Entertainment
Terence Stamp, star in “Superman” films, dies at 87
British actor Terence Stamp, who famously played arch-villain General Zod in “Superman” and “Superman II,” has died at the age of 87, his family said.
The Oscar-nominated actor died on Sunday morning, his family told Reuters in a statement. The cause was not immediately known.
“He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come,” the statement to Reuters said. “We ask for privacy at this sad time.”
Tim Francis / Getty Images
Stamp was born in London’s East End in 1938 to Ethel Esther and Thomas Stamp, a tugboat stoker. After enduring the bombing of London during World War II, Stamp left school to work in advertising before winning a scholarship for drama school, Reuters reported.
“I couldn’t tell anyone I wanted to be an actor because it was out of the question. I would have been laughed at,” he said, according to Reuters.
During his acclaimed career, Stamp starred in films including Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Theorem,” “A Season in Hell,” and “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” in which he played a transgender woman.
“From wearing the high heels, my spine was completely out of alignment, and it took me about six months to get my spine re-orchestrated,” he told CBS News in 1999 about the downsides of the 1994 film.
Stamp’s most high-profile role was likely as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in 1978’s “Superman” and its 1980 sequel “Superman II.” He returned to the Superman world when he played Jor-El in the TV series “Smallville.”
He went on to appear in a string of other films, including “Valkyrie” opposite Tom Cruise, “The Adjustment Bureau” with Matt Damon, “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace,” and movies directed by Tim Burton.
His final performance was in 2021’s “Last Night in Soho.”
In addition to his acting career, Stamp was an accomplished writer and author.
Entertainment
US launches military operations in Ecuador amid ongoing Iran War
The United States (U.S.) has opened another military front in Ecuador amid the ongoing Iran war.
According to the U.S. military’s Southern Command, the U.S. and Ecuadorian forces launched joint military operations against “designated terrorist organisations.”
The military did not provide further details; however, it hinted that the operations were part of President Donald Trump’s intensified campaign against drug trafficking in South America.
The Commander of the U.S. Southern Command praised the Ecuadorian residents for their support and unwavering commitment.
Marine General Francis L. Donovan said, “The men and women of Ecuadorian armed forces have demonstrated remarkable courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country.”
Since returning to the Oval Office for his second term, President Trump has intensified campaign against what the U.S. administration describes as drug trafficking.
The U.S. has carried out around 45 strikes on suspected smuggling vessels killing around 150 people in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.
Ecuador has been in a state of emergency regarding narco-terrorism since 2024 after gangs stormed a TV station during a live broadcast and took the staff hostage.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa sought help from the U.S. against drug-trafficking gangs.
On a visit to the South American country in September last year, the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to “blow up” gangs if needed and reaffirmed U.S. support in Ecuadorian government’s campaign against narco-terrorists.
Entertainment
Hilarie Burton Morgan says true crime series empowers audience to create change
Entertainment
Apple debuts $599 MacBook Neo to challenge Chromebooks, Windows PCs
Apple on Wednesday unveiled the MacBook Neo, a lower-priced addition to its laptop lineup starting at $599, as it looks to broaden its reach in a price-sensitive PC market while rivals face tighter supply of memory chips.
A lower-priced laptop marks one of Apple’s most aggressive entry points into the PC market in years. The new MacBook will be powered by the A18 Pro chip, the same processor that debuted in the company’s iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024.
At $599, it is far cheaper in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms than Apple’s previous non-Pro, non-Air MacBook, which debuted in May 2006 at $1,099 — roughly $1,750 in today’s dollars.
The new MacBook is not Apple’s first foray into the price point. The company made a special $699 MacBook Air specially for Walmart using its M1 chip, which originally debuted in 2020, after retiring other models with that chip.
The new MacBook aims squarely at users of Google-powered Chromebooks and lower-end Windows devices, where Microsoft’s own efforts to shift to more battery-life-friendly chips made with technology from Arm have failed to ignite a sales boom.
Its foray into the mid-range PC segment could help Apple broaden its reach among students and first-time buyers.
In the midst of a global memory chip crunch, the new MacBook also comes with only 8 gigabytes of unified memory, half of the 16 gigabytes in the M4-based MacBook and less than the 12 gigabytes in the iPhone 17 Pro.
Global PC and smartphone markets remain highly price sensitive after several quarters of uneven demand, and hardware makers continue to navigate fluctuating component costs, particularly for memory chips.
Apple this week launched its $599 iPhone 17e with higher base storage and refreshed its MacBook Air and Pro lineup with new M5 chips and standard configurations with larger memory, as it looks to defend market share in competitive smartphone and softening PC markets, strained by rising memory costs.
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