ACTRESS Anne Hathaway steals the show in a red dress at the US premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2 — but Sydney Sweeney was a no-show after her scenes were cut.

Anne, 43 — who wore a custom Louis Vuitton gown — was joined by co-stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci for the screening.

British Bridgerton star Simone Ashley was also there, along with Lady Gaga, who worked on the music for the film and makes a cameo appearance.

But Euphoria star Sydney, 28, skipped the premiere in New York.

She had been pictured on set last year.

Sources said she shot a scene in which she played herself being dressed by Emily’s character Emily Charlton.

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However, it did not make the final cut as it was felt it did not work with the rest of the storyline.

The film’s stars are due back on the red carpet in London’s Leicester Square this evening for the European premiere.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 comes 20 years after the original, in which Anne played aspiring journalist Andy Sachs working for cruel magazine editor Miranda Priestly, played by Streep,

Anne has previously spoken about how it changed her career.

She said: “This film opened so many doors for me, and it gave me so many opportunities.

“It became this anchor for how audiences responded to me, and let me take a lot more risks and make a lot of weird choices in my career, because I have this warm hug to come back to.”

The scriptural passage that President Trump plans to read Tuesday evening in a livestreamed Bible-reading marathon dates back to the depiction of an ancient event — but it’s one that carries a highly charged significance in the current religious and political climate.

It has long been quoted and promoted by those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation and should be one. It’s from the seventh chapter of 2 Chronicles, a book in the Hebrew (Old Testament) portion of the Bible.

The 14th verse — the one most often quoted — says:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Trump is among hundreds who are taking turns reading the entire Bible aloud over the course of a week. Most of the readings are taking place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, though Trump’s is coming by video from the Oval Office.

A passage often quoted at National Day of Prayer events

The Chronicles passage has for decades been a major theme at annual National Day of Prayer events. Organizers of the America Reads the Bible marathon invited Trump to read from it. “It’s a powerful statement that he decided to read that passage,” said Bunni Pounds, founder of Christians Engaged, which organized the project.

The passage has been recited over the decades at countless rallies, services and events, often organized around the disputed belief that America was created as a Christian nation and needs to repent of its sins and return to God. The passage has particularly been associated with annual events commemorating the National Day of Prayer, which has taken various forms since the mid-20th century and became fixed by law on the first Thursday in May since the 1980s.

The verse is set in a context far from modern America — during the reign of King Solomon in ancient Israel some 3,000 years ago. Solomon is presiding over the dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem, and in a lengthy prayer he asks for divine mercy if a future generation sins, is punished with military or natural disaster and then repents. In the key passage, God replies with a promise of restoration.

Critics say the passage is used out of context

But the use of the passage in modern settings has its critics.

The Chronicles passage is “a popular verse among Christian nationalists and has been for quite some time,” said Brian Kaylor, a Baptist pastor and president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.

He said its use has taken on a partisan and polarizing tone, often used in tandem with a promotion of a belief in a Christian America in an increasingly diverse country.

“This verse is not about the United States,” said Kaylor, author of “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power.” It is “a promise made to one particular person in one particular moment. It doesn’t really work to pull it out of context and apply it to whatever you want to.”

But many have done so recently and in decades past, either saying America has a divinely ordained destiny similar to ancient Israel’s or simply that they believe every nation has a duty to follow God and repent when needed.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office in 1953 with his hand on a Bible opened to the 2 Chronicles passage. President Ronald Reagan quoted the passage in a proclamation declaring 1984’s National Day of Prayer. A speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention also quoted it.

The National Day of Prayer, while officially nonsectarian, has long been drawn particular promotion and participation from evangelical Christians. Readings of the “If my people” passage has been a staple of such events.

Politicians, others joining in the Bible-reading marathon

Evangelicals — a loyal Republican voting bloc for decades — have formed a crucial part of Trump’s electoral base. His rallies have featured a fusion of Christian and national symbols and rhetoric, featuring songs like “God Bless USA” and T-shirts with slogans like “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.”

Many other Republican politicians are taking part in the Bible reading, along with celebrities, pastors and others. And Trump isn’t the only one reading a passage significant to his office or mission.

Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor and U.S. ambassador to Israel, is reading from a Genesis passage in which God says he will bless those who bless Abraham — a passage popular with many evangelicals who believe they have a biblical mandate to support Israel.

David Barton, whose Wallbuilders promotes belief in America as a Christian nation, will read from a passage that gave his organization its name, in which Nehemiah rebuilds the broken walls of Jerusalem.

Smith writes for the Associated Press.

England and Real Madrid footballer Jude Bellingham has bought a 1% stake in cricket team Birmingham Phoenix.

The deal for The Hundred franchise, set to be confirmed on Wednesday, is worth around £800,000.

The eight franchises were put up for sale last year and American investment group Knighthead Capital Management, who own Bellingham’s former club Birmingham City, bought a 49% stake for £48m. Warwickshire retained their 51% stake.

Bellingham is a cricket fan and played junior cricket for Hagley Cricket Club in Worcestershire.

Asked in an interview last year which sportsperson he would swap places with, he said England Test captain Ben Stokes.

Legendary NFL quarterback Brady is also part of the Knighthead group.

April 21 (UPI) — The Southern Poverty Law Center announced via YouTube Tuesday that it is now the target of an investigation by the Department of Justice.

“Although we don’t know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups,” said CEO Bryan Fair in the video. “This use of informants was necessary because we are no stranger to threats of violence. In 1983, our offices were firebombed, and in the years since, there have been countless credible threats against our staff.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit advocacy and litigation organization that tracks White supremacist and other hate groups in the United States. Republicans have criticized the nonprofit for acting as a far-left entity that they say targets conservative organizations and people. It was founded in 1971 by Morris Dees, Joseph Levin Jr. and Julian Bond as a civil rights law firm in Montgomery, Ala.

The case is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, CBS News reported.

Fair said the probe is targeting the organization and its employees.

“For decades, we engaged in unprecedented litigation to dismantle the Klan and other hate groups. In light of that work, we sought to protect the safety of our staff and the public,” Fair said in the video. “We frequently shared what we learned from informants with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI. We did not, however, share our use of informants broadly with anyone, to protect the identity and safety of the informants and their families.

“And while we no longer work with paid informants, we continue to take their safety seriously. These individuals risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups,” Fair said.

Fair said the organization will fight the allegations.

“We stood in the vanguard then, and we stand in the vanguard today,” he said. “We will not be intimidated into silence or contrition, and we will not abandon our mission or the communities we serve.”

For the first time since at least the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, an Iranian-linked vessel was interdicted in the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) region, the Pentagon confirmed to The War Zone. The boarding of the Botswana-flagged oil tanker M/T Tifani came just days after Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters, including from The War Zone, that the U.S. would “actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran” anywhere in the world. The move also follows the U.S. firing on and seizing the Iranian cargo ship Touska on Sunday in the Arabian Sea.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticks down toward the end of a fragile ceasefire between the U.S and Iran, the future of peace negotiations remains very much uncertain, which we will discuss later in this story. 

“Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility,” the Pentagon stated Tuesday morning on X.

 “As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran—anywhere they operate. 

International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”

Video released by the Pentagon shows about two dozen armed troops boarding two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters on a U.S. Navy Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) ship. The video then cuts to the troops repelling onto the deck of the Tifani and searching that vessel.

The Pentagon did not say where the incident took place, however, according to MarineTraffic.com, the Tifani was last located yesterday in the Indian Ocean, about halfway between Sri Lanka and Indonesia and some 2,000 miles southeast of Iran.

The Pentagon told us that “multiple agencies” played a role in seizing the ship. We have reached out for additional details.

Gregory Brew, Senior Analyst, Iran and Oil for Eurasia Group, stated on X that the Tifani departed from Iran’s Kharg Island on April 5 and that the ship appears to have continued sailing on after the boarding. We asked the Pentagon for more details about the ship’s disposition and they referred us to the White House, which sent us back to the Pentagon.

The ship was sanctioned under a 2018 executive order issued by President Donald Trump during his first term designed to counter Iranian malign activities and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

UPDATES

The status of peace talks in Pakistan remains murky. While Vice President JD Vance and other top officials are expected to leave for the negotiations today, Iranian officials have yet to officially commit. The main sticking points remain the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium, the Strait of Hormuz, the status of its ballistic missile inventory and support for proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis of Yemen.

“A diplomatic source in Pakistan says no diplomatic delegation from Iran has been dispatched to Islamabad ‘so far,’” the official Iranian IRNA news agency stated on Tuesday. “In response to speculations about possible negotiations in Pakistan, a diplomatic source told IRNA on Tuesday that no delegation from Iran has arrived in the Pakistani capital.”

The source clarified that “neither official nor unofficial information has been received regarding any Iranian involvement in the negotiations in Islamabad.”

In a brief phone call, Trump told CNBC host Joe Kernan he thinks the U.S. is “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran to end the war, even as he said he does not expect to extend a ceasefire due to expire on Wednesday.

“I think they have no choice,” Trump said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” when asked what he expected to come out of a second round of peace negotiations with Iran. “We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders.”

The president added that he is ready to resume the conflict if a deal with Iran does not appear in the offing.

“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with – but we’re ready to go,” Trump answered when asked if he needs at least the prospect for a signed deal either today or tomorrow.

Trump also said “I don’t want to do that,” when asked if he would extend the ceasefire beyond tomorrow if talks with Iran appear promising.

Former MasterChef judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode have been replaced in the latest series

Fan-favourite cooking competition MasterChef is returning for a new series on BBC One with two new judges.

Season 22 begins tonight (Tuesday, April 21), with renowned chef Anna Haugh and restaurant critic Grace Dent now at the helm, following Gregg Wallace and John Torode’s departures.

Gregg was axed from the show last year after law firm Lewis Silkin upheld 45 out of 83 complaints against the star of inappropriate behaviour. The 61-year-old said he was “deeply sorry for any distress” he caused, adding that he “never set out to harm or humiliate”.

Meanwhile, John didn’t have his contract renewed with Banijay UK – who make MasterChef – after he was alleged to have used racist language amid an investigation into his former co-star’s behaviour.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed that John denied the allegation, stating: “He has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened. He also says that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.”

Ahead of the new series of MasterChef airing on BBC One tonight (Tuesday, April 21) at 9pm, let’s explore where former judges Gregg and John are now.

Gregg hasn’t appeared on TV since his MasterChef axing, but recently hosted a 12-hour live cooking show on TikTok, titled Gregg’s Kitchen.

Now, the presenter has confirmed his “new chapter”, telling his Instagram followers that he will be leaving the UK for a new life in Italy by the end of this month.

Speaking in his social media video, Gregg said: “I’ve always loved Italy and we plan to move around and rent in different places, which is quite an adventure. And with the help of my autism specialist mates, I am going to home school Sid [his son] as well. It is a new chapter for us. It is a life that should be full of travel and adventure and I’m very, very much looking forward to it.”

Following his axing from MasterChef, John continued to host his ITV series, John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, with his wife Lisa Faulkner.

The couple are also set to release a new cookbook in September, following the success of their first book together. John & Lisa’s Weeknight Dinners includes “delicious” recipes that can be used on repeat.

“Having cooked together for 10 series of John and Lisa’s Kitchen, they want to encourage people, more than ever, to cook from scratch with simple and fool proof recipes,” reads the official synopsis for the book.

“They use everyday supermarket ingredients, straightforward techniques and no fancy gadgets, to give people the confidence to cook and, most importantly, enjoy creating dishes for their friends and family.”

MasterChef 2026’s first heat will see six talented cooks from all walks of life competing to secure one of four gleaming white MasterChef aprons. The first two will be awarded to those who impress Anna and Grace with their Signature Dish.

The other four will have one more chance to shine as they fight it out for the last two aprons, taking on the Classic Recipe Test. The successful cooks will then have another hurdle to jump to secure their quarter-final place, as they aim to impress last year’s finalists with two courses.

MasterChef season 22 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

The primary focus of this text is Radunitsa, a Belarusian state holiday dedicated to honoring the deceased through ancestral remembrance. Although it is integrated into the Orthodox Christiancalendar, the festival preserves ancient pagan traditions such as sharing meals and leaving symbolic eggs at grave sites. Unlike typical somber memorials, this “Joy Day” is characterized by celebratory rituals that emphasize the concept of rebirth. The article is part of a broader news digest that also briefly touches on a similar holiday in Moldova and recent international political developments involving Belarus. This collection of reports highlights how contemporary Slavic culture maintain … 

Xavier Becerra, a former cabinet secretary in President Biden’s administration, appears to be surging in the curiously unsettled California governor’s race.

Until recently, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary had been mired in the single digits in polling to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom and lead the nation’s most populous state.

But after former Rep. Eric Swalwell, (D-Dublin) dropped out of the race earlier this month amid accusations ofsexual assault and other misconduct Becerra has seen a boost in polls, fundraising and endorsements.

On Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas endorsed Becerra alongside 14 Democratic members of the legislative body.

Arguing that Californians are under constant threat from President Trump’s policies, Rivas cited Becerra’s decades-long record in public office, including defending Obamacare and young immigrants, or dreamers, to argue that Becerra is best positioned to lead the state.

“There’s no time to learn on the job — we need a governor who’s ready to fight back on day one,” Rivas said in a statement, noting that Becerra sued the Trump administration 122 times while he was California’s attorney general. “We have a strong Democratic field for governor. But right now, we need someone ready on day one. Xavier Becerra is that leader.”

Becerra said he was honored to receive the legislators’ backing.

“I look forward to working with the Speaker and legislators on Day One to tackle the problems Californians care about most — from the skyrocketing cost of groceries and housing to our unyielding fight against the Trump Administration’s disastrous policies,” he said in a prepared statement. “Californians need an experienced and trusted leader who doesn’t need on-the-job training.”

Despite Becerra’s long tenure in state and federal office, the unflashy politician is not well-known among California voters. He was among the underdogs in the 2026 gubernatorial race. Swalwell, by contrast, was among the leading Democratic candidates.

Amy Thoma, a former Republican strategist who is no longer affiliated with a political party, noted that Becerra’s surge comes at a critical moment in the election, shortly before ballots land in Californians’ mailboxes.

“Voters are starting to tune into the race. Yes, they want someone who will stand up to Trump, but it also seems they want someone with experience who can address the very real issues facing the state,” Thoma said.

She added that Becerra’s life story is “incredibly compelling.”

“The word authentic is overused, but every time he talks about his love for this state, for his family and wanting to make California work for everyone, it comes across incredibly sincere,” Thoma said. “Voters can see through candidates who fake it.”

Becerra was respected by colleagues across the aisle, including former GOP legislative leader and state Republican party chairman Jim Brulte. Both men were elected to the state Assembly in 1990 and though their politics often sharply differed. However, they had a warm relationship.

“He was progressive and I am a conservative,” Brulte said. “We never agreed much on policy, but he is a good man with a great heart.”

The 2026 governor’s race has been unlike any in recent memory, with no clear front-runner in a crowded field of candidates and voters just beginning to pay attention to the contest shortly before the June 2 primary.

There were two prominent Republicans and eight prominent Democrats in the race, leading to fears among Democratic leaders in the state that their party’s candidates could be shut out of the governor’s race in the general election because of California’s unique primary system. The two candidates who win the most votes in the June 2 primary will move onto the November general election, regardless of party affiliation.

Democratic leaders remain concerned that despite California’s sapphire-blue tilt, the number of their party’s candidates in the race could lead to a splintering of Democratic voters that results in two Republicans advancing to the November ballot.

Six prominent Democrats remain in the race, after Swalwell and former state Controller Betty Yee dropped out.

The race — lacking a global superstar such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or the scion of a storied political family and former governor like Jerry Brown — is ephemeral. Anything can happen before the June 2 primary.

But Becerra is having a moment. In addition to the new endorsements, he has seen notable movement in polls, most recently in a survey released Monday by the state Democratic party. Becerra jumped nine points from the party’s last poll, tying with billionaire Tom Steyer at 13%.

While Becerra will never be able to match Steyer’s deep pockets, he raised more than $1 million on ActBlue, the top Democratic fundraising platform, in the week ending on April 18, making him the biggest fundraiser on the site in the nation.

“Ninety-seven percent were first-time donors,” Becerra’s campaign said in a statement. “This is not a donor base being recycled. It is a movement being born.”

Ulster continue to count the cost of Friday’s 29-21 defeat by Leinster in the United Rugby Championship [URC] with six players added to the injury list for this Saturday’s trip to face Munster at Thomond Park [17:30 BST].

Angus Bell (foot), Scott Wilson (ankle), Tom O’Toole (hand), James Hume (neck), Jude Postlethwaite (hand) and Bryn Ward (shoulder) have all been ruled out after picking up injuries against Leo Cullen’s side.

They join a list of unavilable players that already includes Nick Timoney (hip), James McNabney (knee), Rob Herring (calf), Robert Baloucoune (elbow), Rory McGuire (shoulder) and Stewart Moore (knee).

Ulster dropped to fifth in the URC standings following last week’s defeat, one point above Munster as the season enters its final three rounds of games before the play-offs.

“Not winning at home was a big moment for us, but then add the guys who have picked up knocks,” Ulster coach Richie Murphy told BBC Sport NI.

“There will be a bit of pressure on our squad depth this week, but that’s exciting as well with everyone wanting to put their hand up for what is ahead.

“It’s going to be interesting, not going to be easy, but it is an exciting couple of weeks ahead.”

Murphy’s side have a home European Challenge Cup semi-final against Exeter Chiefs to look forward to on Saturday, 2 May as they seek to end their 20-year wait for silverware and while there is “no timeline” but feels some have a “really good chance of playing next week”.

One player who may feature this week is Michael Lowry who has returned to full training and his availability for the trip to Limerick will be assessed throughout the week.

“Mikey has had a really tough run over the last while and at the start of the season, we played some of our best rugby with him in the team,” Murphy continued.

“He played for Ireland ‘A’ against Spain and picked up an injury. From that moment, he’s struggled for fitness, but was flying around in training today and a great addition to our squad for the next few weeks.”

A group of hikers were forced to flee as Guatemala’s Santiaguito Volcano erupted, throwing rocks into the air around them. Santiaguito is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, featuring frequent, often daily, explosive eruptions and pyroclastic flows.

As the sun sets on Israel’s Memorial Day, 12 torches, together symbolising the spirit of the nation, are lit to mark the beginning of Independence Day, the anniversary of the country’s establishment in 1948 – which led to the ethnic cleansing of at least 750,000 Palestinians.

To be selected to light one of the torches over the resting place of Theodor Herzl, the man widely credited with the creation of modern Zionism, is regarded as one of the greatest honours in Israel.

This year, among those selected to light the torch on Tuesday evening is Avraham Zarbiv, a rabbi so controversial that even the Israeli military – an organisation that admits to having killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza – has publicly distanced itself from him. A military spokesperson said last week that Zarbiv “was not selected in coordination” with the military, and was not representing it at the ceremony, despite his being an army reservist.

Obliterate

Zarbiv first came to national prominence in Israel in the early months of 2024, when the 52-year-old rabbi and state rabbinical judge was filmed throwing grenades at Palestinians in Khan Younis during a firefight.

Since then, he has recorded himself gleefully demolishing Palestinian homes – his name even becoming a verb meaning to flatten or obliterate – and has delivered sermons from the ruins of Rafah promising “victory and settlement”. Zarbiv pairs it all with the traditional mannerisms of a religious leader, punctuating his threats and violence with footage of him blowing on a traditional ram’s horn, or shofar, as well as reciting prayers and parts of the Torah.

Zarbiv has also shared footage of himself taking part in the demolition of homes in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are accused of deploying the same scorched earth tactics as they did during Gaza’s genocide.

Speaking to Israel’s right-wing Channel 14 in January 2025, Zarbiv boasted of the destruction inflicted on Gaza.

“There are tens of thousands of dead. The dogs and the cats ate them because no one collected them,” he said. “Tens of thousands of families – they have not a piece of paper, no childhood photo, no IDs, they have nothing. No home, there is nothing. They come, they have no idea where their house is. It’s something unbelievable.”

While the army leadership itself might be seeking to distance itself from Zarbiv, the rabbi himself says that he represents his fellow soldiers.

“I am one soldier among many, I am a soldier of the Givati Brigade,” he said in an interview last week.

Illegal settlement

Last week, the Israeli organisation Kerem Navot, which monitors illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, filed a complaint to Israel’s judicial watchdog after confirming that Zarbiv had built his home illegally on private Palestinian land in the Beit El settlement, accusing him of violating the ethics rules for both judges and rabbinic judges.

That had no bearing, however, on Transport Minister Miri Regev’s decision to nominate Zarbiv for the torch-bearing ceremony.

“Rabbi Zarbiv, a father of six, continues to serve in reserve duty and combines in his life in an inspiring way between the book and the sword – between Torah and the army, between study and action, and between spiritual leadership and security responsibility,” the right-wing minister said.

She continued, describing the man now accused of multiple war crimes as representative of a generation “that refuses to part with responsibility, that chooses to bear the burden and continue to build, out of great faith in the future”.

Nevertheless, in January 2025, The Hind Rajab Foundation, the Belgian-based NGO that seeks to prosecute Israeli soldiers on the basis of the video evidence they themselves frequently provide, filed an official complaint against Zarbiv with the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the foundation’s lawyers, Zarbiv’s gleeful boast of destroying 50 buildings per week in Gaza, participating in the complete destruction of entire neighbourhoods, and having publicly incited violence and hatred through his appearances on Israeli media, were clear enough breaches of the Geneva Convention and Rome Statute to deserve prosecution.

Zarbiv was not a neutral public figure being honoured for civic virtue, Dyab Abou Jahjah, cofounder of The Hind Rajab Foundation, told Al Jazeera. Rather, “he is a notorious perpetrator of grave international crimes”, Abou Jahjah said.

“His selection [for the Independence Day ceremony] is therefore not incidental – it is revealing,” Abou Jahjah added. “When an individual implicated in acts that constitute genocide is elevated in this way, it reflects the underlying logic of a state project historically rooted in the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. From that perspective, his selection is entirely consistent.”

B’tselem, the Israeli rights group, is also

among those objecting to Zarbiv’s selection.

“The government’s decision to laud Zarbiv as an ‘exemplary citizen’, after more than two years of genocide in Gaza and amid a reality of unprecedented state and settler violence in the West Bank, represents a state-level endorsement of the complete dehumanization of Palestinians and the systematic destruction of Palestinian life,” B’tselem said in a statement.

“This selection sends a clear message to the citizens of Israel and the entire world: In Israel, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes are the ‘spirit of the nation’,” the group added.

“Gambrel roofed Barnhaus,” the listing read, “next door to the best burritos in town.”

Its photos revealed something unusual for Inglewood, which is famous for its mix of architectural styles, including Midcentury Modern homes by R.M. Schindler and Googie-style coffee shops: a brick-red barn-style house on a large corner lot, listed at $449,000.

When Meeshie Fahmy and her husband, Aaron Snyder, toured the house, they learned that the burrito claim was true. The photos, however, had clearly been touched up to make the house, located just a few miles from the Kia Forum and SoFi Stadium, look better than it actually was.

Outside, the former dirt lot is now a lush garden with towers of colorful black-eyed susans on arches, planters full of nasturtiums and vegetables, a firepit and pergola.

Inside, the house had “wall-to-wall carpets on both floors that were heavily stained and worn, dated wood paneling on the walls, holes in the walls,” Fahmy says.

Despite these flaws, the couple saw the home’s potential and decided to buy it, even though a leaning retaining wall nearly derailed their escrow. “It was a blank canvas for us to play and experiment,” she recalls a decade later.

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After they moved in, neighbors revealed the house was not original to the site. Years earlier, the original Craftsman had been torn down; the current house, a sweepstakes prize, arrived in two pieces by crane. “Our neighbors recalled it was quite a sight,” Fahmy says.

At the time, Fahmy, 44, worked as an event planner at the Getty Museum. As renovations started and she followed her passion for interior design, Snyder proudly introduced her to staff at the local Carniceria as “an interior designer.” She replied, “That’s not what I do.”

“I told her, ‘If you don’t start saying it, it’s not going to happen,’” says Snyder, 49, who pursued his own dream of becoming a professional skateboarder before moving into video editing. “Speak it to existence.”

Finishing the house took years, patience and a lot of DIY projects because of their budget. But Fahmy didn’t just dream — she made it happen. In 2018, she started working for interior designer Willa Ford, who mentored her at WFord Interiors. By 2020, Fahmy launched her own design firm, Haus of Meeshie. “It’s been a progressive layering of colors, furniture, reupholstering, adding art, wallpaper, lighting,” she says. “Low and slow; the flavor is richer.”

Meeshie Fahmy and Aaron Snyder’s family room is a colorful maximalist dream with thrifted furnishings, art and layered textures and patterns.

Ninety percent of the furnishings are thrifted. “Nothing is too precious,” Fahmy says.

Today, their home reflects Fahmy’s fearless approach — it’s a true “petri dish for experimentation.” The vibrant, layered four-bedroom house is a maximalist fever dream, packed with furniture, accessories and art sourced from Facebook Marketplace, vintage shops, flea markets (Long Beach flea is a favorite), estate sales and secondhand stores in L.A. and elsewhere.

She estimates about 90% of the furnishings and accessories in her home are thrifted, antiques or things she found on the side of the road, and nothing is too precious, reaffirming her playful approach to decor.

A Jonathan Adler dining table, found on sale, sits in front of a wall filled with art arranged salon-style. Among the pieces is Fahmy’s favorite: a wedding portrait her father, Walter Fahmy, painted of her.

The speakeasy features a vintage standing bar from Craigslist, barstools and a Geo pendant light by Los Angeles designer Jason Koharik and a mirror Fahmy found at a neighborhood estate sale.

She likes to refer to her decorating style as “creatively unhinged.”

“It all flows,” she says, curled up with her dogs on a CB2 couch she found on Craigslist. “There’s a rhythm. Every piece tells a story. Pick one — I’ll share it.” She recalls throwing herself on a vintage Baker sideboard at a Florida Goodwill without knowing how she’d get it back to Los Angeles and laughs when Snyder discovers a tiny Jack Black-as-Jesus portrait tucked into a gilded dining-room oil painting.

The sink and vanity in the guest bathroom? That used to be a dresser she found on Craigslist.

Although others have questioned their home purchase, Fahmy never doubted they could transform the space into something special.

Color ties the house together. The powder room is purple, the entry hall is red, the kitchen has blue cabinets and the hallway is painted pink.

“When I first saw the house, when they bought it, I thought she was crazy,” Meeshie’s friend and former colleague, Talene Kanian, says in an email. “Other than keeping the ‘barn’ shape, she completely transformed the interior. Now, when you step inside, you’re welcomed into a home full of color, pattern and playfulness.”

Snyder adds: “Meeshie is able to visualize things 10 steps ahead of everyone else, even things that seem like a complete mess.“

Working together, the couple removed the shag carpeting and wood paneling from the first floor and the stairway, installing drywall in their place.

Next, they painted the walls — no beige here. The deep green living room sets a bold scene: a clock worthy of Dalí, leopard prints, pink Persian rugs, a snake ottoman and a thrifted tufted chair with Art Deco vibes from CB2.

“I did not venture into interior design formally,” Fahmy says. “I feel very lucky to have found this passion.”

The color story flows through the house: The powder room is purple, the entry hall red and the dining room walls pink, with one wall in a bold 1970s-style mushroom-pattern wallpaper from Londubh Studio. The speakeasy features a vintage standing bar from Craigslist that Snyder squeezed into his car, barstools and a Geo pendant light by Los Angeles designer Jason Koharik and a mirror Fahmy found at a nearby estate sale.

In the kitchen, they removed the 1970s-era wooden cabinets and Formica countertops, replacing them with more pink walls, Moroccan-style tile flooring and blue cupboard fronts from Semihandmade, which creates cabinet doors for IKEA cabinets.

Fahmy painted a Keith Haring-style black-and-white mural at the top of the stairs and continued onto the second-floor walls using a paintbrush taped to a broomstick. She finished by painting the handrail bright blue and wrapping each stair with a Persian-style runner.

Outside, the couple leveled the once-dirt backyard, added pea gravel, built a pergola with a handyman and installed a firepit where they enjoy entertaining their friends.

The main bedroom features burgundy walls, while the bathroom next to it has Persian rug-patterned wallpaper from House of Hackney.

Now the once-empty backyard is a lush garden: towers of colorful black-eyed susans on arches, planters of nasturtiums and homegrown vegetables. A trickling fountain greets visitors as they walk through the French doors. Snyder, an avid cook, can easily step out to cut fresh herbs mid-simmer, making the outdoors a true extension of the home.

The couple’s home is full of memories, and as you walk through, you can sense how much their stories matter to them. In the downstairs hallway, Snyder smiles as he points out photos of his family in Wisconsin. Similarly, Fahmy proudly shows a photo of her great-great-grandmother Theresa “Tessie” Cooke Haskins, a noted harpist whose daughter Maud Haskins was the first harpist to perform with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl.

Art is everywhere, from the Polaroids pinned to the walls in the powder room to the ceramics and masks hanging throughout the house. Yet Fahmy’s favorite possession is deeply personal: a portrait of her on her wedding day, painted by her father, Walter Fahmy, who studied art in Egypt before coming to America.

Upstairs, Fahmy created a black-and-white mural inspired by Keith Haring at the top of the stairs, then kept going along the second-floor walls using a paintbrush taped to a broomstick. She finished by painting the handrail a bright blue and wrapping each stair with a Persian-style runner.

French doors connect the house to the garden, so the backyard feels like a natural part of the home.

For Fahmy, these details matter. “I feel like our home is a love letter to my upbringing,” she says, referring to her parents, who were both pharmacists. “It’s an ode to them and the sacrifices they made for me.”

Visitors feel the same way. “Their house is a true labor of love, apparent the second you enter,” Kanian adds. “It radiates warmth and love.”

Snyder feels it too. “I feel an immense amount of pride when I walk into our house,” he says.

Like a barn raising that brings people together, their house has become a welcome part of the neighborhood with its blue siding, bright yellow front door and a playful mural by Venice artist and skateboarder Sebo Walker. “We’ve had neighbors knock on our door and tell us, ‘We love what you’re doing,’” says Snyder.

“I love color,” Fahmy says. “I love to experiment.”

With the main house finished for now, Fahmy hopes to turn the garage into an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in the style of Mexican architect Luis Barragán: bold with color and texture. “I’m envisioning a mini boutique hotel,” she says. “Simple to execute, yet unique in L.A. I’d love a pink building.”

Like the possibility of a pink building — or not — Fahmy’s freewheeling style proves it’s OK to experiment and make mistakes. (She wants to demo the kitchen next for a fresh look.)

“You’re not tattooing your face. You’re painting your walls,” she says as a way to encourage others to experiment. “Your home should be a reflection of who you are. I hope our home inspires others to live how they want to live.”

HOLIDAYMAKERS are being warned not to do one common activity at the beach.

Beach days are always fun, especially in the summer with the family – but the public are being warned to never dig a large hole in the sand in one part of the UK.

This is because a large hole can collapse in on itself and could pose the risk of trapping someone, including kids and pets.

The fresh warning comes from the coastguard at Cleethorpes, a popular seaside town destination with a four-mile beach, traditional pier and family-friendly activities, making it the ideal day out.

According to the BBC, Cleethorpes Coastguard deputy station manager Shaun Lee said: “It’s like an avalanche effect, where the sand just keeps collapsing and collapsing, and then people just get completely buried in it.

He explained that when a hole is dug with steep sides, the wet sand will dry out and make it looser and as a result, more prone to collapsing.

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He added: “We don’t want to be the fun police – just be aware of what you are doing if you are digging holes.”

Also in Lincolnshire, last year coastguards filled a hole in Sandilands Beach that was nearly two metres deep.

At the time, the coastguards said they filled the hole “for safety reasons”.

Last June, the coastguard filled a hole on Weymouth Beach as well, which was around 1.5metres deep.

It took the coastguard three people and 30 minutes to fill.

Senior Coastal Operations Officer Allan Norman, at HM Coastguard, said: “Buckets and spades are a lot of fun – but most of us wouldn’t dream of digging a 5ft deep hole at a park where youngsters are running about and people walk in the evening.

“It’s the same at busy beaches: deep holes can be hard to spot in the sand and pose the risk of someone falling in and being injured, particularly little children and older people.

“There’s also the danger of the sand collapsing on top of you, causing injury and suffocation.

“These incidents require whole teams of rescuers.

“We’d just ask people to stay aware of who else is on the beach and the potential risks of digging too deep.”

Even though beachgoers are warned against creating large holes at the beach, it doesn’t mean you can’t dig them at all.

Allan advises to just not dig it deeper than waist height and to avoid digging tunnels, which are even more likely to collapse.

He added that you should fill the hole in before you leave the beach.

If you do happen to be caught in a situation where you get stuck in a large hole on the beach, GOV.UK recommends creating a circle of people around the hole, who dig with their hands to create an outer circle.

Then create another circle of people behind that circle, but they will be removing the sand dug from the first circle.

By creating multiple circles, it will make the original hole bigger and more shallow and as a result, it will be less likely to collapse.

In other beach news, here are our 26 must-visit UK beaches for 2026 – including tropical-feel spots and family-friendly finds.

Plus, here’s the UK’s warmest beach that’s also home to two of the ‘most idyllic holiday homes’ and you can stay from just £30pp a night.

Walt Disney World has just launched two offers that could help families save money on a dream holiday to the Florida theme parks – and it’s valid for school holidays too

Walt Disney World is a bucket list destination for most families, but visiting the Florida theme parks isn’t necessarily easy to do on a budget.

However, Mickey Mouse’s US home has just launched a deal that could help families save money on their meals – and you could currently save up to £400 off a booking too.

That’s because the resort’s Free Disney Dining and Drinks deal is back for holidays in 2027 – including some school holiday dates – with plans that include free table service dining plans or quick service plans, and one drink per meal (alcoholic or non-alcoholic, depending on the plan you go for). The offer is valid for a minimum of five nights’ consecutive stays if you’re booking a Walt Disney World hotel along with a park ticket package.

You can already book on disneypackages.co.uk, with the deal running until November 4, 2026. However, if you book by July 2, 2026, then you could also bag a discount of up to £400 per booking.

OPINION

Don’t be disheartened if it’s not quite the right deal for you, or you can’t commit before July 2. For a start, if you book after July 2, you’ll still be able to save up to £200 per booking. Meanwhile, there are plenty of tempting deals and offers throughout the year with the Walt Disney Travel Company, including the Free Dining and Drinks offers. If you’re after ticket offers, the likes of Floridatix and AttractionTix can also be good sources, especially if you’re thinking of combining your Disney trip with other Orlando attractions, or even some of the Universal theme parks.

If Florida still feels a little too far to travel just yet and you want some of that Disney magic just a little closer to home, then you may want to consider a cruise, as the Disney Wish cruise ship will be sailing from the UK next summer (we got a sneak peek at what you can expect onboard earlier this year).

Meanwhile, there’s a brand new World of Frozen that’s opened at Disneyland Paris complete with a new Frozen Ever After attraction that’s nearly identical to one in Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park.

What’s new at Walt Disney World for 2026?

• Animal Kingdom theme park: Bluey and Bingo will be at the Conservation Station from May 26, with photo opps and games.
• Magic Kingdom: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is back after refurbishment, with new interactive targets, lights and sound effects. Meanwhile, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will reopen on May 3.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: From May 22, Star Wars fans can join The Mandalorian and Grogu on a new Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run mission. From May 26, the former Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will open with its new Muppets theme.

Have you got a holiday question you want answering? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

WASHINGTON — The Southern Poverty Law Center says it’s the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.

The civil rights group made the announcement on Tuesday, saying President Trump’s administration appears to be preparing legal action against it or some of its employees.

“Although we don’t know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups,” CEO Bryan Fair said in a statement.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

The SPLC previously paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities, often sharing it with local and federal law enforcement, Fair said. It was used to monitor threats of violence, he said, adding that the program was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants.

“When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system,” Fair said. “There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”

He said the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.”

The SPLC, which is based in Montgomery, Alabama, was founded in 1971 and used civil litigation to fight white supremacist groups. The nonprofit has become a popular target among Republicans who see it as overly leftist and partisan.

The investigation could add to concerns that Trump’s Republican administration is using the Justice Department to go after conservative opponents and his critics. It follows a number of other investigations into Trump foes that have raised questions about whether the law enforcement agency has been turned into a political weapon.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has faced intense criticism from conservatives, who have accused it of unfairly maligning right-wing organizations as extremist groups because of their viewpoints. The SPLC regularly condemns Trump’s rhetoric and policies around voting rights, immigration and other issues.

The SPLC came under fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brought renewed attention to its characterization of the group that Kirk founded and led. The SPLC included a section on that group, Turning Point USA, in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024” that described the group as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said last year that the agency was severing its relationship with the SPLC, which had long provided law enforcement with research on hate crime and domestic extremism. Patel said the SPLC had been turned into a “partisan smear machine,” and he accused it of defaming “mainstream Americans” with its “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.

House Republicans hosted a hearing centered on the SPLC in December, saying it coordinated efforts with President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration “to target Christian and conservative Americans and deprive them of their constitutional rights to free speech and free association.”

Binkley and Richer write for the Associated Press.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and it looks like the Dodgers won’t be needing Tatiana Tate to be a live trumpeter for a while.

Well, we knew some bad news had to hit the Dodgers eventually, and it did on Monday when they put new closer Edwin Díaz on the injured list because of “loose bodies” in his right elbow. He will have surgery and will be out until sometime after the All-Star break.

Díaz signed a three-year, $69-million deal with the Dodgers before the season, and after a great debut, has steadily declined. He has a 10.50 ERA and has given up nine hits and walked five in six innings, striking out 10. He has four saves. Let’s look at each game:

March 27 vs. Arizona
1 IP, 0 hits, one walk, two strikeouts, save

March 28 vs. Arizona
1 IP, save

March 31 vs. Cleveland
1 IP, one hit, one ER, one walk, two strikeouts

April 5 at Washington
1 IP, one strikeout, save

April 7 at Toronto
1 IP, one hit, one walk, three strikeouts, save

April 10 vs. Texas
1 IP, four hits, three ER, one walk, two strikeouts, blown save, win

April 19 at Colorado
0 IP, three hits, three ER, one walk

We kept hearing from Díaz and the Dodgers that he was healthy, but his fastball had lost about two miles per hour, and he went nine days without pitching. The Dodgers are known for not always being 100% forthcoming about injuries (I’m pretty sure their health advisor is the Black Knight from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”).

And then on Monday we hear about “loose bodies.” Loose bodies in the elbow are small fragments of bone or cartilage which are floating in the joint.

At the moment, Díaz joins names that include Don Stanhouse (2-2, 5.04 ERA) and Kirby Yates (4-3, 5.23 ERA) among terrible free agent reliever signings by the Dodgers. Tanner Scott was terrible last season, led the league in blown saves and didn’t pitch in the postseason, but has rebounded so far this year (of course, it’s still early).

I thought after Yates and Scott were so bad last season that the Dodgers would wait a while before offering big money to a reliever. But no. You have to figure they will be shy now.

Of course, Díaz could recover from this and come back to be a great closer. But right now, yikes.

So who will be the new closer? The guess here is that Dave Roberts will go with whoever the matchups dictate. Their best relievers this season have been Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and Scott. Blake Treinen pitched well until his last outing. Same with Will Klein.

So, looks like another season of bullpen uncertainty. We should all be used to it by now. But just think: Closer injured, Mookie Betts injured, Kyle Tucker not hitting as expected and the Dodgers are still 16-6 (on pace to win 118 games) and have the best record in baseball.

And of course those pesky San Diego Padres are right there with them at 15-7, the third-best record in baseball.

Welcome, Jake Eder

The Dodgers brought left-hander Jake Eder up from the minors to replace Díaz. Eder, 27, was with the Angels last season, where he went 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, walking nine and striking out 15. He was selected out of Vanderbilt in the fourth round of the 2020 draft by the Miami Marlins.

Of course, we know one thing if he’s with the Dodgers, and sure enough: He missed the 2022 season after Tommy John surgery. The Marlins traded him to the White Sox in 2023 and he had an 11.42 ERA in five starts in double A. In 2024, he had a 6.61 ERA in 24 minor-league starts. His contract was purchased by the Angels before the 2025 season, and they traded him to Washington on July 30. The Dodgers purchased his contract on April 1.

Dalton Rushing is amazing

Dalton Rushing has 12 hits this season. Seven of them are home runs. In 27 at-bats, he is hitting .444/.496/1.296. He is one behind Max Muncy for the most home runs on the Dodgers. He is tied for fourth in the NL in homers, but everyone he is tied with or trailing has at least 50 more plate appearances.

He has 13 RBIs, tied for third on the team with Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández, trailing Andy Pages (21) and Freddie Freeman (14). They all have at least 50 more plate appearances.

At this point, I’d play him every day until Freeman comes back from paternity leave and strongly consider starting him at DH when Shohei Ohtani is the starting pitcher. This run won’t last forever, but might as well ride it out while you can.

Davey Lopes remembered

I’m a little behind on this, but the Dodgers honored Davey Lopes before the first home game they played after he died. They played a video and had a moment of silence for him.

I think he deserves a patch on the uniform, but, the Dodgers must think otherwise.

Charley Steiner says thanks

After the last newsletter, where readers gave their best wishes and shared their favorite Charley Steiner moments, Steiner sent along the following:

“This has all been so very flattering. I’m feeling better and stronger. The messages were so kind, flattering and overwhelming.”

Up next

Tuesday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 2-1, 2.10 ERA) at San Francisco (Landen Roupp, 3-1, 2.38 ERA), 6:45 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani, 2-0, 0.50 ERA) at San Francisco (Tyler Mahle, 0-3, 7.23 ERA), 6:45 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Thursday: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 2-0, 3.24 ERA) at San Francisco (Logan Webb, 2-2, 5.40 ERA), 12:45 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz to undergo surgery, will return after All-Star break

Rick Monday on saving an American flag at Dodger Stadium: ‘I get letters every week’

Shaikin: Rick Monday saved an American flag in 1976. Why the moment resonates 50 years later

Behind the scenes of a milestone Make-A-Wish experience with the Dodgers

And finally

Vin Scully discusses what he does to prepare for a game. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

The Department of War has released a video it says shows US forces boarding a sanctioned tanker in the Asia Pacific region as part of their efforts to disrupt vessels providing support to Iran.

Authoritarian leaders like President Vladimir Putin are faced with a dilemma: they require their military forces to competently conduct campaigns against external enemies, but these same capabilities make them more capable of successfully initiating coups to remove the incumbent leader.  Putin, like other leaders of his ilk, is forced to balance policies which promote competence in the armed forces with measures that ensure regime survival.  The latter are referred to as ‘coup-proofing’ measures, the implementation of which, to some extent explain the underperformance of the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

Counterbalancing and Parallel Forces

The coup-proofing measure of most consequence to Russia’s military performance in Ukraine is ‘counterbalancing’.  This involves the introduction of new security forces to counterbalance the military and each other.  A splintered security sector filled with various armed groups are in competition with each other for funding, recruits, and supplies, as well as the ruling autocrat’s attention, which is ultimately vital for attaining the aforementioned resources. 

Counterbalancing confers three advantages.  Firstly, it promotes loyalty by encouraging competition and distrust between militarized factions who must demonstrate allegiance to the leader to secure resources.  Secondly, it deters coups because the officers and senior figures distrust their counterparts in other organizations; and thirdly, it prevents the likelihood of a coup succeeding as it is more difficult for military and security forces operating under disparate chains of command to coordinate and cooperate effectively.

To quote, a 2017 paper appearing in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, ‘If coups are akin to coordination games, counterbalancing can be understood as an effort to add additional players to the game – actors who lack the incentive to move in concert with the others.’

Counterbalancing is rarely used in isolation and may be combined with other coup-proofing measures.  For example, authoritarian leaders frequently favour loyalty over meritocracy when selecting staff for senior military and security positions.

Mercenaries as Parallel Forces

Several parallel armed groups exist outside of the Russian military’s chain of command.  The most high-profile example is the use of mercenaries from Wagner Group, formerly led by Yevgeny Prigozhin until his demise in August 2023.  Wagner Group employs an estimated 50,000 soldiers, 40,000 of which are believed to be released prison convicts.  For Putin, the introduction of mercenaries to the war in Ukraine conferred several benefits including a degree of plausible deniability, less domestic blowback from casualties, and an alternative source of manpower which was especially valuable prior to the partial mobilization in September 2022.

From a coup-proofing perspective, the introduction of a private military company (PMC) with overlapping responsibilities to the regular military promoted greater competition between senior leaders.  This rivalry was exacerbated by the contest for vital resources like ammunition, supplies and personnel. 

The feud between Wagner’s late leader with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was especially bitter.  Prigozhin frequently levelled scathing criticism at the two men, and other senior military officers for their handling of the war, accusing them of stealing the credit for Wagner’s battlefield successes in Ukraine, and even attempting to sabotage the PMC’s efforts by withholding vital ammunition. 

For a time, this suited Putin.  Prigozhin was careful to avoid directly criticizing the Russian president himself which helped to deflect any blame Putin might receive from the public onto his generals.  Moreover, Prigozhin’s actions appeared to fit a preestablished pattern in Russian politics whereby senior figures jostle against each other to secure the president’s favour. 

There are several Russian PMCs in addition to Wagner Group.  Konstantin Pikalov, once thought to be Prigozhin’s right hand man and the head of Wagner operations in Africa, heads his own mercenary group called ‘Convoy’, which were founded in occupied Crimea in Autumn 2022.  Another group is ‘Redut’, which was likely formed to provide security for Russian-owned facilities in Syria, but it believed to have been one of the first PMCs to provide personnel during the invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

The Russian energy giant Gazprom also has mercenaries in the guise of ‘private security organizations’, which energy companies were permitted to create after a new law was passed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in February 2023.  It is unclear whether the various groups associated with Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Neft will exclusively guard the company’s energy facilities or whether they will take on active combat roles in Ukraine.

Other Parallel Forces

Mercenaries are not the only parallel forces at play.  In 2016, Putin formed the Rosgvardiya (National Guard) under the leadership of Viktor Zolotov, the president’s former bodyguard.  The formation of the Rosgvariya entailed the reorganization of preexisting internal security forces into a new agency which directly reports to Putin.  Ostensibly, the Rosgvardiya’s responsibilities largely concern public order, policing, and counterterrorism, but the 300,000 to 400,000 strong force certainly acts as a deterrent to would-be coup-plotters.  The Rosgvardiya has also reportedly seen action in Ukraine.

Similar examples of counterbalancing can be seen in the intelligence sphere.  Three of the country’s most important intelligence services, the GRU, the SVR, and the FSB, each have their own elite special forces contingents.  Competition and mutual distrust between the three is rife due to a high degree of overlapping tasks and low degree of cooperation.  The FSB have attracted a particularly high degree of rancour from the GRU and SVR because of its increasingly proactive role conducting operations beyond its domestic remit.  Additionally, counterintelligence officers from the FSB are embedded directly within the armed forces to monitor signs of dissent. 

Finally, there are parallel forces provided by the Russian republics.  Just two days after the invasion of Ukraine, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya, confirmed that the 141st Special Motorized Regiment – better known as the Kadyrovites – were operating in the country.  The Kadyrovites are essentially a paramilitary organization loyal to Kadyrov, functioning as his private army. 

Like Prigozhin, Kadyrov has been highly critical of the Russian military leadership but avoided levelling such critiques at Putin.  By emphasizing the effectiveness of Chechen fighters over regular Russian forces, Kadyrov may have been hoping to make himself appear more indispensable to Putin.

How Coup-Proofing Degrades Military Effectiveness

The introduction of several players incentivized to hold each other in mutual suspicion is not conducive to an effective and unified war effort, as events in Ukraine have demonstrated.  As explained by James M. Powell, coup-proofing ‘undermines the fighting capacity of a military by creating coordination challenges in the field.’  Unity of command is necessary for a coup to be effective, but it is just as necessary for conducting a war.  The absence of unified command has thus jeopardized the entire Russian war effort.

The lack of a unified command structure was evident in the early stages of the war.  In the first months following the invasion, Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies and analysts were unable to identify a single overall commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine.  Instead, it was believed that separate formations were drawn from each of Russia’s four military districts and placed under the command of senior officers from each district, with Putin taking on an oversized role, sometimes reportedly giving orders to field formations.  Last April, Army General Aleksandr Dvornikov was finally named as overall commander but there have been at least three reshuffles at the top since then.

Wagner’s increasing share of frontline duties further undermined unity of command, with Prigozhin and his mercenaries not subject to the authority of the regular armed forces.  Tensions between Prigozhin and the miliary leadership culminated in Wager Group’s mutiny in June.  A civil war or coup seemed momentarily possible in Russia until a deal was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.  Prigozhin was later killed in a plane crash in August removing him from the chessboard altogether, but his insubordination was a clear sign that Putin had miscalculated and allowed the rivalries simmering between the members of his inner circle to burn too hot.

Beyond Prigozhin’s dramatic rebellion, Coup-proofing has created other unintended consequences which have hindered Russia’s military efforts.  An overemphasis on loyalty at the expense of competence coupled with fierce competition between the security and defence services have created incentive structures that have undermined honesty and integrity, inter-service cooperation, and professionalism. 

These trends were identified by analysts as being particularly pervasive in the Russian intelligence community even before the invasion of Ukraine.  For example, a 2021 Congressional Research Service report noted that ‘Agencies compete with each other for greater responsibilities, budgets, and political influence, often at the expense of other agencies.’  As Mark Galeotti puts it, ‘The competition for presidential approval is especially strong and has led to a perverse competition to tell the boss what they think he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear.’  This culture likely incentivised the Russian intelligence community to provide briefings to Putin prior to the invasion that confirmed his preconceptions that Ukraine would offer little resistance.

It is equally questionable if the most competent officers have been granted the responsibility to lead Russia’s war on Ukraine.  Sergei Surovikin, a veteran of several conflicts and broadly considered to be capable officer by most military analysts, was made the overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine in October 2022.  However, Surovikin was replaced in January the following year by Valery Gerasimov, despite the latter having already attracted much of the blame for implementing a faulty strategy in his role as the Chief of the General Staff.  In August, Surovikin was then stripped of his role as the commander of the Russian aerospace forces due to suspicions that he was linked to the Wagner rebellion. 

Other officers have met similar fates.  On July 12, Major General Ivan Popov, who led the 58th Combined Arms Army stationed in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhya region, disclosed that he had been relieved of his command after he made complaints to Gerasimov regarding the lack of troop rotations.  He also highlighted issues his soldiers were having with counterbattery radar and artillery reconnaissance.  Popov’s dismissal indicates that senior military personnel are seemingly unable to report the facts on the ground to their superiors without facing charges of disloyalty or disciplinary action.  Such a culture, especially within the Russian military’s highly hierarchal command structure will make it increasingly difficult for commanders to make informed decisions based on accurate information.

Thus far, Putin’s coup-proofing strategy has succeeded in fragmenting the Russian security elite sufficiently to secure his hold on power, despite Prigozhin’s short-lived insubordination.  However, these same measures which have enabled Putin to safeguard his rule have seriously undermined Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.  The constituent parts of Russia’s defence and security apparatuses fail to act as a whole and there is ample evidence that senior leaders have been promoted on the basis of perceived loyalty over competence.  A culture of competition and distrust has hindered cooperation, coordination, and honesty, which has led to poor decision-making, the results of which have played out on the battlefields of Ukraine since February last year.

Amid the bustle and glitz of last week’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, one question loomed over the annual trade convention — how will the proposed Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery deal affect the movie theater business?

That anxiety showed up in a state of the industry speech from Cinema United trade group President Michael O’Leary, who reiterated his organization’s opposition to further industry consolidation.

It showed up in a trailer for Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming film “Spaceballs: The New One,” when a voiceover poked fun at Hollywood studios “merging willy-nilly” as images of the Paramount sign and Warner Bros. water tower flashed across the screen.

And the subject again took center stage — literally — when Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison himself gave a speech during his studio’s presentation at Caesars Palace. He sought to reassure the assembled movie theater operators and exhibition executives that the combined company would indeed release a minimum of 30 films a year.

“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” he said during an onstage speech, in which he also committed to a 45-day theatrical window and 90-day period before films go to streaming services. “People can speculate all they want, but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”

It’s true that Paramount has nearly doubled its theatrical releases since Ellison took over. As he noted in his speech, the storied studio is now planning 15 films this year, up from eight in 2025.

But as I’ve written previously, theater owners and other studio executives question how releasing 30 movies a year across the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would work — not only in terms of giving each film the proper marketing campaign to succeed in theaters but also because of the massive cost cuts that will inevitably occur once the merger is final.

Still, Ellison’s commitment to 30 films a year got a round of enthusiastic applause — and at least one high-profile boost.

A day earlier, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron told me in an interview that he backed Ellison’s takeover of Warner, saying he and AMC believed in the tech scion’s talent as a filmmaker and a movie executive, as well as his pledge to release those 30 films a year.

“We’re enthusiastic that David will fulfill his promises,” Aron said. “And that in the end, this will prove to be a good thing for our company and our industry.”

Not everyone shares that enthusiasm.

More than 4,000 people have now signed an open letter opposing the Paramount-Warner deal, arguing that consolidating two studios will lessen consumer choice and job opportunities for creatives, particularly at a time when Hollywood is already struggling. (Notable signatories include “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve, actors Glenn Close and Emma Thompson, as well as director and producer JJ Abrams.)

O’Leary of Cinema United similarly wasn’t convinced.

“While recent pledges attempt to address the threats of consolidation to our industry, they are not yet sufficient in addressing our concerns,” he said in a statement released hours after Ellison’s speech. “We remain open to tangible commitments that will ensure a vibrant global theatrical exhibition industry for years to come.”

Elsewhere at CinemaCon, the mood was upbeat.

Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy struck a triumphant tone after an award-winning year for the studio, capped off by the best picture win for “One Battle After Another.”

They unveiled footage from new films like the upcoming “Digger” from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and brought out lead actor Tom Cruise to a sustained standing ovation from the audience. And both De Luca and Abdy espoused optimism for the future of the theatrical business. The studio plans to release 14 films this year and as many as 18 for 2027.

“The film business has always required smart betting, and we have 4 billion reasons from last year to think we’re holding the right cards,” De Luca said during the presentation, referring to the studio’s worldwide box office revenue last year.

“We all know they’re not all going to work. That comes with taking swings,” Abdy said of the studios’ films. “There’s no version of this business that’s risk-free. But our job is to step up, make our bets and own it when it doesn’t work.”

But the end of the presentation felt more somber, with the executives asking the heads of Warner Bros.’ labels to come to the stage and be recognized. Shortly after, they asked Warner Bros. employees in the audience to stand for applause. It was hard to escape the feeling that this may be the end of an era.

Stuff We Wrote

Film shoots

Number of the week

1,000

Last week, Walt Disney Co. began a sweeping round of layoffs that’s expected to cull 1,000 jobs across multiple divisions.

As my colleague Meg James reported, the cuts hit Disney’s television and movie studios, sports giant ESPN, its product and technology unit, corporate functions and marketing. Even Marvel Studios’ visual development team was affected.

The layoffs are one of the first major moves under new Disney Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro, who took the reins of the company last month. In a message to employees, he said the company needed to “constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs.”

What I’m watching

Some friends and I watched “Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare” this past weekend, a truly eye-opening documentary that explains what happened during the March 11, 2011, nuclear accident and whether the world has learned anything from it.

MOUNTING fears of jet fuel shortages have US travelers on edge ahead of summer vacations.

The holiday industry is bracing for a major fallout due to the Iran war’s impact on global travel.

“Anxious” Americans are worrying about whether they can return home if they travel to Europe or Asia for their summer vacation, said one expert.

For example, will their their long haul-flight end up suddenly being chopped due to a lack of fuel while overseas?

Alternatively, “will my short-haul domestic flight to the international airport be canceled?” Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, told Forbes.

“It’s a level of anxiety that travelers have never really had to worry about, and absolutely it could worsen.”

People across the world are keen for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen to shipping, because of spiraling costs hitting everything from grocery shopping to global fertilizer supplies.

But, even if this vital, narrow corridor was to permanently reopen today, it’ll be too late to salvage this year’s summer holidays, experts have warned.

That’s because airlines have now got to stick to a hurriedly rejigged schedule with airports – which must be booked months in advance.

It comes as the global jet fuel shortage is ramping up fuel prices for US carriers, which in turn are axing cheap airfares and some flights to save money.

Some airlines are already passing on extra costs to travelers by increasing fees for baggage and other add-ons, via steeper ticket prices, and fuel surcharges.

And, unfortunately, it will take months for vital supplies of oil and jet fuel to return to normal, according to Kpler, an energy consulting firm.

“It’s going to take until at least July,” Matt Smith, head US analyst, warned CNN.

“And even that may be optimistic at this point.”

United, American, Delta and Southwest airlines spent about $100 million a day on average among them on fuel in 2025.

But jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the war began, when the United States and Israel started ​bombing Iran on February 28.

Delta Air Lines — which frequently flies to destinations across Europe — said it was aware of the continent’s “potential jet fuel supply issue.”

The carrier has already slashed some flights this summer.

United Airlines announced in March that it was “tactically pruning flying that’s temporarily unprofitable in the face of high oil prices.”

It’s the “largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol told Associated Press last Thursday.

“If we are not able to open the Strait of Hormuz… I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel,” he warned.

It will take an estimated two years for the world to recover from energy shortages caused by the war in Iran, Birol added.

More than 110 oil-laden tankers and over 15 carriers loaded with liquefied natural gas are still waiting in the Persian Gulf.

America’s own jet fuel supplies aren’t currently a huge concern, as local carriers are insulated to a certain extent.

The US produces 13 million barrels of oil a day and imports some four million barrels a day from Canada, De Haan told Forbes on April 16.

However, it’s a different situation in Europe and Asia, both of which are facing a potential shortage because of the ongoing conflict.

In Europe, multiple countries are now relying on less than 20 days of coverage in their fuel supplies, warned the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Asia-Pacific countries are the most reliant on oil and jet fuel from the Middle East, followed by Europe.

“The strait accounts for around 40% of Europe’s jet fuel imports, but no jet fuel has passed the strait since the war broke out,” said Amaar Khan, head of European jet fuel pricing at Argus Media, last Friday.

America has this month come to Europe’s aid to help bolster jet fuel supplies due to the war, sending about 150,000 barrels per day in April.

This is about six times the normal level, according to Jacques Rousseau, managing director at financial firm Clearview Energy Partners.

Airlines chop flights and increase fees amid the Middle East crisis

Here are just some of the impacts on travelers due to the Iran war…

Air Canada:

From June 1 to October 25, 2026, Canada’s largest carrier will chop back flights to New York due to rocketing fuel prices.

Alaska Air:

Fees for the first checked bag have risen by $5 and by $10 for the second on its North American flights. A third checked bag has increased considerably, from $50 to $200.

American Airlines:

Baggage fees have risen by $10 for the first and second checked bags, and by $150 for the third checked bag on domestic and short-haul international flights.

Delta Air Lines:

The carrier is charging an increase of $10 on passengers’ first and second checked bags and a $50 increase on the third.

Frontier Airlines:

This carrier is reviewing its full-year forecast due to rising fuel prices.

Jetblue Airways:

Baggage prices will rise by either $4 or $9.

Spirit Airlines:

This budget US carrier has begged Donald Trump’s administration for hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency funding to offset rising fuel prices.

Southwest Airlines:

Checked baggage fees will rise by $10 for the first and second bags.

United Airlines:

The airline is slashing unprofitable flights.

Also, first and second checked bag fees will spike by $10 for customers travelling in the US, Mexico and Canada and Latin America.

Virgin Atlantic:

This carrier is reducing flights and raising fares.

Westjet:

The Canadian airline ​has chopped seat capacity for June.

A C$60 ($43) fuel surcharge will be slugged on some bookings.

Source: The Independent

Virginia voters on Tuesday are deciding whether to ratify an unusual mid-decade redrawing of U.S. House districts that could boost Democrats’ chances of flipping control of the closely divided chamber, as the state becomes the latest front in a national redistricting battle.

A proposed constitutional amendment backed by Democratic officials would bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission to allow use of new congressional districts approved by state lawmakers in this year’s midterm elections.

The referendum, which needs a simple majority to pass, tests Democrats’ ability to push back against President Trump, who started the gerrymandering competition between states after successfully urging Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts in their favor last year. Virginia is the second state, after California last fall, to put the question to voters.

It also tests voters’ willingness to accept districts gerrymandered for political advantage — coming just six years after Virginia voters approved an amendment meant to diminish such partisan gamesmanship by shifting redistricting away from the legislature.

Even if Democrats are successful Tuesday, the public vote may not be the final word. The state Supreme Court is considering whether the redistricting plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless.

Virginia Democrats are following California’s lead

Congressional redistricting typically is done once a decade after each U.S. census. But Trump urged Texas Republicans to redistrict ahead of the November elections in hopes of winning several additional seats and maintaining the GOP’s narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party that is out of power during midterms.

The Texas gambit led to a burst of redistricting nationwide. So far, Republicans believe they can win up to nine more House seats in newly redrawn districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.

Democrats think they can win up to five more seats in California, where voters approved a mid-decade redistricting effort last November, and one more seat under new court-imposed districts in Utah. Democrats hope to offset the rest of that gap in Virginia, where they decisively flipped 13 seats in the state House and won back the governor’s office last year.

Voters focus on fairness, with different perspectives

The stream of voters was steady Tuesday at a recreation center in the Old Town area of Alexandria, Virginia.

Matt Wallace, 31, said he votes regularly but this election has additional emphasis.

“I think the redistricting issue across the country is unfortunate, that we’ve had to resort to temporary redistricting in order to sort of alter our elections across the country,” Wallace said. He said he voted for the Democratic redistricting amendment “to help balance the scales a bit until things get back to normal.”

Joanna Miller, 29, said she voted against the redistricting measure, “because I want my vote to count in a fair way.” Miller said she was more concerned about representation in Virginia than trying to offset actions in other states.

“I want my vote and my representation to matter this fall,” she said.

Political parties made a big push in Virginia

Leaders of both major parties see Tuesday’s vote as crucial to their chances to win a House majority in the fall. Trump weighed in via social media Tuesday morning, telling Virginians to “vote ‘no’ to save your country!”

Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, rallied with opponents of the measure Monday night, calling the redistricting plan “dishonest” and “brazenly deceptive.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol earlier in the day that a vote to approve the redraw “will serve as a check and balance on this out-of-control Trump administration.”

A committee supporting the Democratic redistricting effort had raised more than $64 million — three times as much as the roughly $20 million raised by opponents, according to finance reports filed less than two weeks before the election.

The back-and-forth battle over congressional districts is expected to continue in Florida, where the Republican-led legislature is scheduled to convene April 28 for a special session that could result in a more favorable map for Republicans.

A lobster-like district could aid Democratic efforts

In Virginia, Democrats currently hold six of the 11 U.S. House seats under districts that were imposed by the state Supreme Court in 2021 after a bipartisan commission failed to agree on a map based on the latest census data.

The new plan could help Democrats win as many as 10 seats. Five are anchored in Democratic-heavy northern Virginia, including one shaped like a lobster that stretches into Republican-leaning rural areas.

Revisions to four other districts across Richmond, southern Virginia and Hampton Roads dilute the voting power of conservative blocs in those areas. And a reshaped district in parts of western Virginia lumps together three Democratic-leaning college towns to offset other Republican voters.

The Virginia redistricting plan is “pushing back against what other states have done in trying to stack the deck for Donald Trump in those congressional elections,” Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger said during an online rally last week.

Ads for the “yes to redistricting” campaign featuring former President Barack Obama have flooded the airwaves.

Opponents have distributed campaign materials citing past statements from Obama and Spanberger criticizing gerrymandering, but those were before Trump pushed Republican states to redraw their congressional maps in advance of this year’s midterms.

Democrats “were all against gerrymandering before they were for it,” Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeff Ryer said.

Virginia court weighs whether lawmakers acted illegally

Virginia lawmakers endorsed a constitutional amendment allowing their mid-decade redistricting last fall, then passed it again in January as part of a two-step process that requires an intervening election for an amendment to be placed on the ballot. The measure allows lawmakers to redistrict until returning the task to a bipartisan commission after the 2030 census.

In February, they passed a new U.S. House map to take effect pending the outcome of the redistricting referendum. Republicans have filed multiple legal challenges against the effort.

A Tazewell County judge ruled that the redistricting push was illegal for several reasons. Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. said lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session.

He ruled that their initial vote failed to occur before the public began casting ballots in last year’s general election and thus didn’t count toward the two-step process. He also ruled that the state failed to publish the amendment three months before that election, as required by law.

If the state Supreme Court agrees with the lower court, the results from Tuesday’s vote could be rendered moot.

Lieb writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Gary Fields in Virginia and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

Midtjylland midfielder Alamara Djabi is in a stable condition having been seriously injured in a stabbing in Denmark.

Local police confirmed the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in Herning – the central Danish town where Midtjylland are based.

The 19-year-old from Guinea-Bissau was signed from Benfica’s academy in 2023 and has made two senior appearances for Midtjylland.

The club said in a statement that Djabi had been “in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery”.

“Since then, he has undergone another operation, and thanks to the professional efforts of the emergency responders and later the hospital staff, his condition is now stable,” Midtjylland added.

“He has awakened from an induced coma and is doing well under the circumstances.”

Djabi made seven appearances on loan with Portuguese second division side CD Mafra last season and played once this term for Midtjylland in Europa League qualifying.

The four-time Danish Superliga champions, who last won the title in 2024, are currently second – two points behind AGF.