Wales continue to play fixtures amid off-field turmoil, with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) not budging on their plan to cut from four men’s professional teams to three.

Tandy and captain Dewi Lake have had to be the face of Welsh rugby and have conducted themselves impeccably.

The hooker will have played his last Ospreys game before a summer move to Gloucester when the Wales squad link up again in the summer.

“That was a performance we have built towards and this group deserves it massively,” said Lake after the win against Italy.

“We have gone through a lot of emotionally tough things recently, whether that is on the field or off it.”

It remains a cause for concern as Wales build towards the World Cup, with Scarlets and Ospreys on a Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) that expires in the summer of 2027.

Tandy’s squad next take to the field against Barbarians at Twickenham in June before three Nations Championship fixtures in July against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa.

By then the WRU will have held an extraordinary general meeting, with chair Richard Collier-Keywood facing a vote of no confidence, while there is also a legal battle with Swansea Council over the future of Ospreys.

Tandy has created a positive environment for his players after outlining his approach before the campaign.

“If they’ve got something to share, if they’re seeking more clarity or anything they want to talk about then we have to be open,” he said.

“One thing we can’t do is run away from it or pretend it’s not happening.”

Tandy has allowed his players to grow in their Vale Resort bubble and will aim to keep taking everything in his stride in the summer.

March 16 (Asia Today) — A bold bet by a South Korean shipping heir on ultra-large oil tankers is paying off handsomely as the war involving Iran disrupts global energy markets and drives tanker demand sharply higher.

Bloomberg reported that Sinokor Merchant Marine, a major South Korean shipping company, positioned itself to profit from the crisis after securing a large fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) months before the conflict escalated.

The strategy was led by Jeong Ga-hyun, a director at Sinokor Petrochemical and the son of Sinokor Chairman Jeong Tae-soon, according to the report.

Bloomberg described the move as an unprecedented large-scale bet in the global tanker market, executed well before the outbreak of the Iran conflict.

Tankers deployed to Gulf before war

On Jan. 29, weeks before the war erupted in late February, Sinokor reportedly deployed at least six empty VLCCs to the Persian Gulf, positioning them to wait for cargo.

After disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz pushed tanker demand and charter rates sharply higher, the strategy began generating massive returns.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, handling roughly 20% of global oil shipments.

Tanker rates surge to $500,000 a day

With oil exports disrupted and storage facilities across the Middle East filling rapidly, oil producers have increasingly turned to tankers as floating storage units.

According to Bloomberg, Sinokor is now chartering vessels for about $500,000 per day, roughly ten times last year’s average tanker rates.

Industry estimates suggest that by late February the company controlled around 150 VLCCs, representing roughly 40% of available tankers not already tied up in sanctions or long-term contracts.

Quiet heir behind massive shipping strategy

Jeong is known in the shipping industry as the low-profile heir to one of South Korea’s major maritime families.

Bloomberg reported that he rarely appears publicly and is known internally for a military-style management approach. Industry anecdotes even describe him challenging employees and business partners to arm-wrestling contests.

Oil supply disruptions reshape tanker market

The Iran war has dramatically altered global oil transportation patterns, forcing ships to reroute and increasing the need for offshore storage.

Under those conditions, Sinokor’s aggressive tanker acquisition strategy is now being viewed as one of the biggest winners of the crisis, Bloomberg said.

WSJ: Sinokor among winners of Hormuz crisis

The Wall Street Journal earlier identified Sinokor as one of the companies benefiting from the Strait of Hormuz tensions.

According to the newspaper, the company purchased dozens of oil tankers and deployed some of them to the Gulf region even before the conflict intensified.

Sources told the Journal that Sinokor is leasing several vessels to ADNOC, the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company, to be used as floating storage facilities.

These vessels can earn up to $500,000 per day in charter fees, the report said.

As land-based storage in Gulf oil-producing countries approaches capacity, producers have increasingly stored crude at sea. Drilling firms in Iraq and Kuwait have even slowed production due to storage shortages.

The WSJ also noted that Greek shipping magnate George Prokopiou adopted a similar strategy, sending at least five tankers to the Strait of Hormuz through his company Dynacom, which is reportedly earning up to $440,000 per day – about four times pre-war rates.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260316010004394

As anticipated, it ended up being One Battle After Another’s night at the 98th annual Academy Awards, with the political thriller carting away six Oscars out of a total of 13 nominations.

But while Paul Thomas Anderson’s magnum opus continued its march towards award-season domination, there were moments of genuine surprise and subversion in Sunday’s ceremony.

Some of those moments had to do with the current political climate in the United States.

Host Conan O’Brien and his fellow presenters deftly avoided mentioning President Donald Trump by name, but their barbs took direct aim at his policies since returning to office.

Other surprises came from within the filmmaking community itself. For only the seventh time in Oscar history, a tie was announced: Two films had gotten an equal number of votes for Best Live Action Short.

As a result, both the surrealist thriller Two People Exchanging Saliva and the moody bar-room drama The Singers shared the Academy Award.

Here are six key takeaways from the night.

A two-horse race between Sinners and One Battle

The vampire film Sinners came into Sunday night’s ceremony with a record 16 Oscar nominations. But the big question of the night was: How many nods could it actually convert into wins?

Its biggest competition was, of course, Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which had the second highest tally of nominations.

Sinners director Ryan Coogler and Anderson were in direct competition in several top categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.

In both cases, Anderson came out ahead, though he acknowledged how fickle such awards can be.

“ I just want to say that, in 1975, the Oscar nominees for Best Picture were Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Jaws, Nashville and Barry Lyndon,” the four-time Best Director nominee said, listing films now considered to be Hollywood classics.

“There is no best among them. There is just what the mood might be that day.”

In the categories for Best Supporting Actor and Best Film Editing, One Battle After Another also triumphed, as well as for the inaugural award for Best Casting.

But in a sign of how well matched their two films were, both Coogler and Anderson emerged from the night with writing Oscars.

Anderson picked up Best Adapted Screenplay award for his use of the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, while Coogler made off with the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Sinners, a work inspired by his uncle’s love of the blues.

Jordan dunks on Chalamet in Best Actor race

Sinners, which won four Academy Awards overall, earned some of the most emotional, nail-biting victories of the night.

In the Best Cinematography category, for instance, Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to top the field.

It was her first nomination and first win, with Arkapaw besting veteran cinematographers like Marty Supreme’s Darius Khondji and Frankenstein’s Dan Laustsen, both multiple nominees.

Another big win for Sinners came in the form of Michael B Jordan, the actor whom Coogler has cast in every film since his directorial breakout in 2013’s Fruitvale Station.

Jordan, 39, was in a tight race for Best Actor with another young performer, 30-year-old Timothee Chalamet of the 1950s ping-pong drama Marty Supreme.

But Chalamet’s aggressive campaigning may have ultimately sabotaged his prospects. Multiple cracks were taken throughout the night at Chalamet’s recent comments disparaging opera and ballet.

“Nobody cares anymore” about either art form, Chalamet said in an interview last month.

“We can change society through art, through creativity, through theatre and ballet and also cinema,” director Alexandre Singh said pointedly during his acceptance speech for Best Live Action Short.

O’Brien, meanwhile, acknowledged the backlash with a joke about heightened security at the night’s Oscar ceremony.

“I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities,” O’Brien said, before turning to Chalamet. “They’re just mad you left out jazz.”

A conga line of snubs

Given the dominant performances from Sinners and One Battle After Another, plenty of critically acclaimed films left empty-handed, or nearly so.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, as expected, earned three wins in technical categories, including Best Production Design, Best Costumes and Best Hairstyling and Makeup.

Netflix’s smash hit KPop Demon Hunters, meanwhile, also fulfilled expectations that it would dominate in its categories, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

But then there were former frontrunners like Hamnet that failed to generate much traction, including for director Chloe Zhao, a past Oscar winner. Out of eight nominations total, it only came away with one win: a Best Actress trophy for Irish performer Jessie Buckley.

Marty Supreme and the Brazilian film The Secret Agent fared worse, however. Despite having nine nominations and being considered an early shoo-in for Best Actor, Marty Supreme scored no wins.

The Secret Agent, which swept the Best Actor and Best Director categories at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, also earned nothing at this year’s Oscars.

Same was true for the quirky kidnapping drama Bugonia, from Oscar darling Yorgos Lanthimos.

Fears about artificial intelligence

The ceremony, however, did occasionally veer away from the competition between the films to discuss issues facing the film industry and the country as a whole.

Among those was the creeping growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative sector.

In the weeks leading up to the 98th Oscars, an AI-generated video clip had gone viral, appearing to show Hollywood icons Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a rooftop brawl worthy of a James Bond movie.

The clip had been generated through AI software developed by the Chinese firm ByteDance, and Hollywood leaders quickly denounced it as a threat to their livelihood, not to mention a copyright infringement.

Those concerns reverberated on the Oscar stage on Sunday, with O’Brien and others addressing the growing use of AI.

“Tonight we are celebrating people, not AI, because animation – it’s more than a prompt,” actor Will Arnett said emphatically as he introduced the animation awards.

O’Brien, meanwhile, joked that, by next year, his hosting gig would be taken by “a Waymo in a tux”.

Trump skewered for threatening free speech

Another concern looming over the night’s Oscar ceremony came in the form of President Donald Trump, who has courted controversy by launching deadly military attacks in Venezuela and Iran, as well as leading a violent immigration crackdown in the US.

At no point was Trump mentioned by name. But his leadership was alluded to throughout the night.

O’Brien, the host, set the tone early on with his oblique jabs at the Republican president in his opening monologue.

“When I hosted last year, Los Angeles was on fire,” the two-time Oscar emcee said in remarks dripping with sarcasm. “But this year, everything’s going great.”

Fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel was even more direct. Last September, his show was briefly suspended after Trump criticised the comedian.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission, a Trump appointee, subsequently threatened the broadcasting license of the TV channel Kimmel performs on.

“There are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS,” Kimmel quipped, referring to another channel that cancelled a fellow late-night comedy show.

Several filmmakers honoured at the Oscars likewise waded into the controversies surrounding Trump.

Best Documentary Feature winner David Borenstein, for instance, implied a parallel between his film — an exploration of authoritarianism in Russia — and what is currently happening in the US.

“Mr Nobody against Putin is about how you lose your country,” Borenstein explained.

“What we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity: when we act complicit, when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media.”

Political speeches avoid mention of Iran war

The Oscars come roughly seven months ahead of the pivotal midterm elections in the US, which could see Trump’s Republican Party lose its majorities in Congress.

But while several filmmakers did hint at their anti-Trump stances, few explicitly denounced his policies.

For example, Norway’s Joaquim Trier, the winner of the Best International Feature category, veiled his criticism in a James Baldwin quote about the duty to protect children.

“Let’s not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account,” Trier said.

No artist during the night referenced the US and Israeli war against Iran either, though its effects were felt among the participants of this year’s Oscar crop.

Writer-director Jafar Panahi, whose work was up for two Oscars on Sunday, has already said he plans to return to his native Iran after the awards season concludes.

Meanwhile, Iranian politician Sara Shahverdi — the subject of a nominee in the Best Documentary Short category — was prevented from attending the Oscars at all due to Trump’s ban on visas for 39 countries.

Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees, star of the Oscar nominee The Voice of Hind Rajab, likewise told media outlets he could not be present at the ceremony due to the travel ban.

The most pointed acknowledgements of the US-led and US-backed conflicts in the world were brief. When Spanish actor Javier Barden took the Oscar stage to present an award, he offered up six words, “No to war, and free Palestine!”

Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin, meanwhile, made a similar appeal to the audience. “In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now,” he said.

But by and large, the Oscar winners and presenters kept their remarks vague, emphasising global unity over political criticism.

“If I can be serious for just a moment, everyone watching right now around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,” O’Brien told the audience at the outset of the night.

“It is at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant. Check it out. Thirty-one countries across six continents are represented this evening, and every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages.”

Cinema, he and others argued, transcended borders. The talent on stage was not the US’s alone.

OSCARS viewers were left stunned when two winners were announced for one category – a rare occurrence in the awards show’s history.

Fans at home shared their confusion when two nominees nabbed the win for Live Action Short Film at the 98th annual ceremony.

Comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani presented the award on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where he announced the unexpected outcome.

Before revealing the winner in the prestigious category, the actor warned that two names would be called, and that it indeed wasn’t a mistake.

He explained that both recipients would come onstage separately to accept their awards and give their speeches.

The Singers was the first announced, followed by Two People Exchanging Saliva, which experienced an awkward blunder when the spotlight went dark, cutting off the winners’ mid-speech.

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After a few moments of silence and a perplexed reaction from host Conan O’Brien, the spotlight turned back on, and they resumed their speech.

Social media erupted with confusion among fans over whether it was normal to have two winners in one category.

“Today I learned that a tie at the Oscars is actually possible. I didn’t know that was a thing. Who knew?!” one viewer wrote on X.

“So far this #Oscars, we’ve got endless roasts about opera and ballet, an unusual amount of AI comments, and even an award that resulted in a tie… which I didn’t know was a thing (it’s only happened seven times in 98 years),” another said.

“A tie in 2026 is crazy,” a third reacted.

“We just had a tie in the #Oscars for best short film. I never knew that was a thing!” a fourth added.

There have only been six other times when a tie has occurred at the Academy Awards.

The first tie occurred at the 5th annual ceremony in 1932 when Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and Wallace Beery (The Champ) both won the Best Actor award.

Technically, Fredric won by one vote over Wallace, but at the time, the rules stated that anyone within three votes of the winner would receive the award.

Today, ties only happen when two nominees receive the exact same number of votes.

A tie happened again in 1950 in the Best Documentary Short category, in which So Much for So Little and A Chance to Live both were awarded the trophy.

Who won on Hollywood’s biggest night?

One Battle After Another ran away with the night with six Oscars, while Sinners, which was nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, came away with four. See the full winners list below:

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Directing: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson

Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson

Original Screenplay: Sinners, Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms

Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters

Animated Short: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Cinematography: Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Costume Design: Frankenstein, Kate Hawley

Film Editing: One Battle After Another, Andy Jurgensen

International Feature: Sentimental Value – Norway

Life Action Short: 

The Singers (TIED)

Two People Exchanging Saliva (TIED)

Makeup and Hairstyling: Frankenstein, Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Original Score: Sinners, Ludwig Goransson

Original Song: Golden, KPop Demon Hunters

Production Design: Frankenstein, Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau

Sound: F1, Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Casting: One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis

This was the case in 1969 when Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) and Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) both received the Best Actress honor.

The fourth tie occurred in 1987 when the award for Best Documentary (Feature) went to Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got and Down and Out in America.

It wasn’t until 1995 that another tie was called in the Best Live-Action Short Film category, with the statue going to Trevor and Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life.

The last instance was in 2013 when the Sound Editing category had two Oscar winners: Zero Dark Thirty (Paul N. J. Ottosson) and Skyfall (Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers).

March 16 (Asia Today) — This commentary is the Asia Today Editor’s Op-Ed.

International oil prices and South Korea’s currency are rising sharply again as the Middle East conflict intensifies, raising growing concerns that the country could slide into stagflation.

On March 13, global crude prices climbed back above $100 per barrel, while the Korean won weakened beyond 1,500 per U.S. dollar in overnight trading. The simultaneous surge in energy prices and the exchange rate has heightened fears that South Korea could face a worst-case scenario in which economic growth slows while inflation accelerates.

Such developments threaten to derail the government’s economic targets for the year – about 2% growth and inflation in the 2% range – making emergency policy responses increasingly urgent.

Brent crude futures for May delivery closed at $103.14 per barrel, up 2.7% from the previous day. It was the first time Brent crude exceeded $100 since August 2022.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $98.71 per barrel, approaching the $100 threshold. Meanwhile, Dubai crude, the benchmark most relevant to South Korea’s imports, surged to $123.50 per barrel, up $34.60 from the previous week.

As oil prices surged, investors turned toward the U.S. dollar as a safe-haven asset. The won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1,497.5 won per dollar in overnight trading, up 16.3 won from the regular daytime session. During trading, the rate briefly rose to 1,500.9 won, crossing the psychologically important 1,500 level for the first time in seven trading days.

The twin surge in oil prices and the exchange rate has been driven largely by escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Iran has openly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil supply passes. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, declared a prolonged confrontation in his first official statement on March 12, saying Tehran should continue using the possibility of a Hormuz blockade as leverage against the United States and Israel.

Oil prices, which had briefly stabilized after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the conflict might end soon, surged again following the statement.

Tensions escalated further after the United States launched airstrikes on Kharg Island, Iran’s largest oil export hub, on March 13. Iran retaliated by attacking the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates, a key oil-export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, putting global energy supply chains on alert.

Trump has also urged five countries – including South Korea, China and Japan – to dispatch naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz, pushing regional military tensions to a new peak.

Economic analysts warn the shock could have serious consequences for South Korea’s economy.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) warned last week that rising oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict would increase inflationary pressure while weakening economic growth.

The Hyundai Research Institute estimated that if oil prices climb to $150 per barrel, South Korea’s economic growth rate could fall by 0.8 percentage points.

The government is considering a supplementary budget of 10 trillion to 20 trillion won ($7.5 billion to $15 billion) and temporary fuel tax cuts. However, these measures would only offer short-term relief.

A more fundamental solution lies in reducing South Korea’s heavy reliance on Middle Eastern crude oil, which accounted for 69% of total imports last year. Diversifying energy sources by expanding imports from countries such as Brazil and Norway should be pursued urgently.

The government must mobilize every available policy tool – including measures to stimulate domestic demand – to prevent what could become the fourth Middle East-driven oil shock from pushing the economy into stagflation.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260315010004332

ANNA Wintour showed there’s no bad blood when it comes to how she was portrayed in the hit 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada as she teamed up with leading lady Anne Hathaway during Sunday night’s Oscars.

Attending the 98th annual awards bash, which was held at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, the former Vogue Editor-In-Chief took to the stage to present the Best Costume Design gong alongside Anne.

The Devil Wears Prada famously featured Meryl Streep as a scathing magazine editor, a role largely inspired by Wintour’s professional reputation.

And while the film, based on the 2003 novel of the same name, didn’t paint the character in a glowing light, it seems Anna holds no grudges.

Taking to the stage with Anne, the pair performed a hilarious spoof in apparent promotion of the upcoming Devil Wears Prada 2 coming out in May.

As Anne spoke about the importance of costume and fashion in movies, and in real life, she turned to Anna to ask what the fashion powerhouse thought of her ensemble for the awards show.

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Placing her famously oversized sunglasses on, Anna simply replied: “And the nominees are.”

When the pair returned to the stage, Anna hilariously said, “Thank you, Emily,” while addressing Anne.

The moment was a nod to the film’s character Emily, who is the long-suffering assistant to Meryl Streep, portrayed with Emily Blunt.

Despite it being widely accepted that Meryl’s role was based on Anna and her reign at Vogue, the latter failed to share her thoughts on the movie for almost a decade.

Who won on Hollywood’s biggest night?

One Battle After Another ran away with the night with six Oscars, while Sinners, which was nominated for a record-breaking 16 awards, came away with four. See the full winners list below:

Best Picture: One Battle After Another

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Directing: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson

Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson

Original Screenplay: Sinners, Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Documentary Short: All the Empty Rooms

Animated Feature: KPop Demon Hunters

Animated Short: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Cinematography: Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Costume Design: Frankenstein, Kate Hawley

Film Editing: One Battle After Another, Andy Jurgensen

International Feature: Sentimental Value – Norway

Life Action Short: 

The Singers (TIED)

Two People Exchanging Saliva (TIED)

Makeup and Hairstyling: Frankenstein, Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Original Score: Sinners, Ludwig Goransson

Original Song: Golden, KPop Demon Hunters

Production Design: Frankenstein, Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau

Sound: F1, Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire and Ash, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Casting: One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis

In 2025, she finally revealed her thoughts on the film.

She said: “I found it highly enjoyable. It was very funny. Miuccia [Prada] and I talk about it a lot, and I say to her: ‘Well, it was really good for you.’“

Anna added that the film “had a lot of humour to it.”

She said: “It had a lot of wit. It had Meryl Streep. I mean, it was Emily Blunt, [and] they were all amazing. In the end, I thought it was a fair shot.”

The fishing village sits magnificently in a stunning cove on a peninsula, offering fresh seafood, timeless charm and an escape from typical tourist crowds

Cornwall harbours a hidden gem which truly seems frozen in time.

Encircled by stunning scenery and overflowing with authentic Cornish charm, this South Cornwall fishing village stands amongst the area’s most exceptional locations.

Described by Secrets of Cornwall as “a great secret frozen in time”, this tiny harbour village nestles magnificently at the foot of a steep, dramatic valley that opens out onto the splendid Veryan Bay.

Considered the crown jewel of Cornwall’s Roseland Peninsula, this coastal village provides quintessentially Cornish views, yet remarkably stays free from the usual tourist masses.

The late Sir John Betjeman – Poet Laureate and famously the campaigner who saved St Pancras Station from destruction during the 1960s – once described this little hamlet as “one of the least spoiled and most impressive of Cornish fishing villages”, and it’s safe to say Portloe has fully lived up to such acclaim.

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Timeless Cornish treasure

The village derives its name from the Cornish ‘Porth Logh’, meaning ‘cove pool’ – a fitting description reflecting its picturesque position within a cove surrounded by dramatic hillsides.

This naturally sheltered spot established its role as a flourishing pilchard fishing harbour throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

In fact, until the 20th century, over 50 fishing boats operated from the village’s protected cove harbour, a number that has since dropped to just two.

These remaining operational vessels continue their work, hauling in lobster and crab which is then supplied to the village’s two venues – The Lugger and The Ship Inn.

Considered among Cornwall’s most delightful villages, Portloe stands as a true hidden gem, preserved from the passage of time and modern development, reports Cornwall Live.

The steep valleys encircling the village have guaranteed Portloe’s protection from urban sprawl over the years, leaving the settlement and its buildings practically unaltered since their initial construction during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Like much of Cornwall, Portloe’s past is linked with smuggling, with French brandy being the main contraband transported through the village in a bid by locals to supplement the hamlet’s dwindling fishing trade.

Famous connections

Portloe provides a genuine escape from Cornwall’s well-known summer crowds, offering simply a scenic historic harbour and a small beach which exposes a limited stretch of sand at low tide – its picture-perfect surroundings undisturbed by tourist commotion.

The village’s unspoilt appeal has also rendered it a popular filming destination over the years, most notably appearing in Forever England (1935) starring John Mills, Treasure Island (1949), The Camomile Lawn (1991), and more recently in Richard Curtis’ rom-com blockbuster About Time (2013), the BBC’s Wild West television series, and Irish Jam (2006).

What to see and do in the picturesque coastal village

Tourists should not overlook Portloe’s two most renowned establishments – The Lugger hotel and The Ship Inn.

Situated right at the top of the harbour slipway, The Lugger provides diners with the opportunity to relish freshly caught lobster, crab and fish while taking in unmatched views of the Cornish coastline.

Immersed in Portloe’s history, The Lugger was once a notorious smuggler’s refuge, with its landlord even meeting his end at the gallows during the 18th century for smuggling French brandy.

For those favouring a valley-facing view and a more traditional pub atmosphere, the much-adored Ship Inn awaits – originally a 17th-century fisherman’s abode that remains decorated with maritime memorabilia.

Serving delicious meals, The Ship Inn has established its reputation on fresh seafood whilst also accommodating lovers of more typical pub favourites.

One Tripadvisor review of this beautiful village reads: “One of those hidden treasures that we love. Tucked away and not easy to find, but so well worth the trip.

“There is no beach to speak of, this is still very much a fishing village. One hotel, one pub, lots of fancy pants second homes and a handful of old fishing boats plying their trade.

“A great place to start a section of the coast path also. Or just sit and be, and let the day drift by.”

Another visitor said about Portloe: “Lovely, timeless location, where they still winch small fishing boats up on the beach. The only other place I know of like this is Cadgwith Cove on the Lizard peninsula. Simple and unspoiled – thankfully not inundated with tourists like Polperro. There are beautiful clifftop walks to enjoy, or you can just sit and listen to the waves lapping on the shore.”

There’s remarkably little else to keep you busy in this charming Cornish fishing village apart from dining, enjoying a drink and absorbing the breathtaking coastal views – and frankly, we can’t think of a better way to spend your holiday time.

It is a first title of the year for Sinner, who had his Australian Open title defence ended by Djokovic in a thrilling five-set semi-final in January.

Sinner also extends his head-to-head record against Medvedev, having won nine of their past 10 meetings.

Despite the loss, Medvedev will re-enter the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Monday.

The former US Open champion almost missed the tournament, having been stuck in Dubai because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

After arriving in the USA, Medvedev showed why he was previously at the top of the men’s game, with a fine semi-final victory over world number one Carlos Alcaraz.

However, it was Sinner who edged the tight moments on Sunday, helped by his imperious serve.

Sinner won 43 of 47 first-serve points, hit 10 aces and won 60% of points behind his second serve to remain in control of the match.

Medvedev saved the only two break points of the final and came close to forcing a third set when he went 4-0 up in the tie-break.

However, Sinner reeled off seven points in a row to close out the match and win back-to-back Masters 1,000 titles without dropping a set.

Elsewhere, world number three Djokovic has withdrawn from this week’s Miami Open with injury.

The Serb great has won the title six times and finished runner-up to Jakub Mensik last year.

However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion said a right shoulder injury had stopped him competing at the hard-court event, which begins on Monday.

March 15 (Asia Today) — North Korea conducted a large-scale rocket artillery test shortly after key U.S. air defense assets stationed in South Korea were redeployed to the Middle East, a move analysts say may have been intended to test potential security gaps on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea fired more than 10 ballistic missiles and conducted a saturation strike drill using 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, according to state media.

The Korean Central News Agency said the exercise took place Friday under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, who was accompanied by his daughter Ju Ae.

The rockets struck targets on islands in the East Sea roughly 364 kilometers away with what the report described as “100% accuracy.”

The launch involved the simultaneous firing of 12 rockets from the super-large multiple rocket launcher system, one of Pyongyang’s most powerful short-range strike platforms.

Kim said the weapons were capable of striking hostile forces within a 420-kilometer range and emphasized their potential to deliver the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons.

Military analysts said the drill also showcased improvements to the launcher system.

A new five-tube wheeled launcher appeared designed to reduce vibration during firing, while the time required to raise the launcher to firing position was reportedly shortened to less than one minute.

The changes would allow faster deployment and rapid relocation after firing, a tactic commonly known as “shoot and scoot.”

The approach is intended to help launch units evade detection and counterstrikes by South Korean and U.S. forces.

Experts say the tactic could complicate efforts by the allied kill chain system designed to detect launches and rapidly strike missile sites.

The missile launches came after reports that key U.S. missile defense systems previously deployed in South Korea – including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and Patriot batteries – were partially redeployed to support U.S. operations in the Middle East amid the conflict with Iran.

Analysts say the timing suggests North Korea may be attempting to test the readiness of South Korean and U.S. forces during a period when U.S. assets are being shifted to other theaters.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the exercise appeared designed to assess South Korea’s military preparedness while amplifying concerns about regional security.

The missile launches also occurred ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to China later this month.

Some analysts say Pyongyang may be signaling its preference for direct negotiations with Washington rather than talks mediated by Seoul.

North Korea has increasingly framed relations with South Korea in terms of “two hostile states,” a position that reflects its strategy of engaging the United States while sidelining the South Korean government.

Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said North Korea may view the shifting deployment of U.S. forces as evidence of a more transactional alliance structure under the Trump administration.

“If Pyongyang believes U.S. forces can be redeployed elsewhere depending on strategic priorities, it may attempt to exploit that perception by conducting more aggressive military tests,” Lim said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260315010004203

The 2026 Oscars featured surprise wins, emotional speeches and some comical moments as stars gathered for Hollywood’s biggest night.

The ceremony saw action thriller One Battle After Another win the most Oscars of the night with six wins, including best picture. But there were a number of historic moments – including Jessie Buckley becoming the first Irish star to win best actress.

And in a shock win amid tough competition from Leonardo di Caprio and Timothée Chalamet, Michael B Jordan took home the best actor prize – the sixth black actor to win in the Academy’s nearly 100-year history.

Follow the BBC’s ongoing coverage of the Oscars here.

“Sinners” entered the night with the record for the most Oscar nominations for a single film, with 16.

It leaves with four awards, won by Ryan Coogler for original screenplay, Michael B. Jordan for lead actor, Autumn Durald Arkapaw for cinematography and Ludwig Göransson for score. Arkapaw became the first woman to ever win in her category.

It seemed every time the film’s title came up during the broadcast there would be cheers and a swell of emotion from the audience. The live performance of the nominated song “I Lied to You” re-created the fantastical moment from the film in which generations of musicians collide, weaving together past, present and future.

Since its release in April of last year, the film has been a cultural touchstone and point of extended conversation on its way to some $370 million in worldwide box office. Among this year’s best picture nominees, only “F1” earned more, with $631 million. When Oscars host Conan O’Brien mentioned the name of the film in his opening monologue, it generated a huge ovation from the room.

Directed and written by Coogler, the film tells the story of twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, both played by Jordan. On the opening night of their juke joint in 1930s Mississippi, they are beset by a small band of vampires, intent on turning everyone inside into bloodsuckers.

In accepting his lead actor award, Jordan thanked Warner Bros. executives Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy “for believing in this dream, this vision of Ryan Coogler and betting on the culture and betting on original ideas and original artistry.” (Including its Oscars for “One Battle After Another” and “Weapons,” Warners Bros. ended the night with an 11-Oscar tally, tying the record for most wins by a single studio.)

Across what seemed an extremely long awards season — a run that was even longer for “Sinners” due to its spring release date — the film had many ups and downs. But its momentum seemed to be peaking at just the right time, as seen with the crucial wins for Jordan and the cast at the Actor Awards on March 1.

Regardless of how one feels about its final tally at the Academy Awards, the movie has already firmly established its continued relevance. As The Times’ Greg Braxton recently wrote, “‘Sinners’ is now being increasingly hailed in Hollywood as a groundbreaking symbol of Black artistic excellence, as well as a timely pushback to the divisive political climate that has reached fever-pitch proportions.”

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March 15 (UPI) — A group of aviation CEOs sent a letter to Congress asking it to end the partial government shutdown and pay TSA, customs and air traffic controllers, as they said the overwhelming number of Americans wants them to.

Airlines for America, a trade association for passenger and cargo airlines, sent an open letter to Congress asking it to fund the Department of Homeland Security so that government employees at airports responsible for the safety of air travel receive their salaries.

This is the second time in six months that the federal government has at least been partially shutdown and follows a 43-day shutdown of nearly all of the government that was the longest in U.S. history.

The letter includes a plea to end the shutdown, on behalf of travel and shipping services that are essential to the nation, and to pass laws that guarantee air traffic controllers, customs agents and TSA agents all continue to be paid in the event of future shutdowns.

“Americans — who live in your districts and home states — are tired of long lines at airports, travel delays and flight cancellations caused by shutdown after shutdown,” the CEOs wrote in the letter. “Yet, once again, air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown.”

The CEO’s who sign the letter include those from Alaska Air, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, UPS and Airlines for America.

The CEO’s predict that with spring break, the World Cup, America’s 250th birthday and anything else that an expected 171 million passengers will travel for in the coming months, the chaos similar during the shutdown last fall is likely to happen again.

“TSA agents just received $0 paychecks,” they wrote in the letter. “That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid.”

Last year’s shutdown was ended when Congress agreed to fund the government through Jan. 30, with plans to pass appropriations bills to then fund the government through the rest of the year.

Amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, after the deaths of two U.S. citizens in three weeks at the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Control agents, Democrats and some Republicans in Congress held back an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

While the agencies handling the administration controversial crackdown are under DHS, the department also is responsible for the Transportation Security Administration, which handles air travel.

Democrats have refused to vote for the funding until guardrails are put in place with the funding for the department’s immigration enforcement efforts, including limits and certain tactics and requiring officials in the field to wear body cameras.

TSA employees missed their first paycheck of the current shutdown this weekend, after Republicans refused a proposal to fund TSA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, while continuing to hold back funding for those for immigration-related agencies for further debate.

In addition asking the government to fund TSA, the CEOs asked Congress to pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act, the Aviation Funding Stability Act and the Keep America Flying Act would guarantee that federal aviation workers get paid in the face of future government shutdowns.

Footage shows a fire burning near Dubai International Airport after a drone ignited a fuel tank, according to authorities in the UAE. Flights have been suspended. Civil defence crews say the blaze is under control.

K-POP Demon Hunters fans shared their reactions to watching HUNTR/X’s history-making Oscars performance and win.

The trio of voices behind the band from the popular Netflix film – Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami – took the stage at the 98th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, moving audiences worldwide with tears of joy.

They performed their iconic track, Golden, celebrating the folklore and cultural inspiration brought from the 2025 animated film.

Shortly after hitting the stage, K-Pop Demon Hunters, which became Netflix’s most-watched film ever, won the award for Best Original Song for Golden, after dominating awards season.

HUNTR/X, who nabbed two awards – Best Song Written for Visual Media for the famed track and Best Original Song – at the Golden Globes in January, incorporated instrumentals and dance into their performance at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

“Let’s go K-POP Demon Hunters!” one fan wrote on X.

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“I love me some K-pop demon hunters! Those girls were singing down in that movie lol,” said another.

“K-Pop Demon Hunters made HISTORY,” reacted a third.

“The only thing I care about at the Oscars is K Pop Demon Hunters. If it were up to me, I’d give them all the possible awards,” added a fourth.

However, many were disappointed upon seeing that their acceptance speech was abruptly cut short, as were many others throughout the night, despite them pleading for more time.

“Absolutely disrespectful of the #oscars for cutting off kpop demon hunters in their acceptance speech. They were given less time than every other winner and the Oscar’s owes them an apology,” one fan raged.

“I don’t like how they cut off the Kpop Demon Hunters Cast. That was nasty #Oscars,” someone else complained.

“Congrats to Michael B Jordan, but why did he get 3x the amount of time for his speech than the KPop Demon Hunters crew?” said another, referencing Sinners star Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor win afterwards.

According to The Independent, HUNTR/X is the first all-Asian musical act to take the Oscars stage, following Blackpink K-pop band member Lisa, who was the first K-pop artist to perform at the show last year.

In August 2025, Netflix revealed that K-Pop Demon Hunters was the platform’s most popular movie of all time, overtaking the previous record-holder, Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot.

“KPop Demon Hunters has gone up, up, up, and it’s their Golden moment,” the streaming service said in a statement.

Biggest Oscar Nominees of 2026 Academy Awards

Everyone in Hollywood hopes to snag a nod on the industry’s biggest night but only few get that honor. Here are the nominees and winners from the major categories of the 2026 Academy Awards:

Best Picture

• Bugonia
• F1
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another *WINNER*
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
• Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
• Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another *WINNER*
• Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
• Ryan Coogler — Sinners

Best Actor (Leading Role)

• Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
• Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
• Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
• Michael B. Jordan — Sinners *WINNER*
• Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

Best Actress (Leading Role)

• Jessie Buckley — Hamnet *WINNER*
• Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
• Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
• Emma Stone — Bugonia
• Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue

Best Supporting Actor

• Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
• Delroy Lindo — Sinners
• Sean Penn — One Battle After Another *WINNER*
• Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress

• Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
• Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
• Amy Madigan — Weapons *WINNER*
• Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value

Best Original Screenplay

• Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein
• Blue Moon — Richard Linklater & Glen Powell
• Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
• Sinners — Ryan Coogler *WINNER*
• It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi

Best Adapted Screenplay

• One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson *WINNER*
• Bugonia — Yorgos Lanthimos & Will Tracy
• Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
• Hamnet — Chloé Zhao
• Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Best Animated Feature

• Arco
• KPop Demon Hunters *WINNER*
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2
• Elio

Best International Feature Film

• The Secret Agent — Brazil
• Sentimental Value — Norway *WINNER*
• It Was Just an Accident — Iran
• Sirāt — Spain
• The Voice of Hind Rajab — Tunisia

Best Documentary Feature

• The Alabama Solution
• Come See Me in the Good Light
• Cutting Through Rocks
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin *WINNER*
• The Perfect Neighbor

“The animated musical officially became Netflix’s most popular film of all time on the Most Popular English Films list with 236 million total views.“

In response to the film’s massive success, Netflix released a sing-along “party at home” version, K-Pop Hunters Sing-Along, that’s currently streaming on the app.

The movie was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and helmed by Maggie Kang, a Canadian film director born in Seoul, South Korea.

Maggie described the film as a “love letter to K-pop,” also known as “Korean pop music.”

On March 12, Netflix announced that the beloved animation will be getting a sequel, with directors Maggie and Chris Appelhans returning behind the scenes.

A release date has yet to be revealed, but fans can expect it may be a while, given the first film went into production in 2021 and wasn’t released until 2025.

“I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Maggie said in a statement about the sequel.

“There’s so much more to this world we have built, and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”

Neither Alexander Straus nor Mark Parsons were around when Angel City played its first NWSL game in 2022. But they didn’t miss much; in four years the team had one winning season and made just one playoff appearance.

So Straus, in his first full season as coach, and Parsons, 15 months into his job as sporting director, decided to raze the club and its sad history and start over. That break from the past couldn’t have been much clearer than it was in the opening game of the team’s fifth season Sunday, one which ended in a 4-0 rout of the Chicago Stars.

Three of the goals — from Evelyn Shores, Ary Borges and Maiara Niehues — came from players who weren’t on the roster at the start of last season. Borges also picked up her first Angel City assist.

The performance was the most dominant in club history and the margin of victory matched Angel City’s largest ever. It was also the team’s first season-opening win since 2022.

“There is a little bit of a new beginning,” Straus said.

“We’re a completely different organization than we were at the end of last year,” Parsons added.

Angel City proved that when teenager Kennedy Fuller opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, dribbling up the right wing and into the box before driving a right-footed shot off Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher and just inside the near post.

Shores doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, heading in a Fuller corner for her second NWSL goal before Borges, a Brazilian international, made it 3-0 13 minutes later, jumping on a short goal kick by Naeher, then beating the keeper cleanly with a left-footed shot from the center of the box.

Niehues, another Brazilian international, closed the scoring in the 70th minute on a right-footed shot from the center of the box. Iceland’s Sveindis Jonsdottir got the assist on that goal. Of the four goal-scorers for Angel City, only Borges is over 21.

Angel City dominated the match statistically as much as it did on the field, outshooting Chicago 17-7 and putting six of those shots on target. Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson needed to make just two saves to record the clean sheet.

The announced crowd of 16,813 on a beautiful sun-splashed afternoon was the smallest for an Angel City opener.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran never sought a ceasefire with the US, and is ready for a long war.

Footage shows huge plumes of smoke from a heavy strike in the Iranian city of Hamadan, as the US-Israeli war against Iran enters its third week.

ROB Reiner’s friends held back tears at the Oscars as the ceremony honored the late director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, after their tragic deaths.

The couple died in December 2025 after being brutally attacked in their Los Angeles home, and their son, Nick Reiner, is the primary suspect in their murders.

Hollywood was shocked by the loss of Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, and it was expected that there would be a special tribute to them at the 98th Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday.

Rob and Michele were honored Sunday in a speech by Billy Crystal, one of the stars of When Harry Met Sally.

Rob famously rewrote the ending of When Harry Met Sally after meeting his wife, Michele, while shooting the film.

“I first met Rob Reiner in 1975. When I was cast as his best friend in an episode of All in the Family,” Billy’s began in his tribute.

“Rob said, it was fun playing your best friend, why don’t we keep it going. And it was a thrill to see him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller.

“His first film was This Is Spinal Tap. You could stop right there … The comedy was turned up to an 11.”

Billy went on to discuss Rob’s other iconic films, including Stand By Me.

“Audiences then lined up to see his funny, charming films, so he gave them misery!” Billy continued.

“My friend Rob’s movies will last for lifetimes. Because they were about what makes us laugh and cry and what we aspire to be, far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, far more human.”

“And when Michele Singer entered his life, they were unstoppable. A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob, but it was her energy that had them working tirelessly to fight social injustice in the country that they both loved.

“Rob and Michele Reiner became the driving force in the landmark decision for marriage equality across the United States. And their loss is immeasurable.”

He said Rob told him several times that “it meant everything to him that his work meant something to you.”

“And for us, who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, ‘Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle.”

Billy’s speech concluded with several actors joining him on stage, including Kathy Bates, Demi Moore and Mandy Patinkin.

More late stars honored at the Oscars

Diane Keaton was also honored at the Oscars’ In Memoriam tribute.

Rachel McAdams, who starred alongside the late actress in The Family Stone, took the stage to honor Diane.

“For over 50 years, luminous on screen and indelible in life, believe me when I say there isn’t an actress of my generation who is not inspired by and enthralled with her absolute singularity,” she said.

“She wore so many hats, literally and figuratively, actress, artist, author, activist, but no hat more important to her than being a mother to her two children.

“She meant so much to so many of us. I remember she used to sing this old Girl Scout song on set, which is just so her: ‘Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other is gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That’s how long I’ll be your friend.’

“And so to our friend, Diane Keaton, celebrating a life in silver and gold, a legend with no end.”

Diane, a four-time Academy Award nominee, died in October 2025 of bacterial pneumonia.

Other stars were honored during the In memoriam segment, including Robert Duvall, known for his roles in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, Robert Redford, known for All the President’s Men and The Sting and Catherine O’Hara, known for her role in Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek.

“She made us laugh until we cried,” Rachel said of Catherine at the Oscars.

The death of Rob Reiner

Corey Feldman, who portrayed Teddy Duchamp in Stand by Me, was reportedly not asked to participate in the tribute to Rob, despite being one of the main characters alongside Jerry and Wil.

A source recently told the Daily Mail that Corey was “devastated” by the apparent snub and “wanted nothing more than to honor Rob.”

In January, Rob was subtly recognized at the Golden Globes by host Nikki Glaser, who ended the show wearing a Spinal Tap cap, a reference to the filmmaker’s 1984 film, This Is Spinal Tap.

The comedian also closed the ceremony, saying, “This one went to 11. Thank you, guys, for an amazing night,” a reference to the movie’s famous moments between Rob and co-star Christopher Guest.

Rob and Michele allegedly had their throats slit while lying in bed, and Nick, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was battling a drug addiction, has been charged with their murders.

The incident occurred hours after the trio attended Conan O’Brien’s holiday party, where Rob and Nick had an explosive fight about Nick’s behavior.

Last month, Conan O’Brien, host of the 98th Academy Awards, broke his silence about the tragedy during a sit-down with The New Yorker.

“I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them, and I was seeing them a lot,” the talk show host said.

“My wife and I were seeing them a lot, and they were so — they were just such lovely people.

Most Awarded Oscar Winners of All Time

Best Director:

John Ford — 4 wins

• The Informer (1935)
• The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
• How Green Was My Valley (1941)
• The Quiet Man (1952)

Frank Capra — 3 wins

• It Happened One Night (1934)
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
• You Can’t Take It with You (1938)

William Wyler — 3 wins

• Mrs. Miniver (1942)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
• Ben-Hur (1959)

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

Daniel Day‑Lewis — 3 wins (most in history)

• My Left Foot (1989)
• There Will Be Blood (2007)
• Lincoln (2012)

A slew of actors are tied in second place having won 2 Oscars, including: Marlon Brando, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Sean Penn, Anthony Hopkins, and more.

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Katharine Hepburn — 4 wins

• Morning Glory (1933)
• Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
• The Lion in Winter (1968)
• On Golden Pond (1981)

Frances McDormand — 3 wins

• Fargo (1996)
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
• Nomadland (2020)

Meryl Streep — 3 wins (two lead, one supporting)

• Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) — Supporting Actress
• Sophie’s Choice (1982) — Lead Actress
• The Iron Lady (2011) — Lead Actress

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Walter Brennan — 3 wins

• Come and Get It (1936)
• Kentucky (1938)
• The Westerner (1940)

Many actors are tied for the second place honor with 2 nominations, including: Michael Caine, Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, Christoph Waltz, and Mahershala Ali.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

Dianne Wiest — 2 wins

• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
• Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Shelley Winters — 2 wins

• The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
• A Patch of Blue (1965)

Maggie Smith — 2 wins

• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) — Lead Actress
• California Suite (1978) — Supporting Actress

“And to have that experience of saying goodnight to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone. … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward. I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful.”

Conan also admitted that it was still “hard for me to comprehend” what happened to his friends.

The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed that Nick could inherit his family’s $196million fortune even if he’s found guilty of his parents’ deaths.

This would be the case if Nick is found legally insane, which, by California law, would still entitle him to the inheritance.

Nick has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.