Matthew Lillard has been campaigning for a while.

He wanted to get back into the “Scream” franchise. Of course his character, Stu Macher, could survive a television being dropped on his head (though it’s said that he was electrocuted). Lillard even thought about dropping an actual TV on his head to prove that it was possible. Luckily, he didn’t go through with it, becausea lot of TV figuratively dropped on his head anyway.

The “Scooby-Doo” actor has been cast in several high-profile projects. He’s on “Cross,” the Amazon Prime show starring Aldis Hodge as a homicide detective and forensic psychologist. He will be in the eight-episode “Carrie” miniseries — yes, that Carrie — developed by filmmaker Mike Flanagan for Amazon MGM Studios. He’s dipping his toes in the Marvel cinematic pond with a role in Netflix’s “Daredevil: Born Again.”

On the big screen, he’s prepping for a third “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

And his campaign paid off: He’s in the newest chapter of the popular “Scream” franchise — which just released its final trailer earlier this week.

All of this from an actor whom Quentin Tarantino (speaking on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast”) “doesn’t care for.” Lillard has answered questions about and commented on Tarantino’s viral comments often in the last few months. An actor for almost four decades, Lillard says he has built up a thick skin, but the comments were hurtful.

He talks about those comments, along with his recent projects, working with friends and his constant desire to say “F— ICE.”

So. Tarantino said some things about your (and Paul Dano’s) acting prowess …

Look, candidly, it was a weird moment. It was a bummer. It was a drag at the beginning. But I’ll say this — I have never felt so seen by this industry. My entire career, I felt like a blue-collar working-class actor trying to be in the best movies and do the best work I possibly can. In that moment, along comes an industry that I’ve served now for 35 years, rising up and saying really lovely things. I said, in the past, it felt like I was living through my own wake. You don’t normally see that outpouring of love until after somebody passes. At the end of the day, it ends up being a really beautiful moment for me.

It’s not like I’m this fragile little thing. I’ve been around a long time. Did it suck? Sure.

This Quentin Tarantino thing … I’m good. I love his films. It also sucked because I was like, “Oh, I would love to get in there and kick ass for him.” But whatever. It is not about the box office wins that week. It’s about a body of work, a community of friends, and longevity that really defines. Which is the goal, and it defines a life well spent.

You mentioned longevity, and a quick IMDb search shows that Shaggy is your world! There’s so much “Scooby–Doo.” Straight-to-video. Live-action. Video games.

Yeah. Isn’t that crazy?

Looking back, how did you approach doing the voice work and being in the movies, and what was your thought process when that first came to you?

My first thought process was, “I’m getting that job.” I’m like, “I will kill that.” The way I got into the voice was that I would have to scream myself hoarse. I’ll never forget coming down and being in the car, an empty Warner Bros. lot, screaming to prepare my voice for the audition, and having Chuck Roven, the producer, walk by and knock on the window and be like, “Dude, are you OK?”

The first movie was so successful that I felt like I was launched. James Gunn and I went in and pitched “Plastic Man” at Warner Bros. I felt like, “Oh, I’m now an option to be No. 1 on a call sheet.” Then “Scooby-Doo 2” came out, didn’t do great, and started a reset of my career that took a couple of years.

I look back now at 56 years old and think, without that, I wouldn’t be in this career. I don’t know if I would have been around long enough to get this comeback that I’m in the middle of and enjoying.

“Scream 7” revisits one of the most successful horror franchises ever. How did you feel about being approached to come back? Can you say much about your role?

Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

(Brownie Harris / Paramount Pictures / Spyglass Media Group)

I’m not going to lie, I was over the moon. At some point, right before I got the offer, probably three or four months before I got the offer, [“Scream” franchise creator] Kevin Williamson put it out in the world that the “Scream” franchise does not need Matthew Lillard. I remember reading that and thinking to myself, “Why don’t you just leave me alone? I’m planning on getting back in.”

[Film producers] Radio Silence had set up in [the fifth and sixth films] the potential or the whisperings that Stu was still alive. So I was like, “We’re trending in the right direction here. Why is Kevin Williamson kicking me in the teeth?” And the funny thing is, he called me in the middle of the afternoon and he’s like, “Are you interested in coming back?” I was super excited. And … there’s not a lot I can say about the movie, for obvious reasons. But I think that people are going to be really excited.

You’re continuing in the horror field with “Carrie.” No release date yet, but what can you say about it?

I had a small scene [in “Life of Chuck”], but the scene’s great and the movie’s beautiful. I saw Kevin Williamson at [“Life of Chuck” and “Carrie” producer] Mike Flanagan’s house because we were playing a game of “Mafia.” I was doing “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and I was sitting talking to Mike and he was talking about doing “Carrie” and everything he’s got coming up. After he and I did “Life of Chuck,” he’s like, “Well, congratulations. You’re now in the Flanafam.” He works a lot with the same actors.

I finally got up the courage to say, “Hey, listen, what is that? I mean, if I’m in the Flanafam, what does that mean? How does that work? Am I supposed to tell you my schedule?” He’s like, “Oh, no, no, no. I have a part for you in ‘Carrie.’ I want you to come and do ‘Carrie’ if you’re interested.”

Everyone knows the story. Carrie, pig blood, all that. But that De Palma version only uses certain specific aspects of the book. The thing I’m excited about is that Mike Flanagan pulls in elements of the book that are not necessarily in the first film, and then adds headlines ripped from today’s day and age in terms of bullying and things we’re seeing in social media and all of that. So he’s giving it a new lens to look at what bullying looks like for kids today. I saw the first three episodes — the entire cast gathered at a screening room — and it blew me away.

Summer Howell plays Carrie, and she’s incredible, and Sam Sloyan plays her mother. There’s three basic parties. There’s the kids, there’s the parents, and then there’s the faculty. I play the principal at the school, watching the entire thing fall apart around them.

You’re also dipping your toes in the world of Marvel with “Daredevil: Born Again.”

I can talk about “Daredevil” a little. I played Dungeon & Dragons with three incredible showrunners. Dario Scardapane, who runs “Daredevil,” Matt Nix, who’s doing the new “Baywatch,” and then Elwood Reid, who does “Tracker.” I’m their dungeon master. We play with Abraham Benrubi, this beautiful actor (“ER,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), a dear friend of mine. … Dario brought me in to play Mr. Charles [on “Daredevil: Born Again”], who’s like a CIA spook. He’s a guy that controls power from afar. He helps nations rise and fall, but he’s very clandestine. He is not impressed by the powers of [Vincent] D’Onofrio’s character [Kingpin] at all. He and I get into this really delicious struggle over power. It’s good. It’s fun.

Matthew Lillard taps “Scream” vibes with Ghost Face Vodka, whose release will coincide with the seventh installment of the film franchise.

(Andreas Branch)

You’ve combined storytelling with alcohol for your lines of whiskey, vodkas and the like. How did you decide to mix the two?

I started a Dungeons & Dragons company six years ago now called Beadle & Grimm’s. Somebody approached me about building a spirits company around Dungeons & Dragons.For me, what I heard in that was like, “Hey, build a luxury item for niche communities that people don’t always respect and know and understand.” My experience with Beadle & Grimm’s was very clear. They will come out and support it.

So we created Quest’s End Whiskey. Quest’s End is a 16-bottle drop over four years. Each bottle is a different character class, but each bottle delivers a new chapter of an ongoing saga. We sold out in the first two weeks. In a week, we had 25,000 people on the waiting list to purchase that first bottle.

I know the impact that “Scream” [has] had on the horror community. I realized that if we could license the [intellectual property] of [film villain] Ghostface that we could make something super badass that fans would go crazy for. It took us a while to secure those rights. But once we did, we built Ghost Face Vodka.Our hope was to sell 2,000 units of a collector’s edition. We had 40,000 people sign up for early access in the first 72 hours.

Ghost Face Vodka has a game on the back, a QR code. When you sit down, all your people can hit that QR code with their smartphones and load an automated game of “Mafia.” It’s a communal game. It’s like two or three of you are Mafia members, and you have to figure out who that is. And it’s super fun. Again, trying to build community. Our hope is that, launching around “Scream 7,” it’s going to catch the zeitgeist and blow up.

Lastly, we have “Cross,” your most current TV project.

Matthew Lillard in “Cross.”

(Ian Watson / Amazon MGM Studios Prime Video)

I’m in love with that creative team and Aldis Hodge and everything he represents. I don’t think people understand that that show did 40 million views in the first 20 days for Amazon. It is unapologetically a Black show that … it feels like it’s being ripped from the headlines. I think Aldis Hodge and the creative team do an incredible job representing a man who is a Black man as a detective in this world. The relationships, the friendships, the bonds he has with his community — just being around that creative team has been really inspiring, and [show creator] Ben Watkins is an incredible storyteller.

I think the thing about “Cross” is that it really challenges you, especially given what we’re living through in this moment. I have to say it — politically speaking, we’re in a s— storm. I went viral a month ago about saying, ‘F— ICE.’ But … f— ICE.

Could you describe your character?

Another dubious character. He’s a billionaire named Lance Durand, and he’s out to solve world hunger. Sometimes, a billionaire has very questionable scruples as to the best ways to go about things. Solve world hunger, kill all the people. That’s how you do it.

The whole series opens up with a bunch of middle-aged white men on an island doing horrible things to girls. So when I say “ripped from the freaking headlines” … It’s, like, crazy.

Real Madrid have launched an investigation after a supporter allegedly performed a Nazi salute before the club’s Champions League win against Benfica on Wednesday.

Prior to the kick-off at the Bernabeu, a fan appeared to make the fascist gesture as the television cameras panned around the 83,000-seater stadium.

The fan was identified by security staff moments later and ejected from the ground.

Real beat Portuguese side Benfica 2-1 in the second leg of their knockout round play-off tie to progress 3-1 on aggregate to the last 16 of the Champions League.

In a statement, the Spanish club said they have asked its disciplinary committee “to initiate an immediate expulsion procedure” for the fan.

“Real Madrid condemns this type of gesture and expression that incites violence and hatred in sports and society,” it added.

WHEN it comes to jetting off this Easter it can be hard to pick the best destination for both affordability and great weather.

But that’s where Marmaris comes in; affordable with beautiful beaches and cheap hotels that have swimming pools and splash parks.

Which? did a price check of more than 3,000 package holidays over the Easter break – and Marmaris was revealed as the cheapest.

The resort town in the Mediterranean came out on top for the most affordable seven-night packages which were an average of just £594 per person.

It also came up trumps for average daily temperatures which can reach a high of 20C in spring – and nine hours of sunshine a day.

It’s not the first time Marmaris has been named one of the cheapest holiday destinations either.

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Last year, Post Office Travel Money partnered with tour operator TUI revealed Marmaris to be the ‘best value summer holiday resort‘.

According to Numbeo, a local beer can cost as little as £1.43 and a meal at an inexpensive restaurant can start from just £3.37.

And a three-course meal for two starts from just £20.21.

Sadly, the Atlantis Waterpark is closed until May, but there are plenty of hotels that have swimming pools and splash parks too.

Sun Travel found a 7-nights stay for a family of four on an all-inclusive package from £409pp (from March 31 to April 7, 2026).

Stay at the 4-star Pineta Park Deluxe Hotel – it’s a short walk from the beach and has multiple swimming pools, two restaurants and a kids’ club.

With Jet2holidays, a 7-night stay at Club Exelsior for a family of four during the Easter break costs £495pp.

The hotel has apartment-style rooms with a huge splash park and outdoor play area.

It also offers child-free places, has a kids’ club and entertainment program.

Of course there are plenty of incredible beaches too.

The main stretch is Uzunyali Beach, also known as Long Beach, but there are lots of others slightly further afield.

Just five miles away from the town centre is Icmeler Beach which is said to be a ‘family-friendly favourite’.

It has golden sands as well as calm and shallow waters making it an ideal spot for paddling.

There are also restaurants and cafes on the shoreline so it’s very easy to get a bite to eat, or drink.

Turunc Beach is a quiet spot away from the busy town centre and Kumlubük Beach which is popular for snorkelling.

Head to the Topkapi Bazaar if you want to try your hand at haggling and collect some local gifts or souvenirs.

For those who want a bit of adventure you can even explore some of Greece from Marmaris.

A popular daytrip is to head to the island of Rhodes which is just a one-hour ferry ride away.

Cheap Easter holiday breaks in 2026…

Here are the cheapest Easter holiday destinations in 2026 by Which?…

1. Marmaris
2. Krakow
3. Albufeira
4. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
5. Benidorm
6. Prague
7. Budapest
8. Porto
9. Milan
10. Dubrovnik

Here are other cheap family holiday destinations under three hours from the UK that are over 20C this Easter.

For more on Easter holidays, here’s where you can find guaranteed sun – with highs of 28C and UK flights from 3.5 hours.

The 2025/26 Champions League playoff round has now concluded, with the likes of Real Madrid, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and Atletico Madrid booking their places in the last 16.

The remaining teams will discover their opponents and potential route to the final on Friday when UEFA holds the last 16 draw.

Here is everything you need to know about the timing, format and seeding of the draw, as well as the teams still vying for glory in European football’s largest club competition.

When will UEFA hold the draw?

The draw is set to take place at 11:00 GMT on Friday, February 27, 2026, in Nyon, Switzerland.

It will determine which teams play each other in the last 16, quarterfinals and semifinals.

How does the draw work?

The eight winners of the playoffs will face the teams that finished in the top eight of the league phase in a knockout format.

The draw will determine the potential path to the final, as every team will know their possible quarterfinal and semifinal opponents.

The last 16, quarterfinal, and semifinal fixtures will be played over two legs, while the final will be a single match.

Which teams have made it through to the last 16?

Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Sporting Lisbon, and Tottenham Hotspur had already made it through to the last 16 as top-eight league stage finishers.

Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt, Galatasaray, Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid made it through the playoffs.

When will the last-16 ties be played?

The first legs of the last 16 ties will take place on March 10-11, with the second legs scheduled for March 17-18.

When are the quarterfinals, semifinals and final?

The quarterfinals will take place on April 7-8 and April 14-15.

The semifinals will be held on April 28-29 and May 5-6.

The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, will host the final on May 30.

Who could the biggest teams play in the last 16?

Real Madrid will face either Manchester City or Sporting Lisbon. If Man City are not drawn against Madrid, they will face Bodo/Glimt.

Paris Saint-Germain will face either Barcelona or Chelsea. Barcelona could also end up facing Newcastle United.

Liverpool will face either Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray.

Arsenal or Bayern Munich will play Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen.

Who are the surprise packages?

Norway’s Bodo/Glimt, a tiny club based in the Arctic Circle, made it through to the last 16 after beating Inter Milan in the playoffs and humbling Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the league stage.

Turkish champions Galatasaray also reached the last 16 following thrilling playoff games against Juventus. The Istanbul club beat Juve 5-2 at home, before falling to a 3-0 deficit in the second leg – only to win the tie with two extra-time goals.

How does seeding affect the draw?

Seeded teams – those that finished in the top eight of the league stage – will have the supposed advantage of playing their second last 16 legs at home.

Where teams are placed in the league stage will also affect the seeding for subsequent rounds.

The teams that finished in the top four of the league stage – Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Tottenham – would be given home advantage for the second legs of their quarterfinals, should they reach that stage.

As number one and two finishers in the league stage, Arsenal and Bayern would get the advantage of playing their semifinal second legs at home, should they get that far in the tournament.

If a seeded team does not reach the quarterfinal or semifinal stages, the team that knocks them out will gain their seeding.

Can teams from the same country play each other?

Yes, teams from the same country can play each other in the knockout rounds.

Clubs can also face sides they have already played against during the league phase.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio updated U.S. legislators on Iran just hours before President Donald Trump issued warnings over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in his State of the Union address. In the past days, U.S. military forces in the region have grown to the highest levels seen since the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. New assets that have arrived include U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors, reportedly in Israel, while F-16s have been deployed to Diego Garcia to protect the Indian Ocean outpost against potential Iranian attacks.

Rubio provided a rare intelligence briefing for congressional leaders — the so-called “gang of eight” — which includes the senior lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees. The contents of the briefing are classified, but it underscores the wider preparations for potential significant military action against Iran.

The “gang of eight” receives classified intelligence from the White House in the form of briefings, and their content can include preparations for military operations. It is notable that the last time Rubio publicly briefed the group was on January 5, one day after the U.S. military launched its successful operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

As he left yesterday’s briefing, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said: “This is serious, and the administration has to make its case to the American people.”

“I’m very concerned,” added Jim Himes, the ranking democrat on the House intelligence committee. “Wars in the Middle East don’t go well for presidents, for the country, and we have not heard articulated a single good reason for why now is the moment to launch yet another war in the Middle East.”

Rubio’s intel update preceded Trump’s State of the Union address last night, during which the U.S. president reaffirmed that Iran would never be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons.

In his address, Trump stated that he would rather handle rising tensions with Iran through diplomatic means. However, he also claimed that Tehran was developing ballistic missile technology that could potentially reach the United States, without providing further details.

“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas,” Trump said. “And they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”

The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman has landed her own talk show and it’s set to air very soon

The BBC has finally confirmed the start date of Claudia Winkleman’s new show after she joked that she’s “going to be awful” hosting her show.

The TV star – who stepped down from her Strictly Come Dancing hosting role last year – has landed her own BBC talk show and it has now been announced that it’s just a couple of weeks away, with the first instalment set to air on March 13.

Produced by So Television, which is part of ITV Studios, each episode will see Traitors presenter Claudia welcome some of the biggest names from the world of showbiz. She will interview them on the sofa in front of a studio audience.

“I can’t quite believe it and I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for this amazing opportunity,” she said as the series was confirmed. “I’m obviously going to be awful, that goes without saying, but I’m over the moon they’re letting me try.”

Claudia’s new project comes after she and fellow TV star Tess Daly quit Strictly Come Dancing after the last series of the BBC ballroom show. The pair announced in October that they would be leaving after that series – which was won by Karen Carney – telling fans that it “feels like the right time”.

In their farewell message on Instagram, Tess and Claudia penned: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.

“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show. They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day.”

“We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’ but we will continue to say it to each other,” they added.

“Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”

So far it isn’t known who will be talking over from the pair on Strictly, but there are several names rumoured to be in the mix, including The One Show’s Alex Jones, radio star Zoe Ball and Big Brother presenter Emma Willis.

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The Claudia Winkleman Show – which will be on BBC iPlayer and BBC One – starts at 10.40pm on Friday March 13.

Pavel Dorofeyev had two goals and the Vegas Golden Knights spoiled Artemi Panarin’s Kings debut by scoring five third-period goals to rally for a 6-4 win Wednesday night.

Colton Sissons, Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith scored three goals in a span of 4:14 midway through the third and the shorthanded Golden Knights overcame the absence of five players who participated in the gold medal game at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday. Ivan Barbashev added a late empty-netter, and Adin Hill made 15 saves.

Vegas played without United States center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin and Canada forwards Mark Stone and Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore, all of whom are expected to be available when their five-game trip continues against the Capitals in Washington on Friday night.

Quinton Byfield had two goals, Adrian Kempe and Brandt Clarke scored, while Panarin had two assists in his team debut, but the Kings dropped their fourth straight game.

Panarin, who was acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4, set up the Kings’ opening goal by putting his pass in off Byfield’s skate on the power play late in the first period and had the secondary assist on Kempe’s goal in the second period.

Anton Forsberg made 19 saves for the Kings, who came out of the Olympic break three points out of a wild-card berth.

The Golden Knights found themselves trailing after two periods as Panarin reached the 40-assist mark for the 11th straight season. But they responded with a strong final 20 minutes, including Dorofeyev’s power-play goal with 4:01 remaining that made it 5-3.

German Chancellor visits eastern city, home to AI firm DeepSeek and e-commerce giant Alibaba, with business leaders.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has arrived in the tech hub of Hangzhou on the second day of his first official trip to China, flanked by a delegation of business leaders seeking contracts in the eastern city.

Merz travelled from Beijing to the city of some 12 million people on Thursday, where he was due to tour some leading companies, including Germany’s Siemens Energy and Unitree, a Chinese firm producing humanoid robots.

Hangzhou is a major hub in China’s tech sector, home to giants, including artificial intelligence company DeepSeek and e-commerce platform Alibaba.

Before leaving Beijing, Merz, who is being accompanied by a delegation, including executives of German car giants Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes, visited a Mercedes plant in the Chinese capital where he tested a self-driving vehicle.

‘Improved’ trade relationship sought

Merz’s trip to China, which became Germany’s largest trading partner last year, seeks to deepen decades-old economic ties with the world’s second-largest economy in the wake of tariffs imposed by the United States last year.

But he has also sought to address “challenges” in the relationship, most notably tackling the massive imbalance which saw Germany’s trade deficit with China hit a record 89 billion euros ($105bn) last year, fuelling complaints from German businesses that Chinese competitors are flooding the market with cheaper goods.

In a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Wednesday, before he met Chinese President Xi Jinping, Merz said he wanted “to improve and make fair” the cooperation between the countries.

Following the talks with Xi and top Chinese leaders, Merz said China had agreed to buy up to 120 Airbus aircraft, and said other contracts were in the pipeline.

The two leaders stressed their commitment to developing closer strategic relations, with Xi telling Merz he was willing to take relations to “new levels”.

Ukraine, Taiwan discussed

The talks between Xi and Merz also touched on geopolitical issues, with the German leader saying any “reunification” with Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its territory, must be done peacefully.

Merz also told reporters that he asked the Chinese government to use its influence with Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, amid frustrations among European leaders that Beijing was not doing enough to bring the war to an end.

“We know that signals from Beijing are taken very seriously in Moscow,” Merz said.

Following the meeting, the two countries released a joint statement saying they supported efforts to achieve a ceasefire and lasting peace in Ukraine, emphasising the importance of fair competition and mutual market access, and committing to resolving any concerns through dialogue, Chinese state media reported.

Merz is the latest in a string of Western leaders to visit Beijing in recent months, including the United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian PM Mark Carney, amid the fallout from the Trump administration’s tariffs on long-established trade partners.

Parents who lost their son at 14 days old opened up on BBC Breakfast on Thursday (February 26)

A grieving mum has claimed her concerns were “shut down” as she opened up about the loss of her baby on BBC Breakfast.

Robyn Davis – whose son Orlando died at 14 days old – appeared on the BBC show on Thursday (February 26), where she said that she was made to feel “like I was going insane and that my concerns weren’t valid or real”.

She spoke out during a report about maternity service failings, with host Charlie Stayt explaining: “Maternity services in England are failing too many families with problems at every stage of maternity journey. It’s the interim conclusion of the national review being led by Baroness Amos.”

His fellow presenter Naga Munchetty continued: “It has identified six factors that impact care, including racism, staffing and culture. The health secretary Wes Streeting, who commissioned the review, has promised to act on Baroness Amos’ final recommendations which are due in April.”

The programme then cut to a report from reporter Michael Buchanan, who said: “When an inquiry in 2015 found that 11 babies and one mother had died avoidably at Furness General Hospital due to poor maternity care, the NHS promised the mistakes would never happen again. Over a decade later, more than 10,000 babies are estimated to have died in England due to maternity errors.”

He went on: “Orlando Davis died in 2021 at 14 days old. Maternity staff failed to recognise his mother had become ill in labour and Orlando was born in a poor condition.

“An inquest found his death had been contributed to by neglect.”

Orlando’s mum Robyn said: “They actually made me feel like I was going insane and that my concerns weren’t valid or real because every time I raised them, they were met with a quick shut down. And because of this, I genuinely believe that that’s why our son is not here.”

The baby’s father Jonathan Davis said: “The number of individuals that were involved in this situation, this wasn’t one or two, this was multiple midwives, multiple consultants and registrars across a prolonged area of time from in the community to in hospital. This was not a one event caused an outcome.”

The report said the family’s experience is supported by Baroness Amos, “who says problems occur at every stage of the maternity journey”.

It went on: “The issues, she says, are caused by cultural leadership of maternity units with midwives and obstetricians sometimes not cooperating, workforce with units not being fully or properly staffed, racism and discrimination, including against poor women, a lack of accountability when things go wrong and outdated and dilapidated buildings.”

The report said that the health secretary “has promised to ensure the review’s final recommendations due in April are enacted”.

“But a maternity safety task force that Wes Streeting also promised to establish by now hasn’t yet been created,” it said. “He says it will be shortly.”

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BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am.

Joel Quenneville became the second coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games with the Ducks’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

Quenneville joined Scotty Bowman in an exclusive hockey club with a milestone win in the Ducks’ first game back from the Olympic break.

Cutter Gauthier scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:14 to play for the Ducks, who erased a pair of two-goal deficits. Leo Carlsson had a goal and two assists in his first appearance since Jan. 10 for the Ducks, who have won six straight home games and 10 of 12 overall to leapfrog the Oilers into second place in the Pacific Division.

Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard scored late in the second period to put the Oilers ahead, but Carlsson and Olen Zellweger scored early in the third to even it again.

Rookie Matt Savoie then converted a rebound late in a power play for his 10th career goal, but Beckett Sennecke answered 46 seconds later with a slick wrist shot for his 19th goal — tops among NHL rookies.

Gauthier then converted a rebound of Carlsson’s shot, setting off a wild celebration inside a sold-out Honda Center.

Jack Roslovic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid had two assists, giving the Olympic silver medalist an NHL-best 98 points in 59 games.

Ian Moore and Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks, and Lukas Dostal made 22 saves.

Tristan Jarry made 20 saves before getting pulled for Connor Ingram after Sennecke’s tying goal with 13:21 to play.

Carlsson was outstanding in his return to the Ducks’ lineup after missing the final 11 games before the break with a thigh injury that kept him out of the Olympics.

Mikael Granlund didn’t play for the Ducks after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan. None of the Oilers’ Olympians sat out as they opened a three-game California trip.

Kyiv hopes progress in talks in Geneva will pave the way for a direct meeting between Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Russia pounded Ukraine with a barrage of missile and drone attacks across the country overnight, wounding at least eight people, in advance of the latest high-level meeting between Kyiv and Washington aimed at ending the war, now in its fifth year.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the latest attacks on the capital in the early hours of Wednesday caused damage to a nine-storey residential building in the Darnytskyi district, and resulted in fires in a home and garages elsewhere in the city.

The strikes on the capital prompted the activation of air defence systems to counter the attack, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration, said, advising residents to remain in shelters until the assault was over. No casualties were reported in the capital.

Ukraine has faced regular overnight barrages as Russia targets cities with missiles and drones in harsh winter conditions in recent months, also targeting civilian energy infrastructure, even amid an ongoing push by Washington to try to negotiate an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

Attacks also took place in the regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk, with officials reporting seven wounded in Kharkiv and another in Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk, the AFP news agency reported.

US, Ukrainian delegations to meet

The strikes came before a scheduled meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva between Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, being held in advance of a full session of talks involving Moscow, Kyiv and Washington expected in early March.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he had spoken with US President Donald Trump before the talks, with Witkoff and Kushner part of the 30-minute call, to discuss the issues that their representatives would cover in Geneva, “as well as preparations for the next meeting of the full negotiating teams in a trilateral format at the very beginning of March”.

Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly sought face-to-face meetings with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to resolve the most challenging issues, said he expected the meeting in Geneva would “create an opportunity to move talks to the leaders’ level”.

“President Trump supports this sequence of steps,” he said. “This is the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally end the war.”

Putin has dismissed such a meeting repeatedly in the past, calling into question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader.

Meanwhile, Russian state news agency TASS reported the Kremlin’s economic affairs envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, was also due to be in Geneva on Thursday, where he would “pursue negotiations with the Americans on economic issues”.

Negotiations stalled

Despite Trump’s desire to bring an end to the conflict, one he claimed he could end in 24 hours after he retook office, the talks so far have failed to bear fruit.

Negotiations, based on a US plan unveiled late last year, have hit a roadblock over the thorniest territorial issues, such as control of the eastern Donbas, an industrial region in eastern Ukraine that has been at the heart of the fiercest fighting.

Russia is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, in the Donbas, and has threatened to take it by force if Kyiv does not cave in at the negotiating table.

But Ukraine has rejected the demand and signalled it would not sign a deal without security guarantees that deter Russia from invading again. The Ukrainian constitution also forbids the ceding of territory.

Hundreds of thousands of people on both sides are believed to have been killed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Whether or not the U.S. Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) will carry multiple warheads remains to be seen now that a key arms control treaty has expired. The service is otherwise hopeful that the Sentinel program is now on the right track after years of major delays and ballooning costs, driven heavily by costs and complexities associated with building new infrastructure. A particularly key issue has been the matter of silos, with the original plan to repurpose the ones that currently house Minuteman III ICBMs having been abandoned in favor of all-new construction.

Air Force and other U.S. military officials, as well as a representative from the Sentinel’s prime contractor, Northrop Grumman, shared new updates about the program with TWZ and other outlets at the Air & Space Forces Association’s (AFA) annual Warfare Symposium today. Sentinel has been undergoing a complete restructuring since delays and cost overruns triggered a legal requirement for a full review back in 2024. The original plan had called for the new Sentinel ICBMs, also designated LGM-35As, to begin entering operational service in 2029. Minuteman III, of which there are 400 currently sitting in silos across five states, was to be phased out by 2036.

The setbacks also mean that ongoing work on Sentinel is now occurring free from the limits on America’s nuclear arsenal that were imposed by the New START treaty with Russia. That agreement sunset, as scheduled, earlier this month without a follow-on deal in place.

A Sentinel Program official declined to say how many warheads could be loaded onto a single Sentinel missile when asked at a press briefing earlier today. The publicly stated plan previously has been to load each missile with a single W87-1 warhead.

Each of the Minuteman III ICBMs in service today, which are also designated LGM-30Gs, is topped with either a single W78 or W87 warhead, the result of a succession of arms control agreements culminating in New START. The LGM-30G, which entered service in 1970, was originally designed to carry up to three warheads, and retains this so-called multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) capability.

“We have the ability to do that. That’s obviously a national-level decision that would go up to the President,” Navy Adm. Rich Correll, head of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told TWZ and others at a separate roundtable today, speaking generally about the prospect of the U.S. fielding ICBMs in a MIRV configuration again. “Those policy levers, if needed, provide additional resiliency within the capabilities that we have.”

“Nothing’s changed since [the] expiration of the New START treaty. The threat environment that existed before [the] expiration of the New START Treaty exists today,” Correll added. “So that decision space is open, and discussions will occur at a senior policy-making level to make decisions with respect to that. I would reserve any recommendations I have for that discussion within the Department.”

Earlier this month, Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), under which the currently Minuteman III force falls, also told TWZ that it “maintains the capability and training to MIRV the Minuteman III ICBM force” and that it would be prepared to do so “if directed by the President.”

We do know that the Sentinel missile is a new design with a three-stage solid fuel rocket booster that has been described as slightly larger than the Minuteman III. Under the shroud on top is a payload bus with a liquid fuel propulsion system.

Enabling Peace Through Deterrence

“Our liquid propulsion system, this is what gives us the fine point that allows us to place the re-entry vehicle precisely on target, that greater accuracy that comes with the Sentinel system,” the Northrop Grumman official explained at today’s press briefing.

Beyond improved accuracy, the Air Force and Northrop Grumman have said that Sentinel will also offer greater range, as well as reliability and sustainability benefits, compared to the Cold War-era Minuteman III. Though more specific details about Sentinel’s capabilities are classified, developing a new ICBM does provide the opportunity to incorporate various new features and functionality, including when it comes to survivability.

“At this point, we have completed testing on all of the major elements of the missile system. … We met all of our primary objectives and are [on] a good course to first flight, which is why we have confidence that we’re going to hit that pad launch in 2027,” the Northrop Grumman official added. “What we’re working on now are additional tests just to give us confidence” when it comes to “reliability and integrating that system.”

The Air Force first announced it was targeting a Sentinel first flight in 2027, from a launch pad above ground, last week. The service has yet to share when it expects to conduct the first test launch from a silo. Northrop Grumman is now building a full-scale prototype silo facility in Promontory, Utah, but it is unclear whether that will be constructed in a way that would allow it to be used for test launches in the future. As an aside, the New START treaty had also imposed limits on deployed and non-deployed “launchers,” which included silos for ICBMs.

As mentioned, the topic of silos has been absolutely central to the Sentinel program and its troubles over the years. Originally, the Air Force expected to be able to reuse Minuteman III silos, but subsequently determined that this was not the optimal course of action. The plan now is to construct 450 entirely new silos. The Air Force hopes this will actually save time and money now, in part because of the ability to leverage modern modular construction methods from the start rather than trying to repurpose decades-old structures.

“The original acquisition strategy for Sentinel was to use and reuse the Minuteman III silos for the housing of the Sentinel missile, with some upgraded communication rooms and things next to it. Over the past year, we’ve gone through multiple assessments to figure out what the right strategy is as we look forward, and we’ve changed our acquisition strategy to go after building and constructing new silos for Sentinel,” the Sentinel Program official explained today. “That came out of really kind of two primary things. The first reason we looked at this is just the variability of refurbishing Minuteman III silos. The Minuteman III silos are amazing, and they are incredibly efficient at executing the mission today. But as we were going down the path of trying to plan, just like trying to renovate a house built in the [19]60s, there was variability in understanding how you would attack refurbishment, how you would understand the conditions, and the timing, and the cost associated with that.”

The Air Force also sees new silos as helping ease the transition process from Minuteman III to Sentinel. Both missiles will be in service simultaneously for a time to ensure the land-based leg of America’s nuclear deterrent triad remains credible throughout the process.

“As we were looking at opportunity space, we found a squadron at Malmstrom [Air Force Base in Montana], which was the first one, that was still owned Air Force land, but allowed us what I would call swing space,” the Sentinel Program official noted. “If we constructed there, how we sequence and how we choreograph, taking down Minuteman and bringing Sentinel up on alert, it allowed us the opportunity to do that without impacting operations today. And going after that swing space, it actually drove us to designing and constructing new silos, as there were not Minuteman III silos available to be reused on those sites.”

New silos “also captured a few things that we were working through on risk, primarily around human factors and some other things that were existing in the reuse of Minuteman, it allowed us to get those and reduce those as we went forward,” they added.

“We knew and had some assumptions at the beginning. We had to test out those assumptions,” they also said when asked about why these issues were not recognized earlier on. “As we’ve tested out those assumptions, some of them proved false, which is why we’ve been going down the path of laying in, prototyping, experimentation, and showing progress on how do we say, ‘Hey, this is a different way of approaching it.’”

“To suggest they weren’t thought about, I think that would be probably short-sighted. They were very much thought about. I think that we often forget that these are very challenging programs. This is something we have not done in over six decades,” Air Force Gen. Dale White, Director of Critical Major Weapon Systems and direct reporting portfolio manager to the Deputy Secretary of War, also said at the roundtable. “Some of the assumptions that did come to fruition have actually provided more operational advantages. We’ve made changes along the way.”

“With the decision to recapitalize the intersite communications and build new launch silos, it’s opened up a lot of additional possibilities,” AFGSC commander Air Force Gen. Stephen Davis also said at the roundtable. “And I would tell you, I don’t think we have the answer exactly how we’re doing that yet, but we have more flexibility.”

The aforementioned prototype silo in Utah is being built to help further burn down risk.

“There are many things that we’re looking to prove out through this risk reduction activity, excavation techniques, how we integrate the modular elements of the silo, too. How we protect from weather conditions and how we do transportation to and from the site – critically important,” the Northrop Grumman official said. “And we will ultimately use this as we start to integrate and perform operations around missile emplacement, those kinds of things.”

Despite the “swing space” found to exist on Air Force-owned land, the Sentinel program is still expected to require the use of other U.S. government-owned land and the acquisition of additional land from private entities. The full extent of those additional land requirements is still being assessed. What will happen to the decommissioned Minuteman III silos is still to be determined, as well.

Though they are the most important aspect, silos are only one part of the massive infrastructure development plans baked into the Sentinel program. A total of 24 new launch centers and three new missile wing command centers are also set to be built. The new ICBM force will be spread across 32,000 square miles in five states and linked together by more than 5,000 miles of new fiber optic lines.

“The wing command center is actually a new capability being provided by Sentinel that doesn’t exist today for Minuteman,” the Sentinel Program official said. “Today at Minuteman, the information is more siloed. The structure of Minuteman is built around the [missile] squadron, and there isn’t a sole place where the information is pulled together, to give you the battlespace awareness of the entire wing at one time.”

“So the wing command center is where that fiber backbone is incredibly important,” they continued. “The quantity of data that can be pushed on fiber, from my physical security monitoring for health and status of the missiles and of the launch facilities, all can be integrated here into a common picture that allows the operational commander the ability to see what is going on in the missile field and take the appropriate action and prioritize where they are using their resources, their Airmen, to tackle the problems and the solutions.”

The first of these facilities is now being built at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. That base is also set to host initial prototyping efforts related to the fiber optic cable laying, which is set to be a huge undertaking led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Air Force is now aiming to start fielding Sentinel sometime in the early 2030s. How long it will take to complete the transition from Minuteman III to the ICBMs is unclear. The service has said it is at least “feasible” to keep some number of Minuteman IIIs on alert until 2050, according to a past report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a congressional watchdog.

The U.S. military continues to stress that the new Sentinel ICBMs and modernized infrastructure that will come with them are top national security priorities. Despite debates in the past about the utility of the land-based leg of the triad, it does remain the fastest nuclear response option in the Pentagon’s strategic portfolio. It also has a continued purpose to act as a ‘warhead sponge’ that would force any opponent to expend substantial resources on trying to neutralize it in a future nuclear exchange.

US Air Force launches Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg in unarmed test

The global geostrategic environment has also evolved in ways that further bolster the case for Sentinel, particularly when it comes to China drastically expanding its nuclear arsenal. Other global crises, including Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, together with other proliferation and strategic weapons development concerns, are factors, as well.

“The fact of the matter is that both the offense and defensive threats … have evolved significantly” since Minuteman III was fielded, Gen. Davis said today. “We’ve gotten all the capability that we can out of the Minuteman, but Sentinel will bring Air Force Global Strike Command and USSTRATCOM important new capabilities that we need to keep up with the threat and to stay ahead of it.”

There are many questions the Sentinel program clearly still has to answer, including how many warheads each missile should carry, as it moves toward finally reaching an operational capability in the next decade.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

ACTRESS Anya Taylor-Joy looks simply the vest as she styles things out on a night out.

The Queen’s Gambit star, 29, wore the white strappy top with a green satin skirt.

She and rocker hubby Malcolm McRae, 31, dined at the San Vicente Bungalows hotel in Los Angeles.

They were reported to have been joined at the luxury venue by The Godfather star Al Pacino, 85, as well as Deliverance actor Jon Voight, 87.

We revealed earlier this month how the crowbar-wielding robber who tried to smash into Anya Taylor-Joy’s bedroom as she barricaded herself inside has been jailed.

Kirk Holdrick, 43, was one of two masked men who smashed their way into the luxury property in London.

Read more on Anya Taylor-Joy

RAID HELL

Thug tried to smash into Anya Taylor-Joy’s bedroom as she locked herself inside

ANYA’S HELL

Anya Taylor-Joy ‘victim of burglary by raiders who tried to access BEDROOM’

Taylor-Joy’s husband Malcolm McRae confronted the intruders before barricading himself and his wife inside one of the bedrooms.

The robbers then tried to prise open the door with a crowbar during the terrifying raid in February 2023.

McRae was armed only with a lamp to defend himself but managed to scare the thieves off by shouting out: “I have a gun, I have a gun.”

They fled empty-handed but nine days later, Holdrick, who dated Towie star Hannah Voyan, tied up a mum and her daughter at gunpoint in another raid in Sandbanks, Dorset.

Holdrick was jailed for life in 2005 for armed robberies on a security van transporting cash and a jewellers.

He was recalled to prison to continue serving his life sentence after his latest offences and, last November, he was jailed for 12 years for the Sandbanks robbery.

Holdrick has now been handed a further three-year prison sentence for the burglary involving Taylor-Joy and her husband.

Nevertheless, there is an ongoing debate in F1 as to whether the new cars have moved the sport too far away from the purity of the driving challenge, and some think changes could be made to reduce the levels of energy management.

At the moment, the rate of energy recovery with the ‘super clip’ – frankly, jargon that would be better kept away from public consumption because of the potential for confusion – can be done at a maximum of 250kw.

But the engines are capable of recovering energy at 350kw, and do so when a driver has lifted off the throttle. So why not let them do that when flat out?

Another proposal is to reduce the output of the electrical part of the engine, currently limited to 350kw (470bhp), to about 300kw (402bhp) or even 250kw (335bhp). The idea being to cut overall power but allow it to be applied for longer, to make driving feel more natural.

Going even further, some would wish to increase the amount of fuel the engine is allowed to use, and rebalance the ratio between the ICE and electrical, perhaps to 65:35 or 70:30.

The opposing view is that these last two would require wholesale changes to the engine design and other aspects of the car such as gear ratios. Opponents also argue it would not have the effect required.

A related problem is the new ‘overtake’ button. This replaces the drag reduction system (DRS) overtaking aid, which no longer exists because both front and rear wings open on the straights, part of a series of tweaks made as a consequence of the new engine formula.

‘Overtake’ mode provides the drivers with electrical energy for longer. It does not create more power or, as DRS used to, more speed. As a result, overtaking is expected to be difficult.

Herein lies another argument for reducing the electrical output to 300kw – then, the remaining 50kw could be used for overtake mode.

An added complication is that the circuits all require different levels of energy management.

In Bahrain, the above techniques were not really needed because there are a lot of braking phases into slow corners to recover energy in the standard way.

But Albert Park, which hosts the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 8 March, is an energy-starved circuit, and lift and coast and super clip are expected to be needed extensively, even in qualifying.

Melbourne joins Saudi Arabia, Austria, Silverstone, Monza, Azerbaijan and Las Vegas among the worst circuits for energy – tracks with long straights but not much facility to recover in braking zones.

The teams are in ongoing discussions about whether to take action, and if so, what form it should take, with governing body the FIA and F1.

Stella says: “Definitely there could still be cases in which the driver needs to approach driving in what is not a common way – (where) we just drive as flat as possible, brake as late as possible, go as fast as possible in every corner.

“When it comes to improving the balance between the regulations in their current format, and some other driving challenges, there is time to fix this.

“For instance, there is a way of changing the way in which we deploy the electrical engine such that this requirement to do these special manoeuvres is reduced.

“So there are things that can be done in the future, but I think we should monitor a little bit more in some other circuits (before deciding what to do).”

Robinson is notorious in the UK where he has been accused of promoting hatred against Muslims and organising mass anti-migrant protests.

British far-right activist Tommy Robinson says he visited the United States Department of State as part of a recent trip to Washington, DC, where he was welcomed by government officials and supporters of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

“In America making alliances & friendships, today I had the privilege of an invite to the @StateDept,” Robinson posted on X on Wednesday, alongside a photo of himself next to a US flag.

Robinson is a household name in the UK, notorious for his anti-Muslim rhetoric and multiple prison terms. He was also a cofounder of the now-defunct far-right English Defence League – a street protest movement.

US State Department official Joe Rittenhouse, who is a senior adviser for the department’s Consular Affairs bureau, said he met with Robinson, calling him a “free speech warrior”.

“Honored to have free speech warrior @TRobinsonNewEra at Department of State today. The World and the West is a better place when we fight for freedom of speech and no one has been on the front lines more than Tommy. Good to see you my friend!” Rittenhouse said in an X post.

Rittenhouse posted photos of what appeared to be Robinson touring the State Department.

The State Department did not answer questions from the Reuters news agency on who else Robinson met, what was discussed and what the objective of his visit was.

A representative for the United Kingdom’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has become an icon for British nationalists and one of the UK’s most high-profile anti-migration campaigners, organising a large rally last September in London attended by about 150,000 people.

Social media posts show that during his trip to Washington, Robinson also met far-right US influencer Jack Posobiec and filmed a video with Congressman Randy Fine, a Republican from Florida, who has a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric. Robinson said on X that he will next travel to Florida.

Robinson’s visit to the US State Department follows a surge in support from the administration of President Donald Trump for far-right activists in the UK and Europe under the pretext of protecting “free speech”.

In December, the Trump administration accused Europe of engaging in “civilisational erasure” due to demographic and cultural changes from what Washington has described as weak immigration policies.

US Vice President JD Vance took aim at European countries during his first international trip last year, accusing the region’s leaders of stifling free speech – particularly voices from the far right – and being lax on migration to the detriment of their societies.

“No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants,” Vance said in remarks that shocked European leaders.

The UK and European countries have stronger rules on hate speech than the US, and the European Union has taken a proactive stance on regulating social media and internet content – positions that have angered the White House.

Robinson was banned from Twitter in 2018, but his account was restored in 2022 following its acquisition by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

Why go now

On a hill that rises up between Belleville’s Chinatown and Père-Lachaise cemetery, Ménilmontant was once a rural hamlet with vines and farms, before becoming more industrial in the 19th century. The quartier boasts a united, colourful community whose working-class Parisian roots have long been integrated with a strong north African diaspora. Bohemian, arty and socially committed, it remains off the tourist trail with no notable museums or monuments; it’s just a genuinely Parisian neighbourhood. The locals were bemused to learn that Time Out made Ménilmontant one of its World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods for 2025, though tourists who do venture here to discover a glimpse of a fast-disappearing Paris are sure of a warm welcome.

Where to eat and drink

Eating out in Ménilmontant is inexpensive, hearty, multi-ethnic and vegetarian-friendly. My favourite discovery is La Cantine des Hommes Libres, a retro bistrot where the dish of the day costs €11.50 for blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon or Algerian specialities such as tikourbabine, while the couscous is the best I have ever tasted. A happy hour glass of organic wine costs just €2. The owner, Monsieur Abdelkrim, created the Cantine 20 years ago, “to bring the culture of Algeria to Paris, initially through our cuisine, serving traditional dishes from our bleds (rural villages) that were unknown to French people. Over the years, the bistrot has became an unofficial cultural centre to discover the music, art and poetry of our Berbère people.”

Crates of colourful vegetables are stacked outside the popular diner Chez les Deux Amis Brocante, where the ever-smiling chef, Beyaz Balta, oversees a cosmopolitan kitchen brigade who create a raft of vegetarian meze, crispy dürum, spicy köfte and sticky-sweet baklava. She arrived in 2007 as a Kurdish refugee. “I could not have been made more welcome when I came to Ménilmontant, and am proud today that nearly all our customers are locals,” she says. Further up the hill, Rue Sorbier opens up into a semi-square lined with cafes, wine stores, bakeries and épiceries. On the corner, L’Entrepot’s serves classic brasserie fare – steak frites, confit de canard – and oozes Parisian charm with its flea-market decor, marble-topped bar and quirky chandeliers, unchanged from the days when Ménilmontant was home to Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf.

For a slice of local life, the best bars to check out include the historic La Pétanque, with its sunny terrace that looks out over the church, and, on the corner of bustling Boulevard de Ménilmontant, L’Express de Paris, which is packed from early morning coffee and croissants until after-midnight cocktails and artisan brews. The graffiti-covered Demain c’est Loin is a funky hangout for tapas, a lethal rum punch and a free jukebox; while, to catch a match during the World Cup, head for Chez Hubert, a lively sports and music bar.

Cultural experiences

Head straight to the neighbourhood’s cultural hub, Rue Boyer, beginning with Galerie Ménil’8, an extensive exhibition space run by and for the Artistes de Ménilmontant association, which also organises an annual Open Door festival of more than 60 venues in the last week of September. When I pass by, the gallery is showcasing an art collective, Cul-de-Sac, with an avant garde mix of experimental photography, sculpture and video. La Maroquinerie is housed in an old leather goods factory, hosting concerts and club nights, while the historic La Bellevilloise symbolises Ménilmontant’s commitment to transform its heritage industrial sites into socially engaged artistic venues. Once an immense self-help workers’ co-operative, founded in 1877, this cultural fortress today bears the provocative slogan: “Liberté, Équité, Utopie”. A glance at a typical month’s programming spans film screenings, queer disco, a French swing party, a jazz brunch, wine tasting and cabaret, and a night of pulsating Colombian cumbia. The roof terrace of its Halle aux Oliviers restaurant is ideal for a sunset cocktail looking out over Paris.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for the live music scene, as musician Thomas Ménard says: “Things have certainly changed since I came to live here 38 years ago, with bars like Scenobar, Les Apaches and Lou Pascalou providing a stage for local indie bands, slam poets and DJs. Hipsters will never take over here as there is too much social housing, such as the tower block where I live, which ensures the popular, multi-ethnic roots of Ménilmontant’s culture and community will never disappear.”

Where to shop

Foodies will love the chaotic street market on Boulevard de Belleville every Tuesday and Friday morning, perfect to pick up cheese and charcuterie, while the boutiques Rue des Narcisses and Vintage 77 are packed with retro fashion and decor bargains. DJs and fans of vinyl should check out the record shop Cracki, which also runs its own independent music label, while just next door, Dilia La Cave specialises in natural wines.

Don’t miss

The monumental Église Notre-Dame de la Croix de Ménilmontant is one of the largest churches in Paris and is a proud point of reference for the local community. Its forecourt is transformed into an open-air venue for concerts and movie screenings during the Festival des Canotiers in June, and then the Festival Septembre Indien. Take a neighbourhood stroll from the church by heading up steep Rue de Ménilmontant to a staircase on the left that plunges down to a walkway along La Petite Ceinture, an abandoned railway line that has been left for rewilding and vegetable allotments. Further up Rue de Ménilmontant, turn into Rue de l’Ermitage for a flashback to life in the 19th century – the labyrinth of shady cobbled lanes and lush gardens forming Villa de l’Ermitage and Cité Leroy are still lined with utopian worker’s cottages.

Stay

Ménilmontant is so far off the tourist radar that accommodation options remain limited. Your best bet is a spacious apartment in the self check-in Le Bellevue (from €100), located on the corner of the vibrant Rue Boyer.

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began last week, the Iraqi city of Mosul regained its spiritual and cultural vibrancy, with religious rituals blending with cultural activities that reflect the city’s heritage, identity and collective memory after years of war and devastation.

On the first night of Ramadan, immediately after the Maghrib call to prayer, the chant “Majina ya Majina”, a traditional Ramadan song, echoes through the old neighbourhoods. Children in traditional clothing roam the streets singing Ramadan songs, in a scene that revives longstanding customs.

“This gathering of children revives Mosuli and Iraqi heritage and teaches them the values of sharing and celebrating the holy month,” said Yasser Goyani, 31, a member of the Bytna Foundation for Culture, Arts and Heritage

Tarawih prayers, performed at night during Ramadan, have also returned to the Grand al-Nuri Mosque and its iconic leaning minaret, al-Hadba, for the first time in nearly nine years, just before the bombing of the mosque in 2017 by ISIL (ISIS) fighters at the peak of an Iraqi government campaign against the group that had taken control of the city.

“I feel great joy performing prayers again in the mosque after its restoration and reopening, which reflects its spiritual and historical importance,” adds Goyani.

The traditional storyteller, or hakawati, has also re-emerged during Ramadan evenings, recounting stories from Mosul’s past.

“The hakawati represents a link between the past and the present. We narrate stories about how life in Mosul used to be, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. Despite technological development, people still love returning to their old memories,” explained Abeer al-Ghanem, 52, who plays the storyteller.

Meanwhile, the musaharati – the traditional predawn caller who wakes people up for a small meal to help them cope with the daylong fast – still walks through neighbourhoods in the Old City of Mosul before dawn.

Ghufran Thamer, 34, who performs the role, says, “The musaharati reminds people of authentic Ramadan rituals and keeps the nights of Ramadan alive, despite the changes in modern life.”

Traditional games remain a key part of the Ramadan atmosphere.

“We have been playing the siniya game since the 1980s. It is closely associated with Ramadan and creates a warm and joyful atmosphere among participants during the nights,” said Fahad Mohammed Kashmoula, 55.

Mosul’s markets, particularly the historic Bab al-Saray, come alive during Ramadan as residents flock to buy seasonal staples. Dates are especially in demand, providing a quick source of energy for those fasting. Khalil Mahmoud, 65, who has been selling dates in Bab al-Saray for nearly 40 years, says date sales increase significantly during Ramadan, especially in this market.

“Dates are highly sought after by those fasting, because they help compensate for the sugar lost during the day,” he said

Raisin juice, another Ramadan drink, is also popular across the city.

“The juice is prepared from high-quality raisins and fresh mint from the mountains of Kurdistan. The raisins are soaked, strained, crushed and strained again before being poured into bags for sale. Shops become crowded as people seek to replenish their energy after fasting,” said Hussein Muwaffaq, a raisin juice maker.

Alongside religious and cultural activities, the city also sees growing humanitarian initiatives during Ramadan, including paying off the debts of people in need, distributing food baskets, setting up free iftar meals, and promoting the values of social solidarity.

D4vd is the “target” of a Los Angeles County criminal jury investigation into the death of a teenage girl. The singer’s star was on the rise, with a global tour in his future, before the discovery of the girl’s remains in the front trunk of his Tesla.

The singer, whose real name is David Burke, has been the subject of the probe since November, months after the dismembered body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in the car after it was towed off a street in Hollywood.

According to a grand jury subpoena seeking to have Burke’s father, mother and brother testify in L.A., the musician is described as “Target David Burke,” who may have committed a criminal offense in California, “to wit: One count of Murder.”

The document was part of a legal challenge to the subpoenas filed by the singer’s family in Texas. The newly unsealed documents reveal that, when Los Angeles police opened up the Tesla trunk, they found “a black cadaver bag covered with insects and a strong odor of decay” inside. Investigators had been granted a search warrant to look in the vehicle Sept. 8 after a tow yard worker noticed a rotting smell emanating from the vehicle.

According to the document, detectives partially unzipped the bag and found “a decomposed head and torso.”

Criminalists and medical examiners then processed the body.

“Upon removing the cadaver bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” the subpoenas noted. “A second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman issued the subpoenas on Jan. 15, with Superior Court judge Craig Richman approving them.

The First Court of Appeals in Texas on Feb. 9 denied petitions from the three Burke family members to ignore the subpoenas.

Months have passed since the gruesome discovery of the remains of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Although the LAPD has publicly declined to characterize the girl’s death as a homicide, an LAPD detective referred to the case as a murder investigation in a court filing.

In November, prosecutors began presenting evidence to a grand jury, described at the time as an investigative grand jury, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case with the media.

Since then, numerous witnesses have been called in to testify, among those, one of the musician’s managers. A friend of D4vd, Neo Langston, was arrested in Montana after ignoring a subpoena and was recently forced to return to L.A. to testify.

In a Texas appeals court footnote, the court refers specifically to the singer’s true name. The court states that the “underlying case” is “The People of the State of California v. David Burke,” pending in the 506th District Court of Waller County, Texas, with Judge Gary W. Chaney presiding. There is no public case with that name, but grand jury proceedings are confidential.

The singer’s father, Dawud, mother, Colleen, and brother, Caleb, reside in Texas, according to court records. Lawyers for the trio could not be reached for comment.

Detectives have spent months investigating the circumstances surrounding the girl’s death, as well as her relationship with D4vd.

His Tesla sat abandoned on a street in the Hollywood Hills for several weeks — potentially months — before its removal.

Authorities uncovered Celeste’s body the day after her 15th birthday. Her family had previously reported her missing.

L.A. Police Capt. Scot Williams, who leads the Robbery-Homicide Division, said the girl had been “dead for at least several weeks.” Williams said the body had not been decapitated or frozen, as some news outlets have reported.

Detectives determined that the Tesla had been parked on Bluebird Avenue since late July — around the time D4vd began a national tour. The tour was canceled soon after the death investigation drew worldwide media attention.

Surprise ruling comes weeks after the media mogul was convicted and jailed for 20 years on national security charges.

A Hong Kong appellate court has overturned a fraud conviction against pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in a surprise ruling weeks after his jailing for 20 years on a separate national security charge.

The ruling by the Court of First Instance on Thursday said that it allowed the appeal from Lai and ⁠another defendant in the case to proceed as a lower court judge had “erred”.

“[We] allow the appeals, quash the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges wrote.

The conviction that was overturned was from an earlier fraud case in which prosecutors alleged that a consultancy firm operated by Lai, 78, for his personal use had taken up office space that his now defunct media business – Apple Daily – rented for publication and printing purposes.

This was in breach of the terms of the lease Apple Daily signed with a government company and amounted to fraud, prosecutors said.

Lai had been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison in 2022 on the two fraud charges.

Former Apple Daily executive Wong Wai-keung was also charged in the same case and jailed for 21 months.

Judges at the Court of Appeal wrote in their judgement that while Apple Daily Printing had breached the lease terms by allowing the firm to use part of the space, it didn’t owe a duty to disclose its breach. They said even if it had owed and breached that duty, the same could not be attributed to Lai and Wong as a matter of law.

The trial judges’ “reasoning in concluding that the applicants were liable for the concealment as the prosecution contended is unsupportable”, they said.

Neither defendant appeared in court.

The ruling would slightly reduce Lai’s total prison time. The judges handling Lai’s national security case allowed the two sentences to be served concurrently for only two years, with the other 18 years to be added after the fraud sentence.

The lengthy sentence – over ‌two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials – has raised concerns that he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Lai’s children have expressed hopes that a visit by United States President Donald Trump to Beijing could help secure the release of their father, a British citizen. The White House has confirmed that Trump will travel to China on March 31 through April 2 to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said Lai was sentenced for exercising his right to freedom of expression and called on the Hong Kong authorities to release him on humanitarian grounds.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have defended Lai’s sentencing in the national security case, saying it reflected the spirit of the rule of law. They also insisted the security law is necessary for the city’s stability.

In a separate ruling on Thursday, a Hong Kong court sentenced the father of a wanted pro-democracy activist to eight months in prison under the city’s national security law for attempting to withdraw funds belonging to an “absconder”.

Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was found guilty on February 11 for “attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources” after he tried to terminate his daughter Anna Kwok’s insurance policy and withdraw the funds.

He is the first person in the city to be charged and convicted of the offence.

He had pleaded not guilty and did not testify at the trial.

It’s a foodie hotspot in Cumbria, with Michelin-starred restaurants boasting a ‘farm to table’ philosophy and famous sticky toffee pudding, ideal for a UK holiday

Despite its modest size, this Cumbrian gem wields considerable sway over travellers heading to the Lake District in need of excellent food and somewhere to lay their heads.

Cartmel has earned quite a name for itself amongst walkers, cyclists and visitors to the region as a culinary hotspot. Whilst the village boasts a rich heritage centred around Cartmel Priory and its agricultural roots, it has since carved out an entirely fresh identity.

Situated less than 20 minutes’ drive from the Lake District National Park, there’s no shortage of attractions on the village’s doorstep.

With Greendale National Forest nearby and the River Eea within easy reach, it’s an idyllic spot for outdoor enthusiasts seeking a base from which to venture forth.

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Michelin Restaurants

For those demanding nothing less than exceptional cuisine following a day’s rambling or sightseeing, the village boasts a prestigious Michelin-starred establishment, L’Enclume.

Led by chef Simon Rogan, the restaurant features a constantly evolving menu that shifts with the seasons – embodying the chef’s ‘farm to table’ ethos.

Also holding Michelin star status is Rogan and Co, a neighbourhood eatery situated in the village centre, likewise operated by the celebrated chef.

They provide a set lunch menu priced at £49 for three courses, offered Wednesday through Saturday, alongside evening dining options.

After dining at L’Enclume, which specialises in French and European fare, one visitor hailed it as the “best dining experience ever” in a TripAdvisor review.

They said: “We went for our wedding anniversary for a special experience. It delivered. Every one of the many dishes was made with the best quality ingredients and put together with great imagination and cooked perfectly.”

Similarly, diners are unanimous in their praise for the food and service at its sister establishment, Rogan and Co. One review states: “Rogan and Co gives you a more traditional à la carte (choose your meal) three-course deal.

“But that isn’t to say this is basic dining. You are still getting snacks, interludes, great drink pairings and, much like L’Enclume, absolutely top-drawer service.”

Pubs

Beyond the Michelin-starred offerings, the culinary delights continue. True to form for a quintessentially English village, Cartmel boasts several traditional, welcoming pubs.

Indeed, several feature amongst the village’s TripAdvisor top 10 dining destinations – quite an achievement given the stiff competition. All within easy walking distance, visitors can devise their own pub crawl following a day of exploration, or simply settle into one favourite spot.

The Pig and Whistle proves particularly appealing during summer months, thanks to its expansive beer garden offering picturesque vistas across the village and the surrounding Cumbrian fells.

Inside, the establishment has been given something of a revamp, including its menu which offers pub classics with a distinctive ‘twist’.

Numerous patrons sing the praises of their Sunday roast, with some describing it as “divine” and others deeming it “excellent”.

Alongside it are The Royal Oak, The Kings Arms and the Cavendish Arms, which prides itself on making considerable efforts to source exclusively from local producers and suppliers. This commitment shines through in its glowing reviews, with one declaring: “This place is truly on top of its game.

“Amazing varied exquisite food from all over the word but definitely with a French twist. Lovely cosy setting with candles on each table and quality wines. Could not ask for more.”

Shops

The village boasts numerous shops selling local produce, with the Cartmel Village Shop standing out as one of the most notable – renowned for its sticky toffee pudding. The family-run shop sells homemade toffee and the beloved Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Cartmel’s “superb little shop” draws food fans from far and wide, all seeking a treat to satisfy their sweet cravings. One satisfied customer said: “Famous as the home of sticky toffee pudding, this delightful little shop is in the centre of this lovely village.

“As well as foodstuffs, they stock a good selection of deli produce and gifts. They also prepare a good selection of hot and cold sandwiches to take away, and we enjoyed some excellent, generously filled baps. The prices were most reasonable, and the service was charming.”

Another local gem is the Cartmel Food Shed, offering a delightful array of homemade soups, sandwiches, sausage rolls and sweet treats for takeaway or to enjoy in their welcoming dining space. Like many establishments dotted around the village, it’s very much a family-run operation with homemade produce at its core.

One thrilled customer raved in a review: “Delicious sandwiches, delicious cakes, scotch eggs. Possibly the best steak and ale pie I’ve ever had.”

They added: “Sandwiches are packed to the brim with quality produce. Everything is made with care and love. You can tell the owner takes pride in everything she makes.”

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