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More than 100 of Britain’s most renowned athletes have written an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging the government to back London’s bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

Sir Mo Farah, Keely Hodgkinson, Dame Kelly Holmes, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Daley Thompson are among the athletes, past and present, to sign the letter.

The bid proposal, if successful, would see the World Championships held at London Stadium, and require a “one-off injection of public funding in 2028” with the promise of “£400m in national economic impact”.

“Hosting in 2029 would bring the world’s best athletes back to British soil but more importantly, it would inspire a new generation to get involved in the most diverse and inclusive sport there is,” the letter read.

“Some of us were lucky enough to experience a home crowd at London 2012 and 2017. Some of us volunteered, others were in the stands. All of us were inspired.

“That spark set many of us on our journeys, just as it did for so many thousands of other young people who’ve gone on to join clubs, coach, officiate, or simply fall in love with athletics.”

The 2029 bid process is due to begin this summer, with organisers urging ministers to commit to securing the World Championships for the UK in the coming weeks.

London also hosted the Championships when they were last held in the UK in 2017.

HAMAS has said that it is ready to release hostages in a bid to end the war in Gaza.

The move by the terror group is part of a response to a US ceasefire proposal.

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Hamas said it would release ten living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas said: “This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and ensure the flow of aid to our people and families.”

There was no immediate response from Israel to the statement.

But PM Benjamin Netanyahu had last week told families of the hostages they had accepted the US proposals.

It comes as Gaza health officials said yesterday that 14 people had been killed and 284 injured in the past day.

Yesterday, The UN warned that Gaza had become “the hungriest place on Earth”.

It said the territory’s entire population was at risk of famine.

Displaced Palestinians living in tents were handed food by aid agencies.

Women and children were among those gathered in Khan Yunis holding pots and pans.

Jens Laerke, of the UN’s humanitarian agency, said it was the only area on the planet where 100 per cent of the population was at risk of famine.

He added: “Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth.”

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Foreign minister Wang Yi is meeting top diplomats from 11 Pacific nations in the Chinese city of Xiamen.

China is hosting a high-level meeting with 11 Pacific Island nations as it seeks to deepen ties and build what it calls a “closer” community with “a shared future” in the strategic region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is chairing the meeting in the city of Xiamen on Wednesday.

The president of Kiribati, Taneti Maamau, and top diplomats from Niue, Tonga, Nauru, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa are attending.

The two-day meeting is the third such gathering, but the first to happen in person in China.

Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said the diplomats are expected to discuss trade, infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, sustainability and climate change.

“For China, this is an opportunity to extend its influence and expand economic ties at a time when the United States is showing very little interest in this region, and we know increasingly that many of those countries are more aligned on China on things like investment, infrastructure, trade and even security assistance,” she said.

Global uncertainty

The meeting comes as United States President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and the threat of tariffs fuel global uncertainty. Analysts say this has left the door open for China to step in.

“This lack of certainty makes the US a very challenging partner to work with,” said Tess Newton at the Griffith Asia Institute. “Whereas other partners including China can offer, well you know we were here yesterday, we’re here today, and we expect to be here tomorrow.”

The Chinese foreign ministry, announcing the meeting last week, said the objective of the meeting was to “jointly build an even closer China-Pacific Island countries community with a shared future”.

Analysts say that for Beijing, that translates to greater economic aid, diplomatic engagement and the pursuit of a regional security pact.

China has already signed a security accord with the Solomon Islands in 2022, a year after deploying police to the ground in the capital, Honiara, following a series of riots there.

Beijing has also sent advisers to Vanuatu and Kiribati and wants to lock in a similar pact with other island nations.

“What China is trying to do … is to insert itself as a security player and in some cases through the angle of contributing to the individual security needs of Pacific countries such as policing,” said Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

The meeting in Xiamen is “an opportunity for China” to push its goals “in its own space, on its own turf and on its own terms,” he added.

Taiwan

The topic of Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own and lies off the coast of Xiamen, is also expected to be discussed at this meeting.

China has been gradually whittling away at the number of countries in the Pacific that retain ties with Taiwan, and in January of last year, Nauru also switched recognition to Beijing.

Taiwan now has three remaining allies in the region – Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.

Al Jazeera’s Yu said the region is of strategic, military and diplomatic significance for China.

“If you look at the region, these countries are very small, their economies are small and only one of them has a population that exceeds one million. That is Papua New Guinea,” she said.

“But the region is strategically extremely important to Beijing because it’s home to crucial shipping lanes, deep sea cables, deep sea ports and potential mineral deposits underwater. Militarily, it could be strategically important, because if there could be any conflict in the future, this area could be important in terms of launching potential forward attacks on US territory, and also US ally Australia is very close by.”

SAUDI Arabia will lift its long-standing booze ban at 600 tourist sites by 2026 — in a boozy bid to attract visitors ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup and 2030 Expo.

In a shock U-turn, the ultra-conservative Kingdom will allow the sale of wine, beer, and cider at licensed locations including five-star hotels, luxury resorts, and expat-friendly compounds.

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Booze will still be banned in public, homes, shops, and fan zones — with spirits off the menu altogether under strict new rules.

The dramatic policy shift is part of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 drive to boost international tourism, lure foreign cash and shake off its teetotal image.

Officials hope controlled alcohol sales in glitzy areas like Neom, Sindalah Island and the Red Sea Project will help the country compete with Gulf rivals like the UAE and Bahrain — where boozing is already legal in tourist zones.

Licensed venues will operate under a tightly regulated system, with trained staff and strict rules to prevent abuse and uphold the Kingdom’s Islamic values.

The goal, authorities said, “is to welcome the world without losing cultural identity — positioning Saudi Arabia as a progressive, yet respectful player on the global tourism map.”

The plan is set to roll out in 2026 — eight years before the World Cup kicks off — and comes amid growing pressure to modernise the Kingdom’s image.

Several global hotel chains are already rejigging their blueprints to accommodate booze zones, with tourism bosses eyeing a flood of new jobs and international investment.

It follows a dry storm earlier this year when Saudi’s ambassador to the UK announced alcohol will be banned entirely at the 2034 World Cup, sparking fury among England fans.

Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud told LBC radio in February: “There is no alcohol at all, rather like our weather, it’s a dry country.

“Everyone has their own culture. We’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture but we don’t want to change our culture for someone else.

“It is not a Saudi event, it is a world event and, to a large extent, we will welcome everyone who wants to come.”

Fan Tim Bailey fumed on X: “Their country, their rules. But why the f*** would anyone want to go there anyway?”

One supporter added: “Weird . . . they always want everyone else to change their culture for them.”

But now, Saudi insiders hope the new booze policy will silence critics and show the country is ready to party — with limits.

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Sources say the model is inspired by successful alcohol rollouts in Dubai and Manama, where tight control has boosted tourism and business without trashing tradition.

The Kingdom insists this will not be a free-for-all — and anyone caught misusing the system will face swift consequences.

“Sales will only happen under controlled environments, with licensed service staff and clear operational rules in place to make sure alcohol is handled responsibly and respectfully,” a government statement read.

Spirits and hard liquor above 20% ABV will remain banned, with no sign of shops, takeaways or home brewing being permitted.

Mining company Sibanye-Stillwater says all workers are safe and have been provided with food as they await rescue.

Rescue efforts were under way in South Africa on Friday as more than 200 miners were trapped at a gold mine for a second day.

Mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said on Thursday that the miners were trapped after what it referred to as a “shaft incident” at the Kloof gold mine, one of the company’s deepest.

It said that all the workers were safe and gathered at an assembly point where they had been provided with food as efforts were being made to get them out.

“It was decided that employees should remain at the sub-shaft station until it is safe to proceed to the surface,” the company said.

The total number of workers trapped was not immediately clear. News agencies reported that 260 people were trapped, while a company spokesperson said 289 miners were in the shaft.

The National Union of Mineworkers, representing the workers at the Kloof mine, said they had been trapped for more than 24 hours as Sibanye-Stillwater continued pushing back its estimated time to retrieve the workers.

“We are very concerned because the mine did not even make this incident public until we reported it to the media,” said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu.

The mine, located 60km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, is among a few collecting from some of the world’s deepest gold deposits.

A GANGSTER jailed for plotting to blow up a football stadium has lost his bid to stay in Britain — but is still here.

Maksim Cela, 59, claimed returning to Albania would put him at risk from rivals.

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His claims were thrown out by a judge on Friday after a two-year fight costing taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.

But the crook, who arrived in 2023, five days after serving a sentence for murder and terrorism in Albania, has not left and launched yet another appeal.

Cela argued sending him home breached European human rights laws.

But Judge Jeremy Rintoul of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber said: “I do not accept that the appellant has told the truth about the nature of the threats.

“I find that the appellant’s refusal to acknowledge guilt weighs heavily against him.”

Cela was jailed in Albania for masterminding the murder of a crime-busting police officer and plotting to bomb a football stadium.

In his legal battle, he claimed the elderly mum of the dead officer might seek revenge.

He was named as the mafia boss in the case only after The Sun fought for 23 months to overturn an anonymity order.

Sources last night confirmed Cela was still in the UK and had lodged another legal appeal.

The Home Office said: “Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets.”

It remained unclear last night where Cela was living — but he can remain here while his appeal is being prepared.

NEW YORK — Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed to pay a $329,794 fine to settle an ethics board’s complaint that he misspent public funds on his security detail during his brief, failed run for U.S. president.

The deal, announced Wednesday by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, is the costliest repayment order in the ethics board’s history. But it allows de Blasio to avoid an even steeper penalty of $475,000 that was previously imposed, a reduction the board said came in light of the former mayor’s “financial situation.”

In exchange, de Blasio agreed to drop his appeal of the board’s finding. And for the first time, he admitted that he received written warning that his out-of-state security expenses could not legally be covered by city taxpayers.

“In contradiction of the written guidance I received from the Board, I did not reimburse the City for these expenses,” de Blasio wrote in the settlement, adding: “I made a mistake and I deeply regret it.”

The payments concern the $319,794.20 in travel-related expenses — including airfare, lodging, meals — that de Blasio’s security detail incurred while accompanying him on trips across the country during his presidential campaign in 2019. He will also pay a $10,000 fine.

The campaign elicited a mix of mockery and grousing by city residents, who accused the Democrat of abandoning his duties as second-term mayor for the national spotlight. It was suspended within four months.

Under the agreement, de Blasio must pay $100,000 immediately, followed by quarterly installments of nearly $15,000 for the next four years. If he misses a payment, he will be deemed in default and ordered to pay the full $475,000.

The funds will eventually make their way back into the city treasury, according to a spokesperson for the Conflicts of Interest Board.

An attorney for de Blasio, Andrew G. Celli Jr., declined to comment on the settlement.

De Blasio had previously argued that forcing him to cover the cost of his security detail’s travel violated his 1st Amendment rights by creating an “unequal burden” between wealthy candidates and career public servants.

Since leaving office in 2021, de Blasio has worked as a lecturer at multiple universities, most recently the University of Michigan, and delivered paid speeches in Italy.

Offenhartz writes for the Associated Press.

OKLAHOMA CITY — UCLA earned a No. 9 NCAA softball national seed and will host a regional during its first season as a Big Ten member.

The Bruins (49-10, 17-5 Big Ten) lost to Michigan 2-0 in the Big Ten tournament title game, but still earned the right to host the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA is making a record 40th appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Regional No. 2 seed Arizona State, Regional No. 3 seed San Diego State and Regional No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara also earn bids in UCLA’s regional, with the Regional No. 1 seed Bruins playing UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 p.m. PDT Friday (ESPN+) and Arizona State playing San Diego State at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).

Texas A&M earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I softball tournament on Sunday, edging four-time defending national champion Oklahoma for the top spot and leading seven Southeastern Conference teams seeded in the top eight.

Oklahoma won the SEC regular-season title by a game over Texas A&M in its first season in the conference. Texas A&M and Oklahoma tied for the conference tournament title after the championship game was canceled because of bad weather.

No. 3 seed Florida, a national semifinalist last season, and No. 4 Arkansas also represent the SEC. Oklahoma State, which has made five consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances, is in the regional with Arkansas.

The final eight teams in the 64-team field will play in the WCWS from May 29-June 5 in Oklahoma City.

No. 5 seed Florida State, the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season champion, is the top-seeded team from outside the SEC. The Seminoles won the national title in 2018 and were runners-up in 2021 and 2023.

Florida State is followed by three more SEC teams. Texas, the national runner-up two of the past three seasons, is No. 6. Tennessee, with hard-throwing Karlyn Pickens, is No 7. South Carolina is No. 8 after being picked 15th out of 15 teams in the preseason SEC poll.

No. 10 seed LSU could be challenged. Nebraska, led by former Oklahoma pitcher Jordyn Bahl, also will be in the Baton Rouge Regional. Bahl was the Most Outstanding Player of the World Series in 2023.

Clemson, the ACC tournament champion after knocking off Florida State in the title game, is No. 11.

No. 12 seed Texas Tech, the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion, features NiJaree Canady, the reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association Player of the Year. Canady did not allow a run in 16 2/3 innings at the Big 12 Tournament and was named its Most Outstanding Player.

Arizona, which lost to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, earned the No. 13 seed.

Duke reached the WCWS for the first time last season and will host a regional this year as the No. 14 seed.

Another SEC team, Alabama, is the No. 15 seed.

Oregon (47-7), the Big Ten regular-season champion, was seeded 16th.

Brunt writes for the Associated Press.

Analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough, but host Switzerland hopes ‘roadmap’ will emerge.

China’s trade envoy He Lifeng has met United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Switzerland for talks aimed at easing a trade war between the superpowers that is roiling global markets.

The first official engagement, since the US slapped a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods, prompting a retaliatory 125 percent duty from China, began on Saturday at an undisclosed location in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

A motorcade of black cars and vans was seen leaving the home of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in the suburb of Cologny, The Associated Press news agency reported.

A diplomatic source, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the meeting, said the sides met for about two hours before departing for a previously arranged luncheon.

The trade dispute, which effectively amounts to a mutual boycott of products, was prompted by US President Donald Trump last month when he announced sweeping duties on almost every country in the world, which are now subject to a 90-day reprieve while negotiations take place.

Experts believe China may be looking for the same 90-day waiver as well as a reduction of the 145 percent tariff – Trump suggested that it could be reduced to 80 percent, saying in a Truth Social post on Friday that the amount “seems right”.

Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Friday that the US would not lower tariffs unilaterally, adding that China would need to make concessions as well.

Bessent has said the meetings in Switzerland would focus on “de-escalation”.

“The best scenario is for the two sides to agree to de-escalate on the … tariffs at the same time,” said Sun Yun, director of the China programme at the Washington, DC-based Stimson Center, adding even a small reduction would send a positive signal.

“It cannot just be words,” she said.

Distrust running high

Trump has justified the punitive tariff by citing unfair trade practices and accusing Beijing of failing to curb the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid.

China, for its part, says it will not bow to “imperialists” and bullies.

With distrust running high, both sides have been keen not to appear weak, and economic analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough.

Trump has suggested the discussions were initiated by China. Beijing said the US requested the discussions and that China’s policy of opposing US tariffs had not changed.

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met both parties in Geneva on Friday and said the fact that the talks were taking place was already a success.

“If a roadmap can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions,” he told reporters on Friday, saying talks could continue into Sunday or even Monday.

After decades in prison for the brutal murders of their parents, the waiting is nearly over for brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez in their bid for freedom.

Following disagreements between the current and former Los Angeles County district attorney and a series of legal fits and starts delayed the matter in recent months, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said Friday that the brothers’ resentencing hearing can go forward Tuesday. The hearing is expected to last two days at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

The brothers were convicted of murder with special circumstances in the 1989 shotgun slayings of their parents, Jose and Kitty, at the family’s Beverly Hills home.

Erik, then 18, confessed to the killings in a conversation with his therapist and the two brothers were later sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. While Erik and Lyle claimed Jose sexually abused them and was a threat to their lives, prosecutors contended they killed their parents to get early access to their multimillion-dollar inheritance.

The brothers have been hoping for their day in court since October, when then-Dist. Atty. George Gascón asked a judge to make them eligible for parole. Resentencing could trigger their eligibility for parole through the state’s youthful offender law since they were under 26 at the time of the murders.

Gascón cited the brothers’ work creating rehabilitation programs in prison, their low-risk assessments from corrections officials and potential new evidence about their father’s alleged abusive behavior as reasons they should be set free.

But after Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman trounced Gascón in November, he vowed to re-examine the case. In March, he said he would not support resentencing, contending the brothers had not taken proper “insight” into their crimes and were still lying about being afraid their parents might kill them to cover up Jose’s alleged abuse.

Hochman previously asked Jesic to disregard Gascón’s motion and only consider filings submitted under his administration in the case, but the judge rejected that bid last month, saying there “was nothing really new” in those filings.

Hochman, who appeared on the record in court alongside the line prosecutors assigned to the case, again asked Jesic to throw out Gascón’s petition Friday. This time, he insisted information contained in a risk-assessment report generated by the parole board under the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom — who is separately considering a request for clemency from the brothers — would have been critical for Gascón to review.

The brothers’ risk level was raised from “low” to “moderate” in the report. Hochman said the report also said that Erik was caught with a cellphone, which is considered contraband in prison, in November. The phone demonstrated that Erik continues to show “elements of entitlement,” according to Hochman.

“He has continued to display narcissistic and antisocial traits,” Hochman said, reading from the report.

Hochman said Lyle, too, had used an illegal cellphone this year and admitted to aiding another inmate with tax fraud 15 years ago and purchasing narcotics in prison. The district attorney said those incidents proved the brothers showed a pattern of deceit behind bars.

Jesic again denied Hochman’s request, saying the report would need to contain something so shocking that Gascón would have reconsidered his position, such as proof the brothers joined a notorious prison gang, such as the Mexican Mafia.

A coalition of relatives supporting Erik and Lyle’s release has been in dispute with Hochman over the case in recent weeks, some of which served as the basis of a motion filed last month by defense attorney Mark Geragos seeking to disqualify Hochman and his prosecutors.

The family has accused Hochman of holding a bias against the brothers and acting “hostile, dismissive and patronizing” toward them during a meeting earlier this year. Geragos also contends Hochman created a conflict by hiring Kathy Cady — a former prosecutor and victims rights attorney who previously represented the lone Menendez relative opposed to their release — as the director of his bureau of victims services. Hochman has maintained Cady is “walled off” from the case.

The family has also questioned Hochman’s decision to transfer the two prosecutors who filed the initial motion to resentence the brothers. The attorneys, Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford, have sued Hochman for retaliation.

Hochman has denied allegations of bias and said he is simply following the law. Geragos withdrew his motion to disqualify on Friday because it would delay the re-sentencing hearing.

An attorney for relatives supporting the brothers, Bryan Freedman, continued to criticize the D.A. in court Friday.

Freedman accused Hochman of spending “hundreds of thousands of dollars” by hiring a communications consultant to disparage the Menendez family during his successful campaign for office last year.

While Hochman did make an issue of the Menendez case during the campaign — going so far as to accuse Gascón of seeking to re-sentence the brothers for political purposes — the issue was raised only in the final weeks of the race.

LAG Strategy, the public relations firm that handled communications for Hochman when he was a candidate, had been working on his campaign for nearly a year at that point.

“LAG Strategy is proud to have managed all communications for Nathan Hochman’s winning campaign for District Attorney. Our role ended when Mr. Hochman was sworn in as District Attorney on December 3, 2024,” Stuart Pfeifer, co-founder and managing partner of the firm, wrote in an email to The Times. “The Geragos team’s statement in court today shows they simply did not do their homework.”

Pfeifer is a former Times reporter.

In fiery remarks outside the courthouse, Hochman accused the Menendez camp of spreading misinformation and “hoping that that somehow will sell in the media.”

“Shame on them,” he said.

Welshman Williams described Zhao as a “superstar” after he defeated the three-time champion in the final.

Zhao became the first Asian player as well as the first amateur to triumph at the Crucible.

He returned from a 20-month ban in September, which he received for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.

A total of 10 players from China were sanctioned in the scandal, which cast a shadow over the sport in the country.

But Ferguson is optimistic about the sport’s growth in China and believes Zhao, whose world title earned him £500,000 in prize money, could go on to become “the richest-earning player in the history of the sport”.

Ferguson added: “That’s quite a bold statement when you think about the titles players like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan won.

“But the size of the market is huge and when you see the association of the brands who want to partner with snooker, it has endless potential.

“This is one of the biggest occasions snooker has seen. Snooker in China is treated like any national sport. To see a world champion returning to China a national hero is really going to send the sport to another level.”

McALLEN, Texas — The south Texas home of Elon Musk’s Southern California-born rocket company, SpaceX, is on its way to becoming an official city with a galactic name: Starbase.

A vote Saturday to formally organize Starbase as a city was approved by a lopsided margin among the small group of voters who live there — mostly Musk’s employees at SpaceX. With all the votes in, the tally was 212 in favor to 6 against, according to results published online by the Cameron County Elections Department.

Musk celebrated in a post on his social platform X, saying it is “now a real city!”

Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program that is under contract with the Department of Defense and NASA, and which aspires to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.

Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021, and approval of the new city has been all but certain. Of the 283 eligible voters in the area, most are believed to be Starbase workers.

The election victory was personal for Musk. The billionaire’s popularity has diminished since he became the chain-saw-wielding public face of President Trump’s federal agency cuts, and profits at his Tesla car company have plummeted.

SpaceX has generally drawn widespread support from local officials for its jobs and investment in the area.

But the creation of an official company town has also drawn critics who worry it will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for launches.

Companion efforts to the city vote include bills in the state Legislature to shift that authority from the county to the new town’s mayor and city council.

All these measures come as SpaceX, formerly headquartered in Hawthorne, is asking federal authorities for permission to increase the number of south Texas launches from five to 25 a year.

The city-to-be at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border is only about 1.5 square miles, crisscrossed by a few roads and dappled with Airstream trailers and modest mid-century homes.

SpaceX officials have said little about exactly why they to want a company town and did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

“We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote to local officials in 2024 with the request to get the city issue on the ballot.

The letter said the company already manages roads and utilities, as well as “the provisions of schooling and medical care” for those living on the property.

SpaceX officials have told lawmakers that granting the city authority to close the beach would streamline launch operations. SpaceX rocket launches and engine tests, and even just moving certain equipment around the launch base, requires the closure of a local highway and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach.

Critics say beach closure authority should stay with the county government, which represents a broader population that uses the beach and park. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. has said the county has worked well with SpaceX and there is no need for change.

Another proposed bill would make it a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail, if someone doesn’t comply with an order to evacuate the beach.

The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has organized protests against the city vote and the beach access issue, held another demonstration Saturday that attracted dozens of people.

Josette Hinojosa, whose young daughter was building a sand castle nearby, said she was taking part to try to ensure continued access to a beach her family has enjoyed for generations.

With SpaceX, Hinojosa said, “some days it’s closed, and some days you get turned away.”

Protest organizer Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas tribe, said his ancestors have long been in the area, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico.

“It’s not just important,” he said, “it’s sacred.”

Gonzalez and Vertuno write for the Associated Press and reported from McAllen and Austin, Texas, respectively.

May 2 (UPI) — Former Prime Minister and acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo declared Friday he will run to officially hold the presidential office.

In an expected move, he made the announcement at the National Assembly, one day after he resigned as both prime minister and acting President. He served as prime minister twice, as trade minister, minister of economy and finance and also as the South Korean ambassador to the United States.

“Our nation is also gripped by internal unrest, as conflict and division threaten the foundations of our society,” he said in his announcement in regard to his run for president, “I have decided to step forward out of love for the country and a sense of responsibility for our shared future.”

The election will take place on June 3, and will challenge Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party. The eventual winner will replace impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Three Republican senators join Democrats in voting for resolution to oppose US president’s trade policy.

The United States Senate has rejected an effort to block US President Donald Trump’s tariffs amid bipartisan concerns about the impact of his trade salvoes on the economy.

The upper house of the US Congress voted 49-49 to knock back the resolution on Wednesday, hours after government data showed that the US economy shrank for the first time in three years.

Three Republican senators – Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voted for the measure in a rare rebuke of Trump from within his own party, along with all present Democrats and Independents.

“The United States Senate cannot be an idle spectator in the tariff madness,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who represents Oregon, said ahead of the vote.

“The Congress has the power to set tariffs and regulate global trade.”

The resolution was widely viewed as a symbolic gesture since it was unlikely to have gained traction in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and would ultimately be subject to Trump’s veto power.

“It’s still a debate worth having, because, you know, if a month from now, we have massive tariffs go on, and we have a massive sell off in the stock market, and we didn’t have a first good quarter in growth, and if it’s worse again in the second quarter, people would start asking, ‘Is it good policy, or is it a bad policy?’” Paul, who co-sponsored the resolution, said of the failed vote.

Trump has played down fears that his sweeping tariffs, including a 145 percent duty on China, could tip the US into recession.

The US Department of Commerce on Wednesday reported that the economy contracted 0.3 percent during the first three months of the year, a period that occurred before Trump imposed his steepest tariffs.

A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

China welcomes the measure, saying Beijing ‘highly appreciates’ the East African country’s move.

Somalia’s ban on transit and entry of all Taiwanese passport holders has taken effect, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which accused China of pressuring the East African country into introducing the measures.

The ministry of the self-ruled island, claimed by China, said on Tuesday evening that Somalia’s civil aviation authority informed it last week of the new policy that came into force on Wednesday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested Somalia’s action made under the instigation of China to restrict the travel freedom and safety of Taiwanese nationals and has demanded that the Somali government immediately revoke the notice,” it said.

The ministry also said Somalia cited United Nations Resolution 2758, which in 1971 called for member states to restore Beijing as the “only lawful representatives of China” to the body, and invoked the “one China” principle.

It “firmly rejected and strongly condemned” Somalia’s “misinterpretation” of the UN resolution, accusing Mogadishu of using it to “create the false impression that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China”.

The move comes amid deepening ties between Taiwan and Somaliland, a breakaway region that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains unrecognised by most of the world.

In 2020, the two self-governed territories opened de facto embassies in each other’s capitals, prompting anger in Mogadishu.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said the decision was a legitimate step to protect Somalia’s interests and demonstrates “that Somalia firmly abides by the one China principle”. Beijing “highly appreciates” the move and pledges its support for Mogadishu’s claim to Somaliland, he added.

He said China also opposes “any form of official exchange” between Taiwan and Somaliland.

Limited recognition

Taiwan, under its official name the Republic of China, lost its UN seat to China in 1971, a year before it was evicted from the World Health Organization.

While only 11 countries and the Vatican formally recognise Taiwan as a state, many – including the United States – maintain close unofficial ties.

China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Taiwan’s state news agency Focus Taiwan said the Somalia travel restriction is unlikely to have much practical effect, noting that Taiwanese nationals rarely visit the country.

Citing government data, it said only 16 trips were made to Somalia by Taiwanese citizens between 2016 and February this year.