Libya’s National Oil Corporation warns it may halt operations at the country’s largest operating refinery if drone attacks continue.

Firefighters in Libya are battling a massive blaze at the Zawiya refinery following a drone attack, with the country’s national oil company warning it may declare a force majeure and shut down operations if attacks continue.

Libya’s Ambulance and Emergency Service said in a statement on Tuesday there were no “serious injuries” from the fire, with most patients treated for smoke inhalation.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed huge flames and thick black ‌smoke billowing over the facility, the largest operating refinery in Libya with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

It is located about 40km (25 miles) west of the capital, Tripoli.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement on Facebook that the fire broke out on Monday evening at tank number 402-T, belonging to the Brega Oil Company.

It said the tank, which contained about 4.5 million litres (1.2 million gallons) of gasoline, was “directly targeted, resulting in a severe fire before the tank completely collapsed”.

The NOC said the attack followed drone strikes on a water desalination plant at the refinery on Sunday and on a naphtha reservoir on Saturday.

The company declared a “maximum emergency” in the region and urged authorities to launch an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, and the company did ‌not say who they believed was behind them.

In a statement hours later, the NOC said the refinery was “still being subject to sabotage attacks” with a drone targeting an oil blending and filling ⁠plant operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company.

It said the drone fell near its main oil tank and a pipeline network used to produce oils for the domestic market, without causing any casualties or damage.

“The company’s board of directors also confirms that if these attacks continue, it will have to declare a state of force majeure and suspend operations at the refinery,” it warned.

The Brega Oil Company, meanwhile, appealed to “all parties to stop the fighting and stay away from oil facilities and depots”. It said “oil facilities are vital infrastructure and owned by all Libyans” and that “protecting them is a national responsibility that does not tolerate any negligence”.

The attacks highlight the continuing security challenges in Libya, where rival administrations and armed groups have retained influence despite a ‌2020 ⁠ceasefire that halted major warfare. The country split in 2014 after a NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar ⁠Gaddafi in 2011.

Two governments are currently vying for power: the United Nations-recognised administration in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and a rival in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.

In a statement, the Tripoli-based government said Dbeibah held a meeting earlier in the day with key officials, including the interior minister and the chiefs of some armed groups in the capital, “to follow up on the latest security developments”.

Dbeibah “stressed the need to deal firmly with any transgressions or actions that threaten security or harm vital facilities and installations”, the statement said.

Separately, a Libyan parliamentary panel condemned the attack and called for stronger protection of oil installations.

“The House of Representatives’ Energy and Natural Resources Committee condemns in the strongest terms the criminal attack targeting the Zawiya Refinery, one of the most vital facilities in the oil and gas sector that is a cornerstone of the national economy,” it said in a statement.

Hope-Bell, Edwards and Wallace made first team debuts, as did batter Callum Nicholls, 22, and Australian paceman Connor O’Riordan, whose bid to develop in Wales after missing out in New South Wales echoes the example of county stalwart Timm van der Gugten.

Wicket-keeper Alex Horton, 22, was the top run scorer.

Nicholls and Hope-Bell played major roles in the dramatic closing win over Worcestershire, with Pontarddulais product Edwards marking his potential by taking three wickets after being thrust into the squad because of injuries.

“Of the younger lads, Jack Hope-Bell has been impressive throughout the tournament and showed again [against Worcestershire] he’s got a future here,” said Harrison.

“Callum Nicholls has had a couple of scores and to get 70 in a chase was really good. There’s a lot of experience for some of the younger players and it’s shown we’ve got a bright future ahead.”

Glamorgan are far from unique in blooding youngsters in the One Day Cup while some of their star names are away at the Hundred franchise tournament, but the perennial ambition to have a Welsh core to the team looks closer to fulfilment than has been the case since the noughties.

As well as those used, 18-year-old seam bowler Tom Norton – a breakout star of recent Championship games – missed the competition because of a back problem which will probably keep him out for the season, while batter Jacob Blades recently played for England under-19s at the age of 17.

“You’ve always got to plan for the future and this competition gave us that opportunity to develop a few of our players, playing against Ben Stokes for Durham is a great experience when they’ve watched him on TV playing for England.”

Captain Andy Gorvin, the oldest player at 29 for several matches, was compared to a school-teacher in charge of the youngsters by one opposition commentator.

“My family did tell me about that! I try to help in whatever way I can and when it doesn’t go right, it’s how to keep the guys going,” said Gorvin.

“The most important thing about sport is having the resilience to come back the next day. They’ve always tried to improve, it’s a three-week block with eight games so you improve on the job and I’ve tried to guide as well as I can, and I’ve got to improve as well.”

It’s been four years in the making, now a staggering ‘real life’ Lion King tells the story of how one cub makes it all the way to the top

When the makers of National Geographic’s Lion started out on their four-year mission to tell the story of a pride of lions in the Masai Mara, they did not think they get the real-life version of The Lion King.

But after 52 shoots over 1400 filming days in Kenya and 1,000 hours of footage, they ended up focusing on the journey undertaken by eight-week old male Kio – the first natural history series to follow a lion throughout their full journey from a tiny cub to a king.

The four-part series is the brainchild of The Lion King director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios executive producer Mike Gunton, and has a score by renowned composer Hans Zimmer. Series producer Jane Atkins said it had been a rollercoaster of emotion. “We poured so much love into the project, so I just hope that passion comes through with the way audiences receive it. We want to make films that transport people.”

Lions have a high infant mortality rate, with more than 50% not making it past their second year – and male lions are notoriously hard to follow because they are always wandering off. Jane initially thought the main story would be about a female matriarch but she soon knew that Kio, who was incredibly close to his experienced mother Summer, had potential to become the main star. “I knew it was risky, because of all the statistics, but I was backing that story quite early on. To not have a clue right at the beginning what our end story was going to be was terrifying. But we thought we must be bold, ambitious and able to shift if we don’t get the story that we want. We were playing a very kind of high-stakes gamble the whole time.”

Mike said that when he pitched the project to National Geographic all those years ago, he could only do so in the vaguest terms. “My pitch was not to tell the Lion King, it was to tell the story of a lion pride,” he explained. “None of us knew that it would end up being a male but relatively quickly this male started to stand out as a potential character. But you’d be foolish to just follow him. We were following some adult females, we were following many other lions but as time went on, he became more and more a key character.

“As time goes on, it gets increasingly risky, because you’ve invested more and more in that individual, both emotionally and in terms of footage. As you get closer and closer to the end – which is when you run out of time and money – every day, you think, please don’t die, please don’t die.”

Across the four episodes Kio not only loses important family members, he also loses his home. But over time he proves himself an equal among his older brothers, becoming strong enough to fight rival males and together he and the brotherhood take over a new pride of females, and finally take control of a new kingdom.

Jane said she has found the filming process pulled at the heartstrings in more ways than one. “We were so in love with the characters, by the end I felt really emotional, not just because I was so proud of the team, but also – this sounds strange – I was so proud of this little cub who had made it. He had become this incredible adult male, and it’s like seeing my 14-year-old son, over those years, kind of become a man.”

She said the male lions had to fight hard to succeed, which wasn’t always easy to watch. “You feel incredibly protective, so it is like having your own son, and having to sort of let go of them a little bit.” She could only relax after three and a half years of filming. “We lived and breathed every second of it,” she said. “Jon Favreau was so nervous, he’d say ‘every time you phone me, I feel like you’re about to say something terrible’. His first question was always, ‘is Kio alive?’

At one point, one of the big characters does die and director of photography Sophie Darlington had to overcome her grief to carry on filming. “The way she died was incredibly sad,” Jane said. “We had meetings straight away in the office, and people were crying and there was a lot of upset, and then we had to ask Sophie to go back out to film the aftermath of what happened on Kio and the boys.”

Mike told the Mirror that it was nerve-wracking to make a drama featuring a cast over which they had no control with one of the biggest challenges simply keeping tabs on them. “They’re not collared so we rely on the guides to find them. Every morning before dawn you’d go to where you saw them last, and hope they’re there. If they’re not you drive around and hope that you can find them.”

He said the only script was the one that “nature has written” and explained: “Our job is to just gather and pick the moments of relevant excitement.”

He said the skills of those on the ground were phenomenal. “You are spending 90% of the time with nothing, and then, bang, something will happen almost out of the blue. That’s why the skills of the trackers and the camera teams are extraordinary, they know it’s coming, they’ve got that sixth sense.”

One shocking storyline involves Kio’s mother. “Viewers are going to be shocked by Summer’s story,” Mike warns. “We knew what happened, and it was an interesting filmmaking challenge, how you tell that story without the actual imagery. But you also have to be quite careful politically about how you frame that story.”

Mike found that while it was extremely challenging – it was also incredibly rewarding. “It’s been one of the most joyful things I’ve ever worked on. I say that because it all worked ou,” he laughed. “Imagine if after three and a half years they all died – I would probably be having a very different conversation.”

Mike, who works on many of the David Attenborough series for the BBC, added: “I know epic gets overused, but it does feel, genuinely, like an epic story. I think it’s a real privilege to do something that is this epic.”

In order to know precisely what they were filming, the team gave each lion its own identification card and quickly becoming expert at identifying up to 50 lions from different prides by name and family relationships.

The four episodes will be voiced by actor OJ Lynch – because Favreau wanted the series to use a “storyteller’s voice,” as if the audience was sitting around a campfire with an elder. Lynch previously played Mufasa in the West End version of The Lion King – and also used to work at BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit. “I knew him when he was a postboy about 40 years ago,” Mike says. “I just thought his voice was fantastic. I wanted a voice that wasn’t a famous voice but could be anybody from that part of the world, and Jon felt the same. We felt this was a story that could have been told at any time – 10 years ago, 100 years ago, a thousand years ago. It’s a story of all time.”

– Lion airs on National Geographic as a double bill from Thursday 20 August at 8pm and 9pm, and also streams on Disney +

American middle-distance runner Jonah Koech has been banned from the sport for three years for blood doping.

The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said Koech’s doping violation was identified after “highly atypical blood values in his athlete biological passport (ABP)”.

An ABP tracks an athlete’s blood values over time to identify signs of doping even without a positive drug test.

Koech had emerged as the surprise winner in men’s 1500m at the US Outdoor Championships last year, finishing ahead of Ethan Strand and 2024 Olympic gold medallist Cole Hocker in a meet record three minutes 30.17 seconds.

His title has now been stripped after the 29-year-old accepted the ban “for the use of a prohibited substance and/or method”, USADA said.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Authorities in Colorado on Monday announced the arrest of Tyler Boebert, the 21-year-old son of Rep. Lauren Boebert, on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and other offenses.

The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office announced Tyler Boebert’s arrest in a statement, saying he was taken into police custody Sunday following an investigation and a felony review process by the 9th Judicial Distric Attorney’s Office.

Tyler Boebert faces three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, The Denver Gazette reported.

Bond was set at $10,000. Tyler Boebert was bonded out of the Garfield County Jail the day of his arrest, authorities said.

According to the affidavit, the charges stem from a sexually explicit video made in early 2024 allegedly of Tyler Boebert, then 18, and a a 17-year-old girl, The Gazette reported.

He is accused of producing, possessing and distributing sexually exploitative material, Colorado Public Radio reported.

The document states the investigation began following a report about an Instagram account that posted videos of teens ranging from 14 to 18 engaging in sexual activity, CPR reported, adding that one of the videos was allegedly of Tyler and the 17-year-old girl.

“I love my son,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said in a statement to media on Monday.

“We take allegations very seriously and pray for everyone affected during this challenging time.”

This is at least the third time Tyler Boebert has been arrested.

In July 2025, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor child abuse in connection with an incident involving his son. He entered a guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced next month, CPR reported.

In February 2024, he was arrested on multiple felony charges on accusations of stealing money with the use of credit and bank cards stolen from vehicles in Colorado. He pleaded guilty and received a deferred sentence plus community service and probation. CPR reported that a complaint for revocation of probation was filed in the case last year, and a sentencing hearing was also scheduled for September.

The South American nation is only the second country to recognise Israel’s claims over the illegally annexed Syrian territory.

Colombia has become only the second country to recognise Israel’s claim of sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, just days after far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella took power.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry made the announcement on Monday, joining the United States as the only other country to recognise Israel’s annexation of the territory in 1981.

“The Government of Colombia recognises Israeli sovereignty over this territory, as well as that State’s right to protect itself against external threats,” read a statement published on X.

“Colombia recognises that maintaining Israel’s control and sovereignty over the Golan Heights is an essential component of its national defence,” it added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked his “good friend” de la Espriella for the “historic” recognition.

He said the pair had agreed on the move in the Colombian city of Barranquilla a day before de la Espriella’s inauguration.

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War, before illegally annexing the territory in 1981. The move was rejected by most of the international community, although the US formally recognised Israel’s claim in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.

The United Nations recognises the region as a part of Syria, and last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated that stance, describing Israeli occupation as “totally unacceptable”.

Syria tried to regain the Golan in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, but was thwarted. Israel and Syria signed an armistice in 1974, and the Golan has been relatively quiet since.

Colombia’s recognition of the Israeli claim comes as Israel expands its military footprint in Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Israel has moved troops into a UN-monitored buffer zone and seized strategic territories, including the Syrian side of Jabal al-Sheikh (Mount Hermon), which overlooks the capital, Damascus.

De La Espriella, the new Colombian president, ran a bombastic campaign during which he promised close relations with the US and Israel as a way to combat armed groups in his country.

The US-backed millionaire has promised to restore Bogota’s ties with Israel after his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, criticised Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, severed diplomatic relations and halted Israeli arms imports.

De La Espriella has also cancelled Petro’s plans to open an embassy in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The provided text details the vibrant cultural traditions of Carnival Monday in Grenada, beginning with the early morning J’Ouvert celebrations featuring devil-themed masqueraders and satirical performers. As the day progresses, the focus shifts to the Short Knee bands, who are recognized by their unique costumes and the symbolic use of talcum powder to thank donors. The festivities culminate in a large afternoon parade through the capital, where elaborate costumed bandsdance to calypso music. Led by the Carnival King and Queen, these modern groups showcase the artistry and energy of the island’s national festival. Ultimately, the source serves as an informational guide to the specific rituals, a … 

SINGER Louise Redknapp has split from her boyfriend of over two years Drew Michael.

It was her first serious romance since the breakdown of her 19-year marriage to football pundit Jamie Redknapp, 53, almost a decade ago.

The ex-Eternal girl group star, 51, separated from the businessman and former Army officer, 42, earlier this year.

They had been dating since autumn 2023 but called time on the relationship and he is believed to have left the UK.

However, friends insist she is thriving as a singleton and she recently jetted off twice on girls’ trips to Ibiza.

A source said: “Louise and Drew decided to end things a little while ago.

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“Things had been really good between them but it felt like their relationship had run its course and they both thought it was best to move on.

“It was all very amicable and although it’s never fun when a relationship ends, Louise has thrown herself back into her social life and her busy work schedule.

Drew’s thought to have moved abroad for work so it’s been a clean break.

“She’s in no rush to jump back into another relationship because she feels very fulfilled with her life right now, but she’ll see what happens.”

Speaking about Drew last year, she said their relationship had inspired the track Manifesting on her fifth solo album, Confessions.

Louise, who shares sons Charley, 22, and Beau, 17, with Jamie, added: “Drew is great with my boys.

“He’s just a really great guy.

“I feel very lucky to have met him.”

She is now gearing up for her Naked Confessions UK tour next spring, when she will perform songs from her latest album and mark 30 years since her solo debut, Naked.

Louise separated from Jamie in 2017 following a stint on Strictly.

She said of their separation: “I couldn’t just keep on kind of just being there existing — I’m an entertainer.”

Jamie went on to wed model Frida Andersson in 2021 and they have a son, Raphael, four.

Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr has joined UCLA’s coaching staff as a special advisor to coach Bob Chesney.

The Bruins announced the hiring Monday of the 35-year-old Carr, who is volunteering in his first major coaching role.

The longtime Raiders starter will help Chesney and the Bruins’ offensive staff with game planning and strategy, and he will work with UCLA‘s quarterbacks.

“His experience, leadership and football knowledge will be an incredible resource for our coaching staff and student-athletes,” Chesney said in a statement. “What stands out most is his passion for the game and his commitment to developing young people. Derek will have a tremendous impact on our players and is a great addition to our program.”

Chesney and his staff are in their first season in Westwood after he was hired away from James Madison last December. Carr’s connection to the job was through Bruins general manager Darrick Yray, an offensive assistant and an assistant director of football operations at Fresno State during Carr’s prolific career with the Bulldogs.

“I’ve known Darrick for a long time and have great respect for the work he’s done throughout his career,” Carr said in a statement. “The opportunity to help coach Chesney, the staff and the quarterbacks at UCLA was one that really excited me. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and helping support the program in any way I can.”

Carr is 22nd in NFL history after passing for 41,245 yards during his 11-season career with the Raiders and the New Orleans Saints. He is the Raiders’ career leader in yards passing, completions and passing touchdowns.

Carr was a four-time Pro Bowl selection in Oakland and Las Vegas. After two subsequent seasons as the Saints’ starter, Carr retired from the NFL in May 2025 because of a serious right shoulder injury.

Carr’s No. 4 is retired at Fresno State after he passed for 12,842 yards and 113 touchdowns, leading the nation in both categories in 2013 while winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy.

At UCLA, Carr will work with presumptive starter Nico Iamaleava, the Tennessee transfer and Long Beach native who passed for 1,928 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Bruins. Iamaleava’s younger brother, Madden, is expected to be their backup quarterback in his second season in the program.

Even before this high-profile addition to his staff, Chesney was already building early momentum in his significant rebuilding project at a program that has foundered over the past decade.

Chip Kelly produced six mediocre seasons before he bolted from Westwood in February 2024, leaving the Bruins in the lurch after that winter’s coaching cycle had largely ended. Former UCLA star DeShaun Foster took over on short notice, but was fired three games into his second season last fall before the Bruins finished 3-9.

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., released a new cybersecurity bill, the Water Cyber Shield Act, on Monday in an effort to meet increased cybersecurity needs for U.S. water infrastructure.

This follows recent cyberattacks on more than 30 municipal water systems throughout Minnesota and other states last month. Officials suspect that they may originate from Iran-based hackers.

While utilities regained control over their systems and water supplies were not affected, CBS News reported, cybersecurity experts saidthe attacks exposed longstanding weaknesses.

A press release from Schiff, the top Democrat on the Fisheries,Water and Wildlife subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the act would strengthen federal oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency, provide important funding for local utilities and protect drinking water and wastewater systems from cyberattacks.

“Every American depends on safe, reliable drinking water, yet recent events have exposed just how vulnerable our water systems remain toc yberattacks by foreign adversaries and criminal entities,” Schiff said in a statement. “These threats are not hypothetical — they are happening right now.This legislation gives EPA the tools the tools it needs to protect thiscritical infrastructure while providing the resources that local water and wastewater systems need to strengthen their cybersecurity without passing the cost on to ratepayers.”

The bill would increase drinking water and clean water state revolving funds by $300 million annually, The Hill reported. It would requirethe EPA to work with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish basic cybersecurity standards for drinking water systems.

“The recent cybersecurity attacks on Minnesota have highlighted the urgent need to improve the security of our water systems and critical infrastructure,” Klobuchar said. “Our legislation will direct the EPA to assess water infrastructure cybersecurity and identify vulnerabilities, and help municipal water systems defend against cyber threats.”

President Donald Trump has signed an order that calls for fewer childhood vaccines and also recommends splitting the mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) shots.

“Decades ago, children received only a small fraction of the vaccines required today,” Trump said on Monday. “In those times, people were much healthier and of course the high rates of autism now observed did not exist.”

The president has long cast doubt on the safety of MMR vaccines, but multiple studies have found no connection between the shots and autism.

The order also recommends that the number of childhood vaccines drop to 11 from the existing 18 recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said that his administration “is recognising gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations for only 11 core vaccinations against the most serious and dangerous diseases”.

The immunisations recommended for all children under the order are for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, and varicella or chicken pox.

“We’re reducing them,” Trump said. “It’s not only that you’re doing fewer vaccines, or jabs, as they say, but you’re doing them in a series of visits to the doctor.”

The president suggested that the MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal” if given at once. He compared it to pouring a bottle of soda into a child’s body.

Experts say that allowing time between jabs means children are more likely to contract diseases in the interim or that they are more likely to miss appointments if there are multiple shots.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, external (CDC), there is “no published scientific evidence that shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots”.

The agency says “most people who get MMR vaccine do not have any serious problems with it”, and that getting the vaccine “is much safer than getting measles, mumps, or rubella”.

Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F Kennedy Jr said the proposed changes were meant to give parents choice, not prohibit access to childhood vaccines.

The federal government does not have the authority to implement the new recommendations. Shots that are required for school attendance are set at the state level.

Dr Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, called Trump’s executive order “disheartening” and “dangerous”, pointing out it comes as measles cases reach a 35-year high in the US. Measles cases have also been rising globally.

“Instead of ensuring every family can access life-saving vaccines for measles, influenza, RSV and more, federal leaders are once again spreading misleading claims,” Racine said in a statement on Monday.

He said there was no new evidence to justify the significant changes, adding that the order was not based on “gold-standard science”.

“Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school,” Racine said.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy also admonished Trump’s executive order on Monday, labelling it “wrong”.

“The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” Cassidy, who is a physician, wrote on social media. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.”

The lawmaker, who chairs the Senate health committee, urged parents to “listen to their child’s pediatrician about vaccines rather than listening to an inaccurate executive order”.

Experts fear that if parents refrain from getting their children vaccinated as a result of the discredited idea that childhood vaccines are linked to autism, it risks the re-emergence of diseases like measles.

Multiple studies have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. A recent high-quality study from Denmark in 2019 looked at 657,461 children and concluded that the data did not support the MMR vaccine causing or triggering autism.

On its website, the US CDC recommends that two doses of the combined MMR vaccine be given to children, starting with the first dose at 12-15 months and the second between the ages of four and six.

How often and how many vaccines children in the US receive is based on the times when vaccines will work best with their immune systems and when they are most vulnerable to certain diseases, according to the AAP.

There is no medical reason to delay or skip recommended immunisations, the AAP says.

More than 780 flights were scheduled to depart from Sydney Airport on Tuesday, with almost 140 of these flights expected to face delays of about 45 minutes

Passengers at three major Australian airports have been warned of flight disruptions amid strong winds.

Several flights leaving from Sydney were cancelled on Tuesday, August 11, with more delays expected throughout the day.

A spokesperson for the airport told a local news site: “Strong winds are affecting operations at Sydney Airport and flight delays are expected throughout the day.”

Passengers were advised to check the latest status of their flight before heading to the airport.

A spokesman for carrier Qantas also told the news site that that two flights from Melbourne and one from Brisbane were cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

Passengers on the flights have been rebooked onto other services.

More than 780 flights were scheduled to depart from Sydney Airport on Tuesday, according to Airservices Australia’s daily plan.

Almost 140 of these flights are expected to face delays of about 45 minutes, a local news outlet reported.

The ground delay program will be in place until 2pm due to the strong winds.

A Melbourne Airport spokesman said it had also been hit with delays and cancellations, though operations remained “relatively normal”

Close to 620 flights were scheduled to depart Melbourne Airport on Tuesday. Almost 200 flights will face delays, according to the Airservices Australia plan.

The travel disruptions come after two passenger jets narrowly avoided a ground collision at Sydney Airport and major flight delays throughout the weekend.

The close call followed days of chaos for thousands of travellers through the hub, as control tower staffing issues delayed more than 100 international and domestic flights.

Emmerdale star Christopher Coghill, who plays villain Kev Barton, was once struck over the head with a handbag by a fan who was horrified at his on-screen behaviour

Soap star Christopher Coghill has discussed what happened during a bizarre fan encounter in Selfridges.

The actor, who portrays Kev Barton in ITV soap Emmerdale, describes his character as “a sympathetic psychopath, if you will”, adding he remains unfazed about being typecast as a villain following his stint playing paedophile Tony King in EastEnders in 2008.

He said: “You’ve got to give people a bit of credit. When I started in EastEnders, there were people who were like, ‘You know, there are people out there who really can’t tell the difference between what they see on telly and real life, and because of the character you’re playing, you’re going to get a lot of shit, and you might need police protection’.

“And then you go out, and people go, ‘Oh, you’re brilliant in EastEnders’, and that was kind of it. I did get hit over the head with a handbag in Selfridges, but apart from that..”

His Emmerdale colleague William Ash, who takes on the role of Caleb Miligan, said he’s encountered similar reactions, adding: “People are genuinely generally really nice. You don’t get any grief, really. I did have one woman at the at the petrol station going ‘oh, you’re right horrible to Moira’.”

The duo, who previously shared the screen in the 2003 drama Burn It and portrayed brothers in both the 2006 one-off comedy Magnolia and a 2016 episode of Moving On, find themselves embroiled in an Emmerdale storyline centred on an assault on Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) at the depot.

Kev is responsible for the attack and Caleb possesses CCTV footage of the incident, but has been concealing it so he can pin the blame on his bitter rival, Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).

Coghill said of the footage: “I hold my hands up, it does look bad – I am bent over him with a crowbar and he’s in a pool of blood.”

Yet it might not prove to be the leverage that Caleb believes it to be.

Ash said: “I think [Caleb and wife Ruby, played by Beth Cordingly] just don’t know how to handle him, like most people in the village. It’s like he’s such a loose cannon. You just don’t know what you’re going to get from him.”

Coghill is equally insistent that he wants no further singing scenes for his character, following his on-screen serenade to estranged husband Robert (Ryan Hawley) with If You’re Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield, and his subsequent attempt to convey his emotions to long-lost son Lewis (Bradley Riches) through a rendition of Boyzone’s Father And Son.

Coghill said: “Do you know what, [producer] Laura Shaw did say to me the other week, do you want to do All I Want For Christmas Is You? And I said, if you keep me till Christmas 2029, I’ll do it then. That’s how my contract negotiations are going. But no, it’s excruciating. Horrible.

“If I could sing, I wouldn’t be an actor. If I could sing, I would have been in a band in the 1990s.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and STV, and is available to stream from 7am on ITVX, STV Player and YouTube.

Hunt could have as many as three opportunities to add to her tally this week, as se competes in the 200m and both the women’s and mixed 4x100m relay events.

Typically not the quickest off the blocks at almost six-foot tall, Hunt was seventh in the eight-athlete final after the first 10m.

But she held her form superbly to overhaul her rivals and end her wait for gold, just two years after finishing seventh in the previous European final in Rome.

“I just had such a magical feeling,” Hunt said.

“I’ve won English Schools here, raced here as a 13, 14-year-old. I just had a feeling that this was going to be my night.

“My first gold. I think it was definitely time for an upgrade, and I’m now kind of fully established.”

British record holder Asher-Smith lined up in Birmingham as the defending champion – but the 30-year-old could not force her way into medal contention.

Asher-Smith, bidding to win a historic seventh gold and become the joint-most successful athlete in the history of the championships, finished fifth in 11.10, as Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (11.02) and Belgian Delphine Nkansa (11.06) completed the podium.

Like Hunt, Asher-Smith will have further opportunities to draw level with Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who earlier won a superb 5,000m gold on his comeback from injury.

Both will return to action on Wednesday, when attention turns to the women’s 200m medals before the weekend’s relays.

Grace Adama puts on her earrings in her two-room flat in Abuja before grabbing her handbag and heading to work.

The health NGO worker earns 135,000 naira ($99) a month, nearly twice Nigeria’s minimum wage. Yet she says her income now disappears within days as the cost of housing, electricity and food continues to rise.

“If I’m paid today, my salary stays with me just for one week,” she told Reuters. “If you see the cost of living, house, electricity, everything has gone up.”

Adama’s experience reflects a wider cost-of-living crisis confronting millions of Nigerians as the country approaches elections. Living standards have deteriorated sharply since President Bola Tinubu introduced a series of sweeping economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies, the devaluation of the naira and reductions in electricity subsidies.

The government and investors argue that the reforms were necessary to prevent a deeper fiscal crisis and put Africa’s largest oil producer on a more sustainable economic path.

But for many ordinary Nigerians, the promised benefits have yet to materialise.

The cost of preparing the country’s staple jollof rice has more than doubled since Tinubu took office, according to Lagos-based SBM Intelligence. Petrol prices, meanwhile, have risen roughly sixfold following the removal of subsidies, the weakening of the naira and higher global oil prices.

With elections approaching in January, Tinubu faces the difficult task of convincing voters that the economic pain they have endured will eventually translate into better living standards.

NIGERIANS FEEL THE PAIN AS INVESTORS CHEER

The contrast between economic indicators and everyday life has become increasingly striking.

The World Bank estimates that just over half of Nigeria’s population lived in poverty last year, compared with roughly 42% in 2022.

Some Nigerians have responded to the rising costs by cutting household spending, moving to cheaper accommodation and relying on loans to cover basic expenses.

Adama said she had stopped buying meat regularly, moved to a smaller apartment and was still forced to take short-term loans to pay her bills. She also said she could no longer send money to her elderly mother in Benue state as she had done previously.

“I can’t even send money to my aged mother at home,” she said. “I can’t do a lot of things that I used to do before.”

Yet investors have taken a markedly more positive view of Nigeria’s economic direction.

“This is the most positive investors have been about Nigeria probably in the last two decades,” said Thys Louw, a portfolio manager at Ninety One. “They’re taking the tough medicine now.”

That divergence creates a major political challenge for Tinubu. Financial markets can respond positively to reforms long before their benefits reach households, while voters tend to judge governments according to the immediate cost of food, transport, housing and electricity.

Tinubu has been nicknamed “T-Pain” by some Nigerians frustrated by the rising cost of living.

REFORMS AIM TO END YEARS OF ECONOMIC DISTORTIONS

Tinubu inherited an economy burdened by years of policies that had created significant distortions.

Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the government maintained petrol subsidies, imposed import restrictions and operated tight currency controls. While those measures were intended to protect consumers and encourage domestic production, they also contributed to shortages, foreign-exchange difficulties and growing pressure on government finances.

Fuel subsidies alone cost the government around $10 billion in 2022.

“We were living in fiscal illusions,” Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said at a recent event in Abuja. “We needed to stop deceiving ourselves so the country can move forward.”

Tinubu’s government therefore moved quickly after taking office to dismantle several of those policies.

The removal of fuel subsidies immediately pushed up transportation and living costs. Currency reforms also caused the naira to lose significant value, increasing the cost of imported goods.

The government argues that these measures were unavoidable and that rebuilding the economy requires accepting short-term pain.

There are signs of progress.

Nigeria’s stock market has risen close to 60% this year. Capital inflows reached a six-year high of $23 billion last year, while the opening of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery has created hopes that domestic refining will eventually reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

The government has also pointed to increased investment in domestic oil assets as evidence that its reforms are attracting capital.

But those improvements have not necessarily translated into better household finances.

A BOOMING STOCK MARKET, BUT FEW CAN INVEST

Nigeria’s financial markets have benefited significantly from renewed investor confidence.

However, fewer than 5% of Nigerian adults invest in capital markets, according to the Nigerian stock exchange.

Much of the recent capital inflow has also been concentrated in short-term financial instruments such as Treasury bills, allowing foreign investors to quickly withdraw their money if economic conditions deteriorate.

For ordinary Nigerians, borrowing remains extremely expensive.

The central bank’s key interest rate stands at 26.5% as policymakers attempt to control inflation, which remains close to 16%.

That makes it difficult for businesses to expand and for households to access affordable credit.

At the same time, petrol prices average roughly 1,600 naira ($1.18) per litre nationally. Although that is lower than prices in neighbouring Ghana and Ivory Coast, it remains prohibitively expensive for many Nigerians who had become accustomed to subsidised fuel.

“The solution for me is for government to bring the fuel price down,” said Lagos food seller Eji Uchenna.

She said customers who once purchased food in bulk can no longer afford to do so.

POLITICAL PRESSURE BUILDS

The economic pressure is increasingly becoming a political issue.

In June, federal workers rejected a proposed 100,000-naira minimum wage and threatened an indefinite nationwide strike.

A June voter sentiment tracker by SBM Intelligence found that 80% of Nigerians believed the country was moving in the wrong direction.

Economic hardship is not the only concern. Security, particularly widespread kidnapping, remains a major issue for voters.

Yet widespread dissatisfaction does not necessarily mean Tinubu is vulnerable at the ballot box.

Nigeria’s opposition remains fragmented, reducing the likelihood that dissatisfaction will automatically translate into a coordinated electoral challenge.

“The opposition is disunited, and… the only way the opposition beats Tinubu is if they are united,” said Cheta Nwanze, chief executive of SBM Intelligence.

That gives Tinubu some political space to continue pursuing his economic programme despite the public backlash.

THE TEST IS WHETHER GROWTH REACHES HOUSEHOLDS

Investors remain optimistic that the reforms will eventually produce stronger economic growth, lower inflation and greater investment.

Louw said that if the government maintains its policies, workers could begin to benefit as inflation falls and interest rates decline.

But the transition remains painful, and the government faces growing pressure to ensure that economic gains are not concentrated among investors and businesses while ordinary households continue to struggle.

The central challenge is therefore no longer simply whether Nigeria’s reforms are economically necessary. It is whether the government can make those reforms politically and socially sustainable.

Tinubu must demonstrate that the sacrifices demanded from Nigerians are producing tangible improvements in their daily lives before voters head to the polls.

Finance Minister Oyedele acknowledged that the government must do more to ensure that economic recovery translates into broader prosperity.

“When inequality persists, it becomes dangerous,” he said. “It’s like sitting on gunpowder; it explodes.”

For Nigeria, the coming election will therefore offer a test not only of Tinubu’s political standing but of whether a painful programme of economic reform can deliver benefits quickly enough for ordinary citizens to believe in it.

With information from Reuters.

Ben Jones, the actor best known for portraying trusty mechanic Cooter Davenport on “The Dukes of Hazzard” before serving two terms in Congress as a representative from Georgia, has died. He was 84.

Jones died Sunday of a heart attack at his home in Virginia, his wife, Alma Viator, said on social media.

“I lost the love of my life today,” Viator wrote on Facebook. “Ben passed from a massive heart attack. He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the Braves to come on and whoop the Yankees. Ben had the most amazing rich full life. He loved and was loved by so many. He will be missed. I loved him so so much.”

A character actor whose earliest credits include films such as “Together for Days” (1972) and “Moonrunners” (1975), Jones’ break came when he landed the role of “Crazy Cooter” Davenport on the CBS action comedy “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The series, which aired from 1979 to 1985, primarily followed close-knit cousins Bo (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), as well as those in their orbit in the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia.

“The Dukes of Hazzard lost another integral part of their cast today,” Wopat wrote in his tribute to Jones on Instagram. “Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business. He will be sorely missed… Denver Pyle frequently said to Ben, ‘I’m not your Uncle Jesse!’ But I feel like we lost a Duke cousin today.”

Initially introduced as a gruff wild man without much regard for the law, Davenport eventually settled into a loyal, fun-loving “honorary Duke” beloved by fans. The mechanic would often help repair the show’s signature vehicle, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger known as General Lee.

Despite mixed reviews from critics — former Times television critic Howard Rosenberg denounced it in 1980 as “a spittoon of a series about hotrod-speeding, card-carrying hicks somewhere in the South” — “Dukes” was one of the most-watched television shows of its time. Jones would return to play Davenport after his political career in the TV films “The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!” and “The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood,” where the character was also revealed to have ventured into politics as a congressman.

Born Aug. 30, 1941, in Tarboro, N.C., Jones grew up in Virginia and North Carolina before eventually attending the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to study writing. He was open about his struggles with alcohol and told The Times in 1993 that he had been sober since 1977.

After his time on “Dukes,” Jones was persuaded to run for office, challenging a popular Republican incumbent, Pat Swindall, for his seat representing Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives. Though he lost his first attempt in 1986, Jones won their rematch two years later after Swindall had been indicted for perjury in relation to a money-laundering scheme. (Swindall was later convicted.)

Jones, a Democrat, served two terms representing Georgia’s 4th Congressional District before redistricting took his seat. He later attempted to challenge then-Rep. Newt Gingrich for his seat but lost in the primary. He ran for office again after moving to Virginia, challenging Republican incumbent Eric Cantor for his seat in 2002 but was again unsuccessful.

“I think there are a lot of similarities between politics and entertainment, even more so with the advent of television,” Jones told The Times in 1993, shortly after leaving office. “It’s all about communication.”

Proud of his Southern heritage, Jones was also known for his controversial defense of the Confederate flag, which he described in a 2015 essay published by the New York Times as “a symbol of a non-racist Southern spirit” that had been “appropriated and desecrated” by racists.

Jones is survived by Viator, his fifth wife; his three children, Rachel, Jeanne and Walker; three stepchildren and 10 grandchildren, according to the New York Times.

Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington has told her critics to do their “research” amid the ongoing furore from her on-court confrontation with Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham and subsequent social media post.

Carrington was ejected from her side’s WNBA defeat for committing a hard foul on Cunningham, and then posted “white privilege” on social media tagging Indiana Fever.

Her actions have been heavily criticised by several American sports analysts, including former NFL star Emmanuel Acho.

On the Speakeasy – Podcast, Acho said: “It was not a race-based decision. To call that a white privilege-based foul is to completely undermine the term of white privilege and to also completely ignore the rules in basketball.

“You hit her in the head. You drew blood. You didn’t connect with the ball at all whatsoever. So to me, it was just very ignorant and, to some degree, asinine by DiJonai Carrington to suggest that that call was based on white privilege.”

However, that has prompted Carrington, 28, to issue a response on social media, external although she is yet to fully explain the meaning of her post in the aftermath of the game.

Writing on X Carrington, said: “I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege [that was your assumption].

“Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych.

“Furthermore, I’m the last thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on ‘white privilege’, do ya research on that one. I actually went to school, one of the top universities might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject.

“I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it.”

Asked about the post after her team won 90-86, Cunningham said: “I think the league is taking care of that.

“This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out, and I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.”