COLEEN Rooney has taken a fresh swipe at her ex-pal Rebekah Vardy as she uses their Wagatha Christie row to cash in – AGAIN.
Wayne’s wife was famously embroiled in a six-year fight with fellow WAG Rebekah when Coleen turned detective and accused Rebekah of leaking stories from her personal Instagram account.
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Coleen Rooney winks after new dig at Rebekah VardyCredit: Paddy PowerShe does her famous detective work for Danny Dyer in a new Paddy Power advertGemma Collins appears in the ad with her own iconic catchphraseCredit: Paddy Power
In the infamous post, Coleen dramatically announced to the world: “It’s . . . Rebekah Vardy’s account.”
The iconic catchphrase was today used in a new TV advert for Paddy Power starring Coleen and other famous faces including Danny Dyer, Peter Crouch and Gemma Collings.
Cockney EastEnders legend Danny stars as a casino kingpin who flips out when he spots a prosecco glass on his blackjack table, shouting: “Which melt has left their drink on my felt?”
And in a nod to Coleen’s super sleuth skills, he gets a text from Coleen, which says: “It’s… Gemma Collins.”
She then winks at the camera after being described by Danny as a “silent assassin”.
A TV insider told The Sun: “Even after all these years, people are obsessed with the Wagatha Christie case and Coleen’s detective work.
“The whole ordeal was a nightmare for Coleen at the time but she’s since made a lot of money from the experience and is happy to capitalise on it.
“Paddy Power is renowned for its hilarious media campaigns and this is yet another example.”
The advert for Paddy Power Games follows 39-year-old Coleen’s previous Wagatha Christie jab when she was announced as the investigator of Man City’s Financial Fair Play case in an hilarious sketch.
Coleen Rooney said: “I’ve been watching the same game almost my entire life, so it’s nice to have a bit of variety for once, and being back with the Paddy Power crew to film such a glamourous ad was brilliant.
“I loved getting dressed up and stepping into the madness of a Paddy Power casino world – Danny played the role of casino boss perfectly, plus I got to reprise my role as head of investigations….what more could you want!”
Rebekah – who’s married to Jamie Vardy – brought a multi-million pound case to court after Coleen publicly accused her of leaking to the press in October 2019.
WITH research revealing that a quarter of Brits (26%) admit to dating someone because of their moustache perhaps there’s more to Danny Dyer’s debonair charm than meets the eye.
Commissioned by Paddy Power Games, the study has confirmed what women have known for decades – there’s something irresistible about a man with a moustache.
What’s more, when asked to rank the sexiest famous taches, Danny Dyer outranked both Harry Styles and Paul Mescal:
European stocks rose on Wednesday morning after a string of strong corporate results a day earlier, while equities were also boosted by remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In Philadelphia on Tuesday, Powell suggested that another interest rate cut could come later this month in the US.
In Europe, shares in Netherlands-headquartered ASML, which makes equipment used in the production of AI chips, jumped after the company posted promising results on Wednesday.
The shares rose more than 4%, after Europe’s largest company by market value reported third-quarter earnings fuelled by the AI boom. ASML’s stocks have rallied by almost 50% since August.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, French multinational luxury group LVMH said its organic growth re-entered positive territory in the third quarter. The luxury giant’s shares jumped by more than 14% by 13.00 CEST.
The mood in France also shifted on news that the government had significantly improved its chances of surviving a looming no-confidence vote on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu won the much-needed support of the Socialist Party in France’s National Assembly, in exchange for suspending a pension law that raises the retirement age. The CAC 40 in Paris jumped over 2% by 13.00 CEST.
The main European benchmark stock exchanges were also in the green, except for London’s FTSE 100, which lost 0.43%. Meanwhile, the DAX in Frankfurt gained less than 0.1%. Milan’s FTSE MIB was up by 0.36%, Madrid’s Ibex 35 gained 0.71% and the STOXX 600 saw a 0.6% gain.
Gold continued its rally, hitting a high of $4,217 per ounce. Gold has soared over 60% in 2025 as investors seek a safe haven during a period of uncertainty, notably driven by US tariffs and trade tensions.
Global markets are on the rise after the Fed Chair’s words
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled on Tuesday that the Fed is slightly more worried about the job market, raising expectations that the central bank will come through with another rate cut.
“Rising downside risks to employment have shifted our assessment of the balance of risks,” he said at a meeting of the National Association of Business Economics in Philadelphia.
Traders took his words to heart, particularly as the US government shutdown has prevented the release of fresh economic data.
“[Investors were] reading Powell like a haiku — every pause, every syllable weighed for hidden meaning,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“The message, once decoded, was clear enough: two rate cuts aren’t just a possibility, they’re the main course,” Innes said.
The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in September amid worries that unemployment could worsen.
“Markets have been lifted by the rekindling of rate cut expectations in the US after comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell, which highlighted sluggish hiring were taken as an indication that not one, but two further cuts were very much on the table for 2025,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.
“Buoyed by continued deal-making in the frothy AI sector, investors seem prepared to overlook the growing number of warnings about the potential for a market correction at the moment, but this earnings season will be crucial if that optimism is to continue.”
S&P 500 futures rose 0.64% during the early afternoon in Europe, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.41%. Nasdaq futures were up by 0.79%.
On Tuesday, US markets closed a mixed trading day, with the S&P 500 giving up 0.16% and the Dow climbing 0.44%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 0.76%.
Markets remain volatile as the US and China exchange threats of new trade sanctions and tariffs.
Technology stocks are hypersensitive to trade issues since big chipmakers and other companies rely on China for raw materials and manufacturing. China’s large consumer base is also important for its sales growth.
In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil was circling around $58.65 per barrel (€50.43) and Brent crude, the international standard, was traded around $62.24 (€53.52) per barrel.
The US dollar slipped 0.25% against the Japanese yen, while the euro rose 0.19% against the dollar. The British Pound gained 0.35% against the greenback.
Match of the Day’s Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney are left impressed by Tottenham Hotspur’s direct, forward-thinking play, which was exemplified by forward Mohammed Kudus, in their 2-1 win away at Leeds United in the Premier League.
STACEY Solomon has shared how she keeps her bouncy blow dry in place for more than a week after getting it done.
The mum-of-five retained her crown as the most relatable celeb in showbiz as she took to TikTok to post the exact routine she swears by.
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Stacey Solomon took to TikTok to share how she makes the most of a bouncy blowdryCredit: TikTok/@staceysolomon
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She sleeps in heatless curls, and then uses dry shampoo on the rootsCredit: TikTok/@staceysolomon
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A quick run through her locks with her fingers and she’s doneCredit: TikTok/@staceysolomon
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And her hair looks just the same as it does when it’s freshly blow driedCredit: Getty
In the video, she said she was doing her best to get ready “as quickly as possible” for work, so had done her make-up in seconds and prepped her locks the night before.
“I didn’t wash it, but I just dampened it down,” Stacey said in a video on her TikTok page.
“It was, I had like a really old blow dry, and I’ve been trying to keep it in for a week.
“So I’ve just been putting my heatless curler in, and then going to bed with it, taking it out.”
Once taking the heatless curling rod out, Stacey, 35, used some of the REHAB. Essential Dry Shampoo on her roots – to absorb the grease and give her hair some extra texture.
She then ran her fingers through her hair, and grinned as she showed how it looked as though she’d had a “fresh, bouncy blow dry”.
“I wonder how long I can like this blow dry for,” she laughed.
“Like we’re on week one, I wonder if I can bring it into week two with my heatless curler.
“They’re just so good, and it just means I only have to destroy my hair with heat once every couple of weeks, because I can keep all of the curls in place, and keep it looking fresh with my dry shampoo and heatless curler.”
She finished off her speedy makeover with a swipe of lip oil, and then was ready to go.
Stacey Solomon’s rarely seen ex and dad to eldest son Zach appears on show as she discusses teen pregnancy
“I want daily updates on the hair! BRING ON WEEK 2!” one person commented on the TikTok.
“You have such great hair,” another added.
“And it actually looks stunning!” a third praised.
“Go on girl!”
“I love the dry shampoo, it’s a life saver,” someone else said.
While others admitted they were more than a little jealous of Stacey’s finished look.
“I swear if I don’t wash my hair for two days on day three my curls look like rats’ tails!” one wrote.
“I have such hair envy! My hair doesn’t hold curl ever!” another added.
“OMG! You are so glamorous even when you’re not,” a third smiled.
Bradford is 2025’s UK City of Culture, and Wild Uplands is part of the year-long celebration that involves four new installations on the moors above Haworth, 10 miles west of central Bradford. There are pink marble butterflies designed by Meherunnisa Asad. On the ridge above, Steve Messam’s 10-metre tower of locally quarried stone looks out over heather-purple hills. These works are dotted around the lake and abandoned quarries of Penistone Hill country park and a family-friendly guide charts a route around all four. While wandering over the moors, you can tune into a geolocated immersive soundscape, Earth & Sky, which includes music by Bradford-born composer Frederick Delius. The Brontë Bus from Hebden Bridge via Keighley stops three times an hour in Haworth, and it’s then a 15-minute stroll past the Parsonage to Penistone Hill. Haworth’s steep, cobbled Main Street is lined with pubs and cafes such as the Writers’ Bloc, which opened in November 2024 and serves cream teas inside a hollowed-out book. At the bottom of the street, Haworth Old Hall has a choice of locally distilled gins. To 12 October, bradford2025.co.uk
Folkestone, Kent
Jennifer Tee’s Oceans Tree of Life. Photograph: Thierry Bal
The 2025 Folkestone Triennial, the UK’s biggest urban collection of contemporary outdoor artworks, features new site-specific works by artists from around the world. It is free and open daily until 19 October, and you can choose your own routes using the map in the digital guide. No 15 is an old Martello tower containing Katie Paterson’s extraordinary years-long project Afterlife. She has fashioned 197 amulets from matter embodying the harm caused by the climate crisis: fragments of charred wood from burnt forests, stones from islands menaced by rising seas … Walk past Jennifer Tee’s Oceans Tree of Life, a seaweed sculpture of brick and fused sea glass built into the grassy clifftop, to reach Sara Trillo’s chalky Urn Field. Down some steps off the harbour arm, don’t miss Red Erratic by Dorothy Cross, a waterside block of red Syrian marble carved with human feet. Stop off at Herbert’s for an ice-cream, where artist Emeka Ogboh has designed a lolly that tastes like lemon cheesecake and can be dipped (sherbet dip-dab-style) into a slightly salty-spicy coating that looks like sand. Ogboh’s choral sound installation Ode to the Channel is a few minutes’ walk away past Sunny Sands beach. Here you can sit on the steps with your ice-cream and listen to the music and the waves. To 19 October,creativefolkestone.org.uk
Newquay, Cornwall
Elle Koziupa’s fisher mural
A series of new murals are appearing on walls around Newquay. There are colourful seaside abstracts, bouncing beachballs, a fisher mending nets by candlelight … Bus 56 from Newquay runs hourly up to Porth, where local artist Phil Strugnell has painted a big, colourful mural on the side of the SeaSpace aparthotel. From here, you can follow the coast path back to Newquay for a couple of miles. Skirting Lusty Glaze and Towan Beach, walk through the ancient burial site at the Barrowfields to reach the town. Stroll past the new murals, each one with a QR code to give you details about the artist, and end near Elle Koziupa’s chiaroscuro fisher opposite Sainsbury’s. Muqy Street Art Trail, ovenqy.co.uk
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Playscape, a playground made from clay spoil, at the British Ceramics Biennial. Photograph: Jenny Harper
The British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent runs until late October. More than 60 artists, including comedian Johnny Vegas, are involved in films, events and exhibitions in the Spode Works, a historic ceramics factory 10 minutes’ walk from Stoke-on-Trent station. There are regular trains from Crewe, London Euston and elsewhere. A bronze Josiah Wedgwood stands opposite the station, holding a copy of the Portland Vase. Spode is a maze of old factory buildings, storerooms and galleries. New commissions include Playscape, turning clay spoil into a playground, andJosie KO celebrating Black women in Stoke with a collaborative bottle kiln-inspired goddess. When you’ve finished exploring Spode Works, follow the new Living Heritage trail, which launched in April, and starts from Spode. There are Staffordshire oatcakes and deep-filled sarnies at the Quarter, while the Little Vintage Tea Room at Spode Museum has homemade cakes and a mosaic counter designed by artist Philip Hardaker, inspired by Spode’s blue Italian ceramics. To 19 October, britishceramicsbiennial.com
Wolterton, Norfolk
Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson feature in the Sea State exhibition. Photograph: Courtesy of the artists and Wolterton. Photo: Eva Herzog
Wolterton Hall and its 200-hectare (500-acre) estate have been closed to the public for decades. Now a new art and culture programme comes with a chance to explore the Palladian house and grounds during opening hours (generally Wed to Sun, 11am to 4pm) if you book a free ticket online. The inaugural exhibition, Sea State, includes tempestuous new North Sea-inspired works by Maggi Hambling and painted-steel wave-form sculptures by Ro Robertson in the Marble Hall. In the old Portrait Room, don’t miss Hambling’s moving tribute to her late partner of 40 years, Tory.This is less an art trail than a parkland stroll and indoor exhibition, but both are lovely. Maps available at Wolterton offer various routes around the lake and ponds, with views of the heronry and ruined round-towered church. There are more great walks at nearby Mannington. Norfolk-based bakery Bread Source has cafes in Wolterton Hall’s library and at Mannington too, serving cakes, drinks and huge flaky croissants. Sea State runs to 7 December, wolterton.co.uk
Scott Eaton’s Amy Winehouse sculpture in Camden. Photograph: Silvia Nadotti/Alamy
Author and journalist Juliet Rix’s new book, London Statues of Women, features interviews with artists and models. It covers the more obvious monuments, such as Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace and Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. But you can also find groundbreaking director Joan Littlewood outside the Theatre Royal in Stratford and Amy Winehouse in Camden Market. The book includes three statue safaris around Westminster, Bloomsbury and the City. The Westminster route starts with a dancing Anna Pavlova in gilded bronze on top of the Victoria Palace theatre and ends at Waterloo near Basil Watson’s National Windrush Monument. Look up on Horseferry Road to see Mary and Etienne Millner’s bronze figure of visionary mathematician Ada Lovelace, backed by gold computer punch cards. Or head to the riverside garden by St Thomas’ hospital to find nurse Mary Seacole. London Statues of Women is published by Safe Haven Books
Wrexham, Clwyd
Liam Stokes-Massey’s tribute to footballer Paul Mullin. Photograph: Rob Stephen
A new public art trail is part of Wrexham’s bid to be 2029 UK city of culture. Coordinated by local artist Liam Stokes-Massey, the trail includes 14 works so far and the city is planning a second phase this autumn. The Boss is Stokes-Massey’s tribute to Wrexham FC manager Phil Parkinson, and there are several football-themed works. Others celebrate the city’s industrial heritage, such as Josh Colwell’s monochrome miner with caged canary. The Art Bunny (AKA Rachel West) evokes Wrexham’s markets, where her mum and grandad worked. There’s a map to plot your route round the murals. Tŷ Pawb gallery, market and food court has homemade curry, pies from the Pie’d Pie’per and more. Find out more at wcct.wales
Brooklyn Beckham is planning to open a burger joint in the USCredit: INSTAGRAM/BROOKLYN BECKHAM
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Insiders said he was being backed in the venture by his wife Nicola Peltz and her wealthy familyCredit: Getty
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Brooklyn’s bold move is the latest in his ongoing feud with his parents David and VictoriaCredit: PA
Last month he quietly revealed the branding for Beck’s Buns, following a row with the beer brand Beck’s.
He tinkered with the application of his trademark to include restaurants and is pushing ahead with his plans.
Insiders said he hoped to open next year.
A source said: “Brooklyn has long dreamed of opening a restaurant in Los Angeles where he lives and that is finally coming to fruition.
READ MORE ON THE BECKHAMS
“He has created Beck’s Buns and quietly launched it on social media last month. Brooklyn’s company Buster Sauce Inc owns the trademark and he is planning to open a restaurant.
“The issue with the trademark is all but resolved now after Brooklyn made it clear he wasn’t making booze but wanted it for a restaurant.
“The menu is still being decided but it’ll be high quality burgers with his signature Buster hot sauces.
“It’s been something Brooklyn has always wanted to do. He has the full support of Nicola and her family, including her businessman dad Nelson, and is excited about the future.”
Being a chef is the latest in a long line of career ambitions for Brooklyn, 26.
He has previously tried his hand at modelling, acting and photography.
Romeo Beckham celebrates with family at birthday party as Brooklyn skips celebrations AGAIN amid family feud
He even had dreams of following in dad David’s footsteps as a professional footballer but failed to make the grade.
Brooklyn, David, 50, and mum Victoria, 51, are estranged following a series of rows, said to include disagreements over money.
Sources say he is now keen to move on and focus on his life with Nicola, 30.
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Being a chef is the latest in a long line of career ambitions for BrooklynCredit: Getty
NEWS BRIEF Two powerful aftershocks struck eastern Afghanistan within 12 hours, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis triggered by earlier earthquakes that killed 2,200 people and destroyed over 6,700 homes. Rescue efforts are hampered by landslides and blocked roads, while the WHO warns of disease risks and a critical $4 million funding shortfall for essential aid. The […]
Chilean holding company Cencosud now has full ownetship of The Fresh Market. Photo courtesy of The Fresh Market
SANTIAGO, Chile, Sept. 4 (UPI) — Chilean holding company Cencosud (Centros Comerciales Sudamericanos) announced it has acquired full ownership of premium supermarket chain The Fresh Market after purchasing the remaining 33% stake held by investment fund AP VIII Pomegranate Holding.
The sale was valued at $295 million, according to a filing Cencosud made with Chile’s Financial Market Commission, the country’s financial regulator.
The Fresh Market was founded in 1982 by Ray and Beverly Berry in Greensboro, N.C., and specializes in high-quality fresh and healthy products, baked goods, prepared foods, floral arrangements and other items. The chain operates 172 stores in 22 states, mainly in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.
In 2022, Cencosud purchased a 67% stake in the company for $676 million, marking the Chilean retailer’s entry into the U.S. market.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement, which marks an important milestone in our strategy to strengthen Cencosud’s presence in the U.S. market,” Cencosud CEO Rodrigo Larraín said in announcing the full acquisition of the supermarket chain.
“The supermarket business in the United States has shown positive performance and is entering a new stage of growth that excites us greatly,” he said, adding that the acquisition will allow the company to accelerate integration of the chain into its operations.
Cencosud, one of Latin America’s largest retailers, was founded in 1963 by Horst Paulmann. His family remains the majority shareholder in the holding company, which operates supermarkets, home improvement stores, department stores, shopping centers and financial services.
The company operates in six countries: Chile, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and the United States. In the United States, it has focused only on the supermarket segment, which grew 12.8% in sales in 2024 thanks to store expansion and online sales.
Claudio Pizarro, a researcher at the Center for Retail Studies in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Chile, said Cencosud’s latest move underscores the Chilean supermarket operator’s strategy to expand in the U.S. market.
“The United States is the largest supermarket market — it’s where Walmart started, and today it is the global leader. The performance of The Fresh Market has been very positive and shows strong growth potential,” he said.
He added that 80% of Cencosud’s revenue comes from its supermarket business, where it has developed its own private-label products, such as Cuisine & Co.
“It is an increasingly important and distinctive asset in its supermarket business,” Pizarro said.
With the full acquisition of The Fresh Market, Cencosud aims to become a major global player in the supermarket sector, said Jorge Berríos, academic director of the finance program at the University of Chile’s School of Economics.
“Cencosud is a company with a strong presence in Latin America. Its natural path was to pursue expansion into the United States and become a global player through a niche supermarket, where it has found a significant opportunity,” Berrios said.
“Today, people want to buy quality food, and they are willing to pay for that service,” je added.
BBC show Strictly Come Dancing has been rocked by more allegations, with one of the stars being arrested on suspicion of rape
22:07, 23 Aug 2025Updated 22:56, 23 Aug 2025
BBC Strictly star arrested on suspicion of rape as show is hit with fresh crisis
Strictly Come Dancing has been thrown into a new crisis after one of its stars was reportedly arrested on suspicion of rape.
The male suspect, who has not been named for legal reasons, is also reportedly being questioned by police over allegations involving “non-consensual intimate image abuse”.
The BBC confirmed to The Mirror tonight that there is an “ongoing police investigation”.
The Met Police investigation follows a BBC-led inquiry into claims of drug abuse by stars on the show. A Met spokesman told The Sun on Sunday: “On Friday, August 22, officers arrested a man on suspicion of rape and non-consensual intimate image abuse.
“This is a joint investigation… and while the investigation is in its early stages, we urge anyone with any information to come forward to us. The arrest follows a third party allegation of sexual and drug-related offences. Enquiries are ongoing.”
The alleged rape victim is being supported by specialist officers, he added. The dramatic development – separate from the upcoming series – is one of the biggest crises to be faced by the BBC since newsreader Huw Edwards dodged jail last year for possessing indecent images of children.
A BBC spokesperson has told The Mirror: “It would not be appropriate to comment on an ongoing police investigation.”
Strictly has been hit by a string of storms recently. Last year, dancer Giovanni Pernice quit after being accused of bullying and harassing 2023 partner Abbington. Some complaints against him were upheld but he was cleared of the most serious ones in a probe.
In the same series, the BBC pro Graziano Di Prima was removed over claims of misconduct towards partner Zara McDermott during training. And this year, Welsh opera singer Evans left the dance tour after being accused of making inappropriate remarks.
This week Kristian Nairn quit the show after just one week into rehearsals. He will be replaced by Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope as BBC bosses scrambled to find a last-minute stand-in. Northern Ireland-born Kristian revealed he had quit in an emotional Instagram video.
The 49-year-old said: “Like so many people at the minute, I have been dealing with a high level of stress and a little bit of grief, if I’m going to be really real. I’ve always been my mother’s son and I have always powered through things like this in the past and any other time of my life actually. Honestly, I think I’ve got a pretty healthy attitude towards stuff like this.
“I thought I did, at least. For the first time it’s manifested physically and it’s caused a spike in my vitals. It’s entered an area of concern.”
If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
People travelling to Turkey have been issued some travel advice(Image: Getty)
The Foreign Office has issued new advice for people travelling to Turkey. New guidance was published regarding swimming and beaches on August 22. The advice is crucial to note if you are heading to the coast as there have been fatal incidents.
The advice says: “Every year, people drown in the sea and in swimming pools in Turkey. Always supervise children, even if they can swim or there is a lifeguard present.”
Families are warned of several dangers when going for a swim in the ocean in Turkey. The guidance says: “Take care when swimming in the sea. Some beaches may have strong undercurrents.
“Hidden rocks or shallow depths can cause serious injury or death. Do not dive into unknown water. Follow local advice if jellyfish or urchins are present.”
Holidaymakers are also advised that many beaches have a flag system that you may want to look out for. The Foreign Office advises: “Make sure you understand the system and follow any warnings (a red flag means you must not enter the water). Follow instructions from lifeguards.
“Take extra care and seek local advice if there are no lifeguards, flags, or signs.” Another rule you may want to note if you are in Turkey is that it’s illegal not to carry some form of photo ID.
The Foreign Office has issued new travel advice for Turkey(Image: Getty)
The Government guidance says: “Always carry your passport or residence permit. In some busy areas, especially Istanbul, the authorities may stop people for ID checks.
“There are also several police checkpoints on main roads across Turkey. Cooperate with officials conducting checks.”
What travel restrictions apply in Turkey?
The Foreign Office advises against any travel to within 10km of the border with Syria. This is due conflict in the area and “a heightened risk of terrorism”.
The guidance explains that most terrorist attacks to date have happened in southeast Turkey, and in Ankara and Istanbul. Visitors are advised: “You should remain aware of your surroundings, keep up to date with local media reports and follow the advice of local authorities.”
The advice page includes further information about the risks and restrictions that apply in certain regions of Turkey.
(Bloomberg) — Blackstone Inc. has struck a deal to acquire electrical equipment services provider Shermco in its latest bet on the increasingly critical role of electrification. Read More
Trinidad and Tobago pays tribute to the nation’s Afro-descendant community on Emancipation Day, which marks the ending of slavery throughout the British Empire
Augustine Ogbo works as a doctor, treating patients in clinics across the striking Caribbean island of St Lucia.
When he returns to his home in the coastal town of Rodney Bay, he clocks in for his second job – as the owner and solo chef of a Nigerian takeaway.
“Egusi soup and fufu, that’s more popular… they love jollof rice too,” Dr Ogbo says, reeling off a list of his customers’ favourite dishes.
The 29-year-old hails from Nigeria – population 230 million – but crossed the Atlantic for St Lucia – population 180,000 – to train as a doctor in 2016.
He set up his home-based takeaway, named Africana Chops, in 2022, after being incessantly asked by his St Lucian friends for Nigerian fare.
The takeaway is now thriving, Dr Ogbo tells the BBC, and not just because his island customers think the food is tasty.
“They know that we all have the same ancestral origin. So most of the time, they want to get in touch with that,” Dr Ogbo explains, adding that interest in African culture has grown “tremendously” since he arrived almost a decade ago.
St Lucia is not alone in this phenomenon.
Across the Caribbean, the desire to reconnect with the population’sAfrican heritage appears to have strengthened over the past few years.
People across the Caribbean have been expressing African pride through cultural means, such as food, clothing and travel, while governments and institutions from both sides of the Atlantic have been meeting to forge economic ties.
Africa has had a long presence in the Caribbean.
A significant part of the islands’ population descended from enslaved West and Central Africans, who were forcibly transported to the Caribbean by European merchants in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
Slavery was abolished in much of the Caribbean during the 1800s, while independence from European powers came the following century.
The descendants of enslaved people retained some African customs, but largely developed their own standalone cultures, which differ from island to island.
In the past, there have been major campaigns to encourage African pride, as Dorbrene O’Marde, who runs the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission, says.
“It was particularly strong in the 1930s or so, and then again in the 1960s – we saw a major outpouring in sync with the [American] black power movement during that period,” he says, talking to the BBC on the island of Antigua.
Mr O’Marde believes the Caribbean is witnessing a renewed, more promising version of such “pan-Africanism” (a term used to describe the idea that people of African descent should be unified).
“It has widened beyond psychological and cultural themes and we are now talking in broader economic terms, such as stronger transportation links between the Caribbean and Africa,” he says.
“We are in a different phase now of pan-Africanism – one that’s not going to wane like before.”
EPA/Shutterstock
The cultural ties are strong but new trends on social media, as well as African musicians going global, have excited a new generation
One thing that separates this wave of African pride from the ones that came before is social media.
Dennis Howard, an entertainment and cultural enterprise lecturer at the University of the West Indies, says a “significant” amount of Jamaicans are connecting with Africa through platforms such as TikTok.
“People are learning more about black history beyond slavery,” he tells the BBC from his home in the Jamaican capital, Kingston.
Mr Howard also points to the global rise of Afrobeats, a musical genre from Nigeria and Ghana.
He feels that in Jamaica specifically, the popularity of Afrobeats is partly down to a desire to reconnect with the continent.
“Through the music videos, [Jamaicans] are seeing certain parts of Africa are similar to Jamaica and are developed. We had a concept of Africa as this place where it is backward and it’s pure dirt road… the music is changing that.”
Asked about the view of some Jamaican commenters online – that islanders do not need to reclaim their African heritage as they have an equally valid, hard-won Jamaican heritage of their own – Mr Howard stresses that the two are not distinct.
“Our whole culture is African, with a little sprinkling of Indian and European and Chinese. But for the most part it is African-derived. It is the most dominant part of our culture,” he says.
Those leaning into their African heritage are not just consuming the culture, but actually getting on flights and exploring the continent first-hand.
The tourism authority in Ghana – once a major departure point for enslaved Africans being shipped to the Caribbean – told the BBC there had been a “notable increase” in holidaymakers from the islands in recent years.
Similarly, Werner Gruner, South Africa’s consul to the Bahamas, says that over the past two or three years, his office has seen a rise in local people travelling to South Africa, Ghana and Kenya.
“I see a lot of interest in safaris and I think people also start to realise that South Africa and other African countries are actually very well developed,” Mr Gruner says.
EPA
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (second from the right) wore a Nigeria-inspired outfit when she met African dignitaries on Emancipation Day
Even Burkina Faso, an economically struggling country under military rule that is not well known for tourism, is apparently on some people’s buckets lists. Mr O’Marde says some of his countrypeople want to visit the country because of the pan-African leanings of its leader, Ibrahim Traoré.
Getting to the mother continent from the Caribbean can, however, be complicated, with travellers often forced to fly via Europe.
Earlier this year, in a speech in which she referred to herself as a “daughter of Africa”, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley called for the construction of “air and sea bridges” between Africa and the Caribbean.
“Let us make these changes, not just for heads of state, but for ordinary people who wish to trade, travel, and forge a shared future,” she said.
Key institutions like the African Union, African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have been working on the “trade” angle, hosting conferences and setting up memorandums of understanding with their Caribbean counterparts.
Afreximbank says trade between the two regions could jump from around $730m (£540m) to $1.8bn (£1.33bn) by 2028, provided the right conditions are achieved.
But at the moment, Africa and the Caribbean have some of the lowest indicators in the world for transport infrastructure, logistics quality and customs efficiency, according to the World Bank.
In an attempt to reduce trade barriers, the prime minsters of Grenada and the Bahamas this year called for Africa and the Caribbean to launch a shared currency.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis told delegates at an Afreximbank meeting in Nigeria they should “seriously” consider a single digital currency, while Grenada’s Dickon Mitchell said: “Such a move would symbolically and practically affirm our shared identity not just as trading partners, but as members of a truly global Africa”.
Getting more than 60 countries to coordinate and launch a standard system would be no easy feat, but Mitchell said this must be done if the regions are to “take control of [their] own future”.
Back in St Lucia, Dr Ogbo says his attempts to bring egusi, fufu and jollof to local people are a small but worthy contribution to the strengthening of relations between Africa and the Caribbean.
In June, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu signed various cooperation agreements with St Lucia during a state visit and Dr Ogbo sees Africana Chops as an extension of that.
“I can say I’m working hand-in-hand with the Nigerian government and even the St Lucian government to promote the African culture,” he says.
The doctor and businessman is now trying to upgrade his food business to a full-fledged restaurant – and he hopes the “cultural exchange” between Africa and the Caribbean also goes from strength to strength.
“It’s awesome!” he says. “I’m really, really excited about that.”
William and Kate are moving into Forest Lodge in Windsor
The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to move into a new home in Windsor.
William and Catherine will move to the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, with their children George, Charlotte and Louis.
The family have been living in Adelaide Cottage in the castle grounds since August 2022 but after a challenging 18 months that has seen the princess deal with a cancer diagnosis and treatment they have now decided to make a change.
“Windsor has become their home. However, over the last few years while they have lived at Adelaide Cottage there have been some really difficult times,” a royal source told the BBC.
“Moving gives them an opportunity for a fresh start and a new chapter.
“It’s an opportunity to leave some of the more unhappy memories behind,” the source said.
The royal couple see this as a move for the long-term and view Forest Lodge as their forever home.
It will be where they plan to live as a family when the Prince and Princess of Wales becomes King and Queen.
As with their four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, it is understood they will not have any live-in staff as they focus on creating as private a family home as is possible.
William and Catherine announced they were moving from Kensington Palace in London to Windsor in August 2022.
They also have homes at Anmer Hall in Norfolk where they spend much of the school holidays and their offices remain at Kensington Palace.
The move to Windsor two years has been a successful one and afforded them the privacy and freedom that was more difficult to find in London.
It is understood the family are settled and the children are happy at Lambrook school where all three currently attend.
Any work carried out on Forest Lodge will not come from the Sovereign Grant which provides state funding for the monarchy.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are funding the move privately and they will pay market rent on the property.
Alberto Pezzali/PA Wire
The Prince and Princess of Wales currently live in Adelaide Cottage
In 2001, Forest Lodge underwent £1.5m restoration works and was put on the rental market for £15,000 a month.
Images inside the home taken at the time showed original stonework, elaborate plaster cornices and ceiling decoration, plus a half-barrel vaulted hallway ceiling.
Redacted planning applications lodged with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead show permission for minor internal and external alterations was granted earlier this month.
The council’s decision notice refers to the removal of a window and works to a fireplace.
Forest Lodge is nestled in the heart of the 4,800-acre Windsor Great Park.
Kate has spoken of her belief in the healing power of the natural world and described nature as her “sanctuary”, while opening up about her “life-changing” cancer treatment.
WASHINGTON — After styling himself for decades as a dealmaker, President Trump is showing some receipts in his second term of ceasefires and peace agreements brokered on his watch. But the president faces extraordinary challenges in his latest push to negotiate ends to the world’s two bloodiest conflicts.
Stakes could not be higher in Ukraine, where nearly a million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in pursuit of Vladimir Putin’s war of conquest, according to independent analysts. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers add to the catastrophic casualty toll. Trump’s struggle to get both sides to a negotiating table, let alone to secure a ceasefire, has grown into a fixation for Trump, prompting rare rebukes of Putin from the U.S. president.
And in the Gaza Strip, an alliance that has withstood scathing international criticism over Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas has begun to show strain. Trump still supports the fundamental mission of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to destroy the militant group and secure the release of Israeli hostages in its possession. But mounting evidence of mass starvation in Gaza has begun to fray the relationship, reportedly resulting in a shouting match in their most recent call.
Breakthroughs in the two conflicts have evaded Trump, despite his efforts to fashion himself into the “peacemaker-in-chief” and floating his own nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In Turnberry, Scotland, last month, Trump claimed that six wars had been stopped or thwarted under his watch since he returned to office in January. “I’m averaging about a war a month,” he said at the time.
He has, in fact, secured a string of tangible successes on the international stage, overseeing a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda; hosting a peace ceremony between Armenia and Azerbeijan; brokering a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand, and imposing an end to a 12-day war between Israel and Iran after engaging U.S. forces directly in the conflict.
Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s foreign minister, from left, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Democratic Republic of the Congo foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner in the Oval Office of the White House on June 27. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda agreed to a U.S.-backed peace deal meant to end years of deadly conflict and promote development in Congo’s volatile eastern region.
“We’ve only been here for six months. The world was on fire. We took care of just about every fire — and we’re working on another one,” he said, “with Russia, Ukraine.”
Trump also takes credit for lowering tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, and for brokering a ceasefire between two nuclear states, India and Pakistan, a claim the latter supports but the former denies.
“Wars usually last five to 10 years,” said Michael E. O’Hanlon, chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution. “Trump is tactically clever, but no magician. If he actually gets three of these five conflicts to end, that’s an incredible track record.
“In each case, he may exaggerate his own role,” O’Hanlon said, but “that’s OK — I welcome the effort and contribution, even if others deserve credit, too.”
One-on-one with Putin
Well past his campaign promise of ending Russia’s war with Ukraine “within 24 hours” of taking office, Trump has tried pressuring both sides to come to the negotiating table, starting with the Ukrainians. “You don’t have the cards,” Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an infamous Oval Office meeting in February, chastising him to prepare to make painful concessions to end the war.
But in June, at a NATO summit in the Netherlands, Trump’s years-long geniality with Putin underwent a shift. He began criticizing Russia’s leader as responsible for the ongoing conflict, accusing Putin of throwing “meaningless … bull—” at him and his team.
“I’m not happy with Putin, I can tell you that much right now,” Trump said, approving new weapons for Ukraine, a remarkable policy shift long advocated by the Europeans.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim walk during a welcoming ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace on Wednesday in Moscow. Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim is on an official visit to Russia.
(Getty Images)
The Trump administration set Friday as a deadline for Putin to demonstrate his commitment to a ceasefire, or otherwise face a new round of crushing secondary sanctions — financial tools that would punish Russia’s trading partners for continuing business with Moscow.
Those plans were put on hold after Trump announced he would meet with Putin in Alaska next week, a high-stakes meeting that will exclude Zelensky.
“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Meeting Putin one-on-one — the first meeting between a U.S. and Russian president in four years, and the first between Putin and any Western leader since he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — in and of itself could be seen as a reward for a Russian leader seeking to regain international legitimacy, experts said.
In this June 28, 2019, file photo, President Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
(Susan Walsh/Associated Press)
Worse still, Putin, a former KGB officer, could approach the meeting as an opportunity to manipulate the American president.
“Putin has refused to abandon his ultimate objectives in Ukraine — he is determined to supplant the Zelensky government in Kyiv with a pro-Russian regime,” said Kyle Balzer, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “He wants ironclad guarantees that Ukraine will never gain admittance to NATO. So there is currently no agreement to be had with Russia, except agreeing to surrender to Putin’s demands. Neither Ukraine nor Europe are interested in doing so.
“Put simply, Putin likely believes that he can wear down the current administration,” Balzer added. “Threatening Russia with punitive acts like sanctions, and then pulling back when the time comes to do so, has only emboldened Putin to strive for ultimate victory in Ukraine.”
A European official told The Times that, while the U.S. government had pushed for Zelensky to join the initial meeting, a response from Kyiv — noting that any territorial concession to Russia in negotiations would have to be approved in a ballot referendum by the Ukrainian people — scuttled the initial plan.
The Trump administration is prepared to endorse the bulk of Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory, including the eastern region of Donbas and the Crimean peninsula, at the upcoming summit, Bloomberg reported. On Friday, Trump called the issue of territory “complicated.”
“We’re gonna get some back,” he said. “There will be some swapping of territories.”
Michael Williams, an international relations professor at Syracuse University, said that Trump has advocated for a ceasefire in Ukraine “at the expense of other strategic priorities such as stability in Europe and punishment of Russia through increased aid to Ukraine.”
Such an approach, Williams said, “would perhaps force the Kremlin to end the war, and further afield, would signal to other potential aggressors, such as China, that violations of international law will be met with a painful response.”
Gaza
At Friday’s peace ceremony, Trump told reporters he was considering a proposal to relocate Palestinian refugees to Somalia and its breakaway region, Somaliland, once Israel ends hostilities against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“We are working on that right now,” Trump said.
It was just the latest instance of Trump floating the resettlement of Palestinians displaced during the two-year war there, which has destroyed more than 90% of the structures throughout the strip and essentially displaced its entire population of 2 million people. The Hamas-run Health Ministry reports that more than 60,000 civilians and militants have died in the conflict.
Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and others, has refused to concede the war, stating it would disarm only once a Palestinian state is established. The group continues to hold roughly 50 Israeli hostages, some dead and some alive, among 251 taken during its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which also killed about 1,200 people.
Protesters gather in a demonstration organized by the families of the Israeli hostages taken captive in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 calling for action to secure their release outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
(Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
Israel’s Cabinet voted this week to approve a plan to take over Gaza City in the north of the strip and, eventually, the rest of the territory, a deeply unpopular strategy in the Israeli military and among the Israeli public. Netanyahu on Friday rejected the notion that Israel planned to permanently occupy Gaza.
Despite applying private pressure on Netanyahu, Trump’s strategy has largely fallen in line with that of his predecessor, Joe Biden, whose team supported Israel’s right to defend itself while working toward a peace deal that, at its core, would exchange the remaining hostages for a cessation of hostilities.
The talks have stalled, one U.S. official said, primarily blaming Hamas over its demands.
“In Gaza, there is a fundamental structural imbalance of dealing with a terrorist organization that may be immune to traditional forms of pressure — military, economic or otherwise — and that may even have a warped, perverse set of priorities in which the suffering of its own people is viewed as a political asset because it tarnishes the reputation of the other party, Israel,” said Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “So Trump really only has leverage over one party — his ally, Israel — which he has been reluctant to wield, reasonably so.”
In Ukraine, too, Trump holds leverage he has been unwilling, thus far, to bring to bear.
“There, Trump has leverage over both parties but appears reluctant to wield it on one of them — Russia,” Satloff said.
But Trump suggested Friday that threatened sanctions on India over its purchase of Russian oil, and his agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to secure greater security spending from European members, “had an impact” on Moscow’s negotiating position.
“I think my instinct really tells me that we have a shot at it,” Trump said. “I think we’re getting very close.”
‘Positive trend’ in US-Russia ties remains despite Washington’s ‘zigzag’ policy, Moscow says.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio have met again at the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur, according to Russia’s state-run TASS agency, with the war in Ukraine the key focus.
The conversation followed a longer 50-minute meeting between the two top diplomats the previous day.
While no details have yet emerged from Friday’s exchange, Rubio told reporters after Thursday’s talks that the two sides had discussed a possible “new and different approach” to reviving peace efforts over Ukraine.
“I wouldn’t characterise it as something that guarantees peace,” he said, “but it’s a concept that I’ll take back to the president.”
Lavrov said on Friday that he set out the Kremlin’s position on settling the war. “We discussed Ukraine. We confirmed the position that President [Vladimir] Putin had outlined, including in his July 3 conversation with President [Donald] Trump,” Lavrov told Russian media on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the diplomats held a “substantive and frank exchange” of views on Ukraine, as well as on Iran, Syria and broader global issues.
The meeting marked a rare moment of direct engagement between Washington and Moscow as bilateral relations remain fraught. However, Russian officials downplayed suggestions that ties were deteriorating.
A group photo at the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 10, 2025 [Hasnoor Hussain/EPA].
“I do not agree that the positive trend in relations between Moscow and Washington is fading,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the RIA news agency. “I think that the current US administration acts in a zigzag manner. We don’t dramatise over this.”
Ryabkov said a new round of US-Russia talks on unresolved bilateral issues could be held before the end of the summer.
Despite the strain, both Moscow and Washington appeared to leave the door open to further dialogue, though with caution. “We are talking, and that is a start,” Rubio said. “But much depends on what comes next.”
Top US, Chinese diplomats set to meet
Rubio, on his first official trip to Asia since assuming office, is also set to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. The in-person meeting is their first and comes as the US aims to reassert its presence in the Asia Pacific.
The US secretary of state is attending the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, which brings together key players including Japan, China, Russia, Australia, India and the European Union.
The flurry of diplomatic meetings comes amid worsening US-China trade relations. Beijing has warned Washington against reintroducing sweeping tariffs next month, after being slapped with duties exceeding 100 percent during earlier tit-for-tat exchanges.
China has also warned of retaliation against countries that support efforts to exclude Beijing from critical global supply chains.
While Rubio’s trip signals a renewed US focus on Asia, tensions stemming from Trump’s global tariff strategy continue to cast a long shadow.
From August 1, steep import tariffs targeting eight ASEAN nations, including Malaysia, as well as close allies Japan and South Korea, are due to take effect.
Washington has said the move is part of its effort to “rebalance trade,” but critics warn the policy could undermine the very partnerships the US is seeking to strengthen.
ASEAN’s foreign ministers noted their concern on Friday over rising global tensions and underscored how critical a “predictable, transparent, inclusive, free, fair, sustainable and rules-based multilateral trading system” was in a joint communique.
“We reaffirmed our commitment to work constructively with all partners to this end,” the regional bloc’s foreign ministers said.
SKY customers are days away from the permanent closure of two beloved TV channels.
It’s part of a massive TV guide shake-up that was rolled out throughout April.
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Two beloved channels will go off air permanently on July 1
India Today, available on Satellite channel 523 will end its broadcast permanently on July 1.
And Music India, which customers can access on channel 711, will also cease operations on the same day.
The former – a popular news channel – launched in May 2023 and coincided with the general election in India.
India Today’s sister channel, Aaj Tak, will continue to be available on Sky, channel 710.
BOLD PREDICTION
It comes after one TV expert said it is “unlikely” Sky will ever release a new satellite product.
Paolo Pescatore, an expert for PP Foresight, told The Sun it is “highly unlikely” Sky will ever release a new satellite box “given the investment and timescales with the TV switch off that’s around the corner”.
Last year, Sky signed a contract extension with satellite operator SES that takes the service up to 2029.
“Ultimately Sky would prefer to migrate all users onto its IP based products which in turn will lead to the end of Sky Q,” Paolo said.
“It is reliable, robust and serves customers needs.
“They do not want to buy another telly with Sky inside for now.”
Beloved high street chain with 24 Irish locations confirms Dublin city centre store closing down in 10 days in huge blow
SKY CHANNEL SWAPS IN APRIL SO FAR
Here’s the full list of Sky channel swaps in April so far…
Tuesday, April 1
U&W HD ROI closes on satellite only – the SD remains at 132
U&W HD closes on satellite only – the SD remains at 132
U&Yesterday HD closes on satellite only – the SD remains at 155 – 161 in ROI
U&Alibi HD moves from 130 to 120 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
U&Gold HD moves from 131 to 121 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
U&Dave HD moves from 132 to 130 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
U&W HD moves from 133 to 131 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
U&Drama moves from 134 to 132 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
U&Yesterday HD moves from 161 to 133 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
U&Eden moves from 162 to 134 on Glass and Stream only in England, NI and Wales. They remain unchanged in Scotland and ROI
GINX TV HD moves from 419 to 417 on Glass/Stream only in the UK
MUTV HD moves from 420 to 418 on Glass/Stream only in the UK
LFCTV HD moves from 421 to 419 on Glass/Stream only in the UK
Premier Sports 1 HD moves from 419 to 417 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
Premier Sports 2 HD moves from 420 to 418 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
GINX TV HD moves from 421 to 419 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
MUTV HD moves from 422 to 420 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
LFCTV HD moves from 423 to 421 on Glass/Stream only in ROI
Wednesday, April 2
TV Warehouse moves from 676 to 673 on satellite only
Cruise1st.tv moves from 681 to 675 on satellite only
Sky History 2 HD closes on satellite – the SD moves to 163 in the UK and 168 in ROI and NI – HD channel remains on Glass/Stream
Thursday, April 3
Sky Gangsters (Satellite 309 – Glass/Stream 309) changes name to renames to Sky Thriller HD (reverting from a temporary change)
Sky Books To Screen (Satellite 302 – Glass/Stream 302) renames to Sky Adventure/ SkyAdventureHD (temporary change)
Friday, April 4
Sky Family (Satellite 306/850 – Glass/Stream 306) renames to SkyHarryPotter / HarryPotterHD (Temp)
Sky Hits (Satellite 303 – Glass/Stream 303) changes name to The Hobbit HD (Temporary change)
Monday, April 7
Sky The Hobbit (Satellite 303 – Sky Glass/Stream 303) changes name to Sky Hits / Sky Hits HD (reverting from temporary change)
As Mayela got off the bus, she saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raiding the pupusería she worked at in Los Angeles. The undocumented transgender Salvadoran woman watched from behind a car as her co-workers — including another trans Central American woman — were handcuffed and taken away in broad daylight.
“I had so much hope when I arrived to this country,” Mayela, played by Fernanda Celarie, says in her prayers later on. “Now that I’ve begun to feel comfortable living here, this is a nightmare. Why so much pain and suffering?”
“Trans Los Angeles” director Kase Peña wrote that scene into her feature film well before the ongoing ICE raids and subsequent protests in L.A., but the harsh reality of fear for the many undocumented people of the city was something she knew she needed to include.
“When I wrote it in 2021, ICE was a hot subject, and then it died down,” Peña told said ahead of her film’s premiere at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival on May 30. “My film was always relevant and needed. The fact that who we have in the White House right now makes my film even more relevant, more needed now that he’s brought the ICE thing back. That part [of the movie] is not going to look old. It’s unfortunate, but that’s going on.”
This is what Peña set out to do with her feature-length movie, which is composed of three non-overlapping vignettes sharing a wide-ranging set of experiences that Angelenos face daily.
Born and raised in New York, the Dominican American director moved to L.A. nearly a decade ago and was inspired to make her film after noticing a lack of representation for trans stories that reflected the realities of her community.
“When I started hanging with my trans community here in Los Angeles, my intentions were not to tell those stories,” Peña said. “It was something that I felt like there’s a void here, and I’m the right person to tell it because I’m both a filmmaker and a trans person.”
While the storylines of “Trans Los Angeles” drew inspiration from Peña’s personal experiences and fellow members of the trans community‘s stories, the film’s format was influenced by global cinema.
The director pulled from the seminal Soviet/Cuban political work “Soy Cuba” to land on the vignette structure of her film. She had originally wanted to mirror the 1964 movie’s four episodes but was unable to secure funding — a common dilemma faced by truly independent filmmakers — for her fourth snippet, which centered on a transmasculine character.
“A lot of people ask you questions like, ‘Why don’t the stories intertwine?’ It’s because it makes my life more difficult as an independent filmmaker,” she noted. “If you give me a million dollars, I can make the stories intertwined, but I was only getting enough money to shoot one segment at a time. I didn’t have money to shoot all three segments.”
These restraints forced “Trans Los Angeles” to be filmed over the course of several years. The first vignette, “Period,” was shot in March 2021; “Feliz Cumpleaños” was filmed soon after in June; “Trans Day of Remembrance” had to be pushed due to finances and was eventually recorded in November 2023 on Peña’s iPhone. That last segment was shot using “stolen locations” for exterior scene — the crew showed up to a spot and recorded without having film permits or insurance.
“That’s one reason why I decided to shoot it with my iPhone,” she said of the guerrilla filmmaking strategy. “If somebody would have came to me and said, ‘Hey, what are you guys doing over there?’ [We’d say] we’re just shooting something for Instagram on my iPhone. They’d be like, ‘Oh, OK.’”
The vignette “Period” centers on Vergara, a formerly incarcerated trans Latinx woman played by actor and model Carmen Carrera. The character lands a job as a nanny to a preteen girl while doing sex work on the side.
Carrera says she was drawn to the project because Peña’s script allowed her to portray a three-dimensional character.
“That is valuable because oftentimes us trans people are told that we’re not valuable, or that we’re wrong for existing, or that we shouldn’t be around kids, or we shouldn’t have responsibility or be people who are a contributing factor to society,” Carrera told said. . “It’s a reflection of my own life too. I am an active girlfriend, I am an active daughter, I’m an active sister. The trans experience is just a small part of my life. It’s not the totality of my human experience. I was just happy I felt more related to Vergara because it’s how I have always felt as well. In my own life, people judge me all the time.”
Another aspect of “Period” that connected Carrera to Vergara was the character’s relationship with her mother.
“I think as a first-generation American, you have that extra layer of [thinking], ‘My parents came to this country and sacrificed so much, and if I don’t make them proud it’s gonna be a waste,’ ” she said.
Central to the plot of “Period” was the community that Vergara was able to tap into thanks to the TransLatin@ Coalition, a real-life advocacy group based out of L.A. that seeks to create safe spaces for transgender, gender expansive and intersex immigrant women in the city.
“The reason the TransLatin@ Coalition is in the film is because that came from me,” Peña said. “I in real life have gone to TransLatin@ to seek the services that they provide for trans people of color. Because I’m a writer and I go there, I see this place and I’m like, ‘I can tell the story and include them.’ ”
The second segment of the feature, “Trans Day of Remembrance,” is named after the annual day of observance on Nov. 20 of those whose lives were lost due to transphobia.
The story follows Phoebe (Austria Wang), a Taiwanese American transgender woman, as she maneuvers her romantic life and processes the death of one of her fellow trans friends. For this vignette, Peña intentionally cast transmasculine actor Jordan Gonzalez to play Phoebe’s cis boyfriend, Sam. .
“We’ve had cisgender people play trans roles, and it’s the first time [Gonzalez has played a cisgender role]. It was something that they’ve been wanting to do for a while, but this industry doesn’t see them as that, because they only see them as trans,” Peña said. “It was something that they yearned for and perhaps now, because they’ve done it, other people would consider casting them that way too.”
The final segment, “Feliz Cumpleaños,” portrays an ICE raid on a Salvadoran business while telling the story of Mayela’s hopes and aspirations for her life as she prepares for her baptism at an LGBTQ+ friendly church.
As an outsider to the Salvadoran experience, Peña leaned on actual members of the Central American country to adjust and approve of her script.
“I want to acknowledge that I’m not from El Salvador. As a person of color, as a Dominican filmmaker, as a transgender filmmaker, I have often seen filmmakers from other communities come and tell my story, and they don’t check in,” Peña explained. “They think they can just write it. They don’t get it right sometimes, and then they go win major awards. I didn’t want to disrespect the community like that.”
Peña emphasizes that the movie tells stories that get to the heart of the struggle and beauty of being human in L.A.
But ultimately her film is only a slice of the overall trans experience, she says, a unique series of stories informed by a writer whose ethos can be encapsulated in her own views on her own trans identity.
“For me, being transgender is not about passing. Being transgender is about having the freedom to be who you are,” Peña said. “I’m not trying to look like a woman. This is me. That’s it, whatever that means.”
Five people have been killed and dozens injured as Iran launched fresh strikes across central Israel overnight, according to Israel’s national emergency service. Footage shows explosions and damage in Tel Aviv and Haifia. Officials say at least 19 people have been killed in Israel and 224 people in Iran since Friday, when the two countries began launching attacks.
THE MET Office has issued a fresh warning for thunderstorms this weekend, with up to 50mm of rain expected to fall in just a few hours.
The alert signals the arrival of severe weather, bringing the risk of flooding, hail, and lightning strikes across the UK.
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There is also a follow-up amber warning that continues until 5am on MondayCredit: Met Office
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Lightning strikes in the sky along Church Street in Witham, Essex
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During the thunderstorms, some parts of the UK could receive up to 50mm of rain
Brits are urged to be prepared as intense storms are set to hit several regions, sparking concerns of widespread disruption.
The weather warnings will affect several areas, including London, the South East, and the East of England, until 5am Sunday morning.
There is also a follow-up amber warning that continues until 5am on Monday.
The Met Office has highlighted the risk of “fast flowing or deep floodwater” that could endanger lives, with some communities potentially becoming cut off due to flooding.
During the thunderstorms, some parts of the UK could receive up to 50mm of rain in just a few hours.
This will bring major disruption, including road closures, train cancellations, and power outages.
The Met Office also warned of the potential for strong winds, reaching up to 50mph, which could exacerbate the impact of the storms.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin commented that the day would start off “hot and humid,” with some areas of the country potentially seeing temperatures climb as high as 30°C.
However, conditions will soon change, with thunderstorms beginning around 2pm in Wales and the South West, spreading to other areas later in the day.
Parts of southern England, including London, could see temperatures remain as high as 28°C on Friday evening, though the heat will quickly give way to more unsettled weather.
With 30–50mm of rain expected in some areas before the storms ease early on Saturday, residents across Greater London, Plymouth, Bath, Brighton, Norwich, and parts of the South East are advised to remain alert.
Cardiff and other southern regions could experience the heaviest downpours, with some areas possibly receiving up to 80mm of rain.
This level of rainfall is likely to cause significant surface water flooding, making driving conditions dangerous and leading to the risk of accidents.
The situation has already caused significant flooding in parts of the South West, particularly in Plymouth, where local residents battled knee-deep water.
The storms have already resulted in closures, with some roads, such as Gdynia Way and Kings Street, shut down due to flooding.
The Theatre Royal in Plymouth has also closed its doors as a result of flood damage.
James Mackenzie-Blackman, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of TRP, stated: “The torrential rain has required us to close the Theatre Royal today as we continue to deal with a significant flood into our basement.
Our priority is the safety of our staff, our artists, visitors and participants.”
In addition to the potential flooding, strong winds of up to 50mph are expected to cause problems along coasts and hills, further complicating the situation for drivers and emergency services.
Local authorities have advised caution when travelling, particularly in affected areas, as there may be delays and possible cancellations to train and bus services.
The disruption could continue into the weekend, particularly in areas where floodwater lingers.
The Met Office has issued a warning about the increased risk of power cuts, especially in areas where storms bring lightning strikes.
Residents are urged to be prepared for the possibility of service interruptions, with some homes and businesses potentially losing power due to the extreme weather.
This follows Friday’s amber weather warning for thunderstorms, hail, and lightning strikes.
The public is encouraged to monitor the weather closely and take precautions to protect themselves and their property.
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Brits are urged to be prepared as intense storms are set to hit several regions, sparking concerns of widespread disruptionCredit: PA
Tusk called the vote as he seeks to regain momentum after his ally lost the presidential election earlier this month.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says his pro-European Union coalition has the mandate to govern ahead of a crucial confidence vote in parliament.
Tusk called the vote as he seeks to regain momentum after his ally Rafal Trzaskowski was defeated by nationalist Karol Nawrocki in the country’s presidential election earlier this month, prompting predictions of his government’s demise.
Tusk, whose fractious centrist coalition built around his Civic Platform party holds 242 seats in the 460-seat Sejm, or lower house, is expected to survive the vote, which could potentially trigger early elections, not scheduled until 2027.
“Governing Poland is a privilege,” Tusk told politicians ahead of the vote on Wednesday. “We have a mandate to take full responsibility for what’s going on in Poland.”
He listed higher defence spending and a cut in his government’s visa issuance for migrants as major achievements since he took power in October 2023 from the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS).
But a win is unlikely to bring the “new beginning” the 68-year-old leader is hoping for after this month’s presidential race left his coalition rattled, raising questions over his leadership against a backdrop of surging support for the far-right in the country of 38 million.
Following the presidential election, there has been growing criticism that Tusk’s government has underdelivered on its campaign promises, failing to fulfil pledges of liberalising abortion laws, reforming the judiciary and raising the tax-free income threshold.
Tensions within the governing coalition, particularly with the Polish People’s Party (PSL), which advocates for socially conservative values and wants more curbs on immigration, could spell more trouble.
President-elect Nawrocki, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, is also an EU-sceptic who is expected to work to boost the opposition PiS party that backed him.
An SW Research poll for Rzeczpospolita daily showed that about a third of Poles thought Tusk’s government would not survive until the end of its term in 2027.
‘Is it the end of Tusk?’
Polish presidents can veto legislation passed by the parliament, a power that will likely hamper reform efforts by Tusk’s government, such as the planned introduction of same-sex partnerships or easing a near-total ban on abortion.
It could also make ties with Brussels difficult, particularly over rule of law issues, as Nawrocki has expressed support for the controversial judicial reforms put in place by the previous PiS government.
Ties with Ukraine could become more tense as Nawrocki opposes Ukraine’s membership of NATO and has been critical of the support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Nawrocki is expected to begin his five-year mandate formally on August 6 once the election result has been legally validated.
The election commission has found evidence of counting errors in favour of Nawrocki in some districts.
Parliament speaker Szymon Holownia, a government ally, said there was “no reason to question the result”.
Tusk previously served as Polish prime minister from 2007-2014 and then as president of the European Council from 2014–2019. He resumed his leadership of the country as prime minister again in December 2023.
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