In pictures: Kharkiv authorities respond after drone attack kills two

Alex Croft30 March 2025 17:53

US has 'far-reaching' plans if Russia does not accept ceasefire, says Finnish president

Donald Trump has been told by Finland’s president Alexander Stubb that the US has “far-reaching” plans in case Russia does not accept a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Speaking to Finnish reporters in London, Mr Stubb said the US president was running out of patience with Russia, having met him in a surprise visit to Florida.

Mr Stubb added that a deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine must be set in order to make it happen.

"April 20 would be a good time for a full ceasefire without any conditions,” Mr Stubb said, “because a deadline is needed, because it is Easter and because President Donald Trump will have been in office for three months”.

In Mr Stubb’s visit to Florida, the presidents discussed strengthening their countries' bilateral partnership and also played a round of golf, the Finnish president’s office said.

Alex Croft30 March 2025 17:04

Read More

Arizona authorities have arrested two people in connection with a series of train heists that resulted in the theft of Nike shoes worth millions.

On Thursday, officials with the Hualapai Nation Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a maroon Chevy Tahoe around 2:40 a.m. believed to be involved in multiple area hijacks.

After pulling the car over, eight people fled the vehicle. The male driver was detained. Police located some of the stolen shoes near the car, the police department said in a news release.

In another traffic stop Thursday, a white Toyota 4Runner was pulled over on Highway 66 as part of the investigation into the robberies. The female driver was stopped after failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. Police approached the vehicle and noticed evidence of criminal activity.

open image in gallery

The patrol sergeant issued a verbal command for the driver to exit the vehicle. The woman initially exited the car, but returned to the driver’s seat, shifted the vehicle into gear and sped away from the scene at a high speed. As she attempted to flee, police say the car struck a patrol officer.

The officer did not sustain any injuries. Officers initiated a pursuit of the fleeing suspect that spanned 80 miles and concluded near the Arizona-California border on Mile Marker 1 on Interstate 40. The driver lost control of the vehicle near a construction zone, collided with a guardrail and was thrown out of the car.

The woman sustained minor injuries and was transported to Valley View Medical Center in Mohave Valley for treatment. Both drivers were booked into the Mohave County Adult Detention Center for their alleged involvement in the case.

Police did not disclose additional details about the alleged crimes or the suspects’ identities except to say they were both from Mexico and in the U.S. illegally.

open image in gallery

Police have been investigating a series of freight train robberies near the Mojave Desert. Thieves have allegedly stolen at least $2m worth of Nike sneakers, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officials are currently investigating 10 similar robberies.

In one January robbery near Perrin, Arizona, thieves cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train and ran off with more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes worth more than $440,000. The shoes went on sale earlier this month for $225 a pair.

Eleven people charged in the January burglary have pleaded not guilty and were all ordered detained until trial, with Arizona magistrate judges concluding the defendants posed a risk of fleeing from authorities.

All 11 defendants are charged with possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate shipment. Ten of the 11 are Mexicans who were in the United States illegally. Another defendant is a Mexican citizen who was in asylum proceedings in the United States, authorities said in court records.

Thieves typically scout merchandise on rail lines that parallel Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains, such as when they are changing tracks and opening containers, said Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk’s CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona.

Lewis told the Times that the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by associates working at warehouses or trucking companies.

The suspects are aided by accomplices in “follow vehicles,” which track the rail cars. The loot is tossed off the train after it comes to a halt — either for a scheduled stop or because an air hose has been cut, according to Brynna Cooke, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent cited in affidavits filed in federal court.

Thefts from cargo trains cost the nation’s six largest freight railroads more than $100 million last year because of a combination of the value of the stolen goods and the cost of repairs to railcars the thieves damaged, and the problem is getting worse in recent years as the thefts have become more organized and sophisticated. The Association of American Railroads trade group estimates that the number of thefts jumped roughly 40% last year to 65,000 nationwide.

The railroads have invested millions in measures to help prevent such thefts, but it’s not like they can easily restrict access to the more than 140,000 miles of track they operate across the country. It crosses remote, rural areas and cuts through the heart of many cities carrying millions of shipments of everything from bulk commodities like coal and grain to raw materials like rock. Automobiles and metal shipping containers filled with nearly every kind of product imaginable that’s imported or exported also are transported.

The rail trade group said additional federal enforcement and tougher penalties are needed to deter the thefts, which are a chronic problem. The railroads estimate that only about 1 out of every 10 theft attempts result in an arrest, and many of the people who are arrested are repeat offenders. One railroad even reported arresting the same individual five times in a single day.

With reporting from the Associated Press

Read More

“Any rooms available?,” I asked the friendly staff of a big four-star hotel in central Brussels on Wednesday evening.

“Minus two,” replied the receptionist with a frown. “We’re overbooked.”

Overbooking is popular among airlines. When the process of selling more seats than the capacity of the plane is handled correctly, it works well. If the airline guesses wrong and everyone shows up, staff can throw money at the problem – offering bigger and bigger incentives until someone volunteers to postpone their journey.

With a hotel, it’s different. Typically the overbooking will become evident only when I turn up at 11pm after a long day of travel. The last thing I need is to be told the room I booked in good faith is already occupied, and that I will be accommodated elsewhere. The alternative might be around the corner, or a taxi ride away. Either way, the verb used in the industry is to “walk” the customer to another property.

This has happened to me several times. In Amsterdam, a taxi took me to a perfectly reasonable alternative. In Shropshire, I was invited to bed down in the conference room (pity the poor delegates next morning). And in Dublin, the hotel only realised it had more guests than beds when I returned from my assigned room to reception to report that the place was full of workers’ tools and the door didn’t lock. As it was by now midnight, we agreed that I would stay there, use some heavier tools to keep the door closed and scarper early in the morning. No charge.

After my conversation in Brussels with the hotel, I wanted to find out more. So I called up the professionals: specifically Corin Burr of Bamboo Revenue. His London-based company advises independent luxury hotels on revenue management – which I will characterise as extracting as much cash as possible from each guest while seeking to fill every room.

“It’s a bit of a dark art – essentially flexing price according to supply and demand,” Corin says. “So when hotels are looking busy, the city’s busy, we will enable the hotel to push rates in the right direction.

“When things are not looking so great, we take evasive action and open other channels and flex prices where we can to make them more competitive. A hotel bedroom is a perishable item. Once the night has happened, there’s no getting it back. So the hotels have to stay ahead of the game. Overbooking is a tool that we have in the armoury of managing the hotel’s revenue.”

No-shows are much more likely at big, corporate hotels in cities than small, family-run places in the country. Business customers’ plans can change quickly.

“Disasters happen in airports, as we’ve seen just recently [at London Heathrow], and the hotels have to protect themselves. They may get some cancellation charges here and there, but they’ll also get some arguments about not paying the cancellation charges.

“We know our business very, very well. And we know the hotel’s patterns and behaviours. So we can quite often predict when we’ll be fine if we overbook by a few rooms. If you’re a sizeable hotel of 200-300 bedrooms, then having a 50-room group or 100-room group is not unusual.”

It is very likely that some of those guests will no-show – so likely that the industry has another bit of jargon: “wash”, meaning a group booking where the full allotment of rooms is not taken up.

“Their plans change, and if you know that a group’s probably going to wash a few rooms, either the group pays for the unused room or the hotel resells it.”

Better to have beds occupied – with guests likely to be spending in the hotel bar or restaurant – than left empty.

But before going beyond 100 per cent occupancy, Corin and his team will look at what else is going on in the city.

“The last thing you want to do is overbook [in London] knowing that the closest hotel is at Gatwick airport.”

Sometimes, says Corin, overbooking happens inadvertently – because one or more rooms are unexpectedly unavailable. Damage, plumbing faults or guests overstaying their welcome.

“All of those things happen. I’ve seen some situations where guests have been booked out and the hotel’s paid for their room in the other place, a taxi to and from and the promise, ‘Come back and we’ll upgrade you into a suite for the remainder of your stay’. They’re trying to make good for what was never an intentional overbooking.”

Back in Brussels, I was keen to find a room before nightfall. Along at Hôtel La Grande Cloche, I was assured: “Brussels is sold out tonight.” Besides all the usual Euro-business, a big aviation conference was in town the next day.

Fortunately, I was happy to make do with two stars, not four. The Hotel Barry was prepared to sell me the last double room for €130 (£109) for single occupancy. It was a decent deal for an overbooked city.

Read More

The United States is one of the top three most visited countries in the world.

The big draw cards – cities such as San Francisco, New York and Chicago and national parks such as Yosemite – have attracted international tourists for decades. This combined with its role as a global business powerhouse meant it had 66.5 million visitors in 2023 – and the 2024 figure is expected to be higher still.

But a lot has changed in recent months, and 2025’s figures may not be as strong. The 2024 reelection of Donald Trump as the president of the United States and the consequential changes in foreign diplomacy and relations, alongside internal cultural shifts, are starting to change global attitudes towards the US – attitudes that appear to be affecting tourists’ desire to visit the US.

In a recent report by research firm Tourism Economics, inbound travel to the US is now projected to decline by 5.5% this year, instead of growing by nearly 9% as had previously been forecast. A further escalation in tariff and trade wars could result in further reductions in international tourism, which could amount to a US$18 billion (£13.8 billion) annual reduction in tourist spending in 2025.

open image in gallery

There is already some evidence of travel cancellations. Since Trump announced 25% tariffs on many Canadian goods, the number of Canadians driving across the border at some crossings has fallen by up to 45%, on some days, when compared to last year. Canada is the biggest source of international tourists to the US. Air Canada has announced it is reducing flights to some US holiday destinations, including Las Vegas, from March, as demand reduces.

According to a March poll by Canadian market researcher Leger, 36% of Canadians who had planned trips to the United States had already cancelled them. According to data from the aviation analytics company OAG, passenger bookings on Canada to US routes are down by over 70% compared to the same period last year. This comes after the U.S. Travel Association warned that even a 10% reduction in Canadian inbound travel could result in a US$2.1 billion (£1.6 billion) loss in spending, putting 140,000 hospitality jobs at risk.

Some would-be visitors have cited an unwelcoming political climate as part of a concern about visiting the US – including angry rhetoric about foreigners, migrants and the LGBTQ+ community. The Tourism Economics report also cited “polarizing Trump Administration policies and rhetoric” as a factor in travel cancellations.

There are other factors that may influence travellers from, for instance, western Europe, which represented 37% of overseas travel to the US last year. These include US tariffs pushing prices up at home and the US administration’s perceived alignment with Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Research by YouGov in March found that western European attitudes towards the US have become more negative since Trump’s reelection last November. More than half of people in Britain (53%), Germany (56%), Sweden (63%) and Denmark (74%) now have an unfavourable opinion of the US. In five of the seven countries polled, figures for US favourability are at the lowest since polling began in November 2016.

Some high-profile cases at the US border could also be putting off tourists. In March, a British woman was handcuffed and detained for more than ten days by US Customs Enforcement after a visa problem. In the same month, a Canadian tourist was detained after attempting to renew her visa at the US-Mexico border. During the 12-day detention, she was held in crowded jail cells and even put in chains.

open image in gallery

Mexico is the US’s second largest inbound travel market. Tourism Economics suggests that issues around new border enforcement rules will raise concerns with potential Mexican tourists. During Trump’s first term in office, Mexican visits to the US fell by 3%. In February this year, air travel from Mexico had already fallen 6% when compared to 2024.

Many countries including Canada have been updating their travel advice for the US. For instance, on March 15 the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its advice for the US, warning visitors that “you may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules”. The previous version of advice, from February, had no mention of arrest or detention. Germany has made similar updates to its travel advisory, after several Germans were recently detained for weeks by US border officials.

Multiple European countries, including France, Germany, Denmark and Norway have also issued specific travel warnings to transgender and non-binary citizens, as US authorities demand tourists declare their biological sex at birth on visa applications. This comes as the US has stopped issuing of passports with a X marker – commonly used by those identifying as non-binary – for its own citizens.

As thousands of travellers cancel their trips to the US, other destinations are seeing a spike in interest. Hotels in Bermuda have reported a surge in enquiries as Canadians relocate business and leisure trips away from the US, with some predicting a 20% increase in revenue from Canadian visits.

Europe too has reported increased bookings from Canada, with rental properties experiencing a 32% jump in summer reservations when compared to last year, according to some reports.

There are already growing concerns that visa and entry restrictions will disrupt fans and athletes from enjoying 2026 men’s Fifa World Cup, held on sites in the US, Canada and Mexico. Visitors from some countries, such as Brazil, Turkey and Colombia, could wait up to 700 days to obtain visas. The International Olympic Committee has also raised concerns over the 2028 Olympics Games in Los Angeles, although US officials have insisted that “America will be open”.

With mounting visa delays, stricter border enforcement and growing concerns over human rights and anti-minority rhetoric, the United States risks losing its appeal as a top holiday destination. The long-term impact on its tourism industry may prove difficult to reverse.

Ross Bennett-Cook is a PhD Researcher at Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article

Read More

A 35-year-old dad has died on holiday with a rare case of acute pancreatitis just 36 hours after his stomach pain was initially dismissed as food poisoning.

Katerina Glazyrina, 41, has been “heart warmed” by the support she has received from her local community in Hackney, east London, after her husband Andrejs Krievkalns died suddenly without life insurance.

On January 3, Katerina and Andrejs, who both worked in advertising, were on holiday in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, with their five-year-old daughter Lizzie when he complained of a stomach ache – which they assumed was food poisoning as Andrejs was otherwise in good health.

But the pain continued and spread to his back and soon he was in hospital in Burgas diagnosed with acute pancreatitis — a sudden inflammation of the pancreas which only leads to severe complications in one in five cases, and only a small percentage of those prove fatal, according to the NHS.

Katerina said Andrejs told her not to worry and he would be “home soon”.

However, after she left the hospital, Andrejs’ condition caused multiple organ failure and he died on January 4.

“When I heard the news I was alone,” Katerina told PA Real Life.

“It was the hardest day of my life. I don’t know how I managed to get through it.

“We were preparing to return to normal life after the Christmas time.

“It’s like you went on holiday and you can never come back to the life you’ve been building together.”

open image in gallery

Katerina hopes to raise awareness of the symptoms of pancreatitis, which include sudden severe pain in the centre of the abdomen which gets steadily worse and can then travel along your back, according to the NHS.

She also hopes to encourage parents to take out life insurance, adding: “You never know what events can happen and you don’t want to add financial pressure on top of the grief and many other complexities that surround loss.”

Katerina, originally from Russia, met Latvian-born Andrejs in London in 2006 while they were both students.

After seven years of friendship, their relationship evolved into love and they married at Hackney City Hall in 2013, before Lizzie was born in 2019.

“He was a family man – that was his focus,” Katerina said.

The family took a holiday to the Black Sea in Bulgaria for their new year break.

After enjoying a week and a half together, they were due to return to London on January 4, but the day before Andrejs told Katerina he had “a bit of tummy pain”.

open image in gallery

Andrejs had previously had food poisoning in Bulgaria so they presumed the spasmodic pain was something similar.

He stayed in bed while Katerina packed their bags and prepared to leave, but the pain continued, spreading to his back and making his stomach tender to touch.

Nevertheless, he said he was prepared to fly and he was able to sit up and go to the bathroom.

“He probably didn’t want to worry me,” Katerina said.

“And I couldn’t measure his pain.”

Katerina visited the local pharmacy but the drugs they sold her didn’t help.

“He began to look pale, so we cancelled the flight and called an ambulance,” Katerina said.

“They found his blood pressure was low.”

It was difficult to explain Andrejs’ pain accurately because of the language barrier, but when doctors touched his abdomen, he moaned and they said he should go to hospital.

Andrejs was taken to Burgas Hospital, where a doctor told Katerina he had pancreatitis.

When she saw Andrejs last, he told her: “Don’t worry I’ll be home soon.”

When she returned later that day, she discovered he had been taken to the intensive care unit with multiple organ dysfunction, which can be caused by acute pancreatitis.

He died just before midnight on January 4 and Katerina was informed at 6am the next morning.

open image in gallery

With her daughter to look after and all the paperwork required to repatriate his body, Katerina said she “didn’t have the option to fall apart”.

“You have to find ways to be strong,” she said.

“(Grief) changes you every day… you lose them every day – when you look at your child and want to adore her, you lose them.

“Anything you do that reminds you makes you lose them again.”

Katerina and Andrejs had been in contact with life insurance brokers in 2024 and they were in the process of finding the right policy for life and critical illness insurance – but hadn’t completed the process before he died.

After his death, Katerina’s local community in Hackney came together to raise money for her and her daughter, raising more than £12,500 through an online fundraiser on GoFundMe.

“The community response has been amazing,” she said.

“I never expected it in a million years. I’m just grateful, that’s all I can say.”

Katerina said it is not just the money, but the way people want to help.

“People are so willing to help me and my daughter, it melts my heart,” she said.

“It’s beautiful. I can only say thank you.”

Despite the tragedy and hardship which has followed, Katerina is hopeful she can harness her experiences to help others going through the same thing.

Using her coaching knowledge, Katerina has started to share her reflections on recovering from loss on her Instagram page coaching_with_kat.

“It’s hard to find the balance between grieving and the extreme responsibility of things to do,” she said.

“I want to be able to empower others as a transformational life coach, and help people going through big life changes.”

She said Andrejs will always be remembered in the community and by his family.

“Everyone mentions how kind he was,” she said.

“He was such a caring man and I hope our daughter thriving will be his legacy.”

Katerina and her daughter can be supported through their GoFundMe page.

Read More

Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush kept Manchester City in with a chance of salvaging a trophy from this season as they came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 and reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

Pep Guardiola’s side were trailing to Evanilson’s goal at half-time, after Haaland was guilty of an extraordinary six-minute hat-trick of misses, with Bournemouth looking set for a first appearance in the last four in their history.

But Haaland hauled the visitors level after the break and then, after he departed through injury, his replacement Marmoush tucked away the winner to book a Wembley date with Nottingham Forest.

So for all the talk of a new – or at least new-ish – name on the cup this year, the prospect of City winning it again looms large.

In truth they should have been three up after 16 minutes but for an astonishing treble, of sorts, from Haaland.

The Norway striker wasted his first glorious chance when he met a Matheus Nunes cross with a free header, six yards out, and put it wide.

Worse was to come for Haaland after Tyler Adams was penalised for handball in the penalty area.

The 24-year-old stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Cherries keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga guessed right and made a fine save low to his left.

open image in gallery

open image in gallery

And Haaland could do nothing other than offer a wry grin when he completed his quickfire triple-whammy, bursting clear of down the left only to lift his shot over Kepa and the crossbar.

Bournemouth made him pay in the 21st minute when Nunes gave the ball away to Lewis Cook.

The Cherries skipper fed David Brooks, who swung in a cross which Justin Kluivert, sliding in at the far post, hooked goalwards with Evanilson sticking out a toe to prod it home.

Bournemouth, enjoying such an impressive campaign under Andoni Iraloa, had their tails up while the City midfield of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, which looked old on paper, was looking even older on the pitch.

The hosts almost doubled their lead when a Brooks free-kick eluded everybody in the area and bounced inches wide of Ederson’s far post.

open image in gallery

But while it was 1-0 City always had a chance, and De Bruyne curled over in first-half stoppage time while Phil Foden briefly flickered into life at the start of the second with a shot held by Kepa.

Plus Haaland was not going to keep missing forever, and just four minutes after the restart he slid in at the far post to convert substitute Nico O’Reilly’s inviting cross.

It was Haaland’s 30th goal of the season, but he would not be adding any more on the south coast after a challenge with Cook, leading to a close encounter with an advertising hoarding, forced him out injured.

No matter, as his replacement Marmoush immediately fired them ahead, finishing under Kepa after O’Reilly cleverly flicked him in behind.

Marmoush almost doubled the lead but his header from Nunes’s cross was cleared off the line by Marcos Senesi.

But Bournemouth looked spent, a long season of punching above their weight perhaps finally catching up with them, and City saw out seven minutes of stoppage time before celebrating a record seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final.

Read More

Jakub Mensik on 'incredible' Miami Open final against Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Jakub Mensik have only met once before, with Djokovic winning in three sets in the Shanghai quarter-finals late last year.

The Czech teenager, 19, is playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 title and, at 54 in the world, is the third-lowest ranked finalist in the tournament’s history.

He defeated Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals and defeated Britain’s Jack Draper, the Indian Wells champion and World No 7, in the opening round.

Ahead of facing Djokovic, he said: “It feels incredible. For me it was a dream to play against [Djokovic] in Shanghai. For now it’s a bit different. I am a better player now and I’m going to enjoy and it’s going to be really exciting.”

Jamie Braidwood30 March 2025 19:54

Djokovic's last title came in the Paris Olympics

Djokovic has been ‘stuck’ on 99 career titles since defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the Olympics final in July.

Djokovic reached the Shanghai final a couple of month later but was defeated by Jannik Sinner.

He also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open at the start of the year but retired after a set against Alexander Zverev.

Jamie Braidwood30 March 2025 19:14

Read More

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding won’t cause any problems for the residents of Venice, the city’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, says.

Last week, Page Six reported that the couple’s wedding will be held this summer in Venice, Italy. While no details about the guest list or the wedding date have been revealed, the couple have reportedly already sent their invites out.

Now, Brugnaro has spoken out about the Amazon founder’s reported wedding plans, denying claims that he booked a large number of hotel rooms, gondolas, and water taxis in Venice for the event.

“We are mutually working and supporting the organizers, to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,” he said in a statement to People on Saturday.

“The many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos’ wedding are completely unfounded,” the city said in a statement, noting its “utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone.”

The city – which has warned about the dangers posed by excessive tourism – also said that while it’s expecting 200 guests for the wedding, many venues in Venice can accommodate that number, as it has previously for G20 and G7 summits.

“Venice is used to being the stage for events and shows every week, without significant impacts,” the city also told the publication.

Bezo, 61, proposed to helicopter pilot and former TV journalist Sánchez, 55, in May 2023, with a 20-carat, $2.5 million pink diamond ring.

In an interview with Vogue following their engagement, Sánchez said she found the ring under her pillow after a starlit dinner for two on Koru, the three-master megayacht. The vessel is the tallest sailing yacht in the world.

“When he opened the box, I think I blacked out a bit,” she told the publication, adding that the proposal was so unexpected that she had already removed her make-up and was ready to go to bed.

“We’re still thinking about the wedding,” she added. “What it’s going to be. Is it going to be big? Is it going to be overseas? We don’t know yet. We’ve only been engaged five months!”

Sánchez was asked whether certain responsibilities come with marrying Bezos, who is currently listed as the second richest man in the world. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, he has an estimated net worth of $209.2 billion at the time of writing.

“I think there are a lot of opportunities that come with that, and I take those opportunities very seriously,” she said. “We always look at each other and go, ‘We’re the team.’ So everything’s shared.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Sánchez said that she was certain she would be taking her partner’s last name when they get married.

“Uh, yes, 100 percent,” she told the publication. “I am looking forward to being Mrs Bezos.”

In August 2023, they first hosted an engagement party on a boat along Koru with some famous guests, including Bill Gates and his girlfriend, Paula Hurd. Vogue also reported that Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, Salma Hayek Pinault, Barbra Streisand, Miranda Kerr, Suki Waterhouse, and Robert Pattison were in attendance.

Read More

A Bible gifted to OJ Simpson from his former defense attorney, the late Robert Kardashian, has been sold for a hefty price.

The executor of Simpson’s estate, Malcolm LaVergne, put the Bible up for auction earlier this month, with Robert’s daughter, Kim Kardashian, offering $15,000 for it. However, the offer was turned down, since the item had been under contract with the court to be auctioned off.

Now, the Bible — which featured Roberts’ full name on the front — has been sold for $65,800, according to Goldin Auctions’ website.

A total on 49 bids were made, 14 of which came on Saturday. The winning bid was made at 10:42 p.m. last night. However, LaVergne told TMZ he is unsure who the new owner is.

Robert gave Simpson the Bible in 1994 after the former athlete was arrested and charged with the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was cleared of these charges in 1995 following one of the most high-profile trials in U.S. criminal history.

“OJ, This book will help,” the lawyer, who died in 2003 after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, wrote inside the religious text. “God loves and he will speak to you with his words. Read this book everyday. God has a definite plan for your life. You are his child and he will use you again. I love you and God loves you.”

LaVergne later explained to People why Kim Kardashian’s offer to purchase the book was denied.

“The amount is why I had no choice, because why would I spend $15,000 of estate money — why would I spend $15,000 in attorney’s fees — to sell it to Kim for $15,000?” he said earlier this month. “That's a zero-sum game. That's a bad business model. If Kim had offered $150,000 for it, we would've been in court getting this approved outside of the auction.”

Simpson’s trial attracted extensive media attention, with Robert working as one of the six attorneys on his defense team. Robert met Simpson when they were students at the University of Southern California. The two quickly became close friends and business partners, investing in the companies Juice Inc and Concert Cinema.

The Goldman and Brown families subsequently pursued a wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson in civil court. In 1997, a predominately white jury in Santa Monica, California, found Simpson liable for the two deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages.

Robert married Kristen Mary Houghton, now known as Kris Jenner in 1978, and they welcomed four children - Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Robert Kardashian Jr - who all referred to Simpson and his former wife as “Uncle OJ” and “Auntie Nicole.”

However, Robert’s decision to defend Simpson divided his family. Kim has candidly spoken about the repercussions that Simpson’s trial had on their family. While Kris refused to support Simpson, Kim has admitted she stuck by her father’s side.

“Kourtney and I were drawn to our dad. We felt like Mom was happily remarried, so we would live with Dad. We didn’t want him to be by himself,” Kim told GQ in 2023.

She also remembered her dad pulling her and Kourtney out of school to attend the trial with him and seeing Kris on the opposite side of the courtroom. According to Kim, Kris was displeased they weren’t at school and confused as to why they were there.

Kim is also now following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a lawyer. During Thursday’s episode of The Kardashians, she opened up about how Robert inspired her career, as she visited a group of incarcerated firefighters in California.

“I think my passion for prison reform really kind of got sparked with my dad,” she said. “And all of the giving back that he would do and just all the places he would take us to help other people. My dad resonates through all of that and I always feel his energy every time I do something like this.”

Read More

Scots could see a greater selection of beers at their local pub after new measures for the industry came into force on Monday, the Scottish Government has said.

The Scottish Pubs Code enables tied pub tenants to stock a wider range of beer beyond those supplied by the business which owns the pub.

Ministers say the change will give pub tenants greater rights and protection, while supporting local breweries.

Pub-owning businesses will also have to provide prospective tenants with more information on things like business costs.

An independent Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator has also been announced to oversee the measures and rule over any disputes between tenants and landlords.

open image in gallery

Further measures will be added in June, including allowing tenants to request different leases that ministers say will give them greater responsibility and flexibility in running their businesses.

The new rules had faced some pushback from the sector, with three pub-owning firms – Greene King, Punch Taverns and Hawthorn Leisure Limited – having attempted to seek a judicial review.

Employment minister Tom Arthur said: “This is a good deal for Scotland’s hospitality sector. We are rebalancing the relationship between pub tenants and pub-owning businesses, making it easier to do business and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs in the tied pub sector.

“And it is a boost for customers who could now find a much fuller array of local draught beers in their favourite pubs.

“I will continue to engage with the sector to ensure that the Code places the interests of both tenants and landlords at its heart.”

Read More