DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Camara’s house in the garrison town of Kati came under attack amid simultaneous attacks across the West African country.

Mali’s Defence Minister General Sadio Camara has been killed amid coordinated attacks on military sites across the country, sources told Al Jazeera.

The news on Sunday came a day after his residence in the garrison town of Kati came under attack during the simultaneous attacks launched by al-Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels on Saturday.

Camara was a central figure in the military government that seized power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

“He was one of the most influential figures within the ruling military leadership and had been seen by some as a possible future leader of Mali,” said Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, who has reported extensively from Mali.

“His death is a major blow to the country’s armed forces.”

Haque said attackers carried out a suicide car bomb assault on Camara’s residence in Kati, a heavily fortified military town about 15km (9 miles) northwest of the capital, Bamako.

“Kati is considered one of the most secure locations in the country, yet fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, along with Tuareg fighters from the Liberation Front of Azawad, were able to launch the attack,” he said.

Gunmen also attacked several locations across Mali, including Bamako, as well as Gao and Kidal in the north, and the central city of Sevare.

“As we speak, people in the garrison town of Kidal can still hear heavy gunfire and loud explosions,” Haque added. “This remains an ongoing operation more than 24 hours after it began.”

Interim President Assimi Goita has come under pressure since the offensive, with analysts saying the authorities appeared to have been caught off guard by the latest wave of violence.

Haque said Goita was “alive and well in a secure location”.

“When the attack took place, he was moved to safety, so he remains in command of the military,” he said.

The African Union, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the US Bureau of African Affairs condemned the attacks across Mali.

The former reality star has traded celebrity life to start a rubbish collection business

One of Towie’s most recognisable faces has turned his back on fame and taken up waste collection.

Kirk Norcross first burst onto our screens on the ITV2 reality show as one of its original cast members. Back then, he was living the high life as a ‘rich party boy’, spotted behind the wheel of luxury motors, jetting off on extravagant holidays and throwing parties at his late father Mick Norcross’ legendary nightclub Sugar Hut.

Despite being a firm favourite with fans, he chose to walk away from the show after just two years, before going on to appear in several other television programmes. Kirk featured on Celebrity Big Brother and the 2015 series of MTV’s Ex On The Beach.

Now, years on, Kirk leads a thoroughly ‘normal’ life having opted to ditch the spotlight entirely – even previously turning down the opportunity to appear in the 10-year TOWIE anniversary reunion show.

The 38-year-old now runs County Clear Waste, a same-day rubbish collection service operating throughout Norfolk and Suffolk. The firm handles household, commercial and industrial waste, while also providing a ‘wait and load service’.

The company appears to have launched in January this year, making it a relatively new venture. Promoting his business, Kirk shared a snap of himself on Instagram, pictured sporting a branded hi-vis jacket.

Alongside the post he wrote: “Hi, I’m Kirk Norcross, proud owner of County Clear Waste.

“I provide reliable, fully insured and licensed rubbish clearance across Norfolk and Suffolk. From garden clearances and house clearances to all types of waste and rubbish removal.

“I’ve got you covered. Professional, trustworthy service you can depend on. Get in touch today.”

However, this isn’t Kirk’s first venture into entrepreneurship. The former reality star previously operated his own jet-washing business based in Essex.

He ran KN Jet Services, a jet-washing and drain-cleaning enterprise, which represented his initial foray into a traditional career path after leaving television. Beyond his professional endeavours, Kirk is a dedicated father to his two children.

Kirk has previously spoken candidly about the devastating impact his television career had on his mental wellbeing.

In 2019, he made the heartbreaking revelation that he attempted to take his own life after his time in the public eye left him struggling with severe anxiety and depression.

His late father Mick tragically died by suicide at his Bulphan home in January 2021. An inquest disclosed how Mick felt ‘unable to cope’ with financial concerns before his death.

TOWIE returns on Sunday, April 26 at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX and the show will air every Sunday and Monday

Samaritans is there for anyone who wants to talk. You can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling 116 123 (free from any phone) or the Samaritans Welsh Language Line on 0808 164 0123 (7pm–11pm every day).

After last year’s disastrous Eaton fire, Southern California Edison executives vowed to be transparent about what caused the inferno that killed at least 19 people and left thousands of families homeless in Altadena.

“As we better understand exactly what happened on Jan. 7, we do so with a commitment to remain transparent,” Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said in a published statement after the fire.

In court, however, Edison is keeping crucial documents of the cause of the Eaton fire secret, a legal strategy it has used to shield what happened in at least seven earlier wildfires it was blamed for igniting, according to a Times review.

Edison’s stance has caused mounting frustration with attorneys representing fire victims who are seeking compensation for their losses.

“The Eaton Fire cases should be decided on their merits, not on what information that SCE has been able to withhold,” lawyers for the victims wrote in a recent court filing.

State regulators have repeatedly criticized Edison for its secrecy in previous fires, saying it violated safety regulations and stopped officials from learning the root cause so that similar disasters could be prevented.

For more than a year, Edison employees have been gathering detailed information about what ignited the fire in an investigation the company is required to perform under state utility regulations.

But most of that information is being withheld by Edison’s claim of attorney-client privilege, as well as a protective order that it asked a judge to approve soon after the fire.

Protective orders are commonly used in civil lawsuits, but most cases do not have the broad ramifications to the public as the Eaton fire.

Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington on April 14.

(Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg)

Because of the secrecy, it’s not possible to know just what Edison has found, attorneys for Eaton fire victims said in a filing.

In past fires, regulators have requested from the company — and been denied — photographs, notes, text messages and other records generated by the Edison crew that was first to arrive at the site where the blaze ignited. The company has argued its attorney directed the crew, making the evidence privileged.

The victims’ lawyers say Edison shouldn’t be able to withhold from them most evidence from its investigation into the blaze by claiming that the findings and related documents are covered by attorney-client privilege and therefore confidential.

In a recent interview with The Times, Pizarro disagreed that the company was keeping information on the cause of the Eaton fire secret.

“We believe we’ve been transparent,” Pizarro said. “Facts are not privileged, and so we provided facts as we have known them.”

He said the company’s investigation was continuing. “We still, to this day, don’t fully understand what happened,” he said.

Pizarro said the protective order was needed to keep many things confidential, including some not related to the fire’s cause. For example, he said, it protects maps of the electrical system, which can’t be revealed because of terrorism concerns.

Signs blaming Southern California Edison for the Eaton fire are seen near cleared lots in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County on Jan. 5.

(Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)

He pointed to several company disclosures, including two letters it sent to regulators soon after the Eaton fire that said it was evaluating whether a century-old transmission line, which hadn’t carried power since 1971, “could have become energized” and helped lead to the fire.

Pizarro said last year that the possible reenergization of that old line is a leading theory of the fire’s cause.

The company has said little else about the fire’s cause, other than it safely maintained and inspected the idle line, just like it did its energized lines.

Edison faces thousands of lawsuits from victims of the fire, which burned 14,021 acres and leveled a wide swath of Altadena. The lawsuits allege, in part, that the company was negligent for failing to safely maintain its transmission lines and for leaving the idle line in place when it knew it could become energized. Edison denies the claims of the lawsuits, which have been consolidated in L.A. County Superior Court.

Some documents that Edison says are not privileged and agreed to provide to the victims’ lawyers are sealed by a protective order that the company and the plaintiffs’ lawyers requested.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys often agree to such protective orders on the theory that doing so would allow the utility to more freely share information that could help their case.

Power lines hang from towers carrying power from the Southern California Edison Gould Station.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Two months after the fire, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Seigle signed the protective order — which covers documents that both sides provide in discovery — including business information deemed proprietary and personal customer data.

According to the protective order, if the case is settled, the lawyers will decide whether the sealed documents should be returned to Edison or destroyed.

If the case proceeds to trial, some of the evidence could become public.

Yet even with the protective order in place, plantiffs’ attorneys say Edison has refused to provide them with evidence from its investigation into the fire, saying it’s protected by attorney-client privilege.

The state-required investigations “are not private inquiries undertaken for SCE’s benefit and legal protection,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in a filing last year. “Those investigations are regulated activities that exist to protect the public and enhance public safety by preventing future fires.”

To begin those investigations, Edison’s crews often get to the ignition site before government officials. In the 2019 Saddleridge fire in Sylmar, an investigator from the Los Angeles Fire Department found the yellow police tape at the road leading to where the blaze started on the ground and an Edison truck leaving the site, according to his report.

California utility regulators have said the earliest observations at the scene are critical in determining what happened.

L.A. Fire Justice attorney Mikal Watts presents findings on the cause of the Eaton fire at transmission tower 3 at a January 2025 news conference in Pasadena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Loretta Lynch, former president of the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates the electric companies, said she believed Edison was wrongly using attorney-client privilege and protective orders “as a sword to prevent justice.”

Lynch said the confidentiality could keep evidence of Edison’s possible negligence from being used at a future state hearing that will look at whether the company acted safely and prudently before the Eaton fire.

In that hearing, if the commission finds the company acted prudently, all damage costs will be covered by a state wildfire fund and Edison customers. The company and its shareholders would pay nothing.

“It’s time to stop this game of allowing utilities to be negligent and then walk away with their customers paying for it,” Lynch said.

Kathleen Dunleavy, an Edison spokeswoman, said the company’s “assertions of privilege in civil court have nothing to do” with the future state hearing on whether the company acted prudently.

Dunleavy added that the company has been cooperating with government fire investigators and the plaintiff lawyers, responding to their requests for data.

The government’s investigation into the cause of the fire has not yet been released.

Asked about the company’s withholding of documents in court, Pizarro pointed to a 2024 California Appeals Court decision that found that Edison’s assertion of attorney-client privilege to keep evidence sealed in litigation over the 2017 Creek fire was appropriate under the law. The court said that protecting the documents generated in the internal investigation from public disclosure allowed the company’s attorneys “to investigate not only the favorable but the unfavorable aspects” of their client’s situation.

Lawyers for victims of the Creek fire, which destroyed more than 100 homes and structures near Sylmar, say Edison failed to provide evidence that showed its line was a likely cause of the blaze, leading government investigators to initially wrongly blame electrical equipment owned by the L.A. Department of Water and Power. Edison continues to deny it caused the fire.

A fire truck makes its way past a portion of the Creek fire along Wheatland Avenue in Sylmar on Dec. 5, 2017.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In the Eaton fire case, a few details of what’s in the confidential documents have been revealed in court, showing they could be significant when the first trial begins next year.

In February, plaintiff lawyers filed 13 sealed exhibits for only the judge to review, saying they showed how Edison had neglected inspections, maintenance and repair of the idle line. The records are subject to the protective order, shielding them from public view.

“There is ample evidence in this case that SCE performed more frequent and higher quality inspections and maintenance on its live equipment than it did on its inactive facilities,” they wrote.

“From all indications, SCE left Tower 208 virtually unattended for decades,” they added, referring to the pylon that held the idle line and was found to be the location of the fire’s first flames.

The plaintiff lawyers also said the protective order prevents them from disclosing photos to the public that show Edison left vegetation growing under the idle line while removing it from beneath the live wires running parallel to it, according to the court filing. Utility regulations require vegetation to be removed from under and around electric lines to reduce the risk of fire.

The lawyers added that the sealed documents showed that Edison was having problems with an outside contractor it had hired to inspect its transmission lines.

Asked about the filing, Pizarro said the claims were assertions by the plaintiff attorneys that would be debated in court.

Some legal experts have criticized the use of protective orders for keeping the public in the dark about dangerous corporate actions or products.

Lynch said protective orders and confidential settlements in wildfire litigation are preventing the public from learning information that could stop future deadly fires. She said California should consider legislation to ban the use of the secrecy tactics in wildfire lawsuits.

Firefighters work to contain the Saddleridge fire on Oct. 10, 2019, in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles.

(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

The Times found protective orders in lawsuits against Edison for the 2017 Thomas fire and mudslides, which killed 23; the 2018 Woolsey fire, which killed three; the 2019 Saddleridge fire, which killed one; and the 2022 Fairview fire, which killed two. Those fires together caused billions of dollars in damages and destroyed thousands of homes.

Lawyers for the Eaton fire victims told the judge in February that the protective order, as well as similar secrecy orders in lawsuits over other fires, had kept them from speaking publicly about certain subjects in the courtroom, including what they knew about Edison’s line inspections.

“This is a significant case, against one of the world’s largest providers of electricity, which has, through the use of Confidentiality Protective Orders in other cases, impaired the Plaintiffs’ ability to fully inform the Court,” they wrote.

Late last month, Judge Seigle ordered Edison to give the victims’ lawyers more of the documents they had requested. The protective order limits the public’s access to them.

If Ty Simpson develops into a top NFL quarterback who leads the Rams to a Super Bowl title, the club will look back at the 2026 draft as one of the best and shrewdest in its history.

Until then, it will be remembered for a news conference.

Yeah, that one.

The post-Day 1 session on Thursday night when coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead — the personable and ebullient duo that playfully channeled Top Gun’s “Maverick” and “Goose” in 2025 — appeared dour and subdued after selecting Simpson with the 13th overall pick.

The choice brought a collective groan from much of the fan base. And who could blame it?

They were eager to see their favorite team add a final piece — hello, USC receiver Makai Lemon? — to a roster perhaps one playmaker away from making the Rams the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium next February.

That’s no knock on Simpson, a charming and mature Tennessee native who started 15 games for Alabama before the Rams made him the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford.

The next day, Snead and McVay gave Simpson his flowers and repeated the same talking point: They are in “lockstep” as decision-makers. And McVay explained that his “grumpy” demeanor the night before was related to personal issues and his desire to delicately handle Stafford’s reaction to the pick.

On Saturday, the Rams did not make Snead or McVay available to reporters to summarize their draft, which included Simpson, Ohio State tight end Max Klare, Missouri offensive lineman Keagen Trost, Miami receiver CJ Daniels and Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III. It is the smallest draft class in Rams history, which befits a team with no glaring roster holes.

Ostensibly, Snead and McVay stepped aside to give assistant general manager John McKay and Nicole Blake, the director of scouting, strategy and analytics, experience dealing with questions from reporters, which they handled with aplomb.

But the braintrust’s absence only magnified that this draft was unlike any other it has overseen during 10 years of working as a team.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson laughs while standing on the draft stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday.

(Vera Nieuwenhuis / Associated Press)

It would have been difficult to top 2025.

The Rams won last year’s draft when they traded out of the first round in exchange for the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick this year. That gave the Rams the Falcons’ pick at No. 13 and their own at No. 29.

In March, the Rams traded the No. 29 pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in a package for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. The masterful move addressed the Rams’ most pressing need and gave them a Super Bowl-ready roster. Classic Snead.

The Rams, set up for a boom-or-bust season akin to 2021, were primed for another typical big swing with the 13th pick. But instead of giving Stafford another weapon, they gave him… his eventual replacement.

Choosing Simpson might prove a savvy move. Especially if Stafford is injured this season or retires in the next year or two. But the pick stunned many. And gauging his public reaction afterward, it appeared to unnerve McVay.

During their time together, Snead and McVay built teams that have played in two Super Bowls, winning one, and made eight playoff appearances. Some interpreted McVay’s demeanor on Thursday night as evidence of a splinter in one of the league’s most successful partnerships.

But that does not appear to be the case.

Recall that after the Rams lost in the NFC championship last January, team president Kevin Demoff’s first order of business was signing Snead and McVay to extensions that had been on the table all season.

Several days before the draft, McVay and Snead described their connection. And they did it with heartfelt comments.

“I truly love Les and I have such respect for the job that he does,” McVay said, adding, “There is nobody I’d rather be partnered up with.”

Said Snead: “From a life perspective, you hear it when players retire, they miss the locker room. Whenever that time comes for me, I’ll miss showing up and doing hard things with Sean just because that’s a relationship that probably makes life worth a living.’”

McVay probably feels that way about Stafford. During the 2021 season, Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. At 38, he is the reigning NFL most valuable player. He also is in negotiations for a contract adjustment.

But McVay’s desire to not hurt Stafford’s feelings by not publicly giving Simpson a trademark, positive-infused welcome-to-L.A. moment seemed misguided. Stafford is one of the toughest and most resilient players in the NFL. He is bound for the Hall of Fame. The guy seems pretty secure in who he is and where he stands with the team and in NFL history.

So the Rams broke from script. They abandoned an all-in pick for an investment in the future.

“You’re never one player away,” McVay said Saturday during a television interview with NFL Network. “We know that we have a chance to be a good football team but you earn it every single year.

“And if you could tell me that taking somebody would ensure us, I think we would do that. But it doesn’t quite work like that.”

No, it doesn’t.

And if Simpson lives up to the potential that the Rams see in him, it will be another in a string of genius decisions by Snead and McVay.

But if Lemon makes a big catch for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Rams in the NFC playoffs, the Rams might look back at it as the swing they should have taken.

April 25 (UPI) — An Egyptian family of six that was released from custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement days ago was rearrested on Saturday and may be headed for a quick deportation, their lawyer said.

After an emergency appeal earlier in the day, U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery said the family’s immediate deportation should be paused, The Guardian and The Texas Tribune reported.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children had been held in the Dilley detention center outside San Antonio, Texas, which has been criticized for lack of medical care and food, for ten months.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney on Thursday ruled that the family, which came to the United States in 2022 on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, should be freed while they wait for a decision on their case.

After the family was arrested again on Saturday morning, El Gamal’s attorney, Eric Lee, posted on X that the family had already been put on a flight to Michigan, where they are expected to be deported to Egypt.

Calling the agency’s actions “an absolutely brazen violation of separation of powers,” Lee said the flight “constitutionally” should not be permitted to take off, posting “stop this travesty of justice from taking place.”

The family was arrested in June after El Gamal’s husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd rallying in support of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.

A judge already had temporarily halted their deportation in June after their arrest.

Sanaa, Yemen – It was August 2023, and Enaya Dastor was reading a school textbook while also keeping an eye on her goats as they grazed near her village, Jabal Habashy, in central Yemen’s Taiz governorate.

Whenever the livestock moved away, the then-13-year-old would walk or run to bring them back to the pasture near her house.

That afternoon, she was following them as usual when an explosion rang out.

A landmine had detonated beneath her.

“People gathered around me after the blast, and I was taken to the hospital immediately. It was a horrible moment, ” Dastor told Al Jazeera. Surgeons were forced to amputate her left leg, leaving her with a lifelong disability.

The incident took place more than a year after fighting between Yemen’s government and Houthi forces largely stopped, following a ceasefire in April 2022.

But landmines left behind on former battlefields and front lines continue to kill and injure Yemenis.

The hidden risks have turned fields, roads, and villages into areas of ongoing danger. Landmines and other explosives have killed at least 339 children and injured 843 since the 2022 truce, according to Save the Children. The organisation found that nearly half of child casualties related to the conflict were due to landmines and explosive remnants of war.

‘Sleeping killers’

The parties to Yemen’s conflict planted thousands of mines during the civil war, which began in 2014.

Two months before Dastor’s incident, a boy in a nearby village had stepped on a landmine. One of the boy’s legs was amputated in the explosion, she told Al Jazeera.

“Landmines are sleeping killers, waiting for the innocents to step on them or move them without caution. That is how they wake up to shed blood and take human souls,” said Dastor.

“I used to go with other girls to the pasture. We grazed the cattle and play for hours. We were not aware of the danger, and we did not know when these deadly objects were planted,” she added.

After the landmine explosion took her leg, her family and others fled the village, which had previously been on a front line.

To date, Dastor’s family has not returned. They now live in the city of Taiz.

“I do not want to see another child harmed or hear another landmine explosion. I loathe walking on the soil under which mines were planted,” she said.

In the first half of 2025 alone, 107 civilians were killed or injured, most of them children, according to Save the Children. Included in that number are five children who were killed while playing football on a dirt field in Taiz.

Lost hope

From 2015 through 2021, ground fighting was brutal, and warplanes continuously bombed across Yemen, killing and injuring thousands of civilians.

The landmines have added a lasting layer of danger. A study carried out in 2022 by Yemeni human rights groups found that 534 children and 177 women were killed by mines between April 2014 and March 2022.

In addition, 854 children, 255 women, and 147 elderly people were injured during the same period in 17 Yemeni provinces, with the heavily fought-over Taiz recording the highest number.

In 2018, Mohammed Mustafa lost his left leg in a landmine explosion in Taiz’s Maqbna district. He was only 20 years old. Eight years on, he can still recall the details of that moment.

“I stepped on a landmine when I was walking in a mountainous area at sunset time. After the blast, I looked towards my feet, and I found my left leg was gone,” he told Al Jazeera.

Mustafa was in a rural area with no hospitals nearby. He had to travel five hours by ambulance to the city of Taiz, and the distance he covered to reach a healthcare centre added to his pain.

“I fainted repeatedly on the way to Taiz city. The next day, I woke up in the hospital, and saw my leg amputated up to the knee,” he said.

With support from family, relatives and friends, he recovered. Mustafa is now a member of the Yemeni Amputee Football Federation, a father, and a small business owner.

“My family and friends stood by me, lifted my morale, and accompanied me on outings in the city to help me forget my pain and worry. I realised I was not alone,” he said.

De-mining challenges

Efforts to remove landmines from many areas in Yemen continue. But totally ridding the country of the problem remains complex, particularly as no final deal has been agreed upon to end the war.

Project Masam, a de-mining team funded and initiated by Saudi Arabia, said in a statement in March that, since the project’s launch in July 2018, a total of 549,452 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had been removed by March 20, 2026.

During the same period, the project’s teams cleared explosives from 7,799 hectares (19,272 acres) in Yemen. Similarly, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) said early this month it has cleared more than 23,302 square metres (250,820sq ft) of Yemeni land from mines and explosive remnants of war.

Adel Dashela, a Yemeni researcher and non-resident fellow at the MESA Global Academy, focusing on conflict and peace building studies, said that many factors make the de-mining process challenging.

“The mines have been planted indiscriminately in different areas, and some of the territories are under the control of different armed groups, which makes them inaccessible to de-miners,” Dashela told Al Jazeera.

“Other challenges facing the de-mining process in Yemen include the lack of clear maps and the lack of qualified local personnel to handle these mines effectively. There is also a shortage of government’s modern equipment for detecting these devices and explosives,” he added.

Dashela noted that flash floods, such as those Yemen experienced in August 2025, sweep away explosives from one area to another, complicating the clearance process and exposing more people to further risks.

This means many more Yemenis will likely suffer.

The loss of a limb might bring lasting sorrow to landmine survivors, but some, like Dastor, are determined not to dwell on the past. She is focusing on the future.

“Today, I am in tenth grade, and I will finish high school in two years,” she said. “After that, I will enrol in law college and will graduate as a lawyer. I want to defend those who face injustice.”

“The injury has changed how I move or walk, and separated my family from our home,” she said. “But it cannot disable my mind or stop my dreams.”

MOLLY-MAE Hague appears to have confirmed her second child may be her last.

Back in February, the businesswoman and influencer revealed she was expecting a sibling for her and partner Tommy Fury‘s three-year-old daughter Bambi.

Molly-Mae, 26, then seemingly revealed her due date in a social media clip, suggesting she is due in June, before dropping a huge hint about her unborn baby’s name.

Boxer Tommy, 26, who originates from Gypsy heritage, has never made any secret of his desire for a large family with his Love Island co-star, originally suggesting 10 kids before settling on four.

Though now Molly-Mae has hinted this pregnancy could be her final maternity journey.

In her new YouTube clip entitled A Week With Me and Prepping For My Baby Shower, she told how she had originally planned her celebrations to be an outdoor cinema event at her home.

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Yet she changed things up after thinking she would be “dreading” it and feeling “anxious” about bringing friends together from different groups.

She said: “I thought no it’s just a lot, so I thought just swerve it basically.

“So I ended up swerving it – sorry I have really got verbal diarrhrea – but I also was like well this might be my last baby.

“I really want to do something to celebrate it”.

Molly-Mae then planned a baby brunch event in Manchester, with a jeans and a nice top dress code.

Though her family plans might have poured cold water on Tommy’s dreams of a bigger brood.

Previously, Tommy told a Love Island spin off show: “In 10 years’ time I’d definitely like to see myself married with kids; four kids, five kids, 20 kids – whatever.”

During the chat, Molly’s mouth then dropped open as she exclaimed: “FIVE kids?”

He smiled: “Yeah, I want an army of kids.”

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But the influencer refused to entertain the idea, and told him: “Well that’s not happening, we’re not doing five kids. Two, maximum.”

In another chat, he explained: “Apart from boxing, having a family is what I’m really looking forward to”.

Earlier this month, Tommy’s big brother Tyson admitted he wants 10 kids – and has sex five times a week.

Tyson admitted: “My love life’s thriving, I’m having sex at least four or five times a week.

“Paris, she is that ride-or-die chick. The woman’s been my wife for 20 years near on.

“Is she the luckiest lady on Earth? One hundred per cent.”

After the big talk in the build-up, Ireland blew France away in the opening 40 minutes but, largely, were left unrewarded for their efforts.

Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald crossed for Ireland but had two efforts chalked off, while Brittany Hogan and Fiona Tuite were also denied first-half scores.

France, who are tipped to meet England in a Grand Slam decider on the final day of the Six Nations, showed a clinical edge and moved clear after the restart through Carla Arbez, Anais Grando and Lea Champon, while Ireland could not back up their first-half performance and fell short.

Under head coach Scott Bemand, Ireland have moved up to fifth in the world and stunned New Zealand and Australia in 2024, but the elusive Six Nations scalp goes on.

England had too much on the opening day, when a slow start was punished, and defeat by France shows there is still work to be done.

“In these kinds of Test matches the margins become finer, so we’re after finer margins than we were,” Bemand said.

“Nail your kick to touch and nail your exit – they are the type of things that don’t let France in.

“We will keep going after the finer margins and keep trying to get better. I’ve got a group who is up for that.”

April 25 (UPI) — Palestinians in Gaza held an election for the first time in 20 years as municipal elections were held there and in the West Bank on Saturday.

People in Deir al-Balah, a city in central Gaza, voted for the first time since 2006 because it was the least destroyed area after two years of airstrikes by Israel after the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, CNN reported.

The elections, which also were held in many parts of the West Bank, were run by the Palestinian Authority and required candidates to agree with Palestinian Liberation Organization to recognize the state of Israel and support a two-state solution.

Elections were last held in the West Bank in 2022, The BBC reported, and had not been held in Gaza since Hamas took the enclave over two decades ago. Hamas was not permitted to participate in the elections.

Election results will be reported either late Saturday or on Sunday.

Salama Badwan, who voted with his wife and daughter, told Al Jazeera that the first election “is a truly Palestinian democratic celebration.”

“We must change everything through the ballot box,” Badwan said. “Whoever wins, it is their right, but not through inheritance … change must be through the hands of the people.”

Roughly 70,000 Palestinians — or 5% of the entire Gazan population — in Deir al-Balah were eligible to vote because many of the places that would have been used for voting were destroyed, as were supplies like ballot boxes.

The Palestinian Authority’s Fatah party dominated ballots as votes were held for 90 municipal councils and 93 village councils — leaving 42 other municipal councils and 155 village councils to be decided without votes.

Hamas praised the vote in Gaza and expressed hope for the rest of the territory to also choose its own leaders, although after its election in 2006 it forced Fatah out of Gaza in often violent battles and had not held an election since.

A travel creator has shared his experience of visiting what he branded the ‘cheapest country’ in the world, where you can get a beer for under £1 and a meal for just £2.60

Many of us enjoy jetting off on holiday every so often, yet the expenses can quickly mount up – from flights and accommodation to food and excursions. Now, one travel content creator has shared his experience of visiting what he calls the ‘cheapest country in the world‘.

Lourens, known as @l.ourens on Instagram, is a Dutch travel creator with more than 15,000 followers. He regularly posts content about ‘discovering unknown destinations around the world’ and says he’s aiming to visit every country in Europe – having “already gone to 47 of them”. In one of his most recent reels, he gave his followers an insight into his trip to what he described as the “cheapest country in the world” – Uzbekistan.

In the clip, he tells fans: “I went to the cheapest country in the world, where you can have a beer on a terrace for about €1 (87p) and stay in a local apartment for about €15 (£13) per night.

“It’s capital city feels like a mini Dubai with modern glass towers and a spotless metro. Yet this city also has ancient buildings with lots of culture and a rich local cuisine.

“For example, we went to this restaurant and we ordered a local dish for about €3 (£2.60) per person.”

The creator added that those put off by the Dubai-style architecture can hop aboard a luxury high-speed train for around €15, whisking you away to the cultural hub of Samarkand, where he “saw one of the most beautiful buildings of the ancient Silk Road”. He continued: “On top of that, you can also take from this city a guided day trip over the border to Tajikistan to see the Seven Lakes. These lakes contain clear water and pristine mountain views, which we really enjoyed.”

Lourens also noted in the caption that Uzbekistan was the “best budget friendly country” he’d visited after “visiting 60+ countries”.

The post proved a massive hit with followers, amassing more than 70,000 likes.

One delighted user exclaimed: “One of my favourite countries ever!”

While another enthusiastically agreed: “I just left Uzbekistan and it’s amazing.”

A third chimed in: “Looks so interesting, I love the idea of going somewhere that’s not over-touristy.”

Is Uzbekistan actually the cheapest country in the world?

While Uzbekistan ranks amongst the most wallet-friendly destinations on the planet, it isn’t technically the absolute cheapest. Despite offering remarkable value for money, several other nations typically boast lower overall costs for both locals and tourists.

Uzbekistan frequently features in the “Top 10” or “Top 20” most affordable destinations, though countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Libya and India generally rank as having a lower cost of living according to global indices.

Within Central Asia specifically, nations such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are frequently regarded as even more budget-conscious destinations than Uzbekistan.

Is Uzbekistan safe to travel to?

Uzbekistan is widely regarded as a safe destination for tourists, with numerous visitors rating it among the safest countries they have ever travelled to. That said, official guidance differs depending on your country of origin, and certain precautions are advised.

UK government advice suggests the country is generally safe, though travellers are cautioned to remain vigilant of terrorism risks and to steer clear of any protests or demonstrations.

The majority of the country, including popular tourist destinations such as Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, benefit from strong security and a prominent police presence. Particular areas of concern include the border with Afghanistan, where travel is strongly discouraged, as well as regions bordering Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, notably the Fergana Valley, where parts remain mined or have a history of unrest.

Uzbekistan is increasingly making a name for itself as a premier destination for solo female travellers, having recently claimed the #1 position in the Solo Female Travel Safety Index. Reports of harassment are notably low in comparison to many other major tourist hotspots.

Street crime is uncommon, and walking alone after dark in the main cities is broadly considered safe, with most streets remaining well-lit and regularly patrolled.

A travel creator has shared his experience of visiting what he branded the ‘cheapest country’ in the world, where you can get a beer for under £1 and a meal for just £2.60

Many of us enjoy jetting off on holiday every so often, yet the expenses can quickly mount up – from flights and accommodation to food and excursions. Now, one travel content creator has shared his experience of visiting what he calls the ‘cheapest country in the world‘.

Lourens, known as @l.ourens on Instagram, is a Dutch travel creator with more than 15,000 followers. He regularly posts content about ‘discovering unknown destinations around the world’ and says he’s aiming to visit every country in Europe – having “already gone to 47 of them”. In one of his most recent reels, he gave his followers an insight into his trip to what he described as the “cheapest country in the world” – Uzbekistan.

In the clip, he tells fans: “I went to the cheapest country in the world, where you can have a beer on a terrace for about €1 (87p) and stay in a local apartment for about €15 (£13) per night.

“It’s capital city feels like a mini Dubai with modern glass towers and a spotless metro. Yet this city also has ancient buildings with lots of culture and a rich local cuisine.

“For example, we went to this restaurant and we ordered a local dish for about €3 (£2.60) per person.”

The creator added that those put off by the Dubai-style architecture can hop aboard a luxury high-speed train for around €15, whisking you away to the cultural hub of Samarkand, where he “saw one of the most beautiful buildings of the ancient Silk Road”. He continued: “On top of that, you can also take from this city a guided day trip over the border to Tajikistan to see the Seven Lakes. These lakes contain clear water and pristine mountain views, which we really enjoyed.”

Lourens also noted in the caption that Uzbekistan was the “best budget friendly country” he’d visited after “visiting 60+ countries”.

The post proved a massive hit with followers, amassing more than 70,000 likes.

One delighted user exclaimed: “One of my favourite countries ever!”

While another enthusiastically agreed: “I just left Uzbekistan and it’s amazing.”

A third chimed in: “Looks so interesting, I love the idea of going somewhere that’s not over-touristy.”

Is Uzbekistan actually the cheapest country in the world?

While Uzbekistan ranks amongst the most wallet-friendly destinations on the planet, it isn’t technically the absolute cheapest. Despite offering remarkable value for money, several other nations typically boast lower overall costs for both locals and tourists.

Uzbekistan frequently features in the “Top 10” or “Top 20” most affordable destinations, though countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Libya and India generally rank as having a lower cost of living according to global indices.

Within Central Asia specifically, nations such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are frequently regarded as even more budget-conscious destinations than Uzbekistan.

Is Uzbekistan safe to travel to?

Uzbekistan is widely regarded as a safe destination for tourists, with numerous visitors rating it among the safest countries they have ever travelled to. That said, official guidance differs depending on your country of origin, and certain precautions are advised.

UK government advice suggests the country is generally safe, though travellers are cautioned to remain vigilant of terrorism risks and to steer clear of any protests or demonstrations.

The majority of the country, including popular tourist destinations such as Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, benefit from strong security and a prominent police presence. Particular areas of concern include the border with Afghanistan, where travel is strongly discouraged, as well as regions bordering Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, notably the Fergana Valley, where parts remain mined or have a history of unrest.

Uzbekistan is increasingly making a name for itself as a premier destination for solo female travellers, having recently claimed the #1 position in the Solo Female Travel Safety Index. Reports of harassment are notably low in comparison to many other major tourist hotspots.

Street crime is uncommon, and walking alone after dark in the main cities is broadly considered safe, with most streets remaining well-lit and regularly patrolled.

Ukraine’s attacks on Russia injure at least six people in the region of Vologda and the annexed Crimea.

Ukrainian officials say Russian attacks in several regions have killed at least five people and damaged a ship in the port of Odesa – as Moscow claimed to have intercepted more than 200 Ukrainian drones.

A Russian drone attack killed two men on Saturday in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov. He said civilians were hit in Bilopil close to the Russian border.

In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian attacks on four districts killed one person and injured four others, Governor Oleksandr Ganzha said.

In the southern region of Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian shelling wounded seven people.

Further east, Russian forces launched more than 700 attacks on 50 settlements in the Zaporizhia region over the past 24 hours, killing two people and injuring four, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov.

Homes, vehicles and infrastructure were damaged, he added.

In Odesa region, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russian forces again targeted port infrastructure.

“The attack damaged port and logistics infrastructure facilities, warehouses, technical equipment, cargo storage tanks, administrative buildings, as well as freight transport,” Kuleba said on Telegram.

He added that a civilian vessel flying the flag of Palau was damaged while loading in port. No injuries to the crew were reported.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down or disabled 124 of 144 drones launched by Russia overnight with impacts recorded at 11 locations.

Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacks

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences destroyed 203 Ukrainian drones between Saturday evening and Sunday morning over Russian regions and the Black Sea.

The ministry said 95 Ukrainian drone control centres were destroyed over the previous 24 hours.

In Russia’s Vologda region, Governor Georgy Filimonov said five people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on a nitrogen complex.

In Sevastopol in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia, debris from downed drones struck the cardiology department of a hospital, injuring one person, according to Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev. He said 16 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the city overnight.

Razvozhayev added that drone debris also fell on rail tracks, damaging overhead power lines and causing train delays.

Peace efforts continue

The latest attacks came as diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fourth year, remained stalled.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he signed agreements on security and energy cooperation with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Saturday.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv wanted to draw on its experience defending airspace from Russian attacks. He also said he had discussed the possibility of holding future talks between Ukraine and Russia in Azerbaijan.

“We are ready for the next talks to be in Azerbaijan, if Russia will be ready for diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said.

Michael Tilson Thomas came onto the scene as a great hope for classical music, American music, Los Angeles music, modern music, multifaceted pop music, maverick music, Russian music, Broadway music and just plain music, whatever it might be and from wherever it might be found. He lived his 81 years as conductor, pianist, composer, educator and media personality promoting that hope, and died Wednesday having shown how hope is done. He looked ahead. He looked back. Yet he lived for the now.

It wasn’t always easy. He wasn’t, to say the least, always easy. But MTT made music matter by making hope matter. He was, moreover, one of us. He achieved greatness though an epic amplification of a uniquely L.A. positivity in which grumpy became wistful.

I first encountered MTT as a kid clarinetist and he, Michael Thomas back then, a student conductor at USC and already, at 19, music director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. He was soon everywhere. A piano prodigy, he regularly performed (and hobnobbed) with the likes of Stravinsky, Copland, Boulez and Cage at Monday Evening Concerts programs when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened in 1965. That summer, he appeared at the Ojai Music Festival, which he would go on to lead as music director seven times.

MTT liked to describe his L.A. youth as driving from Jascha Heifetz’s house in the Hollywood Hills (where he accompanied the famed Russian violinist in classes) to LACMA to rehearse Ives and Renaissance music, to composition and conducting classes at USC. Then it was home to the San Fernando Valley to practice Beethoven.

All the while, he listened to the hip L.A. 1960s pop music stations on his car radio. He was particularly keen on, and became friends with, Chuck Berry. Home was where he would also encounter screen legends. Tilson Thomas’ father worked in films and television as a screenwriter, producer and dialogue coach. Theodor Thomas was, as well, a painter with a visionary sensibility and a pianist, self-taught other than a handful of lessons from Gershwin.

But it was Tilson Thomas’ mother and grandmother who may have had the biggest influence. His mother was a public school teacher. She instilled what became a key trait in her only child, who treated conducting as an exercise in learning both for the musicians and the audience (if not for him, because he basically knew it all). His grandmother, Bessie Thomashefsky and her husband, Boris, were stars of Yiddish theater on New York’s Lower East Side.

Boris died in 1939, five years before MTT was born. But Bessie and young Michael were close. She recognized that, like her, he was born for the stage, and regaled him with stage lore that put the stardust in his eyes. As a young kid, MTT played Beethoven piano sonatas so impressively that he wowed his babysitter, an architecture student at USC named Frank Owen Goldberg, who needed extra cash.

Frank Gehry, as he became, told me that MTT was already an entrancing showman. The two remained lifelong friends.

While MTT did not actually reside in L.A. for most of his life, he never really left it. It prepared him for all that was to follow. In high school, he met Joshua Robison, who became his lifelong partner and ultimately husband. Whether in New York, Miami, London or San Francisco, wherever they lived, they always talked about L.A. His father’s paintings were on the walls, as were Boris’ Yiddish theater posters, one proclaiming “King Lear,” translated and improved.

The Tilson Thomas package that emerged from L.A. was unlike any conductor the world had seen. He doted on the music of Rachmaninoff when Rachmaninoff was unfashionable and on Steve Reich when Reich was found unfathomable. He adopted classical music’s neglected outsiders and especially such key West Coast “mavericks” as Lou Harrison and Henry Cowell. He convinced Meredith Monk to write for orchestra and enticed everyone from Sarah Vaughan to the Mahavishnu Orchestra onto the symphony stage.

Studying at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony’s summer home, MTT won the Koussevitzky Prize in 1969 and, with the encouragement of Leonard Bernstein, was appointed assistant conductor to music director William Steinberg. Before long, MTT became principal guest conductor, filling in frequently for Steinberg, who was in poor health.

MTT in his early 20s was vibrant, arrogant, fearless, full of ideas, a chance taker. Ever the Angeleno, he tooled around town in a Porsche. He talked to staid symphony musicians and audiences who didn’t want to be talked to and often played music they didn’t want to play or hear. And he dazzled them. He got a contract with the distinguished German record label Deutsche Grammophon and made exciting records with the orchestra of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Ives and modern Americans. They remain a thrill to hear.

By 1974, it was Tchaikovsky one moment and a wonderfully crazy avant-garde opera the next. Stanley Silverman’s “Elephant Steps,” which MTT recorded in 1974, was for pop singers, opera singers, orchestra, rock band, electronic tape, raga group, gypsy ensemble and, of course, elephants. Richard Foreman wrote the libretto. There had been nothing like it then or since. A revival could prove a sensation. The Olympic arts festival, anyone?

At the same time, Tilson Thomas, who proved a born educator, succeeded Bernstein in delivering the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts. When Steinberg left, the Boston Symphony Orchestra passed over MTT as too young (24) and not ready (he wasn’t, nor was Boston). He was just right, though, for the Buffalo Philharmonic, which he led from 1971 to 1979. It was a wild ride, with lots of exciting new music and no small amount of controversy — arresting performances of arresting new works (Morton Feldman in particular) and an actual arrest at Kennedy International Airport when small quantities of cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines were found in his luggage.

He may have seemed ready for a homecoming in 1981, but MTT’s appointment as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic did not prove to be the return of the prodigal son. These were the years of Carlo Maria Giulini’s music directorship, and MTT brought currency — new music, Gershwin, flashy showstoppers. Much of it was a breath of freshest air, but he was also remembered for his brash youth, which was now a brash 30s. He ran afoul of some in the orchestra and of its imperious head, Ernest Fleischmann.

Having been branded the next Bernstein, MTT floundered. What he needed was not L.A., but a far distant remove to find himself. That happened in two parts.

In 1987, the educator in him led to his greatest project, the creation of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. The training orchestra guides young musicians with conservatory backgrounds into the world of professional orchestras.

Around the same time, Bernstein talked the London Symphony Orchestra into hiring Tilson Thomas as music director. Far from L.A., Boston and New York, a newly mature MTT found his bearings, no longer the next Leonard Bernstein but the first and only Michael Tilson Thomas.

Miami gave MTT meaning, and he commissioned Frank Gehry to design a revolutionary concert hall and teaching facility. In London, his conducting took on depth without losing its surface glamour. What MTT still lacked, however, was a creative outlook. He had always thought himself a composer and could, at a party, make up a clever song at the piano on the spot. He had drawers full of sketches but little finished work.

It took a return to the West Coast for MTT, having turned 50, to put all of his musical, emotional, personal and spiritual parts together and achieve greatness. For 25 years as music director of the San Francisco Symphony, MTT conducted Mahler and Tchaikovsky with a depth of soul that integrated his Russian roots and Bernsteinian character. He advocated for mavericks in summer festivals. He found his voice as a composer. He and Robison were embraced as a beloved San Francisco couple. He alchemized the San Francisco Symphony into a Bay Area beacon.

In the challenging last chapter of his life, MTT turned tragedy into triumph to became a universal inspiration. The lockdown in June 2020 meant cancellation of his farewell concerts as music director, including a production of Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” with a set by Gehry. The following summer, MTT fell on stage while conducting the London Symphony in Santa Barbara. He was diagnosed with late-stage glioblastoma. He likely had less than a year to live.

Remarkably, MTT continued to conduct until last April. His appearances with the L.A. Phil and the San Francisco Symphony were transformative. He guest conducted in New York, London, Prague and elsewhere. In L.A., a dying MTT led a profound performance of Mahler’s death-obsessed Ninth Symphony, not as a farewell but as a shamanistic savoring of every moment of life. He asked not for sympathy but for joy.

For MTT, the music never stopped. In his later years, he advanced the theory that what you took away from hearing a performance mattered as much, if not more, than what you experienced. That may explain why this creature of the theater who was so graceful leading an orchestra and so enjoyed talking to the audience turned stiff and awkward when bowing to acknowledged applause. Was it his reluctance to leave? Insecurity? Attempt to remove his ego from the experience, as if he was now handing the music over to you?

It was probably all of those things. During his illness, when his movement became more difficult, he let go. He was simply happy to be there, happy to share music, happy to be alive, very happy to be loved. His final bows were a celebration of life.

Sadly, Robison died Feb. 22, exactly two months before MTT, who died four days short of a year since his final concert with the San Francisco Symphony. But he lives on through about 150 recordings and his website.

He and Robison worked as tirelessly throughout his illness to archive his life. His website provides a treasure trove of compelling radio and television programs, his copious Thomashefsky Yiddish theater archive, a vast legacy of searching and believing. And hope.

At a school with the rich athletic tradition of Santa Ana Mater Dei, it is rare to be the first to achieve anything, but Matteo Huarte made history Saturday by becoming the Monarchs’ only CIF singles champion at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament.

After losing in straight sets to Rishvanth Krishna from Irvine University in last year’s final, Huarte was not about to squander his second chance. He raced to an early lead in the first-set tiebreaker, then broke to open the second set on his way to a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Woodbridge’s Brayden Tallakson in front of a packed grandstand at Libbey Park.

Huarte had four service breaks — the last being a cross-court passing shot on match point. The final resembled Huarte’s semifinal win versus Irvine University’s JiHyuk Im in which he took the first-set tiebreaker 7-4 then cruised 6-2 in the second set.

“I’m happy I was able to do it for my school,” said Huarte, a junior who has committed to USC. “We’ve played each other a couple times and the key was to manage his serve and get into the rally. Once I got ahead of him in the tiebreak and then won the first game of the second set I was able to run away with it.”

Mater Dei’s only other title in the Ojai tournament’s long and storied history came in doubles in 2008 when Charlie Alvarado and Chris Freeman upset top-seeded Tyler Bowman and Jon Kazarian of Peninsula in three sets.

“It’s kind of hard to believe I’m the first to do it,” said Huarte about his singles title.

Last year, Huarte fell in the Southern Section semifinals to Palos Verdes ninth-grader Andrew Johnson, who went on to beat Tallakson 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

Tallakson was trying to make history of his own Saturday at a venue near and dear to his heart.

Woodbridge’s Brayden Tallakson celebrates after his quarterfinal victory over Beckman’s Rohan Grewal at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“I started playing tennis down in lower Libbey, my dad Steve grew up here and won the men’s tournament, so this place is like home for my family,” said Tallakson, who quickly downed Palisades freshman Kensho Ford 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals. “Matteo came out real aggressive, I made a couple errors on big points and he was just the better player today.”

Tallakson won the boys’ 14s division at Ojai in 2022 and had he prevailed Saturday, he would have been the first player to capture CIF singles and doubles titles at Ojai since Santa Barbara’s Nathan Jackmon won the doubles in 1993 and the singles in 1994. Tallakson won the doubles crown in 2023 with older brother Avery, with whom he will reunite next year at Boise State.

Peninsula seniors Colin Bringas and Edward Feuer completed one of the most dominant runs through the doubles draw ever seen at Ojai by beating Harvard-Westlake’s Aaron Chung and Chase Klugo 6-4, 6-2 in the finals. The Panthers’ duo did not drop a set in six matches and did not give up more than three games in a set until the first set Saturday when they broke in the ninth game to go up 5-4 and then served it out.

Bringas and Feuer are the first Peninsula pair to reach the CIF final at Ojai since 2011 and the third tandem in history to win it, joining Rylan Rizza and Jeff Kazarian in 2001, and Kazarian and Tiege Sullivan the following year.

Peninsula seniors Colin Bringas, left, and Edward Feuer celebrate after winning the CIF boys’ doubles title at the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“We’ve been playing together since second or third grade and we’ve been best friends since middle school at Ridgecrest Intermediate [in Palos Verdes],” Bringas said. “I always play the ad side, he’s always played the deuce court. I think the key was big serves … they make it easy for the net person to put balls away.”

Bringas and Feuer have partnered at Ojai the last three years, losing in the quarterfinal round as sophomores and juniors but steamrolling this year. They made a measly three unforced errors in a 6-1, 6-1 semifinal wipeout of Marina’s David Tran and Alejandro Hill. Tran was playing in his second straight final, having taken the runner-up prize with Trevor Nguyen in 2025.

“We were confident we’d win, but we felt the pressure and knew there are a lot of good teams here,” said Feuer, who plays No. 1 singles for dual matches while Bringas plays the No. 1 doubles spot with another teammate. “It’ll be really strange playing against each other next year.”

Bringas is bound for Westmont College and Feuer is headed to Point Loma Nazarene — rival NCAA Division II programs in the Pacific West Conference.

Harvard-Westlake, Woodbridge and University shared the Griggs Cup trophy, presented to the school with the most combined wins in singles and doubles. All three notched seven victories to force a three-way tie for only the fifth time since the award debuted in 1955 and the first since Santa Barbara, Palisades and Fresno Bullard were tri-champions in 1997. University has won it 13 times.

Edward’s teammate Donte DiVincenzo was also hurt as Minnesota rallied to beat Denver and take a 3-1 NBA playoff series lead.

Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to score ‌a career-high 43 points on 13-for-17 shooting, and the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 112-96 win over the ⁠Denver Nuggets in Game ⁠4 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

The victory, which gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, came at a steep cost for the Timberwolves, who lost two key starters ⁠due to injury.

Anthony Edwards, a four-time All-Star and the team’s top scorer, left in the second quarter and did not return because of a left knee injury. Earlier, in the first half, Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo injured his right leg on ⁠a noncontact play. Early reports indicated he might have ruptured his Achilles tendon.

Naz Reid added 17 points off the bench for Minnesota. Julius Randle finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Rudy Gobert grabbed a game-high-tying 15 rebounds to go along with four points.

Jamal Murray scored 30 points on 10-for-25 shooting to lead Denver. Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. ‌However, he shot 8-for-22 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts.

Thunder 121, Suns 109

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a playoff-career-high 42 points to lift Oklahoma City to a road win over Phoenix.

The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player finished 15 of 18 from the floor with eight assists to give the Thunder a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Oklahoma City have won 11 consecutive first- round games. Playing without Jalen Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain in Wednesday’s Game 2 victory, the Thunder leaned even more heavily on Gilgeous-Alexander.

Dillon Brooks led the Suns with ⁠33 points while Jalen Green added 26 points. Devin Booker scored 16 points, but was ⁠held to 6-of-16 shooting from the floor.

Knicks 114, Hawks 98

Karl Anthony-Towns totalled 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career playoff triple-double as New York earned a victory over host Atlanta and evened their Eastern Conference first-round series at two games apiece.

Towns ensured Game 5 on Tuesday ⁠in New York will not be an elimination game for the Knicks and also ensured the series returns to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday. Towns posted his fifth career triple-double ⁠in any game. He also notched the seventh postseason triple-double in New York’s ⁠history. Anunoby led the Knicks with 22 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth career playoff double-double.

CJ McCollum led the Hawks with 17 points but was held to three points after half time. Nickell Alexander-Walker added 15 and hit five 3s, but the Hawks were a dreadful 10 of 41 (24.4 percent) from behind the arc.

Magic ‌113, Pistons 105

Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane scored 25 points apiece as Orlando withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat visiting Detroit in Game 3 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Banchero had 12 rebounds and nine assists for the eighth-seeded Magic, ‌who improved ‌to 7-1 in their last eight home postseason games, including play-in tournament games. Bane was 7-for-9 from 3-point range.

Cunningham scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. Tobias Harris scored 23 points, Ausar Thompson had 17 and Duncan Robinson added 10.

Secretary of the Navy John Phelan says his service is looking to wrap up a review of its aircraft carrier plans within the next month or so. The Navy has been taking a deep look at the design and capabilities, and associated costs, of the Ford class as compared to the older Nimitz class. The question has been raised about whether this might point to a major shift in the service’s carrier acquisition strategy on the horizon, including the potential cancellation of planned orders for more Ford class ships and even a transition to a new design.

Phelan talked about the carrier review yesterday at a roundtable on the sidelines of the Navy League’s Sea Air Space 2026 exposition. When asked, Phelan said that there was nothing in particular about the Ford class that prompted the Navy to take a new comprehensive look at the program and that the service is looking for ways to cut costs and be more efficient across the board.

A key question the review has been focused on is “are we getting the appropriate bang for our buck, i.e., how superior is the Ford [class] to the older Nimitz class, etc,” the Navy’s top civilian leader said. “To be honest, we’re reviewing every program, so it’s – carriers [are] just one of them.”

That being said, President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of the Ford class, and its electromagnetic catapults (also known as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS) and weapons elevators in particular, which have faced serious reliability and maintenance issues. Last October, he pledged to sign an executive order that would compel the Navy to go back to using steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators on new aircraft carriers, which has yet to materialize. Two months later, in announcing plans for the Trump class “battleship,” the President also said that “we have the Ford class. We’re going to be upping that to a different class of aircraft carrier,” but did not elaborate.

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

Watch the Advanced Weapons Elevators on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford

Phelan’s comments yesterday about the ongoing review were prompted, in part, by a question about whether the Navy has actually been looking at acquiring a new class of aircraft carrier. There is no indication that this is the case currently. The service has explored alternatives to the Ford class, including smaller designs, on several occasions in the past decade or so.

“What I would say on the carriers is, we are looking at [CVN-]82 and [CVN-]83 to review the costs, the designs, the systems, to make sure that they make sense and they have all the systems and requirements that we want going forward,” Phelan explained. “I think it’s a prudent and practical thing for us to do, given the costs of them, as a percentage of the budget, and how we are thinking about the force design and our needs going forward.”

CVN-82 and CVN-83 are the hull numbers assigned to a pair of future Ford class aircraft carriers currently set to be named the USS William J. Clinton and the USS George W. Bush. Construction has not begun on either of those ships, and the Navy has not even awarded contracts yet to order them. The service is asking for advance funds to support the future procurement of CVN-82 in its newly released budget request for the 2027 Fiscal Year. The budget documents also still show plans to seek funding for CVN-83 in the coming years.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the only member of its class currently in service. It is now in the midst of a marathon deployment that has lasted some 10 months already, the longest for any carrier since the Vietnam War. In its time at sea so far, the ship and its air wing took part in the mission to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, and more recently supported operations against Iran. Ford suffered a fire in March, underscoring concerns about strains on the ship and its crew, as you can read more about here.

There are three more Ford class carriers in various stages of being built. The second ship in the class, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), left port for the first time for initial sea trials in January and is set to be formally delivered to the Navy next year.

John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) Successfully Completes Builder’s Sea Trials

Kennedy and all subsequent ships in the class are already set to have notable differences from Ford, including AN/SPY-6(V)3 radars in place of the design’s original Dual Band Radar (DBR). The immensely troublesome DBR is just one of a laundry list of issues that Ford has had to contend with over the years. The Navy has been trying to leverage lessons learned from those experiences to streamline work going forward.

However, Kennedy, as well as the next two ships in the class after that, the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), have all continued to suffer further delays. As of last year, the estimated total procurement costs for Kennedy, Enterprise, and Doris Miller were nearly $13.2 billion, almost $14.25 billion, and just over $15.2 billion, respectively, according to the Congressional Research Service.

This, in turn, has created complications for Navy plans to begin retiring Nimitz class carriers. In May, the service announced it was extending the USS Nimitz‘s service life into 2027, in line with the latest delivery schedule for Kennedy.

“So the President knows we’re reviewing it [the carrier plans], and want [sic] us to put in a review,” Phelan said. “And I think, like any businessman, he’s – okay, make sure you look at all these programs, understand the capabilities and what they’re doing.”

The Secretary of the Navy was asked what metrics the service might be looking at in order to assess the comparative capabilities of the Ford class and the preceding Nimitz class. Phelan was given, as an example, statements the Navy has made in the past about the new EMALS catapults offering improved sortie generation rates and reducing wear and tear on aircraft during launches.

“I think you’ll see the sortie rate come out and it will be eye-watering,” Navy Rear Adm. Ben Reynolds said just yesterday at the Pentagon during the rollout of the service’s proposed budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year, according to USNI News. “The capability is just absolutely incredible.”

Reynolds is currently serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget and Director of the Fiscal Management Division within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

USS Ford Launches, Recovers Fighters With Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

“So these are all things you’ve heard. These are all the same things I’ve heard,” Phelan said at the roundtable at Sea Air Space. “I go to the Ronald Reagan School of trust, but verify. That’s what I’m doing.”

“Trust me, we measure and monitor a lot of things in the Navy, including that – the airframes and how that works. So I think it’s a function of just understanding it, for example, is the sortie rate generation that much greater? And then what are the cost implications of this electric catapult, and did it really generate the savings?” Phelan continued. “You know, the Navy would like to say we’ve saved $5 billion in terms of savings in number [sic] of men and maintenance. I just need to check that back up, and that’s what I mean by that.”

“I think, like anything, it’s both understanding the cost-benefit analysis of it, because we really want to make sure we’ve got a good handle on the costs,” the Navy Secretary added. “I think one of the things we have to do a better job of in the Navy is kind of what I call total cost of ownership. So what does it really cost to sustain and maintain these things? I think we do a reasonable job at that, to be honest. But the infrastructure needs on these are also costs you have to understand going in.”

As Phelan noted, the Navy has been conducting reviews of major programs across the service. The Navy Secretary has also shown a willingness to curtail high-profile, but seriously underperforming efforts despite high sunk costs. Last November, the service axed the Constellation class frigate program, long touted as a major priority, but which had become mired in delays and at risk of ballooning costs. Earlier this month, the Navy finally abandoned plans to return the Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Boise to active service, closing out a more than 10-year-long saga that had already cost it $800 million.

Yesterday, Phelan was also asked whether the Ford class could be curtailed as a result of the ongoing review. The possibility of truncating the program has been raised in the past.

“It’s too early to say, but we will have carriers. So, carriers are an important component to [sic] the force, and we will need that,” the Navy Secretary said. “I think it’s more, how do we figure out – like, again, this comes back to every program we’re looking at. What can we do to cut costs? What can we do to make this more efficient? What can we do to make the design more simple [sic]? What are the areas where we think we can save or not save?”

Even just cancelling future orders for Ford class ships would have major downstream impacts, including on the shipbuilding industrial base and its many suppliers. At the same time, the Navy’s shipbuilding priorities also now include the Trump class “battleships,” the first of which may cost $17 billion, according to the latest official estimates. If that price point holds, these large surface combatants will be more expensive than a Ford class aircraft carrier.

“These are very important decisions to be made, and you’re locking into very big contracts and very big platforms that are going to be around for a long time. And so I just think we’re trying to make prudent decisions across everything,” he added. “I think what I found a little bit is, I have a lot of people who know how to do finance. I don’t have a lot of people who necessarily understand finance, understand incentives and deal structures, and that’s something we just need to fix.”

How the Navy’s plans for the Ford class, and aircraft carriers in general, may evolve going forward will likely become clearer after the current review is completed.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

[Update: At of 8:42 p.m., the festival advised via its mobile app that Stagecoach will resume momentarily. “We are working to open doors and prep the site for your safety,” the alert said. Just before 9p.m. the gates were reopened.

Stagecoach updated its schedule for Saturday night after a temporary evacuation due to high winds. Journey, which had been scheduled to play the Mustang Stage, will no longer perform; Riley Green, set to play the Mane Stage will also not perform. Lainey Wilson, who was set to headline the Mane stage, will play an hour later than originally scheduled at 10:30 p.m.]

Due to high winds at Stagecoach, the festival promoter Goldenvoice postponed the festival Saturday night until further notice and crowds are currently being evacuated.

An “Emergency Evacuation” message showed up on screens on the festival’s Mane Stage saying “the festival is been postponed until further notice. Please move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit.”

The city of Indio where the fest is located is under a strong wind advisory until 11 a.m. Sunday morning. The advisory issued by the National Weather Service was in effect at 2 p.m. but the gusts didn’t pick up until Teddy swims’ Mane Stage set just after 5 p.m.

Thousands of people poured out of the festival. Despite there being messaging on the screen to evacuate, some emergency exits were still closed by security staff between the main stage and the main entrance. In addition to messaging on screens, the Stagecoach app sent an alert for people to evacuate.

Fans at the festival reported that the winds earlier were much stronger than the evening gusts that resulted in the spontaneous postponement.

“The show was pretty windy when we got there but we went into a saloon to see one of our friends do karaoke,” said Krystine Malins, 58. “When we came out palm trees were like bending in half.”

Malins, who has attended the festival since the first installment in 2007, said an evacuation was “the best call.”

“I just feel bad for these girls walking around half-naked in this wind,” she said.

Two Stagecoach festival attendees, Ellie, 27, and Angelique, 22, sat at tables farther back from the stage watching people filing out of the festival.

“We were trying to see Pitbull at the end of the night, so that’s kind of like our whole night, I don’t know, ruined I guess,” Angelique said. “We were kind of hoping for a refund.” Asked about whether the wind felt seriousness enough to stop the show, the pair were cautiously optimistic. “Honestly I would say yeah [it’s bad], but I feel like there could still be potential for it to go down, but it felt worse earlier,” Angelique said.

Despite the evacuation, the general atmosphere among many festival goers was calm as crowds were walking back to their cars.

“I didn’t even know what was going on until I saw the screen [at the Mane Stage] and then I started hearing “Hey they’re evacuating, get out,” one festival goer told the Times. “But then we had to sit it out because there was a clog at the exit. It’s not that bad.”

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Hollywood 8, Dorsey 6

San Fernando 4, Monroe 2

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 6, West Torrance 2

Arroyo Grande 11, Dos Pueblos 3

Avalon 6, Southlands Christian 5

Bethel Christian 29, Packinghouse Christian 7

Bosco Tech 6, Glendale 4

Cathedral 4, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 3

Chaffey 8, Diamond Ranch 6

Chino 7, Don Lugo 2

Cornerstone Christian 9, San Jacinto Academy 8

Dominguez 20, Compton Centennial 9

Foothill Tech 5, Oxnard Pacifica 0

Hueneme 10, Santa Clara 6

Immanuel 4, Trinity Classical Academy 3

Lancaster 20, Vasquez 12

Linfield Christian 6, Aquinas 5

Moorpark 9, Oxnard 8

Ojai Valley 8, Sequoyah 3

Ontario 5, Montclair 5

Orange 12, La Palma Kennedy 2

Placentia Valencia 7, Century 6

Riverside Prep 6, Ganesha 5

San Dimas 7, La Canada 6

Sequoyah 17, Ojai Valley 4

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 17, West Ranch 1

Sierra Canyon 15, Saugus 8

Sonora 7, Oxford Academy 5

St. Bonaventure 8, Santa Paula 5

Tahquitz 11, Riverside Poly 10

Wiseburn-Da Vinci 5, Artesia 4

INTERSECTIONAL

Anaheim Canyon 5, Wilmington Banning 0

Culver City 10, Venice 4

Esperanza 8, South East 7

Trinity Classical Academy 8, Fresno Christian 0

Golden Valley d. Arleta, forfeit

Granada Hills 15, Hart 12

LACES 8, St. Bernard 5

Sylmar 5, Valencia 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Eagle Rock 7, Arleta 6

Torres d. Elizabeth, forfeit

Venice 12, Verdugo Hills 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Bethel Christian 22, Packinghouse Christian 4

Flintridge Sacred Heart 8, Village Christian 2

Highland 7, Hart 3

HMSA 19, Gardena Serra 1

Mira Costa 12, Irvine 8

Moorpark 8, Saugus 6

Rio Hondo Prep 11, Sacred Heart of Jesus 1

Saugus 2, Moorpark 0

Sonora 11, Bishop Montgomery 1

Village Christian 6, Vasquez 2

INTERSECTIONAL

Arleta 8, Viewpoint 5

Burbank Providence 7, Eagle Rock 2

Burbank Providence 11, Sylmar 6

CSDR 11, Model Secondary School (D.C.) 2

Granada Hills 16, West Torrance 4

Long Beach Poly 9, Carson 7

Venice 12, Flintridge Sacred Heart 2

Verdugo Hills 3, Vasquez 3

Viewpoint 9, Sylmar 6

Westlake 14, Granada Hills 2

US President Donald Trump calls off a planned trip to Pakistan by his envoys, in the latest setback to efforts to end the war with Iran.

Prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough in the US-Israeli war with Iran appear to have dimmed, with negotiations to end the two-month conflict stalled as both Tehran and Washington show little sign of easing their positions.

US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned visit to Islamabad by his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, dealing blows to peace prospects, while Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, left Pakistan at the weekend. There, he presented mediators with a potential framework for ending the conflict.

The US president has said that Washington has received a new peace proposal from Tehran, but it has already been rejected.

The conflict has already pushed energy prices to multi-year highs, stoked inflation and darkened global growth prospects.

Here is what we know on day 58 of the conflict:

In Iran

• Araghchi left for Oman, saying he would return to Pakistan again on Sunday before heading to Russia, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.
• According to a statement posted on X by US Central Command (CENTCOM), US forces intercepted a sanctioned ship linked to Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet”.

• The ship, identified as the Sevan, was part of a 19-vessel “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil and gas products to foreign markets, the US military said.
• Iran executed a man convicted of being a member of the armed group Jaish al-Adl and carrying out attacks on Iranian security forces, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

War diplomacy

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone that Tehran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, an Iranian government statement said.
• Pezeshkian said the United States should first remove “operational obstacles”, including its blockade on Iranian ports, before negotiators can lay any groundwork to resolve the conflict.
• Iran’s IRNA news agency is reporting that Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, “discussed and exchanged views on issues related to diplomacy and ceasefire, as well as the latest regional developments”.
• Araghchi also had a call with Turkiye’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, but the agency did not provide further details.

In the US

• Trump told reporters in Florida that he scrapped the envoys’ visit because the talks involved too much travel and expense to consider an inadequate offer from the Iranians. After the diplomatic trip was called off, Iran “offered a lot, but not enough”, Trump said.
• On Truth Social, he wrote that there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.
• “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he posted. “Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!”
• Trump said that the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday was unrelated to the Iran war. “It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters.

In Lebanon

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered troops to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, his office said, further testing the three-week ceasefire.
• Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health’s emergency operations centre said two Israeli raids on a truck and a motorcycle in the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif in Nabatieh district killed four people, the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
• Also in southern Lebanon, Israeli soldiers reportedly blew up buildings in the city of Bint Jbeil.

The U.S. Air Force’s budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year looks like it will bring a massive boost for the F-15EX program, with the planned buy now reportedly standing at 267 jets. TWZ was the first to report on the existence of what was then known as the F-15X, and has repeatedly argued in the past that investing in the Eagle II is a very logical decision for the Air Force. This is especially the case as the service looks to a future without its F-15E Strike Eagles, which have borne the brunt of combat operations for decades.

According to Breaking Defense, the Air Force’s fiscal 2027 budget, revealed yesterday, looks to buy another 24 F-15EXs at a cost of $3 billion, but this is just the start, according to the new plan. Ultimately, the service wants to more than double its previous Eagle II buy, which previously stood at 129 jets, with the total having fluctuated in recent years.

The new move is primarily a response to the need to “begin to recapitalize the aging F-15E fleet,” an Air Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense.

The plan will be supported by the Trump administration’s gargantuan defense budget for fiscal 2027, which requests approximately $1.5 trillion in total funding. You can read more about this development in our previous coverage of the budget, which includes munitions, missile defense, shipbuilding, and other programs, as well as aircraft. It’s important to note that this controversial proposal still has to pass through Congress, and some changes to it will be made, at the very least.

When the budget was first rolled out, it included funding sought for another 24 F-15EXs, but didn’t include details on the dramatic change to the planned total fleet size for the aircraft.

Now, the Air Force has made clear that it wants to keep the F-15EX production line open for longer, ensuring that it will receive both fifth-generation F-35As and F-15EXs — the latest iteration of the F-15 that first entered service with the Air Force in 1976. Ultimately, a third line will spin up once the sixth-generation F-47 combat jet enters series production. As for the F-35, these are still being bought in the latest budget request, and they also get a boost, but they are not currently being delivered with radar, as the Block 4 upgrade is in limbo.

Overall, the Air Force expects to see its budget increase by around a whopping 38 percent compared to fiscal 2026, to $338.8 billion. Of those funds, a significant proportion will go into procurement, driving this up by around 30 percent, although that covers all assets, and not just new fighters.

The budget also includes significant increases for weapon system sustainment and flying hours.

At the same time, the Air Force budget includes requests to retire a number of aging aircraft, something that the increased F-15EX numbers will help address.

In particular, for fiscal 2027, the Air Force wants to get rid of 20 F-15Es. These would be the oldest examples, which include the aircraft fitted with the less powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 engines.

Of course, it remains possible that lawmakers will block such a move, although having more F-15EXs to replace these jets should make it a more acceptable proposal.

Additional F-15EXs mean more capability for the Air Force.

While the F-15EX will almost certainly take on a multirole mission once it’s more established in service, the air-to-air mission is currently the priority due to the Air National Guard getting the first of these jets. These units are tasked with the homeland air sovereignty mission, which focuses on intercepting aircraft and shooting down potential barrages of cruise missiles and, now, long-range one-way attack drones. As we have outlined in the past, the F-15EX is ideal for this role, especially, and a much more reasonable proposition for this mission than a more complex fifth-generation platform:

In the homeland defense role, which is the bread and butter of the F-15C/D ANG units, the F-15EX’s payload, range, open architecture, very advanced electronic surveillance and warfare suite, and overall adaptability will be of incredible use over many decades of service. You do not need a stealth fighter to do this mission. In fact, much of what is traded in terms of reliability, performance, and sustainment cost for low observability hinders the homeland defense mission. This includes raw kinematic performance. The F-15 can get places very fast when it needs to and still has fuel left over to do something once it is there, which is critical for quick reaction alert missions.

The customer also seems very happy with the jets.

In its 2025 annual report, the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) provided an absolutely glowing assessment of the F-15EX, as you can read about here.

In terms of the air-to-air mission set, the report noted:

“Against the level of threat tested, the F-15EX is operationally effective in all its air superiority roles, including defensive and offensive counter-air against surrogate fifth-generation adversary aircraft, as well as basic air-to-ground capability against the tested threats.”

The reference to the F-15EX’s effectiveness against fifth-generation threats is especially notable. While it’s unclear exactly what kinds of threats are being referred to, a fifth-generation fighter will typically have a low-observable design, advanced ‘sensor-fused’ avionics, and generally high performance, among other attributes. In fact, very much the kind of threat that the Air Force would expect to face in a potential conflict with China.

Once the F-15EX takes on more offensive missions, it becomes even more relevant, especially as an F-15E successor, including carrying outsized payloads, among them hypersonic missiles, over long distances, which would likely be critical in a conflict in the Pacific.

But even without these offensive attributes, the Eagle II offers capabilities that are unique in the Air Force.

The F-15EX can efficiently carry 12 AIM-120s today, but that number could be nearly doubled in the future. Smaller air-to-air weapons could expand the F-15EX’s air-to-air magazine depth, too. Laser-guided rockets, now established as an F-15E weapon, would be another obvious candidate to arm the F-15EX, especially for counter-drone work.

Using the F-15EX as an arsenal ship of sorts, especially when equipped with long-range missiles, in cooperation with its stealthy counterparts operating silently and forward, is a tactic, among others, we have long discussed. Equally compelling is the case for the two-seat Eagle II serving as a ‘drone controller’ for the Air Force’s forthcoming Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).

Beyond all this, the F-15EX can carry a lot of payload over a long distance, to include traditional air-to-ground weapons. If the F-15EXs replace F-15Es, they will certainly have a focus on air-to-ground missions, as well.

Just as important as its capabilities and its proven airframe, the F-15EX promises to deliver a lot on the investment. The jets should provide lower operational and sustainment costs compared to both legacy and fifth-generation types, and over many decades.

In the past, Boeing told TWZ that the F-15EX has a 20,000-hour airframe service life. “This has been enabled by running a full-scale fatigue test long enough to show structure that is good beyond 20,000 hours, and structural redesigns purposely implemented by Boeing have addressed known fatigue-critical locations,” the company’s Rob Novotny explained. This is a major benefit of an extremely mature and evolved airframe. It will be able to serve for the better part of a century at common usage rates. When you amortize the unit cost over, in some cases, two and a half times the service life of most fast jets, it offers a very clear value proposition. The cost per flight hour is also well understood after decades of Eagle operations, including years of service of similar advanced variants.

This is not the first time that planned F-15EX numbers have been boosted, after dropping to a low of just 80 aircraft with the slashing of the procurement plan in 2023.

The program was then slated to grow from 98 aircraft to 129 in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal.

That decision came only weeks after President Trump made the surprise announcement that the Michigan Air National Guard, which is losing its A-10 attack jets, will be reequipped with the F-15EX.

At that point, Portland, Fresno, New Orleans, and two squadrons at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, were slated to get the F-15EX. This plan would have required some 90 jets out of the 98-aircraft inventory. Adding Michigan, and based on those squadrons expanding to 21 jets, would require 126 aircraft. That would have left just three aircraft to satisfy test, evaluation, and training requirements.

Increasing the planned buy to 267 jets opens up the possibility of creating 13 squadrons of 21 jets, with three F-15EXs left over. Exactly what final balance the Air Force decides upon remains to be seen, but whichever way you look at it, it’s a major boon for the Combat Air Forces.

It seems almost inevitable that at least some of the additional F-15EXs will be used to replace aging F-15Es.

The possibility of swapping out F-15Es for F-15EXs is something we discussed back in 2020.

In an official Justification and Approval document at the time, the Air Force stated:

“The objective of this program is to rapidly develop, integrate, and field the F-15EX weapon system to refresh/replace aging F-15C/D aircraft. A decision to also refresh F-15E aircraft has not yet been made, but remains an option.”

After four losses in Operation Epic Fury, the relatively small 215-strong Strike Eagle fleet remains in high demand with an enduring commitment in the U.S. Central Command region that leverages many impressive niche capabilities. With just six frontline Strike Eagle squadrons, at least one is always deployed. The F-15E is also capable of delivering nuclear weapons and is the first jet certified to employ the newest variant of the B61 tactical nuclear bomb.

Replacing these critical jets is fast becoming a priority, and one that the F-15EX is uniquely suited to fulfill.

The F-15E shares similar cutting-edge technology as found in the F-15EX. It has been upgraded with the Raytheon AN/APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the new Advanced Display Core Processor (ADCP) II, and it too is receiving the new Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS, self-protection system.

With the F-15EX numbers outlined in its fiscal 2027 budget request, the Air Force would be well placed to replace a significant proportion of its Strike Eagle inventory.

As well as the F-15E, the Air Force needs to replace F-16s and A-10s. At least some of the planned retirements of these types could be covered by F-15EXs. Having the line healthy and warm could allow for more Eagle IIs to be bought to cover the F-15E fleet and some F-16 and A-10 retirements beyond the 267 F-15EXs currently planned. This may make even more sense as the F-16 ages and becomes more expensive to operate, in particular.

With the Air Force at large feeling the effects of years of underinvestment in new fighters, and with China presenting a massive pacing challenge, the Air National Guard is now pushing Congress to approve multiyear funding for the acquisition of between 72 and 100 new fighters each year. Again, the Eagle II could help meet this need, although there are limits to what the production line can support, especially with foreign orders.

It remains to be seen exactly how the jets will be fielded and, as noted earlier, Congress will have to approve this budget request for it to be signed into law.

As it stands, however, the F-15EX appears to be going from strength to strength, with the Air Force increasingly enthusiastic about the latest iteration of the iconic Eagle.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Body language expert, Judi James, gives her analysis of the battle between the male stars during the clash on the I’m A Celebrity… South Africa live final and she reveals who came out on top

Male dominance took centre stage as the stars of the I’m A Celebrity… South Africa final battled out their differences during the live final on Friday night. Campmates Jimmy Bullard and David Haye clashed with show hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly in tense scenes.

Speaking to the Mirror, leading body language expert Judi James shared her take on the shocking scenes that unfolded onscreen as she admitted seeing the men embroiled in a conflict rooted in a desire to obtain attention and the spotlight. Judi explained: “For this series the winning of that spotlight looked brutal, with arguments being the main form of currency to get attention on the final show here.

“You could see the rigid, unhappy and blank poker faces of Gemma [Collins], Scarlett [Moffatt] and Ashley [Roberts] as the lead men continued to steal the spotlight by continuing their arguments during the live final. Gemma, Scarlett and Ashley looked drained and resigned here while the battle for screen time raged about them.”

Judi also pointed out how Ant appeared to be particularly ‘angry’ as he fought to maintain his “professional authority” in the midst of the chaos. She continued: “And the rage did look real, especially from Ant, whose professional authority as host and as real star of the show with Dec also became compromised, leading to a stand-up spat between Ant and Jimmy.

“Jimmy made this show about him by dominating air time that should have been evenly dispersed. It became the Jimmy show and that appeared to be David’s cue to try to regain some attention by joining in. David’s body language display suggested a strong desire to gain profile interest and power by performing a full splay, throwing his arms out wide in a signature pose from his time in the ring.

“It suggested a desire to hold alpha status in the group too and it prompted Ant and Dec to try to close him down with an authoritative approach and some ‘cancelling’ hand gestures to stop a new conflict.

“At this point we could also see Sinitta vying to gain attention from her end with a raised arm and point. When she walked we could also see how she showboated to the cameras on the way out in an attention fight-back, whereas Gemma just walked out in what looked like genuine frustration.”

Judi then highlighted how one male cast member tried to disassociate himself from the antics of the others as Ant showed his position as the “authoritative leader.” She continued: “In one key moment of conflict we had David splaying, Jimmy standing and Harry Redknapp puffing dramatically and looking down to exit from any connection to the drama.

“When Gemma walked, Ant reached peak anger signals. Dec stopped mirroring him here and it was Ant taking total control as authoritative leader.

“His angry stare suggested this was not an act for the camera, and he stabbed both hands onto his own chest in a gesture that signalled he was in charge before engaging in a pointed finger ‘duel’ with Jimmy. There was one final, stabbing point gesture from Ant that should have warned Jimmy that he needed to stop.”

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Boss speaks out with pledge after big concerns about travellers being hit with ‘extra’ charges to cover soaring fuel

easyJet has issued a major announcement for all holidaymakers with flights booked this summer. Concerns are mounting that the Iran situation, which has seen the crucial Strait of Hormuz closed and severely disrupted global oil supplies, could significantly affect jet fuel availability.

EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen has warned ‘it’s very likely that many people’s holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets’ because of the crisis. Fears are growing that travellers could face additional charges from airlines attempting to manage spiralling fuel costs.

On Friday, Jet2 confirmed it would not impose surcharges on passengers – and now easyJet has released a fresh statement pledging the airline and tour operator will not add surcharges to any pre-booked flights and package holidays, or future bookings.

The company said travellers can book their package holidays with confidence thanks to its Best Price Guarantee and Ultimate Flexibility policy: “easyJet and easyJet holidays has confirmed that it will not introduce surcharges on its flights or package holidays, giving customers complete peace of mind when booking.

READ MORE: Government issues new ‘cancellation’ update for airlines amid jet fuel stock concern

“No surcharges will apply to any pre‐booked easyJet holidays packages or to any new bookings for summer 2026.easyJet currently sees no disruption to its jet fuel supply and all flights and package holidays continue to operate normally.” Garry Wilson, CEO of easyJet holidays, said: “We know that holidaymakers may have questions about what recent global events might mean for their travel plans this summer so we are giving our customers absolute peace of mind that no surcharges will be added to their flights or package holidays.”

“Our operations remain unaffected, so customers can be confident that not only will their holiday go ahead as planned, but there will be no surprise extra payments, and they can enjoy their brilliant holidays at unbeatable prices.”

Jet2 has confirmed it will not impose surcharges on any pre-booked flights or holidays to offset rising costs, such as those linked to jet fuel. In a move to ease mounting concerns, the Department for Transport yesterday issued direct guidance to passengers booked with carriers including Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz, easyJet and British Airways.

Jet2 has scrapped the surcharge provision across all flights and holidays, despite the fact the airline has never previously applied them.

The policy covers all flights and holidays booked through any channel, whether online, via the mobile app, contact centre or independent travel agent. It excludes tourist taxes, which are payable at the resort during the holiday and are paid directly to the accommodation provider. Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2 said: “Holidaymakers should have every right to book their hard-earned break in the sun, without worrying about being hit with additional costs, and they can have that complete assurance when they book a flight or holiday with Jet2. As a result of today’s announcement, customers booking with Jet2 know that they are locking in their price without additional cost surprises later and we strongly believe that is the right thing to do by them. Ahead of a busy summer this is yet more evidence of why, on top of our incredible holidays and award-winning customer service, nothing beats a Jet2holiday.”

The DfT stated on Friday: “There is no current need for passengers to change their travel plans. UK airlines buy jet fuel in advance, and airports maintain stocks to support their resilience. The government is working closely with the aviation industry to monitor risks and minimise disruption to passengers.

“If your flight is cancelled, you have clear legal rights, including the right to a full refund or re-routing. Read this factsheet for the full picture on the current situation and what it means for you.”

However, IAG – the parent company of British Airways, Aer Lingus and Spain’s Iberia – has spoken of “pricing adjustments to reflect these higher fuel costs”. A spokesperson said: “We are not seeing jet fuel supply interruptions, but fuel prices have risen sharply and, despite our hedging strategy, which gives some shorter-term mitigation, we are not immune to the impact.”