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The last voyage of the demeter | official trailer.

The legend of Dracula is born. Watch the trailer for The Last Voyage of the Demeter now. The Last Voyage of the Demeter In Theaters August 11th http://demetermovie.com/ Facebook: https://uni.pictures/TLVOTDFB Instagram: https://uni.pictures/TLVOTDIG Twitter: https://uni.pictures/TLVOTDTW TikTok: https://uni.pictures/UniTikTok --- Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London. Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew. The film stars Corey Hawkins (In the Heights, Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew, Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale) as an unwitting stowaway, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans) as the ship’s captain and David Dastmalchian (Dune, the Ant-Man franchise) as the Demeter’s first mate. The film also features Jon Jon Briones (Ratched, American Horror Story), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool films, Better Call Saul), Nikolai Nikolaeff (Stranger Things, Bruised) and Javier Botet (It films, Mama). From DreamWorks Pictures and the producers of Zodiac and Black Swan, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is directed by Norwegian horror virtuoso André Øvredal (Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, Trollhunter), from a script by Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room), Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) and Zak Olkewicz (the upcoming Bullet Train), based on the chapter “The Captain’s Log” of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The film is produced by Brad Fischer and by Oscar®-nominated producer Mike Medavoy and Arnold Messer for Phoenix Pictures and is executive produced by Matthew Hirsch.

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The Last Voyage

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Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, andrew l. stone, robert stack, dorothy malone, george sanders, edmond o'brien, woody strode, photos & videos, technical specs.

During one of her last scheduled crossings, the Claridon , a huge, old luxury liner, has a fire break out in her boiler room. The fire soon spreads to a dining room, but although some of the officers want to alert the passengers to the potential danger of the situation, Capt. Robert Adams insists that they act as though nothing has happened. Meanwhile, Cliff and Laurie Henderson and their young daughter Jill are enjoying their first ocean voyage, a trip occasioned by Cliff's job transfer to Tokyo. The fire is put out, but the next day, crew members notice that boiler pressure has greatly increased and that because of the fire, several safety valves have been fused shut. Chief Engineer Pringle orders the crew members out of the boiler room, knowing that if he is unable to release the safety valves, the resulting explosion will lead to his death. As he strains to pry open a valve, a huge explosion rips through the boiler room and many of the decks situated above it, killing Pringle and several passengers. Laurie is pinned beneath a fallen steel beam that Cliff is unable to move, and little Jill finds herself trapped on the far side of their cabin. While trying to rescue her, Cliff nearly falls through the gaping hole in the cabin floor. On the bridge, the captain ignores the warnings of First Officer Osborne and decides that as long as the bulkhead holds, the passengers are in no danger. Cliff eventually rescues his terrified daughter, and as the captain finally sends out an S.O.S., he leaves his trapped wife to find help. Cliff tries to locate an acetylene torch with which he may free his wife, but the crew members are too occupied with the task of shoring up the bulkhead to be of any help. Eventually Cliff encounters Hank Lawson, a black member of the boiler room crew. Hank agrees to help Cliff, but they are unable to locate an acetylene torch. The bulkhead finally blows apart, and a number of Second Engineer Walsh's men are killed. Laurie tries to convince Cliff to take Jill and get off the ship, but although he agrees to put the child on a lifeboat, he insists on remaining by his wife's side. When Laurie learns that the ship is being abandoned, she asks Hank to help her commit suicide, but he refuses. Hank finally puts Jill, who is screaming wildly for her mother, on a lifeboat, asking the passengers to send a torch back after the approaching Hawaiian fishing boat picks them up. Capt. Adams orders Walsh to help Cliff, but the engineer, whose father died on the Titanic , decides to save his trapped men instead. Walsh accuses the captain of sacrificing lives in order to secure his own promotion, because he knows that if the ship had reached its destination intact, the captain would have been proclaimed a hero. The accusation breaks the captain, and he retreats to his office, where he is killed by a falling smokestack. As water fills Laurie's cabin, the lifeboat returns with the acetylene torch, and Hank, Walsh and Cliff begin to cut through the metal that has pinned her to the floor. She is freed just as the water covers her head. They all then reach the upper deck just as the ship is slipping under. After climbing into the lifeboat, Cliff extends his hand to Hank, declaring, "This is one guy I'm going to help aboard personally!"

Jack Kruschen

Joel marston, george furness, richard norris, andrew hughes, marshall kent, robert martin, bill wilson, tammy marihugh, esther maloney, robert bonning, cmdr. francis douglas fain usn (ret.), a. j. lohman, philip n. mitchell, rudy schrager, virginia l. stone, harrold a. weinberger.

Hosted Intro

Award Nominations

Best special effects.

Robert Stack, 1919-2003

This is one guy I'm gonna help aboard personally! - Cliff Henderson

The ship used by the filmmakers was the S.S. Ile de France, the famous French liner which cruised the Atlantic from 1926 to 1959. She was leased for $4,000 a day. After shooting completed, she was re-floated (having been partially sunk for the film) and was towed to the scrap yard.

According to maritime historian William J. Miller, the famed French Line was so horrified that their former flagship would be used in such a way that they demanded that the Ile de France's name be removed from the ship's bow and that in no way would any references be made to the French Line.

Voice-over narration is heard at the beginning of the film describing the "last voyage" of the Claridon , an older vessel soon to be sent to the scrapyard. Andrew L. Stone's onscreen credit reads: "Written and Directed by Andrew L. Stone." Harrold A. Weinberger's onscreen credit reads: "Assistant Director & Production Manager...Harrold A. Weinberger."        According to a January 1959 Daily Variety news item, the film was originally to have been shot in CinemaScope, off the coast of England. Reviews and news items noted that the film was photographed almost entirely in the Sea of Japan, off Osaka, using the retired French luxury liner Île de France . Fearing negative publicity, the French company that built the liner initially attempted to block Stone's purchase of the ship, but finally acquiesced when M-G-M agreed to change the name of the vessel and not publicize the sale. During filming, Stone blew up the interior of the ship piece by piece, flooded parts of it and toppled one smokestack.        The Variety review noted that in addition to the real setting, natural sound and natural lighting were used in the picture. According to a January 1960 Hollywood Reporter news item, the crew was forced to shoot the final lifeboat scene in Santa Monica, CA, because there were too many poisonous jellyfish in the Sea of Japan. The same item claimed that the film's story was based, in part, on the real-life experiences of a woman passenger on ocean liner Andrea Doria , which sank off the coast of Cape Cod in July 1956. The Île de France had been one of the rescue ship for passengers of the ill-fated Andrea Doria .        The Last Voyage received an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects, but lost to The Time Machine . Child actress Tammy Marihugh, a regular on the television program The Bob Cummings Show , made her screen acting debut in the film. The Last Voyage marked the third pairing of stars Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack, whose previous pictures were Tarnished Angels and Written on the Wind (see below). Malone's mother, Esther Maloney, appears in the picture as a boat passenger, according to studio publicity material.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter February 1960

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The S. S. Claridon is scheduled for her five last voyages after thirty-eight years of service. After an explosion in the boiler room, Captain Robert Adams is reluctant to evacuate the steamship. While the crew fights to hold a bulkhead between the flooded boiler room and the engine room and avoid the sinking of the vessel, the passenger Cliff Henderson struggles against time trying to save his beloved wife Laurie Henderson, who is trapped under a steel beam in her cabin, with the support of the crew member Hank Lawson.

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Andrew L. Stone

Robert Stack

Cliff Henderson

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Laurie Henderson

George Sanders

Captain Robert Adams

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Second Engineer Walsh

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The Last Voyage of the Demeter Video Previews the Scariest Depiction of Dracula

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Universal Pictures has dropped The Last Voyage of the Demeter video for its forthcoming horror thriller, starring Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham. The film is still scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 11.

The video features commentary by the cast and crew as they discuss the movie’s iconic villain in the form of Dracula. Director André Øvredal shared his vision for the story, revealing that he wanted it to be the scariest depiction of the Prince of Darkness.

Check out The Last Voyage of the Demeter featurette below ( watch more trailers ):

Who’s in The Last Voyage of the Demeter?

Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is directed by André Øvredal (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) from a screenplay written by Zak Olkewicz, Bragi Schut, and Stefan Ruzowitzky. It stars Corey Hawkins (In the Heights) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew, Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) as an unwitting stowaway, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) as the ship’s captain and David Dastmalchian (the Ant-Man franchise) as the Demeter’s first mate.

“The film tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London,” reads the synopsis. “Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew.

Additional cast includes Jon Jon Briones (American Horror Story), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool films), Nikolai Nikolaeff (Stranger Things) and Javier Botet (It films, Mama). It is produced by Brad Fischer, Mike Medavoy, and Arnold Messer, with Matthew Hirsch set as an executive producer.

The post The Last Voyage of the Demeter Video Previews the Scariest Depiction of Dracula appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More .

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The Last Voyage

• After a boiler explosion aboard an aging ocean liner, a man struggles to free his injured wife from the wreckage of their cabin and ensure the safety of their four-year-old daughter as the ship begins to sink.
• Cliff Henderson and his family are traveling aboard the SS Claridon en route to Japan. She is an old ship on her fifth and last voyage before heading to the scrap yard. An explosion in the engine room weakens the hull and the ship is now taking on more water than the bilge pumps can deal with. The captain seems to have difficulty accepting that his ship will sink. Cliff's wife, Laurie, is severely injured and trapped under a fallen steel beam in their cabin. While the men in the engine room work frantically to shore up the hull, Cliff tries to free Laurie from the wreckage with the help of one of crew member Hank Lawson. — garykmcd
• The SS Claridon is on her fifth and last voyage, this time en route to Japan across the Pacific, before she is decommissioned and sent to the scrap yard. Among the passengers are Cliff and Laurie Henderson and their adolescent daughter, Jill, who are moving to Japan for Cliff's job. The passengers are generally unaware that a fire has simultaneously broken out in the engine room and one of the currently unused dining rooms. The crew is able to contain the fires without needing to inform the passengers. But they eventually learn that the fires were the result of malfunctioning aged equipment. As they rush to fix what they now know is a ticking time bomb with the equipment, they are too late as while they are mid-ocean, an explosion occurs in the boiler room, causing a massive hole to be ripped out mid-ship, including through the Hendersons' cabin. Captain Robert Adams, who seems to be working toward his own agenda, has to decide what to do. He is getting conflicting advice from his officers and crew. The problems for him are surveying and dealing with the damage, assessing and dealing with what potential damage may still occur - the main initial problem seeming to be that one of the bulkheads may burst, which may cause the ship to sink - not causing mass hysteria among the passengers, and if they do decide to abandon ship, weighing the dangers involved doing so mid-ocean. All the while, Cliff has to get both Laurie and Jill out of precarious situations with little help from other passengers or crew. He may have to make some difficult life and death decisions for himself and his family. — Huggo
• The SS Claridon is scheduled for her fifth and last voyage after thirty-eight years of service. After an explosion in the boiler room, Captain Robert Adams is reluctant to evacuate the ship. While the crew fights to hold a bulkhead between the flooded boiler room and the engine room and avoid the sinking of the ship, Cliff Henderson struggles against time trying to save his beloved wife, Laurie, who is trapped under a steel beam in their cabin, with the support of crew member Hank Lawson. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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A year after Titan sub implosion, an Ohio billionaire says he wants to make his own voyage to Titanic wreckage

By Li Cohen

Updated on: May 29, 2024 / 11:12 AM EDT / CBS News

Five people boarded OceanGate's Titan submersible last summer to dive down to see the wreckage of the Titanic, but less than two hours later, the vessel imploded, killing all on board. Now, a billionaire from Ohio wants to make his own attempt – an idea he had just days after the Titan met its fatal end.

Patrick Lahey, co-founder and president of Tritan Submarines, is no stranger to deep-dive expeditions. He was the second Canadian to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench nearly 36,000 feet under the ocean's surface. He told the Wall Street Journal that he'd spent years working to make submersibles safe for deep dives, making sure his company's vessels were certifiably safe. Then when last year's implosion happened – killing the vessel's overseer and captain – there were concerns that nobody would trust such expeditions again. 

But a few days after the incident, Lahey told The Wall Street Journal that he got a call from a client who seemed determined to build a safe, reliable submersible. 

"He called me up and said, 'You know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to [Titanic-level depths] repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that," he said, "and that Titan was a contraption." 

Thus, the relationship between Lahey and Ohio real estate mogul Larry Connor was born. 

Connor, based in Dayton and leader of luxury apartment building investor the Connor Group, is worth about $2 billion, according to Forbes. Like Lahey, Connor also has an interest in the unknown. According to Forbes, he ventured to the Marian Trench in 2021 and also went to the International Space Station in 2022. 

He told The Journal that he's hoping to show people that "while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way." 

"Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade. But we didn't have the materials and technology," he told the outlet, saying that he and Lahey plan to take a sub down to the Titanic wreckage in a two-person submersible known as the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer . 

According to the Triton website, the vessel is a "high-performance, flexible platform designed specifically for professional applications." The company says it can dive to 4,000 meters below the sea and that "the world's deepest diving acrylic sub" is commercially certified for dives over 13,000 feet. 

The remains of the Titanic are about 12,500 feet underwater, giving the sub just enough certified range to reach it. The imploded Titan sub was not made of acrylic, and only had a certified range of up to 1,300 meters, according to CBS News partner BBC .  

The pair has not yet said when their voyage will occur. 

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Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.

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Passenger who jumped from world’s largest cruise ship fell 90 feet to his death: staffer.

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The passenger who jumped from the world’s largest cruise ship on Sunday fell a staggering 90 feet to his death, sources said – and staff on board knew exactly what had happened practically before he hit the water.

The man, who has not been identified, jumped from the running track on the fifth level of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas on the first day of its week-long voyage, a security team member told The Post when the ship returned to Miami Saturday morning.

Each deck is about 20 feet high, so the man fell from approximately 90 feet, the staffer explained.

The man’s body was transported via van to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to crew members.

Cops also met the ship and took statements at the docks, and they retrieved a copy of the surveillance footage of the fatal incident.

When the man jumped on May 26, the overboard detection system was activated almost immediately – prompting onboard staff into action, the security team member continued.

“We knew what had happened literally seconds after he hit the water. The protocol is that we’re supposed to immediately make visual contact to see if we can spot him,” the source said, noting that one guard also saw the man jump on a security camera feed .

“It’s the captain’s call whether to stop and turn around, and he did,” he added.

Once the alert was sounded, the ship’s specialized security team prepared to take a rescue boat out to pick up the man.

The rest of the security team was stationed at predetermined lookout spots to do a 360-degree scan of the surrounding waters, while the Coast Guard was also briefed and immediately sent out an aircraft to the site, according to the crew member, who asked not to be named.

While the potential rescue got underway, the Icon of the Seas’ medical team was put on high alert.

The ship had paramedics, nurses, former ER doctors, and even a surgeon on board – as well as all the lifesaving medical equipment one typically finds in a small hospital, a member of the ship’s medical team told The Post.

The man was likely not alive when he was recovered from the water , the source added.

The doctor on board pronounced him dead once his body was transported to the medical bay, according to the crew member.

The passenger’s body was then stored in the on-board morgue, which is equipped with eight drawers.

There were no other fatalities on-board during the week-long voyage, which stopped in Honduras, Mexico and the Bahams, the medical team member said.

An onboard care team assisted the man’s family in the days after the incident, they explained to The Post.

The loved ones had the option of staying on the ship or flying home – though most bereaved families opt to stay with their relative’s body, the source noted.

The other passengers disembarking the massive ship – which holds up to 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew members – said they mostly went about their business for the rest of the cruise, though there was a prayer circle in the man’s honor.

“I didn’t know him but I felt horrible about it,” says Janine Pernell, a passenger from Atlanta.

Pernell was one of about 20 people who attended the small memorial that was held on the running deck.

“We just all held hands and prayed that the family would find comfort and peace. There were a lot of tears. We felt like it was all we could do,” she lamented.

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May 28, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

By Helen Regan, Heather Chen and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Our live coverage of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has moved here .

Nikki Haley writes "Finish them!" on Israeli artillery shells

From CNN's Ebony Davis

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley wrote “Finish Them!” on Israeli artillery shells during a Memorial Day visit to Israel, according to  photos in a post from Danny Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, who accompanied her on the trip.

Her visit to the northern Israeli border came a day after an  Israeli strike  that killed 45 at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the strike as "a tragic error ".

Haley's message echoes her previous sentiment during a Fox News interview in which she condemned Hamas’ attacks and called on Netanyahu to “finish them.”

"I will say this to Netanyahu: finish them. Finish them. Hamas did this, you know Iran is behind it, finish them. They should have hell to pay for what they've just done,” Haley said back then.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Haley for comment.

Haley said Tuesday: "1 in 4 of their neighbors were murdered or taken hostage in Gaza. No other country would accept this, Israel should not either."

She also reaffirmed her commitment to Israel, saying during the tour, saying "Don't listen to what is being said in the media. I reassure you: America stands with Israel!"

During the Memorial Day weekend trip, Haley visited Kibbutz Nir Oz, the site of the Nova festival, and Sderot.

She reflected in a  social media post  about a nurse she met whose “life changed forever’ after October 7.

“Like my daughter, Tali Biner is a nurse in her 20s who loves music and her friends. But, her life changed forever at the Nova Music Festival. For hours she hid, praying not to be next, listening to fellow concert goers beg for mercy as they were raped, genitally mutilated, and shot to death by Hamas,” Haley said.

“When she escaped, she tried to treat victims who were butchered and left to slowly die. Now, she bravely tells her story to bear witness for the hundreds who can’t — raped, tortured, kidnapped, and murdered simply for being Israeli,” she continued.

Algeria draft Security Council resolution calls for ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release, UN diplomat says

From CNN's Richard Roth

Algeria has circulated to all UN Security Council members a proposed draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages, a UN diplomat told CNN on Tuesday.

It's unknown how the US will vote on this.

Algeria's draft resolution comes after 45 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Rafah camp housing displaced people on Sunday.

Houthi ballistic missiles strike Greek-owned ship in Red Sea, US military says

A Greek owned and operated merchant ship in the Red Sea reported being struck by three anti-ship ballistic missiles launched Tuesday by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to US Central Command.

Merchant Vessel Laax continued on its voyage and there were no injuries reported, CENTCOM said in a statement.

During the same time, US forces destroyed five Houthi drones over the Red Sea that were launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels in the region,” the statement added.

Nearly 1 million Palestinians displaced from Rafah, UN officials say. Here's what you should know

From CNN staff

At least 940,000 people have been displaced from Rafah in the past three weeks as a result of "the intensification of hostilities and issuance of evacuation orders" by Israeli forces, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

Many of the displaced Palestinians are attempting to evacuate following devastating Israeli strikes – but they don't know where to go.

Here are more headlines you should know:

More on the Rafah strike:

• The Israeli military is looking into the possibility that the Israeli airstrike, which killed more than 45 people on Sunday, may have unintentionally set off possible stored weapons in a nearby compound and a large fire that decimated part of a camp housing displaced Palestinians, according to spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
• A CNN analysis of videos and a review by explosive weapons experts found that US-made munitions were used in the strike.
• The United States “ will be watching ” the results of the Israeli investigation, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. He added that the findings should be “presented openly and transparently to us and to the world.”
• White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby  told reporters Tuesday  that Sunday’s airstrike did not cross President Joe Biden's red line. Kirby said he had “no policy changes to speak to” when asked if this strike would change policy – but emphasized that this strike “just happened.”

International reaction to the Rafah strike:

• French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière warned of any further escalations in Rafah, saying "it is high time," for the UN Security Council "to take action and to adopt a new resolution" about the war in Gaza.
• Protesters in cities across Europe gathered to voice opposition to the deadly strike in southern Gaza.

Other Israeli attacks:

• The Israeli military killed at least 29 Palestinians  in two separate attacks around Rafah, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Emergency Committee of the Rafah Governorate. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said his staff are "terrified" and are packing up and moving following the strikes.

Broken pier:

• The  temporary pier constructed by the US military  to transport aid into Gaza broke apart in heavy seas on Tuesday in a major blow to the American-led effort to create a maritime corridor for humanitarian supplies into the war-torn enclave, according to four US officials. An effort to reassemble the causeway and connect it to the parking area will resume when sea conditions allow, officials said.

US-made munitions were used in deadly strike on Rafah tent camp, CNN analysis shows  

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin and Avery Schmitz

US-made munitions were used in a deadly Israeli strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, a CNN analysis of video from the scene and a review by explosive weapons experts found. 

CNN geolocated videos showing tents in flames in the aftermath of the strike on the camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) known as "Kuwait Peace Camp 1."

In video shared on social media, which CNN geolocated to the same scene by matching details including the camp’s entrance sign and the tiles on the ground, the tail of a US-made GBU-39 small-diameter bomb (SDB) is visible, according to four explosive weapons experts who reviewed the video for CNN.

The GBU-39, manufactured by Boeing, is a high-precision munition “designed to attack strategically important point targets,” and result in low collateral damage, explosive weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith told CNN.

However, “using any munition, even of this size, will always incur risks in a densely populated area,” said Cobb-Smith, a former British Army artillery officer.   

Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member who also identified the fragment as being from a GBU-39, explained to CNN how he drew his conclusion.  

“The warhead portion [of the munition] is distinct, and the guidance and wing section is extremely unique compared to other munitions. Guidance and wing sections of munitions are often the remnants left over even after a munition detonates. I saw the tail actuation section and instantly knew it was one of the SDB/GBU-39 variants.”   

CNN’s identification of the munition is consistent with a claim made by Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a briefing about the tragedy on Tuesday. Hagari said the strike – which he said targeted senior Hamas commanders – used two munitions with small warheads containing 17 kilos of explosives, adding these bombs were "the smallest munitions that our jets could use.”

The traditional GBU-39 warhead has an explosive payload of 17 kilos.  

Additionally, serial numbers on the remnants match those for a manufacturer of GBU-39 parts based in California – more evidence the bombs were made in the US.  

The Pentagon declined to comment and referred CNN to comments from Israel on its operation. CNN has also reached out to the US National Security Council.

Read the full story.

French UN ambassador calls on UN Security Council "to take action and to adopt a new resolution"

From CNN's Richard Roth and Mohammed Tawfeeq

French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière warned of any further escalations in Rafah, saying "it is high time," for the UN Security Council (UNSC) "to take action and to adopt a new resolution" about the war in Gaza.

"There must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of the hostages. There is no safe zone for Palestinian civilians in Rafah," Rivière said in a statement Tuesday. 

He added that the Security Council "must fulfill its mandate and take action now,"

"It must allow the UN to play its full role in the Gaza Strip, in order to cover the immediate needs of the population," he said.

"France will remain committed to building a state for the Palestinians and security guarantees for Israel," Rivière added.

Doctor describes sleepless nights and "very miserable" situation in Rafah

From CNN's Sarah EL Sirgany and Mohammed Tawfeeq

The situation in Rafah is "very miserable," according to a doctor currently working in the southern Gaza city.

"All night, we couldn't sleep," Dr. Safa Jaber told Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières), in an Arabic audio message shared by t he group on X with English subtitles .

"All night we heard the clashes, the bombings and the sound of the rockets. Nobody knows what is happening exactly. There are clashes in two different locations in Tal al-Sultan area, in the north and the south," Jaber said. "I am speechless, I cannot even describe what is happening. We are scared for ourselves and for our children. We are not expecting this to happen so suddenly," she added. "Everyone is very terrified. Where shall we go? We are heading to the so-called safe zone. But there is no safe space here after what happened the day before yesterday with the burning of tents," she explained. "We are forced to stay in tents where we will be exposed to the heat, sand. We have to struggle to find water every day; both clean and salt water; the basic services that every human being needs to stay alive. The situation is very miserable," Jaber added.

"There is no shelter, no life, no future." Displaced Palestinians in Rafah wonder where they must move next

From Mohammed Al-Sawalhi, Sarah El Sirgany and Abeer Salman and Hira Humayun 

Displaced Palestinians are attempting to evacuate following devastating Israeli strikes in southern Gaza – but they don't know where to go.

Speaking to a CNN stringer in Khan Younis, north of Rafah, people said they did not know where else to go, as they tried to head north toward Deir El-Balah in central Gaza.

Video from the stringer shows mattresses, wooden panels, chairs, and various other belongings piled on top of vehicles and donkey carts.

"What’s happening now, whether in Rafah, Khan Younis or Gaza in general, is the disastrous displacement of people. There is no shelter, no life, no future," said Ansar Mahdi, who said she's been displaced four times.  "The displacement is repugnant. When people move from one place to another, they want to live.They need money. They’ve lost their savings," she said. "They told us to move from the north to the south. We did. We stayed in tents in abysmal conditions. No words can convey what we went through," she added. "Where else can we go? Where the next displacement would be?" Mahdi asked.

The roads, lined by tents and piles of garbage, were busy with people and vehicles moving in search of empty spaces.

Walking on crutches, Mohamed Jarbou, said, "The elderly have been humiliated. Children humiliated. What’s wrong? They are all civilians. The resistance is not here. The resistance is fighting somewhere else. We are displaced. Why are you hitting the displaced people?"

Israeli strikes over the past two days in Rafah have forced the already displaced people to flee.

More than two dozen people were killed in Israel strikes on two camps on Tuesday, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israeli military denied striking a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, telling CNN, "Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi.”

CNN has asked if the military struck elsewhere in Al-Mawasi, and for comment on a strike that hit the Tal al-Sultan camp .

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All Four ABBA Members Reunite to Be Knighted at Royal Ceremony in Sweden

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

• Kate Hudson on Launching a Music Career, Two Decades Into Acting Stardom: ‘It Would Have Felt Too Vulnerable in My 20s — I Don’t Have That Fear of Rejection Anymore’ 5 hours ago
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• Crowded House’s Neil Finn on How a Stint With Fleetwood Mac Led to Revitalizing His Own Band: ‘I Realized That We Had a Flag That You Can Follow’ 2 days ago

ABBA fans had not necessarily expected to see the group together again after previous statements that they had no further plans to reunite after recording a 2021 comeback album. But the prospect of being knighted brought all four members back together again Friday in their native Sweden, as they showed up at the royal palace in Stockholm to be honored by the king and queen.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Benny Andersson (pictured above, left to right) were receiving the Royal Order of Vasa, establishing them as Commanders of the First Class, for “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life.”

Popular on Variety

At the London Q&A celebrating the two-year anniversary of the so-called ABBA-tar show, with Pete Paphides asking the questions, Andersson and Ulvaeus did not say much about future plans, although they did respond enthusiastically to the idea of their avatars taking a break from their permanent home there to perform at Glastonbury. “Oh yes, I think that’s a brilliant idea,” said Ulvaeus. Andersson added that he might tag along if that ever happened, saying, “If they go to Glastonbury, I think we’d need an extra piano player.”

At this week’s London Q&A, the songwriting team seemed chipper and wistful, in a primarily reminiscing mode.

“It’s very, very hard to grasp emotionally that we wrote these little songs and it gave rise to this, and the millions of people we have touched,” Andersson said, in front of an audience that included celebrities like Rick Astley and Joanna Lumley. “We know it’s true, but it’s very hard to understand. Maybe impossible.”

“I’ve seen the show so many times and I think we look good up there,” added Ulvaeus. “But I have no idea what it really is that makes people have it in them to want to listen to music that was done 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 30 years ago.”

Although it did not arise as a topic of discussion at the London event, there has been talk back in the U.S. of a third “Mamma Mia!” film based on the group’s catalog, although it is not on the fast track. Producer Judy Craymer told Variety in October that it was inevitable. “I’m in the privileged position that I have Universal Studios wanting to do it, who I love working with, and I have a storyline,” she said, as part of talk about a talent competition show inspired by the original theatrical production. “It just always takes a certain amount of time with ‘Mamma Mia.’ Bjorn and Benny always take a certain amount of convincing. I don’t know how much more convincing they’re gonna have because everybody wants another film. But they had ABBA Voyage and then they wanted a rest from ABBA stuff. But it will happen.”

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ABBA Receives Prestigious Swedish Knighthood for Career That Started at Eurovision

The Order of the Vasa was handed out for the first time in almost 50 years.

By Associated Press

Associated Press

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The four members of the Swedish pop quartet ABBA , who triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the peppy love song “Waterloo,” on Friday (May 31) got one of the most prestigious knighthoods in Sweden from the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.

ABBA Fans Mark 50 Years Since ‘Waterloo’ Took the World by Storm

The Order of the Vasa was handed out for the first time in almost 50 years. Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad became “Commander of the First Class” of the order for “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life.”

Trending on Billboard

The Royal Order of Vasa, which is given in recognition of personal efforts for Sweden or for Swedish interests as well as the successful performance of public duties and assignments, was dormant until late 2022, when it was reactivated after regulations opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again.

Earlier this year, candidates were nominated by the public and the Swedish government and the king approved the nominees that included the four ABBA members.

The orders were awarded during a solemn ceremony at the Royal Palace in the gilded Vita Havet Assembly Rooms. The monarch handed them the order in a red box while a diploma was given to them by Queen Silvia.

”The order you get today today is Sweden’s thanks for your exceptional efforts,” the monarch said before handing out orders to “13 exceptional Swedes.”

Andersson, Faltskog, Lyngstad, who now uses the last name Reuss walked up using a cane, and Ulvaeus received the order in an event that was aired live on Swedish media.

The Eurovision victory turned ABBA into a pop juggernaut, by far the most successful band to win the pan-continental music contest. ABBA’s melodic disco pop sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. The stage musical Mamma Mia! based on its songs is 25 years old and spawned two movies.

The Swedish band members have not performed together live for four decades, but released a comeback album, Voyage , in 2021. The digital “ABBA-tars” opened in London in 2022.

Two other receipients were two 2023 Nobel Prize winners: French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, and Svante Pääbo, who won the coveted award in physics and medicine. They were both made Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star for “outstanding research efforts.”

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Follow our news, recent searches, boeing starliner capsule's first crewed test flight delayed at last minute, advertisement.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: The launch countdown for Boeing's new Starliner space capsule on its inaugural crewed test flight was halted on Saturday (Jun 1) for the second time in weeks due to an unspecified technical issue, postponing the mission for at least another 24 hours. The CST-200 Starliner's first voyage carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has been highly anticipated and much-delayed as Boeing scrambles to gain a greater share of the lucrative NASA business now dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX . The gumdrop-shaped Starliner capsule had stood poised for blastoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop an Atlas V rocket furnished by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture. But less than four minutes prior to liftoff, a ground system computer triggered an automatic abort command that paused the countdown clock, according to mission officials. It was not immediately clear why the abort command was activated or how long the underlying issue would take to address. But the next available launch window for the mission is Sunday at about noon local time, followed by two more opportunities on Wednesday and Thursday.

The first attempt by Boeing to send an uncrewed Starliner to the space station in 2019 failed due to software and engineering glitches. A second try in 2022 succeeded, paving the way for efforts at getting the first crewed test mission off the ground. A May 6 countdown was halted just two hours before launch time over a faulty pressure valve on the Atlas upper stage, followed by weeks of further delays caused by other engineering problems, since resolved, on the Starliner itself. The two-member crew, NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore, 61, and Sunita "Suni" Williams, 58, had been strapped into their seats aboard the spacecraft for a couple of hours before launch activities were suspended on Saturday. Technicians assisted the astronauts out of the capsule safely about an hour after the flight was scrubbed. It is common in the space industry for countdowns to be halted at the 11th hour and for launches to be postponed for days or weeks, even when seemingly minor malfunctions or unusual sensor readings are detected, especially in new spacecraft flying humans for the first time.

Boeing targets June 1 for Starliner's debut crew launch amid helium leak probe

Boeing offers nasa 2nd crew-launch option.

Boeing, whose  commercial airplane operations  are in disarray after several crises, badly needs success in space for its Starliner venture, a program several years behind schedule with more than US$1.5 billion in cost overruns. While Boeing has struggled, SpaceX has become a dependable taxi to orbit for NASA, which is backing a new generation of privately built spacecraft that can ferry astronauts to the ISS and in the future, under its ambitious Artemis program, to the moon and eventually Mars. Starliner would compete head-to-head with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which since 2020 has been NASA's only vehicle for sending ISS crew to orbit from US soil. The flight would mark the first crewed voyage to space using an Atlas rocket since the storied family of Atlas launch vehicles first sent astronauts, including John Glenn, on orbital flights for NASA's Mercury program in the 1960s.

SpaceX launches first satellites for new US spy constellation

Once launched, the capsule is expected to arrive at the space station after a flight of about 26 hours and dock with the orbiting research outpost some 400km above Earth. Plans call for the two astronauts to remain at the space station for about a week before riding the Starliner back to Earth for a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the US Desert Southwest, a first for crewed NASA missions. The test flight comes at an especially critical moment for Boeing. Its airplane business is dealing with the fallout from a midair blowout of a cabin panel door plug on a nearly new 737 MAX 9 in January, as well as previous deadly crashes of two 737 MAX jets.

Commentary: Should you be concerned about flying on Boeing planes?

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Air's Moon Safari is an era-defining French album worth celebrating, 25 years on

There's no telling how many special moments have been soundtracked by Moon Safari, the acclaimed 1998 debut album from French duo Air.

An era-defining record of pristine, space-age lounge music delivered with cinematic atmosphere and a distinctively French je ne se quios , Moon Safari was a universal critical and commercial success upon release.

The lush easy-listening music was perfectly suited to post-club comedowns, hip cafes, and make-out sessions: smooth and dreamy enough to be played in the background, but singular and masterfully crafted enough to reward close listening.

It proved highly influential, too. But the wave of mellow, down tempo imitators and 'chill out' CD compilations it spawned struggled to surpass Air's chic, exquisitely woozy beauty.

'It was not meant to be played live'

Jean-Benoît Dunckel, one half of Air alongside Nicolas Godin, never expected Moon Safari's enduring success.

"We never imagined this album could work that way worldwide," he tells Karen Leng on Double J Lunch. 

"It took time, it took decades, [but] the success is not by us, the audience made [it]."

This year, the duo has been playing Moon Safari in full around the world on their first tour in seven years, including Australia.

"It was not made to be played live," says Dunckel. 

"We had to adapt it for the live [setting]. That is what the people want to get — this special feeling they heard the first time… to live again these feelings."

Having played two nights at the Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Live , Air will live-stream their show at London's Royal Albert Hall this weekend.

"It's a beautiful venue," says Dunckel, who is keen to preserve a pristine performance of the album online for future access.

"It's really important to do that because… people can also discover the band live. Some people appreciate the live versions more than the recorded versions."

Performing as a trio, alongside drummer Louis Delorme, Air play inside an oblong box adorned with dazzling lights and visuals, which morph from swathes of minimalist colour to the perspective of a spaceship enjoying interstellar travel.

"We play in a box of light. It looks a bit like the studio on the cover of 10 000 Hz Legend," says Dunckel, referencing the band's second studio album — a weirder, wilder reaction to Moon Safari.

"It could be a home, it could be our world, our head, our architectural concept. It helps for people to enter into a world… people like [that] intimacy."

Dunckel says people often ask: "Are you not bored to play these songs you play for 20 years now?"

"Sometimes I struggle — because you have to concentrate, and you have to play. But I'm never bored. It's always a pleasure."

Moon Safari is a product of its era, but it's also aged beautifully.

It's an evocative listening experience, from the moment lengthy opener 'La femme d'argent' ushers you in with the sounds of water and slinky bassline, through to the weightless pop and robot-voiced melodies of 'Kelly Watch The Stars' and 'New Star in the Sky'.

In 1998, its retro-futuristic arrangements already sounded timeless. 25 years later, its ability to transport your mind and imagination elsewhere hasn't dated one iota.

"It could be a journey, a love story," remarks Dunckel. "That's why we're really attached to it. I think the audience is searching for that, too.

"It helps human relationships in every way," adds Dunckel. Over the years, Air fans have shared "so many stories" of what the album means to them.

"Most of the time it's for love. It's always, 'I met my girlfriend or wife this time'."

Back in 1998, Dunckel told triple j that while hiking in Iceland, his guide revealed Moon Safari was his love-making soundtrack.

There's "probably" plenty of babies in the world with some of the album's DNA in them since, Dunckel estimates of a new generation discovering Air for the first time.

"As we are getting old now, it's becoming that people say, 'oh yeah, my parents were listening to Moon Safari when we were travelling in a car; this family time'."

Sexy Boy, the surprising queer anthem

For many, debut single 'Sexy Boy' was their first introduction to Air. A seductive slice of synth-pop that brought vocoder back to the pop charts and sung in both French and English.

It's a seemingly simple song but Dunckel notes there's "a lot of tolerance and freedom" embedded in it.

"Sexy Boy, first of all, is a strange title because it breaks a certain taboo. The taboo is that heterosexual boys can check out other boys," he explains.

"Also, it became a gay slogan in a way. A gay anthem."

The song took on a new meaning in late 90s Paris when the electronic music scene's wider acceptance of the LGTBQI+ community led to more club and techno nights dedicated to queer punters and DJs emerging.

"There was a lot of gay parties," says Dunckel. "Homosexuality is everywhere in the world, and it's always existed, always there. So, it was important to liberate this movement."

Originally, the song's titular phrase was inspired by Parisian fashion culture.

"People are checking each other out all the time… In Paris, when a couple is meeting another couple, the girl is not going to check out the boy. She's going to check out the other girl: analyse what she wears, how she behaves, what is the fashion or type of the boyfriend.

"Sexy Boy is speaking about that. The fact a man wants to be a pretty man and he is checking [out] other boys."

A popular soundtrack choice, featured in teen rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You and noughties TV drama Queer As Folk, 'Sexy Boy' is also a testament to youth.

The French verses are "celebrating that golden age of being young," Dunckel explains.

"When you're young you don't realise you're at the top of your life. You have a lot of power, actually… because you're beautiful. Your skin, hair, you feel great, you have a lot of energy."

The makings of a classic

Despite its iconic status, Moon Safari was actually the last roll of the dice for Dunckel and Godin.

Raised in the conservative suburb of Versailles, the pair began making music together after meeting at school. But after having their demo tapes rejected by every record label they approached, they quit music and instead focused on their studies.

Each had established careers — Godin in architecture, Dunckel in mathematics — when an opportunity presented itself in a close friend landing a role with Virgin Records imprint Source.

They landed a deal with the label but ditching their jobs for a full-time career in music to support their burgeoning families was a gamble.

"We were 26 years old. We were not sure we come be musicians for the rest of our life," remembers Dunckel. "I was already working [as] a physics teacher… I had a baby."

Thankfully, their risk was rewarded when their debut album became a breakout international hit. Air was swiftly lumped alongside a fresh wave of Parisian artists reinventing the electronic music scene in the late 90s.

Dubbed French touch, the movement included Cassius, St. Germain, Étienne de Crécy, and Daft Punk, who recorded their breakout 1997 album Homework down the street from where Air made Moon Safari.

"There was a kind of energy circulating all over Paris," recalls Dunckel. "Paris is kind of small; all the media, artists and business part of it [were] working all together."

The worlds of music, fashion, contemporary art, cinema — "everything was mixed," Dunckel says.

"At this time, new generations of young people coming from the suburbs are even inside Paris and mixing all these rich, futuristic concepts together with new machines, samplers, computer programs to make music."

A fond farewell to youth

Despite being poster boys for the future of French music, Moon Safari was an evocative, nostalgia-drenched ode to Dunckel and Godin's past.

"In a way it was the end of my youth… That's why the songs [on Moon Safari], there are a lot of regrets and it's a goodbye to our youth and the innocence of it.

"It's full of vibrations from teenage times."

Although labelled an electronic act, Air's music wasn't rooted in beats and house music. Instead, they armed themselves with analogue Moog and Korg synthesizers, vintage drum machines, vocoders and the trusty Rhodes piano.

The resulting compositions bore the esprit of Serge Gainsbourg, electronic pioneers like Jean-Michel Jarre, and the 1970s film and TV soundtracks of Dunckel's childhood.

There's a fondness for the psychedelic grandeur of Pink Floyd and ELO. But also, Burt Bacharach arrangements, particularly in the wistful French horn topline of ''Ce matin là' (This morning) and the easy-going 'You Make It Easy' and 'All I Need', both featuring the lyrics and vocals of Godin's then-neighbour, Beth Hirsch.

From its lush, otherworldly sounds right down to its title, Moon Safari gives rise to cosmic ideas and conducive to escapism. That spirit is central to Air's entire ethos.

"I think music exists in paradise and you can feel this [album] is in a strange interface between our world and something else."

Such ephemeral expressions might be surprising coming from a former physics teacher, but Dunckel says "both sides of your brain help" when it comes to making emotive art.

"There is a mathematic aspect of music, that analyses and helps you perform and conceive music. But there is something else happening, your heart is talking.

"As a musician you're organising the vibrations of your heart and the feelings into music… vibrations travelling into space and air."

"When I do a song, it's all about 'what do I feel?'" Dunckel concludes.

"For me, good means it affects me. No good means I don't feel anything… if it affects me, it's going to affect others, too. They're going to feel the feelings I do, too."

Air live-stream their performance at London's Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 1 June. Details here .

Hear Karen Leng hosting  Lunch on Double J from midday Monday to Thursday.

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