The first flight carrying around 300 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa following anti-immigrant tensions and reported attacks on foreign nationals has arrived in Accra. Authorities welcomed returnees with reintegration support and transport assistance.
Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026
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SACRAMENTO — The state’s biggest energy utility has made the unusual move to attack candidate Tom Steyer in the California governor’s race.
State campaign filings show that Pacific Gas & Electric has plowed at least $13.5 million into efforts to oppose Steyer. Other major utilities in the state have also donated to another committee backing the anti-Steyer effort.
Steyer, a billionaire and former hedge fund founder who became a high-profile environmental advocate, accuses the big three California utility companies — PG&E, San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison — of “raking in” record profits at the expense of their customers. He blames the utilities for high consumer bills and causing deadly wildfires with their faulty utility equipment.
Though other candidates in the race are also criticizing the utilities, Steyer is the most aggressive.
“Big energy companies really piss me off,” Steyer said in one of his own campaign ads earlier this year.
In another attack, Steyer called PG&E less of an electric company and more of a “sophisticated Sacramento lobbying and influence operation that also happens to sell electricity. California needs a governor who will stand up to these monopolies, hold them accountable, and break them up.”
Lynsey Paulo, a spokesperson for PG&E, declined to answer questions about the utility’s spending, referring The Times to the committee running anti-Steyer ads.
“Tom Steyer has spent over $200 million trying to buy the Governor’s office,” the committee said in a statement.
Steyer, a Democrat who is relying on his vast fortune in the race, is seeking to advance past the June 2 primary to the November general election. Recent polls put him behind Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, and onetime Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
The utility-funded advertisements against Steyer don’t mention his position on energy policies, focusing instead on his onetime hedge fund’s investments in coal and for-profit detention centers. One ad compares him to President Trump.
“When Steyer sells himself as a different kind of billionaire, tell him where to stick it,” a voiceover says.
Another advertisement from the anti-Steyer group California is Not for Sale highlights its support for Becerra. The California Assn. of Realtors and the California Building Industry Assn. are also supporting the group.
Steyer’s campaign last week embraced the spending from PG&E and others.
“When you’re opposed by the people responsible for devastating wildfires and outrageous rate hikes, you’re doing something right,” Steyer spokesperson Sepi Esfahlani said.
Steyer has used his criticism of the California utilities and the oil industry as a shield against attacks that he made billions of dollars from fossil fuels when he ran his hedge fund, and to elevate himself as an advocate for working-class Californians.
When Democratic rival Katie Porter ripped into Steyer at a recent debate for using his riches to support his gubernatorial campaign, Steyer pointed to the attacks by PG&E and others as evidence that he’ll take on Sacramento’s powerful special interests.
“There is one person that the corporations are going after, including Big Oil, who is spending millions of dollars to stop me,” Steyer responded during the April debate at Pomona College in Claremont.
“The electric monopolies, PG&E, millions of dollars to stop me, because I’m the person on this stage who’s the change agent,” he said. “I’m the person who’s going to drive down costs for the people of California by taking on the special interests.”
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and Steyer lauded one another in social media posts after appearing together at various conferences last year, the California Post reported.
“Loved sitting down to talk the future of energy with Tom Steyer at the Galvanize Solutions Summit,” Poppe wrote on LinkedIn in December. Steyer co-founded Galvanize, an asset management firm.
The California Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee this year collected at least $2 million each from PG&E, Sempra — the parent company of SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric — and Edison. The chamber’s committee in turn has donated $9.75 million toward the anti-Steyer committee.
John Myers, a representative for the Chamber of Commerce, said the committee’s leadership, not donors, make spending decisions.
California electric rates are the nation’s second highest after Hawaii, contributing to the state’s high cost of living — one of the biggest concerns of voters.
PG&E serves Northern and Central California, while Southern California Edison is available in Central, coastal and Southern California. San Diego Gas & Electric services Southern California.
The California Public Utilities Commission sets the rate of return that the companies can make. Steyer has argued that “perverse” structure allows utilities to disregard cheaper cost-effective solutions in favor of more expensive options, such as undergrounding power lines.
Despite Steyer’s talk of “breaking up” utilities, he doesn’t propose dismantling them. Instead, he vows to put reform-focused appointees on the regulatory agency and reduce utility rates. He also wants more battery storage for renewal energy, as well as additional rooftop and community solar.
The three utilities recently opposed a bill to require that wildfire safety spending by Southern California Edison, PG&E and San Diego Gas & Electric be audited by an independent accounting firm.
The bill by Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner, an Encinitas Democrat, stalled out earlier this month. It would have required the state’s regulatory agency to consider the audits’ findings before agreeing to raise customer rates to cover even more wildfire prevention spending.
Audits of the three companies’ wildfire spending from 2019 to 2020 found that $2.5 billion could not be accounted for.
Matt Abularach-Macias, political director of Environmental Voters, said the utilities probably consider Steyer as a threat to their business. The companies plan infrastructure projects five or 10 years ahead and don’t want disruptions, he said.
Environmental Voters has endorsed Steyer and former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter. The group’s educational arm received a $500,000 donation from a Steyer-backed entity in 2013.
Leah Stokes, associate professor of political science at UC Santa Barbara, called PG&E’s outlay in the governor’s race part of a “corrupt system.”
“These are monopoly companies, you can’t choose to buy from anybody else,” Stokes said. “They take your money, turn it into profits because they are poorly regulated, and then undermine political candidates who would actually hold them accountable.”
Stokes has publicly endorsed Steyer.
A spokesperson for Southern California Edison said the company funds its political contributions from “shareholder dollars.”
“No customer dollars, or any part of the rates paid by Southern California Edison customers, are used to support political candidates,” he said.
Times staff writer Melody Petersen contributed to this report.
NICOLA Roberts has welcomed her first child with fiance Mitch Hahn and shared the first look at their new arrival.
The singer, 40, took to social media to reveal the exciting news.
She said: “Our beautiful baby girl is here. We haven’t stopped staring at her perfect little face or kissing her softest little head’.
“She arrived healthy and content a couple of weeks ago at 38 weeks weighing 6.5lbs and is thriving. It’s heaven on earth with her and we can hardly believe she’s ours.”
Famous friends and fans rushed to comments.
Katie Piper penned: “So happy for you both,” followed by four red love heart emojis.
Heart Breakfast 90s host, Kevin Hughes said: “Congratulations both! Wonderful news! xx”
One fan wrote: “Omg beautiful. Massive congratulations to you both as new parents, enjoy every second of the baby bubble.”
Another fan said: “Congratulations. Welcome to the girl mum club.”
It comes five months after Girls Aloud star Nicola told followers she couldn’t wait to be a first-time mum.
She said: “Feeling more and more excited by the day. Sending love to all the mumma’s to be. Especially the first time ones.”
Nicola shared the news that she was expecting on Christmas day.
Sharing a post to Instagram in front of the tree, she said: “Mitch and I have had the most magical Christmas Day sharing the most precious news with our families.
“We’ve been keeping a secret. We are five months pregnant!
“We can’t wait to meet our little one in the spring.”
Nicola has been dating businessman and semi-professional footballer Mitch since 2022.
The pair are engaged, with Mitch popping the question two years into their relationship.
TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Friday greeted U.S. Rev. Franklin Graham, who arrived in the tightly controlled country to hold the largest evangelical Christian gathering in its history.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked Graham to convey warm greetings to President Trump and tell him that he has “reliable friends and supporters in Belarus.”
Since Trump returned to the White House, Lukashenko has released hundreds of political prisoners as part of U.S.-brokered deals that lifted some U.S. sanctions, part of the isolated leader’s efforts to improve ties with the West.
“Without the U.S. president, it might have been more difficult for us to establish our relations,” Lukashenko told Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. Graham was accompanied by Greta Van Susteren, the anchor for Newsmax TV who is married to Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale.
Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western countries — both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Graham is set to hold the largest gathering of evangelicals ever in Belarus’ history, with thousands expected to attend what the organizers called the Festival of Hope at an indoor sports arena in Minsk, the capital.
Lukashenko’s rule was challenged after a 2020 presidential election, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest a vote they viewed as rigged. In an ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures fled the country or were imprisoned.
Five years after the mass demonstrations, Lukashenko won a seventh term last year in an election that the opposition called a farce.
As part of a deal in March that Washington helped broker, Lukashenko ordered the release of 250 political prisoners, while the U.S. agreed to lift sanctions from two Belarusian state banks and the country’s Finance Ministry, and to remove the top Belarusian potash producers from a sanctions list.
Another deal in April released prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut in a swap with Poland that saw a total of 10 people freed.
However, Belarus still has 845 political prisoners, including 22 journalists, according to the Viasna human rights center.
Belarus opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya voiced hope that Graham’s visit will help the release of all political prisoners. “We continue to push for a complete end to the harsh political repressions in Belarus,” Tsikhanouskaya told the Associated Press.
Belarusian authorities’ permission for the massive gathering of evangelicals marks a shift, following years of crackdown on clergy — Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant — which saw dozens jailed, silenced or forced into exile for protesting the 2020 election. In the country of 9.5 million, about 80% are Orthodox Christians; nearly 14% are Catholics, residing mostly in western, northern and central parts of the country; and about 2% belong to Protestant churches.
A 2024 law required all religious organizations to reregister with authorities or face being outlawed if their loyalty to the state is in doubt.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has listed Belarus among countries with religious freedom violations, particularly noting its restrictive legislation.
Natallia Vasilevich, coordinator of the Christian Vision monitoring group, noted that even as Graham’s visit to Belarus was a “mega-important event” for evangelicals in the country, they continue to face a repressive environment.
“Some believers view Graham’s visit as a miracle and a window of opportunity, while others see a risk that they will have to turn a blind eye to repression and take part in something that makes the regime look nice,” Vasilevich said.
Karmanau writes for the Associated Press.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcoming US President Donald Trump to Beijing for high-level talks. Tariffs, competition over tech, the US-Israeli war on Iran, and Taiwan are all on the agenda for the two-day visit.
Published On 14 May 202614 May 2026
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US President Donald Trump hailed the “cherished bond” between the United States and the United Kingdom as he welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the White House, seeking to mend a rift over issues including the war on Iran.
Published On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026
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JENNIFER Aniston has shown support for her ex Justin Theroux after he welcomed a baby with his younger wife.
The actor, 54, and his other half Nicole Brydon Bloom, 32, became parents for the first time on Saturday with the arrival of their baby boy.
The couple took to Instagram to share a black and white photo of the tot lying on his dad’s chest.
They captioned it: “He’s here. We are so in love.”
As hundreds of their fans flocked to like and comment on the post, one of the well-wishers was his ex-Jennifer, 57, who showed her subtle support by pressing like on it.
The Hollywood star didn’t comment but her like shows she’s happy for her ex as he celebrates this milestone moment in his life.
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It was confirmed back in December that Justin and Nicole were expecting their first child.
The pair got married in a secret ceremony on a beach in Tulum, Mexico in March last year.
Pictures published by TMZ, showed Justin in a cream jacket and black bow tie kissing Nicole, who looked great in a backless white wedding dress.
The bride went barefoot on the sand and at one point was twirled around by smitten Justin.
The couple began dating in early 2023 but didn’t go official until December of that year.
They got engaged in Summer 2024 in Italy, while Justin was on the promo trail for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the Venice Film Festival.
The pair posed for pictures at the glitzy event and a huge diamond ring could be seen glistening on Nicole’s finger.
The actress is the daughter of late journalist David Bloom who died from a blood clot in 2003 while covering the Iraq war.
Justin and Jennifer first met in 2007, before beginning their relationship in 2011.
They married in 2015, announcing their split two years later and their subsequent divorce.
“This decision was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year,” the two shared in a statement.
“We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship.”
Justin eventually opened up to the New York Times about the divorce, saying, “The good news is that was probably the most — I’m choosing my words really carefully — it was kind of the most gentle separation, in that there was no animosity.
“Again, neither one of us is dead, neither one of us is looking to throw hatchets at each other…. It’s more like, it’s amicable.
“It’s boring, but, you know, we respected each other enough that it was as painless as it could be.”
He added: “It was heartbreaking, only in the sense that the friendship would not be the same, as far as just the day to day.
“But the friendship is shifting and changing, you know, so that part is something that we’re both very proud of.”
(Bloomberg) — President Xi Jinping is wrapping up what’s been an unusually busy week of diplomacy in Beijing, showcasing the fervent interest of world leaders to develop ties with China while the US is embroiled in a conflict with Iran. Read More
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GEMMA Arterton has revealed she secretly welcomed a second child.
The actress – who is set to headline the new big budget ITV drama Secret Service later this month – has revealed she kept her entire pregnancy a secret last year.
Gemma and husband Rory Keenan welcomed their first son in December 2022 – but now have two children.
As reported by the Mirror, speaking on the Dish podcast with hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, Gemma casually revealed she is now a mother of two.
Asked how she is on the latest podcast, she told the hosts: “I’m happy to be let out for the day.
“I’ve got two kids now and it’s just hard.”
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Opening up further about her secret pregnancy, the fiercely private Gemma revealed her new baby is “five-and-a-half months”.
That means they were born towards the end of 2025.
She added: “I’m really well. I’ve just had another kid, and so I’m in the thick of that.
“But it’s all lovely. And I’m getting back into it again.
“You know, coming back from the brink of exhaustion. But it’s all good.”
It’s not the first time Gemma has kept her family life under wraps.
In November 2022, Gemma revealed she was heavily pregnant at an appearance at a film festival after keeping her first pregnancy secret.
The St Trinians actress is currently promoting her role in upcoming ITV thriller Secret Service.
Just this week the star was seen showing off her incredible post-partum figure in some leather red trousers after a radio interview in the Capital.
