David Attenborough centenary celebrations start with closer look at 'Life on Earth'

By Sarah Young and Francesca Halliwell

FILE PHOTO: Mural of David Attenborough, in Dublin

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Celebrations to mark the 100th birthday of renowned British naturalist David Attenborough start next week with a show delving deeper ‌into his milestone 1979 TV series "Life on Earth".

That programme - with its famous face-to-face encounters with ‌mountain gorillas in Rwanda - set the pattern for natural history documentaries in the decades that followed and helped establish him as ​one of the world's most authoritative voices on conservation.

The new show, "Making Life on Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure", goes into the stories behind the series and includes more footage of a baby gorilla climbing on the presenter and of a lioness hunting.

Reading from the diary he kept during filming, Attenborough recalls how he and the ‌crew were detained by the Rwandan army ⁠and threatened in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

His team talk about the challenge of setting up shoots abroad when letters took weeks to arrive, and worrying about getting precious ⁠film rolls back to Britain in metal cans.

There are also more details on their hunt for an Indian Ocean fish often called a "living fossil".

They finally got footage of the coelacanth after a fisherman caught it by accident ​and ​then tipped off the crew after releasing it. "It was ​the first time it was filmed alive, but ‌only just," Attenborough jokes in the new programme.

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The series was game-changing, said Mike Gunton, creative director of the Natural History Unit at the BBC, who worked with Attenborough on later shows.

"All we really have done is remake 'Life on Earth'," Gunton told Reuters.

Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926, in London. His BBC career started in 1952 and two years later he got his big break with "Zoo Quest", which he ‌ended up presenting after the original candidate fell ill on ​their first shoot.

He moved into BBC management. Then, in his ​late 40s, he decided he wanted to ​return to making nature programmes and pitched the idea for "Life on Earth", a series ‌which would track the story of evolution.

Before ​three years of filming started ​he wrote all the scripts for the 13 hours of the show.

"He has, without doubt, defined natural history and how we see the world," the new show's producer/director, Victoria Bobin, said.

"Making ​Life on Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure" ‌premieres on the BBC on Sunday.

There will also be a new series "Secret Garden", a concert ​in London and events at museums across Britain to celebrate the naturalist's birthday.

(Reporting by ​Sarah Young and Francesca Halliwell; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

byCreto Bactum

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April 28, 2026

David Attenborough centenary celebrations start with closer look at 'Life on Earth'

By Sarah Young and Francesca Halliwell FILE PHOTO: Mural of David Attenborough, in Dublin LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Celebra...

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Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith Are Friendly Exes as They Leave L.A. Restaurant Arm-in-Arm

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith were spotted arm-in-arm after dining with their children in Beverly Hills on Saturday, April 25

NEED TO KNOW

• The former couple, married for 18 years, have maintained a close friendship since their 2015 divorce

• Banderas has called Griffith his "best friend" and praised their shared experiences, including raising their daughter Stella

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith may have divorced in 2015, but the pair are still clearly on good terms.

On Saturday, April 25, Banderes, 65, and Griffiths, 68, were spotted leaving Beverly Hills sushi restaurant Matsushia arm-in-arm after emnjoying dinner together. They were also joined by their daughter,Stella Banderas, 29, as well as Griffith’s son, Alexander Bauer, 40, who she shares with her first ex-husband, actor Steven Bauer.

The actress’ other daughter, actress Dakota Johnson, who she shares with her second ex-husband Don Johnson, appeared to have missed the family outing.

The pair, who were married for 18 years before theirdivorceover a decade ago, wore complementary outfits for their dinner date, both opting for cropped jackets and jeans while theMask of Zorrostar held his baseball cap in his hands.

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The actors — who firstbonded while filmingtheir 1995 rom-com,Two Much— have maintained a famously close relationship despite no longer being married.

When they met, Griffith and Banderas were both still married to their former partners —Don Johnsonand Ana Leza — but by 1996, they were both divorced and they married in London that May.

In October 2019, Banderas was full of praise for his ex-wife. “Melanie is not my wife anymore, but I thinkshe is my best friend," he told PEOPLE. "I love her and will love her until the day I die. She’s my family.”

Meanwhile, in June 2020, Banderas once again reflected on their relationship toEl Break de las 7. He shared that there were “wonderful moments” in their marriage that he won’t forget, per Spanish outletHola!. The actor noted, “We had a wonderful daughter that we both love and that is the end result of our relationship, the most beautiful thing we have ever done together.”

In addition, in April 2023, Griffith reminisced about their relationship while celebrating Holy Week. Aftersharing photosof the festivities on Instagram, she looked back on attending Holy Week with her ex-husband. “During the 19 years I was married to Antonio, one of the many extraordinary experiences he gave to me and the kids was our introduction to and subsequent love for Semana Santa (Holy Week),” she wrote on social media.

Read the original article onPeople

byCreto Bactum

in

April 28, 2026

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith Are Friendly Exes as They Leave L.A. Restaurant Arm-in-Arm

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith were spotted arm-in-arm after dining with their children in Beverly Hills on Saturday, April 25 ...

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Price hikes due to Iran war will be felt for at least eight months, minister warns

Price hikesas a result of theIran warwill be felt for at least eight months after the conflict ends, a government minister has warned.

Chief Secretary to the prime minister,Darren Jones,warned people will see higher energy, food and flight prices “as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East” and said there will be a “long tail from this”.

The government has stepped up planning for how tooffset potential shortagessparked by the conflict, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane crucial for the supply of a fifth of global oil and gas, which sent oil prices soaring.

Meanwhile, peace talks planned for this weekend have stalled, with Iran insisting no direct talks would take place andDonald Trump calling off a trip for US negotiatorsto visit mediators in Pakistan.

The prime minister will chair another meeting of the Cabinet committee set up to deal with the fallout on Tuesday, after the so-called Middle East Response Committee met last week.

Meanwhile, a contingency planning group of ministers led by Mr Jones is meeting twice a week. They are focusing on live monitoring of stock levels and seeing what plans are in place to address supply chain disruption.

But Mr Jones told the BBC that consumers are more likely to see prices go up rather than gaps on supermarket shelves as a consequence of the conflict.

“Quite frankly, that's probably going to come online, not just in the next few weeks, but the next few months. There's going to be a long tail from this”, he said.

Pressed on how long people will see economic disruption, Mr Jones said: "I think our best guess is eight plus months from the point of resolution that you'll see economic impacts coming through the system.

"So people will see higher energy prices, food prices and those types of issues, flight ticket prices as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East.

“The government here in the UK, the work that I'm doing with the prime minister is looking at all of those things and saying, ‘what can we do within our power to help people to get through those difficult times?’”

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Oil and gas prices have increased sharply since the conflict began at the end of February.

And earlier this month, the Bank of England warned that around 1.3 million more UK households are facing a jump in theirmortgage costsfollowing the economic shock caused by the conflict.

The Bank’s latest financial stability report (FSR) said the UK economic outlook has “deteriorated”, increasing pressure on UK households and businesses.

The government has been seeking to calm the public, urging drivers to keep filling up with petrol and not to change their travel plans amid fears over potential jet fuel shortages.

It comes after leaked government documents last week revealed the UK could seeshortagesof key supermarket goods this summer if theIran warcontinues.

Officials have put together contingency plans for a “reasonable worst-case scenario”, highlighting that the closure of the crucialStrait of Hormuzshipping route could lead to carbon dioxide shortages.

The secret analysis – firstreported byThe Times– was codenamed “Exercise Turnstone” and was run by the government’s emergency committee, Cobra.

The “reasonable worst-case scenario” was based on the assumption that the Strait of Hormuz had not been reopened and nopeace deal had been reached.

It warned supplies of CO2 could fall to just 18 per cent of current levels – a warning based on a key UK plant suffering a mechanical error, and high gas costs leading to a fall in production across Europe of ammonia and fertiliser, which make CO2 as a by-product.

Farming and hospitality would be the two worst-hit industries, because CO2 is used to prolong the shelf life of foods, including salad, packaged meats, and baked goods.

Supermarkets have since said they are working with the government to plan for a worst-case scenario where food producers would be impacted.

byCreto Bactum

in

April 27, 2026

Price hikes due to Iran war will be felt for at least eight months, minister warns

Price hikesas a result of theIran warwill be felt for at least eight months after the conflict ends, a government minister has warned. ...

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Kate Jackson Says She Never Doubted “Charlie’s Angels” Was ‘Going to Be a Hit’ (Exclusive)

Kate Jackson revealed she pitched the original concept for Charlie's Angels to Spelling-Goldberg Productions

NEED TO KNOW

• The actress said credited the TV series’ success to its unique premise and the chemistry of the cast

• Jackson also said her friendships with costars Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd remain strong 50 years after the show’s debut

Fifty years afterCharlie's Angelspremieredin 1976,Kate Jacksonrevealed she always knew the TV show would be a success.

The actress reunited withcostarsJaclyn SmithandCheryl Laddduring PaleyFest LA 2026 for theCharlie's Angels50th Anniversary Celebration on April 6. She opened up her role in pitching the show's premise to production company Spelling-Goldberg Productions.

Jackson, 77, told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview at the event that she sat down with executives, who had pitched a different concept that she had doubts about. “I was looking down, listening, thinking, ‘This is the worst thing I ever heard in my life,’ ” she recalled.

She had previously brainstormed ideas for the subject of the new show and used her previous role as a rookie cop onThe Rookiesas inspiration for similar idea to pitch the executives.

"It was really easy becauseThe Rookieswas about three young rookie cops. So just flip that and have three young women who go to the police academy, meet each other, become close friends [and] work their way up to plainclothes detectives,” Jackson said.

She shared her idea for the new show with executive producer Aaron Spelling, and the show debuted just one year later. The star is credited with givingCharlie's Angelsits name, after producers had originally pitchedAlley Cats.

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"We started shooting the pilot, and I never doubted. I don't know why, but I never doubted that it was going to be a big hit. It was unique," the actress said.

Part of the reason she had such confidence in the show's success, Jackson said, is the chemistry she instantly shared with her costars.

"It was unusual. The three of us had chemistry that was ... I mean, we're still sisters today and you people are all so crazy that you're still around after 50 years. I can't believe it," she continued.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jackson said her friendships with Smith, 80, and Ladd, 74, remain strong as ever, even after the show's debut five decades ago. She said that "there's a real genuine care" between the actresses.

"It is a real love. It doesn't go away. You might not think about it every day, but you don't question it. It's just there," Jackson said.

Read the original article onPeople

byCreto Bactum

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April 27, 2026

Kate Jackson Says She Never Doubted “Charlie’s Angels” Was ‘Going to Be a Hit’ (Exclusive)

Kate Jackson revealed she pitched the original concept for Charlie's Angels to Spelling-Goldberg Productions NEED TO KNOW ...

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Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar Assad opened in Damascus Sunday.

Syria Trial

Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria's Daraa province under Assad, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people,” state-run news agency SANA reported.

Najib was in that position in 2011 when teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad's government security forces.

The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown and spiraled into a 14-year civil war that ended with Assad's ouster in December 2024 in a lightning rebel offensive. Assad fled to Russia, while most members of his inner circle also escaped Syria.

Assad himself and his brother, Maher, former commander of the Syrian military's 4th Armored Division — which Syrian opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers — were charged in absentia, along with a number of other former high-ranking security officials.

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Najib was the only one of the defendants who was arrested and present in person in court Sunday for a preparatory session in the trial, which will continue next month.

Crowds gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate.

The government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has faced criticism over delays in launching a promised transitional justice process. Syria is struggling to heal following 14 years of civil war that left an estimated half a million people dead, millions more displaced, and the country battered and divided.

Authorities now appear to be moving more aggressively to prosecute officials linked to Assad.

Syrian authorities on Friday arrested Amjad Yousef, a former intelligence officer who appeared ina video leakedfour years ago that purportedly showed him and his comrades executing dozens of blindfolded and shackled prisoners in the Damascus suburb of Tadamon during the country’s civil war.

byCreto Bactum

in

April 27, 2026

Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar Assad opened in Damas...

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Pope Leo signals shift away from Catholic Church's focus on sex

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, April 27 (Reuters) - Pope Leo's four-nation Africa tour featured firm denunciations by the pontiff of despotism and war and also unprecedented attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump that grabbed headlines.

But a smaller moment, in which the pope said the ‌Catholic Church should prioritise questions of inequality and justice over those of sexual ethics, may prove to be of longer-lasting importance for ‌the Church's 1.4 billion members, said experts.

"The unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters," Leo, the first U.S. pope, said in a press conference on his ​flight home on Thursday.

"I believe there are much greater and more important issues such as justice, equality... that would all take priority before that particular issue," he said.

Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA, a group that supports LGBTQ Catholics, called the pope's remarks "a very significant and overdue reorientation of priorities".

Priests and bishops in the global Church have long emphasised as high priorities its teachings on sexual issues, including its bans on abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage.

On his first trip ‌to Africa in 2009, the late Pope Benedict XVI ⁠sparked an international outcry when he said the Church could not relax its ban on Catholics using condoms, even to help fight the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Benedict said allowing condoms would only "increase the problem" ethically.

POPE'S APPROACH SEEN AS NEW FOR GLOBAL ⁠CHURCH

Leo made his comments on Thursday in response to a question about the Church offering blessings for same-sex couples.

He said he supported a landmark 2023 decision by the late Pope Francis allowing pastors to give blessings to same-sex couples informally, outside of a ritual service, and on a case-by-case basis.

But Leo said he wanted to prioritise ​other ​ethical questions and did not want the blessings to be formalised further.

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"To go beyond that ​today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity ‌than unity," said the 70-year-old pontiff.

Rev. James Keenan, an academic at Boston College, called Leo's approach new for the global Church.

The pope is "stating that the Vatican has a hierarchy of concerns and the perception that matters of sexuality have singular priority of place is not the case," said Keenan, a Jesuit priest who founded a global network of Catholic academics focused on ethical issues.

"This is clearly a prudential judgment by the pontiff... that issues of blessing gay marriage ought not eclipse more immediate challenges of dictatorships and war," said Keenan.

The Catholic Church teaches that sexual relationships outside heterosexual marriage are sinful. It says ‌people with same-sex attractions should try to be chaste.

LEO'S 'WHO AM I TO JUDGE' MOMENT

Francis, ​who led the Church for 12 years until his death last April, largely also sought ​to emphasise the Church's teachings on justice issues.

Asked in 2013 about rumours ​surrounding a priest working at the Vatican being gay, Francis famously responded: "If a person is gay and is seeking the ‌Lord and has good will, who am I to judge ​them?"

Those remarks, signalling unprecedented openness from a ​pope toward LGBTQ Catholics, became a seminal moment in Francis' tenure, quoted widely and printed on merchandise and T-shirts.

"This seems like Leo's 'Who am I to judge?' moment," said David Gibson, a Vatican expert and academic at Fordham University, about Leo's Thursday remarks.

"(Leo) is about peace and ​justice and sees those moral teachings as equally important ‌as sexual ethics," said Gibson.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, another group that supports LGBTQ Catholics, praised Leo's response.

"He listed ​other matters, more social matters -- justice, equality, freedom -- as being of greater moral concern," said DeBernardo. "For years, Catholic advocates for LGBTQ+ ​people have been saying the same thing."

(Reporting by Joshua McElweeEditing by Gareth Jones)

byCreto Bactum

in

April 27, 2026

Pope Leo signals shift away from Catholic Church's focus on sex

By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY, April 27 (Reuters) - Pope Leo's four-nation Africa tour featured firm denunciations by the po...

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Jamie Lynn Spears Reflects on Being a Mom to Daughter Maddie Ahead of Her High School Graduation

Jamie Lynn Spears’daughterMaddieis all grown up!

Taking to Instagramon Friday, April 24, Jamie Lynn, 35, got emotional as she reflected on motherhood ahead of Maddie’s high school graduation.

“Welp….the grad invites are sent, the cap and gown arrived, and the last regular day of school is here….I guess the lovely state of denial that I forced myself to be in has to end, bc the reality of time is coming at me like a freight train,” Jamie Lynn wrote of Maddie, 17.

“I know the saying ‘the days are long, but the years are short’ is one of the most cliche sayings, bc it’s said so much, but I now know that cliches are only said so much bc they continue to ring true in every lifetime throughout the test of time.”

Jamie Lynn Spears Says She Was ‘Mortified’ Telling Parents About 1st Pregnancy at 16

Jamie Lynn, who isthe younger sister ofBritney Spears, went on to describe how much it meant to her to watch her daughter grow up.

“Having the privilege of watchingyour children grow upis one of the most beautiful & fulfilling things we can experience as humans, and I am so grateful for each every up & down moment throughoutthe journey of motherhoodthis far,” she wrote. “It’s bittersweet, bc you’re so proud of everything they have accomplished this far, and so excited to watch everything that their future will bring, while also longing for them to stay your baby forever.”

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She added, “I know I’m one of luckiest mamas in the world, so I’ll stop my rambling now, until I completely lose it on graduation day.”

In 2007, Jamie Lynn found out that she was pregnant with her first baby when she was still a teenager and starring on Nickelodeon seriesZoey 101.

Jamie Lynn Spears’ Daughter Maddie Is All Smiles As She Attends Junior Prom: See Photos

Jamie Lynn and ex-boyfriendCasey Aldridgewelcomed Maddie in June 2008. (Jamie Lynn also shares daughter Ivey Joan, 8, with husbandJamie Watson,who she married in March 2014.)

TheSweet Magnoliasstar opened up toDopplein 2019 about what it was like being a young mom and how her outlook on parenting evolved over time.

“I don’t feel like a young mom at all now, but I guess that’s because I had my first daughter so very young. I used to be insecure at times, because I was always the youngest mom in the room,” she told the outlet.

She added, “I quickly learned that being a good and competent mother has nothing to do with age. I have met some of the most wonderful amazing moms who are anywhere from 20 years old to 50 years old, so young or old, love is all it’s really about.”

byCreto Bactum

in

April 27, 2026

Jamie Lynn Spears Reflects on Being a Mom to Daughter Maddie Ahead of Her High School Graduation

Jamie Lynn Spears’daughterMaddieis all grown up! Taking to Instagramon Friday, April 24, Jamie Lynn, 35, got emotional as she ref...

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