World

Taiwan Navy vessels, including a landing craft (top), maneuver in Keelung harbor, in Keelung City in northern Taiwan on Wednesday as major joint-force exercises by the Chinese military around the democratically-ruled island entered their second day. Photo by Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA-EFE

“In the face of China’s intimidation tactic and destabilizing behavior, the United States’ enduring commitment to our allies and partner, including Taiwan, continues,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

“The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including through force or coercion.”

The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command said day two of the joint Navy, Army and Rocket forces maneuvers saw the group conduct simulated “precision strikes” on key targets, including ports and energy infrastructure as part of exercise “Strait Thunder-2025 A,” which it said were successful.

Senior Col. Shi Yi said the drills also put the joint blockade and control capabilities of the various forces to the test in the Taiwan Strait in waters west and south of the island.

However, Shi stressed that the “live-fire strike drills” by ground forces using long-range rocket artillery systems were conducted further north in the East China Sea, within designated fire zones.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday’s early-morning maneuvers involved 76 aircraft and 19 PLA Navy ships and other Chinese vessels, similar numbers to Tuesday when the Chinese forces massed around Taiwan without prior warning.

The ministry, which said drills also took place east of the island in and over the Philippine Sea, said its forces were on high alert in the face of what is said was China’s “aggressive, provocative and irresponsible” behavior.

The PLA took to social media as the drills got underway Tuesday saying they were “a stern warning and forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces,” a response fully justified by the legitimate need to protect “China’s sovereignty and national unity.”

Analysts at the Eurasia Group told CNBC China was angered by a speech by Taiwan President William Lai last month in which he accused Beijing of attempting to interfere in Taiwan’s democracy and called for a legal and economic effort to fend off its attempts to infiltrate.

Beijing was forced to postpone its response due to the China Development Forum last week, a two-day event attended by CEOs of top American and European multinationals, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca — plus the presence in the region of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth making his first swing through the Asia-Pacific since taking over at the Pentagon on Jan. 25.

Hegseth further ruffled feathers within the Chinese Communist Party leadership by reiterating the United States’ commitment to counter “China’s aggression” in the region by re-establishing deterrence and praising Japan as an “indispensable partner in deterring communist Chinese military aggression,” including in the Taiwan Strait.

Hegseth made the comments while in the Philippines on Friday.

Cornell University Military History and Policy Professor David Silbey told CNBC that the exercises were both China intimidating Taiwan and preparation for potentially re-taking it by force, which Beijing has consistently refused to rule out.

A viewpoint in a UNESCO National Park has been named the most beautiful place in the world according to Time Out and it features pink, black and white-sand beaches

The most beautiful place in the world is home to pink, white and black-sand beaches, according to Time Out.

The publication has announced a list of the most beautiful places in the world and at the very top of the list is The Padar Island viewpoint in Komodo National Park. Located in Indonesia, The Padar Island viewpoint in Komodo National Park has one of the most striking sights in the world — three giant bays of white, black, and pink sand in one frame.

As if from the set of Jurassic Park, the viewpoint boasts impressive panoramic views of the island’s unique, tri-coloured beaches and surrounding turquoise waters. The iconic destination appears on most Pinterest boards and travel influencer Instagram feeds, mostly due to the fact that it is a relatively easy but steep hike up a series of steps and takes around 30-45 minutes in total.

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The island itself is also home to a diverse range of wildlife, including sharks, manta rays, dolphins, and various reptiles, falcons, geckos, and green turtles. Most people choose to hike to the viewpoint early in the morning to increase the beauty of the view with the sunrise. Alternatively, the dramatic Indonesian sunsets are another prime time to visit the viewpoint.

The island is located in the Komodo National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is a group of volcanic islands, inhabited by 5,700 giant lizards. Due to their appearance and aggressive behaviour, they have earned the name of ‘Komodo dragons’. They exist nowhere else in the world and are of great interest to scientists studying the theory of evolution.

Alongside Padar, Komodo and Rinca make up the National Park, as well as some smaller islands. They are all located at the juncture of two continental plates and feature a dry climate with rugged hillsides and dense vegetation which contrasts the sprawling sandy beaches and coral-rich waters.

The destination is a popular diving and snorkeling spot, as the sea is home to an array of corals full of reef fish. Castle Rock and Crystal Rock are well-known spots, and divers often see tunas, barracudas and even mantas and dolphins. To get to the Komodo Islands from the UK, you will need to fly to Labuan Bajo, and then hop on a boat tour, from Labuan Bajo Harbour. This can be either via a ferry or a boat trip, and it will take around two hours to arrive in Komodo Island.

According to the East Nusa Tenggara provincial head of tourism, there is an entry fee for Komodo Island in Komodo National Park and it is differentiated into two categories for local tourists and foreigners. Payment for entrance must be in cash and costs IDR 600,000 (£30.54) for foreign nationals. This price includes an entry fee and snorkelling.

An internally displaced Palestinian barber cuts a customer’s hair Tuesday in a makeshift parlor set up amid the ruins of a bombed-out building in Gaza City as a renewed Israeli military offensive against the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave shifted into a higher gear. Photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE

The territory seized in the operation would become part of what he described as “security zones of the State of Israel.”

“Expanding the operation this morning will increase the pressure on the Hamas murderers and also on the population in Gaza and advance the achievement of the sacred and important goal for all of us. I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war,” Katz wrote in a post on X.

Katz’ proclamation, backed with the deployment of an additional Israel Defense Forces division into southern Gaza, followed a night of Israeli bombardment of Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border and across the south, with authorities reporting at least 15 people killed including 12 people the Hamas-run civil defense agency said had been pulled dead from a home in the Khan Yunis area.

On Monday, Israel issued evacuation orders covering the whole of Rafah and much of the area between the southern city and Khan Yunis ordering hundreds of thousands of people to move to a humanitarian zone in Al Mawasi ahead of the IDF “returning to fight with great force to eliminate the capabilities of terrorist organizations.”

The escalation comes two weeks into Israel’s resumption of its war on Hamas after the breakdown of a cease-fire and hostage release/prisoner exchange deal brokered by Arab countries and the United States that had been keeping a tenuous peace since Jan. 19.

Campaign groups for Israeli hostages condemned the ramping up of the military campaign saying they were appalled that the government had opted to go down the route of more bloodshed when it was a failed strategy, compared with cease-fires which were responsible for virtually all the hostage releases to date.

Families “were horrified to wake up this morning to the defense minister’s announcement that the military operation in Gaza would be expanded for the purpose of ‘capturing extensive territory,'” said the Families and Missing Hostages Forum.

“Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘territorial gains? Instead of securing the release of the hostages through a deal and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers into Gaza to fight in the same areas where battles have already taken place repeatedly.”

In a post on X, the group said the Israeli government had an obligation to free all 59 hostages from Hamas captivity — to pursue every possible channel to advance a deal for their release.

“We call on the Trump administration and mediating countries to continue exerting pressure on Hamas for the immediate release of our loved ones. Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home — the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial — and end this war.”

“Today we celebrate courage, a strength that is based in love. This truth is illustrated through our honorees who proved that love can inspire extraordinary valor even in the face of vulnerability,” said Trump. “This is especially evident in places where their passion defies convention and what has been shown at great personal risk of stigma, persecution or harm.”

The eight women, who received the awards, included Henriette Da of Burkina Faso, an expert in human rights, women’s rights and development; Major Velena Iga of Papua New Guinea, who has fought for more than a decade to combat violence against women; and Amit Soussana of Israel, who was held hostage following the Oct. 7th, 2023, attack in Israel.

“I am a survivor. On Oct. 7, my world changed forever. I was taken hostage by Hamas and held captive for 55 days,” said Soussana, who has raised awareness about the trauma the hostages have suffered as she advocates for their release. “Fifty-five days of fear, of pain and of being stripped of every freedom I once took for granted.

“Courage to me means standing up for what you believe in, even when the odds are against you. It means staying true to your values, choosing hope when despair threatens to take over and choosing love when confronted with hate,” Soussana said, while admitting that receiving the courage award was “somewhat painful.”

“While I am here, my friends remain in the darkness, 543 long days and nights. They are still suffering,” Soussana added in reference to the hostages who remain in captivity. “We cannot move forward until they are free.”

Other recipients of Tuesday’s Women of Courage awards included Angelique Songco of the Philippines, who protects the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park from illegal fishing and poaching; Georgiana Pascu of Romania, who has dedicated herself to promoting human rights for institutionalized children and adults with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities; and Zabib Musa Loro Bakhit of South Sudan, who has served more than a decade in post-conflict and resource-poor areas of Africa.

Namini Wijedasa of Sri Lanka, an award-winning journalist who has spent her career chronicling the human toll of Sri Lanka’s civil conflict while holding those in charge accountable, and Amat Al-Salam Al-Hajj of Yemen, the founder of the Abductees’ Mothers Association, also received awards Tuesday.

In addition to honoring individuals, the Women of Courage Awards honored a group of women for their student protest movement against violent repression in Bangladesh last summer.

“They demonstrated extraordinary bravery, including standing between security forces and male protesters in spite of threats and violence,” according to the State Department as it awarded the Madeleine Albright Honorary Group Award. “The bravery and selflessness of these women amid uncertainty was the very definition of courage.”

DYC’s founding CEO Lee Da-yeon has a meeting at the company’s office in Seoul. The company rolled out unique political meme coins earlier this year. Photo courtesy of DYC

DYC’s founding CEO Lee Da-yeon said that the tokens would outperform conventional opinion polls, which often suffer from biased phrasing and low response rates, in gauging shifts in public sentiment.

“The value of Bo Su or Jin Bo coins is determined by open-market demand. When significant political or social events occur, coin price fluctuations provide a real-time indicator of public sentiment across ideological lines,” Lee told UPI.

“Unlike traditional polls that require time to collect and analyze responses, this market-based system reflects opinion shifts immediately and continuously, creating a more responsive feedback mechanism,” he said.

Thus far, the Progressive coin has done better in the two-way competition as it has been traded at a higher value than the Conservative coin.

Lee interprets this as a sign of the public’s political leaning during a period of deep uncertainty in the East Asian country.

“Most of our current users appear to be Koreans because our outreach focused only on the domestic market over the past few months,” he said. “In my view, the stronger demand for the Progressive coin suggests that more Korean people want progressive solutions in today’s tumultuous political situation.”

In early December, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a brief martial law, prompting the National Assembly to impeach him. The Constitutional Court is reviewing the case to deliver its verdict this Friday.

If the court upholds the parliamentary impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office, triggering a presidential election within 60 days. Most opinion polls have found that a majority of people back Yoon’s removal.

Asked about the possibility that the generation gap in familiarity with cryptocurrency technology can kick in, Lee acknowledged that older, more conservative citizens might struggle to access platforms like UNISWAP, potentially skewing participation.

“We are working hard to list the coins on major exchanges to make them more accessible, which will improve their reliability as political indicators,” he said.

Lee claimed that using real money would add weight to participants’ decisions.

“When people put real money behind their predictions, they tend to make more careful, rational decisions, unlike emotional or superficial survey responses. The aggregate of those financially motivated decisions often reveals a more truthful picture of public sentiment,” he said.

Ultimately, Lee hopes to build a blockchain-based political engagement model as a platform designed to become a trusted public resource.

“This model would generate tamper-proof political data, foster open and fair communities, and eventually influence elections and policymaking as a core part of digital democracy,” he said.

“We envision a future where real-time, tamper-proof civic data influences public discourse, policy feedback, and even voting behavior. It’s a new form of digital democracy where participation is voluntary, transparent, and meaningful,” Lee added.

Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14 by the National Assembly over his shocking and short-lived declaration of martial law.

The Constitutional Court has the final say on whether to formally remove Yoon from office. It heard the final arguments of a lengthy trial on Feb. 25 and a decision was widely expected by mid-March, based on the timelines of two previous impeachment proceedings.

The drawn-out deliberation process has sparked massive rallies on both sides of the issue, with hundreds of thousands of anxious protesters descending on central Seoul each weekend.

Han on Wednesday asked politicians to “refrain from making remarks that may provoke or induce illegal demonstrations and violence.” He also vowed that the government would make safety and public order its top priorities before and after the court’s sentence.

“We will mobilize all our police and administrative forces to thoroughly prepare to prevent any unfortunate incident,” Han said. “In particular, we ask that the police strengthen the security of the Constitutional Court justices and thoroughly prepare to maintain the safety of major facilities such as the Constitutional Court and diplomatic facilities without any loopholes.”

South Korea’s acting police chief issued an order Wednesday placing the country’s entire police force on the highest-level security alert ahead of the ruling.

Some 14,000 officers will be mobilized on Friday, acting chief Lee Ho-young said, with police creating a “vacuum state” around the Constitutional Court by completely sealing off the area.

“It is feared after the court ruling that some of the crowd may stage extreme and violent protests, leading to accidents,” Lee said. “Full police powers will be mobilized to prevent serious social conflict.”

The United States Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday advised American citizens to avoid large crowds and demonstrations related to the verdict.

“Most demonstrations in South Korea are peaceful,” the embassy said in an alert. “However, avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place, and exercise caution in the vicinity of any large crowds, gatherings, protests or rallies.  Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.”

The advisory echoes a similar warning about political rallies issued by the Chinese Embassy, which said that “extreme incidents cannot be ruled out.”

“Keep a distance from local political gatherings, do not participate, do not stay, do not watch, do not publish or forward political remarks publicly, and try to avoid verbal or physical conflicts with local people,” the embassy said on its official WeChat account Tuesday.

Public demonstrations, particularly those held by Yoon’s supporters, have at times turned violent. In January, dozens of angry protesters stormed Seoul’s Western District Court after Yoon was formally arrested for his martial law attempt, breaking windows, destroying property and injuring 17 police officers.

If at least six of the eight sitting Constitutional Court justices vote to uphold the impeachment, Yoon will be immediately removed from office and a snap presidential election must be held within 60 days. He would become the second South Korean president to leave office through impeachment, after President Park Geun-hye in 2017.

After Park’s impeachment was confirmed by the court, violent protests erupted, leaving four dead and 63 injured.

Public opinion remains strongly in favor of Yoon’s removal from office. In a survey released Friday by pollster Gallup Korea, 60% percent of respondents said Yoon’s impeachment should be upheld, while 34% said it should be dismissed.

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said Wednesday he expected a “reasonable” decision from the court.

“It is regrettable that the credibility of the Republic of Korea has decreased and national chaos has continued during this period,” Lee said during a party meeting held in downtown Seoul. “Now that the sentencing date has been designed, we will wait along with the public for the court to draw a reasonable conclusion based on the ideals and values of the Constitution.”

Dave Coulier is feeling better and his “Full House” family couldn’t be happier.

“DAVE IS CANCER FREE!!!! Join me in celebrating this AMAZING news — let’s shower him with all the love in the world!,” Candace Cameron Bure wrote Monday on Instagram, celebrating a man who she grew up co-starring with and then rejoined for episodes of “Fuller House.”

She posted a photo of herself as a child, on set with Coulier, along with more recent images that included one of her smiling with him and his wife, Melissa.

“Love you so much, poopoo,” Coulier replied in comments.

He found out in October that he had cancer — non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — and went public with it last November. On Monday, he delivered a positive update in a Parade article, saying his doctors had “carpet-bombed me for three more treatments” after seeing improvement in a PET scan that was done halfway through chemo. “[T]hey’re not expecting to see anything [further].”

After the fifth round of chemo, Melissa Coulier told Parade, “He was like, ‘I’m prepared either way. If I die, I die. And if I can stay here, great. I want to.’ Those conversations were obviously so tough.”

Coulier told “Good Morning America” that along with his wife, the “Full House” gang helped him stay strong.

“We’re a family,” he said. “And so we get these text strings, and it’s always funny, and that keeps us connected.” Plus, he said, there were myriad FaceTime calls with the likes of Cameron Bure, Lori Loughlin and John Stamos through it all.

Stamos spoke out Monday via Instagram, saying in a video that he was at Disney World when he learned Sunday night that his “dear friend Dave has beaten cancer.”

“He fought like hell, with strength and heart and, true to form, Dave, a whole lot of humor,” he said. “We FaceTimed constantly during the toughest days trying to find something, anything, to laugh about.”

Stamos also directed the celebratory video at others still battling cancer, saying, “I see you. Me and Dave are holding space for your pain and your bravery and your journey. I’m sending you every ounce of strength and light that I have.”

Meanwhile, Coulier didn’t forget Bob Saget, who died in 2022. He told Parade that he knows his old friend and co-star would have been there for him if he could have.

“I met Bob when I was 18 years old,” he said. “And by the way, yes, he comes to me in my dreams, and he always does something silly and foolish and makes me laugh. He would have called me every day.”

In fact, he said, it would have been more than that.

“He would have driven me crazy,” Coulier said. “It was a lovable crazy that he had. I think about him often.”

The 224 sickened passengers represent 8.8% of the vessel’s 2,538 passengers while the 17 sickened crew members represent 1.4% of its staff.

The numbers represent the cumulative total of those who have taken ill at different times during the cruise instead of all at once.

“Thanks to the swift response from our crew and the additional measures that we have in place, we are already seeing a reduction in reported cases,” Cunard officials said in a statement that was shared with the New York Times.

The norovirus is a very contagious virus that many refer to as the “stomach flu” and causes vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. It commonly is spread by contaminated food, water or exposed surfaces.

The Cunard Line responded to the outbreak aboard the Queen Mary 2 by increasing the crew’s cleaning and disinfection procedures.

Sick passengers and crew are isolated from others aboard the ship and stool samples have been collected for testing, according to the CDC.

Whenever outbreaks occur on cruise liners, the CDC requires the respective cruise lines to report them to the federal health agency.

The vessel departed from Southampton, England, and made a stop in New York City before proceeding to the Caribbean and then returning to its home port, ABC News reported.

The vessel also made stops in St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Tortola and on Tuesday was crossing the Atlantic Ocean to return to Southampton on April 6.

Cunard launched the 1,132-foot Queen Mary 2 in 2004. It is one of the world’s largest ocean liners and serves as the Cunard Line’s flagship.

The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will impose new tariffs this week, but it provided no details about the size and scope of the measures that have raised concerns over an intensifying global trade war.

Trump kept rivals and allies alike guessing about who would be targeted and by how much, but promised to be “very kind” when announcing tariffs on Wednesday, which he has dubbed “Liberation Day”. In recent weeks, he has made several tariff announcements, then quickly changed tack on them.

Global stocks remained volatile ahead of the so-called “reciprocal tariffs“, which Trump says are necessary to combat unfair trade imbalances with countries that target the United States.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that Trump’s tariffs will take effect immediately after he unveils them on Wednesday.

The Republican leader, an advocate of tariffs for decades, said on Monday night that he had “settled” on a plan, but refused to reveal its specifics.

Trump only said that the tariffs would be lower than what other countries would be charging the US, adding that “we sort of have a world obligation, perhaps”.

“We’re going to be very nice, relatively speaking, we are going to be very kind,” he said.

Trump is set to hold a press conference, dubbed “Make America Wealthy Again”, at the White House at 4pm local time (20:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Trump urged his fellow Republicans in the US Senate to vote against a measure to revoke his tariff policy against Canada, which he tied to a fentanyl “emergency”.

“Republicans in the Senate MUST vote to keep the National Emergency in place,” Trump wrote in a post on his private social media platform.

Republicans have a majority in the Senate, but Tim Kaine – the Democrat who introduced the proposed legislation – suggested that the bill has a chance of passing.

“There’s still a lot of discussions under way and a lot of votes that are still in play,” Kaine told reporters. “Often in the Senate, everything is pretty predictable. This is one where it’s not particularly predictable.”

Kaine also pushed back against Trump’s claim that the flow of the drug fentanyl from Canada requires an emergency declaration.

According to US government data, only 19.5kg (43 pounds) of fentanyl was seized at the Canadian border last year, compared to 9,933kg (21,900 pounds) at the border with Mexico.

Trade war looming

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said the entire global economy could be hit with what experts are calling a potentially huge trade war.

Jordan noted that Trump has said that he is aiming to restore US manufacturing, which plunged in the age of globalisation, with free trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) moving many industries to Mexico and Canada.

“Eventually, much of that offshore manufacturing went to China, and to Southeast Asia and India,” Jordan added.

“Now whether the US is going to go ahead with the 25 percent tariffs that have been promised against Canada, Mexico, and Europe, including the United Kingdom, remains to be seen.”

Trump’s strategy risks provoking a chain reaction of retaliation by major trading partners like China, Canada and the European Union.

America’s neighbours Canada and Mexico were already gearing up, but grappled with uncertainty.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that there will be no “eye for an eye” approach as the country braces for new US import tariffs kicking in this week.

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney had promised tariffs against US products that would have “maximum impact in the US” and minimal effects on Canadians.

On Tuesday, Carney’s office said he had a call with Sheinbaum to discuss the “importance of building upon the strong trading and investment relationship between [their] two countries”.

If enacted, the tariffs would deal a hefty economic blow to both nations, which are both in a free trade agreement with the US, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – an amended version of NAFTA negotiated by Trump himself in 2020.

The threat of a trade war has caused increasing political ructions, with Canada’s looming general election on April 28 set to be dominated by how to deal with Trump, who has also called for the US to annex Canada, infuriating its northern neighbour.

‘We have the power to push back’

The tensions have gone beyond North America. The EU, which Trump has accused of trying to “scr**” the US, said on Tuesday that it still hoped to negotiate a solution – but that “all instruments are on the table” to retaliate if necessary.

“We have the largest single market in the world, we have the strength to negotiate, we have the power to push back,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

“And the people of Europe should know that together we will always promote and defend our interests and our values, and together we will always stand up for our Europe.”

For his part, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Trump on “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US trade deal.

Vietnam said on Tuesday that it would slash duties on a range of goods to head off Trump’s tariffs.

The US president’s advisers have pitched imposing a 20 percent global tariff to hit almost all US trading partners, the Wall Street Journal reported, while the White House suggested Monday they might be “country specific”.

Trump, who began his second term in office in January, claimed the tariffs will drive the “rebirth” of the US as a manufacturing giant and stop it from being “ripped off”.

Volatile markets

Wall Street dipped on Tuesday, but European and Asian stock markets rose as investors waited nervously for the announcement. Safe-haven gold touched a fresh record high.

US stocks on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes have now had what is their worst quarter since 2022. US manufacturing shrunk again in March amid the uncertainty.

Trump’s threatened tariffs have prompted other targets to gird themselves. China, South Korea and Japan formed a rare alliance at the weekend, agreeing to strengthen free trade between themselves.

Trump has already imposed a range of tariffs on key economic rivals since returning to the White House.

Last week, he announced a 25 percent tariff on all auto imports, while a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminium from around the world came into effect in mid-March.

China was hit in March by additional 20 percent tariffs on all goods, triggering retaliatory duties from Beijing. The EU has unveiled is own measures to start in mid-April.

Trump has, however, delayed tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico.

Sunith was born into a flying lifestyle, taking his first tandem flight at age four and growing up immersed in paragliding at Kamshet, India. His stint in learning to paraglide began with ground handling at the age of 10 and becoming a club pilot at 15. Sunith has participated in numerous national and international competitions since age 21, achieving top rankings and setting Indian paragliding records, including a 100 km FAI triangle and a 259 km cross-country flight, which is the longest by an Indian pilot. He now conducts thermalling and cross-country clinics for club pilots, working with Nirvana Adventures, and is ranked among India’s top pilots.

How did you get into paragliding?

In 1997, when I was less than a year old, my father discovered paragliding and spontaneously decided to open a paragliding school. My parents happened to own a piece of land in the Western Ghats near Mumbai, where we lived, and before I turned 2, Nirvana Adventures—India’s pioneering paragliding school—was born. Since my days as a toddler, I have spent time outdoors running amongst paragliders, believing that flying was an everyday affair for us humans. So, I could say that I was kind of born into the sport.

What has the experience of flying been like for you?

Paragliding changed the way I perceived myself and the world. In school, being dyslexic, I stood out as different from my classmates. I was not good at sports either. Once I began to fly, especially when I began to push the boundaries, it dawned on me that the world had no boundaries, and it was up to me to set goals and break them. Initially, I started flying XC back to our guesthouse, Native Place, from Tower Hill in Kamshet, which is a distance of about 10 km. Then, in the Himalayas, I started to achieve flights of 100 km and more. Today, I hold the record for the longest flight by an Indian pilot in the Himalayas, achieving 259 km (FAI triangle).

Tell us about one of your most memorable adventures while paragliding.

I’ve been lucky to have way too many memorable flights, but here’s one that comes to mind: The 2nd time I flew from Bir to Manali, in the Himalayas, I remember it was the first day of good weather that season. What made it increasingly special was the fresh snowfall from the previous night, making the view more breathtaking. I was at an altitude zone of 4500 to 5500 meters, and even after reaching Manali, I continued to stay high and enjoy the view. I noticed that everything looked a bit too beautiful, and I was feeling way too happy. That’s when I realized that I was getting hypoxic and it was time to land.

You recently participated in the 14th Paragliding World Cup Super-Final—what was the experience like?

The speed of the competition was just crazy, and the smallest of mistakes could drop you several positions. In one of the tasks, I came in 15 minutes after the winner, which, in any competition in India or lower-level competitions in Europe, would secure me a pretty good rank—out here, I wasn’t even in the top 100!

It was amazing to see how a few pilots could consistently keep finishing at the top. This really inspired me; it was amazing to see their skills. Even when they made mistakes, they bounced back from it and kept going. It was a great learning experience.

Why should more young people be encouraged to paraglide or participate in adventure sports?

Paragliding and other adventure sports instill a love for the outdoors and a sense of ease in mind and body. I have seen how learning to paraglide has impacted the lives and characters of many people who have enrolled in Fly Nirvana, our paragliding school. People have reported that a weekend on the hill recharges them and gives them the energy and motivation to give their best at work. Then we have seen shy people become friendly and let go of their inhibitions. People overcome their fear of heights, buy their own gear, and travel the world flying in different places.

How has this sport transformed your life?

Paragliding opened up my world. I’ve met some of my best buddies in the sport. Paragliding is my passion, and it fuels me to hone my skills and keep excelling. Whether it be in competitions or when I am flying in the Himalayas, I always have a goal set to achieve. I have traveled to Spain, France, Italy, Macedonia, Slovenia, Turkey, Colombia, Korea, and Nepal for competitions. It’s been an honor to meet and fly with people of various nationalities, and now I have friends all over the world.

Is paragliding a safe sport?

In an adventure sport, there will always be inherent risks involved. In my opinion, with proper risk management, it is not riskier than riding a motorcycle. If someone is going for a course or a tandem ride, it is important to go to a reputed company. For pilots who have finished their training and are flying on their own, it is important to have a realistic and honest understanding of their own skill level. Accordingly, determine what kind of flights they can attempt and what kind of weather conditions they can fly in. When pilots let their desires push them beyond their actual skills, they put themselves in a lot of risk.

What are some good places to learn paragliding in India?

Kamshet in Maharashtra is by far the best place to learn paragliding in India. Low rolling hills, progressive sites, consistent weather, smooth soaring conditions, a long period of operation (October to May), and laminar winds make it a great place for beginners to learn paragliding.

Bir is probably the best site to fly for pilots who want to progress. However, for beginners, it may not be ideal as the take-off altitude is quite high, which could be intimidating to a lot of people doing their first solo flights. In my opinion, it makes more sense to complete basic training and get more skills before going there.

Every day, Mohammad Bahloul gambled with his own life in the hope of saving others. As a medic in the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), he would step into the unknown each workday, never knowing if he would return to his family.

A week before Eid al-Fitr, Mohammad was dispatched to Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood to recover the wounded and dead in the aftermath of Israeli attacks. Shortly after he and a team of medics and first responders arrived on the scene, Israeli ground troops encircled the area and closed off all the roads in and out. As the PRCS lost contact with its team, rumours began to spread across Rafah that those stuck inside would be massacred.

During the attempts of rescue teams to reach the area, UN workers witnessed civilians trying to flee being shot dead. On March 29, they were finally able to reach the area where the PRCS teams were attacked. There, the teams discovered the mangled remains of ambulances and UN and Civil Defence vehicles as well as a single body – that of Muhammad’s colleague, Anwar Alatar.

On March 30, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, they went back and uncovered 14 more bodies buried in the sand in a mass grave. All of them were still dressed in their uniforms and wearing gloves. Among them were Mohammad and his colleagues Mustafa Khafaja, Ezzedine Sha’at, Saleh Moammar, Rifaat Radwan, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammad al-Hila, and Raed al-Sharif.

The killing of these paramedics is not an isolated incident. Israel has been systematically targeting medical and rescue workers as part of its genocidal war – a war against life itself in Gaza. Only in Gaza, medical uniforms and ambulances do not offer protection, which international law affords. Only in Gaza, medical uniforms and ambulances can mark people as targets for execution.

For the seven agonising days in which Mohammad’s fate remained unknown, his father Sobhi Bahloul, a former principal at Bir al-Saba’ High School in Rafah, whom I have known for decades, and his mother Najah, prayed for a miracle to save their son.

They imagined that Mohammad had escaped just before the area was sealed, or that he was hiding under the rubble of a house, or perhaps that he was kidnapped by Israeli soldiers but was still alive.  As Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestinian national poet, said, Palestinians are suffering from an “incurable malady: hope”.

Although the Bahloul family dared to hope, they also carried within them the dread that Mohammad would never be seen again. They knew the stories. In January 2024, the paramedics sent to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab who lay in a car, injured and bleeding, beside her slain relatives, were also targeted and murdered. Likewise, in December 2023, the medics dispatched to rescue Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa, who was bleeding in a street in Khan Younis after being hit by an Israeli drone, were also killed.

For seven long days, hope battled fear. “May God return you and all your colleagues to us safe and sound,” Sobhi wrote on Facebook above a photo of his selfless son.

The family had already suffered so much during the genocide, having lost many loved ones.

Early on, they had to flee from their home in eastern Rafah to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, searching for an illusion called safety.

When the ceasefire was announced, the family marched back to their home in the eastern part of Rafah with thousands of others.

They found their home destroyed but did their best to restore two rooms to functionality where they could sleep. During that period the children resumed their education in makeshift tents because so many schools had been destroyed.

Just a week before Mohammad disappeared, an air raid flattened the house across the street from the family home, and his father’s car was severely damaged. Once again, the family fled, carrying what little they had left. With each displacement, their possessions dwindled – an unbearable reminder that as belongings shrink, so too does dignity.

But Mohammad had no time to help his father pitch another displacement tent. He immediately returned to his duty, working around the clock with his fellow medics in Khan Younis, answering endless calls for help, rushing from one horror to the next. Even during Ramadan, the holiest month of the year, he barely had a moment to break his fast with his family and play with his five children – among them Adam, his three-month-old baby boy.

The holy month ended with the heartbreaking news of his murder.

On Eid, I tried to reach Sobhi, but there was no answer. On his Facebook, I found these painful words: “We mourn our son, Muhammad Sobhi Bahloul, a martyr of duty and humanitarian work. To Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return.”

Despite the Israeli army’s attempt to cover up its crime by burying it in the sand, evidence speaks for what happened. A statement released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on March 30 said the Israeli forces carried out an execution and that some of the victims were handcuffed and had injuries to the head and chest. The chief of the UN humanitarian affairs office in Palestine, Jonathan Whittall, said the paramedics and first responders were killed “one by one”.

Israel, of course, used the familiar playbook of denial and obfuscation. It first claimed the paramedics were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Then it claimed that its soldiers fired on the ambulances because they were “advancing suspiciously toward” them.

Meanwhile, in an act of blatant cynicism, the Israeli government announced it was sending a rescue mission of 22 to Thailand and Myanmar following the deadly earthquake. Ten days earlier, it sent a medical delegation to North Macedonia. From Asia to Europe, it seems acceptable that a country that has massacred more than 1000 health workers and first responders in a territory it occupies illegally can feign humanitarianism abroad.

The Geneva Conventions, which explicitly protect medical personnel in conflict zones, have clearly been rendered meaningless in Gaza. International bodies, designed to uphold human rights, continue their performative outrage while failing to act. Western governments continue to be actively complicit in the genocide by sending weapons and inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite the warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court.

How much longer will the world watch this genocidal violence in silence? There seems to be no end to the barbarity and crimes. The executions of these medics should have been a turning point, a moment of reckoning. Instead, they are yet another testament to the impunity granted to the Zionist apartheid regime.

May the souls of those who died in Tal as-Sultan rest in peace and may the political leaders of the Western world rest in shame.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

“The two also discussed opportunities for economic cooperation, particularly on energy issues, and highlighted growing Republic of Korea investments in American industry,” Bruce said.

Landau also offered his condolences for the loss of life and damage caused by recent wildfires in southeastern South Korea.

Landau was sworn in as deputy secretary of State on March 25 and previously was U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

During Landau’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, cited North Korea, China, Russia and Iran as “hostile powers” that “formed an authoritarian axis” and threaten the United States and global peace.

Tuesday’s phone conversation with Landau’s South Korean counterpart was held within the context of aggressive actions by North Korea, which seeks to develop nuclear arms and an effective missile arsenal capable of striking South Korea, the United States and their allied states.

Landau formerly helped negotiate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement that protected cross-border commerce and supported regional supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His father, George Landau, formerly was ambassador to Paraguay, Chile and Venezuela and was stationed with the U.S. Foreign Service in Madrid, Spain, which is where Landau was born.

Landau is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas.

He is fluent in Spanish, proficient in French and is married to Caroline Bruce Landau. They have two adult children.

Welcome to April, the month of renewal, when we honor the Earth with her own day — April 22 — much like Mom on Mother’s Day (don’t panic, that’s not until May 11).

If only we could restore the Earth with flowers and a nice brunch.

OK, brunch probably won’t help, but renowned conservationist Douglas Tallamy thinks we can help save the Earth with a few flowers — provided they’re keystone species native to our region.

Below you’ll find a list of Earth Day activities and other ways to celebrate plants in April, but first I want to talk about Tallamy’s hopeful ideas.

A monarch butterfly basks in the sun on a narrow leaf milkweed flower.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

A longtime professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, Tallamy helped kickstart the native plant movement in 2007 with his first book, “Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants.” He made it more personal in 2020 with his book “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.”

His new book, “How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard,” (available April 8), lays out the problems and how to fix them as plainly as I’ve ever read them. Here’s a few of his main points:

• Biodiversity, i.e. the rich variety of life on Earth and all its interconnected interactions, is key to human survival.
• Human development is destroying the Earth’s biodiversity.
• We need insects to keep our plants pollinated and support the food web that keeps birds, lizards and other animals alive.
• Lawns provide almost no habitat for pollinators and other insects.
• In the United States, about 83% of the land is privately owned; about 40 million acres is planted with lawn.
• We can restore biodiversity in the U.S. if we plant native species on half of that private land — even if the plants are growing in pots on balconies or patios.
• If we plant keystone native species — which around Los Angeles include oaks, coyote bush, manzanitas, ceanothus, buckwheats and sages — we can get the biggest bang for our buck since those species support so many insects and other wildlife.

Bottom line: If each of us just reduced the size of our lawns by half, and replaced half of our non-native ornamentals and invasives with plants native to our region, our neighborhoods could provide the habitat all our threatened pollinators, birds and other wild creatures need to survive.

Two endangered Palos Verdes blue butterflies breeding on a branch of native green deerweed, one of the two plants their caterpillars can eat.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

I can hear some of you saying, “Bugs are nasty — why should I care?” Well, how do you feel about all the plants that require pollinating to reproduce and survive?

“[Famed biologist] E.O. Wilson has called insects ‘the little things that run the world,’ ” Tallamy writes, “and without them, we would lose 90% of our flowering plants, which would cause the collapse of nature’s food webs and the loss of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.”

Global insect populations have dropped by 45% since the 1970s, apparent to anyone who remembers the days when flattened insects covered your windshield after a long drive. The spread of pesticides is part of the problem, but so is the decrease in plants that insects need to survive, fed in large part by our obsession with “perfect” weedless lawns.

A California thrasher posing on a glossy toyon bush.

(Kaaren Perry/Flickr)

Tallamy and his wife purchased 10 acres of old farmland in Pennsylvania in 2020. Ever the entomologist, Tallamy noticed a dearth of insects and birds on his property and wondered why, which started his investigation into the native plants that once dominated his land. The farm had last produced hay, had few mature trees and was overrun by non-native ornamental plants.

Today, Tallamy writes in “How Can I Help,” he and his wife, Cindy, have counted “1,323 species of moths and 60 species of birds that have bred on our property (the only two groups I have counted so far). The return of life to our land has happened in just a few years for one simple reason: We put the plants back, or at least some of the plant species that used to call our lot home. Our success makes me wonder what would happen if everyone put the plants back.”

John Dourley Manzanita (Arctostaphylos ‘John Dourley’) with burgundy-colored limbs and tiny pink bell-shaped flowers loved by hummingbirds.

(Marie Astrid Gonzalez)

And if you focus on keystone native species, which provide food for large numbers of animals, you can make an even bigger impact, he said.

Many lepidoptera are picky eaters and will dine only on certain plants. Monarchs, for instance, lay eggs only on milkweed plants because that’s the only food their young can eat. The adults, in their winged stage, are happy to sup on any number of nectar producing flowers, but without milkweed, they can’t reproduce.

That’s why people who love monarchs urge us all to plant milkweed in our yards. And that’s great, Tallamy says, but all private property owners, even those of us growing plants on a balcony or patio, can get a bigger bang for our buck if we also plant keystone native species that support a multitude of life, such as coast live oaks, which feed more than 100 types of moths and butterflies.

Pigeon Point coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis ssp. pilularis ‘Pigeon Point’)

(Marie Astrid Gonzalez)

If space is an issue and you live in Southern California, look for native plant varieties selected for their compact growth, such as Pigeon Point coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis ssp. pilularis ‘Pigeon Point’) or island sagebrush (Artemisia nesiotica).

Or consider growing common sunflowers, which support nearly 40 species of moths and butterflies. Sunflowers also remove heavy metals from the soil through phytoremediation, they’re very easy to grow and they make everyone smile. (Insider’s alert: L.A. Times Plants is passing out packets of common sunflower seeds to newsletter subscribers or anyone who signs up for the newsletter at our L.A. Times’ Festival of Books native plants booth April 26-27. Come say hi!)

It’s time to stop waiting for somebody else to fix the world. Anyone with even a speck of land can help restore habitat by adding native plants to their landscape. “Our hope is that if people try it on a small scale, they will see results and be encouraged to do more in the future,” Tallamy writes.

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) all in bloom.

(Marie Astrid González)

Look at your yard or patio; how hard will it be to remove lawn from under trees or widen planting beds to mix native species among plants from another land? If you want to really go all in, visit Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park website and add your property to the map of property managers pledging to add more native plants. The site helped me realize that while I have many native plants in my yard, they’re less than half of the total plantings, when you consider my fruit trees, vegetables, roses and non-native flowers.

Sigh. A gardener’s work is never done, right? And honestly, most days that’s a good thing. So check out the Calscape database of California native plants, take advantage of the native plant sales listed below, or visit some native plant gardens on tours listed below or in our spring garden tour guide.

Upcoming events

April 3
Propagating California Native Plants From Cuttings, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Theodore Payne Foundation nursery in Sun Valley, led by horticulture director Tim Becker. Participants will learn how to start and grow plants from cuttings and leave with a flat of 50 starts for their own garden. All materials provided. Tickets are $92.55 ($81.88 for members). eventbrite.com

Colorful bouquets made up of flowers from Frogtown Flora’s garden in Eagle Rock.

(Kathleen Ferguson)

April 4-5
Ventura Botanical Gardens’ Second Plein Air Paint Out, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the gardens in Ventura, involves more than 30 artists painting around the grounds. Admission is free on Friday, April 4, and $7 on April 5 (members enter free). venturabotanicalgardens.com.

April 5
Frogtown Flora Second Spring Open Farm Day, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the farm in Eagle Rock. Wear sensible shoes to explore Kathleen Ferguson’s urban flower farm built on a slope. The tour also includes vendors selling nature-inspired goods, locally sourced seeds, sourdough pizza and Thai food. The new lower garden includes an Adopt a Plant area for visitors. The tour is free, but you need to sign up for an email newsletter for specifics about the location. kathleenferguson.com

Apricot Lane Farms Rewild Your Landscape Native Plant Sale, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the farm in Moorpark. The plants have been propagated from native perennials growing on the farm. apricotlanefarms.com

Wearable Nature Art Workshop, 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Multidisciplinary artist Melissa Meier, whose work is featured in the Daphne’s Wardrobe exhibit at Descanso Gardens, leads a class in using natural materials to create wearable art. Tickets are $50 ($40 members). descansogardens.org

Bromeliads are known for ornamental foliage.

(Cristy Brenner)

April 5-6
Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society Bromeliad Plant Show & Sale, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona Del Mar. The show is free with $5 admission to the gardens. Members and children 3 and under enter free. thesherman.org

April 5, 19, 24, 26 and 27
City Plants Free Shade Tree Adoptions permit Los Angeles city residents to adopt up to seven trees for private use, from 8 a.m. to noon at Pacoima City Hall on April 5; from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Marina Del Rey Middle School in Del Rey on April 19; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bayramian Lawn in Northridge on April 24; from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson High School in the South L.A. neighborhood of Central-Alameda on April 26 and from 9 to 11 a.m. at Queen Anne Park, in Mid-Wilshire. cityplants.org

April 7
Grow It Now — Warm Season Vegetables, a free class from 10 to 11 a.m. on how to grow warm-season vegetables at the Sea Country Seniors Community Center in Laguna Niguel, taught by the UC Master Gardeners of Orange County. ucanr.edu

Larval (tiny alligator-looking) and pupal (round) stages of a ladybug with a cluster of yellow aphids that will likely be their meal.

(Susan Pransky)

April 8
Integrated Pest Management, a free class in environmentally safe ways to manage pests in your garden taught by UC Master Gardeners of Orange County from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Laguna Woods Library. Pre-registration is required. ucanr.edu

April 9
Roses 101, a free workshop about rose planting, care and feeding from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Senior Center in Central Park in Huntington Beach, taught by UC Master Gardeners of Orange County. ucanr.edu

April 10
Propagating California Native Plants from Seed with horticulturist Ella Andersson, the Theodore Payne Foundation’s chief botanical technician, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the foundation’s nursery in Sun Valley. Participants will use seed kits, reusable flats, pots and plug trays plus 10 species of cool season seed while learning basic seed physiology, seed viability and germination cues. All materials provided. Tickets are $92.55 ($81.88 members). eventbrite.com

April 12
Fourth Ventura County Wildflower & Weed Show and Spring Plant Sale by the Channel Islands Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. The day includes speakers, information about wildflowers, invasive weeds and pollinators, kids activities and an iNaturalist demonstration. Admission is free, and native plants can be ordered online through noon on April 9 for pickup at the spring plant sale on April 12. chapters.cnps.org

Irrigation Basics for Native Plants, a walk and talk with Theodore Payne Foundation’s horticulture educator Erik Blank to learn irrigation techniques, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the foundation nursery in Sun Valley. Tickets are $39.19 ($28.52 members). eventbrite.com

Tree of Life Nursery Book Sale and California Native Plant Community Building to exchange plant knowledge, growing tips and coordinate seed swaps, 10 a.m. to noon at the nursery in San Juan Capistrano. californianativeplants.com

Honey bees wallow in an artichoke blossom.

(Joe Boldt)

Bees, Butterflies and Other Pollinators, a free class about bee nesting habits, host and nectar plants and ways to attract bees and other pollinators to any size garden from 11 a.m. to noon at the La Palma Public Library in La Palma, taught by U.C. Master Gardeners of Orange County. ucanr.edu

April 12, 26
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Native Plant Sale from 10:30 a.m. to noon on April 12 at George F. Canyon Nature Preserve in Rolling Hills Estate and on April 26 at White Point Nature education Center in San Pedro. pvplc.org

April 13, 22
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy 10th Wild & Scenic Film Festival, with two showings at noon and 4 p.m. on April 13 at the Cabrillo Maine Aquarium in San Pedro and at 5 p.m on April 22 at the Redondo Union High School Theater in Redondo Beach. Beth Pratt, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, will discuss famed cougar P-22, the inspiration for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, during the April 13 showings, and cyclist John Seigel Boettner will answer questions about his pedal-powered adventures for people who can’t manage them by themselves on April 22. Tickets are $15 if purchased in advance or $20 at the door. pvplc.org

April 13
15th South Bay Water-Wise Garden Tour, a self-guided tour of drought tolerant and California native plant gardens in El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, and Torrance from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds will be donated to the Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online before April 11 or the day of the tour at 16116 Ardath Ave. in Gardena. Children 10 and younger enter free. southbaywaterwisegardentour.com

Orchids come in a range of vibrant colors and forms.

(San Diego Botanic Garden)

April 14
Long Beach Amateur Orchid Society Annual Auction starts at 6:30 p.m. at St. Gregory’s Church in Long Beach. Admission is free. Buyers can preregister for a bidding paddle or sign up at the door. Auction orchids are donations from members of the society as well as the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens and Thornton Gardens, both in San Marino, and Sunset Valley Orchids in Vista. lbaos.org

April 17
California Springtime: A Rebirth and Resilience Walk with naturalist Jason “Journeyman” Wise for the Theodore Payne Foundation, 6 to 8 p.m at Griffith Park, a sunset walk through a small brush-fire area to see how native plants have regrown since the rains earlier this spring. Tickets are $39.19 ($28.52 members). eventbrite.com

April 18-19
Theodore Payne Foundation Poppy Days Spring Sale of California native plants at the nursery in Sun Valley. Members receive a 15% discount and nonmembers a 10% discount on plants, seeds and Theodore Payne Foundation gear. Due to limited space, parking spots at the nursery must be reserved. eventbrite.com

April 19
South Bay Parkland Conservancy Earth Day Community Event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach includes restoration work at the park from 9 to 10:30 a.m., educational seminar about monarch butterflies from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m., and a nature walk about environmental stewardship from 11 to 11:30 a.m. as well as activities and crafts, live music and a celebratory lunch from noon to 1 p.m. southbayparks.org

Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Earth Day Celebration and Outdoor Volunteer Day, 9 a.m. to noon at the White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro includes weeding, native plant seed preparation, a guided garden walk and learning activities for children at the preserve’s Native Plant Demonstration Garden. pvplc.org

Bloomtown Flower Farm Tour 2025 in Covina, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to self-guided tours of this family-run wholesale flower and bulb farm is free but reservations are required. Fresh flowers, food and beverages are available for purchase. bloomtownflowerco.com

Intro to Beekeeping, a workshop by beekeeper Phoebe Piper from 10 a.m. to noon in the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu. Participants will learn about the inner workings of a hive, observe how bees interact with their environment and sample a variety of raw local honeys. Pre-registration is required; tickets are $100. usalproject.com

San Fernando Valley Iris Society Annual Iris Sale and Show at the Canoga Park Women’s Club. Iris sales start at 10 a.m. and will continue until they sell out. The show is inside the women’s club from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free, irises cost $5 to $7 each. sanfernandovalleyirissociety.org

Cal Poly Pomona Pepperzania Sale at the Cal Poly Pomona Farm Store in Pomona daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. includes a wide selection of hot and sweet pepper plants, including Asian varieties, specialty, jalapeño, hatch, ancho, poblano/mole, serrano and bells. All plants are grown by Cal Poly Pomona students majoring in plant sciences and proceeds benefit the plant sciences program. The nursery is also selling other spring veggie and fruit plants. A list is available on the website. calpolypomonanursery.com

Garden design display from the 2023 Southern California Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza in Corona del Mar.

(South Coast Plaza)

April 24-27
The 35th Southern California Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa includes a 25-foot-tall centerpiece made entirely from flowers and plants; home and garden displays, fresh flowers decorating 15 giant mannequins, and at least 40 nurseries, horticultural groups and other vendors offering unique plants and plant accessories for purchase. Visitors can participate in two free tours of South Coast Plaza’s collection of palm trees from all over the world, led by Carol Younger, senior horticulturist at Sherman Library & Gardens, on April 24 at 10 a.m. and April 27 at 11 a.m. Tour participants should gather at the Information Desk on Level 1, near the Centerpiece Display, about 15 minutes before the tours begin. A Palm Collection Guide is also available at the Information Desk for self-guided tours. Admission to the show is free when the shopping center is open, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. southcoastplaza.com

April 24
California Native Plant Container Gardening with Theodore Payne Foundation nursery technician Terrence Williams, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the foundation nursery. Learn how to grow native plants in containers. Tickets re $39.19 ($28.52 members) eventbrite.com

April 25
All About Native Bulbs, a workshop taught by Theodore Payne Foundation horticulture director Tim Becker, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the foundation’s propagation shed. Learn about the botany, seed propagation and division propagation of bulbs as well as the culture and care of bulbs in containers and the ground. Tickets are $40 ($30 members). eventbrite.com

April 26-27
L.A. Times Festival of Books Native Plant Booth hosted by L.A. Times Plants, who will be passing out packets of sunflower seeds to subscribers of the L.A. Times Plants newsletter; the Theodore Payne Foundation, with information and displays about a variety of native plants, and the California Native Plant Society (on April 26 only) with customized plant lists for people planning native plant gardens. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m on April 26 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 27 at USC. Admission is free to visit the booths. events.latimes.com

Native wildflowers fill a garden in the Rewind Ojai Native Garden Tour.

(Don Edwards)

April 26
Second Ojai Valley Land Conservancy Rewild Ojai Native Garden Tour includes 16 self-guided tours through private residential gardens filled with native plants, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are available online, $32.99 for print tour book or $30.88 for digital book only. Tour goers who carpool or ride bicycles pay $27.71 for print tour books or $24.54 for digital tour books. ovlc.ticketsauce.com

What we’re reading

The Times is taking a deep look at how our soils have been affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires in January. My colleague, Tony Briscoe, lays out many of the concerns about what toxins might remain in the soil after Army Corps of Engineers crews scrape 6 inches off the ground where houses and other structures burned so residents can rebuild. Look for more stories about this subject later in April.

Some happy flower news. Five years ago, a beautifully fragrant new pink rose was discovered in Barbra Streisand’s Malibu gardens. As the owner, Streisand dubbed the rose Barbra’s Baby, and this spring the public can finally buy one for their gardens too. Note that the rose sold out online shortly after the story appeared, but Otto & Sons Nursery in Fillmore expects to have at least 200 plants available in June.

Finally, it wouldn’t be spring without our annual list of garden tours, allowing visitors to wander in some of Southern California’s most beautiful private gardens.

Bangkok in Thailand was the world’s most visited city in 2024, as the destination rises in popularity following HBO filming the third series of White Lotus at the destination

Bangkok has been unveiled as the new most visited city in the world.

In 2024, a total of 32.4 million people made their way to the Thai capital, according to Euromonitor International’s World’s Top 100 City Destinations report. The data company added that this number “surpassed [the] pre-pandemic level of international tourism flows in 2023 and continued dynamic growth of over 30 per cent in 2024”.

Thailand was also recently named Travel+ Leisure’s 2025 Destination of the Year, and it is increasing in popularity thanks to a starring role in the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus. “In 2024, global cities increasingly leveraged sports and cultural events to boost tourism revenues. Infrastructure improvements and continuous marketing have attracted travellers’ attention, opening further growth opportunities,” Euromonitor’s report reads.

READ MORE: EasyJet opens new hub at Southend Airport with flights to 20 sunny destinations

Bangkok is a beautiful destination, and whilst in recent months it has suffered increasing numbers of tourists crowding some areas and just last week a devastating earthquake, it has many fascinating spots to explore. In addition to the city’s many temples, there is a thriving food scene and multiple luxury hotels.

One of the popular temples to visit is the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok and has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. Wat Phra Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is considered the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand and features the Emerald Buddha, which is a figurine of the meditating Buddha seated in a yogic posture.

The Buddha was carved from a single solid piece of green jade and was adorned with gold and diamonds. The statue is placed high above the heads of worshippers and tourists, as a sign of respect. For foodies, head to Chinatown — or Yaowarat — to experience a vibrant atmosphere with many street food vendors and shops. The city’s Chinatown was established in 1782 and is considered one of the largest Chinatowns in the world.

If in the city over a weekend, head to Chatuchak Weekend Market. This huge market boasts over 15,000 stalls — making it the world’s largest weekend market — selling a variety of goods, from clothing to souvenirs. Around 200,000 tourists visit the market each weekend, and to explore it all, organisers recommend spending half a day there.

Thailand as a whole is also home to other wonderful destinations including the Phuket Province, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Lipe. The third season of White Lotus was filmed at the Four Seasons Resort on Koh Samui — Thailand’s second largest island.

As Evan Phillips stood in front of his locker before the Dodgers’ home opener Thursday, answering questions about the team’s upcoming World Series celebration that night and the gold jersey they would wear to mark the occasion, his new neighbor in the Dodgers clubhouse interjected from one stall over.

“What’d you say to Tanner before the game?” first-year Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott, a longtime personal friend of Phillips’ in the game, implored his new teammate to share with a reporter.

Phillips laughed.

“I was surprised they gave 66 over here a little bit of gold on his jersey,” Phillips joked, referring to Scott’s uniform number — and the fact he wasn’t part of the club’s title-winning roster last year.

“That’s some bull, right?” Scott responded with a playful shake of his head.

“It’s just foreshadowing,” Phillips insisted, “what’s to come for him.”

Such was life for new Dodgers players this past weekend, with a group of six offseason acquisitions populating the team’s opening day roster.

All series long, they were present for the nightly pregame ceremonies honoring last year’s World Series. They wore the same gold-accented uniforms, and the same 2024 title sleeve patches, as the rest of their reigning-champion teammates.

But for them, the proceedings provided a different kind of perspective.

They weren’t in any of the scoreboard highlight reels honoring last year’s team. They didn’t have the same emotional attachment to watching a World Series banner get raised in center field. And when the team’s championship rings were presented to players and coaches Friday, they all stayed back in the dugout, serving as mere spectators while being reminded of what their previous teams failed to accomplish last season.

“There’s a lot of people in that room who enjoyed it,” manager Dave Roberts said of his clubhouse’s reaction to the weekend-long celebration. “And also, there’s new guys that didn’t partake. And I want them to want that next year.”

So too, of course, do the new players themselves — almost all of whom offered the same reason for wanting to sign with the Dodgers this offseason.

“I went to a World Series as a rookie. Now I’m almost 10 years removed from that, and I want to go back,” veteran outfielder Michael Conforto, a member of the New York Mets’ 2015 pennant winner, said at the club’s preseason fan fest event after signing a one-year, $17-million deal in December.

“I wanted to go to a team that’s going to compete. That was the first thing that I told my agent, that it has to be a team that’s competitive. So I think it was a no-brainer when the Dodgers called. … We want to win games and have a chance to get a ring.”

Scott echoed similar sentiments at his introductory press conference in January, fresh off inking a four-year, $72-million contract.

“They’re not a fun team to face,” he said then, just months removed from being eliminated by the Dodgers in the playoffs as a member of the San Diego Padres. “We’re ready to win another one. And I’ll be a part of this one.”

Veteran reliever Kirby Yates, signed to a one-year, $13-million deal a week after Scott, referenced the same championship aspirations when he was introduced at Dodger Stadium for the first time.

“The older you get,” said Yates, who has appeared in just one playoff game over his 11-year MLB career, “that starts being more important.”

For Yates, a spectacle like this weekend’s was nothing new.

In 2022, he watched the Atlanta Braves receive their World Series rings after signing with the club in the wake of their 2021 championship. Last season, he went through it again as the newly signed closer of the Texas Rangers’ defending-title squad.

“This is my third time signing with the reigning World Series champions,” he said. “I’m looking forward to finally trying to make that run and be able to pitch in the postseason.”

There was plenty to celebrate last weekend for players who were on the Dodgers in 2024, including, from left, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Last year’s Rangers celebration, Yates recalled this weekend, was a bittersweet experience — the 38-year-old right-hander still reeling at the time from the 104-win Braves’ division series knockout the prior October.

“I think everybody on that Atlanta team felt like we had a really good chance of winning that World Series, and it didn’t happen,” Yates said. “So watching that ring ceremony … you’re excited for [your new team] and you’re happy for them. But on a personal level, you want your chance to win one, too.”

This weekend, however, Yates had a more auspicious feeling during the Dodgers’ World Series festivities.

Here, he saw a team uniquely poised to repeat as champions; one that already had a star-studded core, then aggressively pursued additional depth and talent during a half-billion-dollar offseason spending spree.

Yates’ signing itself, after all, represented one of their most luxurious splurges — likely to effectively cost more than double its $13 million price tag when accounting for luxury tax penalties and the Dodgers’ need to cut former reliever Ryan Brasier and his $4-million salary in a corresponding move.

“The idea was to have as many good pitchers and as many good players as they possibly could have,” Yates said, “to basically help [distribute] the load for the entire season, including October.”

Having been part of two previous failed title defenses, Yates’ hope is that such roster construction will allow the Dodgers to overcome what he believes to be the biggest obstacle for any defending champion: health.

“Playing that long into October, it takes its toll on everybody’s body,” Yates said. “But I think the difference here, and what they’ve done, is how many people they’ve added; the depth that you have to be able to make that run.”

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are hoping the hunger of their new additions will serve as a different kind of catalyst in their 2025 quest.

None of their new players — from Yates to Scott to Conforto to Blake Snell — has won a World Series. And this weekend, they had the feeling of a title dangled in front of them, getting a fleeting preview of how a long-sought championship might taste.

“I don’t think any of the new guys really need any more motivation to go out and win,” Yates said. “But watching how cool that is, watching everybody go get their rings, yeah, you definitely want your chance to be a part of that.”

Muslims around the world are bidding farewell to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Eid is typically greeted with joy and excitement and is marked with congregational prayers and festivities that usually include family visits, gatherings, outings and new clothes.

However, for some, Eid comes amid significant challenges or changes in their communities this year.

In Gaza, this will be the second Eid al-Fitr since the start of the war in the enclave.

Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to the enclave. The military then ended its ceasefire with Hamas, launching renewed bombardments that have killed hundreds of people.

The resumption of war changed the fortunes of Palestinians who had started observing Ramadan under a fragile ceasefire. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Syrians are celebrating their first Eid al-Fitr since the end of more than half a century of iron-fisted rule by the Assad family.

In Indonesia, many people embarked on trips to their hometowns to celebrate the holiday with loved ones in a homecoming tradition known locally as “mudik”.

In Malaysia also, Muslims have a homecoming tradition for Eid. The first day usually begins with a morning prayer in the mosque, before seeking forgiveness from family and friends and visiting loved ones’ graves.

There is an “open house” spirit that sees friends and families trading visits to celebrate Eid and enjoy traditional delicacies such as ketupat, rice cooked in a palm leaf pouch, and rendang, a meat dish stewed in spices and braised in coconut milk.

Older Muslims give money in green packets to children and guests who visit their homes.

In Egypt, families partake in Eid prayers amid a festive atmosphere. Many visit relatives, friends or neighbours and some travel to holiday spots. Children, usually wearing new Eid outfits, receive traditional cash gifts known as “eidiya.”

Making or buying Eid cookies dusted with powdered sugar is another fixture in the country.

In the United States, where Muslims make up an ethnically and racially diverse minority, many come together for Eid prayers and festivals featuring fun activities for children and families.

Toulouse, the fourth largest city in France, is known as the ‘Pink City’ due to its terracotta brick buildings, and it’s been named one of the best cities to visit in 2025

Those who crave the excitement of a city getaway but prefer to avoid the crowds may find the charming “Pink City” of France to be an ideal destination. Characterised by vibrant streets, an historic centre, and a thriving nightlife, Toulouse boasts distinctive terracotta brick buildings that radiate a warm, pinkish-orange hue, particularly at sunset.

Nestled close to the Spanish border, Toulouse has earned the nickname ‘La Ville Rose’ (The Pink City) due to its unique architecture. Founded by the Romans, this captivating city effortlessly wins over visitors with its distinctive charm, showcasing the quintessential essence of French southern culture.

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Situated in southwestern France, Toulouse stretches along the picturesque Garonne River, blending history, art, and cutting-edge innovation. A short, one-hour flight from the UK, with pleasant temperatures of 21C in April, it’s hard to resist this enchanting destination.

As spring awakens in France during April, it’s an excellent time to discover Toulouse’s attractions and bask in the beauty of blossoming flowers.

For history enthusiasts, Toulouse offers an array of breathtaking landmarks, including the grand central square, Place du Capitole, which pulsates with activity at the city’s heart.

This vibrant square is always abuzz, featuring daytime market stalls, rugby match celebrations, and newlyweds emerging from city hall, reports the Express.

The Basilique Saint-Sernin, dedicated to the first Bishop of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin, is an unmissable UNESCO-listed Romanesque gem in the city.

Toulouse tantalises taste buds with its sumptuous local dishes – especially the iconic cassoulet, a must-try slow-cooked stew renowned in this region.

Boasting its status as France’s fourth-largest city with a significant student presence, Toulouse pulsates with life, offering non-stop excitement with delectable meals in top-notch restaurants, chilled coffee breaks at quaint bistros, and relaxing evenings sipping wine at chic bars.

Toulouse has been slated as the place to be, earning Lonely Planet’s praise as the ‘best city in the world‘ to visit in 2025, proclaiming: “Often referred to as ‘Paris in Miniature’, Toulouse is a maze-like city overflowing with art galleries in repurposed industrial spaces, excellent food and scenic river and canal banks.”