crossover bouts – hit back.

Taylor said: “Hey man, we sent you an offer too and you insisted we redline yours.

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“Yours is one sided. Ours is fair and clearly a real attempt to make the fight actually happen.”

Taylor said they countered with a fight in the US, with a coin toss to decide who walks out second.

It would include full drug testing, at 190lb over eight rounds in a 20x 20ft ring, co-promoted down the middle with both to mutually approve all costs.

Taylor added: “Your contract had MVP as lead promoter in charge of everything and you put Wasserman boxing USA as side promoter.

“(FYI Wasserman boxing USA does not exist). You purposely omitted Misfits as an ego based mind game tactic.

“C’mon man. Let’s give the people what they want and not let ego’s get in the way.

We have a duty to our clients and respect due to the fans that made them!!”

KSI, 31, is yet to fought since losing a controversial decision to Tommy Fury, 26, in October 2023.

Jake Paul vs KSI: The terms

Jake Paul’s terms

• 10 rounds
• 192.5lb
• 18x18ft ring
• Full VADA testing
• December 24th
• MVP in association with Wasserman

KSI’s terms

• Fight in USA
• Full VADA testing
• 190lb
• 8 rounds
• 20x20ft ring
• Co-promoted down the middle
• Both promotions to mutually approve all costs and undercard fights etc

He was due to return last August but pulled out with a hand injury before illness saw him withdraw from facing MMA star Dillon Danis, 31, in March.

KSI is now due to have surgery on his busted hand with his boxing career in the air.

Meanwhile Paul, 28, returns against ex-middleweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, on June 28 in a cruiserweight clash.

It comes after he fought at heavyweight in November to beat Mike Tyson, who controversially came out of retirement aged 58.

Paul now drops back down to the 200lb limit of 14st 4lb while KSI lost to Fury a stone lighter at 183lb.

Their weight disagreement has been the biggest factor standing in the way of the grudge bout.

And Bidarian said: “Not engaging in a back and forth.

“We proposed our terms to Wasserman on April 4th and the offer that followed was those exact terms. Jake Paul wants to fight KSI.

“He does not need to fight KSI. Jake has campaigned at 200+ since December of 2023 and plans to continue at that weight with the intention to contest for a world championship by the end of 2026.”

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May 13 (UPI) — Justice Department nominees won’t be confirmed until the Trump administration provides full transparency on “Qatari influence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on Tuesday.

The recently announced donation of a $400 million luxury Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force 1, which Trump has said will be donated to his presidential library after he leaves office, spurred opposition from Senate Democrats.

“This has the appearance of naked corruption” and “is a grave national security risk,” Schumer said Tuesday in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“Given reports that you played a central role in approving his proposal, I request answers to the following questions,” Schumer told Bondi.

Schumer wants to know if the aircraft will include secure communications, self-defense systems, shielding and other security requirements that “are ready on day one.”

If so, he wants to know who installed them and how the Trump administration knows the aircraft is not a national security threat.

If not, Schumer wants to know “what modifications would be needed to ensure a foreign-sourced Air Force One is safe to use and free of security threats.”

He also wants to know if taxpayers would have to pay to retrofit the aircraft, if the gift would negate a $3.9 billion 2018 contract with Boeing for two new presidential aircraft, and how much such a cancellation might cost.

If the $3.9 billion contract is not cancelled, Schumer asked Bondi how the Trump administration justifies allocating resources to a foreign-sourced aircraft that only would be used while Trump is president, who negotiated the agreement and its parameters.

“What is Qatar being offered in return?” Schumer asked.

He also wants to know why Bondi in February “deprioritized enforcement” of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and other foreign-influence laws.

“Please explain this decision to weaken FARA, which requires agents of foreign governments, like Qatar, to register and disclose their activities,” Schumer said.

“Until the administration provides a detailed justification of this new program, including complete and comprehensive answers to these and other questions posed by oversight committees, I will place a hold on all political nominees of the Department of Justice,” Schumer said.

Senate rules enable a senator to place a blanket hold on political nominations for matters that are unrelated to the respective nominees.

A White House spokesperson accused Schumer of politicizing the aircraft donation.

“Sen. Schumer and his anti-law-and-order party are prioritizing politics over critical DOJ appointments, obstructing President Trump’s Make America Safe Again agenda,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to UPI.

“Cryin’ Chuck must end the antics, stop Senate stonewalling and prioritize the safety and civil rights of Americans,” Fields added.

A DOJ spokesperson in an emailed statement to UPI said Schumer and Senate Democrats should stop blocking DOJ nominees.

“The American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump to nominate highly qualified candidates at the Department of Justice who will Make America Safe Again,” the spokesperson said. “The Senate should do its part by confirming these nominees.”

Airbnb wants to do your hair, cook your dinner, massage your back and possibly photograph your honeymoon. All these services, and several more, are part of a new bid by the company to further expand beyond its roots as a lodging broker.

The company unveiled Airbnb Services — which includes 10 initial categories — while relaunching its experiences program and introducing a new app design at a media event in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Rather than heavily emphasizing lodging, the redesigned app more strongly integrates all of its offerings and encourages more interaction among guests and hosts.

This new approach opens new possibilities for the company and its customers, who could order services and experiences from home or on the road. But this step depends on a lot of behind-the-scenes work. The new services menu — which went live Tuesday with 10,500 offerings — will be offered in 260 cities, and Airbnb vows to protect consumers by carefully vetting those legions of service providers.

Airbnb, born in 2007, grew to challenge the hotel industry and became a giant in the world of hospitality. It first launched its Airbnb Experiences program in 2016, serving as a matchmaker between travelers and people offering their services as specialized tour guides and teachers. But that effort sputtered.

By 2022, many critics on Reddit and elsewhere were complaining that Airbnb experiences were unreliable, and industry website Skift reported that Airbnb had stopped adding new experiences and reduced emphasis on them on its homepage. With this relaunch, company representatives said, Airbnb is aiming to focus more narrowly on distinctive experiences that have been more closely vetted. The company also said it would include more experiences focused on meeting or spending time with celebrities.

To start, Airbnb would offer about 22,000 experiences in 650 cities in 22 categories. To announce the new moves, Airbnb co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Chesky convened hundreds of influencers, podcasters and media in a special-event space in Boyle Heights.

“What if you could Airbnb more than a place to stay?” Chesky asked the audience. “Today we are changing travel again.”

For instance, Chesky said, “Now you can book a professional chef to come right to your home.” The same goes for photographers, personal trainers, massage and spa treatments, hair-styling, makeup and nails. Moreover, “you don’t need to stay at an Airbnb to book these services. You can book them in your own city.”

Chesky said he expects to add thousands of more services over the course of 2025.

In the case of Airbnb Experiences, “we’ve learned a lot about how to make them better,” said Chesky, tacitly acknowledging the feature’s uneven history. As before, the goal is to give travelers an experience that reaches beyond the usual photo-op spots and bus-tour stops.

Stressing small groups, specific themes, Chesky said the new experiences will fall into five categories: history and culture; food and drink; nature and outdoors; art and design; and fitness and wellness. He encouraged anyone who is an expert in their city and has something to share to apply to be a host. Airbnb representatives said the vetting process, which can take up to two weeks, includes online scrutiny of a host’s work history, licensing, education and any awards — along with ongoing attention to guest reviews.

The renewed program also includes about 1,000 Airbnb Originals — adventures in the company of “the world’s most interesting people.” As examples, Chesky cited a mezcal-tasting session in Mexico City with an expert, a class with a ramen master in Tokyo, a dance with a K-pop performer in Seoul and a visit to Notre Dame with an architect who worked on the cathedral’s restoration.

Those offerings feature at least a few celebrity options, which include spending a Sunday with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, “learning to throw the perfect spiral” or an anime-intensive encounter called “Become an Otaku Hottie with Megan Thee Stallion.” Airbnb said those initial celebrity experiences are free, offered as a promotion, with guests chosen from applicants.