A TEENAGER has forced society to reflect on its shortcomings and hypocrisies by wearing a keffiyeh neck scarf.
Joshua, not his real name, 17, has issued a damning indictment on the state of the world by stepping out in a patterned neck scarf with tassels that clearly singles him out as a free-thinking radical.
He said: “People usually wear this kind of scarf in the desert, yet here I am rocking it in Plymouth. Take that, societal expectations.
“I could have wrapped a normal scarf around my neck and done a better job of protecting myself from the cold. But then how would everyone know I’ve skim-readThe Communist ManifestoWikipedia page?
“By wearing this scarf I’m showing everyone I’m a Che Guevara-esque revolutionary. Although instead of overthrowing a dictator with guerilla warfare, I’m off to get the bus and browse the £1 DVDs in CEX. Assuming mum gives me a tenner.
“If enough people see me I reckon this sick capitalist system should come crashing down by dinnertime. Which works for me because I’m broke and can’t be bothered to get a job.”
Passer-by Jack, not his real name, said: “I was a normal, functioning member of society until I saw Josh’s scarf. Now I’m off to petrol bomb a bank.”
The lovely, funny “American Classic,” premiering Sunday on MGM+, is a love letter to theater, community and community theater. Kevin Kline plays Richard Bean, a narcissistic stage actor. He’s famous enough to be opening on Broadway in “King Lear,” but he has to be pushed onstage and is forgetting lines. After he drunkenly assails a hostile New York Times critic — caught on video, of course — he’s suspended from the play, and his agent (Tony Shalhoub) advises him to get out of town and lay low until the heat’s off, as they used to say in the gangster movies.
Learning that his mother (Jane Alexander, acting royalty, in film clips) has died, Richard heads back to his small Pennsylvania hometown, where his family — all actors, like the Barrymores, but no longer acting — owns a once-celebrated theater. To Richard’s horror, it has, for want of income, become a dinner theater, hosting touring productions of “Nunsense” and “Forever Plaid” instead of the great stage works on which he cut his teeth.
Brother Jon (Jon Tenney), running the kitchen at the theater, is married to Kristen (Laura Linney), Richard’s onetime acting partner, who dated him before her marriage; now she’s the mayor. Their teenage daughter, Miranda (Nell Verlaque) — a name from Shakespeare — does want to act and move to New York, as her mother had before her, but is afraid to tell her parents. Richard’s father, Linus (Len Cariou), is suffering from dementia, though not to the point he won’t actively contribute to the action; every day he comes out again as gay.
Across the eight-episode series, things move from the ridiculous to the sublime. Richard’s attempt to stage his mother’s funeral, with her coffin being lowered from the ceiling, while “Also sprach Zarathustra” plays and smoke billows toward the audience, fortunately comes to naught; but he announces at the ceremony that he’ll direct a production of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play “Our Town” at the theater, to “restore the soul of this town.” (His big idea is to ignore Wilder’s stage directions, which ask for no curtain, no set and few props, with a “realistic version,” featuring a working soda fountain, rain effects and a horse.) Fate will have other plans for this, and not to give away what in any case should be obvious, the title of the play will also become its ethos, with a cast of amateurs, including Miranda’s jealous boyfriend, Randall (Ajay Friese), and ordinary people standing in for the ordinary people of Wilder’s Grover’s Corners.
The series has a comfortable, cushiony feeling; it’s the sort of show that could have been made as a film in the 1990s, and in which Kline could have starred as easily in his 40s as in his 70s; it has the same relation to reality as “Dave,” in which he played a good-hearted ordinary Joe who takes the place of a lookalike U.S. president. The town is essentially a sunny place, full of mostly sunny people, to all appearances, a typical comedy hamlet. But we’re told it’s distressed, and Mayor Kristen is in transactional cahoots with developer Connor Boyle (Billy Carter), who wants clearance to build a casino on the site of a landmark hotel. (Much of the plot is driven by money — needing it, trading for it, leaving it, losing it.) He also wants his heavily accented, bombshell Russian girlfriend, Nadia (Elise Kibler), to have a part in “Our Town.”
As in the great Canadian comedy “Slings & Arrows,” set at a Shakespeare Festival outside of Toronto, themes and moments and speeches from the play being performed are echoed in the lives of the performers, while the viewer experiences the double magic of watching a fine actor playing an actor playing a part. Kline, of course, is himself an American classic, with a long stage and screen career that encompasses classical drama, romantic and musical comedy and cartoon voiceovers; the series makes room for Richard to perform soliloquies from “Hamlet” and “Henry V,” parts Klein has played onstage. He brings out the sweetness latent in Richard. Linney, who played against her sweetheart image in “Ozark,” is happily back on less deadly ground (though she’s tense and drinks a little). Tenney, who was sweet and funny on “The Closer,” and who we don’t see enough of these days, is sweeter and funnier here, and gets to sing. (All the Beans will sing, except for Linus.)
As a comedy, it is often predicable — you know that things will work out, and some major plot points are as good as inevitable — but it’s the good sort of predictability, where you get what you came for, where you hear the words you want to hear, ones you could never have written yourself. “American Classic” is not out to challenge your world view in any way but wants only to confirm your feelings and in doing so amplify them. Shock effects are fine in their place — and to be sure there are major twists in the plot — but there is a certain release when the thing you’re ready to have happen, happens, whether it brings laughter or tears. Either is welcome.
BOSTON — Eight-year-old Martin Richard was a bright, sunny boy who loved to ride his bike and went “wild” when he played offense on his soccer team, scoring the winning goal in a championship game last year.
Krystle Campbell was the vivacious assistant manager of local steakhouse, the first to backstop fellow workers by running plates from the kitchen. She could instantly smooth over diners’ complaints with her smile.
They were both cheering on the sidelines of the Boston Marathon on Monday when two bombs went off with a thunderous boom and cloud of white smoke, claiming them as the first victims of the blast. Boston University officials confirmed the death of a third person Tuesday: a graduate student who has not been identified.
Friends and family members of the victims were still in shock after Monday’s chaos. Martin’s father, Bill Richard, who was tending to his wife and 6-year-old daughter, who were injured in the blast, released a statement thanking strangers for their prayers.
“We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover,” he said.
Campbell’s mother, Patty, emerged briefly on the front steps of her family’s modest two-story home in Medford.
“We are heartbroken at the death of our daughter,” Campbell told reporters, her voice shaking between sobs. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
As federal investigators chased leads in the effort to find the perpetrators, doctors at Boston’s trauma centers tended to the more than 170 people wounded in the explosions, many of whom have been released. Dr. George Velmahos, the leader of the trauma team at Massachusetts General Hospital, said that although many of its surgeons trained on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, they were confounded by the severity of the injuries they confronted as waves of patients arrived at the emergency rooms Monday.
Some of the patients were in surgery for hours as doctors tried to remove metal fragments, spiky metal pieces that looked like nails without heads, and pellets that had shredded their limbs. But the positive outlook of many of them left Velmahos “moved and really amazed.”
“Some of them woke up today with no legs and told me they were just happy to be alive,” Velmahos said. “Some of them said they thought they were lucky.”
Among the relatives and friends who kept watch at Mass General was 39-year-old Corey Comeau, who was visiting his cousin and his cousin’s girlfriend Tuesday afternoon. Comeau, a chef at Stephanie’s restaurant on Newbury Street, near what is now a crime scene, said his cousin was “still a little shellshocked” but that his cousin’s 24-year-old girlfriend suffered worse injuries.
“They say they can save her leg,” Comeau said as he stood outside the hospital after visiting.
“I can’t believe I’m even saying that. It’s not normal conversation.” Still, he said, the mood inside the hospital was “much calmer today than last night” with doctors going from patient to patient and conferring with families.
“These are some of the best hospitals in the world. The staff has been unbelievable,” he said.
At the same time, Monday’s chaos bred confusion, as in the case of Krystle Campbell.
Campbell had been watching the marathon alongside her friend Karen, her grandmother Lillian Campbell said, and the family at first believed that she had survived with serious injuries to her legs. But the family learned Tuesday morning that it was Karen who lived.
Lillian Campbell said her granddaughter stopped by her house for the last time last Thursday afternoon, when they drank tea and talked for several hours about work, friends and life.
“She loved being around people. She loved doing things for people,” said Lillian Campbell, 79, who noted that her granddaughter moved in to take care of her after she underwent surgery a few years ago. “She was hard worker. She was bubbly all the time.”
Nick Miminos, who had recently hired Campbell as an assistant manager at Jimmy’s Steer House in Arlington, Mass., said the 29-year-old “had one of those personalities that belongs in hospitality.”
“The wait staff loved working with her,” Miminos said. “She would run food for them, clear the tables for them. She wasn’t just a figurehead. She enjoyed getting her hands dirty.”
Not far away in the Ashmont section of Dorchester, neighbors and friends of the Richard family grieved at a candlelight vigil for young Martin. Bill Richard had been a force in restoring the historic neighborhood. His wife, Denise, who suffered critical injuries Monday, was a librarian at the Neighborhood House Charter School, where Martin and his 6-year-old sister, Jane, were enrolled.
Twins Andreas and Alejandro Calderon, 10, came by the Richard house to place a soccer ball, signed with their names, on the family’s porch. The boys recalled Martin hopping around the playground at recess and unleashing his energy on the soccer field.
“When we put him on defense and goalie he would do good, but he would save his energy so when we put him on offense he would go wild,” said Andreas, whose father coached the team.
Other friends posted their memories of Martin on Facebook and Twitter. Among the more searing images was a picture of Martin, with his gap-toothed smile, holding a blue sign he had made with magic markers.
Rams safety Kam Curl (3) celebrates after intercepting a pass against the Chicago Bears in the divisional playoffs on Jan. 18.
(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)
The Rams have not invested heavily at cornerback since 2019, when they traded two first-round draft picks for Jalen Ramsey. They have not drafted a cornerback since 2023, when they picked Tre Tomlinson in the sixth round.
Last season, the Rams thought their young and talented pass rush could compensate for their decision not to stand pat with the cornerbacks and safeties from the 2024 season.
That did not work out well.
Cobie Durant, a 2022 fourth-round draft pick, and Roger McCreary, a 2022 second-round pick by the Tennessee Titans who was acquired in a 2025 midseason trade, are free agents. So are Ahkello Witherspoon and Derion Kendrick.
The Rams have until May 1 to decide whether to exercise a fifth-year option on Emmanuel Forbes Jr. The Rams in 2024 signed the 2023 first-round pick after he was waived by the Washington Commanders. If the Rams exercise the option, Forbes would be guaranteed $12.6 million in 2027.
Safety Kam Curl is a free agent. But the Rams in January gave safety Quentin Lake a three-year extension that includes $25.7 million in guarantees, so it would be a surprise if the Rams are willing to pay a premium for Curl.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jamal Dean (Tampa Bay), Jaylen Watson (Kansas City) and Tariq Woolen (Seattle) are top free-agent cornerbacks. Top college prospects include Jermod McCoy (Tennessee), Mansoor Delane (Louisiana State), Brandon Cisse (South Carolina), according to the website.
Loud explosions have been heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, as defence systems shot down incoming Iranian missiles. Falling debris ignited large fire that sent plumes of black smoke rising above the city. Iran has hit multiple Gulf states as it responds to US-Israeli attacks.
Multiple airlines have made the decision to suspend services across the Middle East, which is also affecting other routes.
Many flights have been cancelled or suspended (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Airlines from across the world have continued to cancel flights across the Middle East after the US and Israel launched “major combat operations” across Iran. It prompted retaliatory strikes across the Middle East – hitting Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait, all home to US bases, as well as Israel.
Airspace across the countries has remained virtually empty. Major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha have been shut or severely restricted as a result.
Many Brits enjoy holidaying in the likes of Dubai and have faced delays to their scheduled plans. The UK Foreign Office has told Brits not to travel to Israel or Palestine, and is advising people already in destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait to seek shelter.
In a statement on its website the Foreign Office said: “Due to the threat posed by escalation in the region, we recommend against all travel to Israel and Palestine. On 28 February 2026, the US and Israel commenced joint military action in Iran, Israeli airspace has now closed.”
The Foreign Office has also updated its advice for British citizens currently in destinations including Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait. It said: “Remain indoors in a secure location, avoid all travel and follow instructions from the local authorities.”
The situation is quickly changing, so anyone due to fly in the coming days should also seek advise from their flight operator.
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Cancelled flights to the Middle East
Aegean Airlines – Greece’s largest airline has suspended flights to Tel Aviv in Israel, Beirut in Lebanon and Erbil in Iraq until March 2.
Air Astana – All flights to the Middle East have been cancelled until March 3.
Air Canada – All flights from Canada to Israel have been cancelled until March 8. All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until March 3.
Air Europa – The Spanish airline has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and is monitoring the situation to assess operations on Tuesday.
Air France KLM – All flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut cancelled for Saturday. Dutch KLM weekend flights to and from Dubai, Dammam and Riyadh have been cancelled.
Azerbaijan Airlines – All flights to and from Dubai, Doha, Jeddah and Tel Aviv suspended.
British Airways – Flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain cancelled until March 3.
Cathay Pacific – Flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh suspended.
Emirates – All flights to and from Dubai suspended until March 2.
Etihad – Flights from Abu Dhabi suspended until 2pm local time on Sunday.
FlyDubai – All flights to and from Dubai suspended until 3pm local time on Sunday.
ITA Airways – Flights to and from Tel Aviv and not using airspace of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Iran until March 7.
Lot Polish Airlines – Flights to Tel Aviv suspended until March 15. Flights to Dubai and Riyadh cancelled until March 2.
Lufthansa – Flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel, Beirut in Lebanon and Oman suspended until March 7. Flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday suspended.
Norwegian Air – All flights to and from Dubai suspended until March 4.
Pegasus Airlines – Flights to Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon were cancelled up to and including March 2.
Qatar Airways – Flights suspended due to closure of Quatari airspace. Update coming by 9am local time on Monday.
Turkish Airlines – Flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman cancelled on Saturday. Flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan cancelled until March 2.
Wizz Air – Flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman halted with immediate effect until March 7.
Knock-on effect
Air India – Flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar to London, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Frankfurt and Paris on Sunday have been cancelled. More flights to London, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Zurich, Milan, Vienna, Copenhagen and Frankfurt had been cancelled.
IndiGo – Temporary suspension of international flights using Middle Eastern airspace until Monday.
Japan Airlines – Cancelled flight on Saturday from Tokyo Haneda to Doha and return flight on March 1.
Lufthansa – Will not fly through Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi and Iranian airspace until March 7.
Virgin Atlantic – Will avoid Iraqi airspace, resulting in some pre-planned rerouting of flights.
The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, in the US-Israeli air attacks has thrust Tehran to a pivotal crossroads as the clergy looks to pick the late ayatollah’s successor.
With Iran on a war footing, several senior leaders close to Khamenei were killed in the attack as well, including his top security adviser Ali Shamkani and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour.
Tehran has vowed to avenge the killing of Khamenei. The US President Donald Trump warned against the retaliatory attacks and suggested that the strikes on Iran would continue.
The US-Israeli attacks hit Iran on Saturday, when Tehran’s top diplomats were waiting for the next round of talks on upcoming Monday to lock a deal with Trump, including laying down nuclear ambitions, and avoiding an armed conflict.
After 36 years in power, the late ayatollah’s killing has left Iran’s top clerics to prepare for the transfer of power to the next Supreme Leader. That’s something that they have only done once before, four decades ago.
So, who will be the next Supreme Leader of Iran? And how will he be chosen?
A woman wails and holds a poster as thousands of people gather in Enghelab Square for a pro-government demonstration after Iranian state media confirmed the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 1, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images) (Getty)
How is the Supreme Leader selected?
Iran’s Supreme Leader is selected by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body elected by the public every eight years.
Candidates who run for the Assembly must first be vetted and approved by the Guardian Council, a powerful oversight body whose members are partly appointed by the Supreme Leader himself.
When the position becomes vacant, due to death or resignation, the Assembly of Experts convenes to choose a successor. A simple majority is sufficient to appoint the new Supreme Leader.
As per Iran’s constitution, the candidate must be a senior jurist with deep knowledge of Shi’a jurisprudence, as well as qualities such as political judgment, courage, and administrative capability.
Earlier, there had been only one other transfer of power in the office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, when Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, died at age 86 in 1989.
Emergency personnel stand at the site of an Iranian missile strike on a residential building, after Iran launched missile barrages following attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 1, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (Reuters)
What happens in Iran during a leadership vacuum?
Article 111 of Iran’s constitution mandates that a temporary council handle duties until a new supreme leader is elected.
That council will have: President Masoud Pezeshkian, Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and a cleric from the Guardian Council, according to Iranian media.
They will lead the country until the assembly formally picks the new supreme leader.
Iran’s security chief and a close confidante of the late Khamenei, Ali Larijani, said on Sunday that the transition process is underway.
Luciano Zaccara, a research associate professor in Gulf Politics at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera that Iran’s political system has been prepared for the current situation, knowing that Khamenei’s assassination was a real possibility.
“Trump wants to get the best deal possible, but the method he’s using to get that deal is to annihilate or destroy as much as he can,” Zaccara said. “This is the way to impose conditions, not to negotiate anything. Trump wants a surrender of the regime, not a change.”
The late Ayatollah made sure to put in a structure, he added, to avoid a vacuum of power and kept replacements for all the officials eliminated in the last few months ready. “The structures remain, the line of power [and] the line of command remain in place,” Zaccara told Al Jazeera.
(Al Jazeera)
What is the Supreme Leader of Iran?
The Supreme Leader is the top position in the Islamic Republic’s political and religious hierarchy.
He is essentially the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the final word in the country – and appoints key judicial, military, and media officials.
He also leads the mighty Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force that leads the so-called Axis of Resistance.
Here are the contenders for the top job in Tehran
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah’s office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Mojtaba Khamenei
Khamenei’s second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among the top contenders to succeed his father in Iran.
He is known to wield significant influence among the administrators and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the most powerful military body.
However, Khamenei’s lineage is also among the biggest barriers he faces.
Khamenei was reportedly opposed to the father-to-son succession. It is frowned upon in Iran, particularly after the US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi monarchy was toppled in 1979.
Pope Francis is shown a gift as he receives Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, president of Islamic Seminaries of Iran, and entourage in a private audience at the Vatican May 30, 2022. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS
Alireza Arafi
Arafi, a 67-year-old cleric, is an influential figure in the Islamic Republic’s religious establishment, but not a widely accepted political actor.
He serves as the deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for overseeing the selection of the Supreme Leader, and has been a member of the Guardian Council, which vets election candidates and laws passed by parliament.
Arafi was appointed as the jurist member of Iran’s Leadership Council, the body tasked with fulfilling the Supreme Leader’s role until the Assembly of Experts elects a new leader, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday.
Arafi is also the Friday prayer leader of Qom — Iran’s most important religious center — and heads the country’s seminary system, overseeing clerical education nationwide.
Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri
Mirbagheri is an ultra-hardline clerical voice in the establishment and a member of the Assembly of Experts.
He is widely known for his unrelenting anti-Western worldview — and currently heads the Islamic Sciences Academy in the northern city of Qom.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei
Mohseni-Ejei is a senior Iranian cleric and currently heads the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, appointed to the role in July 2021 by the late Khamenei.
He previously served as Minister of Intelligence from 2005 to 2009 and later as Prosecutor-General and First Deputy Chief Justice. He is regarded as a hardline figure aligned with the conservative wing of the regime.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s grandson, Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 36th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at Khomeini’s shrine in southern Tehran, Iran June 4, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Hassan Khomeini
Khomeini, 54, is among the most discussed names in succession talks for the next Supreme Leader.
He is the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, and also the custodian of his grandfather’s mausoleum in Tehran.
While he has not held a public office, Khomeini is a reformist figure known for his rather moderate views on public life and policy. He attempted to run for the Assembly of Experts in 2016, but the vetting council disqualified him.
Tim Lovejoy made a return to Channel 4 alongside co-host Simon Rimmer on Sunday morning
12:00, 01 Mar 2026Updated 12:00, 01 Mar 2026
Tim Lovejoy was quick to question a guest(Image: Channel 4)
Sunday Brunch suffered an awkward moment as Tim Lovejoy was quick to question a guest on her unexpected “feud” with David Attenborough.
During Sunday’s (March 1) episode of the Channel 4 hit show, Tim made a return to TV alongside co-host Simon Rimmer, for the usual three-hour show packed with celebrity interviews, culinary demonstrations and light-hearted entertainment.
On the long-running programme, the pair chatted to the likes of EastEnders Samantha Womack and American pop star Tiffany Renee Darwish.
However it was their interview with Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock that took everyone by surprise as Tim was quick to call out the science expert on her unexpected fall out with David Attenborough.
Without hesitation, Tim went on to say: “I’ll just put it out there, we understand you’ve got beef with David Attenborough. You fell out with him.”
Maggie burst out laughing as she replied: “Yeah, It’s an ongoing feud, he’s going down.”
Tim wasted no time digging for information as he jumped in: “Tell us about that because you’re both legends of this country and you don’t like each other.” Simon: “It’s so sad actually.”
Maggie explained: “So I was sitting next to him at dinner and I was gobsmacked sitting next to him and he was lovely and wonderful and we started talking about each other’s lives.”
Tim joked: “When did you fall out, was it the main course?” Maggie burst out laughing as she continued: “We were talking about life beyond the earth. It’s just sort of a lovely topic and he was like, no, no Maggie, you know, life needs water.
“And I was like ‘but David no’. I was thinking because that’s life as we know it. All life on earth needs water. But out there there could be life.”
She added: “So we had this ongoing debate, at the end, I said, ‘okay, David, I’m gonna go out and prove my theory’. He said, ‘Maggie, you’re a star. Stay here with us’.”
Viewers watching at home were pleased to see Dame Maggie as they rushed to social media to share their reaction.
One viewer wrote on X: “I could listen to Dame Dr. Maggie all day. She’s got that infectious enthusiasm that always reels me in. #SundayBrunch.” Meanwhile another added: “I love Maggie she’s so humble and nice #SundayBrunch.”
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With control of the House — and Trump’s virtually unchecked authority — dangling by a gossamer thread, he reckoned correctly that Republicans were all but certain to lose power this fall unless something unusual happened.
So he effectively broke the rules.
Normally, the redrawing of the country’s congressional districts takes place once every 10 years, following the census and accounting for population changes over the previous decade. Instead, Trump prevailed upon the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to throw out the state’s political map and refashion congressional lines to wipe out Democrats and boost GOP chances of winning as many as five additional House seats.
The intention was to create a bit of breathing room, as Democrats need a gain of just three seats to seize control of the House.
In relatively short order, California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, responded with his own partisan gerrymander. He rallied voters to pass a tit-for-tat ballot measure, Proposition 50, which revised the state’s political map to wipe out Republicans and boost Democratic prospects of winning as many as five additional seats.
Some of those efforts continue, including in Virginia where, as in California, voters are being asked to amend the state Constitution to let majority Democrats redraw political lines ahead of the midterm. A special election is set for April 21.
But as the first ballots of 2026 are cast on Tuesday — in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas — the broad contours of the House map have become clearer, along with the result of all those partisan machinations. The likely upshot is a nationwide partisan shift of fewer than a handful of seats.
The independent, nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which has a sterling decades-long record of election forecasting, said the most probable outcome is a wash. “At the end of the day,” said Erin Covey, who analyzes House races for the Cook Report, “this doesn’t really benefit either party in a real way.”
Well.
That was a lot of wasted time and energy.
Let’s take a quick spin through the map and the math, knowing that, of course, there are no election guarantees.
But suppose Texas Republicans gain five seats as hoped for and California Democrats pick up the five seats they’ve hand-crafted. The result would be no net change.
Elsewhere, under the best case for each party, a gain of four Democratic House seats in Virginia would be offset by a gain of four Republican House seats in Florida.
That leaves a smattering of partisan gains here and there. A combined pickup of four or so Republican seats in Ohio, North Carolina and Missouri could be mostly offset by Democratic gains of a seat apiece in New York, Maryland and Utah.
(The latter is not a result of legislative high jinks, but rather a judge throwing out the gerrymandered map passed by Utah Republicans, who ignored a voter-approved ballot measure intended to prevent such heavy-handed partisanship. A newly created district, contained entirely within Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County, seems certain to go Democrats’ way in November.)
In short, it’s easy to characterize the political exertions of Trump, Abbott, Newsom and others as so much sound and fury producing, at bottom, little to nothing.
But that’s not necessarily so.
The campaign surrounding Proposition 50 delivered a huge political boost to Newsom, shoring up his standing with Democrats, significantly raising his profile across the country and, not least for his 2028 presidential hopes, helping the governor build a significant nationwide fundraising base.
In crimson-colored Indiana, Republicans refused to buckle under tremendous pressure from Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other party leaders, rejecting an effort to redraw the state’s congressional map and give the GOP a hold on all nine House seats. That showed even Trump’s Svengali-like hold on his party has its limits.
But the biggest impact is also the most corrosive.
By redrawing political lines to predetermine the outcome of House races, politicians rendered many of their voters irrelevant and obsolete. Millions of Democrats in Texas, Republicans in California and partisans in other states have been effectively disenfranchised, their voices rendered mute. Their ballots spindled and nullified.
Local chapters of National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame have begun honoring the top senior football student-athletes, with the Coastal Canyon area banquet set for Sunday in Agoura.
Players are selected based on their grade-point averages and leadership skills, among other attributes, honoring the best of the best.
Such players as James Moffat from Crespi, Mateo Bilaver from Chaminade, Jacob Paisano of Hart, Diego and James Montes from Granada Hills Kennedy will represent their schools on Sunday.
The Los Angeles chapter will hold its gathering in Manhattan Beach on Friday.
Simi Valley coach Jim Benkert has taken over running the Coastal Canyon group with dozens of individual student-athletes set to be honored.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The Israeli Air Force has launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran. Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising about the Iranian capital as multiple targets were hit.
The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli air attacks has caused one of the most significant blows to the country’s leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution, triggering protests by his supporters.
Khamenei assumed Iran’s supreme leadership in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led the Islamic revolution against the pro-United States Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
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On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said seeking revenge for the killing of Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials is the country’s “duty and legitimate right”.
President Donald Trump has framed the operation as a “liberation” moment, predicting that the removal of the “head” will lead to the swift collapse of the body. However, in Iran, the reality suggests a far more complex situation.
Interviews with insiders, military experts and political sociologists suggest that the decapitation of Iran’s top leadership may not go the way the West envisions. Instead, it risks birthing a “garrison state” – a paranoid, militarised system fighting for its existence with no political red lines left to cross.
The limits of ‘decapitation’
The central premise of the US operation is that Iran is too brittle to survive the death of its supreme leader. In a phone interview with CBS News, Trump claimed he “knows exactly” who is calling the shots in Tehran, adding that “there are some good candidates” to replace the supreme leader. He did not elaborate on his claims.
However, military analysts warn against the assumption that air strikes alone can trigger “regime change”. Michael Mulroy, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence, told Al Jazeera Arabic that without “boots on the ground” or a fully armed organic uprising, the state’s deep security apparatus can survive simply by maintaining cohesion.
“You cannot facilitate regime change through air strikes alone,” Mulroy said. “If anyone is left alive to speak, the regime is still there.”
This resilience is rooted in Iran’s dual military structure. The government is protected not just by a regular army (Artesh), but also by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – a powerful parallel military force constitutionally tasked with protecting the velayat-e faqih system – the principle of the guardianship of the Islamic jurist.
Supporting them is the Basij, a vast paramilitary volunteer militia embedded in every neighbourhood, specifically trained to crush internal dissent and mobilise ideological loyalists.
That cohesion is already being tested.
Hossein Royvaran, a political analyst based in Tehran, confirmed that the strikes wiped out the country’s top security tier, including Khamenei’s adviser and secretary of the newly-formed Supreme Defence Council, Ali Shamkhani.
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said the leadership transition will begin on Sunday.
“An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader,” said Larijani.
“This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today,” he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.
The rapid formation of an interim leadership council – comprising the president, judiciary chief, and a Guardian Council religious leader – indicates that the system’s “survival protocols” have been activated.
According to Royvaran, the system is designed to be “institutional, not personal”, capable of functioning on “autopilot” even when the political leadership is severed.
But a Tehran-based analyst said direction of Iran is still unclear as officials try to ‘project stability’.
“Officials here are trying to project stability, emphasising that the situation is under control and that state institutions are functioning effectively,” Abas Aslani, senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, said.
“Today, [the US-Israeli] air strikes targeted security and military infrastructure in the capital [Tehran] and other cities. There are expectations that such strikes could continue – and possibly intensify – in the coming hours or days,” he told Al Jazeera.
“That prospect of escalation is not something many ordinary Iranians welcome. At the same time, Iranian officials are issuing strong warnings, suggesting they could respond with capabilities that have not previously been used against Israel or the United States.”
From theocracy to nationalist survival
Perhaps the most significant shift in the immediate aftermath is Iran’s pivot from religious legitimacy to survivalist nationalism.
Aware that the death of the supreme leader might sever the spiritual bond with parts of the population, surviving officials are reframing the war not as a defence of the clergy, but as a defence of Iran’s territorial integrity.
Larijani, a conservative heavyweight and key figure in the transition, issued a stark warning that Israel’s ultimate goal is the “partition” of Iran. By raising the spectre of Iran being broken into ethnic statelets, the leadership aims to rally secular Iranians and the opposition against a common external enemy.
This strategy complicates the US hope for a popular uprising.
Saleh al-Mutairi, a political sociologist, notes that the government’s declaration of 40 days of mourning creates a “funeral trap” for the opposition. The streets will likely be filled with millions of mourners, creating a human shield for the government and making it logistically and morally difficult for antigovernment protests to gain momentum in the short term.
The end of ‘strategic patience’
If Iran survives the initial shock, the nation that emerges will likely be fundamentally different: less calculated and probably more violent.
For years, Khamenei championed a doctrine of “strategic patience”, often absorbing blows to avoid all-out war.
Hassan Ahmadian, a professor at the University of Tehran, says the era died with the supreme leader.
“Iran learned a hard lesson from the June 2025 war: Restraint is interpreted as weakness,” Ahmadian told Al Jazeera Arabic. The new calculus in Tehran is likely to be a “scorched earth” policy.
“The decision has been made. If attacked, Iran will burn everything,” Ahmadian added, suggesting that the response will be broader and more painful than anything seen in previous escalations.”
This risks a scenario where field commanders, freed from the political caution of the clerical leadership, lash out with greater ferocity. The assassination has humiliated the security establishment, exposing what Liqaa Maki, a senior researcher at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, calls a catastrophic intelligence failure.
“The believer is not bitten from the same hole twice, yet Iran has been bitten twice,” Maki said, referring to the pattern of US strikes. This “total exposure” is likely to drive the surviving leadership underground, turning Iran into a hyper-security state that views any internal dissent as foreign collaboration, he said.
While the “head” of Iran has been removed, the “body” – armed with one of the largest missile arsenals in the Middle East – remains, Maki said.
LESS than an hour away from glamorous Porto is a lesser-known destination that is even cheaper then Lisbon too.
Braga is Portugal’s oldest city, and the third-largest in the country.
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Braga in the north of the country is the third largest city in PortugalCredit: AlamyOne of the main attractions is Braga Cathedral which was built in the 11th centuryCredit: Alamy
It’s actually nowhere near the Portuguese capital and that’s what makes Braga more affordable.
According to Wise, the average cost of beer in Braga is €2.50 (£2.19).
The average price of a meal out at a restaurant is €9 (£7.87), and you can pick up a cappuccino for as little as €1.57 (£1.37).
Meanwhile, in Lisbon, while a local beer is roughly the same, a meal out is around €3 more expensive and coffee costs around €2.39 (£2.09).
Rooms have en-suites, some even have balconies with incredible skyline views – rates for a one-night stay in March start from £29.50pp.
Airbnbs like a double room in the Rua da Violinha guesthouse which has a private bathroom starts from £30 – or £15pp.
When it comes to exploring the city, some of the biggest attractions include Braga Cathedral.
It was built in the 11th century, making it the oldest in the country – technically it was built several centuries before Portugal became a country.
Bom Jesus do Monte is a Roman Catholic sanctuary with around 580 steps.
It has 15 statues and six fountains and is described as a “peaceful and awe-inspiring destination, with stunning panoramic views and serene gardens”.
Climbing the steps at Bom Jesus do Monte will give incredible views across the cityCredit: AlamyThere are plenty of cafes and restaurants in the cityCredit: Alamy
Palácio do Raio is a beautiful blue-tiled palace which visitors have called “enchanting” with brightly painted doors and balconies.
Other tourist attractions in Braga, including Santa Barbara Garden, a public garden that’s open throughout the year.
For a spot of shopping, you can’t go wrong with Braga Parque with all the big-name shops.
For independent boutiques, head into the city centre where for plenty of clothes and handmade items.
Aside from the historical sites, make sure to check out the city’s trendy cafes and restaurants.
Braga is also home to several trendy cafes like Soul – Alimentação Saudável e do Bem, which serves brunch dishes.
One popular restaurant is Café Astória, which is known as Arcada by the locals, is one of the oldest places to eat in the city with over 110 years of history.
Visitors to the city should try Braga’s signature dishes.
The first being Bacalhau à Braga which is fried cod with onions, peppers, and crispy potatoes.
There’s alsoPapas de Sarrabulho, pork and blood rice porridge, Rojões, marinated pork, andPudim à Abade de Priscos, a rich crème caramel pudding,for dessert.
LOVE Island beauty Ella Barnes has revealed she was evacuated from Dubai airport amid Iran missile strikes.
The influencer, 25, who starred on theITVshow in 2023, took to Instagram to explain her flight had been cancelled.
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Love Island beauty Ella Barnes has revealed she was evacuated from Dubai airport amid Iran missile strikesCredit: InstagramThe influencer, 25, who starred on the ITV show in 2023, took to Instagram to explain her flight had been cancelled.Credit: Instagram
Ella posted an image of the empty airport to her social media account and captioned it: “Got evacuated out of Dubai airport and my flight home cancelled.
“Guess, I’ll be staying here a little longer.”
A scared Ella, later posted snaps of missiles in the air and wrote: “Missiles in the sky.
“No this is so scary. Listen to how loud the explosion is at the end. WTF.”
However, earlier today, Ella posted a snap of her driving along a deserted highway and wrote: “We are out of here. Thanks for all the messages. Had so many”
In more recent-times, celebrities from the United Kingdom have been emigrating there, with many Brit celebs choosing Dubai as the place they want to bring up their families.
“Right above us on the Palm in Dubai today, bloody scary, I tell you that. Never heard a noise like it before,” he penned.
He then later shared a photo of a rocket near his home, writing: “Rocket above my house wtf this is crazy.”
Love Island star Arabella Chi, who relocated from the UK to Dubai with her partner, Billy Henty, and their daughter, Gigi, in 2025, has also shared posts about the scary time she is enduring.
“Dubai friends. Scary times. Stay safe,” she penned on her Instagram stories.
Just hours before the missile strikes, Arabella and her partner were playing with their daughter in the sand.
Ella found fame in Love Island 2023, and stole Sheffield lad Mitch Taylor, 28, from his partner Abi Moores, 25, after entering the matchmaking series as a bombshellCredit: RexElla became loved-up with her wealthy entrepreneur man Neil Farrugia after the pair made their relationship official in 2024 but they split up a year laterCredit: Instagram/@ellabellabarnesA scared Ella posted snaps of missiles in the air while she was in DubaiCredit: Getty
This article explores the historical roots and cultural traditions of Martisor, a celebration observed on the first of March in Romania and Moldova. The author explains that the month’s name originates from Mars, who served as both a god of war and an agricultural deity for the Romans. To welcome the arrival of spring, people exchange symbolic red and white threads tied to small charms, which represent the transition from winter’s cold to summer’s warmth. Women typically wear these tokens throughout the month to invite vitality and wellness into their lives. Finally, the custom concludes by attaching the threads to fruit …
Santa Cruz tried out the surveillance company Flock Safety for a little over a year before deciding it was time to move on.
Cambridge, Mass., also had enough and tore up its contract in December. Now, some officials in San Diego have begun to have second thoughts of their own.
In recent months, dozens of cities have cut ties with Flock — the nation’s largest provider of automated digital license plate readers — over fears that data the company captures is helping power President Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
The same can’t be said in one particularly surprising place: Los Angeles. Here, Flock still has an eager customer base of local elected officials, police officers, homeowners associations and businesses.
Unlike some of its competitors, the Atlanta-based company has not only marketed its plate readers to law enforcement as a vital crime-fighting tool, but aggressively pitched its product to private citizens, experts say.
“They are tremendous investigative tools,” said LAPD spokesman Capt. Michael Bland.
But for critics, there’s an obvious downside: the potential tracking of law-abiding citizens without a warrant on a scale once thought unimaginable.
“These can be really powerful tools to find someone, and identity them. But when you don’t have a suspect, everyone can be a suspect,” said Hannah Bloch-Wehba, a professor of law at Texas A&M University.
A Flock spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
Typically mounted on street poles or atop police cars, plate readers continuously monitor passing vehicles, recording their location at a specific date and time. But Flock’s AI-powered cameras go even further by also documenting other identifying vehicle details, such as make, model and color, as well as any distinctive markings like scratches or dents on a bumper.
From there, police can easily search for the location of specific vehicles in the company’s vast national database, allowing them not only to potentially retrace the whereabouts of someone suspected of a crime, but also receive predictions about future movements.
In a presentation to the Picfair Village Neighborhood Assn., Flock boasted that its plate readers had helped solve “10% of reported crime in the U.S.” In L.A., the company said, its technology had been deployed to nab porch pirates and car thieves, not to mention played a role in solving a “high-profile crime involving stolen weapons from a politician’s home.”
The problem, at least in the minds of a growing number of privacy and immigration advocates, is that the readers capture a vast amount of information not related to any specific criminal investigation. The ability of federal authorities to access Los Angeles Police Department surveillance data directly from companies like Flock or from regional intelligence hubs called fusion centers undermines the city’s promise as a haven for immigrants, critics say.
“License plate readers play a critical role in providing directions and a road map to ICE for going out to kidnap people,” said Hamid Khan, an organizer with the activist group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, which last spring wrote a letter to the Police Commission urging it to rewrite the LAPD’s policies to ensure information on law-abiding drivers isn’t shared with federal authorities.
The commission, the LAPD’s civilian oversight panel, ordered a study on the department’s license plate reader system that is expected to be completed this summer.
LAPD officials say records collected by the plate readers are accessible only to five smaller police agencies with which the department has data-sharing agreements. Furthermore, they say the use of the readers, like with other police technology, is restricted by state laws that limit information sharing with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Plate-reading technology has been around for decades. But as the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown has ramped up, residents, privacy advocates and officials in some cities across the country have mounted campaigns urging their local governments to stop using the technology.
Much of the backlash has been aimed specifically at Flock — a heavyweight in the surveillance market that contracts with a reported 5,000 U.S. policing agencies. The company’s data-sharing with federal authorities and cybersecurity lapses have been documented by 404 Media and other outlets.
After previously denying it had federal contracts, Flock Chief Executive Garrett Langley admitted in interviews in recent months that the company has worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations. The company has since said that it has severed ties with both agencies, and responded to other concerns by giving communities more power to decide whom to grant access to state or nationwide lookup networks.
In Bloch-Wehba’s view, Flock’s meteoric rise is a triumph of marketing over results.
“There’s very little evidence on the actual impact of these technologies on violent crime rates at all,” said Bloch-Wehba, who noted an explosion of surveillance technology in 2020 to monitor protesters or enforce rules implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic.
In the L.A. area, Flock has gone head to head with competitor Vigilant Solutions, which has for years supplied the majority of the LAPD’s plate readers. But today, cops tout Flock cameras at community meetings and some City Council members have paid to bring them to their districts.
Flock has also sought to flex its political might. City records show the company has stepped up its lobbying efforts at City Hall in recent years — hiring Ballard Partners, a powerful Florida-based firm whose employees now include former City Councilmember Joe Buscaino.
Many Flock plate readers, though, have been purchased by community groups. In most cases, residents band together to raise money to buy the devices, which they then either grant access to or donate to the LAPD via the Police Foundation, the department’s nonprofit charity. By donating the equipment, neighborhood groups may get to control what type of technology is installed and by whom.
“My real preference would be a fully staffed LAPD, and then we don’t have any cameras,” said Jim Fitzgerald, who lives in Venice and serves on its neighborhood council.
Roy Nwaisser, who chairs the Encino Neighborhood Council’s public safety committee, said that Flock often played up the shortage of police officers during its presentations to residents in his neighborhood.
“I personally have concerns with how Flock conducts their businesses, but they are the biggest player and if LAPD is working with them, they just have to make sure that there are those safeguards,” he said. “I don’t know that automated license plate readers are all that effective when owned by neighbors living on the street who decided to get together.”
Police executives have defended the practice, saying license plate data has helped solve untold numbers of crimes, from run-of-the-mill porch theft to high-profile cases like the 2024 attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Florida golf course. The technology also came into play during an investigation into the fatal drive-by shooting of a 17-year-old boy at a North Hills intersection last month. According to a search warrant affidavit, detectives tracked a suspect vehicle to a home in Sun Valley after it was captured by several scanners near where the shooting occurred.
Because so many plate scanners are in private hands, it’s difficult to say how many of the devices are in operation citywide.
The L.A. Bureau of Street Lighting, which is responsible for installing the devices on city-owned property, said it has mounted 324 over five years — though that tally doesn’t include mobile plate readers.
Bland said the LAPD has 1,500 police vehicles equipped with the scanners. Police also have access to an additional 280 plate readers in fixed locations throughout the city, which are owned privately or by the department, he said. He estimated that about 120 of those readers belong to Flock.
The cameras are also integrated with the department’s new drones, which are being paid for by a $1.2-million donation from the Police Foundation.
The devices are also used for many other purposes outside of regular law enforcement. Big box retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s have installed Flock cameras across hundreds of parking lots. Many border crossings have them. In East L.A., they are used as an emissions-reduction tool by tracking semi-trailers. USC uses them to enforce parking violations, and the L.A. Department of Transportation has deployed such cameras to nab motorists who park in bus lanes.
Since the beginning of 2025, a small-but-growing number of states and cities have enacted laws aimed at curbing the use of surveillance technology such as license plate readers.
Under California law, police agencies are required to adopt detailed usage and privacy policies governing license plate data, restrict access to authorized purposes, and regularly audit searches to prevent misuse. Gov. Gavin Newsom previously vetoed a bill that would have restricted use of such data, saying the regulations would impede criminal investigations, but the bill has been reintroduced this year.
Nearly 50 cities nationwide have opted to deactivate their scanners or cancel contracts with Flock, mostly in recent months, according to the website DeFlock.me, which has set out to map locations of the company’s cameras. Responding to public pressure, some places like Santa Cruz canceled their contracts after realizing that they had been sharing their data more broadly than they had known, including with federal authorities.
Other Flock customers, like Oakland, have dug in and decided to keep their cameras at the urging of local homeowners association representatives and small business owners — but over the objections of the city’s own Privacy Advisory Commission.
Among the places that have started to reconsider their relationship with Flock is San Diego. In December, city leaders split on the issue, but ultimately voted to keep using Flock’s scanners after a contentious public hearing meeting in which they heard from hundreds of residents opposed to the surveillance technology.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said he voted against working with Flock based on what he saw as the company’s poor track record of “data retention” and “consumer protections.” Although the city has operated Flock plate readers and cameras for years, the stakes are far higher now, he said.
“We have a presidential regime that is not only flouting the law, but takes pride in ignoring due process, in violating rights of people they deem unworthy of the rights and protections,” said Elo-Rivera, who represents an ethnically diverse district in San Diego’s Mid-City area. “They have a by-any-means-necessary approach when it comes to immigration enforcement. And now they have a tool that makes it very easy for them to track people down.”
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
Italy’s Marco Bezzecchi won the opening race of the MotoGP season with a flawless performance in Thailand, as defending champion Marc Marquez retired late on.
Aprilia rider Bezzecchi started on pole and never looked back as he stormed into a massive lead before sealing victory by more than five seconds.
KTM’s Spanish rider Pedro Acosta followed up Saturday’s sprint race victory by coming second, while compatriot Raul Fernandez of Trackhouse finished third.
Bezzecchi’s victory came after he crashed out of the sprint race on the second lap.
“Yesterday was a small mistake with a big consequence, so it was important today to try to bounce back,” said Bezzecchi.
“My pace was good with the medium [rear tyre], we worked super well all weekend, so I knew that I could be fast if I was in front. So I tried my all to make a good start and the bike was perfect.”
Ducati’s Marquez exited the race with five laps to go after suffering a type puncture while in fourth position.
The Spaniard, who is chasing a record-equalling eighth title this season, was closing in on Acosta and Fernandez but damaged his tyre after running wide, ending hopes of a podium finish.
Earlier this week Marquez said he was still recovering from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the final four races of last season.
Bezzecchi was fastest in all three practice sessions and set a new track record in qualifying, while this was his third-straight grand prix victory – having won the final two races in 2025.
Bezzecchi’s Aprilia team-mate and 2024 champion Jorge Martin came fourth, while Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura finished fifth.
Last year’s runner-up Alex Marquez did not finish the race after a late crash, while 2022 and 2023 world champion Francesco Bagnaia finished ninth.
As Israel and the United States attacked Iran, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip began to panic. They remembered how crossings were closed in the past, causing famine, and rushed to markets to buy whatever they could. As a result, prices of food and basic necessities skyrocketed. Soon enough, the news came that the border crossings had been closed.
All of this happened just as the grace period set by Israel for 37 NGOs to withdraw from Gaza for not fulfilling registration requirements expired. Organisations like Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French acronym MSF), Medical Aid for Palestinians UK, Handicap International: Humanity & Inclusion, ActionAid, CARE, etc were supposed to stop operating in Gaza.
At the last moment, a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court allowed them to continue working while it considers their appeal against the ban. But even with this court decision, these organisations cannot continue to function fully. That is because the Israeli occupation continues to prevent their supplies and foreign staff from entering Gaza.
According to these NGOs, together they are responsible for half of the food handouts in the Strip and 60 percent of services provided in field hospitals.
For many families in Gaza, this means hunger – because food parcels will not be distributed and livelihoods will be lost.
We know this is not about NGOs failing to meet new registration rules, just like the closure of the border crossings is not a matter of security. They are about exacting yet another form of collective punishment on the Palestinians.
Even if the Supreme Court miraculously rules against the NGO ban, the Israeli occupation would still find another way to push these foreign organisations out of Gaza. This was made clear this month when it was revealed that World Central Kitchen, which has been running dozens of soup kitchens across the Strip and which is not on the ban list, may be suspending its activities.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, this was because Israel blocked most of the organisation’s supply trucks from coming in. As a result, there are not enough supplies to continue cooking. World Central Kitchen previously said it serves 1 million meals daily.
So now, amid the war with Iran, which may last weeks or months, hundreds of thousands of families will not have adequate food once again.
All of this comes on top of Israel’s continuing war on UNRWA. Since its creation in late 1949, the United Nations agency has been the backbone of international support for Palestinian refugees. It has the largest capacity for emergency response and the widest spectrum of services on offer. And yet, Israel has banned its operations and has blocked its supplies from entering the Strip.
Through relentless lobbying, Israel has managed to achieve substantial cuts to UNRWA’s budget. As a result, last month 600 employees were fired. The salaries of the rest were reduced by 20 percent.
The NGO ban will likely result in thousands of people losing their jobs as well. And this is at a time when unemployment in Gaza has gone beyond 80 percent.
My family will also suffer. In the past, we have benefitted from food and basic supplies handouts from NGOs, and my brother has been able to find temporary work as a driver for one of them.
The possible closure of international organisations is a direct threat to the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians who depend on their services and employment. The closure of the border crossings could mean another hunger crisis.
These are a form of collective punishment that yet again will not make the news. Israel is constantly thinking of new ways to make our lives that much more unbearable, that much more impossible in our devastated homeland.
Two and half years of the Israeli genocide has destroyed hospitals, schools, universities, roads, sewage and potable water systems, water treatment plants, the electricity grid, and countless generators and solar panels.
The vast majority of the population lives primitive lives in tents or makeshift shelters that cannot protect people from extreme heat or cold.
Water is contaminated, food is insufficient, land has been destroyed and poisoned.
Now we will be deprived of the little international support we have been receiving.
And what is the goal of all this? To push us ever closer to despair and the ultimate surrender, to make us desire to leave our homeland on our own. Ethnic cleansing by mutual agreement.
All of the organisations that Israel is seeking to ban are foreign. Most of them are based in Western countries. Yet there has been little to no condemnation from Western governments of Israel’s actions against their own organisations. There has been no outrage that the occupation is trying to destroy international humanitarian provision so it can fully control aid distribution.
Collective punishment is a violation of international law. States are obliged to go beyond verbal condemnations and take action by imposing sanctions. Until that happens, we in Gaza will continue to be subjected to ever more brutal acts of collective punishment by our occupiers.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
With summer temperatures and clear skies this weekend, it’s hard to believe that just weeks ago, the city was hit with a week of heavy rainstorms. Several restaurants across the region were forced to temporarily close due to flooding, resulting in revenue loss and expensive repairs.
March brings the start of spring, which means we’re already seeing seasonal produce such as asparagus, peas and apricots appear on our favorite menus. Keep reading for more dining ideas this month, including the return of a globe-trotting cafe, a community-minded food hub in South L.A. and an Argentinian bistro with a connection to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, member of a constitutional watchdog, appointed to temporary council, along with Iranian president and chief justice.
Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026
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Iran has announced the formation of a three-member transitional council to handle the state duties following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, member of a powerful constitutional watchdog, was appointed on Sunday to the temporary council, whose other two members are President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
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The 67-year-old cleric, who is a member of the Guardian Council that must later choose a supreme leader, was confirmed to the council by the Expediency Council, a powerful arbitration body.
According to Article 111 of the Iranian Constitution, the transitional council will govern the country until an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader after almost 37 years of rule by Khamenei.
His killing on Saturday by the joint United States and Israeli forces has raised crucial questions about Iran’s future.
Although the leadership council will govern in the interim, the Assembly of Experts “must, as soon as possible,” pick a new supreme leader, according to the Iranian constitution.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani are also expected to play pivotal roles in the transitional council, but it remains to be seen where the balance of power lies.
The commander-in-chief of the IRGC was also killed in the US-Israeli attack on Saturday – the second such killing in less than a year – and the next leader of the elite military and economic force is yet to be announced.
IRGC-linked Telegram channels are citing deputy chief Ahmad Vahidi, who was appointed to the position by Khamenei two months ago, as a likely candidate.
Earlier on Sunday, Larijani accused the US and Israel of trying to plunder and break apart Iran and warned “secessionist groups” within Iran of a harsh response if they attempt action, state media said.
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors,” he said.
A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, Larijani was appointed to advise Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s darkly comedic action-thriller “One Battle After Another” won the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, continuing its dominating run through awards season.
The PGA honor, presented at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, cements Anderson’s celebrated film as the front-runner for the best picture Oscar. Since 2009, when both the Producers Guild and the motion picture academy expanded their best picture nominee slates from five to 10 and adopted a preferential ballot, the PGA winner has gone on to win best picture all but three times.
The last time the groups diverged came six years ago when PGA winner “1917” lost the Oscar to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” a film that surged in momentum in the weeks leading up to the 2020 Oscars.
No other movie this season has shown that kind of strength other than Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which scored a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations in January. However, “One Battle” has prevailed at the major ceremonies since then, winning best picture at the British Academy Film Awards last week and Anderson taking the top honor with the Directors Guild earlier this month.
“Sinners” has one more chance to reverse the tide. It will compete against “One Battle After Another” for the cast award at the Actor Awards on Sunday. That ensemble honor, the most prestigious prize handed out by SAG-AFTRA voters, isn’t as strong a precursor as the PGA’s best film. But “Parasite” did win it right before the 2020 Oscars.
Hope springs eternal. Oscar voting ends on Thursday.
Read the full list of 2026 Producers Guild Award winners below.
Darryl F. Zanuck Award (outstanding theatrical motion picture): “One Battle After Another”
