Spotify, a leader in the streaming music industry, reported a 12-percent increase in paying subscribers in the first quarter to 268 million, as well as a record operating profit.
According to Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, “the underlying data is very healthy right now: engagement is high, retention is strong, and people have the flexibility to stay with us even when things feel more uncertain.”
At the end of March, the Swedish company had 678 million active users, up 10% from the previous year. This is in line with its forecast.
Also read: Zerry DL, Tems, Rema, and Davido Win Big at the 17th Headies (FULL LIST).
The number of paying subscribers, who make up the majority of Spotify’s revenue, increased to 268 million, slightly over the 265 million forecast.
Operating profit increased by 203 percent to 509 million euros ($588), but it was lower than the anticipated 548 million euros.
The group claimed that the figure “was below forecast as gross profit strength and lower personnel were more than offset by 76 million (euros) in social charges.”
Sales increased by 15% to 4.19 billion euros.
Spotify is reportedly planning to raise its summer prices in dozens of European and Latin American nations, according to the Financial Times.
As a result of controlling costs and lowering fees for paying subscribers in various markets, including the United States, Spotify recorded its first-ever annual profit of 1.1 billion euros in 2024.
With a 34 percent increase in the share price, the Swedish company has been one of Wall Street’s biggest winners since the start of the year.
Former world champion boxer and former boxing pundit &
This weekend’s boxing is similar to what happens when you order food from a restaurant but there are too many options. What’s good here, you ask? and you are told “Everything” by the waiter.
You have a choice with the likes of Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Saul ‘Canelo ‘Alvarez, and Naoya Inoue in a 72-hour span. This is the ideal time to stay in and stay up, drink coffee, manage your sleep, and ensure that you are awake for every fight if you are a true boxer.
Then you can watch them all again on Monday if you can’t work.
On Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Alvarez fights William Scull to defend his super-middleweight titles.
Inoue then defends his undisputed super-bantamweight title against Ramon Cardenas in a haphazard appearance in the United States on Sunday.
Strangely, out of those three cards, Canelo would likely be the third. That is not something I ever thought to say. He views Saudi Arabia as unexplored territory.
You can’t really fault Canelo for choosing to take an easy fight, though, with a fight scheduled for September 30th and Terence Crawford in the works.
Fantasy fights are now more prevalent than ever. Boxing is so wonderful there.
No one was arguing with one another a few years ago; instead, everyone was. Boxers wanted more money than they were worth, and they were all competing on various platforms. But I can’t believe where we are right now.
Failure to take drugs is common in contemporary boxing.
Images courtesy of Getty
Garcia is fantastic in it and a sensation outside the ring.
He has been boxing since he was a child and has incredible power with both hands, but especially that left hook, which may be greatly underrated given his social media following.
I am aware that that drug test caused him some trouble. The unfortunate thing is that he is not distinctive in this day and age. There are many things and people you can point your finger at, and Canelo has had issues with drug tests.
No walks in the park when Rolly Romero and Jose Carlos Ramirez square off against them. Although there is a risk involved, I don’t believe they will be defeated.
Two world-class operators, Canelo and Crawford
Canelo is engaged in a fight that avoids risk. Scull, a classic Cuban boxer, is a classic Cuban who will make you miss and pay, but some critics point to Canelo, who is overdue for a stoppage, and this is where he might find himself.
Everyone is anticipating Canelo-Crawford, and I’ve heard it is almost certain to be a done deal.
I’m a fan of this fight, which features two of the sport’s biggest names, top 10 pound-for-pound fighters.
Boxers always move up the weight division. To defeat Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran used two weights. Great fighters accomplish great things.
Canelo won his first title at welterweight before rising to dominance and beginning as a light-welterweight.
If Inoue defeats Cardenas, what will he do next?
Images courtesy of Getty
Watching Inoue at night is always fun. He has incredible power, incredible technical skills, and incredible power.
He has a little slack in the face of strong opposition, but he still manages to stay in shape and form.
However, the power and technique are unmatched, making it difficult to beat. You have a man who consistently maintains his shape, exerts patience, commits to his attack, and has incredible one-touch strength.
If Inoue isn’t in the best form, his opponent Cardenas, who has a whipping left hook, might be a problem. He can sometimes make mistakes, which he does, and he can knock you out if you do that against Inoue.
That’s what I predict will occur, which could be early or later. That power is maintained throughout Inoue.
After the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, LeBron James says he is unsure whether he will continue playing for the NBA next season.
The 40-year-old professional was unable to stop the Timberwolves from clinching a 4-1 series lead with a 103-96 win in Game Five at Crypto.com Arena.
James, the NBA’s top scorer all-time, had hoped to capture a fifth championship this year.
James, who signed a two-year deal with the Lakers in 2024, says he will take some time to consider his future during the off-season.
When James was asked how many more years he would play, he replied, “I don’t know.
The highlight of James’ season came after a 74-game campaign, according to James, who was given the chance to play alongside Bronny, making them the first father-son duo in NBA history.
“No. 1,” he declared, “for sure.”
That’s not even close, they say. This year has been one of the most enriching, fulfilling journeys I’ve ever been on because I can play the game I love and be with my son.
The Timberwolves had 27 points and 24 rebounds coming from Rudy Gobert.
He said, “It feels great.” To come here and play the way we did during a season full of ups and downs means a lot.
We just have a lot of guys who want to win and a lot of guys who have endured hardship throughout their careers and lives, and we are so loving each other.
Warriors lose the lead; Rockets.
In the Western Conference semifinals, the Timberwolves will face Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors.
With a 131-116 victory over the Warriors in game five, the Rockets cut their series deficit to 3-2.
At Toyota Center, Fred VanVleet added 26 points for the Rockets, while Dillon Brooks added 24 and Amen Thompson added 25.
Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach, replaced many of his starters in the third quarter to keep them fresh for game six, and the Rockets had a 31-point lead at one point at one point.
We can’t expect to defeat a great team on their home court because of that lack of defensive concentration and energy, Kerr said.
Tatsuya Ito, the J-League team that defeated the Saudi side 3-2 to reach the final, has compared lining up next to Cristiano Ronaldo to being in a “video game.”
In the tenth minute, Ito shrugged off any notion of stardom to send Kawasaki into the final against Al-Ahli at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, and other famous people were among the players that Al Nassr had to face, according to Ito.
“I was happy to be on the pitch tonight with them despite how well they were attacking.”
“There were some big names playing here,” she said. They were right next to me as we entered the pitch. It smelt like a video game, “
Cristiano Ronaldo and Kota Takai of Kawasaki square off in the AFC Champions League semifinal at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
Before the match, Kawasaki had to wait for extra time to defeat Qatar’s Al Sadd on Sunday, but Ito’s first-time goal from the penalty area, which Ito had missed, gave his team the perfect start.
Just before the half-hour mark, Mane equalized with a deflected effort, but Kawasaki quickly won the match.
The Al Nassr defense was out of the game when the former Hamburg forward’s pace caught the Al Nassr defense and Yuto Ozeki added the rebound as Ito saved Bento’s goal attempt on goal.
With only three minutes left, Aiman Yahya struck from distance to give Kawasaki the lead in the final 14 minutes of the match.
Ito said of the win, “This is very important, not only for the club but also for Japanese football and the J-League as well.” This is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the J-League’s skill. We represent Japan as its representatives.
“The manager told us that we came here today to make history,” the manager said. We are currently doing that. Hopefully, we can win the title in the following game and bring it back to Japan.
Ronaldo took to social media to vent his disappointment over the loss and comfort Al Nassr’s fans by saying the dream “has to wait.”
Sometimes there is a waiting period for the dream. I’m proud of the work this team and the pitch itself. 🟡🔵
Thank you to all the fans who backed us every step of the way and stayed with us. The world needs your assistance. 🙏 pic. twitter.com/sLP6k4ihrH
Australia’s chronic shortage of affordable housing will be at the top of Mary’s mind when she casts her ballot for Australia’s national election on Saturday.
The 59-year-old former postal worker, along with her daughter and her dog, has been living in regional New South Wales for two years.
Mary can’t afford the median weekly rent on a home or apartment of 560 dollars (US $360), despite receiving a fortnightly old age pension of 1051.30 Australian dollars ($ $673) and seasonal hospitality and retail jobs.
Mary attempted to apply for social housing after being told the waiting list was “very, very long,” but instead she was given the option to use her first name.
According to Mary, “We landed here without any work because the money we had had later went on rent.”
“We must now pay for storage, or we’ll lose everything.” a circumstance in which I had no idea I would ever find myself.
Although she is not enthusiastic about any of the main parties, she intends to support Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party, which is in favor of winning the party’s return to power.
“I’ll likely vote for Labor even though neither party is doing enough. She referred to Peter Dutton’s liberal Liberal Party-National Party Coalition as the conservative candidate for president and said, “I never vote for Coalition.”
They are opaque, based on “flipping up” their own bank balances and those of their elite friends, at the expense of those who pay taxes, which so many politicians avoid,” I think.
On November 6, 2024, at the Wishing Tree at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) speaks with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
In a race for the top spot in an election where concerns about the rising cost of living dominate, Australia’s property and rental prices are among the top issues.
Some of the highest house prices on earth are found in Australia, a nation obsessed with property.
According to the most recent Demographia International Housing Affordability survey, Sydney, the nation’s largest city, has a median price-to-income ratio of 13.8 out of 94 urban centers worldwide.
A household in Sydney must earn about 280, 000 Australian dollars annually (US $ 180,00) to afford the median house price of 1.4 million Australian dollars (US $ 0.9 million), according to research conducted by property consultancy PropTrack.
Campaigners claim neither party appears to be ready to address the problem’s root causes, despite the fact that both Labor and the Coalition have made a number of policy proposals to improve housing affordability.
The Liberals have promised to train more construction apprentices, invest in essential infrastructure, and let younger Australians withdraw their pensions early to pay for their housing deposit, while Labor has pledged to build 100 000 homes for first-time buyers and increase financial support.
Both parties have taken aim at foreigners and immigration, with Albanese announcing a two-year ban on non-citizens buying existing homes earlier this year.
The main cause of the housing crisis has been identified as a lack of supply, according to economists.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia’s housing stock per capita was the lowest among developed nations, with 400 houses per 1000, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Although housing supply has increased since that time, demand driven by record-breaking inward migration has pushed up the price.
Australia’s population increased by 2.1 percent in 2024, despite the nation’s birthrate reaching its lowest point in 17 years.
Particularly the construction of social housing has fallen behind.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 169, 000 households were on a waiting list for public housing in 2023.
Many older women, in particular, find it harder to find housing because their male counterparts have lower pensions, according to Yumi Lee, CEO of Older Women’s Network NSW.
According to a report from KPMG for 2021, women between the ages of 60 and 64 had on average 57, 207 Australian dollars (US$ 36, 608) less in their pension pot than men.
It’s not a matter of luck, it’s a matter of neglect, Lee told Al Jazeera, but so many older women are having to choose between paying for rent, food, or medicine.
After being forced to sell her family home after her divorce, Kris, a 71-year-old pensioner in the Blue Mountains, near Sydney, claimed she nearly became homeless last year.
According to Kris, who requested the use of a pseudonym, “I hear story after story of this sort of happening.”
Experts claim that a number of factors, including lack of tradespeople and NIMBYism, have contributed to the housing shortage.
Housing advocates have pointed fingers at negative gearing, a type of tax relief that allows landlords to write off losses from their investment property, in a more contentious way.
On February 25, 2025, in Casula in Sydney’s outer suburbs, an old apartment block and new high-rises are visible.
After suffering two consecutive election defeats, Labor abandoned the proposals after promising to reduce negative gearing in the 2022 election.
Everybody’s Home’s national spokesperson, Maiy Azize, claimed neither of the major parties appeared interested in addressing the issue.
We need someone to step up and take the first steps, Azize told Al Jazeera, noting that this crisis took decades to create and will take decades to fix.
“They could make a big impact really quickly if a party was inclined to start a program to really boost social housing and implement that tax reform,” she said.
The federal and state governments should develop nationally uniform rental laws, according to Bernie Barrett, the acting CEO of Better Renting,  .
According to Barrett, whose organization has rated Labor as “slow” and the Liberals as “getting worse” for progress on rental policies, “our issues have largely been ignored by politicians and policymakers” despite the fact that about 30% of Australians rent their homes.
Andrea Leong, a 38-year-old renter and microbiologist who resides in Gryandler, New South Wales’ electorate, describes how neglected both major parties are.
“We have been given the notion that owning a home is the Australian dream,” says the Australian government. Leong remarked to Al Jazeera, “Renting your home is seen as an unfortunate or temporary situation.”
Some of the legendary BBC children’s TV shows’ dark pasts have allowed some of them to have surprisingly successful careers. We look at the secrets and scandals of the show’s hosts and reveal where they are now
Duncan, Peter was accused of staring in a “porn” movie, Richard Bacon was implicated in a drug trafficking scandal, and Petra the dog had a lookalike.
Here’s a boo-boo I made earlier! The wholesome image of the world’s longest-running children’s TV programme, Blue Peter, has often been tarnished by the antics of its presenters.
From the cocaine shame of ’90s presenter Richard Bacon to Scottish entertainer’s John Leslie’s leaked sex tape and sexual assault allegations; Konnie Huq’s phone-in scandals and TV bosses’ failure to protect their youngest ever host Yvette Fielding from depraved paedophile Rolf Harris, since its 1958 launch the show has sometimes made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
But what happened to the hosts after they left the show for pastures new? The Mirror examines the disparate careers of Blue Peter’s most adored presenters in this article.
Richard Bacon
One of the show’s most infamous former presenters, Richard is now a successful US TV producer in LA where he develops new ideas for game shows. However, almost three decades later, Bacon, now 47, is still best known for being fired from Blue Peter for using cocaine in a London nightclub.
Sacked in October 1998, the 22-year-old became the first presenter on the children’s show to have his contract terminated mid-run when he admitted taking the Class A drug after a Sunday tabloid broke the story. However Bacon’s telly career did survive the scandal and he went on to present The Big Breakfast and Top of The Pops and had an afternoon slot on BBC Radio 5 Live.
1998 hosts Konnie Huq, Richard Bacon, Katy Hill and Stuart Miles(Image: BBC)
Continue reading the article.
In 2014, Bacon moved across the pond to present a daytime TV show, and also admitted to addictive behaviours in the past, especially around alcohol. He claimed to be a “wife would like me to do AA all the time, but I just don’t,” but I’ve already said I’ll spend more time with our therapist looking into my drinking relationship.
When Bacon fell ill on a trip back to the UK in 2018, doctors at Lewisham hospital placed him in an induced coma because they found him to be so desperately unwell with pneumonia.
Later Richard says doctors told him, “You were lying on the hospital trolley, you were crashing. You turned blue. We predicted that you would die during cardiac arrest. Waking up nine days later after his near-death experience, Bacon discovered the London hospital ICU team had given him a tracheotomy to save his life.
Blue Peter line-up in 1988 with the late Caron Keating, youngest-ever presenter Yvette Fielding and John Leslie(Image: BBC)
Ivy, 11, and Arthur, 14, Bacon joked, “I could bring peace to the Middle East but, when I die, the top line of the obituary will be “fired from Blue Peter.” Bacon, who is now living in LA with his wife Rebecca McFarlane and their two children, respectively, joked.
John Leslie
Prior to Bacon’s stint on the show, Scottish presenter John Leslie hosted Blue Peter with the late Caron Keating and Anthea Turner from 1989 to 1994. Leslie dated Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, but he became more even more famous for his relationship with nurse and model Abi Titmuss when a video Leslie filmed of her having sex with another woman was leaked.
But Leslie’s high-flying career co-hosting This Morning with Fern Britton came crashing down in 2002 when Swedish TV presenter Ulrika Johnson wrote in her autobiography that “an acquaintance” had raped her at 19, and his name was mentioned by mistake by Matthew Wright on live TV.
Presenter John Leslie and his then girlfriend Abi Titmuss in August 2003(Image: Press Association)
He later admitted to having “lost everything overnight” and was cleared of all charges. I’d gone from earning over £300, 000 to not a single penny coming in. And I incurred legal costs of about £500,000.
Leslie resurrected through royalties and DJing after being forced to sell his £3.5 million mansion and relocate back to his hometown of Edinburgh. Having fought his way back from being a” depressed and suicidal “recluse, Leslie, now 60, is now a property developer and lives with his girlfriend Kate Moore.
However, Leslie has been the subject of both recent assault accusations, including one involving a woman who claimed he groped her breasts at a celebrity party in 2008 and another one involving allegedly putting his hand down a woman’s undergarments while dancing.
Leslie has consistently refuted both of these accusations and was found not guilty in both cases.
Yvette Fielding
Predatory paedophile Rolf Harris was a regular on many BBC programmes, but teenage Yvette Fielding, who co- presented with Mark Curry and Caron Keating when she joined aged 18 in 1987, revealed that she was molested by the disgraced entertainer after she was left alone in a TV studio with him.
She claimed to The Sun newspaper that she was unaware of the BBC’s duty to look after her and that it was “unsightful” that Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I was standing there, wondering, “I don’t know what to do.” Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and (they) left me alone in the studio with him. That wasn’t supposed to occur. I believe that many of them were aware of this.
Now 56, Fielding is best known for going on to host and co-create the paranormal TV show Most Haunted alongside her cameraman and producer husband Karl Beattie.
Most Haunted host Yvette Fielding now, and back in the early 1990s with golden retriever Bonnie in Blue Peter garden(Image: BBC)
Konnie Huq
Richard Bacon’s co-presenter Konnie Huq, who was the show’s longest female presenter from 1997 to 2008, was forced to apologise on air for a phone-in scandal which saw the BBC fined an unprecedented £50, 000 by Ofcom.
When a child could pose as a caller during a Blue Peter competition because of technical issues that prevented real calls from reaching the studio, hosts admitted that the results were faked. Later, Konnie got a cat-naming fix for the show. She admitted later”, I was horrified. I was shocked to learn that it was permitted. I made the decision to leave partly due to the scam.
Married to Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, the 49-year-old mum-of-two in London swapped TV presenting and celebrity game show panellist roles for writing books and scripts, and is now a successful children’s author.
Children’s author Konnie Huq and husband Charlie Brooker at the BAFTA awards 2020(Image: PA)
Pet scandals
It wasn’t unknown for the show to pull the wool over their young viewers ‘ eyes, and had its first scandal involving an animal in 1962. Years later, it became known that the original dog, Petra, had died of distemper two days before she made her debut on the show.
In her 1988 book, The Woman Who Made Blue Peter, veteran Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter revealed that it was impossible to traumatize our youngest viewers, so we had to search London for the dead pup’s clone.
There was also a custody battle for Blue Peter’s favourite dog Shep when legendary presenter John Noakes left after 12 years, having co-presented during the show’s golden era with Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves.
When Noakes left, the lively border collie said furiously at the time, “I thought Shep was mine – they told me I could keep him, but they went back on their word. “
Retired Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter in 2013(Image: Getty Images)
Leicester-born Biddy Baxter, now 91, explained in her book that Noakes did keep Shep until he and his wife Vicky went sailing around the world in 1982, before he was adopted by show pet carer Edith Menezes. In 2017, noakes passed away.
Duncan, Peter
In 1980, daredevil Noakes was replaced by another action man, actor Duncan, Peter, who it was revealed appeared nude in a racy film called The Lifetaker.
Duncan, who co-presented with Simon Groom, Sarah Greene, and Janet Ellis, wasn’t fired despite the outcry. He claims that it was absurd when they called me a soft porn star. Yes, there was a little soft-focus nudity, but it wasn’t salacious. ‘
For your pleasure on my 60th trailer from my 1973 “porn” film that caused trauma and headlines, Duncan even made a joke about it in 2014 when he tweeted, “For your pleasure on my 60th trailer.
Sarah Greene and Duncan, Peter attend Blue Peter’s 60th birthday in 2018(Image: PA)
In the early Noughties, Duncan and his wife Annie made a series of family holiday documentaries with their four children. Now 71, former chief scout Duncan is still busy every Christmas for panto season his Jack and the Beanstalk production.
Stars went too quickly.
When Duncan left his first stint on the show in 1984, he was replaced by Michael Sundin, who was very controversially sacked when rumours of his homosexuality circulated in the press. Unfortunately, despite being referred to as “liver cancer,” at the time, Michael passed away at the age of 28, in 1989, from an Aids-related illness.
Another presenter for the program, Gloria Hunniford’s daughter, died in April 2004 at the age of 41, leaving behind two young sons, far too young.
Peter Purves
John Noakes with Shep, Valerie Singleton with Jason and Peter Purves with Petra(Image: BBC)
However, Blue Peter’s longest serving male presenter Peter Purves, is still going strong today at 86. Purves joined the show in 1967 until 1978, and famously had a brief fling with co-presenter Valerie Singleton while he was married. The veteran presenter later admitted, “It was only one night. We remained great friends.”
The presenter also developed skin cancer from all his exotic TV destinations, telling The Mail on Sunday: “I travelled to 27 countries with Blue Peter in the 1960s and early 70s”.
Continue reading the article.
Having both defied the curse of Blue Peter, Purves is now living peacefully in rural Suffolk with his wife Kathryn Evans and their dogs, while Valerie, now 88, has never married nor had children, and after a career in radio after the show, has retired to Somerset.
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