reopen

Feb. 16 (UPI) — Warner Bros. Discovery is considering reopening talks with Paramount Skydance after Paramount sweetened its offer to buy the company last week, sources say.

Bloomberg News first reported Sunday that WBD was considering the offer.

In October, Warner Bros. said it was open to offers, and on Dec. 5, after a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount, WBD agreed to Netflix’s offer. Then Paramount launched a hostile bid to buy WBD, but the board wasn’t budging. Then Paramount announced that Oracle creator Larry Ellison was backing the deal with $40 billion in equity. On Jan. 20, Netflix changed its offer to all cash, then on Feb. 10, Paramount did the same and added some sweeteners.

The sweetened deal included paying the $2.8 billion termination fee that WBD would owe Netflix and an agreement to back WBD’s debt costs. It also agreed to pay a ticking fee of 25 cents per share for each quarter the deal is delayed, starting in 2027, totalling about $650 million in cash per quarter.

Paramount and Netflix have both said they would be willing to raise their bids, Bloomberg reported. This is the first time, though, that WBD has given serious consideration to Paramount’s offer. It has until Feb. 25 to respond to Paramount’s offer.

Some WBD shareholders, including the investment firm Ancora, have expressed concerns with Netflix’s deal. One main issue is whether it would pass federal scrutiny. Paramount’s connection with Larry Ellison is a bonus because he’s friendly with President Donald Trump, who has said he would get involved with the process.

Last week, Paramount appointed Rene Augustine as its senior vice president of global public policy. Augustine is a former lawyer in the Trump administration, further bolstering Paramount’s regulatory clout.

Netflix has said it’s confident it can pass regulatory scrutiny. Its co-CEO Ted Sarandos faced a Senate hearing on Feb. 4 about the deal. Paramount didn’t participate.

Warner Bros. is waiting for the Security and Exchange Commission to approve its filings, which would allow it to schedule a shareholder vote on the Netflix offer.

ONE popular lido could be sold to save thousands of pounds – and remain closed for good.

The outdoor pool in Teignmouth is set to close, and locals are worried that it may never open its doors again.

Teignbridge Council recently announced its plan to close the town’s beachfront lido in a bid to save money.

Officials said not reopening Teignmouth Lido could save £74,000 in 2026.

The news hasn’t been well received by locals who want the lido to remain open.

Talking to ITV News, Catherine Brown, a lifeguard supervisor, said: “It has a huge amount of value to people of all ages and all groups, people bring their kids to swim, their grandkids to swim, disabled people can come here to swim.

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“It doesn’t matter whether it’s raining or sunshine, it’s such a lovely place and everybody comes out with a smile on their face.”

A report said the number of swimmers using the pool was 8,224 in 2024 – this number increased in 2025.

Teignmouth Lido operates as a seasonal site which opens for the May half-term.

It has partial opening hours in June and July and then opens full time for the summer holidays.

The 25-metre pool is heated and holds public swims, fun sessions, as well as water-based activities like aqua fit and aqua circuits.

Four years ago, the pool underwent a refurbishment of £800,000 and then a further £30,000 was spent on repairs, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Members of the council will hold a closed meeting on February 21, 2026.

They will vote on a proposal to dispose of the lido on the open market, without restrictions on its future use – meaning it could no longer be used as a lido.

But if the pool does go up for sale, the local community has an opportunity to draw up a bid to buy it.

This is because the pool was listed as an official Asset of Community Value in 2025.

Save the Lido – Teignmouth is hoping to do exactly that.

Daniel O’Connel, the co-founder of the campaign told ITV News: “We can look now to get things in motion to acquire the asset for the community and the people of Teignbridge.”

One Travel Writer who grew up in the area has her say on the potential closure…

Travel Reporter Cyann Fielding weighs in on the potential closure of the pool…

“Teignmouth Lido is more than just a gem on the South West coast; for me, it’s the backdrop of my childhood.

“For over a decade, my school summer holidays were defined by afternoons spent there with my family – so to hear that the lido could close is heartbreaking.

“With ample patio and sun-drenched patches of grass surrounding the 25-metre crystal clear pool, it was the rare kind of place where parents could relax while kids felt a bit of freedom.

“For local families, it was an affordable but brilliant day out.

“To lose the lido now, after a £800,000 refurb less than three years ago, it wouldn’t just be a loss for Teignmouth and its community but also a tragic waste of money.”

Here’s more on a lido that could potentially open in one seaside town that hopes to bring back a swimming pool 50 years after it was destroyed.

Plus, here are all the lidos in the UK mapped – with water slides, cocktail bars and some are even FREE to enter.

A MUCH-LOVED family theme park has reassured Brits that it will still reopen to the public, despite entering liquidation last week.

Brean Theme Park in Somerset claims to be the ‘biggest free-entry theme park’ in the UK.

However, last week The Gazette – the UK’s official public record – published ‘resolutions for winding up’ for the company, meaning that it must cease trading and in other words, close.

However, in a turn of events, the theme park is now under a new organisational structure and is preparing to open in just weeks.

Peter Mainwaring, general manager, said: “We are working hard behind the scenes and will reopen for the 2026 summer season from Easter.

“Although the group structure has changed, our loyal visitors will still enjoy the same park, the same team, and the same great day out.

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The message also told fans to keep an eye on social media for updates on the park.

He added: “For clarity, Brean Theme Park is not owned by Unity Holidays.

“We operate as a fully independent business and lease land from them.

“We look forward to continuing to work together.

“Preparations are underway and we can’t wait to welcome you back very soon.”

Many excited fans also took to social media to express their happiness at the news.

One said: “This is good news. My children were quite upset to hear it may close.

“I will definitely be coming for our annual visits.”

Another added: “Brilliant news, that’s defo now been added to my list to visit ASAP and support.”

A third commented: “Aw what a relief – my kids look forward to going every summer holidays and other times when we can.

“They were gutted to hear the sad news last week but [are] thrilled now.”

Brean Theme Park originally opened back in 1946 as a campsite and today is home to over 40 rides including indoor and outdoor rollercoasters, carousels, crazy boats and dodgems.

It even has a ghost train, which according to the attraction’s website, is the best in the UK.

The park is usually open seasonally between March and October.

And even though entry is free, each ride costs a certain amount of credits which can be bought when you arrive at the attraction.

In other theme park news, here is the UK’s strangest (and coolest) theme park, which launches a new ‘crazy trikes’ attraction for 2026.

Plus, world’s first Paw Patrol land opens at UK theme park in weeks – here’s what it’ll look like.

PLANS have been revealed to rescue a historic English seaside venue and return it to its former glory.

The Margate Winter Gardens in Kent – where stars such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have performed – is set to be restored and reopened.

Dating back to 1910, the venue has previously had a number of different areas including the Main Hall, Queen’s Hall, two side wings and an open-air amphitheatre.

As part of the Thanet District Council’s plans, the seafront venue will reopen with a new rooftop bar and restaurant, a drama school and a 100-place nursery.

As part of the plans, the Main Hall and Queen’s Hall will be made fully accessible and reopened.

And the decor and balconies inside will be kept.

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There are also plans to create two mezzanine pods, similar to those found in Peckham Library.

The restaurant will then be located above the Main Hall, with both indoor seating and an outdoor terrace.

As for the nursery, that will be in the upper part of the site and will feature separate areas for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.

The new drama school will be held in the smaller Queen’s Hall and have classrooms and dance studio spaces.

In all, the project is expected to cost around £8million to complete.

According to the plans, the vision for Margate Winter Gardens “marries both history and opulence, creating a visually stunning seafront icon with nods to its luxurious past as well as futureproofing the building for years to come”.

The aim is to reopen the Main Hall by late 2026, then other parts of the venue will open in phases from 2027.

Margate Winter Gardens, which closed two years ago, sits on a site known as Fort Crescent and looks over Margate Main Sands and the English Channel.

When the venue opened, it featured a Concert Hall, four entrance halls, two side wings and one open-air amphitheatre.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Winter Gardens was a much-loved entertainment venue with performances including cabaret and tea dances.

Then, during World War II, the venue was used initially as the Dunkirk evacuee reception before later being turned into an ARP shelter and food depot.

In 1946 the building was partially rebuilt after bomb damage.

After the war, Winter Gardens was once again used as an entertainment venue with performances by Laurel and Hardy, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Dame Vera Lynn.

However, over the decades visitor numbers declined and in 2022, the Winter Gardens closed for a while to assess concerns over the building’s condition.

In other attraction news, here’s how to get into hundreds of the UK’s top attractions for free next month.

Plus, London’s most underrated attraction is the best place for skint families.

Laura Dogu’s visit comes as Venezuela moves to privatise its oil sector under pressure from Trump.

The top United States envoy for Venezuela has arrived in Caracas to reopen a US diplomatic mission seven years after ties were severed.

Laura Dogu announced her arrival in a post on X on Saturday, saying, “My team and I are ready to work.”

The move comes almost one month after US forces abducted Venezuela’s then-president, Nicolas Maduro, from the presidential palace in Caracas, on the orders of US President Donald Trump.

Maduro was then taken to a prison in New York, and is facing drug trafficking and narcoterrorism conspiracy charges.

The move has been widely criticised as a violation of international law.

Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil wrote on Telegram that he had received Dogu, and that talks would centre on creating a “roadmap on matters of bilateral interest” as well as “addressing and resolving existing differences through diplomatic dialogue and on the basis of mutual respect and international law”.

Dogu, who previously served as US ambassador to Honduras and Nicaragua, was appointed to the role of charge d’affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit, based out of the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.

Venezuela and the US broke off diplomatic relations in February 2019, in a decision by Maduro after Trump gave public support to Venezuelan lawmaker Juan Guaido, who claimed to be the nation’s interim president in January that year.

Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela’s most powerful politicians and a Maduro loyalist, said earlier in January that reopening the US embassy in Caracas would give the Venezuelan government a way to oversee the treatment of the deposed president.

Although the Trump administration has claimed that Maduro’s abduction was necessary for security reasons, officials have also repeatedly framed their interests in Venezuela around controlling its vast oil reserves, which are the largest in the world.

Since the abduction, Trump has pressured Interim President Delcy Rodriguez to open the country’s nationalised oil sector to US firms.

The two countries have reached ‌a deal to export up ⁠to $2bn worth of Venezuelan crude to the US, and on Thursday, Rodriguez signed into law a reform bill that will pave the way for increased privatisation.

The legislation gives private firms control over the sale and production of Venezuelan oil, and requires legal disputes to be resolved outside of Venezuelan courts, a change long sought by foreign companies, which argue that the judicial system in the country is dominated by the governing socialist party.

The bill would also cap royalties collected by the government at 30 percent.

The Trump administration said on the same day that it would loosen some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, and allow limited transactions by the country’s government and the state oil company PDVSA that were necessary for a laundry list of export-related activities involving an “established US entity”.

Trump has announced that he ordered the reopening of Venezuela’s commercial airspace and “informed” Rodriguez that US oil companies would soon arrive to explore potential projects in the country.

On Friday, Rodriguez announced an amnesty bill aimed at releasing hundreds of prisoners in the country, and said she would shut down El Helicoide, an infamous secret service prison in Caracas, to be replaced with a sports and cultural centre.

That move was one of the key demands of the Venezuelan opposition.

Caracas, January 30, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, welcomed the “lifting of restrictions on the country’s commercial airspace”, which had been in place since last November, following talks with the US government.

Speaking at a rally on Thursday, Rodríguez said she received a phone call from US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address the issue as part of a “working agenda” between the two countries that includes the resumption of diplomatic relations.

“Let all the airlines that need to come, come. Let all the investors that need to come, come”, Rodríguez said. She assumed office following the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, amid the January 3 US attacks.

Earlier in the day, Trump ordered the reopening of “all Venezuelan airspace” to commercial flights, stating that US citizens would be able to travel safely and that Venezuelans wishing to return—either permanently or temporarily—would also be able to do so.

Trump ordered Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and other officials, including military commanders, to ensure the reopening was “immediate.”

Trump went on to describe the exchange with his Venezuelan counterpart as “highly positive,” emphasizing that “relations have been very solid and very good.” He further sought to reassure international travelers by stressing that they would be safe while in Venezuelan territory.

Following the announcements, the US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that it had removed four Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) in the Caribbean region, including one related to Venezuela. “They were issued as a precautionary measure and are no longer necessary”, the agency argued.

Likewise on Thursday, American Airlines announced its intention to resume daily direct flights between the United States and Venezuela, becoming the first US airline to take such a step.

The company, which began operations in Venezuela in 1987, stated that the resumption of the route would be subject to approval by both US and Venezuelan authorities, as well as the corresponding security assessments.

American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper said the company was eager to offer its customers the opportunity to reunite with family members and to generate new business and trade opportunities with the United States.

Direct flights between the two countries were suspended in 2019, the same year diplomatic relations between Washington and Caracas were severed after the US recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.

Last November, Trump declared that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “completely closed.” A flurry of NOTAM warnings led international airlines to suspend their connections to the Caribbean country. Caracas withdrew licenses from several companies, including TAP, Iberia and Turkish Airlines.

On January 13, Panama’s Copa Airlines announced the resumption of flights to and from Caracas.

Embassy reopening in the works

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday during a Senate hearing that he expects the United States to reestablish a diplomatic presence in Venezuela in the near future. “We have a team there evaluating it, and I think we’ll be able to open a diplomatic presence soon,” he said.

Rubio argued that such a presence would allow Washington to “have real-time information and interact not only with government officials but also with members of civil society and the opposition.”

Laura Dogu has so far been appointed to lead the diplomatic mission from the Venezuela Affairs Unit in Bogotá, Colombia. According to CNN, the CIA is looking to establish a “foothold” in the South American country that may preced the formal arrival of US diplomats.

For her part, Rodríguez has defended her administration’s diplomatic engagement with the United States, while also urging Venezuelan political sectors to resolve their differences and internal conflicts without “orders from Washington.”

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he has informed acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez that he’s going to be opening up all commercial airspace over Venezuela and Americans will soon be able to visit.

Trump said he instructed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and U.S. military leaders to open up the airspace by the end of the day.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” the Republican president said.

Venezuela’s government did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement.

Earlier this week, Trump’s administration notified Congress that it was taking the first steps to possibly reopen the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Venezuela as it explores restoring relations with the South American country following the U.S. military raid that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.

In a notice to lawmakers dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the State Department said it was sending in a regular and growing contingent of temporary staffers to conduct “select” diplomatic functions.

“We are writing to notify the committee of the Department of State’s intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume Embassy Caracas operations,” the department said in separate but identical letters to 10 House and Senate committees.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapsed in 2019, and the U.S. State Department warned Americans shouldn’t travel to Venezuela, raising its travel advisory to the highest level.

The State Department on Thursday still listed a travel advisory for Venezuela at its highest level, “Do not travel,” warning that Americans face a high risk of wrongful detention, torture, kidnapping and more.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a message Thursday inquiring about whether it was changing its warning.

In November, as Trump was ramping up pressure on Maduro, he declared that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety.”

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which has jurisdiction generally over the U.S. and its territories, then told pilots to be cautious flying around the country because of heightened military activity.

After that FAA warning, international airlines began canceling flights to Venezuela because of heightened military activity.

American Airlines, which was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela when it suspended flights there in March 2019, announced Thursday that it intends to reinstate nonstop service there from the U.S. in the coming months.

“We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the U.S., and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship,” Nat Pieper, American’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States.”

American said it would share additional details about the return to service in the coming months as it works with federal authorities on security assessments and necessary permissions.

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP reporters Matthew Lee in Washington and Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

A LIDO that first opened five decades ago is hoping to welcome swimmers back after a three-year closure.

Popular swimming spot Stanhope Open Air Swimming Pool is raising money for repairs and upgrades needed to open its doors once again.

The once bustling open air pool in County Durham was the area’s only heated lido.

It first opened in 1974 and welcomed swimmers for 48 years before its closure in 2023.

In 2023, the lido was forced to shut after it experienced electrical issues in the plant room.

But prior to that, the lido saw more than 8,000 swimmers in 2022.

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Now, the charity looking after the pool is hoping that it will once again reopen to the public by next year.

The charity posted on Facebook about the update: “We are delighted to announce that we have agreed a new 30-year lease with our landlords. Weardale Open Air Swimming Pool first opened in 1974, with a life expectancy of 30 years.

“The hard work of our wonderful volunteers kept things going for much longer, but the pool infrastructure now needs complete renovation.”

It detailed that lots of essential works are still needed to restore the lido to its former glory.

This includes relining the pool, rewiring the whole site, refurbishing the plant room and upgrading the changing rooms and snack bar.

It added that it will need to “raise hundreds of thousands of pounds”, but locals remain optimistic.

One wrote on the post: “That’s fantastic news, loved that pool, be lovely to see it up and running again.”

Another added: “Great news, it is quite an asset to the area. Hope the future is bright!”

The charity is asking for the community and users to donate to help the cause – but is also applying for grants for the refurbishment.

The lido is 25metres long and when it was open was always heated to 27C – so it was warm even on the cool summer evenings.

It even had a springboard, so the depth of the pool was a maximum of three metres deep.

Along with the main pool was another smaller one for children which was just half a metre deep – it was also heated to the same temperature and had a slide.

Visitors were also able to use the on-site sauna, cafe and shop where they could buy dive toys, armbands and goggles.

Here are all of the new lidos set to open across the UK from seafront pools to city swimming spots.

Plus, this English lido with heated swimming pool and Full Moon swims reopened after a £120k upgrade.