MIAMI GARDENS, United States (AFP) – Alexandra Eala, a 19-year-old wildcard from the Philippines, produced a huge upset at the Miami Open on Wednesday, defeating world number two Iga Swiatek 6-2,7-5 to reach the semi-finals.
Ranked 140th in the world, Eala, the first woman from her country to reach the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament, took advantage of an unusually poor display from Swiatek, keeping her focus as she fought back from 4-2 down in the second set.
Eala broke the Pole for the eighth and final time when Swiatek was serving to stay in the match at 6-5 down in the second set and looked stunned as she struggled to contain her emotions.
“I’m just in disbelief right now. It’s so surreal,” she said on court.
“I’m so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage,” said Eala, who has now beaten three grand slam winners on her route to the last four at Miami — having dealt with Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys before upsetting four-time French Open champion Swiatek.
“I’m trusting my shots and I have a great team to tell me that I can do it,” she said.
Alexandra Eala of the Philippines returns a shot against Iga Swiatek of Poland during their matchon Day 9 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. PHOTO: AFP
Eala moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca and Toni Nadal, the Spaniard’s uncle and former coach, was in her box for the match.
“It meant a lot that he showed up here. It showed the confidence he had in me and the confidence the academy had in me,” she said.
“Just because I won this match or the one before doesn’t make the next one any less tough. If anything it will be more tough, so it will take everything that I have,” said Eala.
Swiatek will look forward to moving on to the clay season after conceding that she had been far from her usual level.
“I’m sure I wasn’t playing my best game and I felt like my forehand collapsed a little, so it wasn’t comfortable and Alexandra, for sure, used her chances and pushed me, so for sure she deserves to win this match,” she said.
“I don’t want to think about this too long. It’s nice to learn from losses but there are other things ahead and I am happy we are going to play on clay.”
Eala will face Jessica Pegula in Thursday’s semi-final after the American outlasted Britain’s Emma Raducanu to win 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.
Raducanu was 5-3 up and serving for the set in the second but was broken and then had a lengthy medical time-out where she appeared to be being treated for over-heating.
She returned and won the tie-break but struggled to regain her momentum in the third set where Pegula broke early and never lost control. The American hit 48 winners in the match.
“It was tough,” said Pegula, “I played a good first set then she started moving the ball really well and serving good. I just wanted to come out in the third, really, strong and quick and kind of jump on her,” she said.
“I want to make it to that final so bad, so I will give it another shot tomorrow,” she added.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed tests of newly developed reconnaissance and attack drones this week and called for their increased production, state media said Thursday.
Kim has been emphasising the development of drones, and the tests were the latest display of his country’s growing military capabilities.
Photos released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency showed Kim observing what appeared to be a large reconnaissance drone roughly resembling Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail airborne warning and control aircraft. Other images showed exploding drones crashing into military vehicles used as targets.
In this photo provided Thursday, March 27, 2025, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center left in a black jacket, stands by what appeared to be a large reconnaissance drone at an undisclosed location in North Korea, earlier this week. PHOTO: KCNA via AP
The agency said the test demonstrated the reconnaissance drone’s ability to track multiple targets and monitor troop movements on land and at sea, potentially enhancing North Korea’s intelligence-gathering operations and ability to neutralise enemy threats. The report said the new exploding drones are designed for various attack missions and feature unspecified artificial intelligence capabilities.
Kim expressed satisfaction with the drones’ performance and approved plans to expand production, emphasizing that drones and AI should be “top” priorities in efforts to advance his armed forces and adapt them to modern warfare, KCNA said. The agency said the tests took place as Kim visited a drone technology complex and an electronic warfare research group on Tuesday and Wednesday.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry didn’t immediately comment on the North Korean report.
Kim previously inspected other demonstrations of drones that explode on impact in November and August last year.
In this photo provided Thursday, March 27, 2025, by the North Korean government, a man in a military uniform films what is called an attack drone crashing into a prepared target at an undisclosed location in North Korea, earlier this week. PHOTO: KCNA via AP
North Korea also last year accused South Korea of sending its own drones to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the North’s capital of Pyongyang, and threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again. South Korea’s military refused to confirm whether or not the North’s claims were true.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated recently as Kim continues to expand his military capabilities, which now includes various nuclear-capable weapons targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles potentially capable of reaching the US mainland.
Kim is also aligning with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, sending troops and military equipment to support Russia’s efforts. This has raised concerns that he may receive Russian technology transfers in return, further strengthening the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a report Thursday that it believes North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February and has continued supplying ammunition, short-range missiles, self-propelled howitzers, and multiple rocket launchers. The Joint Chiefs assessed that, of the approximately 11,000 North Korean troops sent to fight in the war against Ukraine, around 4,000 have been killed or injured.
MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich has been left without two of its top defenders after Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano both picked up serious injuries on international duty.
Davies’ season seems to be over after Bayern said he would be out for “several months” with a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee. The left back went off injured while playing in Canada’s 2-1 win over the United States in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Bayern predicted central defender Upamecano will be out for “several weeks” with a problem in his left knee following his return from playing both legs of France’s quarterfinal win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.
“In international breaks there is unfortunately always a danger that players come back injured, and this time it has hit us especially hard,” Bayern’s board member for sport Max Eberl said. “The absences of Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano weigh heavily on FC Bayern.”
Eberl said the team would “pull even closer together now” to make up for losing Davies and Upamecano. “The quality is there to keep on pursuing our big goals.”
The injuries could mean Bayern relies more on central defender Kim Min-jae, who returned to training Monday after an Achilles tendon injury forced him to miss international games for South Korea. It could also mean more game time for Bayern’s fringe players like centre back Eric Dier, left back Raphael Guerreiro and versatile defender Hiroki Ito.
Bayern next plays St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday and faces Inter Milan in the quarterfinals of the Champions League next month.
Bayern’s Alphonso Davies scores his side’s second goal during the Champions league round of 16 second leg soccer match between Bayern Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. PHOTO: APMunich’s Dayot Upamecano, left, and Berlin’s Andrej Ilic, right, challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Union Berlin and FC Bayern Munich in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, March 15, 2025. PHOTO: AP
DHAKA (ANN/THE DAILY STAR) – The authorities have detected a bird flu case at a government poultry farm in Jashore — the first in Bangladesh since 2018 — raising concerns among farmers.
Officials were closely monitoring the situation after the infection was detected on March 13, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter told The Daily Star yesterday.
Necessary measures were taken to contain the spread of the virus, she said.
Md Rashedul Haque, district livestock officer of Jashore, told The Daily Star that the virus detected there was Avian influenza Type-A.
Adviser Farida stated that officials from the Department of Livestock Services visited the site and collected all relevant information, including how the virus arrived in Bangladesh.
Citing the World Organisation for Animal Health, news agency Reuters reported that the outbreak in Jashore district killed 1,900 birds out of a flock of 3,978. All remaining birds were culled.
Contacted, Prof Tahmina Shirin, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, told The Daily Star that they were unaware of the detection of bird flu in poultry. Bangladesh identified its first case of human transmission of bird flu in May 2008.
Suman Hawlader, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Association, an organisation representing marginal farmers in the country, said farmers were already facing significant challenges for multiple reasons.
Therefore, the government should take appropriate measures to prevent the virus from spreading. He cautioned that, otherwise, the poultry industry would encounter a calamity.
Bangladesh Poultry Association called on the government to form a special task force to ensure prompt inspections in affected areas and implement effective disease prevention measures. PHOTO: ANN/THE DAILY STAR
The association in a statement said approximately 370 farms were closed, leaving farmers financially devastated, when more than a million chickens were culled during the first bird flu outbreak in the country in March 2007.
Another outbreak of bird flu among poultry was reported in the country in 2013. The poultry industry did not suffer significant losses at that time.
Nearly five million chickens were culled, and many more farms were forced to shut down towards the end of 2017 when bird flu resurfaced in several regions.
About the latest case, the association in its statement said, “The situation is highly concerning, and if the government does not take immediate and effective measures, more farms may shut down and severely impact the country’s economy.”
It urged the authorities to enforce strict monitoring to stop the sale of unhealthy chickens.
It also urged the government to establish a dedicated task force to ensure timely inspections in affected areas and implement effective disease prevention measures.
“In this situation, it is crucial to provide financial assistance and compensation to affected farmers, accelerate research, and launch vaccination programmes,” it added.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has spread globally in recent years, including in the US, leading to the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry.
PETALING JAYA (ANN/THE STAR) – Oxford Languages, a part of Oxford University Press, announces its latest Oxford English Dictionary (OED) update, consisting of “untranslatable words” from Malaysia and Singapore.
It explains that these “untranslatable words” are certain words and phrases in one language that cannot be translated directly into another and often represent a means for those who speak English alongside other languages to bridge a linguistic gap more easily.
“Sometimes, they do this with enough frequency that the borrowed word eventually becomes part of the vocabulary of their variety of English – a few examples of such loan words are featured in this quarter’s OED update,” it wrote in a statement on Wednesday (March 26).
It said that a category of words that often defy direct translation are exclamations that express different emotions, such as “alamak” (earliest seen 1952).
Local dishes also tend to be borrowed into English rather than given an Anglicised name as well. A few examples are Ketupat (1886), Otak-otak (1929), nasi lemak (1935) and half-boiled egg (1931).
“Two examples of Malay dishes that did get Anglicised names are fish head curry (1972) and steamboat (1960),” it wrote.
Another food-related word that made it to the list is tapau (1997) which, according to Oxford Languages comes from the Malay word and its Cantonese etymon dá bāau “to pack, to pack up food to take away”, which is from dá “to beat, to tie or do up”’, combined with bāau “to wrap, to package”.
Mat rempit (2004) also made it to the list alongside “terror” which can mean “terrible, awful” (1977), or also “admirable, excellent” (1997).
“Terror is frequently preceded by wah and followed by lah, as in this approving 2020 social media post quoted in the OED entry: “Wah! So terror lah,” said Oxford Languages
The full list of English words from Malaysia and Singapore added in this update is as follows:
AP – A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have sickened more than 370, the state health department said Wednesday.
And health officials in Ohio say a single case identified in Ashtabula County has spread to nine others. Even before these two growing clusters were reported, the number of measles cases in the U.S. had already surpassed the case count for all of 2024, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment put doctors on high alert on Monday and recommended early vaccination for infants 6 to 11 months old who live in outbreak counties or near them. Usually, children get the measles, mumps and rubella shot after they turn 1. In outbreaks, early vaccination can be an option.
The state’s last count Friday included 10 cases across three southwestern counties: Grant, Morton and Stevens. Now, the outbreak includes Haskell, Gray, and Kiowa counties. All but two of the cases are in people younger than 18, state data shows. The outbreak started with a measles case in Stevens County identified March 13.
In Ohio, 10 cases are in Ashtabula County and a separate visitor in Knox County exposed people there and in several other counties, the state health department said. A measles outbreak in central Ohio sickened 85 in 2022.
A vial of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is on display at the Lubbock Health Department Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. PHOTO: AP
“Given the measles activity in Texas, New Mexico, and other states around the country, we’re disappointed but not surprised we now have several cases here in Ohio and known exposure in some counties,” said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. “This disease can be very serious, even deadly, but it is almost entirely avoidable by being properly vaccinated.”
New Mexico had 43 outbreak-associated cases Tuesday and Texas had 327. The Oklahoma outbreak “associated” with Texas and New Mexico has 9 cases.
Public health experts say the outbreak that started in Texas in late January could last for months. If it affects other unvaccinated communities across the U.S., as may now be the case in Kansas, the outbreak could last for a year and threaten the nation’s status as having eliminated local spread of the vaccine-preventable disease, they said.
Experts consider communities protected from measles outbreaks if they have an MMR vaccination rate of 95 per cent or higher. The two-shot series is required before entering public kindergarten and is 97 per cent effective at protecting against measles.
Several of the Kansas counties seeing measles spread have much lower vaccination rates, including: 82 per cent in Morton County, 83 per cent in Stevens County, 58 per cent in Haskell County, and 66 per cent in Gray County, according to state health department data from the 2023-2024 school year. Statewide, 89 per cent of kindergarteners in Ohio were vaccinated against measles in the 2023-24 school year, CDC data shows.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of measles, additional cases are likely to occur within the current outbreak area and the surrounding counties, especially among those who are unvaccinated,” said Jill Bronaugh, the Kansas state health department’s spokeswoman.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American robotics companies are pushing for a national robotics strategy, including establishing a federal office focused on promoting the industry at a time when China is making intelligent robots a national priority.
Representatives of companies — including Tesla, Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics — on Wednesday met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to show off products and push for the United States to adopt policies that would boost American companies in a global race to develop the next generation of robots.
Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of humanoid startup Apptronik, of Austin, Texas, pointed out to lawmakers that it was American carmaker General Motors that deployed the first industrial robot at a New Jersey assembly plant in 1961. But the U.S. then ceded its early lead to Japan, which remains a powerhouse of industrial robotics, along with Europe.
The next robotics race will be powered by artificial intelligence and will be “anybody’s to win,” Cardenas said in an interview after the closed-door meeting. “I think the U.S. has a great chance of winning. We’re leading in AI, and I think we’re building some of the best robots in the world. But we need a national strategy if we’re going to continue to build and stay ahead.”
The Association for Advanced Automation said a national strategy would help U.S. companies scale production and drive the adoption of robots as the “physical manifestation” of AI. The group made it clear that China and several other countries already have a plan in place.
Without that leadership, “the U.S. will not only lose the robotics race but also the AI race,” the association said in a statement.
The group also suggested tax incentives to help drive adoption, along with federally-funded training programs and funding for both academic research and commercial innovation. A new federal robotics office, the association argued, is necessary partly because of “the increasing global competition in the space” as well as the “growing sophistication” of the technology.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, said he believes the U.S. is ahead in the game but that the Chinese companies are “very good” and that China is “devoting a lot of resources very quickly.”
Jonathan Chen, manager of carmaker Tesla’s Optimus Engineering, which is developing a humanoid robot that CEO Elon Musk hopes to one day send to Mars, said manufacturing capabilities will be key to national competition.
A Tesla robot is displayed as U.S. robotics companies look for congressional support to compete with Chinese companies, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. PHOTO: AP
China is the world’s largest market for robots that work in factories and other industrial environments, with about 1.8 million robots operating in 2023, according to the Germany-based International Federation of Robotics.
China now aims to integrate robotics with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, as the country is positioning humanoid robots as a frontier technology and has approved a state-backed venture capital fund of USD138 billion to focus on robotics, AI and other cutting-edge innovations.
Earlier this year, the state broadcaster showcased dancing robots at the annual Chinese New Year gala. The army of humanoid robots by the Chinese robotics company Unitree, a Boston Dynamics rival, waved arms and twirled handkerchiefs, boosting national pride that China has taken great strides in the development of humanoid robots to rival those in the United States.
In an annual work report, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the country would prioritise combining digital technologies and the country’s manufacturing and market strengths, including developing intelligent robots along with connected electric vehicles.
In both the U.S. and China, humanoid robots that combine artificial intelligence with a human-like body have attracted public interest. But they also invite skepticism from some who follow the robotics industry.
“We don’t like humanoid robots very much because they’re silly,” said Bill Ray, a UK-based analyst for market research group Gartner. “They look fantastic, but they’re not very practical.”
Ray instead is looking for more applications of what he describes as “polyfunctional robots” like wheeled machines capable of lifting and carrying heavy packages at airports but not resembling humans at all. He doesn’t think government support will make much of a difference in which country takes the lead.
Cardenas, whose company and its Apollo robot has backing from tech giants Nvidia and Google, said a national strategy in the U.S. could help in incentivising robot adoption, while also promoting the education of a new generation of robotics engineers and scientists.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains.
“This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll effectively be charging a 25 per cent tariff.”
The tariffs, which the White House expects to raise USD100 billion in revenue annually, could be complicated as even US automakers source their components from around the world. The tax hike starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States and the end of what he judges to be a “ridiculous” supply chain in which auto parts and finished vehicles are manufactured across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
To underscore his seriousness about the tariffs directive he signed, Trump said, “This is permanent.”
Shares in General Motors fell roughly 3 per cent in Wednesday trading. Ford’s stock was up slightly. Shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, dropped nearly 3.6 per cent.
Trump has long said that tariffs against auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would cause more production to relocate to the United States while helping narrow the budget deficit. But US and foreign automakers have plants around the world to accommodate global sales while maintaining competitive prices — and it could take years for companies to design, build and open the new factories that Trump is promising.
New Toyota vehicles are stored at the Toyota Logistics Service, their most significant vehicle imports processing facility in North America, at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., Wednesday, March 26, 2025. PHOTO: AP
“We’re looking at much higher vehicle prices,” said economist Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “We’re going to see reduced choice. … These kinds of taxes fall more heavily on the middle and working class.”
She said more households will be priced out of the new car market — where prices already average about USD49,000 — and will have to hang on to aging vehicles.
The tariffs on autos would start being collected on April 3, Trump said. If the taxes are fully passed onto consumers, the average auto price on an imported vehicle could jump by USD12,500, a sum that could feed into overall inflation. Trump was voted back into the White House last year because voters believed he could bring down prices.
Foreign leaders were quick to criticise the tariffs, a sign that Trump could be intensifying a broader trade war that could damage growth worldwide.
“This is a very direct attack,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country.”
In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed regret at the US decision to target auto exports from Europe and vowed that the bloc would protect consumers and businesses.
“Tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the US and the European Union,” she said in a statement, adding that the EU’s executive branch would assess the impact of the move, as well as other US tariffs planned for coming days.
As Trump announced the new tariffs, he indicated that he would like to provide a new incentive to help car buyers by allowing them to deduct from their federal income taxes the interest paid on auto loans, so long as their vehicles were made in America. That deduction would eat into some of the revenues that could be generated by the tariffs.
The new tariffs would apply to both finished autos and parts used in the vehicles, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the taxes on a call with reporters. The tariffs would be on top of any existing taxes and were legally based on a 2019 Commerce Department investigation that occurred during Trump’s first term on national security grounds.
For autos and parts under the USMCA trade pact applying to the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 25 per cent tariffs would only apply to non-US content.
The administration is reasoning that there is excess capacity at US automakers that will enable them to ramp up production to avoid the tariffs by manufacturing more domestically, with the official noting that automakers have known since the Trump campaign that tariffs were coming.
The auto tariffs are part of a broader reshaping of global relations by Trump, who plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on April 2 that would match the tariffs, sales taxes charged by other nations.
Trump has already placed a 20 per cent import tax on all imports from China for its role in the production of fentanyl. He similarly placed 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy products. Parts of the Mexico and Canada tariffs have been suspended, including the taxes on autos, after automakers objected and Trump responded by giving them a 30-day reprieve that is set to expire in April.
The president has also imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, removing the exemptions from his earlier 2018 taxes on the metals. He also plans tariffs on computer chips, pharmaceutical drugs, lumber and copper.
His taxes risk igniting a broader global trade war with escalating retaliations that could crush global trade, potentially hurting economic growth while raising prices for families and businesses as some of the costs of the taxes get passed along by importers. When the European Union retaliated with plans for a 50 per cent tariff on US spirits, Trump responded by planning a 200 per cent tax on alcoholic beverages from the EU.
Trump also intends to place a 25 per cent tariff on countries that import oil from Venezuela, even though the United States also imports oil from that nation.
Trump’s aides maintain that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico are about stopping illegal immigration and drug smuggling. But the administration also wants to use the tariff revenues to lower the budget deficit and assert America’s preeminence as the world’s largest economy.
The president on Monday cited plans by South Korean automaker Hyundai to build a USD5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana as evidence that tariffs would bring back manufacturing jobs.
Slightly more than 1 million people are employed domestically in the manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts, about 320,000 fewer than in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An additional 2.1 million people work at auto and parts dealerships.
The United States last year imported nearly 8 million cars and light trucks worth USD244 billion. Mexico, Japan and South Korea were the top sources of foreign vehicles. Imports of auto parts came to more than USD197 billion, led by Mexico, Canada and China, according to the Commerce Department.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki are all back in the Avengers ensemble, where they’ll be joined by several of cinema’s original X-Men.
The five veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are in the cast of 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday,” Marvel announced in a series of social media videos that the company rolled out slowly on Wednesday.
Patrick Stewart, 84, who played Professor X in the Fox’s early 2000s “X-Men” films, and 85-year-old Ian McKellen, who played his arch-nemesis Magneto, are also in the “Doomsday” cast as Disney and Marvel seek to take advantage of the acquisition of Fox’s movie library. Kelsey Grammer, who played Hank “Beast” McCoy, was also announced, as was Rebecca “Mystique” Romijn, James “Cyclops” Marsden and Alan “Nightcrawler” Cumming.
Their characters were taken on by younger actors in the 2010s “X-Men” series reboot, and their inclusion is sure to cause serious fan speculation about the direction and timelines of “Avengers: Doomsday.”
The more senior superheroes will be joined by more recent additions, including some who have yet to make their MCU debuts.
Vanessa Kirby, set to play the Invisible Woman Sue Storm in this July’s “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” is also set for “Avengers: Doomsday.” Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards will join the Avengers too. And they’ll be joined in both movies by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who is playing Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, and Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch.
This combination of photos shows Chris Hemsworth at the London premiere of “Transformers One” on Sept. 19, 2024, from left, Vanessa Kirby at the London premiere of “Napoleon,” on Nov. 15, 2023, Anthony Mackie at a screening of “Captain America: Brave New World” in New York on Feb. 13, 2025, and Sebastian Stan at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2024. PHOTO: AP
Simu Liu, who played the title character in 2021’s “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” is also in the newly announced cast, as is Tenoch Huerta Mejía, who played the aquatic antagonist Namor in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri in the “Black Panther” films, will also be back among the Avengers, as will her “Black Panther” castmate Winston Duke.
Florence Pugh, who will reprise her MCU role as Yelena Belova in the forthcoming “Thunderbolts” will reprise her again in “Doomsday.” David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen and Lewis Pullman will also be in both films.
Danny Ramirez, who has assumed the Marvel mantle of Falcon, is also in the cast.
Some of the biggest and most anticipated names were not among the 27 names announced, though Marvel and Disney could be sitting on them for now.
There was no mention of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine or Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, though the announcement did include Channing Tatum, who played the X-Men’s Gambit in last year’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Nor did the name Tom Holland appear. His Spider-Man became an Avenger in previous films on loan from owner Sony, whose complicated relationship with Marvel has made the character a sticking point.
Robert Downey Jr. revealed last summer that he’ll be returning to the MCU to play the villain Doctor Doom in the next set of “Avengers” films.
“Avengers: Doomsday,” set for release in May 2026, will be the fifth “Avengers” movie, and the first since 2019’s “Avengers Endgame” became one of the highest grossing films of all time.
BANGKOK (ANN/THE NATION) – A 50-year-old woman in Ratchaburi’s Ban Pong district spent around THB6 million to clone a dog she loved and considered her child.
A female French bulldog named Paphaeng, now five months old, is Thailand’s first cloned dog. Despite a slight difference in the left ear pattern, she appears healthy and cheerful.
Kancharat Sakdikonthanasiri, Paphaeng’s owner, revealed that the original Paphaeng had died from canine Cushing’s syndrome. She then contacted Supasek Sarachitti, a stem cell expert known for successfully cloning dogs.
Supasek agreed but set two conditions: Kancharat had to appoint someone to care for the cloned dog after her passing and be prepared for criticism about cloning being unnatural.
Kancharat included the cloned dog and her 16 other dogs in her will. She acknowledged that while the cloning process cost THB6 million, she valued the emotional bond over money.
“Paphaeng gave me strength to fight through life’s struggles,” she said.
Kancharat Sakdikonthanasiri with the cloned Paphaeng. PHOTO: ANN/THE NATION
Supasek collected cells from the original Paphaeng’s ear and sent them to South Korea, where cloning expert Hwang Woo-Suk successfully cloned the dog after five attempts throughout a year.
The cost included cloning and genetic modification, with the latter alone surpassing THB20 million. Nonetheless, Hwang waived the genetic modification fee upon witnessing Kancharat’s deep attachment to Paphaeng.
When the cloned Paphaeng met Kancharat at four months old, she gazed at her owner before displaying signs of recognition. To Kancharat’s amazement, the cloned dog understood Thai commands.
This corresponds with the doctor’s comment that cloned dogs will not only share the same shape, colour, and gender, but may also retain memories—except for their body markings, which might vary.
Kancharat acknowledged criticism about cloning being unnatural but sees it as a scientific advancement that reunited her with her beloved pet without harming others.
As for the original Paphaeng’s remains, Kancharat has preserved them in refrigeration and plans to bury them at her home when the time comes.
Kancharat Sakdikonthanasiri, Paphaeng’s owner, revealed that the original Paphaeng had died from canine Cushing’s syndrome. She then contacted Supasek Sarachitti, a stem cell expert known for successfully cloning dogs. PHOTO: ANN/THE NATION
