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KATIE Price’s marriage to Lee Andrews is facing its first proper test as her family’s concerns, and her loyalty to them, have raised questions about the long-term future of the relationship.

The defiant 47-year-old publicly insists she’s head over heels with Lee, 41, sharing romantic quotes about true love and cosy selfies, but behind the scenes his seeming reluctance, or inability, to leave Dubai is causing issues.

Her family has made it clear they’re no fans of the union, with Katie and sister Sophie’s podcast taking a temporary break after the marriage blindsided her sibling.

A source said: “Katie felt like she was in a fairy tale when Lee swept her off her feet and showered her with love and a diamond engagement ring.

“The wedding and initial trips back and forth from Dubai only added to the romantic dream.

“But the growing concerns from friends, fans, and particularly family members, who Katie is very loyal to, began to take the shine off.”

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They continued: “The knock-on effect the war in Iran had on Dubai also made her realise how far away she was from home and she missed her kids.

“The toll was clear to see in her vlog when she snapped about staying in England and ruled out a permanent move to the Middle East.

“Though she’s still committed to Lee and being loved-up on socials, she knows her primary concern is her kids and all the luxury promises and multimillion pound villas won’t change that. There’s a niggling feeling how all of this is going to work long-term.”

Self-described multimillionaire businessman Lee denies he’s subject to a flight ban preventing him from leaving the UAE following three weeks spent in jail last year for allegedly obtaining funds by deception.

Numerous times he has gone on the record and said he is jetting to the UK to be with Katie only to U-turn and stay put.

In a YouTube vlog last week, a frustrated Katie questioned why people thought she was moving to Dubai and said it was for Lee to come to the UK if he wanted them to live together.

However, it is Lee who has spoken about buying a £36m mansion in cash for the pair to live in and start their own family.

If his timescale is to be believed, the couple should be in the property, on the prestigious Palm, now.

However, Katie remains in the UK.

Lee, who recently got “owned by Katie” tattooed on his lower back, has never met his stepchildren in the flesh.

Eldest son Harvey, 23, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome and autism, has a particularly close bond with Katie and she doesn’t like to be apart from him for too long.

While her kids with Peter Andre — Junior, 20, and Princess, 18, are forging their own successful media careers — they also maintain a strong relationship with their mum.

So far they have been diplomatic about their mum’s latest relationship, telling interviewers she is her own woman.

Katie’s beloved mum Amy, 73, is also living with a terminal lung condition (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) on the Isle of Wight.

Claims of abuse and narcissistic behaviour from ex-fiancée Alana Percival of Lee’s have horrified the family.

As have claims by American businesswoman Crystal Janke that she lost £123,000 when she invested money into Lee’s now dissolved business amid assurances she would see a £1m return.

The ‘Walter Mitty’ figure admitted to the Sun that he lied on his LinkedIn CV about his career, blaming a former assistant for including false information.

His sustainable vehicle business, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands, was dissolved in 2024 in official paperwork seen by the Sun, yet he insists that isn’t true.

Lee claims to have met Kim Kardashian and worked with her mum Kris, despite their team saying they have never met.

More recently, he has claimed to have submitted a £2bn offer to buy a majority stake in Chelsea FC.

There remains more questions than answers around the relationship, and Lee is facing an increasingly uphill battle to win around his doubters.

Katie Price’s relationship history

We take a look back at the highs and lows of Katie Price’s relationship history.

1996-1998: Katie got engaged to Gladiators star Warren Furman – aka Ace – with a £3,000 ring. But their relationship didn’t make it as far as ‘I do’.

1998-2000: Katie described Dane Bowers as ‘the love of her life’ but she broke up with the singer after he allegedly cheated on her.

2001: Footballer Dwight Yorke is the father of Katie’s eldest child Harvey. He has had very little to do with his son throughout his life.

2002: Rebounding from Dwight, Katie famously had one night of passion with Pop Idol star Gareth Gates, allegedly taking his virginity.

2002-2004: Katie was dating Scott Sullivan when she entered the jungle for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!. He threatened to “punch Peter’s lights out” when chemistry blossomed between her and Peter Andre.

2004-2009: The jungle romance resulted in Katie marrying Aussie pop star Peter. They had two kids, Junior and Princess, before their bitter split in 2009.

2010-2011: Fresh from her break-up with Peter, Katie enjoyed a whirlwind relationship and marriage with cage fighter Alex Reid. They split 20 months after their Las Vegas wedding.

2011: Katie briefly dated model Danny Cipriani… but it ended as quickly as it begun.

2011-2012: They didn’t speak the same language, but Katie got engaged to Argentinian model Leandro Penna in 2011. He later fled home to South America.

2012-2018: Wedding bells rang once more after Katie met Kieran Hayler in 2013. They had two kids together, Jett and Bunny, before their break-up and divorce.

2018-2019: Katie moved on quickly with Kris Boyson. They had an on-off romance for one year and even got engaged. They split for good in 2019.

2019: Katie was linked to Charles Drury during her on-off relationship with Kris. Charles, who also dated Lauren Goodger, has always denied being in “official relationship” with her.

2020-2023: Car salesman Carl Woods took a shine to Katie in 2020. Their relationship was up and down for three years and finally ended after a failed IVF attempt.

2024-2026: After weeks of rumours, Katie confirmed her relationship with Married At First Sight star JJ Slater in February 2024. The pair split in January 2026 after two years together.

2026: Katie shocked fans when she revealed she was engaged and then married to businessman Lee Andrews.

DALLAS — The Lakers will be without their starting backcourt for the rest of the regular season — five more games — after Austin Reaves was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique strain on Saturday.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves underwent an MRI exam on his left olbique/rib area Saturday.

The team learned earlier this week that Luka Doncic has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out for the remainder of the regular season — and perhaps beyond.

The Lakers are also dealing with an injury to guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last six games because of a right ankle contusion and is questionable for the game.

“It’s it’s lingering soreness in the ankle,” Redick said.

Even with all of this, Redick said the Lakers’ “mission hasn’t changed.”

“We want to get the third seed and we want to win a first-round series,” Redick said.

The Lakers are the third in the Western Conference, but Denver, Houston and Minnesota are within striking distance. The Lakers hold the tiebreaker over all three.

They’ll try to hold on to the No. 3 seed over the final five games of the regular season without Doncic, who leads the NBA in scoring (33.5 points per game) and is fourth in assists (8.3).

“I know Luka’s gonna do everything he can to get back on the court,” Redick said. “We don’t know what this recovery timetable looks like.”

The Lakers likely will have to lean more on LeBron James, a role the 41-year-old is more than willing to take on. James has been designated the third option behind Doncic and Reaves yet has still averaged 20.6 points per game, 6.9 assists and 6.0 rebounds in his 23rd season.

“It probably is going to look a little bit differently with Luka being out,” James said after practice. “I’ll figure that out and then, obviously, the coaches will figure it out as well.”

The Lakers are making the mental adjustment of playing without Doncic. After the Mavericks, they’ll have tough games against Oklahoma City, Golden State and Phoenix before finishing against lowly Utah.

“I mean, it’s a challenge for us,” James said. “It’s always got to be a next-man-up [mentality]. But there’s no way you can replace that type of impact. So, it’s going to be a collective group. We all have to figure out a way to do a little bit more. But even now, you got to be even more tightened up on the things that we do. When you lose a special player like that, you can’t have as many mistakes. So, we got to figure that out.”

For Redick, speaking for the first time since news of Doncic’s injury, he had to check on the temperature of his team to make sure his group was in the right space.

The practice Saturday on the campus of Southern Methodist helped.

“I think making sure that everybody’s in the right frame of mind, first of all, and then you know we worked on just offensive stuff, just cleaning up some stuff and being really explicit with what we want to run,” Redick said. “Did some offensive breakdown. It was definitely more of an offensive day.

“We did work on defense to start the practice, but that’s again that’s the primary sort of focus. How do we score, how do we score efficiently, and our defense again is, it’s we’re interchangeable. We’ve been interchangeable now for two-and-a half-months.”

James controversy

James created a bit of controversy when he said on “Bob Does Sports” YouTube video that Memphis should relocate to Nashville.

“I’m not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. We all like, ‘You guys have to move. Just go over to Nashville,” James said.

James, when asked if he wanted to clarify his remarks, then mentioned Milwaukee also as one of his least favorite cities.

“I said Milwaukee as well,” James said. “I’m 41 years old (and) there’s two cities I do not like playing in right now — and that’s Milwaukee and that’s Memphis. What is your problem with it? I don’t like going home [to Cleveland] either. … And I’m from there. People are ridiculous. They also get mad at my son [Bronny James] being on the [Lakers] team, too.

“So, what are we talking about? People need to figure out other ways to put their energy to other things that’s important. Like, seriously? I’m not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis. I don’t like staying at the Hyatt Centric [hotel]. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? People need to chill the hell out.”

March 31 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties agreed Tuesday to pass a package of economic measures, including a currency stabilization bill, as the won weakened sharply amid prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

The legislation was approved during a plenary session alongside more than 60 bills aimed at stabilizing the economy and supporting livelihoods.

The currency measure includes tax incentives designed to encourage domestic investment by individuals who have invested in overseas markets, often referred to in South Korea as retail investors in foreign stocks. Officials said the goal is to increase demand for the Korean won and reduce volatility in foreign exchange markets.

The won traded at 1,530.1 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, well above the psychologically significant 1,500 level, adding to inflationary pressure.

Floor leader Han Byung-do said the worsening Middle East crisis had begun to affect everyday life, emphasizing the need to contain exchange rate volatility and shield the economy from external shocks.

Lawmakers also approved additional economic legislation tied to the crisis. These include a measure to support corporate restructuring, allowing companies to streamline mergers and spin-offs and receive tax benefits as they respond to industrial challenges and shift into new sectors.

Other bills passed include revisions to trade-related laws aimed at helping businesses adapt to changes in the global trade environment.

Separately, lawmakers voted to fill several vacant leadership posts in National Assembly committees. The Democratic Party nominated Rep. Seo Young-kyo as chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, along with Rep. Kwon Chil-seung and Rep. So Byung-hoon for other committee leadership roles. Their terms will run through May.

The votes were conducted by secret ballot and passed with support from the Democratic Party, while the People Power Party is believed to have opposed the selections.

The People Power Party had argued that the judiciary committee chair should be held by the opposition to ensure checks and balances, noting that the Democratic Party already holds the position of National Assembly speaker.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260401010009707

Operation Epic Fury will hit a month old by the weekend. It and the massive military build-up to it were made possible by a global logistics chain that only the Pentagon can supply. At the heart of it is the aerial refueling fleet. These aircraft have flown thousands of sorties to get materiel where it needs to be and fast. These have included stuffing the fuel tanks of C-17s with cargo holds full of Patriot missiles to dragging stealth fighters across the globe. Epic Fury has been one of many operations to heavily tax the tanker fleet in recent years. To get a much better insight into the tanker portion of the war and its impacts, we talked to one man with an extreme level of experience behind the controls of USAF tankers.

For more than 20 years, Troy Pananon, a retired Air Force colonel, served in the aerial refueling community. He flew KC-10 Extender and KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jets and served as deputy commander of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida (now 6th Air Refueling Wing), and later as commander of the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall in England. Both of these installations and their KC-135s are instrumental in the ongoing war in Iran.

In a two-hour, wide-ranging exclusive interview, Pananon offered insights into the strain of the war on the jets and personnel and the challenges of keeping the aging KC-135s flying as they perform hundreds of sorties gassing up fighters, airlifters and other aircraft. One of those missions resulted in the deaths of six airmen after a suspected midair collision over Iraq. Pananon also addressed a whole host of other issues, including how Epic Fury is affecting readiness for a fight against China, the scourge of drone incursions and much more, which will be addressed in future installments.

Pananon, who began his career as an enlisted Marine, retired from the Air Force in 2023 and is now a 737 first officer with United Airlines. The first installment of our conversation focuses on Epic Fury and the toll on the tankers, crews and maintainers. Some of the questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: The Air Force tanker fleet has come under extremely heavy use in recent years, being widely utilized in the evacuation of Afghanistan, the massive deliveries to Ukraine, the constant crisis in the Middle East and the campaign against the Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Now, the war in Iran. Talk about the strain this is putting on it, on the aircrews, the maintainers and the airframes, some of which rolled out during the Eisenhower era.

A: I would categorically say that there’s a huge strain on the entire ecosystem. The KC-135s were rolling off the assembly line in the 50s and 60s. Some of the technology, and we called it technology back then, was graduated from the Wright brothers technology. Parts on that aircraft are still reminiscent of some of the things that were invented by the Wright brothers. So it’s amazing to me that the KC-135 is able to operate, and it’s due in large part to the maintainers and the relentless effort that they follow through to keep those aircraft air worthy. 

If you think about the [airmen], how they’re operating in places you mentioned all over the world, they’re there. We’ve broken their normal routine. They’re away from home, away from their family and friends. So that’s a mental and physical stressor, because they’re in environments that they’re not accustomed to. 

We don’t know how long this conflict could last. We’re approaching a high heat of summer in that region, and so depending on where some of these personnel are based or stationed, they’re certainly out of their normal circadian rhythm, their normal environmental routines. It is a huge strain on those maintainers and the airframes that we’re placing in different parts of the world, exposed to different elements than they may have been exposed to at their normal pace. Maintaining these aging aircraft is a strain on the entire ecosystem, and we are operating them at a high operations tempo, and surely that puts a lot of a significant strain on the KC-135.

We do have the KC-46 that is helping to fill some of that void, but we just retired the KC-10, which was a tremendous workhorse. And so I would say that there’s a significant strain on the ecosystem.

Q: What are the biggest challenges in keeping these Cold War-era jets like the KC-135 flying? How difficult is it to find parts, and what do you do when you can’t?

A: That’s 100% accurate. There have been some breakthroughs in technology. I know that they’ve used 3D printing to help source some parts. They’ve even gone back to the boneyard and pulled parts off of older KC-135s. So resources will always be a great puzzle for our entire team to source. 

There’s no new assembly line. They shut that assembly line down back in the ’50s and ’60s. Some of the parts for those aircraft in general were from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. And then, you have to take those back and refurbish those certain parts. There’s not a lot of new technology that’s going on to these core platforms. The avionics, for sure, is newer. But everything that you add to this aircraft, I call it the Frankenstein effort – taking bolt-on technology to try and help modernize the fleet. And by modernizing that means that you’re also helping with the parts availability. But going back to the age of these aircraft, some of these parts were developed back in the ’40s and machined back in the ’50s and ’60s. Our teams have to get creative with the acquisition. And that’s a huge, huge challenge. But they currently have done a great job of putting new engines on the aircraft. And so that means that the parts availability is better in some cases, but it’s not a solution. 

Davis Monthan AMARG Boneyard tour with KC-135s and Boeing 707s

Q: What are some of the old parts you’re talking about that go back to the ’40s, or to the Wright brothers era?

A: Just think about the flight controls. If you, for whatever reason, need to replace certain pulleys or elements within the flight control system, those parts were thought-up and developed way back in the ’40s. Machined maybe back in the ’50s and ’60s. It’s still not a fly-by-wire aircraft like some of the modern aircraft that we have nowadays. And so you have to go back and machine some of these parts if they get wear and tear.

Q: What are the complexities of supporting such a high tempo operation like the war against Iran with aerial refueling? We’ve heard that the airspace over Iraq is chaotic and that the lack of onboard situational awareness is a major issue with tanker crews and receivers. What have you heard about this?

A: Obviously I haven’t operated over there in a number of years, but I do go back to the times when I was operating aircraft in that theater. That puts me back into the Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom timeframe. We have deconfliction procedures. We have airspace procedures that we study and that we follow. We have aircraft in there that help us deconflict the airspace and ensure that we have safe separation. And it goes to training, it goes to situational awareness.

Back then, we didn’t have some of the avionics and software suites that we have available to us today, so our situational awareness wasn’t as high, but yet we had good, solid procedures and processes that ensured clear deconfliction and separation in the airspace that they’re operating in. Now, I would assume that it’s congested and it’s contested, and so having the ability to have higher situational awareness with onboard avionics suites that are connected is probably more and more essential as we go forward.

Q: But have you heard anything about the chaotic nature of the current airspace and lack of onboard situational awareness? Is it a major issue right now with the tanker crews and receivers?

A:  I really can’t comment on it, because I don’t have firsthand knowledge. What I can say is that it’s in a contested environment, and our crews are definitely trained to operate in these kinds of environments. And you know, it’s just like anything there. There are elements that we have little control over, and I call it the fog and friction of warfare. But I have 100% absolute trust in the personnel. They’ve been trained. They are equipped. Could they be equipped better? Could they be resourced better? Sure. But again, it still goes back to the fact that even if we resource them with the newest technology, they then have to go back and be trained to understand how to integrate it and how to use it effectively. 

There is still an opportunity here. You can’t solve it overnight, but it does need to happen so it would help. I’m certain that if we ever get into conflict with a near peer, it’s going to be even more challenging.

Q: When was the last time tanker crews flew in contested airspace against adversaries with more robust air defenses than we have seen in past conflicts?

A: I would like to say that any time that you’re operating within a conflict zone, that’s considered contested airspace, right? The tankers are considered a high-value, low-density. We don’t have an infinite number of tankers, so they’re going to tend to operate outside the reach of the adversary’s missiles, or fighter aircraft that would try to reach and take down one of these tankers. So they’re really going to try and operate within a safe, safe zone. I would frankly say that in a conflict, tankers operate in contested airspace all the time, and it’s really contingent on the ability of our joint force to clear that airspace and to allow our tankers to move closer to the tip of the spear, but generally speaking, it is really sacrosanct to keep tankers an arm’s reach away from an adversary’s ability to take them down.

Q: Do you have any sense of what happened in the fatal March 12 KC-135 crash in Iraq that led to the deaths of Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio?

A: There’s an investigation taking place and it’d be wrong of me to comment on what I think took place. These crews are highly trained. They have a process. They have procedures. I don’t know what was taking place on the flight decks of both of those aircraft. There was probably some confusion as to who and where each aircraft was supposed to be, but I don’t know what led to that. There’s a lot of speculation out there. It’d be hard for me to really say what I think actually did happen.

Q: The cause of the tanker crash is suspected to be a collision with another KC-135. How many close calls have you experienced in your career?

A: Well, I have a deep background in the KC-10, and that also gives gas and takes gas. So I’ve been within 10 feet of another aircraft, operating at close to 350 miles an hour. It’s an inherently dangerous occupation when you’re trying to receive fuel from another aircraft. I don’t think that was the case in this particular incident over Iraq. But at all times, everything we do is inherently dangerous because we operate within safe operating margins, but they’re tight. So, a simple split-second decision or maybe error puts you in a precarious position. But we have procedures that, if we make a mistake and we come close to another aircraft – there is a term that we use, which is ‘breakaway.’ And that tells both aircraft, ‘hey, we’re in a situation where we need to create some space between our aircraft,’ and we follow our procedures. It’s a safe maneuver, but probably makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up a little bit. I’ve been in this, I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to rapidly escape from another aircraft. 

But again, we get trained for this. We are highly trained. And I think because of the training, when a situation like that occurs, your instinct kicks in and you know what to do. And so, I don’t recall instances where two KC-135s had a midair collision, but certainly, we have had air-to-air collisions, just none in my recent memory.

Q: The air refueling tanker community is tight. You served at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, with Tech. Sgt. Pruitt, one of the airmen who was killed in the crash. Tell me about how the crash affected the community. Tell me a little bit about Pruitt.

A: From my time at MacDill, I do remember her family. In general, losing anyone is just a shock to the system. And especially somebody that you may have worked with in the past, and you know. I just feel for their families. And we have a community. The tanker community – it’s just a system, a brotherhood and sisterhood. We are just one big family. Anytime we have a tragedy that strikes our community, especially like this, it’s tough. 

I know that there are teams of people out there that are remorseful for the loss and that are doing anything in their power to support the families of these airmen. And I know there’s a lot of effort right now within our tanker community and outside of our tanker community with Go-Fund-Me pages. This is critical, because the families that have been affected by this lost a parent, right? A brother or sister or a spouse. I really do feel for these families, and I applaud the efforts of the supporters out there that are contributing to help with some of the things that are going to end up financially costing these families; but emotionally, you know that they will need support, probably for the rest of their lives. And so it’s a huge, huge loss.

Q: What can you tell me about Tech. Sgt. Pruitt?

A: Ashley was full of energy and was extremely bright, tenacious, and had an unmatched work ethic. She was a real, genuine people person. When you walked into a room, you knew she was there. But she was incredibly talented and someone that you could rely upon to help others, and she was absolutely an incredible boom operator and highly skilled and her death is this huge, huge loss. For her legacy, she impacted so many people and so many of these airmen and their families were certainly enriched by her being in their lives. At the time, I was the vice commander of the [then-6th Air Mobility Wing] at MacDill. And on occasion, I would go out and go fly with the KC-135 crews. I didn’t have a daily interaction with her, but everybody knew her, and everybody knew of her. And that’s the important part. There are many other airmen that are in our ranks right now that have benefited from being introduced to her and being taught by her and being mentored by her. So she’s surely missed.

Q: Give me a sense of how RAF Mildenhall and other bases in Europe and elsewhere keep these aircraft flying to generate sorties and deploy to combat zones like the Middle East.

A: The best part about having a forward operating base like Mildenhall is that you have all the resources in place, and in this particular case, they’re closer to where the conflict is. You don’t have as much of a long logistical chain, but you still have a logistics chain that you have to support. And so operating at a place like Mildenhall, a round the clock operation every day of the year, you do have weather to contend with on occasion, and you do have airspace constraints that you do have to contend with. But again, all of these crews are highly trained and so I would say that the operations tempo at a place like Mildenhall is extremely high. 

Just being able to have the support of the government there and the host nation that there is, and the local community is a big deal. I enjoyed my time there. Of course, we were there during COVID, during the global pandemic, and the lengths and support that we received from the host nation to ensure the safety of our community and our airmen was incredible.

Q: The 100th Air Refueling Wing has 15 tankers and more transit through. What are the concerns and checklists of objectives for a Mildenhall commander during a major contingency operation like Epic Fury?

A: It’s just our ability to support, right? You mentioned there are 15 tankers, but the airfield itself was able to surge to support twice as many. I currently don’t know how many aircraft that we’re currently supporting out of Mildenhall, but the ability to support that means that you have to be able to flex to the surge of the operation that you’re encountering. You have personnel that are helping to fuel the aircraft. You need personnel to maintain and sustain the aircraft. And so I would assume that we are getting support from bases in the United States. And they’re deployed there from all parts of our country and major units. The tanker fleet is a total force effort. Nearly half of the force resides in the [Air Reserve Component] ARC, and so personnel from Reserve, Guard, active duty, I’m sure, have been sent to help support operations like that. 

In our next installment, Pananon talks about the KC-46’s lack of a boom pod, how Epic Fury is affecting the ability to potentially fight China and the dangers of flying long distances over the Pacific against an adversary with robust and plentiful modern air defenses.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com