Month: April 2025

Spanning almost 3,000 metres and soaring a staggering 625 metres into the air, this dizzying bridge is nearly twice the height of the Eiffel Tower – but will soon become a crucial lifeline for locals

Soaring into the clouds and spanning a staggering 2,890 metres – this epic bridge isn’t for the faint-hearted. Almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower (625 meters above river level), this ambitious infrastructure project has been in the works for three and a half years.

This June, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, located in China’s Guizhou Province, will finally open to the public. Weighing a whopping 22,000 tons, the huge steel truss suspension bridge doesn’t just look impressive but will become a crucial lifeline for residents.

Currently, those wanting to cross the Huajiang Grand Canyon, also known as the ‘Earth crack’, have to endure a two-hour drive through steep winding mountains. Once the bridge opens, this once-gruelling trek will take a mere 60 seconds.

READ MORE: Chaos in beautiful UK village as huge tourist ban is ‘just the start’

Reported to have cost a staggering £216 million, the bridge will also help increase connectivity between cities and be a huge boost for businesses currently facing pricey transportation costs. It will also create economic integration in one of China’s most isolated regions.

“At present, the overall progress of the bridge has reached 95 per cent, and it is planned to be opened to traffic in the second half of 2025,” Zhang Shenglin, chief engineer of Guizhou Highway Group, told the state-run newspaper China Daily. “By then, this super project that spans the ‘earth crack’ will be the world’s first in both directions.”

Zhang added that the ‘landmark project’ will further demonstrate China’s advanced ‘infrastructure strength’. Currently, nearly half of the top 100 tallest bridges in the world are in Guizhou, which is some 800 miles near the city of Shenzhen.

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The Huajiang Grand Canyon will outrank the Beipanjiang Bridge, also known as the Duge Bridge, by almost 100 metres. Located on the border between the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan in China, this cable-stayed bridge crosses over the Beipan River and was the first of its kind to ever surpass 500 metres in height.

The dizzying bridge opened to drivers on December 29, 2016, and consists of four lanes – meaning you can overtake slow coaches while travelling through the clouds. Similar to the Huajiang Grand Canyon bridge, the Beipanjiang Bridge cut links between the river valley from 50 minutes down to two.

As previously reported, construction cost more than one billion Yuan (more than £111 million if converted today) and took around three and a half years of ‘intense’ work. If China continues ramping up its infrastructure, this iconic bridge may soon fall from the league tables altogether.

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager and Jake Burger each had three hits, and the Texas Rangers beat the Angels 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Seager also drove in two runs in Texas’ seventh consecutive home win. It was Burger’s first multihit game with the Rangers.

Patrick Corbin (1-0) pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in his first win with his new team. He struck out six and walked one.

Luke Jackson worked a perfect ninth — on six pitches — for his sixth save of the season.

Angels right-hander José Soriano (2-2) was tagged for 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. But he limited the Rangers to three runs — all in the second.

Dustin Harris doubled and scored on Burger’s single. Seager drove in two more on a bases-loaded single with two down.

The Angels got on the board on a run-scoring infield single by Luis Rengifo in the sixth. Shawn Armstrong ended the threat by striking out Jorge Soler.

Key moment

The Rangers had manager Bruce Bochy’s grandson, Braxton Bochy, throw out the first pitch — with the former catcher behind the plate on his 70th birthday. The only current MLB manager older than Bochy is Ron Washington, who was in the other dugout with the Angels. Washington turns 73 on April 29.

Key stat

Rangers pitchers combined for six three-up, three-down innings.

Up next

Texas goes for the series sweep on Thursday when right-hander Kumar Rocker (0-2, 7.94 ERA) faces Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (1-1, 5.74 ERA).

Mohammad Yousuf Dar and his wife, Shameema, sit cross-legged in front of their loom, deftly tying consecutive knots to create the floral patterns of the famed Kashmiri carpets that are now threatened by the Trump administration’s sweeping global tariffs.

Genuine hand-knotted Kashmiri carpets are typically made from pure silk, and sometimes pure wool. Generations of artisans have for centuries handed down the craft to ensure its survival, and while the carpets are expensive, most craftspeople can barely make ends meet.

“I just help my husband so that we have a modicum of decent income to run our household,” Shameema, 43, said as she and Mohammad rhythmically plucked at the colourful silk threads in their dimly lit workshop in Indian-administered Kashmir‘s main city, Srinagar.

They periodically glance at a yellowed scrap of paper, known as Taleem, or instructions, showcasing the pattern they are working on in an ancient shorthand of symbols and numbers and a cryptic colour map.

Mohammad and Shameema learned the craft at the ages of nine and 10, respectively.

The industry has survived decades of conflict over the disputed region between India and Pakistan and withstood the fickleness of fashion to stay in demand, adorning mansions and museums alike.

However, Kashmiri traders say that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports can deal a hard blow to an already threatened business that is vying to survive amid mass-produced carpets, which are less costly, and artisans abandoning the industry.

Although the tariffs were primarily aimed at chief exporters like China, they have inadvertently ensnared traditional handicraft industries from regions like Kashmir, which depend on US and European markets for survival.

Carpet exports from India to the US alone are valued at approximately $1bn, out of a total global export value of $2bn, according to official data.

Mohammad, 50, said he is the only weaver left out of more than 100 who shifted to other jobs about 20 years ago in his neighbourhood in Srinagar city’s old centre.

“I spend months knotting a single rug, but if there is no demand, our skills feel worthless,” he said.

Still, thousands of families in Kashmir rely on this craft for their livelihood, and the steep 28-percent tariff imposed by the US means the imported carpets will become significantly more expensive for American consumers and retailers.

“If these carpets are going to be more expensive in America, does that mean our wages will rise too?” Mohammad asked.

Not likely.

The increased cost to consumers in the US does not translate into higher wages for weavers, experts say, but rather often leads to reduced orders, lower incomes, and growing uncertainty for the artisans.

This price hike could also push buyers towards cheaper, machine-made alternatives, leaving Kashmiri artisans in the lurch.

Insiders say that unless international trade policies shift to protect traditional industries, Kashmir’s hand-knotted legacy may continue to fray until it disappears.

Wilayat Ali, a Kashmiri carpet supplier, said his trading partner, who exports the carpets to the US, Germany and France, has already cancelled at least a dozen orders in the making.

“The exporter also returned some dozen carpets,” he said. “It boils down to the hard arithmetic of profit and loss,” Ali explained. “They do not see thousands of knots in a carpet that takes months to make.”

New guidance for public bodies on single-sex spaces will be issued, after the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says it is “working at pace” to provide an updated code of conduct for services, including the NHS and prisons.

The ruling could have implications for spaces such as hospital wards, changing rooms and domestic refuges.

The case was brought by women’s rights campaigners who challenged the Scottish government, arguing sex-based protections should apply only to people that are born female.

On Wednesday judges ruled that when the term “woman” is used in the Equality Act it means a biological woman, and “sex” means biological sex.

This means a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not change a person’s legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act.

The Supreme Court justices argued this was the only consistent, coherent interpretation.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the organisation was “pleased” the judgment addressed “difficulties” it highlighted in its submission to the court.

There is already Equality Act guidance which allows for women-only spaces, such as toilets, changing rooms and hospital wards in certain circumstances.

But under the new ruling a person who was born male but identifies as a woman does not have a right to use a space or service designated as women only.

That includes transgender women who have legally changed their gender and hold a GRC.

The equality watchdog says it expects its updated guidance to be in place by the summer.

The new guidance could also have an impact on women’s sport, where the question over whether transgender women can participate has been a high-profile issue in recent years.

Sports have tightened up rules around transgender athletes at the elite levels. Athletics, cycling and aquatics have banned transgender women from taking part in women’s events.

Other sports have put in place eligibility criteria. Earlier this month the English Football Association introduced stricter rules, but still allowed transgender women to continue to compete in the women’s game as long as their testosterone was kept below a certain level.

Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, a prominent campaigner for trans-rights, said: “This is a deeply concerning ruling for human rights and a huge blow to some of the most marginalised people in our society.

Trans rights campaigners have said they will be examining the judgment closely to decide on their next steps.

The UK government has welcomed the “clarity and confidence” for women and service providers brought by the judgement.

Health minister Karin Smyth said the government would be reviewing the ruling to “make sure we are fully compliant with it” and would be working with equality bodies to make sure organisations were fully compliant.

She said the government was not interested in “so-called culture wars” and believed that everybody should have “their dignity and privacy and their rights respected”.

“I think now is the time to make sure that we look to the future, that rights are very clear for people and that service providers absolutely make sure they comply with the law,” she said.

A TRADE deal between the UK and US will be agreed to within just three weeks, an insider has revealed.

White House officials want to achieve the rapid deal with Britain as President Donald Trump aims to isolate China in his global tariff trade war, the insider claimed.

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This comes just days after US vice-president JD Vance eased worries in financial markets when he predicted Trump would agree to a “great” deal with London, due to his “cultural affinity” with the UK.

A White House official told The Telegraph he expected an agreement to be reached “soon”, adding it could be achieved within “two weeks, or maybe three”.

Britain was hit by a flat 10 per cent tariff by the US President earlier this month as part of his “liberation day” which saw him enforce trade barriers on countries around the world.

China has been hit with tariffs of 145 per cent by the White House, and has responded itself with a tax of 125 per cent on imports from the US.

The World Trade Organisation said this could see business between the two giants plunge by 90 per cent.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday there were already 15 trade deals being negotiated, after more than 75 nations reached out to land deals before the 90-day pause on more aggressive tariffs expires.

After Trump revealed his varying tariffs for countries around the world, stock markets tumbled and diplomatic crises ensued.

Following the devastating effects, the US president rolled back on his announcement, placing a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all imports globally for 90 days, except those from China.

Trump officials have publicly and privately said Britain is in a good position for a quick deal as it imports more from the US than it exports.

The president had heavily targeted countries with tariffs which exported more to the US than they imported.

However, some officials have cautioned that Britain’s safety cannot be guaranteed, due to Trump’s unpredictable nature.

Steve Bannon, Trump’s former strategist, said a deal with the UK would be one of the fastest and easiest to negotiate.

He said: “You (Britain) don’t make anything anymore [that] we’re trying to bring back – that’s why Japan and Korea will be tough.”

“Sure you guys make automobiles but it is nothing in the grand scheme of things – they’re kind of bespoke Jaguars and Aston Martins.”

JD Vance also spoke to Unherd this week in a major interview which boosted hopes of a solid deal between the UK and the US.

Trump’s number two revealed the thinking of the US administration, saying: “There’s a real cultural affinity … I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”

While Britain avoided the 20 per cent surcharge placed on the EU, it is keen to reduce the 25 per cent levy placed on cars, aluminium and steel.

Vance also said that Trump’s affection for the royal family could swing a deal.

He said: “The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen.

“He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship.”

Vance also revealed that the US was working “very hard” to secure an economic deal with the UK.

He said:  “With the United Kingdom, we have a much more reciprocal relationship than we have with, say, Germany …

“While we love the Germans, they are heavily dependent on exporting to the United States but are pretty tough on a lot of American businesses that would like to export into Germany.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to land in Washington next week with her finance ministers for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) spring meetings.

BRITAIN PRESSURED TO LIMIT TIES WITH CHINA

A deal with Britain, however, could be placed on the back burner as the Trump administration attempts to build a trade bloc to take on the manufacturing might of China.

It has also been said that the UK could be forced to limit dealings with the Asian powerhouse to secure reductions in Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs.

The White House wants to stop the Communist state getting round trade barriers by shipping goods through other countries.

Moves by Trump’s team to prevent China swamping up to 70 trading partner nations with its products would also hit Beijing’s economy.

Britain is currently attempting to negotiate a trade deal to mitigate the damage from Trump’s ten per cent tariffs, as well as a painful 25 per cent levy on cars, steel, and aluminium.

However, MPs and campaigners warned against cosying up to China — citing the emergency legislation needed to save British Steel, owned by Chinese firm Jingye.

Tory MP Neil O’Brien said: “You would love to believe that the Government will learn the lesson. Sadly there is no sign of that.

“The UK and other democratic countries should be aiming to reduce dependence on a hostile authoritarian regime.”

Luke de Pulford, of the Inter- Parliamentary Alliance on China, added: “China has been able to undercut foreign industry partly through mass state-imposed forced labour.”

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The play-in tournament features the teams who finished in seventh to 10th in both Conferences.

They face off to determine who fills the final two spots in their Conference play-offs.

Under the play-in format, seventh play eighth – with the winners going straight into the play-offs. The loser gets a second chance against the winners of an eliminator between ninth and 10th.

The Grizzlies, who finished eighth in the Western Conference, go into the ‘second chance’ game against the Mavericks having lost their first play-in tie, to the seventh-placed Golden State Warriors, in controversial circumstances.

The Warriors secured their play-off spot following a late flurry against the Grizzlies.

However, the NBA has since acknowledged officiating errors in the final moments of the match.

With the Warriors leading 117-116, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report said the Grizzlies should have been awarded the ball with 7.6 seconds left after Stephen Curry got the last contact on an out-of-bounds play.

It was Curry that then sank two free throws to give the Mavericks a 119-116 lead.

April 17 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1421, the sea broke the dikes at Dort, Holland, drowning an estimated 100,000 people.

In 1521, the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Martin Luther after he refused to admit to charges of heresy.

In 1790, U.S. statesman, printer, scientist and writer Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia at age 84.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 1912, the sister ship of the doomed RMS Titanic, the Olympic, radioed in that survivors of the ocean liner sinking were rescued and safely on board the RMS Carpathia.

In 1961, a force of anti-Castro rebels began the Bay of Pigs Invasion in an attempt to overthrow Cuba’s new communist government.

In 1964, Jerrie Mock of Columbus, Ohio, became the first woman to complete a solo flight around the world.

In 1969, a jury found Sirhan B. Sirhan guilty of first-degree murder for the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

File Photo by Ron Bennett/UPI

In 1970, with the world anxiously watching on television, Apollo 13, a U.S. lunar spacecraft that sustained a severe malfunction on its journey to the moon, safely returned to Earth.

In 1989, the Polish labor union Solidarity was granted legal status after nearly a decade of struggle and suppression — clearing the way for the downfall of the country’s Communist Party.

In 1993, a federal jury convicted two Los Angeles police officers and acquitted two others of violating the civil rights of Rodney King during his 1991 arrest and beating.

In 2004, the Israeli army confirmed it had killed Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Hamas co-founder and its leader in Gaza, in a missile strike. Two others also died with Rantisi, who had opposed any compromise with Israel.

In 2012, U.S. investor Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest people, said he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI

In 2013, an explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant killed 15 people, injured dozens and caused massive property damage in the community.

In 2018, former first lady Barbara Bush died at the age of 92 after refusing medical treatment for her failing health. Her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, died less than one year later.

In 2024, Russian missile strikes targeting the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed more than a dozen people and injured scores more.

File Photo by State Emergency Service/EPA-EFE

On April 17 every year, Palestinian Prisoner’s Day is commemorated to highlight the plight of those held in Israeli jails and their struggle for freedom against Israel’s continued occupation of their land.

The day marks the 1974 release of Mahmoud Bakr Hijazi, the first Palestinian freed in a prisoner swap with Israel. It was later designated to honour all Palestinian prisoners and highlight Israel’s ongoing detention of Palestinians and violation of their rights.

There are currently nearly 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails in Israel and the occupied territory, according to prisoners’ rights group Addameer. To Palestinians, they are political prisoners who must be freed.

Of those in detention:

• 3,498 are held without charge or trial
• 400 are children
• 27 are women
• 299 are serving life sentences

Administrative detainees, including women and children, can be held by the military for renewable six-month periods based on “secret evidence” that neither the detainee nor their lawyer is allowed to see.

400 child prisoners – Ahmad Manasra’s case

Israel is the only country in the world that tries children in military courts, often denying them their basic rights.

According to Defense for Children Palestine, about 500 to 700 Palestinian children are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system each year – some as young as 12.

The most common charge is throwing stones, a crime punishable under military law by up to 20 years in prison.

Currently, 400 Palestinian children remain in Israeli prisons, most are in pre-trial detention and have not been convicted of any offence.

One of the most harrowing child prisoner cases is that of Ahmad Manasra, who was arrested at the age of 13, brutally interrogated and then sentenced.

Ahmad was with his cousin Hassan, who allegedly stabbed two Israeli settlers near an illegal Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem in 2015.

Hassan, who was 15 at the time, was shot and killed by an Israeli civilian, while Ahmad was severely beaten by an Israeli mob and run over by a car.

He suffered fractures to his skull and internal bleeding.

At the time, Israeli law stated that children under 14 could not be held criminally responsible.

To circumvent this, Israeli authorities waited until Manasra turned 14 to sentence him. The law was changed in August 2016 to allow the prosecution of younger children.

Ahmad was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 9.5 years.

Ahmad has long suffered from mental health issues. At the end of 2021, a psychiatrist from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was allowed to visit him and diagnosed him with schizophrenia. This was the first time an external doctor was allowed to see him.

On April 10, 2025, after spending more than nine years behind bars, Ahmad was finally released.

Palestinian prisoners doubled since October 7

From October 2023, when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel and Israel then began its war on Gaza, to April 2025, the number of Palestinian political prisoners doubled, rising from 5,250 to nearly 10,000.

One Palestinian freed, fifteen detained

Since October 7, Israel has detained about 30,000 Palestinians. During the prisoner-captive exchanges with Hamas, Israel has released just more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

That means, for every person released, 15 others were apprehended.

During the most recent ceasefire exchange earlier this year, 739 Palestinians from Gaza were freed, that’s out of 15,000 that had been detained. While in the occupied West Bank, 652 were released, but nearly 14,500 have been detained.

Ceasefire prisoner-captive exchange

During the nearly two-month ceasefire earlier this year, Israel released 1,793 Palestinian political prisoners, while Hamas freed 38 Israeli captives, including eight bodies.

The majority of those released were from Gaza, with 739 freed – 337 from North Gaza, 227 from Gaza City, and 151 from Khan Younis, some of the war’s hardest-hit areas. In the occupied West Bank, at least 652 prisoners were released, with most coming from Ramallah (118), Hebron (111), and Nablus (79).

One million Palestinians detained since 1967

Israel’s detention policies have deeply affected Palestinian life for decades. According to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, since 1967, Israeli forces have detained an estimated one million Palestinians, or approximately 20 percent of the Palestinian population. Statistically, this means one out of every five Palestinians has been imprisoned at some point in their life.

For many families, arrest has become an inevitability. This systemic practice has fragmented communities, perpetuated cycles of trauma, and generated widespread resentment.

As Israel’s arrest campaign continues, many Palestinians fear that mass imprisonment is not just a byproduct of occupation but a deliberate tool of control. For the thousands currently behind bars, freedom remains uncertain, just as it has for generations before them.

Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, already sued by three women alleging sexual assault, is facing a new rape claim.

A fourth woman has come forward with disturbing allegations about the 45-year-old pop star, including assertions that he raped her twice in 2005 and infected her with sexually transmitted diseases, one of which led to a cervical cancer diagnosis. The accuser, Lauren Penly, filed her lawsuit earlier this month in Nevada’s Clark County. According to the lawsuit, reviewed by The Times, Penly said she and Carter engaged in a brief “sexually intimate” relationship from December 2004 to February 2005, when she was 19.

Penly sued Carter on three counts: sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. She seeks at least $15,000 covering “past and future” medical expenses and “pain and suffering,” plus legal fees and additional damages. She is requesting a jury trial.

“It takes profound courage and resilience for survivors of sexual assault to publicly come forward in pursuit of justice, particularly in the music industry that has long fostered a pervasive environment of sexual exploitation,” attorney Gianna N. Elliot, who represents Penly, said Wednesday in a statement.

Carter’s attorneys, Liane K. Wakayama and Dale Hayes Jr., denied Penly’s allegations. The singer’s legal team said in a statement shared with The Times on Wednesday that Carter does not “recall ever even meeting” his latest accuser, let alone engaging in any relationship with her.

“This is just more of the same nonsense from the gang of conspirators and their lawyers who continue to abuse the justice system to try to ruin Nick Carter,” the statement continued. “It’s drawn from the same predictable playbook — lie in wait for decades until Mr. Carter is celebrating a professional milestone, then hide behind litigation privilege to make utterly false claims in an attempt to inflict maximum damage on Nick and his family.”

During their alleged months-long relationship, Penly visited Carter (older brother of late teen sensation Aaron Carter) in Los Angeles at his apartment and they engaged in consensual sex three times, according to the 10-page complaint. Penly, who said she had never had unprotected sex prior to her relationship with Carter, alleged the singer refused to use any form of protection and led her “to believe that he was ‘clean’ of sexually transmittable diseases.”

According to the lawsuit, Carter first raped Penly in early 2005. Penly said she went to Carter’s apartment and asked to just watch a movie and “hangout” instead of having sex, but the singer refused. He allegedly “told her no because the only reason she was there was to have sex and that is what she wants,” the lawsuit says. Carter allegedly picked up his accuser and “threw her onto his bed” where he bent her over the side of the bed and “forcefully” vaginally raped her, despite her “saying ‘no’ multiple times.”

The complaint claims Carter told Penly to keep “his sexual assault a secret and that nobody would believe her.”

Two months after the alleged incident, Carter apologized to Penly and asked her to visit him at his apartment. Upon her arrival, Carter was with two friends, whom he told “he would be right back” as he led Penly to his bedroom, the lawsuit says. Penly told Carter, per the lawsuit, that she did not want to have sex, but the singer allegedly proceeded to “forcefully” penetrate her. “Carter knowingly continued to engage in sexual intercourse with [Penly] despite her repeated refusals and requests for him to stop,” the lawsuit says.

Penly accused Carter of infecting her with “various sexually transmitted diseases” including human papillomavirus (HPV), which she said led to her cervical cancer diagnosis.

In July 2005, Penly learned from her doctor she had tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the lawsuit says. She also tested positive for cancerous cells, according to the suit. The Mayo Clinic says some types of HPV infections can cause different types of cancer including cervical cancer. A month after testing positive for the STDs, Penly was diagnosed with Stage 2 cervical cancer and underwent numerous treatments including an invasive cervical procedure, the lawsuit says.

Penly also alleges in her lawsuit that she faces “ongoing harassment” from fans of Backstreet Boys after she was called to testify at a deposition involving other women who have accused Carter of sexual abuse.

“The impacts of Carter’s sexual assaults are ceaseless, causing Plaintiff severe emotional distress, physical anguish, medical issues, intimacy issues and other complex trauma,” the lawsuit says.

The claims in Penly’s lawsuit echo allegations raised in a series of lawsuits in recent years — which Carter has denied.

In 2022, a woman filed a civil suit against the Backstreet Boys performer alleging he had sexually assaulted her when she was 17 and infected her with HPV. Another woman came forward with similar accusations in a lawsuit filed in August 2023. Carter was also sued in 2017 by a singer for girl group Dream who alleged he raped her in the early 2000s. The trio of accusers publicized their allegations in the 2024 docuseries “Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter.” He sued accusers Melissa Schuman and Shannon Ruth for defamation in 2023. The three sexual assault cases are ongoing.

Islamabad, Pakistan – In the cavernous hall of the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the country’s diaspora as the “pride of the nation,” lauding them for their “unmatched contribution” to the country they have left.

And it wasn’t just talk. Speaking to an audience of more than 1,000 expatriates who had gathered to participate in the Overseas Pakistanis Convention on April 15, Sharif also promised a range of benefits that he said his government would launch to help them.

These include special courts for overseas Pakistanis so their legal disputes are resolved faster than they would be in the country’s notoriously slow judicial system. Quotas in educational institutions, faster immigration procedures at airports and tax benefits are also pledged. Sharif also said the government would award 15 eminent Pakistani expatriates every year.

“I believe there is no doubt that the 10 million Pakistanis who live across the world have earned their good reputation with their hard work and promoted Pakistan’s name,” Sharif said in his speech.

But many experts believe that the government’s bouquet of assurances to the diaspora is more than just an innocent outreach effort: it’s also a political move in a battle for the support of overseas Pakistanis with former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is widely believed to enjoy vast support among the country’s diaspora, which in turn, wins it influence in Western capitals, shaping how those nations view Islamabad and its deep political divides.

Now, analysts say, the Sharif government is trying to break Khan’s grip over Pakistanis abroad.

“The overseas Pakistani summit seemed to have two key objectives, to counter the influence and popularity jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan enjoys among the diaspora, and to encourage the community abroad to invest in Pakistan,” Maleeha Lodhi, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States told Al Jazeera.

Why diaspora clout matters

Many PTI supporters living overseas enjoy positions of influence in those countries, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, with nearly 1.6 million and 700,000 Pakistan-origin citizens residing there, respectively.

Former PM Khan, who was ousted from power in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence, has been in jail since August 2023 on various charges.

His party has faced a sweeping crackdown and alleges that the results of the general elections in February 2024 were heavily manipulated, claiming that their mandate was “stolen”. The government and the country’s powerful military have rejected those allegations, but they have found resonance among many in Pakistan – and outside it.

These allegations helped drive lobbying efforts, particularly in the US, which led Congress to hold a hearing on the “future of democracy” in Pakistan in March last year.

That hearing was prompted by bipartisan calls for then-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to scrutinise Pakistan’s controversial elections.

A few months later in October, more than 60 Democratic Party legislators urged Biden to pressure Islamabad to secure Khan’s release.

In fact, many within PTI believe that following Trump’s inauguration, the US president, who enjoyed warm ties with Khan during his first term, might intervene and help secure the former PM’s release, thanks to lobbying by the diaspora.

Arif Ansar, chief strategist of the Washington, DC-based strategic advisory firm PoliTact, acknowledged the effectiveness of the diaspora’s lobbying.

“The diaspora has been very effective in its lobbying efforts, and this has influenced the establishment to manage its relations with the diaspora. It wants to engage them and incentivise the ties as opposed to taking an adversarial role,” Ansar told Al Jazeera. The “establishment” is a euphemism for the military in Pakistan.

However, the analyst added that it was also possible that the government was trying to demonstrate that the diaspora was not monolithically aligned with the PTI.

“There are many different segments, and PTI is not the only one representing the diaspora,” he said. The government, he added, appeared eager to “build a new narrative”.

‘Counterfoil to PTI narrative’

Meanwhile, Islamabad-based political analyst Talat Hussain believes the government’s objective in hosting the convention was to show that it not only has broad reach among expats but also wants to make them stakeholders in its political and economic agenda.

“PTI’s claims to having a monopoly over overseas Pakistanis’ political sentiments are amplified through social media. Efforts such as these conventions do provide a counterfoil to the argument that expats move in the direction as instructed by Imran,” Hussain said.

Recent months have shown cracks in just how firmly Khan appears to hold the diaspora’s support.

Last December, Khan warned the government that his party would launch a civil disobedience movement, and asked the diaspora to stop sending money back to Pakistan.

But 2024 saw Pakistan receive the highest annual remittance amount in its history, reaching $34.1bn, a 32 percent increase from 2023, when overseas Pakistanis sent home close to $26bn.

And a day before Sharif’s speech at the diaspora convention in Islamabad, Jamil Ahmed, the governor of the country’s central bank, revealed that diaspora Pakistanis sent more than $4bn in March, marking the highest single-month remittance in the country’s history.

“If remittance inflows are a way to measure the efficacy of PTI’s overseas clout, then the picture is not helpful to the party’s boasts,” Hussain said.

“Two years of consistent increases in remittances, despite all appeals from Imran and the entire top leadership to not send money to what he calls a ‘corrupt and fascist regime’ tells you where expats stand.”

‘I will be your CEO’

Yet, like Lodhi, other analysts, too, believe that the Pakistan government is also wooing the diaspora because it needs them to invest in the country.

Thanking overseas Pakistanis for supporting the country’s economy, Sharif said this week that he would “personally” oversee the investments made by them.

“I will be your CEO. My cabinet and our business community will ensure that your investments are protected and facilitated,” he said.

Still, concerns linger about whether the Pakistani diaspora trusts the economic climate in a country where more and more citizens are leaving.

In the last five years, nearly three million Pakistanis have emigrated, according to government data, prompting growing concerns about a “brain drain” from the country.

However, General Syed Asim Munir, the army chief who is widely considered the country’s most powerful figure, dismissed those concerns during his speech at the diaspora convention, describing the trend instead as a “brain gain.”

“Those who talk about brain drain should understand that this is not brain drain, but rather brain gain,” he said on Tuesday.

LOOKING your best isn’t just about what you do – it’s about when you do it.

Timing is everything when it comes to your beauty routine, as your body’s natural cycles enhance different processes throughout the day.

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Experts at Boots No7 have discovered your skin’s repair mechanisms are most active between 2am and 4am.

Their study reveals skin renewal operates on a 24-hour schedule, hitting its “rush hour” in the middle of the night.

So it is essential to prioritise quality sleep during those peak hours to wake up looking refreshed.

With the help of beauty therapist Jade Joseph from Zen Healthcare, Katy Docherty and Natalie Clarke reveal how to sync your routine with your Beauty Clock for maximum results.

6am: SHAVE YOUR LEGS

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THERE is an increase in blood clotting platelets from 6am to 9am, according to a study published by the National Centre for Biotechnology but only if you are moving around during that time.

So shaving your legs then can reduce the risk of having to reach for the plaster box.

Jade says: “Always take a warm shower and exfoliate the area before shaving to remove dead skin and lift any ingrown hairs to get the closest shave.”

Best not to shave on a Monday, though. Studies have shown that skin may be more sensitive if we have broken our routine over the weekend.

 . . . WASH HAIR TOO

IF you are planning to wash your hair, do it in the morning.

According to Medical News Today, going to bed with wet hair can lead to all sorts of issues.

The combination of warmth and dampness on your pillow creates the perfect environment for fungal infections to develop in the hair follicles.

If there’s a thunderstorm raging outside, however, it’s best to put off washing your hair until the next day – high humidity can lead to frizz.

7am: DON’T WASH YOUR FACE

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SKIPPING your morning cleanse allows the skin to strengthen its protective moisture barrier.

The surface layer of skin is home to one trillion bacteria, known as the microbiome. It’s the skin’s first line of defence and we shouldn’t tamper with it.

If you can’t contemplate not washing your face, try using raw honey as a gentle alternative.

It’s a natural antibacterial, packed with skin-loving enzymes, and helps maintain the microbiome without stripping the skin’s protective barrier.

8am: PUT ON YOUR MAKE-UP

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APPLYING make-up earlier in the morning will give better application as the skin has just completed its overnight regeneration cycle and is often hydrated, calm and less reactive.

Jade says: “Applying make-up too late in the day can mean putting product over oil build up, sweat or environmental debris.

“It’s optimal timing forr getting your slap on and taking a perfect selfie.”

1pm: GET YOUR NAILS DONE

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BETWEEN 11am and 3pm is the warmest time of day, and the temperature will help your nails dry more quickly, reducing the risk of a chip or smudge.

By 1pm, the body temperature is slightly higher and your circulation is more active.

This means better blood flow to the nail beds which can improve absorption of nourishing oils and treatments applied.

Jade says: “Always finish with a hand cream with SPF as your hands are the first areas to show signs of ageing.”

2pm: TAKE A NAP

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AS we sleep, our body releases a growth hormone that stimulates collagen production, according to Nuffield Health, so if you can fit in a nap, you may be able to help boost and plump your skin.

And experts typically recommend that adults take a nap eight or more hours before bedtime to avoid disrupting your real sleep.

When you lie down, apply cooling eye patches and a light hydrating mist.

Jade says: “Keep your head slightly elevated to wake up looking and feeling like you have just had a facial.”

3pm: TREAT YOURSELF TO A MASSAGE

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ABDOMINAL massages have been shown to reduce bloating, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Having the massage a couple of hours after lunch may help shake off that horrible bloated feeling.

Lie with your legs elevated during a massage – it encourages better circulation and lymph flow which helps reduce swelling, bloating and water retention.

4pm: HAVE A TWEAKMENT

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ACCORDING to experts at The Cosmetic Skin Clinic, which specialises in non-surgical aesthetic treatments, it’s important to try to stay upright for three to four hours after having Botox.

This helps prevent the injected substance from spreading to unintended areas.

So you don’t want to have Botox in the evening when you’re closer to hitting the hay.

Try sleeping on a silk pillowcase post-Botox to reduce friction and irritation.

5pm: EAT DINNER EARLY TO LOSE WEIGHT

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TIMING your meals could be the secret weapon to staying trim.

A study by Harvard researchers revealed those who dined just two and a half hours before bedtime burned significantly fewer calories than those who wrapped up their last meal six and a half hours before going to bed.

The science suggests that giving your body more time to digest before sleep keeps your metabolism firing on all cylinders, making those late-night snacks a potential culprit for holding on to extra weight.

Your body will be focused on digestion, rather than repairing your skin, if you eat too late in the evening.

7.30pm: WASH OFF YOUR MAKE-UP AND CLEANSE

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BY cleaning your face when the sun sets, you help to keep the circadian rhythm, your body’s internal clock, in balance.

According to researchers at the Center For Genomic Regulation, when the sun sets, your skin’s repair systems spring into action to produce new skin cells, helping to slow down the ageing process.

Washing your face at this time will remove environmental stressors, right as your skin gears up for renewal.

Jade says: “When washing your face, use an oil-based cleansing balm first to melt off make-up, followed by a gentle foam cleanser to ensure a deep clean.”

9pm: HAVE A BATH

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A STUDY by the Cockrell School of Engineering in the US found that soaking for as little as ten minutes in a bath, an hour or two before bed, was related to improved sleep quality and efficiency, as well as faster dropping-off times.

Try adding flat champagne, which can have a mild exfoliating effect. Or try Jade’s more traditional suggestion.

She says: “Add Epsom salts or lavender oil to your bath for an extra calming effect.”

10pm: SLATHER ON FAKE TAN

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A STUDY from Florida found dihydroxyacetone (DHA) in tanning products can make skin more susceptible to sun damage for 24 hours after application. So get it on the night before.

Worried about reaching your back? Take a strip of cling film and lie it on the bathroom floor, then apply some fake tan lotion to the centre. Pick it up and apply the fake tan to your back like you do when you’re using a towel.

Remember also to follow Jade’s advice.

She says: “Always moisturize dry areas including elbows, knees, hands and ankles to prevent patchiness.”

One year and three weeks ago, Bobby Miller was at the peak of his young major league career.

After a promising rookie campaign in 2023, the hard-throwing right-hander had made the Dodgers’ 2024 opening-day rotation. In his season debut, he dominated the St. Louis Cardinals with 11 strikeouts over six scoreless innings. And as a former top prospect in the organization’s pitching-rich farm system, his ascent in the big leagues seemed to be just beginning.

One year and three weeks later, he faces a long climb back.

Called up from triple-A Oklahoma City for a spot start Wednesday, Miller’s first MLB start of 2025 mirrored the struggles that plagued him over the rest of 2024.

Over a woeful three-inning outing, the 26-year-old gave up six runs to the middling Colorado Rockies. Despite striking out seven batters, he was knocked around for a five-spot in the third, punctuated by a hanging curveball Michael Toglia hit for a grand slam.

The Dodgers still won, riding a seven-run first inning to an 8-7 victory that completed a three-game series sweep at Dodger Stadium this week.

But Miller’s implosion was another troubling sign for the Dodgers’ young depth options on the mound.

Like Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack before him, his return to the majors inspired little confidence.

In a rare opportunity to make an impression on the Dodgers’ big-league roster, he instead faltered in a frustratingly familiar script.

Two innings into Wednesday’s start, Miller appeared to be in full control.

He had limited damage in a three-hit first inning, striking out the other three batters he faced to give up just one run. He breezed through the second, stranding a two-out single with two more strikeouts.

And in between, he waited in the dugout for the 25 minutes while the Dodgers launched an assault on Rockies starter Germán Márquez.

Shohei Ohtani blasted a 448-foot leadoff home run to the top of the right-field pavilion. Freddie Freeman also found the right-field seats for a solo blast two batters later. From there, the Dodgers just kept coming, with Andy Pages driving two runs home with the bases loaded, Austin Barnes tacking on two more with a double that marked his first hit of the season, and Ohtani collecting another RBI in his second at-bat of the inning with a base hit.

Shohei Ohtani heads for home after his first-inning home run.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

All told, the Dodgers scored seven times, had nine batters reach base and chased Márquez from the game after 37 dismal pitches.

It seemingly set Miller up to cruise through the rest of his night.

Instead, it all came unglued in the top of the third.

After responding to a leadoff single with his sixth strikeout of the game, Miller lost his feel for, what up to that point, had been an effective curveball. He hung one to Kyle Farmer for a single. He missed with two to Hunter Goodman to walk the bases loaded.

Then, in a 1-and-2 count to Toglia, he fired another that stayed over the heart of the plate. Toglia unloaded for a grand slam. Miller hid his frustration behind a stoic face.

So often last year, Miller endured starts like this, unable to build upon his early-season momentum in what became a forgettable campaign.

Following that dazzling debut against the Cardinals, he yielded seven runs over 5 ⅔ innings in his next two starts. Shoulder inflammation landed him on the injured list for two months after that. And once he returned, he never looked the same, stumbling to a 9.34 ERA over his final 10 outings.

During that second-half stretch, Miller was dogged by a nagging knee issue. But wild command (he walked 30 batters in 56 innings on the season) and lack of execution with his breaking pitches (highlighted by a .357 batting average against his curveball) were equally troublesome problems.

On Wednesday, they resurfaced again.

An at-bat after Toglia’s grand slam, Miller fell behind Mickey Moniak by throwing two changeups that bounced to the backstop. Then, with Barnes holding his catcher’s mitt low in the zone, Miller fired a fastball that stayed up and over the plate. Moniak hit it the other way for a solo home run. What had once been a 7-1 lead was trimmed to 7-6.

Luckily for Miller, the bullpen picked up the slack against the woebegone Rockies (3-15) — including three innings of one-run relief from swingman Ben Casparius, who provided a bridge to Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott to close it out.

The Dodgers’ offense, meanwhile, provided just enough breathing room with a fifth-inning RBI single from Pages.

The question now: What will the Dodgers do next Wednesday, when there will once again be a hole in their rotation?

Tommy Edman scores on a single by Andy Pages in the first inning.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Tony Gonsolin is still expected to make one more triple-A rehab start before returning from his back injury. Knack (who had a 7.27 ERA in three outings this year) and Wrobleski (who yielded eight runs in his lone start last week) have already been optioned.

Given Wednesday’s results, Miller might be facing the same fate.

Before the game, manager Dave Roberts had remained bullish on his long-term potential, reflecting back at where he was one year and three weeks earlier.

“He was just really thriving,” Roberts recalled. “As far as the upside potential, absolutely [it’s still there].”

Wednesday, however, was a reminder of how far he’s slipped trying to reach it.

April 16 (UPI) — This updated story includes a short statement from a DHS spokeswoman.

Probable cause exists to prosecute members of the Trump administration for criminal contempt for continuing deportation flights to El Salvador on March 15, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled.

Boasberg on Wednesday ruled the “government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for [the court’s] order” after he ruled against the deportation flights conducted under the provisions of the Alien Enemies Act, NBC News reported.

Boasberg is the chief judge at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was appointed to the federal court by President Barack Obama in 2011. He granted a temporary restraining order motion by attorneys for the deportees and told the Trump administration to order the planes back to the United States.

The deportees were Venezuelans who were accused of being members of Tren de Aragua, which President Donald Trump has named a terrorist organization to enable his administration to deport them under the provisions of the Alien Enemies Act.

“Rather than comply with the court’s order, the government continued the hurried removal operation,” Boasberg wrote in a 46-page filing. “Early on Sunday morning — hours after the order issued — it transferred two planeloads of passengers protected by the [temporary restraining order] into a Salvadoran mega-prison.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the two planes already were in international airspace and outside the federal district court’s jurisdiction when Boasberg ordered them to return to the United States.

Three weeks later, the Supreme Court on April 7 affirmed the Trump administration can deport individuals while using the Alien Enemies Act and vacated Boasberg’s temporary restraining order.

“That court’s later determination that the TRO suffered from a legal defect … does not excuse the government’s violation,” Boasberg wrote. “Instead, it is a foundational legal precept that every judicial order ‘must be obeyed’ — no matter how ‘erroneous’ it ‘may be’ — until a court reverses it,” he said. Boasberg said, “such disobedience is punishable as contempt, notwithstanding any later-revealed deficiencies in the order” when a party chooses to disobey it instead of waiting for it to be reversed through the judicial process.

He said members of the Trump administration continually “evaded” the court’s orders, and he will refer the matter for prosecution if they do not “purge such contempt.”

Trump would have the power to pardon anyone accused of criminal contempt by Boasberg, and some lawmakers have suggested impeaching the federal judge for interfering with immigration and foreign policy.

“The Supreme Court already rebuked him. Lawless,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told UPI in an emailed statement.

Beijing’s comments come after White House says Chinese exports could face duties of up to 245 percent.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will pay no attention to United States President Donald Trump’s “tariff numbers game” after the White House suggested Chinese exports are facing tariffs of up to 245 percent.

The White House disclosed the latest tariff rates in a fact sheet earlier this week.

The fact sheet includes Trump’s recent 125 percent tariff and earlier 20 percent tariff imposed in response to Beijing’s alleged failure to curb fentanyl exports to the US, as well as potential duties of between 7.5 percent and 100 percent that could be imposed following national security reviews launched under the Trade Act of 1974.

Beijing’s remarks on Thursday echoed those made last week by the Ministry of Finance, which described Trump’s escalating tariffs as a “joke” because they no longer have “any economic significance”.

China’s tariffs on US goods stand at 125 percent, but Beijing has also taken other non-tariff punitive measures, including limiting the release of Hollywood films.

Economists have said that Trump’s tariffs, if not eased, will bring a halt to most trade between the US and China due to the exorbitant rise in costs.

The World Trade Organization on Wednesday said that the volume of global trade is expected to decline by 0.2 percent in 2025 under current conditions – or “nearly three percentage points lower” than a low-tariff baseline scenario.

The spillover effect of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”,  most of which have been paused until July, could lead to an “even sharper decline of 1.5 percent in global goods trade and hurt export-oriented least-developed countries,” the WTO said.

The UN’s Trade and Development (UNCTAD) office also revised its prediction for global growth downwards from 2.5 percent to 2.3 percent in 2025, noting in its assessment that growth below a threshold of 2.5 percent often signals a global recession.

This airport has become a tourist attraction in its own right, appealing to adventurous travellers eager to cross an active runway and hoping to score a selfie in front of the famous Rock of Gibraltar

There are quite a few contenders for most interesting airport, many of which have become tourist landmarks in their own right. The slowly sinking Kansai International Airport built on an artificial island is one such example, and Singapore Changi Airport – which recently won the 2025 award for World’s Best Airport – is another.

High on the list of unusual airports is one other that deserves to be spotlighted: the Gibraltar International Airport. The airport has one of the most well-known runways in the world and has been described as one of the most scenic and scary airports to fly into.

Until recent years, the major road – Winston Churchill Avenue – connecting Gibraltar to Spain ran straight across the airport’s runway. The unique layout meant that planes and cars shared the same space, which naturally led to significant congestion.

READ MORE: Huge airport with 130-ft waterfall crowned world’s best and UK doesn’t come close

Every time a plane landed or took off, traffic reportedly had to come to a halt. Cars, cyclists and even pedestrians had to wait as barriers lowered and aircrafts taxied across the tarmac. Delays could happen up to 15 times a day, before new measures were put in place.

The reason for the unusual layout is due to Gibraltar’s miniscule size. Located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory that is one of the smallest in the world.

The territory measures in at approximately 6.8 square kilometres, still larger than Vatican City for reference. However, given that it overlooks the Strait of Gibraltar, land for the airport’s runway was in short supply.

Thus, the decision was made to build the runway alongside the city’s busiest road. But the airport has embraced its atypical design and even calls itself “one of the many unusual tourist attractions in Gibraltar” on its official website.

The airport, previously known as North Front Airport, is operated by the Royal Air Force but still services commercial flights for locals and tourists. The airfield is on land that was originally home to Gibraltar’s Horse Racing track.

The airport plays up its unusual location to draw in tourists, spotlighting the unique photo opportunity near its Air Traffic Control centre and boasting the best views of the Rock of Gibraltar. The official website even encourages visitors to tag @visit_gibraltar and @visitGibraltar in their runway photos on Instagram.

The airport also highlights the unique experience of crossing an active airport runway. That said, it also shares explicit guidelines for how to cross safely, including keeping valuable close at hand, complying with lanes and warning signs and keeping pets under control.

In recent years, congestion and delays have ebbed at the airport thanks to a new bypass tunnel opening. The Kingsway Tunnel now separates road traffic from runway traffic – though pedestrians can still cross the runway to take advantage of the picture-perfect selfie spot.

Given its proximity to the Spanish border and many coastal resorts, Gibraltar International Airport is a choice hub for travellers visiting the Costa del Sol. The airport is also within walking distance of Gibraltar’s town centre and is walking distance to the Spanish border.

A travel hack known as ‘skiplagging’ is saving passengers hundreds of pounds by missing their connecting flight, and airlines hate it – but there’s a catch to it that you should be aware of.

A sneaky travel trick hated by airlines is saving hundreds thousands of pounds, but with the holiday season fast approaching, there’s something that you need to know before you try it for yourself.

‘Skiplagging’ is a common money-saving flight hack used by travellers and is also known as ‘hidden city ticketing’. It’s a way for travellers to save money on flights by booking a multi-stop flight and leaving at the connecting city instead of flying all the way to the supposed final destination.

By successfully using this method, passengers can save hundreds on their trips. However, there’s a catch to it, which can massively affect your entire flight itinerary.

READ MORE: easyJet, Ryanair and TUI customers may get lower prices with this quick trick

What is ‘skiplagging’?

Multi-stop flights are sometimes cheaper than direct flights, and it works by searching for flights that have a connection to the destination you intend to get off to. For example, you’re looking to book a holiday to New York from London, but the tickets cost £578 for a direct flight.

Instead, by taking a flight to Chicago, with a layover in New York, it costs £350. That’s £228 saved, which could be used as a spending money. So, imagine if you did that to all of your flights.

Airlines hate ‘skiplagging’ for obvious reasons: it affects their revenue. By using connecting flights as a cheaper alternative, airlines don’t receive the higher fare that they could’ve earned by a passenger taking a direct flight to the person’s actual final destination. Not only that, empty seats are also a loss of money for airlines, as they could’ve sold those to other passengers.

As reported by NPR, in 2019, German airline Lufthansa sued a passenger who saved money by skiing a leg of their purchased round-trip ticket. The passenger had found a cheaper alternative to travel between several cities in Europe and in the United States, “breaking the rules when he skipped part of his return flight” from Oslo to Seattle.

The airline sued the passenger, demanding £1,507 to make up the difference. However, the court dismissed Lufthansa’s case, saying that the airline had a “lack of transparency” and wasn’t allowed to recalculate the airfare solemnly based on this occasion.

READ MORE: Cheapest day of the week to fly and when to book to save money on your next holiday

Does ‘skiplagging

As a former check-in agent, I would suggest future travellers be careful of using this method – as it can cost you far more on the return journey. A common mistake that passengers make when trying to ‘skip lag’ is to book their departure and return flight under the same booking.

Not following through with the entire flight itinerary leaves passengers at risk of having the remaining portion of their tickets cancelled. This is because airlines will ‘assume’ that you didn’t take the initial flight at first, therefore, the rest of the itinerary gets cancelled.

Some airlines have also introduced new rules for sending checked-in luggage to the final destination, as opposed to the stop-gap destination, risking passengers being left without their luggage. This was the case for Jesse Collier, who attempted to do ‘skip lagging’ by booking a multi-city flight to New York City without intending to take the second flight to Buffalo. However, she was caught by surprise when she was left with no suitcase, as it had gone to her final destination.

Also, it’s important to note that passengers can’t turn up at their layover airport with the excuse that they have missed their first flight. This is because airlines treat a passenger who has missed the first flight as a ‘no show’, cancelling the remaining segments of the flight and the passenger becoming responsible for rebooking at their own expense.

Despite ‘skiplagging’ being a widely-shared hack for travellers, skipping flights actually violates the airline’s terms and conditions, often found at the bottom of the page when purchasing your ticket. If caught, travellers can face fines from the airlines, as well as a potential ban from traveling with them.

Evans is going to need every ounce of that energy as Wales face a resurgent Ireland who arrive in Newport as the fifth best side in the world.

Ireland pushed France all the way in their opening-round defeat, before a convincing victory over Italy. They also made England work hard for their win last weekend.

The last time Wales played Ireland they were on the wrong end of a 36-5 scoreline.

“We were very much humbled last year in Cork, it wasn’t what we expected at all,” said Evans.

“It still sits in a lot of our heads, a lot of us were involved in that game. I think it is time to give them one back and they’re coming to our home patch, so what better place.”

Evans is a big fan of new head coach Sean Lynn, who led Gloucester-Hartpury to victory over her Saracens side in March.

“Every single individual knows their job, their role, but also is not afraid to take the shackles off and do what they’re good at,” she said.

“We’ve been given a licence to go out and play and it’s exciting.

“We’ve shown in patches that we can attack really well, we’ve shown that we can score, we’ve shown that we can defend for a long period of time, but this weekend we want to put it all together and we want to make sure that that performance is 80 minutes, consistent and fun to watch.”

The decision was welcomed by some activists, but transgender campaigners warned it could lead to discrimination.

The United Kingdom’s highest court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to a “biological woman and biological sex” under British equality laws, a landmark decision greeted with concern by supporters of transgender rights but welcomed by the government as bringing clarity.

The highly anticipated ruling on Wednesday centred on whether a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document giving legal recognition of someone’s new gender, is protected from discrimination as a woman under Britain’s Equality Act.

The decision confirms that single-sex services for women such as refuges, hospital wards and sports can exclude trans women, clearing up legal ambiguity. Transgender campaigners said the decision could lead to discrimination, especially over employment issues.

“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms ‘women’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” said Deputy President of the Supreme Court Patrick Hodge.

“But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another – it is not.”

Transgender rights have become a polarising political issue in the UK and other parts of the world. Some critics say the conservative right has weaponised identity politics to attack minority groups, while others argue that support for transgender people has infringed on the rights of biological women.

In the United States, legal challenges are under way after US President Donald Trump issued executive orders that include barring transgender people from military service.

The judgement in Britain followed legal action by a campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS), against guidance issued by the devolved Scottish government that accompanied a 2018 law designed to increase the proportion of women on public-sector boards.

The guidance said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman. FWS, which was backed by lesbian rights groups, lost its case in the Scottish courts, but the Supreme Court ruled in its favour.

“Today the judges have said what we always believed to be the case: that women are protected by their biological sex, that sex is real and that women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women,” Susan Smith, co-director of FWS, told cheering supporters outside court.

‘Deeply concerned’

Britain’s Labour government said the Supreme Court’s decision would bring clarity for hospitals, refuges and sports clubs.

“Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government,” a government spokesperson said.

In an example of the ruling’s potential impact, a Scottish health organisation that is being sued by a nurse it suspended over her response to a trans woman using a female changing room said it had noted the judgement.

“We will now take time to carefully consider the judgement and its implications,” a spokesperson for NHS Fife said.

The Supreme Court said trans people – whether trans women or men – would not be disadvantaged by its decision, as the Equality Act afforded them protection against discrimination or harassment.

Trans rights campaigners said the ruling had worrying implications.

“Today is a challenging day, and we are deeply concerned at the widespread, harmful implications of today’s Supreme Court ruling,” a consortium of LGBT+ organisations, including the prominent group Stonewall, said in a statement.

“We need to take the time to digest the full implications of the ruling and to understand what this will mean on both legal and practical levels … it is important to be reminded that the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Equality Act protects trans people against discrimination.”

Trans woman and campaigner ‪Ellie Gomersall said the ruling was “another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace”.

Legal experts said the ruling showed equality legislation might need to be urgently updated to ensure trans people were protected.

White House says it will appeal ruling that administration flouted court order on deportation flights.

A judge in the United States has said there is “probable cause” to hold US President Donald Trump’s administration in criminal contempt for disregarding his order to turn around deportation flights to El Salvador.

In a written ruling on Wednesday, US District Judge James Boasberg said the Trump administration had shown “willful disregard” for his March 15 ruling that the government could not deport alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th-century wartime law without giving them a chance to challenge their removal.

The Trump administration’s actions were “sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg said in his 46-page ruling.

“The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions,” Boasberg added.

“None of their responses has been satisfactory.”

Boasberg said the administration still had the opportunity to avoid being held in contempt if it allowed deportees to oppose their removals in court.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the administration would appeal the ruling.

“The President is 100 percent committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal illegal migrants are no longer a threat to Americans and their communities across the country,” Cheung said in a statement posted on social media.

Boasberg’s ruling is the closest any court has come to suggesting that Trump administration officials could be punished over the controversial deportation flights.

The Trump administration has deported 238 migrants that it claims are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, where they have been confined in the Centre for the Confinement of Terrorism, a 40,000-capacity, maximum-security prison.

US officials have released little evidence to support their claims of gang membership, and US media outlets have reported that there is no public information to suggest that any but a small minority of the deportees have criminal records.

Trump has controversially invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the US president authority to detain or deport noncitizens during wartime, to carry out the deportations.

Critics have condemned the use of the law, arguing that the US is not currently under any threat of “invasion” as a result of being at war.