The next NATO airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform will be Saab’s GlobalEye, as announced today during the alliance’s summit in Ankara, Turkey. The decision to buy up to 10 GlobalEyes for NATO comes after Sweden, France, and Canada all selected the platform, and amid a flurry of new orders for military equipment as part of a wider alliance defense spending drive.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said today that NATO will begin formal negotiations with Saab regarding the acquisition of the GlobalEye. The system will combine Saab’s Erieye Extended Range radar, other sensors, and a command and control (C2) system on a Canadian-made Bombardier Global 6500 bizjet airframe. At this point, Saab has not signed a contract or received an order.

“We are honored and proud to support NATO in its next-generation AEW&C capability,” said Micael Johansson, president and CEO of Saab. “We are confident that GlobalEye is the right choice for the alliance, delivering proven capability, adaptability and long-term operational advantage. Today’s announcement clearly positions GlobalEye as the world-leading solution for advanced airborne early warning and control. We look forward to the next steps in the negotiations.”

NATO’s decision to choose GlobalEye is significant for the Alliance, for Sweden and for the transatlantic defence industrial base. It recognises Swedish technology and is a concrete Swedish contribution to NATO’s deterrence, defence and future air surveillance. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/uX9QR7Fuoq

— Pål Jonson (@PlJonson) July 7, 2026

The alliance badly needs a replacement for its fleet of 14 Boeing E-3A Sentry Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft that are operated by the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force (NAEW&CF), home-stationed at Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany.

The GlobalEye’s path to success with NATO has been somewhat circuitous.

Back in 2023, NATO had announced its plan to “take steps toward acquiring” six Boeing E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, the first part of an effort known as Initial Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (iAFSC).

NATO’s original choice of the E-7 took into account price and availability, as well as previous E-7 acquisition programs, namely in Australia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

At that time, NATO determined that the E-7 was “the only known system currently capable of fulfilling the strategic commands’ essential operational requirements and key performance parameters and available for delivery within the timeframe required.”

But last November, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced that NATO had dropped its plan to buy E-7s, saying that the program had lost its “strategic and financial basis.” The decision was also driven by confusion about the future of the U.S. Air Force’s Wedgetail plans.

At that point, the State Secretary for Defense of the Netherlands, Gijs Tuinman, said that the goal was to have a new AEW&C aircraft operational by 2035, referencing the date that the E-3s will reach the end of their service life.

Last year, Saab said that they would be able to get the GlobalEye into operational service with NATO in 2031.

The Netherlands was one of seven partner members in the AWACS replacement program, alongside Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, and the United States. However, the United States later departed the program.

Dropping the E-7 meant the GlobalEye became the only realistic candidate, as the only other in-production jet-powered Western AEW&C aircraft. The turboprop, carrier-capable Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye is also still being built.

Also in its favor is the fact that the GlobalEye has already been ordered by France to replace its E-3F Sentry fleet, and by Sweden, and has been selected by Canada. Saab has pitched the aircraft to Denmark and Finland, with a view to them potentially jointly operating the type. The company has also confirmed that Germany and Poland have both shown “interest” in the GlobalEye.

Meanwhile, demand for AEW&C aircraft is growing across Europe as the security environment continues to deteriorate. Russia’s ongoing aggression has reinforced the need for persistent wide-area surveillance and airspace control, while a broader range of operational scenarios is also driving renewed interest in airborne early warning capabilities.

Poland is among the latest countries to invest in the capability, taking delivery of two Saab 340 twin-turboprop AEW&C aircraft fitted with Saab’s earlier Erieye radar. Similar aircraft have also been delivered to Ukraine, reflecting the growing importance of these platforms on NATO’s eastern flank.

The appearance of Russian drones inside or close to NATO airspace has only added urgency to the requirement. AEW&C aircraft offer a critical look-down capability that makes them well suited to detecting and tracking low-flying threats, including uncrewed aircraft and cruise missiles, that can be difficult for ground-based radars to spot. At the same time, they provide an airborne picture of activity across the battlespace, monitoring Russian military aircraft while also keeping watch over potentially hostile movements on the ground and at sea.

Saab notes that the GlobalEye is particularly capable at identifying low-observable and stealthy threats, as well as drones, ballistic and hypersonic missiles, even in complex environments characterized by heavy clutter and electronic jamming.

GlobalEye walk-around tour with Saab

Unclear at this stage is what will happen with NATO’s previous plans to field a crewed AEW&C aircraft as part of an integrated network of sensors, also including drones, and other aircraft types that can operate in a surveillance-gathering capacity, and space-based systems.

This reflected U.S. Air Force thinking, in which the E-7 has been viewed more as a solution to bridge the gap between the retirement of its own aging E-3s and a future space-based radar capability and other classified systems. Much of this has been driven by concerns about the survivability of traditional AEW&C platforms in more contested airspace.

For NATO nations in Europe, switching from the E-7 to the GlobalEye also reinforces the importance of investing in the continent’s own defense industry. Increasingly, officials in Europe are looking to local manufacturers to meet their defense needs, part of a wider effort to reduce their traditional reliance on the United States, which is seen as a less reliable strategic partner under the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, and in response to the deteriorating security situation facing Europe, the NATO Summit that kicked off today has seen a flurry of big-ticket acquisition programs announced. Here, however, the U.S. defense industry was well represented.

Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Norway today announced they would acquire up to five Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) drones. These will enhance NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) fleet that operates from Sigonella Air Base in Italy and currently flies five Q-4-series drones under the name RQ-4D Phoenix. As well as operating in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, NATO noted that these drones will also fly in the increasingly strategic Arctic and the High North regions.

“Our collaboration with NATO and the U.S. Navy strengthens the alliance’s ground and maritime surveillance capabilities, said Jane Bishop, vice president and GM of Northrop Grumman’s Global Surveillance segment. “Like Phoenix, Triton conducts ISR at higher altitude and with longer endurance than medium-altitude systems, and is poised to provide NATO new levels of capability and operational flexibility to monitor and protect maritime interests from the Mediterranean to the High North.”

Unclear is whether the NATO Triton variant will be significantly different from the U.S. Navy’s, which focuses on broad-area maritime surveillance and can also conduct signals intelligence (SIGINT) work.

Other maritime patrol procurement includes an initial two P-8A Poseidon aircraft for Denmark. These will also be of particular value in the Arctic and the High North, as well as in the context of Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said should be under U.S. control. Denmark joining the P-8 community also offers the potential for close cooperation in anti-submarine warfare with Canada, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom, all of which are Poseidon customers.

“With maritime patrol aircraft, Denmark’s ability to enforce sovereignty and monitor the region is significantly strengthened,” Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the NATO Summit today also saw Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom launch a program to establish a Multinational Fleet operating the Airbus A400M airlifter.

The multinational air transport initiative builds on the model of the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF), which operates a ‘pooling and sharing’ arrangement with Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft on behalf of NATO.

The new A400M Multinational Fleet will address strategic airlift capability gaps among European allies, many of which lack a transport aircraft in the A400M class.

Alongside the A400M agreement, NATO announced the incorporation of Finland as a new member of the Multinational MRTT Fleet, which already included the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Denmark. Nine A330 MRTTs are now in service from a total order of 12 for the MMF.

In terms of missiles, Europe still remains heavily reliant upon the United States, but efforts are being made to at least shift more production and sustainment capabilities to the continent.

With that in mind, today saw Lockheed Martin announce two initiatives to strengthen NATO’s missile industrial base by addressing both new production capacity (ATACMS) and lifecycle sustainment (PAC-3), two weapons systems that are also fundamental to Ukraine’s warfighting potential, and in constant demand from Kyiv.

For the ATACMS, Lockheed Martin has signed a memorandum of understanding covering local production of the munitions in Europe, leveraging Rheinmetall’s manufacturing capabilities.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin will work with Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden to explore a dedicated PAC-3 missile maintenance facility in Europe. The proposed facility will support NATO allies operating PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) and PAC-3 Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI) interceptors.

Deputy Prime Minister W. @KosiniakKamysz: We have signed an agreement with the 🇺🇸🇩🇪🇳🇱🇸🇪 regarding the creation of a service centre of PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot system. This will greatly enhance potential and speed up the production and service of these missiles. pic.twitter.com/WwE7BNivE5

— Poland MOD 🇵🇱 (@Poland_MOD) July 7, 2026

While the GlobalEye deal still has to be negotiated and finalized, today’s announcement effectively cements the type as NATO’s next airborne early warning platform. It also marks another major victory for Saab in the increasingly competitive AEW&C market, while underscoring a broader shift toward European-developed defense capabilities as the alliance races to modernize in response to the rapidly evolving security environment.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Dan Snow has revealed the unusual thing he tells his three children when they ask him a difficult question about the future.

Historian and documentary-maker Dan Snow has highlighted the challenges faced by many parents as he revealed the difficulties of raising children in a deeply troubled world. In a new interview, he has revealed how he does his utmost to protect his children from the “grotesque” reality of threats such as climate change and nuclear war.

Dan, whose parents were both television journalists and who has countless family ties to the intertwined worlds of news and politics, has confessed that he routinely “lies” to his three children about what lies ahead.

“The biggest, most depressing lie I’ve told my children,” he tells The Times, “is that the world is well-run and the risk of nuclear war and climate change is being dealt with by experts.”

Yet in reality, the celebrated TV historian says, we are all “on a highway to catastrophic civilisational collapse,” while he does his best to reassure his son and two daughters that the adults have everything firmly in hand.

He admits: “The kids look at me and go, ‘Is everything OK? This is all fine, right?’ and I say, ‘Yes.'”

As Christopher Nolan’s epic retelling of Homer’s Odyssey hits cinemas, Dan is retracing the journey of Odysseus’s return from the siege of Troy in a two-part documentary series streaming on his History Hit platform this month before airing on Channel 5 this Thursday, July 16.

While his journalist parents were always fixated on the latest breaking news, Dan says he was far more drawn to “the substructural factors, the longer history behind those moments.”

This passion led him to produce a string of acclaimed historical documentaries, spanning everything from the Battle of El Alamein to China’s Terracotta Army. His family’s most significant historical legacy is, without doubt, his great-great-grandfather David Lloyd George, the only Welshman ever to serve as Prime Minister.

Lloyd George is renowned both for steering the nation through the First World War and for a private life that was dogged by scandal.

Dan reveals he became captivated by his celebrated relative’s story: “I found it inspiring that he was raised by his uncle, a cobbler, and got into grammar school; then university, then politics. He was the first and only Welsh-speaking prime minister, the first from a working-class background,” he says.

Yet there’s no profound emotional bond, he adds: “He was a serial philanderer and ultimately disappeared off down to Surrey with his second wife, so my side of the family are the ones who got left behind.”

Dan has, naturally, produced a documentary film in which he delves into the turbulent, ambition-fuelled life of his great-great-grandfather.

It charts how the PM built his reputation as a groundbreaking social reformer and the “man who won the war”.

He argues that Lloyd George was “the first man in history to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom without money, without connections, without royal blood in his veins or whatever else. He was the first of a new kind of politician.

“What’s weird,” Dan adds, “is that it didn’t happen after Britain’s period of imperial rule and dominance. It happened right in the middle of it.

“At the absolute moment of greatest influence and power over the world, you had a man in charge of Britain who had risen from a humble background.”

Published on
13/07/2026 – 12:23 GMT+2

TSMC said on Monday that June revenue rose 67.9% year on year to NT$398.27 billion (€10.8bn), bringing the first-half of the year revenue to NT$2.4 trillion (€65.4bn), a 35.6% increase from the same period in 2025.

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Based on the company’s monthly revenue disclosures, second-quarter revenue amounted to roughly NT$1.27 trillion, ahead of the NT$1.264 trillion (€34.4bn) consensus forecast from 20 analysts surveyed by LSEG.

Monday’s release covers June revenue and cumulative first-half sales only.

TSMC will publish its full second-quarter earnings on Thursday, including net profit, gross margin, operating margin and updated financial guidance.

The road ahead

At its April earnings presentation, TSMC said it expects full-year 2026 revenue to grow by more than 30% in US dollar terms and projected capital expenditure of between $52 billion (€45.5bn) and $56 billion (€49bn) as it expands manufacturing capacity to meet AI-driven demand.

New fabrication plants are under construction or in preparation in Arizona, Japan and Germany, reflecting both the scale of customer demand and government efforts to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

Shares in TSMC rose about 1% following Monday’s revenue update.

Investors will now turn their attention to Thursday’s full earnings report for updates on profitability, margins, full-year guidance and the rollout of the company’s two-nanometre manufacturing technology, which is already attracting strong customer interest.

The AI engine

The company sits at the centre of one of the largest investment cycles in the semiconductor industry’s history.

Many of the world’s leading AI processors, including Nvidia’s GPUs and much of the custom AI silicon designed by Amazon, Google and Microsoft, are manufactured by TSMC in Taiwan.

At the company’s April earnings presentation, CEO Che-Chia Wei described AI demand as “extremely robust”, driven by the shift from chatbots that answer questions to agentic AI systems capable of taking actions.

That transition requires significantly greater computing power, increasing demand for the advanced chips TSMC manufactures.

Advanced technologies, defined as chips produced using process technologies of seven nanometres or smaller, accounted for 74% of wafer revenue in the first quarter.

TSMC’s three-nanometre technology alone contributed 25% of wafer revenue.

Reports have indicated that Nvidia has reserved roughly 60% of TSMC’s advanced chip-packaging capacity for 2026, highlighting continued supply constraints across the AI semiconductor market.

SACRAMENTO — Recent news about literacy, education and general smarts in California and across the country has been somewhat distressing.

Along with claims that Americans are becoming illiterate, here in the Golden State there are worries that even the highest-achieving students aren’t prepared for our universities, and a study shows backsliding in civil rights protections in the vacuum created by federal changes under the Trump administration.

Despite being close to terming out of office, and also otherwise occupied with his ever-emerging presidential run, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week found time to announce a consequential, if controversial, move that has the potential to vastly improve educational outcomes for California kids: switching out an independent, voter-chosen leader for a hired gun.

In legislation signed last week, Newsom basically eviscerated the role of the elected superintendent of public instruction and instead shifted oversight of our K-12 schools to a newly created education commissioner — to be appointed by the governor.

The change, set to happen early next year, has been described as a “power grab” by some, and on its surface could be seen that way. The conservative candidate for state superintendent — Sonja Shaw, who says she is running to stop “political ideologies being shoved down everybody’s throats” — quickly claimed Newsom’s move was all about stopping her.

In reality, power grab or not, it’s the kind of reform we should all support — a long-overdue push to create accountability in a hot-mess system where there are too many people almost-sorta in charge of too many conflicting priorities.

‘A’ for accountability

It’s to Newsom’s credit that he’s setting up his successor to helm a system that at least has a chance at coherence, even if it raises the stakes for the next governor to deliver.

For years — decades, really — streamlining the governing structure of schools “has been proposed by Republicans and Democrats and bipartisan and nonpartisan commissions,” Linda Darling-Hammond told me. She’s a professor emeritus at Stanford University, an advisor to the governor and, by any measure, one of the preeminent education policy experts in the country.

“It’s not at all political. It is really about making the system run well,” she said. “The world is changing, the economy is changing. There’s just a need to be very efficient and effective in making policy and then implementing that policy.”

“Run well” is the key there. California operates the biggest and most diverse school system in the country. We’ve got roughly 10,000 regular schools (depending on how you count), including about 1,200 charter schools, around 1,00 school districts and 58 counties, each with their own slice of local control over those schools, according to the Department of Education.

That’s about 5.7 million students, nearly 300,000 teachers and $150 billion in costs (counting the new funding in the next budget).

To be kind, this system does not always run well. That’s in no small part because oversight and control are fragmented, overlapping and confusing. Currently, the State Board of Education sets policies, but the elected superintendent implements them through the Department of Education. Then control runs downhill to individual school districts, filtering through local school boards and even principals.

The board can’t control how the superintendent does their job, and vice versa. In fact, they don’t always agree, despite (or because of) the shotgun wedding nature of their relationship. At times, it can feel like they are working against each other. Never mind the complexities of local control.

This has been especially true in recent years as Newsom and the Legislature have pushed through big changes, such as the new prekindergarten grade, that have required massive coordination and effort. At the local level, administrators often complain there is little clarity on what is expected of them and, too often, outright conflict.

“The idea of having policy in one place and implementation in the other is really crazy,” Michael Kirst told me. He’s professor emeritus of education at Stanford and the longest-serving president of California’s State Board of Education, serving under both of Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial stints.

Newsom’s proposed system promises “much clearer, cleaner accountability,” Kirst said.

Expertise counts

It also has the benefit of putting an actual education expert in charge of schools. Because the superintendent role is elected, it has too often been coveted by career politicians looking for a landing spot. Its incumbent, Tony Thurmond, had a background in social work before running for various offices, but that kind of experience isn’t always the case. Neither is experience running a major organization with thousands of employees.

While Newsom’s plan leaves many, if not most, of the details to be ironed out later (a frustrating strategy he’s used more than once to keep the ball rolling on policy without having the drag of actual detail), it does promise to put in someone with the kind of high-level educational policy experience that should be required when managing this vast and important endeavor.

Kirst points out that this will be a “powerful position” charged with making sure our schools are indeed run well, and at the end of the day, it gives us one person to blame if they don’t: the governor.

So if schools don’t improve and our kids don’t learn, voters will know exactly who failed.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: Trump ousts members of bipartisan election commission ahead of midterms
The California edge: The Work of Helping A.I. Destroy Work
The L.A. Times Special: In bed 23 at Adelanto ICE detention center, a terrified teenager missed his mom

Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals are set to start, with France taking on Spain and defending champion Argentina facing England.

World Cup co-hosts U.S., Canada and Mexico will be watching from the sideline after being eliminated in the round of 16.

Here’s everything you need to know about the two World Cup matches being played Tuesday and Wednesday (all times Pacific).

Tuesday’s semifinal

France vs. Spain

France star Kylian Mbappe controls the ball during a World Cup quarterfinal win over Morocco on July 9.

(Lars Baron / Getty Images)

Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Time: Noon
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock

The buzz: This game would be far better suited as a final than a semifinal. Both are unbeaten — in fact, Spain is unbeaten in its last 36 games, one shy of the all-time record. For France, a win would put it in the final for a third straight World Cup while Spain is hoping to get back for the first time since 2010, when it won its only title. The teams got here in different ways. Spain has walked a razor’s edge, giving up just a single goal in the tournament and winning its last two games on late goals from substitute Mikel Merino. France has bludgeoned the opposition, scoring 16 goals while conceding just two. Kylian Mbappé has scored eight times and has 20 goals in 20 World Cup games, leaving him one back of Lionel Messi’s all-time record. It seems unjust that one of these teams will finish its World Cup in the third-place game.

Wednesday’s semifinal

England vs. Argentina

England’s (from left to right) Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Morgan Rogers celebrate after defeating Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Time: Noon
TV: Fox, Telemundo | Streaming: Fox One, Peacock

The buzz: Both teams are unbeaten and each survived scares in the quarterfinals, with England outlasting Norway in extra time in brutal weather in Miami and Argentina beating Switzerland in extra time in Kansas City. Jude Bellingham had a brace in each of England’s last two games to match teammate Harry Kane’s six goals in the tournament. Bellingham is the first player to score at least two goals in consecutive World Cup knockout matches since Diego Maradona in 1986. Argentina, the reigning champion, is unbeaten in its last 12 World Cup games, but four of its last six knockout-stage games have gone to extra time or penalties. Argentina has gotten eight goals and two assists from Messi in this World Cup.

Seoul shares plunged 9 percent Monday as investors dumped technology stocks for profit-taking amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 669.01 points, or 8.95 percent, to close at 6,806.93 after falling as low as 6,783.43.

Trade volume was moderate at 469.86 million shares worth 39.8 trillion won (US$26.5 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 713 to 179.

Institutions and foreigners sold a net 2.22 trillion won and 1.7 trillion won worth of shares, respectively, while individuals bought a net 3.9 trillion won.

After opening 0.85 percent lower, the KOSPI extended its losses, triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading of KOSPI-listed stocks for 20 minutes. It marked the seventh activation of the measure this year.

On Friday, U.S. stocks advanced, buoyed by South Korean chipmaker SK hynix’s multibillion-dollar U.S. share offering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.29 percent.

SK hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq closed at US$168 each, well above the offering price of $149.

Despite the successful U.S. market debut, SK hynix shares tumbled as investors took profits and shifted to the company’s ADRs, analysts said.

Investor sentiment was also dampened by heightened uncertainty in the Middle East after the United States and Iran exchanged fresh strikes over the status of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The country’s newly introduced single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds linked to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continued to fuel volatility in the stock market,” Samsung Securities said in a research note.

Tech stocks led the decline.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics plunged 10.7 percent to 254,500 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix plummeted 15.37 percent to 1,845,000 won.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.95 percent to 444,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace declined 3.21 percent to 936,000 won.

Among gainers, leading battery maker LG Energy Solution rose 0.77 percent, and leading refiner SK Innovation climbed 7.09 percent to 110,200 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,503.4 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 2 won from the previous session.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 4.1 basis points to 3.809 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds climbed 3.3 basis points at 4.041 percent.

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Keeping the item with you until you’ve got off the plane and collected your luggage on the other side is best

Millions of people are expected to go abroad during the six-week holiday, as the peak travel season typically sees masses of British families take advantage of the kids being off. With so many people set to pass through UK airports over the coming weeks, it is important to stay up to date with the latest guidelines and advice to ensure a smooth journey.

Jet2 is one of the most popular budget airlines in the UK, and welcomes around 20 million passengers on board each year. Jet2‘s website is full of information for passengers to read up on and keep in mind when travelling, including steps to take and things to do to minimise disruption and delays as much as possible, especially when bringing luggage to go into the aircraft’s cargo hold.

On its ‘Top Tips Before Travel‘ page online, the airline urges passengers to bring one particular item along with them on their journey, right until they collect their checked luggage at their chosen destination. By doing so, they can reduce the risk of longer delays should the worst happen

The airline explains: “At check-in, each item of checked baggage will be given a destination tag showing your flight number. Do not get rid of your checked baggage receipts (if given) until you pick up all checked baggage at your destination airport. Never carry unidentified items on behalf of other people.”

Why is it important to keep the luggage receipt with you?

It’s important to keep your checked baggage receipt because it helps you track down lost luggage, file for compensation, and prove ownership if security or customs officials need to check your bags. Usually, these are the small adhesive tags that get stuck to your boarding pass or passport after you drop off your luggage at the check-in desk.

When you check-in a bag, the barcode and receipt information are linked to your digital flight booking file. If your suitcase doesn’t show up, the barcode and the 10-digit number on your receipt help airline agents find your specific bag using global systems like WorldTracer.

If I lose my luggage receipt, will I face delays?

If your bag is lost and you have misplaced your checked baggage receipt, the airline can still look up your digital tracking information, but the process will require more manual verification and may face delays. Locating your profile manually can be time-consuming, particularly during busy travel times or when the booking system is experiencing delays.

If your bag is lost for good (missing for over 21 days), the airline or your travel insurance company may ask for more evidence of check-in. Misplacing the receipt can complicate the process of making a formal financial compensation claim, but your digital booking records usually serve as a valid paper trail, according to Citizens Advice.

Jet2 also urges passengers to label each piece of baggage with their name, flight number, and phone number. It adds: “Please ensure your baggage is strong and fit for purpose, to protect the contents and to withstand the normal baggage handling process. Soft sided cases and handles, wheels and locks can be particularly vulnerable.”

The airline also says: “Take care when claiming your baggage at your destination, as many suitcases look the same. It is best to always check the name on the baggage tag.

“You must contact the Jet2.com team at the airport (or our handling agents) immediately if your baggage is damaged or has not arrived. Irregularities must be reported immediately as claims cannot be processed once you leave the airport. Staff will help you to complete a Property Irregularity Report Form.”

Satellite imagery shows China has built what looks to be a new pattern of hardened structures with retractable roofs at a key missile test and training base in Inner Mongolia. Since the late 2010s, this base has also played a key role in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) dramatic expansion of its silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities. The more recent additions to the facility appear to be too small and shallow for this purpose. A new report posits they could be used to fire smaller ballistic and/or cruise missiles, and might point to plans for a new “conventional quick-strike capability.”

The China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), part of the U.S. Air Force’s Air University, first called attention to the two new structures yesterday. Though CASI published the report, it stressed that the “opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author,” Eli Tirk, and “do not necessarily represent the views of the Air University, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. government agency.” Tirk is a member of CASI’s staff.

“The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) has constructed an unknown type of fixed launch system at the 1st Test and Training District in Jilantai that appears capable of launching multiple missiles,” Tirk writes. “Construction began sometime in late 2022, and, at least externally, appeared to be near completion by late 2023.”

The report includes satellite images of the site taken in September and December 2022, as well as January of this year, as seen above and below.

“The excavation for the northern launcher … measures roughly 12.5 meters [40 feet] deep when the image was captured [in September 2022]. While it is possible that this foundation was dug deeper, it is not likely that it would have been significantly deeper, given the potential size of the finished interior of the launch system,” according to Tirk. “The limited imagery available of the finished structure prior to the installation of the launcher closure door restricts more accurate measurement, but this structure appears to be somewhere between 6.4 meters and 11.8 meters [21 to 38 feet] in depth.”

Additional satellite imagery TWZ has reviewed from PlanetLabs shows the rectangular retractable roofs to be approximately 65.5 feet (20 meters) long and just over 21 feet (6.5 meters) wide. The roofs also look to open by sliding sideways along three large rails.

There is at least one other large structure at the site, which could be used for various support functions. There may be additional infrastructure underground. It is also worth noting here that the area with the new hardened structures is connected by road to an earlier facility immediately to the northeast. The tertiary site has several additional large structures contained within a clearly visible perimeter wall.

The roof design, at least, has some broad similarities to the covers on silos associated with older DF-5-series ICBMs, which are also rectangular in shape. For further comparison, the cover on a known ICBM test silo at Wuzhai, some 350 miles to the East of Jilantai, is nearly 74 feet (22.5 meters) long and around 29.5 feet (9 meters) wide. It also slides open to one side along two large rails. Underneath is a tubular silo that would have to be at least around 131 feet (40 meters) deep based on the dimensions of DF-5.

Silos constructed at Jilantai and other sites in China since the late 2010s, associated with newer DF-31 and DF-41 ICBMs, have completely different lid designs.

The new structures appear “to have a shorter depth than silos intended for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), suggesting that it may support short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), and cruise missiles,” per Tirk’s assessment. “Assuming the actual depth of the launch system is closer to the maximum range, these measurements suggest that these structures would likely be able to support up to an MRBM-class missile, assuming the roughly 10-meter length [nearly 33 feet] of a DF-21 or 11-meter length [approximately 36 feet] of a DF-17. It is also highly likely that this launch structure could easily accommodate SRBMs and cruise missiles.”

The DF-21 is a traditional MRBM design, and there is an anti-ship variant with a reentry vehicle capable of a certain degree of maneuvering in the terminal phase of flight. Though MRBM-sized, the DF-17 is topped with a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle and functions in a completely different manner from typical ballistic missiles. In general, hypersonic weapons of this type offer benefits when it comes to penetrating past enemy defenses and for prosecuting time-sensitive targets at long ranges, as you can learn more about here.

China’s Dong-Feng 21 “carrier killer” Salvo Launch

“While there may be space within this launch structure to store a small number of missiles horizontally that are erected vertically prior to launch, a more efficient configuration appears to be a vertical launch system,” Tirk adds. “A vertical launch system would enable the massing of fires for effect, reduce signatures, and maintain the flexibility to employ a variety of different munitions from a single launcher simultaneously, enabling these units to conduct rapid strikes against numerous target types.”

How missiles would be loaded into the launch system is unclear and would depend on its exact design. A specialized loading vehicle or at least a crane might be necessary. There is no indication that the structures allow for road-mobile transporter-erector-launchers to simply drive inside and fire through the open roof.

Tirk also raises the possibility that the site could be tied to Chinese ballistic missile defense developments. The line between ballistic missiles and mid-course anti-ballistic missile interceptors, as well as ground-launched anti-satellite interceptors, is often blurry. The U.S. Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is notably a silo-launched design, as is Russia’s A-135.

However, Tirk also notes that the base at Jilantai primarily serves the PLARF. This branch of the PLA is not known to have a major missile or air defense role. That responsibility largely falls to the PLA Air Force (PLAAF). There are no signs of radars or other features associated with these missions, either. As TWZ has previously reported on in detail, we have seen different types of hardened and unhardened structures with retractable roofs emerge near the border with India and on islands in the South China Sea that do look to be air defense sites.

Other significant additions to the facilities at Jilantai have been observed in recent years. As already noted, this has been especially heavily intertwined with China’s construction of hundreds of new ICBM silos and associated infrastructure spread across three separate fields in the north and western ends of the country.

Overall, Tirk posits that the new structures at Jilantai might reflect “an intent to field a conventional quick-strike capability for a counter-intervention mission set, or possibly to conduct strikes against Taiwan, both of which would provide the PLA with additional capabilities to influence U.S. strategic decision-making.”

“A conventional quick strike capability, like that provided by a vertical launch system, could make PLA leadership more confident in their ability to compel Taiwan and U.S. behaviors during a crisis by threatening or conducting rapid preparatory strikes or counterintervention fires in the early stages of a conflict,” he adds. “Building out these launch systems in sufficient quantities could allow the PLA to rapidly escalate from a quarantine or blockade of Taiwan to conducting elements of a massive preparatory fires campaign against targets on Taiwan, U.S. bases in the first island chain, or U.S. Navy task groups if positioned along the coast.”

“Fixed launching options, however, are difficult to conceal, protect with active defenses and – depending on their location – potentially of limited utility for continued use after their first launch. Expansive investment in this type of system may provide significant “use or lose” incentives to the PLA leadership in the event of an escalating crisis,” he also notes. “It is currently unclear how many of these systems the PLARF intends to construct, which PLARF Base they will be deployed under, and the specific mission set they are intended to support.”

There is still the possibility that these structures could serve another purpose, even just within the PLARF. In particular, if the foundation was dug deeper, this could fundamentally change the assessment. From the outside, the roofs do still look to be too narrow for there to be a traditional silo underneath for any of China’s known ICBMs. That being said, a deeper foundation could accommodate intermediate ballistic missiles (IRBM) or hypersonic types that use larger ballistic missile-type boosters, but that are still smaller than an ICBM. The DF-26 family of IRBMs, at least some variants of which are understood to be capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, is a particularly key component of the PLARF’s arsenal, and might also benefit from a new fixed launch infrastructure. Like the DF-21, there is also an anti-ship version of the DF-26.

China tests DF-26 missile destroying Mock Aircraft Carrier

The hardened structures with retractable roofs could conceal other assets beyond launchers for any kind of missile. They could have a more specialized testing role, rather than one intended to lead to an operational capability, too. TWZ has previously highlighted other hangar-like structures with retractable roofs, some of which are camouflaged, in an area known as Korla East in the western end of the country. PLAN facilities in this region have been tied to work on missile defense, anti-satellite, directed energy weapon, and electromagnetic pulse technologies, as you can read more about here.

Regardless, the new structures at the base in Jilantai do reflect a broader trend when it comes to hardened military infrastructure in China, as well as elsewhere globally. As we wrote last year, after the emergence of the apparent new pattern of hardened air defense sites near China’s border with India:

“The shelters with retractable roofs at the sites in Gar County and near Pangong Lake also highlight a larger trend when it comes to physical hardening, or at least ‘enclosing,’ that has been observed at Chinese military facilities in recent years. There has been a particularly visible surge in the construction of new hardened aircraft shelters, as well as unhardened, but fully enclosed hangars, at air bases across China, including ones situated on the Tibetan Plateau.”

China has completed the construction of 36 hardened aircraft shelters,new administrative blocks& a new apron at its Lhunze airbase in Tibet. Gives China the option of forward-deploying fighter aircraft & drone systems in its arsenal & reduces the response time needed for the IAF pic.twitter.com/g3kRXpyuRg

— Varun Karthikeyan (@Varun55484761) October 29, 2025

PLA Air Force had 370 Hardened Air Shelters (HAS) and 1100 regular ones in 2010. This increased to 800+ and 2300+ respectively in 2024, according to Hudson Institute.

Storage tunnels dug up in mountains and hardened storage sites for missiles and other war supplies are extra. pic.twitter.com/DQeQbXnGN9

— Jaidev Jamwal (@JaidevJamwal) January 21, 2025

“Vast fields of new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles have also been built in the western end of China over the past few years. This is all on top of the PLA’s existing array of hardened infrastructure, which includes deeply buried air and naval bases.”

“Chinese construction of new hardened and unhardened aircraft shelters, in particular, is reflective of larger global trends, including in Russia, North Korea, and Iran, as well. It has also stood in notable contrast to the lack of such developments in the United States, something that has become a topic of heated debate, which TWZ has been tracking very closely.”

“Growing threats posed by long-range, one-way attack drones, which offer a relatively low-cost way to launch large volume strikes, especially against fixed targets like air bases and air defense sites, have become a particularly significant factor in the hardening debate. Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb also underscored the threats that smaller, shorter-range drones can pose to aircraft and other assets out in the open, and in areas far away from active combat zones. Drones could also be layered in with the many other methods of attack that would be used against the same array of targets.”

Though questions remain about their exact purpose, and the concepts of operations behind them, the new hardened structures with retractable roofs in Jilantai might be a sign of things to come.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

NO-ONE travelled further to become an international star than Sam Neill, who died today aged 78.

He would leave his home in the South Island of New Zealand to fly thousands of miles to film sets in Britain, Europe and America – but always travel back to his far-flung base the moment they were over to spend time with his family.

They confirmed his death in a statement, writing: “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia.”

This followed a battle with stage three blood cancer after he was diagnosed in 2022.

After undertaking an experimental treatment announced a month ago he was in remission.

His family said: “The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer- free.”

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Sam became famous thanks to his role in Omen III (The Final Conflict) where he played the antichrist who had risen to become a British politician trying to prevent the second coming of Christ.

Before then starring in 1983 British TV series, Reilly, Ace of Spies, in which he played Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became a successful spy during the First World War.

But his entry to the big-time came ten years later in Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, which spawned a craze for everything about dinosaurs. 

The film, about a theme park where the public could see cloned dinosaurs, caught the public’s imagination – and broke box office records.

The dinosaurs run riot in the film when all safety fences are broken, killing park workers and each other as there is a battle for supremacy. 

Neill’s lead role of dinosaur expert Dr Alan Grant escaped the carnage and went on to star in sequels, Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022), making a personal fortune in the process.

Yet he was a last minute choice after bigger star names like William Hurt, Kurt Russell, Harrison Ford and Tim Robbins all turned it down.

“It was a warning never to become too big or too expensive,” he said. 

“You can lose a lot of good parts in that way. I preferred quiet progress.”

Neill did precisely that throughout his career of over 100 movies in nearly 50 years, in which he would turn up in the most unlikely roles.

It included that of Major Chester Campbell in the first two series of the BBC’s hit series Peaky Blinders.

He was born on September 14th, 1947 in Omagh, Northern Ireland to New Zealander father Dermot, an army officer, and mother Priscilla, who was English. 

Although he was christened Nigel, he later thought the name ‘prissy’ and changed it to Sam in childhood. 

His family continued to call him Nigel.  

He is survived by actor son Tim (b 1983) whom he had with actress Lisa Harrow, a fellow New Zealander.  

Despite reports to the contrary, they never married.

He also has daughter Elena (b 1991) with estranged wife Nariko Watanabe, a Japanese make-up artist whom he met on Dead Calm (1989), which was co-star Nicole Kidman’s breakthrough movie. 

He had a stepdaughter with Watanabe, Maiko Spencer (b 1982).  

Neill spent virtually his entire life travelling, first with his father’s job moves around Ireland and then, when he retired from the army, to New Zealand, aged seven.

His father joined the family brewing wholesale business near far-flung Dunedin, which was Gaelic for Edinburgh and founded in 1848 as a Scottish Free Church settlement.

“I was an outsider from the start there,” he recalled. 

“Bullying at school, mocked for my accent, being called names and beaten up – the lot.

“Cowboy films and TV series were very popular at the time, so I called myself Sam to sound like one. It didn’t do much good.”

He was sent away to boarding school in Christchurch, more than 200 miles north along the coast. 

“It was even more lonely,” he said. 

“I developed a stutter, although I could talk perfectly up to that point.”

He used the experiences and memories when he became an actor, always being prepared to take on new projects wherever they were in the world.

“I had an ability to pretend to be other people – probably because I had to at school,” he told me. 

“I never had any great expectations as an actor.”

He started working in television documentaries and in small acting roles.  

He was 30 before he appeared in a movie, Sleeping Dogs (1977), an action thriller made in New Zealand. 

“That film was a calling card,” he said. 

“It was a critical success and that led to some offers, all thousands of miles away. It was a case of either travel or never leave.”

He had arrived in London when we first met in March, 1989, promoting a film called A Cry in the Dark, with Meryl Streep.

It was an alarming real-life Australian story about a baby girl who disappeared from a campsite.

The baby’s mother, Lindy Chamberlain (played by Streep) insisted that a wild dingo dog had taken her baby, but a disbelieving public felt that she was making up a story to cover up murder.

Neill was playing husband Michael Chamberlain. 

“It revealed to me the price of being an international star, like Meryl,” he said.

“She was the most famous actress in the world at that point and the sort of stuff she had to put up every day was incredible. 

“One was a story about her leaving her husband for Michael Jackson!

“I thought to myself ‘if this is what real stardom means, I don’t want it.’   So I had to be careful. I wanted recognition, but also want privacy and sanity.”

Neill went on to achieve exactly that.  

We met several times over the years. He had a calm, down-to-earth manner, unfussy and unflashy, with a dry self-mocking sense of humour.

“I have always been free of ambition – honestly,”  he said.

“I realised, early on, that if I started to desperately want things, then I was going to be disappointed.

“There was always someone whose career was going to better and bigger than mine. There was also someone going to get the parts I wanted.

“So I never had a game plan. If I’d had one, I would have moved to Hollywood and committed to a career in films, going to endless meetings and being a ‘personality.’

“Instead, I have never moved my home from New Zealand. I’ve been fortunate in that enough work has come up – and I’ve travelled to do it.

“I had to get used to the biggest jet-lag, the longest time-changes to the body and being away from home. But that’s been worth it.

“Don’t forget that the first time I went to New Zealand in the early 1950’s it took two months by boat and now it’s only 21 hours by plane.”

He was also cautious about being caught in the trap of other well-known actors. 

“I don’t know what it is about us that leads us in to more temptation,” he laughed.

“I think we are sometimes over-celebrated and can have far more fame than is comfortable. So when trouble comes, it’s all over the public domain.

“I once went to a pub’ with English actor Warren Clarke, drank non-stop to keep up, blacked out and woke up in bed with a woman I didn’t know. 

“The trick is to keep your trousers on and go to bed early. It’s mostly worked for me up to now.”

He seemed to effortlessly glide into some major roles in films like The Hunt for Red October (1990) and The Piano (1993) and TV series The Tudors (2007), Happy Town (2010) and Alcatraz (2012).

There was a certain irony that when playing his unrelentingly tough Northern Ireland police chief in Peaky Blinders, he couldn’t master the accent.

“I was born in Northern Ireland and had the accent as a kid, but had buried it so deep in my mind that I had the greatest difficulty digging it up again.”

He ended up calling his Irish friend Liam Neeson for some tips and delivered the part pitch-perfect.  

“I probably over-did it a bit in the end,” he said.

“I love working in Britain. I feel part British, obviously, and the quality of the acting and the film crews are hard to beat anywhere in the world.”

Between each highly-paid role and movie, he would return home to New Zealand and not work, sometimes for months on end, so would simply slip out of the headlines.

On the last occasion we met, he was more interested in talking about his own wine label in New Zealand. 

He had used the old family connection with wine to grow his own and set up a company to produce it.

He lived, very happily he said, among wine-making and animals on a ranch in Central Otago, surrounded by mountains and lakes.

Neill announced in his 2023 autobiography Did I Ever Tell You This? (Penguin) that he had been undergoing chemotherapy since March, 2022 for a type of blood cancer. 

He had first noticed swollen glands when travelling to promote Jurassic World Dominion.

He had put a hold on his acting work. 

“I have been very fortunate to enjoy the best cities in the world – like London, Paris or Rome – and I have never been too jaded to get a kick out of that,” he said. 

“But the thing that pleases me more than anything is to sit still at my home, have a quiet glass of red wine and contemplate life.”

Based on the words of President Trump, America is well on the way to becoming a “global superpower in manufacturing” — indeed, as he declared in a Father’s Day social media post, we are already experiencing the “BEST ECONOMY EVER.” (Capitalization’s his.)

Here’s what the government’s own statistics tell us: Manufacturing investment has crashed during his watch, with construction spending in the manufacturing sector down 26.4% from Trump’s inauguration through May, to $174.8 billion. That’s the lowest figure since February 2023, when the economy was in the midst of a post-pandemic recovery.

White House spokesman Kush Desai told me by email that “the last two jobs reports” showed manufacturing job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a seasonally-adjusted decline of 2,000 manufacturing workers in May and a gain of 3,000 in June. But the June 2026 figure was 38,000 jobs, or about 0.3% below the level in June 2025, and 75,000 or about 0.6% below the level in January 2025, when Trump took office.

Desai said that “thanks to President Trump’s proven agenda of tariffs, deregulation, and tax cuts, American manufacturing will continue to rebound.”

There’s little mystery about what has come between Trump’s ambition and the real world. To a large extent it’s Trump’s economic program, particularly his tariff policies and, more recently, his war with Iran. Those have injected a level of uncertainty for corporate managements pondering whether to spend money on expansion that they haven’t had to confront in years.

The tariffs and the war have driven up manufacturers’ costs for raw materials and overseas shipping. The general economic atmosphere doesn’t help. U.S. gross domestic product growth came in at a 2.1% annualized rate in the first quarter of this year, but the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta expects it to have fallen to 1.3% in the second quarter ended June 30.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan consumer confidence index reached 44.8 in May, its lowest level ever (though it improved to 49.5 in June). Wages have been rising modestly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but those gains have been eaten up by higher prices, especially for gasoline and food.

To put things another way, the actual figures show the U.S. economy to be sputtering, and the “vibe economy” as measured by consumer confidence is doing even worse.

Now that Trump’s second term is about to reach its 18-month mark, let’s unpack the factors causing the discrepancy between his ambitions and claims, and the reality.

Trump declared economic victory just as his term was starting. On March 20, 2025, he proclaimed a “manufacturing renaissance” in the U.S. That was based on what he said were “trillions of dollars in new investments” he had “already secured in tech-based manufacturing.”

A White House statement said “the list of manufacturing wins is endless.” The provided list was a roster of announcements, not groundbreakings, much less completed ventures.

Business executives quite properly have taken these pledges with mounds of salt. “Announcements are what people say they’re going to do, but dollars spent is what’s actually happening,” Didi Caldwell, chief executive of a firm that helps companies find factory sites, told the Financial Times. “From where we’re standing, we are not seeing signs of a manufacturing renaissance in the U.S.”

Indeed, at least some of these announcements have had the flavor of performative efforts to satisfy Trump’s amour propre and extract government concessions.

For example, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook appeared with Trump at the White House in August to announce a $600-billion U.S. spending plan to take place over four years. That was a $100-billion increase over its previously-announced program.

More to the point, however, it incorporated spending with suppliers that Apple had been working with for years. Mentioned in the news announcement was a commitment to buy cover glass for iPhones from Corning. But Corning has been supplying that glass since the first iPhone appeared in 2007. In any case, the announcement appeared to secure a commitment from Trump to exempt Apple from tariffs imposed on imported chips.

Apple’s announcement Wednesday that it will spend $30 billion to buy chips from Broadcom was similarly ambiguous. The announcement didn’t provide details about the terms of the commitment or the timing of its expenditures. I asked Apple for details and whether the deal was related to a desire to remain in Trump’s favor, but didn’t hear back.

A similar phenomenon occurred during Trump’s first term; Trump had built much of his 2016 presidential campaign on a promise to increase manufacturing jobs in the United States. He blamed shrinkage in the manufacturing sector on trade agreements such as NAFTA and the policies of the Chinese, and took credit when an American manufacturer agreed to create or save jobs in the United States.

As I reported in 2019, many of those arrangements turned out to be exaggerated or bogus, or predated Trump’s claim. Some disappeared as soon as public attention turned elsewhere, or were outweighed by job cuts made elsewhere by the same companies.

Trump’s tariffs appear to have had a direct effect on manufacturing employment in the U.S. Since Trump’s inauguration, the manufacturing sector has shed about 75,000 jobs, or 0.6%. After April 2, 2025, when he announced global “liberation day” tariffs supposedly as a response to years of unfair treatment of American exports, the decline picked up pace, with a shrinkage of 68,000 manufacturing jobs.

The Supreme Court invalidated those tariffs in February, but others are still in place, including tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and on goods from China. Nor has he ceased threatening partners with trade wars. As recently as Tuesday, he said he would cut off all trade with Spain because of that country’s disagreement with him over its defense spending and its criticism of his Iran war.

As it happens, Spain is one of the few countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus. That means that any cutoff, which trade experts think will be unlikely, would come at a cost to the U.S.

One might have hoped that Trump had learned a lesson from his first-term trade war with China. That conflict provoked a sharp contraction in the manufacturing economy, with the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index falling to 49.1 by mid-2019. (A reading below 50 signifies contraction.)

The ISM index began to recover toward the end of Trump’s term but fell again during the pandemic. Lately it has been falling again, to 53.3 in June from 54 in May.

The Iran war is another deadweight on domestic manufacturing. That’s partially the consequence of blockages of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial thoroughfare not only for middle eastern oil, but also for such industrial inputs as fertilizer and aluminum. Cement, concrete, olive oil and spices are also among commodities produced in the region that use the strait as an outlet to reach the outside world.

Uncertainties in the region, tensions between the U.S. and China, and heightened concerns over the safety of shipping overall have driven up shipping costs between the far east and the U.S. The price of shipping a benchmark 40-foot container from China to the West Coast has nearly quadrupled to $6,687 now from about $1,700 just before the Iran war began, according to an index maintained by the cargo firm Freightos — even though shipping prices typically decline during this time of year.

There can be little doubt that the U.S. would benefit from an industrial policy — if it’s coherent. China supplanted America as the world’s leading exporter of manufactured goods in 2010, and the gap has only widened since then. China’s dominance may be hard to reverse, as it’s built on lower labor costs and transport infrastructure that enjoys focused government investment.

Tariffs could be a component of a new industrial policy, but Trump’s tariffs aren’t rationally geared to protecting domestic industries that need protection. They’re expressions of his whims, and as such they’re totally ineffective. If there are government investment policies targeting industries that need assistance, they’re not apparent to economists or industrialists.

Trump can talk as much as he likes about a golden age for U.S. manufacturing, but from his first term through this one, it’s nothing but talk. And talk, of course, is cheap.

I’d definitely rather be playing Argentina than the Swiss and I reckon Thomas Tuchel and the England players will be absolutely delighted too – they will think they can get at Argentina.

In wide areas, Argentina looked vulnerable. Nahuel Molina, who started at right-back, was given a torrid time by Dan Ndoye, who ended up scoring.

Molina got hooked in the end but, whether it is him or Gonzalo Montiel who starts against England, they will have their hands full with Anthony Gordon.

Similarly, whether it is Noni Madueke or Bukayo Saka on the right, I think they will have the better of Argentina left-back Nicolas Tagliafico in one-on-one duels too.

And, in the centre of their defence, Lisandro Martinez has made mistake after mistake in this tournament. He has got another rick in him, I’m sure of that.

The way Argentina set-up, they overload the middle of the pitch and play really narrow, then try to get Messi on the ball and hope he can produce something.

I know it is easy to say ‘you stop Messi, you stop Argentina’ but watching them, that was literally the case. Apart from Messi they are hoping Julian Alvarez bends one in from 25 yards rather than playing through teams.

Alvarez is usually in midfield but he played slightly differently against Switzerland, and was the one trying to stretch their backline. If he wasn’t doing it, no-one else was.

Messi certainly isn’t going to be making those runs and he was really quiet for long periods against the Swiss, but once they were down to 10 men he was probing and looking more of a threat.

If Declan Rice is fit, then it will be his job to deal with him. The Swiss realised you could not give Messi an inch and Granit Xhaka was brilliant at that.

Messi will still be dangerous but he is 39 now and, as long as Tuchel has a plan to stop him drifting into space, I think England will have enough quality everywhere else to win.

Look, it will be a brilliant tie because of all the history between the two countries at World Cups, with the Diego Maradona handball and the David Beckham red card.

The previous meetings have been pretty feisty, and I am expecting more of the same here.

I would not be surprised to see some antics from the Argentina players because they love that side of it. They will be happy if it turns into that kind of game, where things get a bit wild and England players might lose their heads.

But, if they can keep their cool, I am expecting England to win comfortably – and my other prediction is for Argentina to finish the game with nine men.

Messi has never played against England, and maybe he will make his mark, but England have got their own superstar now in Jude Bellingham.

His first goal against Norway was sensational, with his power, poise and the finish. He is absolutely flying at the moment and if it comes down to one player deciding this game, it is likely to be him.

Sutton’s prediction: 3-1

AI’s prediction: 1-2

A Seoul district court on Monday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to two years in prison after finding him partially guilty of accepting illegal political funds in the form of free opinion polls from a self-proclaimed power broker.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted the jailed former president on charges of violating the Political Funds Act in a ruling that marked a departure from a separate trial where his wife was acquitted on the same charges.

Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team earlier indicted Yoon on charges of colluding with his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, and receiving 58 opinion polls worth about 270 million won (US$180,100) in total for free from the power broker, Myung Tae-kyun, between April 2021 and March 2022.

In its ruling, the court recognized that Yoon had received 14 opinion polls from Myung for free over the period, sentencing him to prison and ordering a forfeiture of 13.96 million won.

It recognized the special counsel team’s argument that Yoon had promised to support former Rep. Kim Young-sun’s nomination as a candidate for the conservative People Power Party in the parliamentary by-elections in June 2022 in exchange for the opinion polls.

“The defendant’s actions sowed distrust in politics and undermined the public trust in the development of democracy,” the court said. “A punishment commensurate with the wrongdoing is inevitable.”

The court also sentenced Myung to 18 months in prison on the charges.

The special counsel team had sought a four-year prison sentence for Yoon and a three-year term for Myung.

The ruling diverged from an appellate court’s acquittal of Yoon’s wife on charges of accepting free opinion polls from Myung in a separate trial.

In Kim’s acquittal in April, the Seoul High Court ruled the couple could not be seen as profiting off the opinion polls as Myung had provided them to other people as well. Min’s team has appealed that ruling.

After the ruling, Yoon’s lawyers vowed to appeal, saying the verdict was “difficult to understand” given the former first lady’s acquittal in her trial.

The special counsel team called the latest ruling “very meaningful,” noting the bench appeared to have closely considered the various evidence and arguments presented in its judgment.

It marked the latest conviction for Yoon, who has been standing multiple trials following his failed 2024 martial law bid. In February, Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his short-lived imposition of martial law.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

FORGET Cornwall, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire. When it comes to UK holiday counties, one truly has it all.

As a travel writer and devoted local, I’ve explored the country’s top destinations – but nothing beats my home county.

Imagine the coastline and charm of Cornwall, but without the summer crowds.

Devon truly has it all – from the UK’s biggest outdoor waterpark and a stunning National Park to endless coastal paths and top-tier beaches.

And thanks to the Government’s new Great British Summer Savings scheme, spending time in Devon this summer is cheaper than ever.

If you’re planning a staycation, read on for my favourite spots. As a travel writer and a local, I’ve pulled together the ultimate guide to the hidden gems you won’t want to miss.

There are even some of The Sun’s £9.50 holiday parks in here too…

Best pubs

The Drum Inn, Cockington

Nestled in the picture-postcard village of Cockington, The Drum Inn. is a must-visit.

While its giant thatched roof feels like something straight out of a fairy tale, the real magic happens on scorching summer days, as its expansive garden is the ultimate sun trap.

If you need a break from the heat, head inside, where the pub manages to keep its cosy, historic charm alive all year round.

Church House Inn, Marldon

The Church House Inn , set in the village of Marldon, is one of my favourite watering holes.

Steeped in 14th-century history, this award-winning inn is a Devon legend.

It was the first pub in Devon to be listed in the Michelin Pub Guide and has been voted Devon’s Best Country Pub by readers of Devon Life magazine.

While it has a pristine beer garden ideal for soaking up the sun while sipping on a spritz. You can also get cosy and enjoy a roast by the fire in the winter.

Court Farm Inn, Abbotskerswell

The Court Farm Inn in Abbotskerswell has to hands down be one of the prettiest pubs in Devon.

The boozer used to be a farmhouse, built back in the 16th century.

Today, you still see exposed stone walls inside.

Make sure to grab one of the local ciders and head to the garden to enjoy the architecture even more.

The Thatch, Croyde

On a day trip or staycation in Croyde (see beaches section), make sure to drop into The Thatch, which boasts a rather impressive 2,000 four and five-star reviews.

The pub sells both classic dishes and dishes with a twist, and makes for the perfect spot after a day at the beach.

Samuel Jones, Exeter

When exploring the city of Exeter, head into the Samuel Jones pub which sits on the edge of Exeter Quay.

The slightly more industrial-style pub is a great spot for enjoying a pint and either watching sports games on big screens or the swans swimming outside.

The Highwayman Inn, Sourton

The Highwayman Inn is located near Sourton, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.

often dubbed Britain’s most quirky watering hole, – it has a horse-drawn carriage for a front door and is home to a sunken galleon.

The pub, which was first built in 1282, features a Tudor-style exterior and on the inside hosts a fairy tale pumpkin house and a fire breathing dragon.

Inside the hallways are covered in an array of eclectic artefacts and objects, collected over several decades by former landlord Buster Jones.

Oh.. and it’s meant to be haunted too.

Old Fire House, Exeter

In the city centre you should pay a visit to the Old Fire House pub which used to be a 19th century fire station.

You can expect an original vaulted wooden-beamed ceiling and exposed stone walls.

And it hosts great late-night events with oversized 14-inch square pizzas.

Best hotels and holiday parks

Hotel Indigo, Torquay

Hotel Indigo Torquay by IHG is one of the newest hotels on the English Riviera and cost £23million to develop.

Having recently stayed, it is easily in the best location to explore the English Riviera.

The hotel itself looks like a giant cruise ship and sits just across the road from the beach.

Inside the hotel is super stylish, with a modern Art Deco luxury vibe.

Make sure to head to the rooftop bar if you are staying there, with amazing views across the sea and coast.

A standard king-size room for two people including breakfast starts from £83 per night.

Golden Coast Holiday Park, Woolacombe

Woolacombe is a great spot for a family staycation thanks to its expansive beach.

And Golden Coast Leisure Park, which is just five minutes from the beach is a top spot to stay at.

At the holiday park there are high ropes, a climbing wall, adventure golf, go-karts and a whole host of other activities.

If you want to test your surfing abilities, there is even the Wave Surfer.

And running until August 10, you can even book the holiday park with The Sun’s Hols from £9.50 – sign up by joining Sun Club for £1.99 per month, then go to the Sun Club Offers hub and find the Hols from £9.50 page.

Best walks

South West Coast Path

Growing up halfway between the coast and the countryside, I’ve never struggled to find a spectacular walk.

The South West Coast Path – which recently featured in The Salt Path film – can fill an entire day out with tonnes of beautiful beaches to explore.

While some of the path is rocky, most is accessible and one of my favourite things to do is drop in and out of the path to explore different parts of the coast at a time.

Dartmoor National Park

Despite all the incredible beaches Dartmoor National Park is always my preferred spot for a walk.

You could visit hundreds of times (which I have) and never experience the same walk twice.

For an easier or more accessible walk, head to Haytor – it takes about 10 minutes up to the rocks from the lower car park (where you’ll also find a visitor centre) or a few minutes from the smaller, higher car park.

For something more challenging, venture away from the roads and you’ll find stone circles and the abandoned ruins of ancient villages.

Note – if you do venture away from the roads, you should be a confident hiker as the terrain is rough and unpredictable.

But there are also many small car parks on the roads with quick walks to nearby Tors.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the famous Dartmoor Ponies as well.

The best villages & towns

Cockington

Cockington in Torquay was recently named one of the prettiest places for a day trip or staycation in the UK this summer by The Independent.

The publication dubbed it a “chocolate-box village” and said the “old thatched cottages, rural countryside and Cockington Court manor house are sure to charm”.

I always head here in the summer and enjoy looking at the pretty cottages and pristine gardens.

It is only a five minute drive from the seafront as well.

Sat at the crossroads in the middle of the village you’ll find a low-roof thatched cottage selling traditional horse brasses – an item that links to Cockington’s long history as a blacksmith’s forge.

Opposite is Sanctuary Coffee – a small coffee shop that also sells gifts and doggy items, from adorable bandanas to handcrafted toys.

And for my fave spot, head to Weavers Cottage Tea Garden, which sells the best afternoon teas around.

A cream tea costs £7.95 for a fruit or plain scone, with strawberry or handmade raspberry jam and a pot of tea.

Then if you want a cheese tea, this costs £8.45 and you get a choice of cheddar or cream cheese to go with it, as well as either chilli jam or red onion chutney – or without the tea it costs £5.50.

Just remember the golden rule of a Devonshire cream tea is to pop the cream on the scone first, then the jam.

There’s also a visitor centre where you can learn about the history of the village and Cockington Court, which is full of local makers selling everything from baked cakes, jewellery and handmade lamps.

Totnes

Totnes in south Devon is a pretty market town that is full of independent shops and cafes, a thriving market and a motte-and-bailey castle.

Wander up the high street and you will find multiple bookshops, charity shops with great finds, cosy cafes and pubs and a tonne of unique homewares shops.

There’s also Totnes Castle, which is one of the best preserved Norman motte-and-bailey castles in the UK.

Don’t miss the market on a Friday and Saturday either – it brings the town to life with antiques stalls, rug makers, food vendors and more.

Topsham

Topsham is like stepping into a village straight out of Harry Potter, but with a Dutch nod.

Every corner of the town is full of charm and is the ideal place for those who love hunting for antiques.

For example, there’s Quay Antiques which is a huge warehouse with 65 antiques sellers spread across three floors.

The town used to be involved heavily in the wool trade during the late 17th and early 18th centuries and houses along Topsham’s Strand look like Dutch merchant houses.

Babbacombe

Between Dawlish and Torquay, make sure to head to Babbacombe.

Often overshadowed by its more popular neighbours on the English Riviera, Babbacombe used to be a fishing village and today remains a quaint town.

Below the town’s cliffs you’ll find Babbacombe Beach, which boasts shingle and calm waters.

Babbacombe Downs sits above the beach and has a promenade which is thought to be the highest in England.

You can also head to Oddicombe Beach, by hopping on the Babbacombe Cliff Railway, which has been operating for a century.

As a kid, I loved heading on the 200-metre cliff railway that feels like you’re stepping back in time.

Biggest Attractions

Kents Cavern

Explore caves that date back millions of years in Kents Cavern.

Inside the caves, you can learn about their history and even their early inhabitants including woolly mammoths.

And you can sneak a peak at bones discovered in the caves as well.

The best part of the tour? When the guide blows the candle out to reveal just how dark the caves are…

Tickets cost from £21.50 per person.

Crealy Theme Park

Just outside of Exeter, make sure to head to Crealy Theme Park which has over 60 rides and attractions.

My personal favourite is Tidal Wave Log Flume – but be warned you’ll get soaked.

There are also animals to meet and shows to enjoy at the park.

For when the weather isn’t great, you can head indoors for a number of play areas as well.

And to make this summer even better, there is a new ride opening on July 31 called Rotor which will be the South West’s first inverted ride.

Tickets cost £18 per person.

Woodlands Family Theme Park

Woodlands is the largest family theme park in the South West of England, stretching across 100 acres.

And despite having been 20 plus times, I never got bored of the attraction.

Do you know what is even better? The theme park is great whatever the weather.

Inside you will find a number of play areas including a giant soft play for little ones.

Then outside you can expect water coasters, toboggan runs and toddlers’ rides.

My favourite part was always the barn where you could meet farm animals up close.

Tickets cost from £20 per adult and £15 per child.

The Big Sheep

In North Devon, head to The BIG Sheep which is an animal-themed family amusement park, near Bideford.

You can expect funny live shows and large indoor play areas.

The best part is of course, as the name suggests, the sheep sheep racing, live shearing and lamb bottle-feeding – which I can confirm is one of the cutest activities for kids.

For those who like to have their adrenaline pumping, jump on Rampage Rollercoaster which is North Devon’s biggest rollercoaster.

Tickets cost from £14.95.

The Milky Way Adventure Park

The Milky Way Adventure Park near Bideford, also has a great mix of indoor and outdoor attractions.

The theme park boasts a number of outer space-themed rides, including The Cosmic Typhoon rollercoaster which spins around.

There is an interactive play area too called Ziggy’s Blast Quest, which is a laser-shooting ride.

Tickets cost from £17.46 per person.

Splashdown Quaywest

One of my favourite summer days out on the south coast of Devon is at the UK’s biggest outdoor waterpark – Splashdown Quaywest Waterpark.

The waterpark sits on Goodrington Sands Beach in Paignton and is home to 11 slides as well as a giant pirate-themed water playground, which is perfect for kids under 12-years-old.

Shipwreck Island has seven smaller slides, tipping buckets and interactive water features such as spray arms.

Tickets cost from £27.15 per person.

RHS Rosemoor

Who doesn’t love exploring a pretty garden in bloom?

RHS Garden Rosemoor in North Devon is spread across 65 acres, between Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.

These are 250 different rose varieties in the gardens, as well as the exotic garden which feels more like a jungle.

There is a canopy walk too, with a stream running through it.

Tickets cost from £15.70 per adult and £6 per child.

Free things to do

House of Marbles

The House of Marbles near Bovey Tracey is a great rainy day out.

The visitor attraction is actually at a toy manufacturer that was founded back in the 70s.

Inside, there are traditional board games, glass marbles, classic toys and workshops.

As a little girl I always enjoyed watching the marbles run around different tracks including one of the largest marble runs in the UK.

And you can spend endless time in the four museums which showcase the history of marbles, board games and glassworks.

There’s a great gift shop and an outdoor play area too.

Haldon Forest Park

For more outdoorsy families, Haldon Forest Park is a must.

Around 15 minutes from Exeter, Haldon Forest feels like being somewhere in Europe.

The forest is home to a tonne of trails to explore, among the towering trees.

Lots of the trails are for cycling too and you don’t need to bring your own bike either – you can just hire one.

For those more adventurous there’s also Go Ape courses, play areas and picnic spots.

The Donkey Sanctuary

Who doesn’t think a donkey is cute? And what is cuter than a load of rescued donkeys?

216 in total, to be precise…

Found in the countryside near Sidmouth, the sanctuary makes for a wholesome day out.

After meeting the resident donkeys, you can explore the gardens or head to informative talks.

There is of course a shop and a cafe too.

Geoplay Park

Right on Paignton Seafront, you can head to Geoplay Park, with climbing frames, trampolines, a climbing net and sand and water play areas.

There are a number of picnic benches scattered around too for parents to sit back and keep an eye on their little ones play.

And in addition to being next to the beach, the pier is just over the road for more free fun with lots of 2p slot machines.

Decoy Country Park

In the town of Newton Abbot, you’ll find Decoy Country Park which is a Green Flag awarded nature reserve.

In the middle of the reserve is a huge lake, that used to be a clay quarry and has a depth of 33 metres at its deepest point.

There is a circular walk around the lake which is nice and shady so ideal for hot summer days.

And if you then want to cool off even more, head kayaking on the lake (and enjoy knocking people into the water).

There is also a large playground at the park with ziplines and a splash pad.

And then for older kids, there are a number of BMX tracks to venture off on.

Fossil Hunting

Devon is home to some brilliant spots for fossil hunting thanks to its dramatic coastline.

And one free activity I loved growing up (and admittedly still do now) is fossil hunting.

There are several spots that are well-known for it in the region including Hopes Nose, Croyde Bay, Daddy Hole.

I would recommend checking out ukfossils.co.uk for some great guides on the best spots and what they have to offer.

Lidos

Teignmouth Lido

Recently saved from possible closure, Teignmouth Lido is a great addition to a day trip in the town of Teignmouth.

The lido is surrounded by a patio and grass area ideal for sunbathing and picnics.

The pool measures 25-metres-long and between May and September there are usually a whole host of events on.

If you just fancy a dip, then a two hour block costs £8.40 per adult and £5.40 per child.

Though you can also get a full-day swim pass costing £15.10 per adult and £9.70 per child.

Tinside Lido, Plymouth

Tinside Lido originally opened back in 1935 and is a Grade II-listed Art Deco.

And recently a number of spaces have been refreshed at the lido, including the sun terrace, which now has a café pod and a pop-up event space.

The pool overlooks the sea too and is right by Plymouth Ho making it the ideal end to a day exploring the city.

Beaches

Bantham Beach

When it comes to surfing spots in the county, there aren’t many destinations that are better than Bantham Beach.

Found in the South Hams, the beach is great for both families and budding watersports enthusiasts.

You won’t need to bring your own board either, as you can book lessons and hire boards at the Bantham Surfing Academy.

I’ve been to the beach many times for its waves, and failed many times at managing to stay on my board – but that’s all part of the fun.

The beach also has all the facilities you’d need for a great day out, including cafes and restaurants.

You can even make a trip across to Burgh Island via a sea tractor.

Budleigh Salterton

Budleigh Salterton Beach stretches over 2.5miles long and thanks to being a pebble beach, it has its very own sound as the waves crash against the stones.

It also marks the end of the UNESCO Jurassic Coast in East Devon.

As a result, this has long been a favourite of mine for walks thanks to the dramatic red cliffs and traditional charm.

Sidmouth Beach

Sidmouth Beach is a great option for families, thanks to its long esplanade and watersports activities.

Oh, and the fossil hunting!

At the western end of the beach you’ll find sand which is a great spot for children wanting to play.

Don’t miss the wooden steps from the beach to Connaught Gardens either – they will make you feel as if you have stepped back in time.

Croyde Beach

If you didn’t already have enough spots to head to for a good surf session, then add Croyde to that list.

The sandy beach has great waves that bodyboarders and surfers love – and trust me, part of the fun is falling off.

Around the beach you can venture through the sand dunes as well and explore some of the nearby surfing shops.

Saunton Sands

Beaches don’t get much more spectacular than Saunton Sands – which stretches for over 3.5miles.

Once again, it is another great spot for surfing, but is also dog friendly, so your pooch can have fun too.

It is well-worth extending your time at the beach as well by staying in one of the onsite Saunton Beach Villas which cost from £71 a night.

Woolacombe Beach

Woolacombe is my top pick for families, without a doubt.

The golden sand beach is right by a number of holiday parks, so makes for the ideal staycation.

In fact, there are some you can stay at in Golden Coast Holiday Park from just £9.50 (see hotels and holiday parks section).

As for things to do at the beach, you are spoilt for choice – the flat sand is great for walks and running around alike, as well as building sand castles and you can also have a go at bodyboarding or surfing with one of the local schools that offer lessons.

Torre Abbey Sands

Whilst I do normally avoid this beach in the summer, due to the flocks of families, there is no denying it is great.

The large sandy beach is usually really flat and is right by the road which makes it a great place for being near the car as well as other facilities like restaurants and loos.

Often, you’ll find a local sand artist drawing in the sand, creating some amazing image which can be viewed from the pedestrian bridge overhanging the beach.

Make sure to walk around from the beach to Pier Point to grab some fish and chips, which have previously been awarded the best in the UK.

Preston Sands

Preston Sands is great for those who love beaches with softer sand and spectacular views.

From the beach you can look across the English Riviera bay, which comes alive at night with glowing multi-coloured lights along the promenade.

The beach has colourful beach huts – great for photos.

And make sure to check out the rock pools, where you will often see little fish and crabs.

Anstey’s Cove

Popular with the famous crime author, Agatha Christie, Anstey’s Cove is a spot that most people have no clue exists.

Hidden behind the now abandoned Living Coasts, the small cove features a mix of pebbles and sand but boasts a tonne of history.

It actually used to be the preferred spot for crime writer Agatha Christie to head on a sunny day.

She even once nearly drowned at the beach.

Around the beach you will also find recently installed information boards that tell you about the history, but also the ecology of the area.

Elberry Cove

My absolute favourite beach is Elberry Cove – it often feels as if it has been plucked from a Greek island instead of England’s southern coast.

It’s between Paignton and Brixham and isn’t the biggest of beaches.

It also features pebbles so make sure to bring a chair with you.

There are crystal clear water, with views of a tropical-looking forest on one side and towering cliffs on the other.

The secluded spot doesn’t really get busy, which always surprises me as it has been popular historically.

At the end of the beach you’ll find its main curiosity – a ruined bath house, that used to be three stories tall and was used by Lord Churston in the 18th century.

The sea would freely wash in and out of the ground floor, which allowed the Lord to swim directly into the sea.

It later then featured the early version of the hot tub, with the seawater being heated by a fire.

Brixham Breakwater Beach

While Brixham Breakwater Beach isn’t huge, it is one of the best spots for a beach walk in the county as you often get to see seals playing in the sea.

The breakwater itself has amazing views of the bay and town as well.

This spot also has a blue flag for cleanliness.

Take a wander back to the harbour and you can see a replica of the famous Golden Hinde boat.

Quirky things

Babbacombe Model Village

Babbacombe Model Village is over 60 years old, spread across four acres and boasts hundreds of scenes depicting British life.

From iconic landmarks we know and love, to slightly more tongue-in-cheek scenes, there is something for everyone to see.

One scene is an ‘unaffordable housing development’ and then there’s also a celebrity mansion with the Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Incredibles family playing in the garden.

Included in your admission ticket, you can also watch a film in the attraction’s 4D cinema.

Tickets cost £21.95 per adult and £17.95 per child.

Local Loves & Hidden Gems

Gandy Street, Exeter

J.K.Rowling went to Exeter University, and for years many thought this quaint, cobbled street off of the high street was the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, sadly the famous author has denied it.

But for me, it remains the most Harry Potter Diagon Alley-style spot I’ve ever seen.

There are some vintage shops to spend some hard-earned cash, as well as great gift shops and cosy restaurants.

Castle Drogo

Sat on the edge of Dartmoor, Castle Drogo is famously the last castle built in England in the 1930s.

It doesn’t look like your usual old stone castle, but instead blends both old and new architecture.

You’ll not see anything else quite like it.

It costs from £9 per child and £18 per adult to visit.

Royal William Yard

Once a 19th century Royal Naval depot, Royal William Yard is now a bustling 16-acre waterfront attraction thanks to years of refurbs and new openings.

You’ll find amazing independent shops and restaurants, galleries, bars, a cinema and of course, the marina.

It is a great place to explore thanks to having Europe’s largest collection of historic military buildings and just marvel at the architecture with a cuppa in hand.

Round Robin Experience

Without fail, if you spend money on one experience in Devon, make it the Round Robin.

Admittedly, it is not the cheapest – and adult ticket costs £43 and a child ticket costs £27.50 – but it is the best way to see pretty Devon town.

Starting on a bus trip from Paignton, you’ll head to Totnes where you then head on an hour-and-a-half cruise to Dartmouth, before hopping on a five-minute ferry to Kingswear.

Then for the final part you’ll jump on a 30minute steam train back to Paignton.

Across the journey you’ll see pretty towns and villages, see the countryside, spot wildlife and have a chance to explore.

Greenway House

Agatha Christie – who was also a born and bred Devonian – has left her mark across Devon.

And one top spot to see associated with the famous crime writer is her holiday home, Greenway House – which she dubbed “the loveliest place in the world”.

Sat on a riverbank in Kingswear, the home is full of items she used to cherish from both her childhood and travels.

Tickets cost from £9 per child and £18 per adult.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has targeted US military facilities in Bahrain, claimed it has destroyed radar systems in Oman and hit Jordan and Kuwait in its latest round of overnight retaliatory strikes against the United States.

Tehran’s attacks on Monday came as a response to Washington’s escalating strikes as prospects of peace between the two countries recede.

Here is a recap of the latest attacks:

Where were the latest Iran attacks?

Oman: The IRGC said it attacked Oman as part of its latest phase of retaliation. It said it targeted “the FPS long-range aerial radar and the vessel detection radar in Oman”, adding that these radar systems were destroyed.

Bahrain: The IRGC also said it launched missile and drone attacks targeting “installations and infrastructure of the aggressive US army” in Juffair, Bahrain.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said on Monday that sirens had been sounded in the country as it warned people to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.

The IRGC earlier said it targeted several facilities at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

Jordan: Jordan’s military said on Monday that it intercepted and downed “four missiles that entered Jordanian airspace” and came from Iranian territory.

Earlier, the IRGC said it targeted Jordan’s Prince Hassan Air Base with missiles and drones and set fire to several fuel depots and ammunition storage facilities.

Kuwait: The IRGC said on Monday that it also targeted a US surface-to-surface missile base in Kuwait, “setting fire to two HIMARS missile launchers and missile-packed warehouses, completely destroying them”.

HIMARS stands for high mobility artillery rocket systems, which are mobile rocket launchers manufactured by the US.

Earlier, the General Staff of Kuwait’s Army said air defence systems were engaging “hostile aerial targets” inside the country’s airspace.

It said any explosions heard were the result of air defence systems intercepting the attacks and urged the public to follow safety and security instructions.

Where was Iran hit?

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) earlier said it hit “dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz”.

These targets included “Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats”, it said.

CENTCOM said it deployed “US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time”.

Valiollah Hayati, the deputy governor for security and law enforcement in western Iran’s Khuzestan province, told the semiofficial ISNA news agency on Monday that US forces attacked at least eight locations across Khuzestan overnight.

Hayati also said one person was killed and four were injured when a projectile hit an agricultural water-pumping station in Mahshahr, according to the IRNA news agency.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported on Monday that a US-manufactured LUCAS (low-cost uncrewed combat attack system) suicide drone was “accurately hit and shot down” in Bandar Abbas, a city on the Strait of Hormuz.

What has each side said?

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Monday condemning the US strikes on targets in Iran.

US President Donald Trump insisted that the Strait of Hormuz was open during an appearance on the NBC TV network’s Meet the Press programme on Sunday.

“They’re very, very evil and sick people. We had meetings with them. They agreed to a deal yesterday, a perfect deal for us. No nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing. They gave up everything. And then after that, they left the room. And then within an hour, they launched a drone at a ship,” Trump said.

When did the conflict reignite?

On July 6, the IRGC struck three commercial vessels, including a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, off Oman. Iran accused the ships of trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without its permission. Tehran’s interpretation of a key clause in the June memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US gives it the authority to manage traffic through the waterway.

The following day, the US said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets. Tehran in turn responded with missile and drone attacks on military bases across the Gulf where US forces are deployed.

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters the MoU was over, and on Saturday, the IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz was closed yet again.

How has this impacted the Strait of Hormuz and shipping?

The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to its lowest level in five weeks, according to shipping data.

Six ships sailed through the strait on Sunday, according to data from the trade intelligence firm Kpler, including the Humanity and the Capetan Andreas, transporting 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti petroleum products, respectively.

Three empty tankers also entered the Gulf to load oil, according to the data.

TRIBUTES are pouring in for screen icon Sam Neill, who passed away aged 78 on Monday, July 13.

The acclaimed actor died suddenly surrounded by his loved ones, just months after revealing he was cancer-free.

Sam Neill’s family confirmed the news in a statement: “It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.

“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free.

“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.

‘ANOTHER DAY’

Final photo shows Sam Neill beaming at awards event weeks before his death

TOUGH LOSS

Richard E Grant & Australian PM lead tributes to Sam Neill after death at 78

“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute, writing on X: “Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts.

“Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance.

“He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace.”

Fellow actor Richard E. Grant posted: “Knew @samneilltheprop for 3 decades and finally worked with him on PALM BEACH in 2018. An officer and a Gentleman in the truest sense.

“Guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my Life. Pictured beside producer @deb_bal & @ladyheathermitchell. Sail on, kind Sir.”

While Jurassic World: Dominion director Colin Trevorrow said Sam was “a friend and collaborator at a challenging time”.

He continued: “His strength gave us all strength. I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters.”

Scottish actor Alan Cumming wrote: “Ahhh Sam, what a glorious beautiful man. You are missed. Sorry to the family for your immense loss.”

The Boys’ Karl Urban posted: “Heartfelt condolences to your whanau.
Sam was truly brilliant. An inspiration for many who followed in his trailblazing footsteps.

“A beautiful man, A national treasure who gave so much to New Zealand and the to world. God speed Sam.”

At the time of writing, no cause of death has been given.

Who were Sam Neill’s parents?

Sam was born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, Northern Ireland, to English mother Priscilla Beatrice Ingham and New Zealand father Dermot Neill, an army officer.

The family emigrated to New Zealand when Sam was seven, settling in Dunedin, and he later went to boarding school in Christchurch.

He took the name Sam when he was a youngster because there were too many Nigels at school.

In his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?, Sam wrote: “The one thing I resent about my parents, the only thing, is that they called me Nigel.

“Changing my name to Sam at the age of 11 was probably the best decision I made in my life.”

He added: “I found I moved more easily in the world as a Sam. Nigel is an awkward fit in most circumstances. Imagine being a movie actor called Nigel Neill.”

His dad’s family had deep roots in the wine trade, having founded the Dunedin merchant firm Neill & Co generations earlier, which Sam later drew on when he established his own Central Otago winery, Two Paddocks, in the 90s.

Who was Sam Neill married to?

Sam had a long relationship with New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, whom he met while filming 1981’s The Final Conflict. The pair had a son together, Tim, born in 1983.

Later on life, he went on to marry Japanese make-up artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he met on the set of the 1989 film Dead Calm.

The couple welcomed a daughter, Elena, in 1991, and Sam also adopted Noriko’s daughter from an earlier relationship, Maiko.

Sam and Watanabe separated in 2017.

Who are Sam Neill’s children?

Sam is survived by four children. Alongside Tim, Elena and Maiko, he also had a son named Andrew.

He was placed for adoption when Sam was in his early twenties and was reunited with his father in 1994.

Sam previously told The Times: “I’ve got a slightly unusual family – it’s more extended than most.

“My first son, Andrew, was given up for adoption when he was very small. I was quite small, too – in my early twenties.

“I didn’t see him for 25 years and then we went looking for each other.”

What movies did Sam Neill appear in?

Sam’s career spanned more than 50 years and around 150 screen credits. Among his biggest film roles were:

• Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993)
• Alisdair Stewart in The Piano (1993)
• Vasili Borodin in The Hunt for Red October (1990)
• John Ingram in Dead Calm (1989)
• Damien Thorn in The Final Conflict (1981)
• Michael Chamberlain in Evil Angels (1988)
• Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park III (2001)
• Dr William Weir in Event Horizon (1997)
• Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
• Cliff Buxton in The Dish (2000)

On television, Neill played corrupt Major Chester Campbell in Peaky Blinders.

He also featured as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in The Tudors, among many other roles.

Sam was awarded an OBE in 1991 for services to acting, and in 2022 accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM), the second-highest grade in the New Zealand royal honours system.

He previously turned down the KNZM when knighthoods were first restored to the New Zealand honours system in 2009.

Dodgers utility player Kiké Hernández confirmed Friday what he posted as a comment on Instagram: he won’t be going to the White House on July 23, when President Trump will honor the team for its 2025 World Series championship.

Instead, Hernández (strained left oblique) is scheduled to be on a minor-league rehab assignment.

“It’s going to be hard to be in two cities at the same time,” Hernández said. “If I was active, I probably wouldn’t have gone anyways.”

Why?

“I’d rather take a day off than do team activities,” he said.

Last year, Hernández expressed his support for immigrants in Los Angeles on social media amid ICE raids authorized by the Trump administration.

The White House visit will be on a day off in the middle of a nine-game East Coast trip.

“I’m sure a lot of guys are going to participate and be there, and this is an individual choice,” Roberts said. “But I do expect a lot of our guys to be there.”

Scheduling conflicts when the Dodgers played the Nationals in Washington on April 3-5 pushed back the trip.

“This took a long time to get both sides together, and, honestly, like I’ve always said, my company line, my personal line is I hope that we get this invitation every year,” Dodgers manager Roberts said. “Because that’s the goal: to win a championship, to get this invitation to the White House. And I’m not a politician, and I’m doing something that teams have done for decades. And so that’s where I stand, really. I’m a baseball coach. That’s what I do.”

Back in 2019, Roberts suggested that he might not accept an invitation to the White House with Trump in office. But he did attend last year when the Dodgers celebrated their 2024 title.

Roberts said the Dodgers found out earlier this week that the White House visit had been scheduled.

“There was a lot of unknown,” Roberts said. “It’s an off day, and then how could we work this out logistically?”

That set off “a lot of phone calls, texts, and communication internally.”

Hernández’s injury rehab has moved along more quickly than Roberts initially expected. He landed on the injury list in late May after playing in just two games following offseason surgery on his left elbow.

“He looks normal,” Roberts said last weekend. “I’m not saying miraculous, but I’m really in disbelief how well he responded, given the injury.”

Dramatic video captured the moment waves caused by Typhoon Bavi slammed into a house in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. The storm caused widespread power and phone service outages. Authorities had evacuated more than two million residents.

The UK has experienced two record heatwaves this year, with temperatures in England reaching 35.1C in May and 37.7C in June.

More than 2,700 deaths across England and Wales have been linked to unprecedented heatwaves in the United Kingdom in May and June, according to new research.

There were 550 heat-related deaths between May 21 and 29, and nearly 2,200 people died between June 18 and 28, scientists estimated in the study published on Monday.

Researchers from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine used weather data, climate models and studies on excess deaths during the extreme weather to arrive at their estimate.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it would publish its official estimate of heat-related deaths in the coming weeks, based on death records from recent heatwaves.

Climate change driving heatwaves

The UK and much of Europe have already experienced two record-breaking heatwaves this year, with temperatures in England reaching 35.1C (95.2F) in May and 37.7C (99.9F) in June.

“They were extreme heatwaves for the UK, and for all parts of Western Europe, and they’re particularly exceptional for the timing and how early in the year they occurred,” said Mark McCarthy, the science manager at the Met’s climate attribution team.

Scientists emphasised the role of climate change in making heatwaves more intense and frequent.

They estimated that maximum daytime temperatures were up to 4C (7.2F) higher than they would have been without global warming.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the body responsible for advising the British government on climate change, warned last year that the UK was “not ready” to deal with the consequences of climate change.

Lea Berrang Ford at UKHSA’s Centre for Climate and Health Security says the study released on Monday would “help illustrate the scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing”.

In a report published in May, it estimated that 92 percent of British homes could be too hot by 2050.

It said the government should set maximum temperature limits in the workplace, as well as invest in air conditioning for public buildings such as hospitals and schools in preparation for extreme weather.

The research on heat-related deaths in the UK comes as data showed that more than 10,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe during the heatwaves across the west ⁠of the continent ⁠in late June.

EuroMOMO, a network backed ⁠by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization, said most of those deaths were among people aged 65 and above, with 9,000 excess deaths reported in that age range.

Scientists pooled national mortality statistics from 27 European countries in June and concluded that, without other notable factors such as COVID-19 outbreaks, the heatwave is most likely to have ⁠contributed to the spike of 10,650 excess deaths between June 22 and 28.

Emmy nominations arrived Wednesday and if you made the cut, it was a magical morning, like you were invited to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding and danced to “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and ate your fill of lobster, sushi and Krispy Kreme donuts, a combination that I’m sure goes well together provided you’ve fortified yourself with a steady stream of the couple’s signature tequila cocktails throughout the day.

And if you didn’t hear your name called, well, you’re feeling like you’re out there on the street behind the police barricade, hot and sweaty, wondering what happened to your dragons and how in this underwhelming Emmy season things could go so wrong.

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With Emmy submissions still down this year, there aren’t as many slots available to salute all the worthy work, leading to some sad omissions — which, for the sake of alliteration and search engine optimization, we’ll call “snubs.” There were also some surprises, some worthy, some about as welcome as the aftermath of a hot dog-eating contest on the Fourth of July.

Now that I’ve whetted your appetite, grab a donut (or a footlong) while I run down the morning’s notables.

SURPRISE: “The Bear” (comedy series)

OK, not that huge a surprise when a series nominated for its first three seasons, and winning for its first, snags another nod. But given the number of people complaining about the show’s pokey plotting, it was fair to wonder if “The Bear” would again make the cut for Season 4. The show dropped its final season three days after nominations voting ended and because things actually happened during this crowd-pleasing conclusion, it’s possible we might be seeing it again here next year too.

SNUB: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear” (comedy lead actor)

While “The Bear” made the cut for series, the only cast member to join the party was Ayo Edebiri. Past winners White, Liza Colon-Zayas and Ebon Moss-Bacharach were left out, though all will have a shot at returning next year. Whether they will is open to question. Voters seem to have had their fill of the show.

Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in “The Bear.”

(FX)

SURPRISE: “Your Friends and Neighbors” (drama series)

The Jon Hamm-led Apple crime drama failed to land any nominations for its first season outside a nod for main title music. Now moved from limited series to drama, it inexplicably landed a single nomination for its enjoyable-enough follow-up season — for the big prize, drama series. No other noms. Nothing for Emmy favorite Hamm. It’s almost as confusing as some of the plotting in the show.

SNUB: “Half Man” (limited series)

Richard Gadd’s limited series was provocative with its brutally violent look at male rage and unresolved trauma. But some voters I talked with found it so off-putting that they never made it past the first episode. Could be we’ve had our fill of toxic male behavior in the news without having to endure it on our down time too.

SURPRISE: Riz Ahmed, “Bait” (limited series / TV movie lead actor)

Ahmed created, wrote and produced this limited series about a struggling actor whose life is upended when rumors circulate he might be the next James Bond. His sharp comic timing and affecting vulnerability landed with voters.

SNUB: Cailee Spaeny, “Beef” (limited series / TV movie supporting actress)

OK, you didn’t like her character and you’re still afraid to drink orange juice after watching the show. But to nominate everyone else from the series and omit Spaeny? That feels like a case of Millennials and Boomers taking out their grievances on Gen Z.

Cailee Spaeny, left, with Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton in “Beef.”

(Netflix)

SURPRISE: Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday (limited series / TV movie supporting actor and actress)

The weird and unpredictable “DTF St. Louis” had one last surprise for us, as voters indicated their enthusiasm for it by nominating not just David Harbour, Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini, but also Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday, who were terrific as the mismatched law enforcement partners. “DTF,” not “Beef,” might now be the limited series to beat at the Emmys.

SNUB: “Stranger Things” (drama series)

Nostalgia, it would seem, has its limits.

SURPRISE: Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat” (drama lead actor)

He’s overly involved on the show, so why not at the Emmys, too?

SNUB: Kathy Bates, “Matlock” (drama lead actress)

Dirty birdies.

Chase Infiniti in “The Testaments.”

(Disney)

SURPRISE: Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments” (drama lead actress)

Infiniti was overlooked at the Oscars for her lead turn in “One Battle After Another,” but Emmy voters did right by her, nominating her formidable work in the sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

SNUB: Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This” (comedy lead actor and actress)

Though Netflix’s rom-com nabbed a comedy series nomination, voters took the title to heart regarding its two leads, both of whom were nominated for its first season.

SURPRISE: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Wonder Man” (comedy lead actor)

A show about a struggling actor navigating the indignities of auditions? No doubt voters found it relatable and Abdul-Mateen II made his anxieties and aspirations vivid.

SNUB: Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday” (comedy lead actress)

Wednesday’s child is full of woe.

Megan Stalter, left, with Robby Hoffman and Paul W. Downs in “Hacks.”

(HBO Max)

SURPRISE: Megan Stalter, “Hacks” (comedy supporting actress)

Stalter’s loud, boundary-pushing nepo baby Kayla on “Hacks” was divisive, but she coasted to her first nomination on the wave of goodwill surrounding the show’s final season. Cringe comedy enthusiasts are celebrating. Now we await a reprise of her jeans and white T-shirt red carpet look from last year.

SNUB: “Saturday Night Live” cast members (comedy supporting actor and actress)

Admittedly it’s a low bar, but “Saturday Night Live” was better this year, not that voters seem to have noticed. Bowen Yang failed to earn a nomination for his farewell season, ending a four-year streak. And breakout cast member Ashley Padilla was overlooked too, her comic timing apparently too absurd for voters’ tastes.

SURPRISE: Dale Dickey, “Widow’s Bay” (comedy supporting actress)

Hopes were high for “Widow’s Bay,” television’s best new comedy, which arrived late in the Emmy season — so late that its last three episodes weren’t eligible for consideration. But that didn’t stop voters from embracing it, giving the show 19 nominations, including one for Dickey’s turn as the gruff town hall worker who is the Spielberg of overhead projector presentations.

SURPRISE: Connor Storrie (comedy series guest actor)

HBO Max’s hockey romance drama “Heated Rivalry” wasn’t eligible for the Emmys because it’s a production of the Canadian TV network Crave, and the television academy requires the U.S.A. be part of a show’s funding to make the ballot. But star Storrie still received an Emmy invite thanks to his impressive comic turn hosting “Saturday Night Live” in February. The guest actor trophies are handed out during the Creative Arts Emmys, a week before the primetime show, but we’ll likely see Storrie and “Heated Rivalry” co-star Hudson Williams show up to present something during the main telecast. They do want people to watch, right?

England are not alone in covering vast distances.

Spain have logged more than 12,000 miles, while Switzerland exceeded 10,000 thanks to what the Swiss Football Association described as “venue hopping” across North America.

Morocco repeatedly returned to their New Jersey base despite fixtures taking them to Boston, Atlanta, Monterrey and Houston before eventually bowing out to France in the quarter-finals.

Belgium’s decision to base themselves in Renton, Washington, kept travel to about 4,000 miles before their exit against Spain.

France’s tally is one of the lowest of any nation at the tournament – with a total below even several teams eliminated after only three group matches.

Long-distance travel is nothing new at the World Cup. Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018 and even South Africa in 2010 all required teams to cover significant distances.

The first 48-team World Cup, however, has presented a different challenge. With matches staged across three host nations and 16 cities, some teams have spent weeks shuttling back and forth across North America, while others have remained largely within the same region.

England’s route illustrates that contrast better than most. Their journey has already exceeded the total distance of countries at other tournaments.

Retired US General Mark Kimmitt warns renewed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz could push the US and Iran back towards wider conflict.