Tough TV cop Adrian Dunbar transforms into a singing stage star as he makes his musical theater debut in Kiss Me, Kate.

The Line of Duty actor, who plays Chief Inspector Ted Hastings in the BBC1 drama, appears in a new trailer for the musical alongside Broadway legend and Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Black, smartly dressed in a black suit and tie , as the pair deliver the “sophisticated and hilarious show.”

He stars as Fred Graham, the theater director, producer and leading man who clashes with his leading actress and ex-wife Lilli Vanessa on and offstage in his latest production – the musical version of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

As Adrian and Stephanie state in the trailer, the show is in character “a love story about two people who hate each other,” set to a soundtrack by legendary American composer Cole Porter.

The beloved comedy farce, which first appeared on Broadway in 1948, returns to London this summer for a fifteen-week run at the Barbican Theater from June 4 to September 14, and is directed by Bartlett Sher, who previously The King directed. and kill me and a mockingbird.

Speaking about his latest role, Adrian, 65, said: “I am so pleased to be returning to the stage this summer at my spiritual home at the Barbican – where I started my career at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama – especially in this Cole Porter classic with the amazing creative team including Bart Sher and Stephanie J. Block.

“The summer of 2024 just got a lot brighter.”

Stephanie, 51, added: ‘I can’t wait to dive into this timeless classic and put a new stamp on it alongside the incredible Adrian Dunbar.

“Mark my words, this Kiss Me, Kate will certainly not be just another ‘another opening’, a new show.”

Northern Irishman Adrian has an enormous passion for music and has performed with his band in intimate venues, but also during talk show appearances.

He incorporated singing into his ITV police drama Ridley, in which he plays a retired detective inspector and part-time jazz singer, and has previously spoken of wanting to release an album.

During his 2019 speech, he said, “I’m hoping to do something in the recording studio this year and I’ve had a number of approaches to doing things,” Dunbar said.

‘I don’t know what I’m going to do – it might be interesting to write some songs or something – but I’m definitely going to do something. I was in bands many years ago, so that’s where it started. I played in bands, sang background vocals and stuff.

That was always there, but I just never got the chance.’

Adrian added: “I started acting and that went away and you concentrate on other things but I’ve always kept it going and I’ve always done gigs with friends of mine, lots of jazz gigs at Ronnie Scott’s and stuff like that. over the years.’

A new album is more likely than a seventh series of Line of Duty, after co-star Martin Compston gave up hope the series could return.

He said, “Really, there are no plans at all. We all love each other now more than just colleagues. They are among my dearest friends and we would all love to work together someday, but there are no plans.”

He added, “I don’t think Jed [Mercurio, the show’s creator] If I ever wrote it for the sake of writing, it would have to be with a story. We went on such a high in terms of [viewing] figures; Maybe it’s the best way to leave it. I know this is probably not what people want to hear.”

What appeared to be a never-ending parade of temporary This Morning presenters came to a definite end on Monday. 

Indeed, if the battle for bragging, or should that be presenting rights was starting to resemble a gunslinger’s duel, then a new sheriff was in town and on hand to restore law and order to the Wild West of White City as the rebranded show returned with a new look, and two new hosts. 

Fresh from the Good Morning Britain newsdesk and no doubt enjoying the later start, Ben Shephard was joined by Cat Deeley for a consummate debut after they were drafted in to replace Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby – and return the beleaguered daytime staple to its former glories. 

But it’s not Essex-born Shephard’s first rodeo, with the presenter having cut his teeth in the frenetic world of children’s TV before rising through the ranks to become a respected, and beloved, broadcaster.   

It is however, the biggest job of his career, and the presenter, a married father-of-three, can expect renewed interest in his life and carer as he settles into his new home – starting right here. 

So what do we know about the new king of daytime? Look no further – MailOnline has all the answers. 

FAMILY

After the Phillip Schofield fiasco, Shephard’s ITV paymasters will be pleased to know he is credited by some as being the most boring man on the box – in a good way.

Indeed, the presenter’s taste for convention began when he married to long-term sweetheart Annie Perks. 

The couple met while Shephard, somewhat surprisingly, was studying contemporary dance at Birmingham University, where she was a philosophy student responsible for leading the Philosophy and Epistemology Society.

After a nine-year relationship they exchanged vows in 2004, and raise two sons, Sam, 18, and Jack, 17. 

Annie, who previously worked in fashion magazines, has recently enjoyed a career change by starting a company called The House Editor.

After graduating from Kew Garden London College of Garden Design, she now successfully designs interior of houses and gardens.

On her website, she writes: ‘For the last 15 years I’ve been raising our boys, knocking down and remodelling houses, building gardens out of mud-pits and running interiors projects.

‘After a few mistakes and a few more successes, my friends started to ask for help with their own interiors and gardens.’ 

While the couple choose to shield their relationship away from public scrutiny, Shephard shared a tribute to his wife on their 16th wedding anniversary in 2020. 

He wrote: ‘Can’t quite believe another year has gone past, suddenly this one feels all the more poignant because of what’s happening.

’16 years married to @mrsannieshephard 25 years together and it’s fair to say the current climate is seriously testing the strength of her feelings towards me.’ 

This year, they celebrate their milestone 20-year anniversary.  

A SPRAWLING RICHMOND HOME

The family live in a stunning Victorian property overlooking Richmond Park in south-west London. 

Shephard regularly posts photos of his incredible sprawling garden which has its own gin bench, fire pit and rose-filled archways. 

The outdoor space, which is also filled with flowers and home-grown fruit, was also resourcefully used as a place for the family to cycle after the United Kingdom went into national lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.

Shephard’s home has a large open plan kitchen, sitting room and dining area for his family to enjoy with floor-to-ceiling white glass doors opening onto their garden. 

The stunning space has a rustic farmhouse theme to it with a large wooden dining table and eight grey padded chairs.

Shephard and Annie have also opted for a bold feature wall with a brown funky pattern and large wooden mirror, which creates more light and space.

While the kitchen has a large wooden island with white cupboards and marble countertops, sleek blinds for the windows and a Belfast sink.

Meanwhile the sitting room has a more modern theme with chic deep blue walls, a matching coloured crushed velvet sofa and lighter blue armchairs.

The couple have opted for mirrored furniture, a wood and glass table, while a flat-screen television takes centre-stage above their exposed brick fireplace.

INTERESTS 

The most noteworthy trivia about Shephard is that he likes to collect vintage and antique mirrors, and his favourite book is Clown, by Quentin Blake, which has no words.

He enjoys classical music and open-water swimming – even on Christmas Day when he has been known to take to the water in Salcombe, Devon – his favourite holiday destination.

Alongside playing golf and working out in his home gym, the dad of two is also a passionate home baker – often sharing images of his creations on Instagram to an adoring mass of housewife fans.

Indeed, his most daring TV moment – in which he removed his tie mid-broadcast while hosting ITV’s Good Morning Britain – was considered noteworthy enough to spark national newspaper headlines.

And yet, as one source quipped: ‘It’s quite funny really – he’s lovely, decent and clearly a very good-looking man who looks after himself – but it’s kind of hard to imagine anyone really fancying him.

‘It feels as though most of the female viewers want to be his friend or join him for a cup of tea rather than fling their bras at him but that’s the joy of Ben, he’s lovely.’

He is also a regular charity fundraiser, often running marathons in support of good causes with 15 under his belt already in aid of charities including the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Haven House Hospice.

One ITV insider told the Daily Mail: ‘Ben is too boring to cause trouble – he’s more interested in a long walk and feeding the ducks in the local park than a celebrity party, and in all his years on television has literally never done anything remotely controversial.’

EARLY CAREER

Shephard’s dazzling career first took off in 1998.

He made his debut in TV when he started hosting Channel 4’s The Bigger Breakfast, a spin-off edition of Nineties morning show.

Alongside Josie D’Arby, Melanie Sykes and Dermot O’Leary, he began waking up the nation with some light-hearted entertainment before he eventually moved to T4.

The children’s TV show did not see Shephard as we know him today as his strappy suits were not always a part of his gigs, as he donned a simple hoodies and jeans for his appearances.

With YouTube videos still circulating the internet, Shephard looks almost recognisable without his well-tailored suits and well-kempt hairdos as he rated the year’s celebrity calendar offerings and chatted about Fifa 1999.

His goodbye to Channel 4 was not as thoughtful and heartfelt as his latest career move, as it is believed that the star was brutally sacked after being told it would never work out.

Chatting to OK!, the fervent West Ham United fan revealed his then-boss said: ‘It’s not working, and I don’t think it’s ever going to.’

The firing was allegedly ‘brutal because it came out of nowhere.’

‘I was about 25 and thought I was going to be with Channel 4 for a couple of years’, Ben told the publication.

And it is believed that this savage sacking resonated with the star throughout his career, as he has previously admitted that he has often questioned if he is good enough.

His previous sacking didn’t put him off TV for long as he soon made his first connection with ITV in 2000.

Shephard joined the UK’s top breakfast show, GMTV, where he presented Entertainment Today with Jenni Falconer and became the main stand-in presenter for GMTV Today.

When Eamonn Holmes departed from the iconic show, he became the permanent co-host on GMTV Today every Monday and Tuesday and then on alternate Wednesdays.

This is when he first started mastering the art of time management, as he also kept his gig with Entertainment Today and shared some duties with Michael Underwood.

THE MOVE TO PRIMETIME

Shephard got his first taste of primetime TV while presenting the first three series’ of ITV2’s spin-off show The Xtra Factor and The Xtra Factor – Battle Of The Stars in 2004.

After missing out on the show’s main presenting role when Kate Thornton left, Shephard said goodbye to the show after Dermot O’Leary filled the spot.

In hindsight, it appears his previous job snubs were meant to be, as he became a stand-in presenter on This Morning to cover for Philip Schofield in 2005.

Sticking with ITV, he went on to co-present the reality singing contest Soapstar Superstar alongside Fern Britton in 2006.

He also co-hosted Dancing On Ice Exclusive in 2007 before co-presenting Who Dares, Sings! with Denise Van Outen in 2018.

Shephard quickly became a familiar face on TV as he hosted a handful of specials and celebrated some of Britain’s most-loved musicians and artists.

The presenter went on to meet some of the nation’s icons as he presented Rod Stewart: One Night Only in 2009 and Phil Collins: One Night Only in 2010.

All adored his wit and comical personality, and he was soon asked to present the revived classic game show The Krypton Factor in 2009 and 2010.

Following the show’s success, Ben was also asked to co-present the short-lived spin-off show, Dancing On Ice Friday, alongside Coleen Nolan in 2010.

Shephard later signed a contract with Sky Sports to present Goals on Sunday with longtime friend Chris Kamara. The deal was reportedly worth £495,000 a year.

But he said goodbye to the show in 2019 as it was reported he wanted to spend more time with his family.

In keeping with his love of sport, the presenter hosted live secondary match coverage of the UEFA Champions League on Sky Sports 3 and 4, which saw its end in 2014.

He also fronted Safebreakers, a technical game show where two teams attempt to build a vehicle with a limited budget and materials to travel to a seemingly inaccessible location.

GOOD MORNING BRITAIN AND ITV DAYTIME

In 2014, the father-of-two became the face of Good Morning Britain and continued his role on the show until he said his goodbyes on Friday, 23 February, 2024.

He hosted the show on Thursdays and Fridays alongside Susanna Reid and Kate Garraway.

Shephard also proved to be quite the pro at game-shows after signing up as the host of Tipping Point in 2012.

Still holding the gig today, he has also presented the show’s spin-off Tipping Point: Lucky Stars since 2013.

Shephard co-presented two episodes of the factual series Mystery Map with Julia Bradbury, which aired for two episodes in November 2013.

Since 2015, he has also co-presented the Saturday night game show Ninja Warrior alongside Rochelle Humes and his old sporting colleague Chris Kamara.

Shephard has since said goodbye to Good Morning Britain after spending the last two decades chatting away with Kate to the public.

The 2024 Oscars In Memoriam segment was branded ‘disgraceful’ and ‘disrespectful’ by viewers who were shocked when a troupe of dancers began twirling around the stage while the names of those lost flashed up on screen. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences remembered those who have passed away with the annual segment which was set to a new version of Andrea Bocelli’s classic song Time to Say Goodbye, which he sung on stage with his son Matteo.

While several Hollywood greats were honored there were still plenty of high-profile actors who were left out like Suzane Somers, Angus Cloud and Lance Reddick.

Others such as Ron Cephas Jones, Burt Young, writer/producer Norman Lear and filmmaker Terence Davies.

While arguments can be made that many of those actors left more of a mark on television than they did on film, they have all still done notable work on film.

For those who were honoured, viewers from home were unable to see their names, as they blamed the Academy’s shoddy camera work and zooming out to show the dancers who accompanies the Bocellis on stage. 

Taking to X/Twitter, viewers lamented: ‘Trying to watch that poorly shot #Oscars In Memoriam’; ‘Wake up #Oscars this is the In Memoriam we DO NOT need to see dancers we NEED to see the faces and names of those we lost. This was an amazing ceremony so far, but how do you screw this up again? Shame! #Oscars2024’;

‘#oscars How about a full screen of view of the in memoriam video so we can read the names? This is a terrible set up. Respectfully, the singers should not be the focus.’;

‘How many people can we fit on the stage at once for in the in memoriam segment to distract from honoring those that passed? #Oscars’; ‘Will never understand shooting the #Oscars In Memoriam from across the room, where no one can read the names.’

‘I may be old-fashioned, but I preferred it when the In Memoriam was about the people who died and not about the singing and the dancing. #Oscars #InMemoriam’; ‘Would have been good to be able to see the In Memoriam instead of squinting at the TV #Oscars2024 #OSCARS’;

‘Well-intentioned In Memoriam segment. Beautiful at times even. I just wish we weren’t distracted by what was happening on the stage and could focus on those we lost #Oscars’;

‘I am infuriated by this In Memoriam. it should be a full screen for the viewers, without distraction from the stage. this is a disgrace. if my loved one were in this, I would be so sad at how this is handled. #Oscars’; 

‘Uhhh in case you couldn’t read the quickly flashed “hey look we didn’t miss anyone this time” list at the end of the #Oscars In Memoriam montage, here you go’; ‘Most poorly staged, directed, and produced In Memoriam segment ever. The people we lost were an afterthought. #Oscar #oscars #Oscar2024 #Oscars2024’

‘congrats! You win the award for the most disrespectful and worst in memoriam! you did nothing to honor those who passed. you focused on music and dancers. Wrong!’; 

‘When did these In Memoriam segments become production numbers? Totally disrespectful to those we’ve lost. Shame on you @TheAcademy! #Oscars #Oscars #oscars’.

As well as during the televised portion, the Academy honoured those lost on their website. Yet not everyone made the cut.  

Somers passed away in October 2023 in her Palm Springs, California home from breast cancer, which had recently returned.

She also started her career on the big screen with small roles in Bullitt, American Graffiti and Magnum Force, before she became a household name on Three’s Company, which ran for 100 episodes between 1977 to 1981.

She also appeared in movies such as Serial Mom before returning to the small screen with Step By Step, which ran for seven seasons for 164 episodes from 1991 to 1998. 

Euphoria star Cloud died from an ‘accidental overdose’ of cocaine, meth and fentanyl last summer. 

The 25-year-old was found unresponsive in his family home in Oakland, California, on July 31, and pronounced dead on the scene by responders.

Cloud was discovered by Euphoria casting director Jennifer Venditti while working as a waiter in Brooklyn, which lead to him making his acting debut on the HBO series as the drug dealer Fezco.

He would go on to star in movies such as North Hollywood with Vince Vaughn and Miranda Cosgrove and The Line with Alex Wolff and Halle Bailey, with three more films either filming or in post-production.

Reddick passed away in March 2023 from heart disease at just 60 years of age, just five days after the 2023 Oscars.

While Reddick is best known for his work on the small screen in shows like Oz, The Wire, Fringe and Bosch, he was no stranger to the big screen either.

Reddick played Charon, the concierce at the Continental Hotel in the John Wick film series, and other notable movies include White House Down, Oldboy and The Guest.

Cephas Jones passed at 66 from a long-term pulmonary issue he had, and while he was best known for the hit TV series This Is Us, he also appeared in movies Dolemite Is My Name, Across the Universe and Half Nelson.

Young was best known for playing Rocky Balboa’s brother Paulie in the Rocky film series, having passed away in October 2023 aged 83 from cardiac arrest.

Lear was a legendary TV creator of All in the Family and Sanford and Son, but he also wrote movies like Divorce American Style, The Night They Raided Minsky’s and Cold Turkey. 

Israeli protesters are blocking trucks with humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in Gaza, even as children starve to death.

Breaking through police lines, they have been seen running in front of food convoys, sitting at border gates singing Jewish songs, with some holding rowdy techno dance parties.

At night they camp in tents nearby, or catch shuttle buses back to town, while some set up cotton candy machines for the many children brought to the border.

Israeli protesters, some the relatives of the 134 hostages still held by Hamas, are threatening to withhold aid until they are free and want to starve out Hamas fighters.

Some claim aid trucks are full of weapons, not food, and will be taken by terrorists anyway.

Gaza is so wrecked by five months of Israeli bombing and ground assaults that those not among the 30,000 killed are starving to death.

President Joe Biden authorized air drops of supplies, but as they barely make a dent he pledged in the State of the Union to build a temporary port to bring aid in.

A survey by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute found 68 per cent of Jewish Israelis opposed sending aid the Gaza under any circumstances.

Even 39 per cent of left-wing Jews were against sending supplies, along with 80 per cent of right-wing Jews.

Video from social media and international news crews show how Israelis, from teenagers to grandmothers with small children, have formed well-organized groups intent on blockading the region.

Waving Israeli flags and holding placards, they hike through bushes around police checkpoints and either sit on the road or stand in circles.

A few even climb on to the front of trucks as they approach, forcing them to brake suddenly, and refuse to move despite demands from police.

The dance parties included protesters with purple flags with ‘Nova’ written on them in reference to the music festival where Hamas killed dozens and took hostages.

Some footage shows police and border guards tackling them and dragging them out of the way, but in other cases they stand idly by as trucks queue for miles.

‘You’re confused, go deal with the war, we came to help you,’ one woman yells in Hebrew as police and soldiers try to clear the road.

One protester told CNN they would keep up the blockade until Hamas released the hostages, and was happy to use starving civilians as bargaining chips.

‘You know what? If they are starving to death, give us back, give our hostages back. Not a single loaf of bread should go there ’til our hostages are coming back,’ she said.

‘You know, even if there is a humanitarian crisis — and there’s not — even if there is, it’s my right and duty to prioritize [Israelis] over any Gazan babies.’

Fellow protester Debbie Sharon said she didn’t believe civilians would even get the food and supplies inside the trucks as Hamas would take it all.

‘I’m telling you here and now, if we knew it’s getting to the children of Gaza, we will do it. This does not arrive at their doorstep,’ she said.

‘This arrives into the tunnels of Hamas that are fighting us and holding our hostages.’

A third protester claimed the trucks could have weapons smuggled inside as there was no way to check them.

‘Bags of rice that are meant to go to their children are filled with bullets,’ she said, as she crossed through a field to reach the border gates. 

There is no evidence of military supplies being smuggled in aid trucks, or that food is taken by Hamas for its terrorists before it reaches civilians.

At the gates, a woman whose sick uncle Lior Rudaeff is one of the hostages, refuses to move from where she is sitting on the road.

‘He’s got a heart condition, he hasn’t had any medication. Why aren’t the hostages getting humanitarian aid?’ she told NPR.

Another woman, who blacked the gates while holding her newborn baby, had a similar message.

‘Release the hostages and they will get all the aid, everything, on the condition that the hostages will be released,’ she said.

‘I have real sympathy for the civilians in Gaza, but the ones who are hurting them are Hamas. Any truck that goes by will not reach civilians.’

At the Kerem Shalom border crossing, teenagers as young as 17 are among the leaders of a well-organized effort including shuttle buses and tent cities.

‘We sleep tonight in Kerem Shalom and block aid and fuel to Hamas! Do you want to sleep here with us? Shuttles are running throughout the night and day,’ Yosef de Bresser, 22, wrote on a WhatsApp group.

‘War is war,’ he told the Washington Post with a shrug, noting that the US killed thousands of civilians bombing Japan in World War II.

‘Who gives his enemy aid?’ 

Another young man, Ben Shabat, claimed – without evidence – that Gazans could use food supplies to make weapons.

‘When you mix flour with potassium nitrate you get an explosive for a warhead. Every pound of sugar and flour that goes into Gaza from Israel, we will get it back by the way of a rocket that will kill our children,’ he said.

He was also motivated by helping the IDF starve out Hamas: ‘When a soldier is hungry, he’s not fighting so well.’

Tahel Attar, 17, said civilians should only get the bare necessities, if anything at all, and luxury foods were among the supplies.

‘We heard they are giving them stuff that they don’t really, really need. Like strawberries. I don’t think people there are crying for strawberries,’ she said.

Tahel said even though authorities sometimes took protesters away to let trucks in, they only did it because they were ordered to.

‘The army is with us, the police is with us. They don’t want us to be here, but they get it. They let us. We are talking with them, we are having fun with them, we are offering them everything they need,’ she said.

Some of the protesters even took photos with smiling soldiers and border guards.

The World Food Program warned last month that Gaza could be plunged into famine as early as May. 

The UN food agency defines a famine as when 30 per cent of children are malnourished, one-fifth of households face acute food shortages and two of every 10,000 people are dying from hunger or malnutrition. 

But a report by Refugees International on Thursday warned Gazan civilians were already starving in ‘apocalyptic’ conditions akin to a serious famine.

‘Our research makes clear that conditions inside of Gaza are apocalyptic,’ said the report read.

‘After five months of war, Palestinians are struggling to find adequate food, water, shelter, and basic medicine. Famine-level hunger is already widespread and worsening.’

The report claimed Israel ‘consistently and groundlessly impeded aid operations within Gaza, blocked legitimate relief operations and resisted implementing measures that would genuinely enhance the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza’.

‘[Israel has] erected unnecessary hurdles, complicated logistical processes, and an unpredictable vetting system, rendering the inspection regime overwhelmingly burdensome with layers of bureaucracy and inspection and limited working hours.’

Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces and has suffered long cutoffs of food supplies. 

At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the north’s Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. 

Most of the dead are children — including ones as old as 15 — as well as a 72-year-old man.

Particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb in the south, where access to aid is more regular.

At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, one of the senior doctors said. 

Malnutrition is generally slow to bring death, striking children and the elderly first. Other factors can play a role. 

Underfed mothers have difficulty breastfeeding children. Diarrheal diseases, rampant in Gaza due to lack of clean water and sanitation, leave many unable to retain any of the calories they ingest, said Anuradha Narayan, a UNICEF child nutrition expert. 

Malnutrition weakens immune systems, sometimes leading to death from other diseases.

Israel largely shut off entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies after launching its assault on Gaza following Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage. 

It has allowed only a trickle of aid trucks through two crossings in the south.

Meat, milk, vegetables and fruit are nearly impossible to find, according to several residents. 

The few items in shops are random and sold at hugely inflated prices — mainly nuts, snacks and spices. People have taken barrels of chocolate from bakeries and are selling tiny smears of it.

Most people eat a weed that crops up in empty lots, known as ‘khubaiza.’ Fatima Shaheen, a 70-year-old who lives with her two sons and their children in northern Gaza, said boiled khubaiza is her main meal, and her family has also ground up food meant for rabbits to use as flour.

‘We are dying for a piece of bread,’ Shaheen said.

Qamar Ahmed said his 18-month-old daughter, Mira, eats mostly boiled weeds. ‘There is no food that suits her age,’ said Ahmed, a researcher with Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and an economic journalist. 

His 70-year-old father gives his own food to Ahmed’s young son, Oleyan. ‘We try to make him eat and he refuses,’ Ahmed said of his father.

Recent airdrops of aid by the US and other countries provide far lower amounts of aid than truck deliveries, which have become rare and sometimes dangerous. 

UNRWA says Israeli authorities haven’t allowed it to deliver supplies to the north since January 23. 

The World Food Organization, which had paused deliveries because of safety concerns, said the military forced its first convoy to the north in two weeks to turn back Tuesday. 

Yazan al-Kafarna, 10, died Monday after almost a week of unsuccessful treatment in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. 

Photos of the boy showed him extremely emaciated, with twig-like limbs and deep-sunk eyes in a face shriveled to his skull.

Al-Kafarna was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects motor skills and can make swallowing and eating difficult. 

His parents said they struggled to find food he could eat, including soft fruits and eggs, since fleeing their home in the north.

He died due to extreme muscle wastage caused primarily by lack of food, according to Dr. Jabr al-Shair, head of the children’s emergency department at Abu Youssef Najjar Hospital.

On a recent day, around 80 malnourished children crowded the hospital’s wards. Aya al-Fayoume, a 19-year-old mother displaced to Rafah, had brought her 3-month-old daughter, Nisreen, who has lost vast amounts of weight over the winter months, sick with persistent diarrhea and vomiting. 

On her diet of mainly canned goods, al-Fayoume said she doesn’t produce enough breast milk for Nisreen.

‘Everything I need is expensive or unavailable,’ she said.

A UN expert said on Thursday that Israel was destroying Gaza’s food system as part of a broader ‘starvation campaign’ in its war against Hamas militants and berated a UN human rights body for not doing more.

‘The images of starvation in Gaza are unbearable and you are doing nothing,’ Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council.

Fakhri told the council that Israel was “destroying the food system in Gaza”.

“Israel has mounted a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” he added, saying that included targeting small-scale fishermen.

Yeela Cytrin, a legal adviser at the Israeli mission to the U.N., called the allegations against it a “blatant lie”.

“Israel utterly rejects allegations that it is using starvation as a tool of war,” she told the council and then walked out in protest.

Israel denies restricting relief into Gaza and has started working with private contractors to deliver aid.

President Biden at the State of the Union announced he was directing the military to build a port on the Gaza coast to bring relief to the population there. 

‘The United States is a leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance to Gaza,’ he said.

That does not mean US military personnel will be on the ground in the war torn region. 

White House officials offered no time line for when the pier will be built or where exactly it will be located but said its construction will allow more shipments of food, medicine and other essential items to be delivered to the 2.2 million Palestinians.

They said the White House would coordinate with the Israelis regarding security on the ground and with the UN and humanitarian groups on getting aid delivered. 

The temporary pier will allow for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day, the officials said. It will be an additional route for humanitarian aid, which is currently limited to two land crossings into the southern part of Gaza.

Other countries will be involved in its construction but it’s unclear if Israel will be. 

The project could take more than 30 to 60 days to construct and would involve hundreds or thousands of US troops on ships just off shore. It will also require armed escorts and other protective measures.

The US port system being envisioned for Gaza involves two separate components, the first being construction of a floating, offshore barge that would be able to accept aid deliveries.

The US military would then move aid from there to a floating, 1,800 foot-long (550 meter) causeway anchored to the shore.

Once operational, the port system would allow delivery about 2 million meals to Gazans daily.

By comparison, the US military has delivered a total of about 124,000 meals during four airdrops in the past week. The latest airdrop on Friday delivered about 11,500 meals, the US military said.

Maddie Ziegler looked radiant and youthful as she graced the cover Teen fashion New Hollywood Edition.

The Dance Moms star smoldered for the camera as she rocked a mustard-colored Miu Miu strapless top with a long matching skirt.

Her short brown hair fell to her shoulders as she showed off her collarbone and natural makeup look.

Ziegler – who appeared on TV at the age of nine – spoke about growing up in the public eye.

‘It’s scary when people have such strong opinions about you and feel like they know you. But there’s something beautiful about that too,” she told the outlet.

Dance Moms premiered on Lifetime in 2011 and followed the elite youth dance team of Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

It also highlights the complicated dynamic between dance instructor Abby Lee Miller, her students and their over-the-top mothers.

Ziegler appeared on the show with her younger sister Mackenzie Ziegler, now 19, and mother Melissa Gisoni.

Ziegler was portrayed as Miller’s “favorite,” with the other mothers often accusing Miller of giving the young girl special treatment – the source of most, if not all, of the on-air arguments.

Ziegler, her sister and her mother left the show in season six and she previously revealed that she no longer speaks to Miller despite the bond they shared.

She also confessed to “blocking out” that part of her childhood.

Now 21, Ziegler told Teen Vogue that she has finally found a sense of self-worth afterward navigating the world as a child star.

The brunette beauty has left dancing behind and is now a working actress.

“Acting gives me the creative freedom to jump into different things, but it also helps me protect my own being,” she explained.

Having publicly grown up in an environment where she was the norm and couldn’t be rebellious, the star is now relearning boundaries.

“I’m growing up and it’s liberating to know I can stand up for myself,” she said.

After leaving that environment, the 21-year-old still feels that youthful spark that she carries with her even now.

‘I’m still that same crazy, loving, hard-working girl, but I’m also changing and growing. It’s scary when people say, “But you’re not who you were when you were younger.” And I have to explain: ‘Yes, because that’s just not realistic.’

The reality show alum shared the spotlight with several famous faces, including Barbie’s Ariana Greenblatt and The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Christopher Briney.

The concept of this edition takes every personality and turns each into a different type of artist.

Briney, 25, poses as he turns and shapes pottery with his hands, opting for a denim jacket and shorts.

Greenblatt, 16, was photographed upcycling materials to create a new piece while dressed in an unbuttoned orange shirt and black bandeau.

Ziegler will star in My Old A**, due out in August this year, in which she plays the character Ruthie.

The film stars Maisy Stella as a small-town Canadian teen in her last month of summer before college when she and her friends go crazy.

“I feel like the characters lived inside us,” the cover girl said said“We could go home and be ourselves, but the characters were still a part of us.”

Hollywood artist Rihanna, who recently performed at Anant and Radhika’s pre-wedding gala, posted a comment on Janhvi Kapoor’s viral ‘Zingaat’ dance video. Read through.

Jamnagar: The big pre-wedding celebration of Anant Ambani And Radhika trader is undoubtedly the biggest wedding that will take place in 2024. While many international celebrities and businessmen attended the pre-wedding bash. It was the Hollywood artist Rihanna made headlines when she landed in India. While taking over social media, a viral video of Rihanna and Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor grooves to the Zingaat song from the movie Dhadak at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding function.

Rihanna responds to Janhvi Kapoor’s viral dance video

It was Friday evening when Rihanna and Janhvi Kapoor’s viral dance video to the song Zingaat took over the internet. Janhvi shared the video on Instagram and captioned the video, “This woman is a goddess. Stop it… see ya (sic),” and recently Rihanna left a comment on Janhvi’s video. Taking to Janhvi Kapoor’s Instagram account, the Hollywood diva said, “I love you.” Replying to Rihanaa’s comment, Janhvi Kapoor replied with a queen emoji and wrote, “Ur (You are) my (queen emoji) (sic).”

Take a look at Janhvi Kapoor and Rihanna’s viral dance video:

Netizens on social media are going crazy after seeing Rihanna and Janhvi dancing

While Janhvi Kapoor stunned in a silver metallic outfit, Rihanna dazzled in a pink dress. She complimented her look by covering her head with a hoodie. Netizens on Instagram went crazy after seeing Rihanna and Janhvi dancing to the popular Hindi song ‘Zingaat’. One Instagram user commented: “It’s only two months into 2024 and we’re already there (sic).” Another user wrote: “Crossover we didn’t expect (sic).”

The third user wrote: “Nothing more expected from Janhvi Kapoor (sic).” The fourth user commented, “Janhvi Kapoor makes Rihanna dance to Zingaat!!! ICONIC (fire emoji) (sic). “Janhvi Kapoor’s father said: “Indian Queen with Caribbean Queen (sic).” Another comment read: “Oh damn (fire emoji) (sic).”
For the unknown Janhvi Kapoor is the daughter of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor.

On Day 1 of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding celebration, Rihanna was all over the internet. The Hollywood diva sang her hit song during the event. Rihanna was spotted in a green outfit paired with a pink cap. It is also worth noting that the artist decided to perform barefoot as this is the tradition practiced in India. A news article published in The Hindustan Times claimed that Rihanna charged Rs 52 crore for an appearance at the grand Indian wedding.

Besides international celebrities, popular Bollywood faces and sports personalities were also spotted at the grand pre-wedding bash. Some of the names include Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Mira Rajput, Ranveer Singh, Suhana Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Vick Hope took her parents to the 2024 BRIT Awards on Saturday to support her husband Calvin Harris.

The presenter, 34, shared a sweet clip of her mum Adeline and dad Nigel dancing to Kylie Minogue at their table.

The family were all smiles as they posed on the red carpet before taking their seats in the star-studded event.

Calvin shared a sweet hug with Vick’s parents after winning Best Dance Act of the Year

After being announced as the group winner, Calvin, completely shocked, immediately turned to his wife Vick for a celebratory kiss.

He then turned to Adeline and Nigel for some serious pressure before going on stage.

As the One Kiss hitmaker, 40, took to the stage, he also dedicated a heartfelt speech to fellow artist Ellie Goulding.

Raye broke records at the BRIT Awards on Saturday night, winning six gongs at a star-studded ceremony at London’s O2 Arena.

The 26-year-old singer/songwriter won the first gong presented that evening, Song of the Year, for her hit Escapism ft 070 Shake, shortly before also taking home the R&B Act gong and best new artist.

She was in tears as she later accepted Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, at one point bringing her beloved grandmother onto the stage.

The star now holds the record for the most Brits won in a single ceremony, a record that previously stood at four, jointly held by Blur (1995), Adele (2016) and Harry Styles (2023).

She was nominated seven times – the most ever for one artist in a year – but could not possibly have won more than her, as she was shortlisted for song of the year twice – for Escapism, which won the title, and for Prada.

In addition to Raye’s huge successes, Dua Lipa also won the award for best pop act, while Kylie Minogue – who had a huge comeback hit last year with Padam Padam – took home the global icon award. The evening was dominated by female winners, who won gongs in all but four categories.

Dua Lipa picked up the fan-voted Pop Act gong and gushed to her fans: “I think for more than one reason my fans are the reasons why I’m standing here today so I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone One of you has on me voted.’

A record number of 98 artists were in the running for the new 2024 BRIT Prize, designed by British visual artist and painter Rachel Jones.

The only men to receive awards were Calvin Harris for dance act; Sheffield quartet Bring Me The Horizon in the alternative/rock category; Casisdead for best hip-hop, grime or rap act; and duo Jungle for group of the year.

Miley Cyrus was a notable absentee that evening, thanking her for her International Song win for her smash hit Flowers in a video message.

‘Hello everyone at the British. “I want to thank you very much for voting Flowers as the International Song of the Year, and special thanks for giving me a place to wear this dress,” she said, showing off her tiny gold number.

“It’s incredible to win, but the real prize is that this incredible song becomes a hit around the world. I know this video is a little short, but I just wanted it to match my dress.”

Dua Lipa and Ellie Goulding pulled out all the stops as they led the performances.

Double nominee Dua, 28, opened the ceremony with her new song Training Season from her forthcoming third studio album.

The singer looked stunning in an all-leather look as Ellie, 37, stormed the stage just a week after announcing the end of her marriage.

The night ended with Dua Lipa presenting Kylie with the Global Icon Award, leading to the Australian pop star’s final performance.

“Okay, I’m just going to sob with Raye, you did that!” said an emotional Kylie as she took the stage.

“You did that. British, thank you very much. “I really tried to think carefully about what to say tonight, but I knew I couldn’t plan anything and it would just be about the emotion.”

‘It’s been a lifetime for some of you – 36 years and counting, and what really touches me is the love of music and the connection with people… I have friends in this room with whom I have worked together over the years. ‘

The pop superstar then took to the stage for a medley of her biggest hits, including her recent chart-toppers Padam Padam, Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, Slow and Love At First Sight.

A video circulating on the internet shows Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor and RiRi dancing to the actress’ popular song Zingaat.

All attention is now on Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar. The festivities kicked off on March 1, 2024 and will continue until March 3, 2024. On the first day, several national and international celebrities graced the event. What turned heads, however, was Rihanna’s performance. Now a video is doing rounds on the internet of Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor and RiRi grooving to the actress’s famous song Zingaat.

The video was shared through paps account and even Janhvi also shared the same video in which both RiRi and Janhvi are seen dancing their heart out to Janhvi’s song Zingaat from the film Dhadak. Janhvi shared the video and wrote, “This woman is a goddess. stop it, goodbye. The actress also shared a photo with Rihanna on her Instagram Story and wrote, “@badgalriri the baddest,” along with a fire emoticon.

Take a look here:

Shortly after the actress posted the video, it quickly went viral, surprising fans who weren’t expecting this crossover. A user commented on Janhvi’s video: “Janhvi Kapoor makes Rihanna dance to Zingaat!!! ICONIC.” Another wrote: “OMG INSANE.” “You just met perhaps the biggest female pop star in the world,” another fan commented.

Meanwhile, at the big event, Rihanna showcased some of her timeless hit songs like Diamonds, Rude Boy, Pour It Up and more. According to a report by India Today, Rihanna demanded a fee of around $8-$9 million (Rs 66 to 74 crore) for her performance. Apparently, a significant portion of the expenses for her elaborate performance went towards transporting her stage equipment and providing outfits for herself and her background performers.

About Anant and Radhika’s pre-wedding celebrations

The festivities for the couple will continue till March 3, 2024. The event is a completely star-studded event featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Riteish-Genelia, Katrina- Vicky, Kiara -Sidharth and others. Besides the B-town celebrity, several politicians, sports personalities and businessmen were also spotted at the event.