Month: May 2025

TikTok users are raving about this ‘underrated’ UK seaside town – and it’s no wonder why. The destination boasts two beaches, a charming lighthouse and an award-winning bakery

The prospect of a sunny summer has many Brits contemplating a staycation this year instead of jetting off overseas. Staycations, which became exceedingly popular during the Covid pandemic, are proving to be just as enjoyable and sun-soaked as trips abroad – and they often come with less hassle and a smaller price tag.

With summer around the corner, it’s the perfect time to discover some of Britain’s finest beaches, perhaps visiting a coastal town that’s new to you? TikTok influencer and travel expert @lotteboo3 took to the platform to shine a light on what she considers an “underrated” seaside treasure.

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Southwold, hailed as a “classic seaside town” by the Express, is nestled in Suffolk and ticks all the boxes for a quintessential British staycation.

The town is home to two inviting beaches, Southwold Pier Beach to the north and Southwold Denes Beach to the south. Holiday-goers will be greeted by rows of quaint, brightly coloured beach huts that line the shore, injecting vibrant butter yellows, whites, and blues into the scenery.

The TikTok user posted footage of an “award-winning bakery”, overflowing with delectable sausage rolls, gingerbread men, croissants, and assorted pastries.

She also highlighted a “charming lighthouse” – perfect for those holiday photos – and a magnificent pier where visitors can leave their mark by adding personalised plaques.

The official Southwold Pier website even offers a Pier Plaque Creator, giving tourists the chance to craft their own plaque as a “great gift, a wonderful surprise or a memento of your visit”.

Holidaymakers heading to Southwold are in for a treat, with the chance to meander through its picturesque streets dotted with colourful abodes, discover distinctive independent boutiques, and relish traditional coastal pleasures such as ice cream.

Lotte’s TikTok showcase of Southwold has captured the imagination of social media users, racking up nearly 32,000 likes and over 3,200 saves.

The post has sparked some serious wanderlust, prompting more than 1,000 shares as people plot their next escape. Admiring comments flooded in from fans of the town, with one user, @Goodgriefisthatthetime, professing: “Worked at scores of seaside towns all over the UK. By far the cleanest, well looked after.”

Meanwhile, Laura Marsh joined in the chorus, saying, “We live down the road from Southwold, definitely one of our happy places. Great beer and fish and chips.”

Numerous commenters labelled Southwold as their “happy place”, including Bethany who revealed, “I absolutely love it here I go every year, it’s like a second home”.

Adding to the endorsements, Caitlin Harvey shared her six-year working experience in Southwold, concluding: “Worked here for six years. Can’t deny that it’s actually a lovely place to visit.”

When filmmakers say they’re experimenting with artificial intelligence, that news is typically received online as if they had just declared their allegiance to Skynet.

And so it was when Darren Aronofsky — director of button-pushing movies including “The Whale” and “Black Swan” — last week announced a partnership with Google AI arm DeepMind to use the tech giant’s capabilities in storytelling.

Aronofsky’s AI-focused studio Primordial Soup is producing three short movies from emerging filmmakers using Google tools, including the text-to-video model Veo. The first film, “Ancestra,” directed by Eliza McNitt, will premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 13, the Mountain View-based search giant said.

Google’s promotional materials take pains to show that “Ancestra” is a live-action film made by humans and with real actors, though it’s bolstered with effects and imagery — including a tiny baby holding a mother’s finger — that were created with AI.

The partnership was touted during Google’s I/O developer event, where the company showed off the new Veo 3, which allows users to create videos that include sound effects, ambient noise and speech (a step up from OpenAI-owned competitor, Sora). The company also introduced its new Flow film creation tool, essentially editing software using Google AI functions.

Google’s push to court creative types coincides with a separate initiative to help AI technology overcome its massive public relations problem.

As my colleague Wendy Lee wrote recently, the company is working with filmmakers including Sean Douglas and his famous father Michael Keaton to create shorts that aren’t made with AI, but instead portray the technology in a less apocalyptic light than Hollywood is used to.

Simply put, much of the public sees AI as a foe that will steal jobs, rip off your intellectual property, ruin your childhood, destroy the environment and possibly kill us all, like in “The Terminator,” “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the most recent “Mission: Impossible” movies. And Google, which is making a big bet by investing in AI, has a lot riding on changing that perception.

There’s a ways to go, including in the entertainment industry.

Despite the allure of cost-savings, traditional studios haven’t exactly dived headfirst into the AI revolution. They’re worried about the legal implications of using models trained on troves of copyrighted material, and they don’t want to anger the entertainment worker unions, which went on strike partly over AI fears just a couple years ago. The New York Times and others have sued OpenAI and its investor Microsoft, alleging copyright theft. Tech giants claim they are protected by “fair use.”

AI-curious studios are walking into a wild, uncharted legal landscape because of the amount of copyrighted material being mined to teach the models, said Dan Neely, co-founder of startup Vermillio, which helps companies and individuals protect their intellectual property.

“The major studios and most people are going to be challenged using this product when it comes to the output content that you can and cannot use or own,” Neely said by phone. “Given that it contains vast quantities of copyrighted material, and you can get it to replicate that stuff pretty easily, that creates chaos for someone who’s creating with it.”

But while the legacy entertainment business remains largely skeptical of AI, many newer, digitally-native studios and creators are embracing it, whether their goals are to become the next Pixar or the next Mr. Beast.

The New York Times recently profiled the animation startup Toonstar, which says it uses AI throughout its production process, including when sharpening storylines and lip-syncing. John Attanasio, a Toonstar founder, told the paper that leaning into the tech would make animation “80 percent faster and 90 percent cheaper than industry norms.”

Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former leader of DreamWorks Animation, has given a similar estimate of the potential cost-savings for Hollywood cartoons.

Anyone working in the traditional computer animation business would have to gulp at those projections, whether they turn out to be accurate or not. U.S. animation jobs have already been hammered by outsourcing. Now here comes automation to finish the job. (Disney’s animated features cost well over $100 million to produce because they’re made by real-life animators in America.)

Proponents of AI will sometimes argue that the new technology isn’t a replacement for human workers, but rather a tool to enhance creativity. Some are more blunt: Stop worrying about these jobs and embrace the future of uninhibited creation. For obvious reasons, workers are reluctant to buy into that line of thinking.

More broadly, it’s still unclear whether all the spending on the AI arms race will ultimately be worth the cost. Goldman Sachs, in a 2024 report, estimated that companies would invest $1 trillion in AI infrastructure — including data centers, chips and the power grid — in the coming years.

But that same report raised questions about AI’s ultimate utility.

To be worth the gargantuan investment, the technology would have to be capable of solving far more complex problems than it does now, said one Goldman analyst in the report. In recent weeks, the flaws in the technology have crossed over into absurd territory: For example, by generating a summer reading list of fake books and legal documents polluted with serious errors and fabrications.

Big spending and experimentation doesn’t always pan out. Look at virtual reality, the metaverse and the blockchain.

But some entertainment companies are experimenting with the tools and finding applications. Meta has partnered with horror studio Blumhouse and James Cameron’s venture Lightstorm Vision on AI-related initiatives. AI firm Runway is working with Lionsgate. At a time when the movie industry is troubled in part due to the high cost of special effects, production companies are motivated to stay on top of advancing tech.

One of the most common arguments in favor of giving in to AI is that the technology will unshackle the next generation of creative minds.

Some AI-enhanced content is promising. But so far AI video tools have produced a remarkable amount of content that looks the same, with its oddly dreamlike sheen of unreality. That’s partly because the models are trained on color-corrected imagery available on the open internet or on YouTube. Licensing from the studios could help with that problem.

The idea of democratizing filmmaking through AI may sound good in theory. However, there are countless examples in movie history — including “Star Wars” and “Jaws” — of how having physical and budgetary restrictions are actually good for art, however painful and frustrating they may have been during production.

Even within the universe of AI-assisted material, the quality will vary dramatically depending on the talent and skill of people using it.

“Ultimately, it’s really hard to tell good stories,” Neely said. “The creativity that defines what you prompt the machine to do is still human genius — the best will rise to the top.”

Like other innovations, the technology will improve with time, as the new Google tools show. Both Veo 3 and Flow showcase how AI is becoming better and easier to use, though they are still not quite mass-market products. For its highest tier, Google is charging $250 a month for its suite of tools.

Maybe the next Spielberg will find their way through AI-assisted video, published for free on YouTube. Perhaps Sora and Veo will have a moment that propels them to mainstream acceptance in filmmaking, as “The Jazz Singer” did for talkies.

But those milestones still feel a long way off.

Stuff we wrote

Number of the week

The Memorial Day weekend box office achieved record revenue (not adjusting for inflation) of $329.8 million in the U.S. and Canada, thanks to the popularity of Walt Disney Co.’s “Lilo & Stitch” and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.”

Disney’s live-action remake generated $183 million in domestic ticket sales, exceeding pre-release analyst expectations, while the latest Tom Cruise superspy spectacle opened with $77 million. The weekend was a continuation of a strong spring rebound for theaters. Revenue so far this year is now up 22% versus 2024, according to Comscore.

This doesn’t mean the movie business is saved, but it does show that having a mix of different kinds of movies for multiple audiences is healthy for cinemas. Upcoming releases include “Karate Kid: Legends,” “Ballerina,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and a Pixar original, “Elio.”

“Lilo & Stitch” is particularly notable, coming after Disney’s previous live-action redo, “Snow White,” bombed in theaters. While Snow White has an important place in Disney history, Stitch — the chaotic blue alien — has quietly become a hugely important character for the company, driving enormous merchandise sales over the years.

The 2002 original wasn’t a huge blockbuster, coming during an awkward era for Walt Disney Animation, but the remake certainly is.

Finally …

Watch: Prepping for the new “Naked Gun” by rewatching the classic and reliving the perfect Twitter meme.

Listen: My favorite episode of “Blank Check with Griffin & David” in a long time — covering Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” with Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Many of the world’s poorest countries are due to make record debt repayments to China in 2025 on loans extended a decade ago, at the peak of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a report by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute think tank has found.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a state-backed infrastructure investment programme launched in 2013, Beijing lent billions of dollars to build ports, highways and railroads to connect Asia, Africa and the Americas.

But new lending is drying up. In 2025, debt repayments owed to China by developing countries will amount to $35bn. Of that, $22bn is set to be paid by 75 of the world’s poorest countries, putting health and education spending at risk, Lowy concluded.

“For the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,” said Riley Duke, the report’s author.

“Developing countries are grappling with a tidal wave of debt repayments and interest costs to China,” Duke said.

What did the report say?

China’s BRI, the biggest multilateral development programme ever undertaken by a single country, is one of President Xi Jinping’s hallmark foreign policy initiatives.

It focuses primarily on developing country infrastructure projects like power plants, roads and ports, which struggle to receive financial backing from Western financial institutions.

The BRI has turned China into the largest global supplier of bilateral loans, peaking at about $50bn in 2016 – more than all Western creditors combined.

According to the Lowy report, however, paying off these debts is now jeopardising public spending.

“Pressure from Chinese state lending, along with surging repayments to a range of international private creditors, is putting enormous financial strain on developing economies.”

High debt servicing costs can suffocate spending on public services like education and healthcare, and limit their ability to respond to economic and climate shocks.

The 46 least developed countries (LDCs) spent a significant share – about 20 percent – of their tax revenues on external public debt in 2023. Lowy’s report implies this will increase even more this year.

For context, Germany used 8.4 percent of its budget to repay debt in 2023.

Lowy also raised questions about whether China will use these debts for “geopolitical leverage” in the Global South, especially with Washington slashing foreign aid under President Donald Trump.

“As Beijing shifts into the role of debt collector, Western governments remain internally focused, with aid declining and multilateral support waning,” the report said.

While Chinese lending is also beginning to slow down across the developing world, the report said there were two areas that seemed to be bucking the trend.

The first was in nations such as Honduras, Burkina Faso and Solomon Islands, which received massive new loans after switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.

The other was in countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, where China has signed new loan deals to secure critical minerals and metals for electric batteries.

How has China responded?

Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “not aware of the specifics” of the report but that “China’s investment and financing cooperation with developing countries abides by international conventions”.

Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “a small number of countries” sought to blame Beijing for miring developing nations in debt but that “falsehoods cannot cover up the truth”.

For years, the BRI has been criticised by Western commentators as a way for Beijing to entrap countries with unserviceable debt.

An often-cited example is the Hambantota port – located along vital east-west international shipping routes – in southern Sri Lanka.

Unable to repay a $1.4bn loan for the port’s construction, Colombo was forced to lease the facility to a Chinese firm for 99 years in 2017.

China’s government has denied accusations it deliberately creates debt traps, and recipient nations have also pushed back, saying China was often a more reliable partner than the West and offered crucial loans when others refused.

Still, China publishes little data on its BRI scheme, and the Lowy Institute said its estimates, based on World Bank data, may underestimate the full scale of China’s lending.

In 2021, AidData – a US-based international development research lab – estimated that China was owed a “hidden debt” of about $385bn.

Does the Lowy report lack ‘context’?

Challenging the “debt-trap” narrative, the Rhodium consulting group looked at 38 Chinese debt renegotiations with 24 developing countries in 2019 and concluded that Beijing’s leverage was limited, with many of the renegotiations resolved in favour of the borrower.

According to Rhodium, developing countries had restructured roughly $50bn of Chinese loans in the decade before its 2019 study was published, with loan extensions, cheaper financing and debt forgiveness the most frequent outcomes.

Elsewhere, a 2020 study by the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University found that, between 2000 and 2019, China cancelled $3.4bn of debt in Africa and a further $15bn was refinanced. No assets were seized.

Meanwhile, many developing countries remain in hock to Western institutions.

In 2022, the Debt Justice Group estimated that African governments owed three times more to private financial groups than to China, charging double the interest in the process.

“Developing country debt to China is less than what is owed to both private bondholders and multilateral development banks (MDBs),” says Kevin Gallagher, director of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center.

“So, Lowy’s focus on China lacks context. The truth is, even if you remove China from the creditor picture, lots of poor countries would still be in debt distress,” Gallagher told Al Jazeera.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation prompted the United States Federal Reserve, as well as other leading central banks, to hike interest rates.

Attracted to higher yields in the US, investors withdrew their funds from developing country financial assets, raising yield costs and depreciating currencies. Debt repayment costs soared.

Global interest rates have since come down slightly. But according to the UN, developing country borrowing costs are, on average, two to four times higher than in the US and six to 12 times higher than in Germany.

“A crucial aspect about Chinese lending,” said Gallagher, “is that it tends to be long-term and growth enhancing. That’s precisely why a lot of it is focused on infrastructure investment. Western lenders tend to get in and out faster and charge higher rates.”

Brighton Beach has been a firm favourite with Brits looking for classic sea, sun and sand, thanks to its bustling pier, long promenade and easy access to restaurants, bars and shops

The UK is brimming with stunning beaches that could give the Caribbean a run for its money, but one seaside gem stands out not only for its natural beauty but also for its wealth of attractions and cultural offerings, making it an ideal spot for Brits planning a staycation.

Brighton Beach has long been a favourite among Brits seeking the classic combination of sea, sun and sand, thanks to its lively pier, extensive promenade, ample beach space and the convenience of having restaurants, bars and shops just a stone’s throw away.

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The city itself boasts a plethora of must-visit spots including the magnificent Royal Pavilion, the Lanes where you’ll discover unique boutiques and bars, and family-friendly locations like SEA Life Brighton.

The beach is popular with both locals and tourists, lined with cafes, fish and chip shops and ice cream parlours. Plus, you can hire loungers to bask in the sunshine or take a dip in the swim-friendly waters.

It’s so picturesque that it’s been bestowed with a ‘Golden Beach Award’ by the folks at BeachAtlas, although it’s worth mentioning that the main beach is pebbled, not sandy.

The team’s rankings are based not just on a beach’s beauty but a number of factors including the local community, lifestyle offerings and cultural significance.

The team shared: “Brighton Beach, a picturesque five-kilometre stretch along England’s southern coast, offers breathtaking views of the English Channel and is a cultural symbol of the UK.

Nestled on Brighton’s lively seafront, this beach is a famed retreat for Londoners in search of a seaside break. Furthermore, Brighton is renowned for its inclusive and diverse community, notably housing one of the largest LGBT communities in the UK.

Frequently dubbed as the “gay capital” of the country, Brighton’s rich LGBT history dates back to the early 19th century, contributing to the city’s reputation as a welcoming and progressive seaside resort.”

On Tripadvisor, some visitors have cautioned that due to the beach’s popularity, it can become quite packed on sunny days, and seaweed can be a problem in the waters during spring.

However, generally, holidaymakers have been left awestruck by the iconic coastal spot. One satisfied holidaymaker wrote: “Lovely walk along the beach. There are pebbles and stones, no sand. Nice and clean. Some shops along the actual seafront too which is nice. One of my favourite UK beaches.”

Another person commented: “It’s a lovely walk along the beach and the board walk. However, the fantastic Victorian benches, shelters and the mid level walk all look very run down and decrepit – which is a shame.

“It’s fun to walk to black rock and the marina and then walk back on the top road and admire the magnificent houses. You can do all of this with a dog but please note the pier does not allow dogs..”

May 28 (UPI) — Global warming is expected to send temperatures soaring at or near record levels over the next five years, according to a Wednesday report from the World Meteorological Organization.

The WMO report said there’s an 86% chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed the Paris Climate Agreement goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Farenheit, above the 1850-1900 global temperature average.

There’s an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will surpass 2024 as warmest on record.

The WMO report said global temperatures “are expected to continue at or near record levels in the next five years, increasing climate risks and impacts on societies, economies and sustainable development.”

“We have just experienced the ten warmest years on record. Unfortunately, this WMO report provides no sign of respite over the coming years, and this means that there will be a growing negative impact on our economies, our daily lives, our ecosystems and our planet,” WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said in a statement.

The report forecast a 70% chance that the 2025-2029 five-year-average warming will be more than the 2.7 degrees Farenheit threshold.

That’s up from the 47% chance forecast in last year’s report for the 2024-2028 period. In the 2023 report it was 32%.

The report’s data indicates a higher risk of climate-change intensified storms, wildfires, floods and drought.

“Every additional fraction of a degree of warming drives more harmful heatwaves, extreme rainfall events, intense droughts, melting of ice sheets, sea ice, and glaciers, heating of the ocean, and rising sea levels,” the WMO said.

The WMO report follows the hottest 10 years ever on Earth.

The rapid warming of the Earth includes Arctic warming over the next five extended winters, which is expected to be more than three and a half times the global average.

The chance of seeing a global temperature rise of 3.6 degrees Fearenheit before 2030 is about 1%, but it was previously considered impossible.

“It is shocking that 2C is plausible,” Adam Scaife of the Met Office, which played a leading role in compiling the data, said it was “shocking” that reaching that temperature was plausible.

“It has come out as only 1% in the next five years but the probability will increase as the climate warms,” he said.

Local media reports say the small vessel appeared to be packed with more than 100 people.

Four women and three girls have died when a small boat carrying dozens of refugees and migrants capsized while approaching the port at one of Spain’s Canary Islands, according to Spanish emergency services.

Local media reports said the small vessel seemed to be packed on Wednesday with more than 100 people. Spanish rescuers and members of the Red Cross pulled people out of the water.

Red Cross spokesman Alexis Ramos told broadcaster RTVE there could be “more than 100 people” on the boat but he was unable to provide a figure for the number of those missing.

Spain’s maritime rescue service said the boat tipped over as rescuers began removing minors after it had arrived at a dock on the island of El Hierro. The service had initially located the boat about 10km (6 miles) from shore.

The sudden movement of people on the boat caused it to tip and then turn over, dumping the occupants into the water, the service said.

Canary Islands emergency services said four women, a teenage girl and two younger girls died in the accident. A helicopter evacuated two more children, a girl and a boy, to a local hospital in critical condition after they nearly drowned, the service added.

The Spanish archipelago located off Africa’s western coast has for years been a main route for refugees and migrants who risk their lives in dinghies and rubber boats unfit for long journeys in the open sea.

Thousands have died on the way to European territory on a treacherous journey from Africa over the Atlantic Ocean.

Nearly 47,000 people who made the crossing last year reached the Canary Islands. Most were citizens of Mali, Senegal and Morocco with many boarding boats to Spain from the coast of Mauritania.

The arrivals include thousands of unaccompanied children.

Par Beach on the Isles of Scilly has been dubbed the ‘greatest beach’ in the UK and is popular with families and dog walkers as it stretches for half a mile long

A sandy beach off the coast of the UK mainland is rated as one of the top beaches in the country. Par Beach on the Isles of Scilly, a crescent-shaped beauty stretching for half a mile, has previously been crowned the ‘greatest beach’ in the UK. Boasting light sandy dunes and sweeping views of the uninhabited Eastern Isles, Par Beach is a hit with families and dog walkers, offering a plethora of activities from kayaking to sailing, alongside traditional seaside pastimes like bathing and swimming.

“I tripped over it [the beach] during the pandemic, in that time when we were all meant to be discovering our own country,” shared Chris Leadbeater, travel correspondent at The Telegraph, who dished out the award.

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“And it did feel like a discovery, as I approached by water – and found myself staring besotted at this largely unadorned crescent, with its little jetty and handful of rowing boats.”

Nestled on St Martin’s Island, visitors are spoilt for choice with nearby accommodation options, including the charming shepherd huts at St Martin’s Vineyard and Winery.

Far from the typical cramped and basic shepherd huts, these hand-built havens boast mains water pressure showers and extra width for comfort, ensuring a cosy stay just a stone’s throw from the beach.

To enhance your appreciation of the stunning surroundings, all power for the hut is sourced from solar panels and battery storage on the farm or via its renewables-only energy provider.

The huts are priced at £820 per week, but savvy guests can snap up a deal in February, March and November when the rate drops to £670 for two adults per week.

Alternative lodgings can be discovered at Carron Farm and Scilly Farm Holidays or if you’re partial to a yurt, Scilly Organics has one available for booking from £450 for a week.

Wildlife enthusiasts will be thrilled with Seal Snorkelling Adventures’ 2.5-hour excursions where guests can have an intimate encounter with Atlantic grey seals. Wetsuits, snorkels, masks and the boat trip are all bundled into the cost, which stands at £65 per person.

For those who’d rather avoid the chilly ocean waters, there’s a plethora of cafes scattered across the island. Open between Easter and October, The Island Bakery whips up handmade treats using local and Cornish ingredients.

The local Polreath Guest House also boasts its own tea room, a fixture since the 1950s and family-run for the past 21 years.

Venturing further inland, visitors will stumble upon The Seven Stones Inn, a charmingly rustic family-run pub offering breathtaking views across the island. All produce at the pub is locally sourced as much as possible.

Par Beach presents the ideal staycation spot, particularly for those who prefer to stay close to their accommodation and immerse themselves in the local community.

Two mainstays of the Loose Women panel could go head-to-head on iconic reality show Strictly Come Dancing as one of the stars joked that she’s been “practising my splits”

Loose Women’s Brenda Edwards has revealed that she and fellow panellist Coleen Nolan are both eager to strut their stuff on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

The 56-year-old, who is currently dazzling audiences in the West End production of Chicago alongside former Strictly pro Janette Manrara, confessed she’s been doing all she can to land a spot on the dance competition. “I’ve asked her to put in a good word for me,” Brenda divulged about her conversations with Janette, who now hosts the show’s spin-off.

She added: “Don’t worry, I’m pushing all avenues. If I get on Strictly, I’ll have to start practising my splits. I want to do it!

“It’s between Coleen Nolan and me, because she really wants to go on it also.” In an interview with Bella Magazine, Brenda expressed her ambition to reach the final, something her Loose Women colleagues haven’t achieved yet.

Coleen, 60, has also shared her aspirations to hit the dance floor and vie for the coveted Glitterball trophy, reports Belfast Live. On Loose Women, she campaigned: “Vote me to go in!

“There’d be a lot of sequins involved, let me tell you.” She has also told The Mirror: “I’ve never done Strictly which devastates me.

“Since that show started, I’ve always wanted to do Strictly and so many Loose Women have done it but they never, ever ask me.” Among the Loose Women stars who have taken the plunge on Strictly’s dance floor are Ruth Langsford, Judi Love, and Kaye Adams.

Kaye, 62, was the first celebrity to be voted off the show in 2022, after partnering with Kai Widdrington. In 2017, Ruth, 65, secured ninth place after her stint with Anton Du Beke, while Judi, 44, was the fifth star to be eliminated in 2021, alongside her partner Graziano Di Prima.

The line-up of celebrities for the forthcoming series remains under wraps, but rumoured participants include Tom Parker Bowles, son of Queen Camilla, telly favourite Stacey Solomon, former Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan, and ex-Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo. What the BBC has confirmed is the roster of professional dancers.

Reigning champion Dianne Buswell will returning to the dance floor are, as will Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Neil Jones and Nikita Kuzmin.

Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Karen Hauer, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola will also feature once more.

Earlier this year, the BBC also revealed that two new professional dancers will be introduced closer to the show’s return. The 2025 series is expected to kick off in September, though an official date is still to be confirmed.

When Luis Enrique leads his Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team out to play Inter Milan in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final, the coach will be seeking to win the European continent’s top prize for the first time for the French side and reverse years of fan frustration at the Parc des Princes.

This is the club which, until recently, boasted superstar players the caliber of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr, but failed to win any European silverware since the third-tier UEFA Intertoto Cup way back in 2001.

Since his arrival in 2023, Enrique has changed PSG radically, overseeing the high-profile exits of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, and transitioning from a team of ageing galacticos into one of the most exciting attacking sides in Europe.

Whether Enrique’s method is the best may ultimately be judged by what happens in the Champions League final in Munich.

Enrique the player

Away from events on the pitch, who is the real Luis Enrique who has presided over this radical transformation at PSG?

The 55-year-old began his football career in 1988, playing in the midfield for his local side, Sporting Gijon, a team in the Spanish Segunda Division.

In 1991 he was signed by mega club Real Madrid where he helped Los Blancos win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Super Cup. On an individual level, Enrique did not perform up to expectations, which was mostly attributed to playing out of position on the wing and in more defensive roles.

Bitter rivals FC Barcelona snapped up an out-of-form Enrique in 1996, where he reverted to his favoured central midfield role.  It paid dividends for the Catalan giants and Enrique went on to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup trophies with Barca.

After retiring as a player in 2004, he went into management, reportedly at the invitation of current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Enrique started his coaching career at FC Barcelona “B”,  before moving to AS Roma in Italy’s Serie A for the 2011-2012 season. The Spaniard was sacked at the end of the season, with a year still remaining on his contract, after Roma finished a disappointing seventh in the premier domestic competition.

Managing expectations

His next move was to Spanish La Liga side Celta Vigo – but he also departed from that club after just one year. It was then that Enrique received his career-altering managerial opportunity, returning to Barcelona as manager of the first team.

His four-year reign at the Nou Camp was crowned by Barca’s victory in the Champions League final in 2015 against Juventus, with the “Big-3” of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar leading the attacking line, completing a rare treble for the club: Spanish League (La Liga), Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey) and European (Champions League) titles.

If PSG win the Champions League final on Saturday, Enrique will make history be becoming the only man to ever achieve a treble on two occasions.

When Enrique was named team coach of Spain in 2018, he entered a new world of international football.

Before the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Spain was fancied as possible winners. However, after a crushing round of 16 loss to underdogs Morocco, Enrique announced his resignation from the national side.

Incessant media speculation linked Enrique’s next managerial job with a move to England’s Premier League.

He was interviewed by Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea – but it was PSG, to the surprise of many, who secured his signature.

Perhaps it was the unique challenge of winning the Champions League with one of only two European super clubs never to have achieved the milestone – Arsenal being the other – which made him head to Paris.

Or perhaps it was a desire to show off his vision of attacking football by rebuilding a club his way.

Take me to Paris

A recent three-part documentary, produced by Zoom Sport Films, provided an intimate portrait of the coach who allowed the cameras into his private life for the first time, despite Enrique’s well-known animosity towards the media.

No Teneis Ni P*** Idea (You Don’t Have Any F****** Idea) reveals a driven man who is as passionate about football as his family – and keeping fit.

Viewers see Enrique arriving at PSG speaking only a few words of French. Nevertheless, he imposes his character on the club from the start.

Known by his nickname, Lucho, Enrique brings a Spanish-speaking coaching staff with him and addresses the players in his own language, with the aid of a French translator.

As relations with his biggest star – Mbappe – appear to worsen, viewers are treated to Enrique giving the star player what former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson used to call the “hairdryer treatment”, or a huge telling off.

But, as this is France, Enrique calls it “C’est Catastrophique (It’s catastrophic)” on a big presentation screen to the striker. The Spaniard is referring to Mbappe’s apparent refusal to defend at all after PSG were beaten 2-3 at home by Barcelona in the quarterfinal of the Champions League in April last year.

Despite the manager-star player bust-up, PSG would move on to the semifinals, where they were ultimately beaten by Borussia Dortmund. A year on, Enrique’s post-match comments may turn out to be prophetic:

“Now it’s a sad moment but you have to accept sometimes sport is that way. We have to try to create something special next year and win it.”

Behind-the-scenes with Lucho

Curiously for a football manager, he spends much of his day studying his team on a series of computer screens.  This is interspersed with workouts. “You must move every half an hour,” he says.  In the documentary, Enrique is seen, in his plush Parisian house, regularly doing various strenuous exercises or cycling.

At the PSG training camp, he mixes team talks with plunges into his ice pool. It pays off, as the manager is fit. But when he walks around the pitch, it is always barefoot as he believes in “grounding” or getting back in touch with nature.

The documentary mixes moments from Enrique’s illustrious career, from the Real Madrid and Barca days, as well as the Spain role – the good and the bad. Not surprisingly, the lowest point is when Morocco upsets Spain and knocks the bookmaker’s favourite out of the World Cup.

Away from football, we also see a tender side to Lucho when the documentary touches on his close relationship with his youngest daughter, Xana, who died at the age of nine from osteosarcoma, a bone tumour, in 2019.

Enrique set up a foundation in her name with his wife, Elena Cullell, to try to help other families who are stricken by the same condition.

Graham Hunter, a producer on the documentary and a football journalist who is friends with Enrique, described his personality as “demanding and inspirational”.

“As a footballer, he was exceptional. A Spanish Roy Keane. His ability to play everywhere on the pitch slightly cut how good he was because managers used him all over the pitch. He was trophy-laden at Madrid and Barca,” he says.

“He did not want to be a coach originally. [He] Accepted an invitation from Pep [Guardiola] I think to coach Barca B. Although he clashed a little bit with Messi and Luis Suarez but that [2015] Champions League victory, it was unbelievable. They won the treble.”

Hunter believes Enrique changed the playing style of the Spain team during his managerial tenure, introducing young talent like Pedri.

“He built what has become a winning franchise and he carries a huge amount of credit to him,” he said.

Hunter says Enrique did not just go to PSG to win the Champions League.

“He went to PSG to imprint his brand of football and to convince the players, the fans that it was a brilliant, modern way to play football and to do that, you have to win the Champions League. For him, he is as interested in how people see his football as attacking and inspirational as winning trophies.”

When the Bradford family walks together on a beach, at an airport, in a restaurant, eyes turn. They aren’t just tall, they’re giants. They aren’t a basketball family — they play volleyball. On Memorial Day, mom, dad, daughter and son were at the beach looking for games.

Lee Bradford was a 6-foot-7 middle blocker at Pepperdine in the 1990s. His wife, Sara, is 6-1 and played basketball at Fordham. Their oldest daughter, Carissa, was the 6-2 City Section volleyball player of the year at Granada Hills, played at Tennessee and South Alabama and is now head coach at Bates College.

Their son, Derek, is 6-8, won a CIF title with Royal and now trains with the USA beach volleyball team. Their son, Grayson, is a 6-11 senior at Mira Costa and plays for a state championship on Saturday in Fresno. He’s committed to UCLA.

Even the youngest in the family, 12-year-old daughter Brooke, is 5-10 and headed for volleyball stardom. Talk about good height genes — no giant shoes go unused in this family.

The Bradford volleyball family (left to right). Derek (6-foot-8), Lee (6-7), Sara (6-1), Brooke (5-10), Carissa (6-2), Grayson (6-11).

(Courtesy Bradford family.)

Dad gave his kids a choice growing up. “I love the sport and offered free private lessons,” he said.

They took him up and the rest is history. Lee has been a teacher at Granada Hills and used to be an assistant coach to Tom Harp. He eventually moved his family to Manhattan Beach after driving to the South Bay for years for club competition.

“We made a really good decision four years ago to go to a high level club program,” he said. “It’s been a great journey.”

At 6 feet 11, Grayson Bradford towers over everyone playing volleyball for Mira Costa. He’s headed to UCLA.

(Steve Galluzzo)

Grayson has been a key player for Mira Costa, which won the Southern Section Division 1 championship, then the Southern California regional championship and play San José Archbishop Mitty in the first state Division 1 boys title match on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Fresno City College.

It’s a weekend for championships. The Southern Section baseball will be held Friday and Saturday at Cal State Fullerton and Blair Field in Long Beach.

The Southern Section softball finals are Friday and Saturday in Irvine.

The state track and field championships will be Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High in Clovis (temperatures will hit triple digits). The state tennis championships are Saturday in Fresno.

The City Section softball finals are Saturday at Cal State Northridge.

Tuesday’s Division 1 baseball semifinals produced a shocker. No. 1-seeded Corona, which started the year considered as high school baseball’s version of the Dodgers, was beaten by St. John Bosco 2-0. It was the first high school pitching defeat for Seth Hernandez, who came in 18-0.

St. John Bosco has unleashed a closer extraordinaire in junior Jack Champlin. Last week, in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied, Villa Park had the winning run on third and Champlin was brought in to get a strikeout. He threw 2 1/3 hitless relief before the Braves won 5-4 in nine innings.

He was inserted into the game with a 2-0 count, one runner on and one out in the seventh inning against Corona. He walked the first first batter, then got a strikeout and fly out to end the game.

He said of the situation, ““I love it,” he said. “There’s close to 1,000 people and it’s electric. I didn’t feel any pressure, didn’t feel nervous. It’s just fun to compete against all these Power 5 players.”

Jack Champlin of St. John Bosco picked up the save in 2-0 win over Corona.

(Nick Koza)

That kind of closer’s mentality and confidence should help St. John Bosco in Friday’s 7 p.m. Division final against Santa Margarita at Cal State Fullerton. Champlin will gladly take the ball whenever coach Andy Rojo offers it.

“I haven’t had a blown save,” he said.

That’s not the kiss of death. That’s a teenager who wants the ball with the game on the line.

Investigators in China are working to find the cause of a powerful explosion at a chemical plant that killed five people and injured 19 more. More than 200 emergency workers responded to the blast in Shandong province, which damaged properties up to a kilometre away.

Where’s the line between sharing a culture and stealing it? In a globalised world, borrowing is easy – but honoring is harder. We explore everything from re-branded recipes to re-imagined identities. What’s at stake when heritage becomes a trend?

Presenter: Stefanie Dekker

Guests:
Fadi Kattan – Chef and author
Richie Richardson – Professor at Cornell University
Nikki Apostolou – Content creator

SHOCKINGLY seven in ten singletons say they’ve given up on dating. Why? Because half of them say they’re put off by constantly meeting liars.

But are the signs there from the very first date? The Sun takes a look at the red flags that could mean your new love interest is out to break your heart.

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As many as 74 per cent singletons have either given up or have chosen to take ‘a lengthy break’ from finding love, according to a poll by dating site Seeking.

And an incredible 51 per cent said they have been fibbed to about their date’s age, while a third have turned up to find the person was shorter or taller than they were told.

Relationship therapist Rhian Kivits told The Sun: “Sadly, lots of people do lie, especially on dating profiles or when they are messaging before a date. Often they do this through insecurity.

“They want to get a date, but they have no confidence, so they post fake photos or tell lies about their age or height.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean they are abusive or dangerous, but if you spot this, it’s fair to ask, ‘Is this right for me?’

“Most of us probably don’t want to date someone who is presenting themselves as someone they are not.”

But that’s not the only white lie your date could dupe you with – there are seven red flags, according to Rhian, which might indicate a potential partner is telling porkies.

1. ‘Too good to be true’ dating profiles

If someone’s profile looks highly managed with model-like photos, and it all feels just a bit too good to be true, then it probably is.

People have been known to use AI photos or internet pictures that aren’t even them. Trust your intuition and if something in your gut gives you the impression it isn’t right, then it might be fake.

Look for photos of them doing a genuine hobby, such as playing golf.

But they should be on a course really playing, not just posing up nearby.

I like it when other people are in their photos, at a family barbecue, for example. This shows someone is a genuine person.

2. Question dodging

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Sometimes you might get chatting to someone and find they are dodging your questions.

You ask where they work, and they just say ‘all over the place’ or ‘I travel a lot’. That’s a red flag.

You might ask where and they say ‘the south west’, but that’s a big place.

Whilst I’d never expect someone to be specific, it’s reasonable to have some idea of what someone does and which town they live in before you meet up.

The same goes for relationship status. If they are being cagey or say ‘it’s complicated’, that’s not a promising sign.

3. Refuses a video call

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You can rule out a lot of fibs by meeting on a video call before a real date.

If they weren’t the age they told you, or the height, you’d know instantly.

If they say no to the call, what is it they don’t want you to see? Maybe they are sitting on the couch with their partner.

Liars can be very clever, so whilst you can never 100 per cent protect yourself, a video call beforehand is a great way of weeding out fibbers.

4. You share the same loves and hobbies

What some liars will do is ask an awful lot of questions about you.

Then they’ll say, ‘Oh, I love that too. ‘ It might be what you like to eat, where you like to hang out, whether you like swimming or going to the cinema.

What they are doing is painting themselves as your ideal partner and setting up a web of lies so you almost fall in love before you meet them.

This is a very negative trait, often used by narcissists, and they are very likely disingenuous.

If whatever you love, they love, it’s not always a good sign.

5. Overly rehearsed anecdotes

If they are telling stories or anecdotes that feel a little too polished rather than spontaneously shared, maybe they are not telling the whole truth.

When every detail is just so, you should be wondering what they have left out.

Look out for inconsistencies in their tales.

Perhaps in one version of the story, they were with a friend, then their brother.

Maybe it was last week the first time they told you, then last year.

And if they always paint themselves as the hero of the story, the one always in the right, perhaps they are not being 100 per cent honest.

6. Little or no digital footprint

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Most of us have a very big digital footprint these days. If there is nothing about them online, ask about it.

If they deleted a profile, why? If they have profiles under different names, why?

We can all look someone up before going on a date, and it’s healthy to do so. You might see they used to have a different job and switched careers, or their hair colour is different.

Just say ‘I did a sneaky Google of you’. If they are a genuine person, they won’t mind.

They’ll laugh and say, ‘Yes, I used to have red hair’. If they are cagey, something is up.

7. Suspicious smartphone activity

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Perhaps they are unusually protective of their phone when you meet up.

They might turn it face down or step away to reply.

They might not want you to see notifications pop up if it’s from a partner or someone else they are dating.

If you are on a date, they shouldn’t be on their phone too much anyway.

If they are, they might be texting their partner to say they are going to be late home from work.

Of course, this is not always the case but if they are on their phone a lot – ask why – and see how they react.

Why do people catfish others on dating apps?

Speaking to Techopedia, professional dating coach Jacob Lucas reveals how to see if someone is a catfish on dating apps.

A lot of people are insecure about themselves. They may not be very confident about dating or making friends, or about the way they look, so they create this fake persona. When they get attention and receive compliments, they then feel validated.

Very often, catfishes are in that person’s life already, so they already know them. Sometimes, it can be started off as a joke and then it spirals out of control. People can become addicted to it and it becomes a habit.

The third reason is that as weird as it sounds, they think they’re doing the right thing. If it’s a friend who has a lot of bad luck in their love life, they want to give them confidence. But they often get stuck in the habit and can’t stop doing it.

And finally, its could be that the person is trying to extort money from the other person. They may ask for a small amount of money to pay for their electricity bill for example to start off with, but if they do, it can spiral into a large amount of money. They use romance to get people to send them money.

At least 3 people died when thousands of starving Palestinians rushed to an aid distribution point run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Aid agencies criticised the operation as Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to admit it is a tool to force Gaza’s population south.

Group A

Falkirk, Queen’s Park, Cove Rangers, Spartans, Brechin.

Group B

Ross County, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, Edinburgh City, Stranraer.

Group C

Dundee, Airdrie, Alloa, Montrose, Bonnyrigg Rose.

Group D

St Mirren, Ayr United, Arbroath, Annan Athletic, Forfar.

Group E

Hearts, Dunfermline, Hamilton, Dumbarton, Stirling Albion.

Group F

St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Inverness CT, Elgin City, East Kilbride.

Group G

Motherwell, Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir, Peterhead, Clyde.

Group H

Kilmarnock, Livingston, Kelty Hearts, East Fife, Brora Rangers.

May 28 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Germany Wednesday to discuss the state of German military support, which could include a delivery of powerful missiles to Ukraine for use against Russian targets.

Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation were welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shortly after their arrival in Berlin, and Zelensky is also expected to meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The visit takes place as speculation continues in regard to whether Germany will supply Ukraine with its Taurus cruise missiles, which can strike targets as far away as 300 miles. Merz had signaled before his ascension to chancellor that he would overturn a previous ban by his predecessor Olaf Scholz on the provision of such weaponry to Ukraine.

Zelensky spoke with reporters Tuesday, and said he would discuss the issue of long-range missiles.

The decision to provide the Taurus missiles remains officially unresolved as it has been a matter of contention between the conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union parties, and the Social Democratic Party, their coalition partners.

However, Merz announced Monday that Germany would “do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine,” and that “also means no longer having any range restrictions on the weapons we supply. Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia.”

Merz later explained the comment was in reference to actions taken months ago, and German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has since confirmed that no new decision in regard to the Taurus missile issue.

Germany has previously provided Ukraine with two weapons systems capable of strikes within Russian borders, the Mars II rocket launchers and Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery, and range restrictions on their usage were lifted in May 2024.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Monday that European countries who lift restrictions on the range of provided armaments for use against Russia on Russian territory would be making a “rather dangerous decision.”

Zelensky posted to social media Tuesday that in an “extended meeting” with Ukrainian military leadership, they had discussed “preparing new agreements with our European partners in the near future, to attract investment into Ukrainian production,” which “First and foremost,” means “the production of unmanned systems and long-range capabilities,” so that the military can “operate at significant distances.”