Month: September 2026

STACEY Solomon has explained why all of her sons are sleeping in the same room at her new £2million mansion – after it was revealed that she is the sole owner of the property. 

Yesterday The Sun told how Stacey, 36, bought the sprawling Essex home without the help of partner Joe Swash. 

The Sort Your Life Out host – mum to Zachary, 18, Leighton, 14, Rex, seven, Rose, four, and three-year-old Belle – has been keeping fans up-to-date on her makeover plans for the house.

In a new clip shared on social media Stacey shared how renovations mean the boys are currently packed into the same bedroom. 

She said: “All the boys are sleeping in one room because they don’t have bedrooms yet because we’re working on the upstairs.  

“They’re all sleeping in one room downstairs, it’s like The Brady Bunch when they go to bed.” 

CARD CLASH

Stacey Solomon hits out after she’s accused of ‘skipping queue’ at Pokemon event

HOME TRUTHS

Stacey Solomon buys new £2m mansion on her OWN – without Joe

Stacey and Joe stunned fans earlier this month when they packed up their dream home Pickle Cottage – which she bought alone in 2021 for £1.3million – and moved to the new property. 

On Thursday The Sun revealed how the former Loose Women panelist purchased it without the help of Joe, 44.

A well-placed insider told us: “Stacey’s a canny businesswoman and was also the sole owner of Pickle Cottage, which sold for over £1million, so it made sense she’d buy the new home on her own.

“She even got some money knocked off the official asking price.

“Stacey paid over £2m for the new Essex mansion – but she’s worth over £10m so that’s not even a dent in her bank balance.”

Earlier this year The Sun told how Stacey – who it was previously revealed is not legally married to former EastEnders star Joe despite a lavish wedding at Pickle Cottage – had hit the £10million mark in her business empire.

When Matchroom hastily arranged an event to officially announce Brown’s signing in 2024, around 300 fans turned out to catch a glimpse of the highly touted amateur.

But persuading 2,000 people to sit in a chilly Planet Ice in Altrincham on a Friday night may be an even better example of Brown’s potential drawing power.

Saturday’s fight was originally scheduled to take place there too but support from his fanbase meant a larger venue was required.

“Altrincham will always have a place in my heart, especially with people moaning how cold it is in there,” Brown said.

“The only downfall are the changing rooms are quite small. I’m quite tall and the ceiling is a bit low, so it’ll be nice to be in a big, open changing room.

“I used to go to that ice rink when I was a kid. To think I’ve actually headlined there on my debut – I can look and smile.”

Brown, who has stopped all six of his opponents with four of his wins coming inside two rounds, has fast established himself as a prospect. He is also aware that, with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in the twilight of their careers, British boxing is craving its next star.

“It’s nice, but I never look at it and crave it,” he said.

“People will either like me or they won’t. I’m never going to change, so if it comes and the country is getting behind me, that’s brilliant.”

This article details the history and observance of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross within the Armenian Apostolic Church. It describes how the sacred relic was recovered from Persian forcesin the 7th century and carried through Armenia during its return to Jerusalem. The text emphasizes Armenia’s status as the first nation to adopt Christianity and highlights the importance of Merelots, or Remembrance Days of the Dead. These memorial days occur following five major religious feasts, including the celebration of the Holy Cross. Beyond religious history, the source provides a snapshot of global news and current events from September 2026.

The family of a Scottish Sikh activist who has been locked up in India for almost nine years without conviction have said he has been granted bail.

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested in 2017 in connection with alleged terror offences.

He was arrested for his alleged role in a series of targeted killings of religious and political figures.

His family said they were still waiting for the details of what will happen next but are “relieved” by the Indian court’s decision.

The 39-year-old was acquitted last year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting terror group the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), which has carried out attacks in the Punjab region.

But he still faces federal charges lodged by the Indian authorities.

Johal’s imprisonment was recognised by a UN panel as arbitrary detention in 2022 and he has claimed to have been tortured.

Indian authorities have previously denied the torture claim and have repeatedly maintained due process is being followed.

He was arrested in the Punjab region just weeks after his wedding in the country.

His supporters say he was targeted for blogging about alleged human rights abuses against the Sikh community in India and was coerced into signing a false confession to participation in the killings.

His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal has lobbied successive governments calling for his brother’s release.

ANNE Robinson has split from Queen Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles after moving from the Cotswolds to London, it has been reported. 

In a recent podcast appearance, Anne, 81, told how she’s been forced to sell her £4million mansion in the countryside “because my eyes aren’t good and I can’t drive”. 

Now the Daily Mail have alleged the TV presenter has called time on her relationship with Andrew, 86 – who still lives in the Cotswolds – after around four years of dating. 

The publication reports that, when asked if she’d been going out with the retired brigadier, Anne replied: “I might have done.

“It’s very difficult to talk about a relationship where part of it is owned by somebody else, so out of politeness I don’t talk about it.”

Anne and Andrew have never been photographed together and he’s never confirmed their relationship. 

SAD BLOW

Anne Robinson reveals health issue behind ‘heartbreaking’ decision to sell mansion

WEAKEST LINK

Inside the incredible love life of Weakest Link star Anne Robinson

He and Camilla, 79, were married from 1973 until 1994 and are parents to Tom, 51, and Laura, 48. 

During a recent appearance on the Experience is Everything podcast with Lorraine Kelly, Anne opened up about ageing and said: “I do Pilates twice a week, I run and I do exercises. 

“I don’t mind the Pilates. The keep fit trainer is very nice but that’s quite boring.

“And I just try not to be ill. But you don’t know. 

“I mean, I’m just selling my house in the country because my eyes aren’t good and I can’t drive, and I can’t be really isolated anymore.

“But you know, and I don’t hear that well. Otherwise I’m OK.”

Anne confessed that leaving the Cotswolds after 40-odd years was a “heartbreaking decision.”

A major rule will come into force this weekend (Sunday, 20 September) for anyone travelling by train – and it’s good news, with the freedom to board other services

There’s nothing worse than your train being cancelled, even more so when you know the next one isn’t for another hour or two, or perhaps that was the last one of the day. Travellers risk being fined if they’re caught on board a railway line or route that differs from their original ticket, with others opting to fork out for a last-minute train ticket on another line, just so they can get home for the evening.

However, this travel dread is about to ease, as passengers will easily be able to board an alternative service with another train operator for free if their original train has been cancelled. The significant change will launch on Sunday, 20 September, in hopes of making rail travel easier, as more train operators are involved in the new scheme, as confirmed by the government.

While cross-operator ticket acceptance is already available across publicly owned train operators, from Sunday, four major railway companies will join the scheme: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Great Western Railway. This means that a total of 17 train operators will be part of the initiative from this weekend, with East Midlands Railway also set to join, although a date has yet to be confirmed.

What train companies are involved in the scheme?

• c2c
• Gatwick Express
• Greater Anglia
• Great Northern
• LNER
• London Northwestern Railway
• Northern
• Southeastern
• Southern
• Thameslink
• South Western Railway
• Transpennine Express
• West Midlands Railway
• CrossCountry
• Great Western Railway
• Avanti West Coast
• Chiltern Railways

Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said: “This is a simple, common-sense change that puts passengers first. No one should be left stranded because of a fragmented railway when their journey is disrupted. We’re fixing the railway from the ground up, making it simpler, fairer and easier to use, as we move towards Great British Railways and put public service back at the heart of our railways.”

What do I need to do?

If your original train and route are cancelled, you can simply use that same ticket to board another service with a rival railway operator included in the scheme. There’s no need to buy another ticket or to fork out for any additional fees. It’s important to note that the alternative train you’re boarding must depart two hours before or after your originally booked service. Additionally, the service must be a “direct or reasonable alternative route”.

Are there any other changes to train travel?

Elsewhere, new pay-as-you-go services will be launched across Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the south-east at more than 100 train stations by next year. This is due to a £156 million investment from the government as part of a ticketing scheme.

A new Great British Railways website and app are also in the works, in hopes of making train travel that much easier. Alex Robertson, chief executive of the independent watchdog, Transport Focus, said: “When passengers are delayed, they just want to get where they need to be, not worry about whether their ticket will be accepted on another train.

“This is a welcome change that we have long called for and should make it easier for people when services are cancelled. The key now is making sure passengers get clear information about their options whenever disruption occurs.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Atokos is a tiny island near Lefkada in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Acarnania. It is one of the most westerly and remotest of the Echinades Islands, home to no one but a colony of pigs

Pig Beach is an irresistible place. It’s a place where a family of adorable hogs, as pink as a Brit at the end of a long summer holiday, trot around on the sand, run through the shallows and piggy-paddle in the waves.

It’s not clear exactly how the colony of oinkers made it to their Bahaman paradise home. Some say the pigs were dropped off by a group of sailors who wanted to come back and cook them, only to get diverted, leaving the pigs to survive on excess food dumped from passing ships. Another tale suggests the pigs were survivors of a shipwreck, while a third argues that they were placed there as a cynical ploy to attract tourists.

If the final explanation is true, then fair play to the inspired swine herder responsible. The Bahamas’ swimming pigs are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the whole region, attracting thousands of porcine enthusiasts into the shallows each year. Pig Beach has about 20 individual piggies and a cast of piglets that varies in size each year, but other islands, including Eleuthera, Rose, Abaco, and Ship Channel Cay, have also gotten in on the action in recent years.

Charmed by the idea of splashing around in the warm waves with a lovely little swine, when I heard that Europe has its very own version of Pig Island, and that it was a short sail away from where I’d be exploring, I couldn’t resist.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Atokos is a tiny island near Lefkada in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Acarnania. It is one of the most westerly and remotest of the Echinades Islands. No one lives on Atokos, not even its shipping magnate owner, Panayiotis Tsako. But it attracts a handful of brave yachtspeople who are allowed to anchor in the shallows.

My friends and I found ourselves in their number on a hot May day, jumping into the water and swimming onto the beach, wetsuit shoes providing crucial protection against the burning-hot pebbles. We’d expected to be met by a group of friendly pigs splashing around in the shallows, but the beach was empty. Of both pigs and people.

Assuming that the hogs were sheltering in the woods at the top of the beach, we walked in, finding them ringing with loud cicadas as we wandered down a path. At the bottom was a single two-storey house, which appeared habitable enough despite its doors being locked and its windows boarded up. Not a pig in sight.

We wandered back towards the beach down winding paths thick with pinecones and sticks, swiping away the thick spider webs that stretched between the trees. Despite the intense Greek sunshine and glistening blue water, the place had a spooky atmosphere, intensified by the empty chapel rising above the sand. I’d read it was well looked after by a visiting janitor, but it looked dusty and unloved. I flicked a large spider off my shoulder.

And then the pigs arrived.

Just as we’d resigned ourselves to returning to the boat light of a soul-cleansing frolick with the promised porsine inhabitants, guess who came snuffling out of the woods? Not a sweet piggy, but a hog. A big, hairy, grunting hog. I’m not an expert, but I’d put a 50/50 wager on it being a wild boar.

The pig wandered towards us, stopping about a metre away. He looked at us, and we looked back. Then out of the woods came three more pigs, seemingly a mum and two piglets. They joined the bigger, dad-looking pig.

There was something about the biggest pig’s tusks and the way it was looking at our now shivering, unprotected but for swimming trunks bodies, that made us feel nervous. These piggies didn’t look amenable to a quick pic.

Suddenly, the big pig roared and lurched forward towards us. I don’t know whether we’d strayed too close to his family, looked at him the wrong way, or stayed too long on the creepy island, but the noise was far from an Instagram-reel-friendly oink. To our shame, we ran. We ran all the way into the sea, powering through the shallows before launching ourselves into a swim. It was only once back to our boat that we risked a look back towards the Atokos and its inhospitable pig masters. There they stood, looking out across the water, unfriendly stares boring into us.

Virtually all NFL players come via the US college system, and in many parts of America, college football is more popular than the NFL.

College games often have bigger crowds – eight of the world’s 10 biggest stadiums are for college football, all holding more than 100,000.

The fans are also more passionate as support is often passed down from one generation to another, and multiple generations attend the same school. Kansas player Calvin Clements, for example, is a fifth-generation Jayhawk.

Actor Paul Rudd is also a Jayhawk, while lifelong fan Jason Sudeikis grew up in Kansas and frequently weaves KU references into his work.

“They’re very spirited, and you get the tribalism, so it’s the closest thing we have to European football fanbases,” Dubiski told BBC Sport.

Both the NFL and college football have tailgate parties, where fans gather in the car park and eat and drink for hours before the game.

But college football fans chant during games, which feature marching bands and spirit squads – made up of cheerleaders, dancers and mascots.

“We want the game to showcase what we think is one of the greatest sports in America,” said Yormark.

“There’s something special about college football – the pageantry, the traditions, the fandom. It’s dynamic – there’s a lot of energy and passion. It truly is an experience.”

Indonesia says vessel will be used to aid disaster relief across the archipelago, but its arrival comes amid drive to upgrade the military.

Indonesia has welcomed the delivery of its first-ever aircraft carrier with a military ceremony as the vessel arrived at a naval base.

The 41-year-old former Italian navy vessel Giuseppe Garibaldi docked in North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok seaport on Friday, after sailing from Italy via Colombo and the Malacca strait, Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Muhammad Ali told reporters.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto says the ship will be used to manage disasters across the archipelago. However, it arrives amid a drive to upgrade the military.

The 180-metre (590-foot) vessel can carry up to 18 helicopters and accommodate up to 830 personnel, a navy spokesperson said in a statement.

The carrier will be renamed KRI Sriwijaya, honouring the Srivijaya empire, a maritime kingdom based in Sumatra that became one of Southeast Asia’s dominant naval and trading powers between the seventh and 13th centuries.

“There are many disasters in this country. So we really need a vessel or platform that could carry many helicopters, because the helicopters can drop logistics quickly to remote areas,” Ali said.

However, he also noted that the ship could “be deployed for combat missions if necessary”.

Bolstering defence

The arrival of the vessel, which was commissioned by the Italian navy in 1985, comes as Prabowo has been pushing to upgrade Indonesia’s military assets and build closer defence cooperation with other countries.

Italy agreed to give Indonesia the carrier in March, after it was retired in 2014. The move was meant to bolster the two countries’ defence engagement.

Italy is seeking deals on submarines and aircraft, and gifting the carrier to Indonesia also saves it the cost of decommissioning the ship.

“Its condition is still very good and hopefully it can be used by the Indonesian navy for the next 15 to 20 years,” navy chief Ali said.

Indonesia’s Finance Ministry approved $450m in financing for the aircraft carrier programme in 2025. Opposition politicians worry the overall bill could be far higher.

However, Prabowo – formerly a general under the Suharto regime – has made building Indonesia’s defence assets and agreements a priority.

Jakarta signed an $8.1bn deal in 2022, when Prabowo was defence minister, to purchase 42 French-made Rafale fighter jets. India confirmed this year that it will supply the country with long-range missiles.

Indonesia has also agreed this year to a “Major Defence Cooperation Partnership” with the Trump administration in the United States, and a security treaty with Australia.

I headed to Eurocamp for the last week in August to enjoy the last of the summer sunshine, and found a lively park packed with plenty for the kids to do and an impressive location to explore Normandy

Finding a holiday that suits my family is a tough call. The age gap between my kids means I have a primary school aged child who wants to go to kids clubs and make friends by the pool, while my teenager would happily emerge at noon and sit on a sunlounger scrolling through their phone all day.

Eurocamp felt like the type of holiday that could be an excellent compromise. You get the convenience of a caravan break, separate rooms for the kids and living space, yet still get the entertainment for younger ones.

We picked Eurocamp La Vallée for a week at the end of August, and its location about three hours from Calais made it an easy journey down. I hadn’t been on a holiday via ferry for a while and forgot just how chilled it is compared to taking the kids on a plane. You can load up the car the night before, devices can be charged in the car, and once you’re onboard you aren’t stuck in a tiny seat for hours. Driving in Northern France is incredibly easy too, with flat, wide toll roads that had barely any traffic.

Arriving at Eurocamp we got a friendly welcome and drove through the maze of caravans, lodges, and tipi tents of various grades, trying not to run over the unsupervised children who’d occasionally dash into our path. Our caravan was a Premium Exclusive, which was set on a spacious area of the park and had its own little garden area with loungers and parking.

The main difference between accommodation in UK and French holiday parks is size. While our mobile home was clean and well-equipped, it was definitely smaller than accommodation at British parks. There’s an open plan area with a kitchen, which surprisingly managed to fit in every utensil known to man and a dishwasher, and a plasticky seating area, but it’s clear that the accommodation is designed for those who don’t want to spend their evenings sitting indoors and watching TV.

While the inside is compact, the outdoor terrace more than made up for any lack of space. Our wooden decking area had outdoor tables and chairs, a big comfy outdoor sofa, and a flat top griddle which was fabulous for cooking outside. We’d often spend the evenings drinking wine and playing cards on the deck as it got dark.

But the big draw of Eurocamp isn’t necessarily the accommodation. It’s the facilities and entertainment, which were definitely much livelier than we expected. Outside the kids’ club there was a daily timetable of events looked after by the colourfully dressed animation team, and separate activities for younger and older kids, so teenagers aren’t stuck doing crafts with a bunch of four year olds.

And of course, there are the pools, which in La Vallée were particularly impressive. There was an outdoor pool area with lazy river, a covered indoor pool, some rather terrifying looking flume things, and a big splash zone for younger kids.

Unfortunately, sunbed wars had broken out in the resort, and the lifeguards seemed reluctant to play the role of peacekeeper. The first morning we arrived, half an hour after the pool opened I found the sole remaining sunbed without a towel draped over it, only for a sunburned man to tell me “that’s my kid’s sunbed, my love”. I thought about arguing with him, especially for calling me ‘my love’, but was being glared at by a five year old in a Minecraft towel whose lounger I’d so rudely tried to take. It was a common theme of the week, rows of sunbeds with nothing but a scrunchie or pair of goggles to keep them occupied.

Despite the lack of sunbeds, the pool was much enjoyed by the kids, who swam in circles for hours and took part in the noisy dance and exercise sessions led by the seemingly infatiguable animation team.

The only downside to the constant activities is that it can be noisy. I’m travelling with two kids, so I’m under no illusion that I’ll be resting on holiday, but it can be an overstimulating environment at times. I sat with my espresso on the terrace one morning only for the thudding sounds of Timber by Pitbull to drift through the park at 10am. During an afternoon lull, I went to read my book and maybe take a cheeky nap, only for the sounds of Lady Marmalade to suddenly blast through the park. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? You won’t get much coucher, alone or otherwise, before midnight.

But the upside to the lively environment is that the kids pretty much entertain themselves, reverting to a feral state where they run around barefoot and make friends from all over Europe who teach them French swear words. There were bouncy castles and a playground for the kids to enjoy in the evening, plus the mainstay of all French holidays, ping pong.

The mini disco also impressed my youngest, as it involved some guy dressed as a cat chasing the kids around in circles, and the evening entertainment was fairly basic but kept everyone happy. Sadly, we had to face it sober as the bar service was laidback, to say the least, so we mostly drank our own stash from the supermarket.

Location-wise, Eurocamp La Vallée is close to everything you’d want from a French holiday. There are the Normandy beaches, World War 2 history sites, seaside towns, and utterly charming rural villages just a short drive away. So if you’re looking for a holiday where your kids can join a Lord of the Flies-style pack and you find yourself increasingly relaxed about it as the week goes on, then Eurocamp is a winner.

Book the holiday

Seven nights from Saturday 3rd April 2027 (Easter) staying in a Comfort two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to four guests, from £331.87 per party. Book at eurocamp.co.uk.

Seven nights from Saturday 3rd July 2027 (School summer holidays) staying in a Comfort two bedroom holiday home that sleeps up to four guests, from £856.80 per party. Book at eurocamp.co.uk.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Israeli politicians reacted to sanctions by states including the United Kingdom, France, and Canada on the country’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank with self-righteous anger. But what is the latest example of Israel’s international isolation brought on by its treatment of the Palestinian people has not been influential in swaying the electorate in the run-up to October’s elections, analysts tell Al Jazeera.

Responding to the UK Foreign Minister Ed Miliband’s accusation that Israelis were ethnically cleansing the occupied West Bank, Israel’s Gideon Saar accused his counterpart of spreading “outrageous lies” and attempting to interfere in the election through foreign pressure.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the measures, branding them a “gross interference in the democratic elections” of Israel.

But, in reality, the majority of Jewish Israelis have supported their country’s genocidal war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.

A poll from August, published as the death toll for Palestinians killed in the West Bank had already reached 76 this year, showed that more than half of Jewish Israelis supported retaining the illegal settlements as part of any future agreement on a Palestinian state, while nearly 40 percent supported annexing the territory in defiance of international law.

“People just don’t care that settlements are illegal,” Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg said.

”Ed Miliband expressed a number of laudable sentiments when announcing the measures,” Goldberg said, referencing the UK foreign secretary’s references to his own Jewish heritage when announcing the cessation of trade with Israel’s illegal outposts. “But we’re at the stage where Israelis aren’t even interested in the truth so much as they are the sentiment.”

Little political impact

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes into the elections at serious risk of losing, with many polls predicting that a coalition of parties opposed to him could win the majority in Israel’s parliament.

But it will not be issues like the settlement-related sanctions that will lose him votes, analysts said.

Public backing for the “government and opposition blocs are pretty hardened, and nobody is going to switch from one side to the other over sanctions arising from [the settlements],” Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israeli Policy Forum, said. He added that the sanctions were unlikely to weigh as heavily with the electorate as “this government’s record and the related feelings people have about Netanyahu”.

“When people were asked what would determine their vote, security came first,” Israeli sociologist Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani said.

“I think there are several mechanisms operating simultaneously,” he added.

First, he said, is the normalisation of the settlements. In Israeli public discourse, the occupied West Bank is increasingly referred to by the biblical name “Judea and Samaria” – a shift he said was becoming institutionalised.

“Second, external sanctions don’t necessarily translate into domestic political costs,” Shenhav-Shahrabani said. “And perhaps most importantly, politically foreign pressure can be absorbed into an existing Israeli narrative [of anti-Semitism] rather than [changing how the issue itself is understood].”

No criticism of the voters

None of Israel’s most prominent politicians has criticised the government for its support of the settlements in defiance of international condemnation. Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and one of Netanyahu’s leading opponents, has, instead, focused his ire on the countries condemning Israel. “Imposing boycotts and sanctions on Israel is a grave mistake,” he said. “This is a wrong and dangerous policy, at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons.”

Another of Netanyahu’s principal rivals, Gadi Eisenkot – whose Yashar Party manifesto does not mention either the West Bank or Gaza – has declined to speak on the sanctions directly. Netanyahu has also yet to comment on the sanctions publicly, despite his Likud party having championed settlement expansion for decades.

“The sanctions haven’t particularly hurt Netanyahu, at least not as far as we can see in terms of direct influence on … polling,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a pollster and public opinion researcher based in Tel Aviv.

Instead, the focus has been on other elements of an eventful electoral cycle, including the emergence of new challengers to Netanyahu on the right.

“We aren’t seeing any real backlash from the sanctions,” Scheindlin said. “Instead, it’s just getting filtered through what people already think of him – his critics dislike him even more, and his supporters basically say, ‘Well, the world hates us no matter what.’”

MILLIE Bobby Brown has shared the first picture of her second baby and revealed its gender, after adopting another child again aged 22.

Yesterday it was revealed how the Stranger Things actress and her husband Jake Bongiovi, 24, had added another addition to their growing brood.

Now, Millie Bobby Brown has thrilled fans by sharing the first picture of her son .

The TV star, who adopted her first child in August last year, shared a picture of her hands placed over her new baby’s.

Posting the snap on Instagram, the mum-of-two wrote: “Hi little guy!”

The star’s news has already had over two million likes, including from stars like David Beckham, 51, Chrissy Teigen, 40, and Amanda Holden. 55.

READ MORE MILLIE BOBBY BROWN

ONE IN A MILL

Millie Bobby Brown worlds away from Stranger Things in bikini bottoms & vest

NOT SHY

Millie Bobby Brown flashes jewelled thong in plunging sheer dress in photo dump

Millie and husband Jake announced that they had adopted their first child just over a yearagoo.

At the time she wrote: “This summer, we welcomed our sweet baby girl through adoption.

“We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy.”

She signed off the post, writing: “And then there were 3, love Millie and Jake Bongiovi.”

The Stranger Things star married the son of Jon Bon Jovi in 2024.

People reported that the couple had married in a private ceremony at Villa Cetinale in Tuscany, Italy in May 2024, with Millie taking her husband’s last name.

They met in 2021 and announced their engagement in April 2023.

The couple now live in the state of Georgia.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Carson 32, Wilmington Banning 19

Contreras 18, RFK Community 7

Contreras 33, Roybal 0

Foshay 34, Manual Arts 7

Franklin 37, Chatsworth 0

Fremont 30, Marquez 12

Garfield 12, Huntington Park 0

Granada Hills Kennedy 20, Birmingham 9

Hollywood 26, Bernstein 6

Hollywood 30, Mendez 0

Jefferson d. Los Angeles, forfeit

King/Drew 50, Gardena 0

Legacy 16, South Gate 14

Los Angeles Hamilton 20, Palisades 0

Los Angeles University 22, LACES 16

Narbonne 8, San Pedro 0

RFK Community 20, Roybal 13

Santee 25, West Adams 0

Venice 33, WISH Academy

Westchester 13, Fairfax 6

Southern Section

Agoura 24, Oaks Christian 14

Antelope Valley 6, Knight 0

Aquinas 59, Riverside Notre Dame 7

Brentwood 21, Burbank Providence 6

Burbank Burroughs 19, South Pasadena 0

Castaic 44, Golden valley 0

Culver City 14, Hawthorne 12

Eastside 53, Littlerock 7

Hart 27, Canyon Country Canyon 12

Lawndale 7, Inglewood 6

Newbury Park 36, Calabasas 0

North Torrance 13, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 6

Oxnard 53, Rio Mesa 0

Oxnard Pacifica 47, Del Sol 0

Palmdale 2, Lancaster 0

Pasadena Poly 39, Village Christian 34

Quartz Hill 19, Highland 12

Redondo Union 32, Mira Costa 0

Santa Ana Foothill 19, Brea Olinda 6

Santa Barbara 20, Channel Islands 2

Santa Paula 33, Hueneme 16

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 54, Flintridge Sacred Heart 6

Sierra Canyon 46, Louisville 0

Simi Valley 26, Royal 14

South Torrance 50, West Torrance 0

Tesoro 50, Dana Hills 0

Woodbridge 47, El Toro 13

Intersectional

Saugus 45, Verdugo Hills 13

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

City Section

Arleta 63, Grant 0

Arleta 26, Grant 0

Collins Family 19, Smidt Tech 0

East Valley 47, AMIT 0

GALA 6, Los Angeles Marshall 0

Los Angeles Hamilton 19, Fairfax 13

Los Angeles Wilson 47, Monroe 6

Los Angeles Wilson 12, Panorama 6

Lincoln 27, Legacy 0

Orthopaedic 36, East College Prep 0

Panorama 49, Monroe 0

Rise Kohyang 40, Animo De La Hoya 13

San Fernando Arroyo 37, Reseda 7

SOCES 50, Valley Oaks CES 0

Stern 12, Camino Nuevo 0

Sun Valley Magnet 69, Valor Academy 0

VAAS 20, MSAR 0

Van Nuys 12, Immaculate Heart 0

Van Nuys 33, Chatsworth 0

Southern Section

Baldwin Park 30, Sierra Vista 7

Bell Gardens 45, Keppel 6

Bishop Amat 18, St. Paul 7

Bonita 19, Ayala 6

Cajon 34, Eastvale Roosevelt 12

California Military 61, United Christian Academy 0

Camarillo 33, Oxnard Pacifica 20

Century 39, Bolsa Grande 25

Cerritos 26, La Mirada 16

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Sanaa, Yemen – Ahmed Yahya, 28, fills his taxi with 10 litres of petrol as he begins his workday early in the morning.

“I feed my taxi with fuel first so that it can help feed my family,” Yahya, a taxi driver, said as he wiped the dust from his front window at a petrol station on the outskirts of Sanaa.

Up until earlier this week, Yahya used to pay 4,750 Yemeni riyals, the equivalent of roughly $8.90 in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The price had remained unchanged for about four years in territory under the rebel group’s control – including the capital Sanaa.

But then, on Monday, the Houthis announced a roughly 10 percent increase in the price of petrol, up to 5,250 Yemeni Riyals ($9.80). After years of economic misery, Yahya described the price hike as another “painful surprise to an already devastated people”.

The Houthi-run Yemen Petroleum Company said the diesel and petrol price increase was the result of a “global increase in fuel prices”, and promised that it would be temporary. The increase in global oil prices this year comes off the back of the impact of the United States-Israel war on Iran. But, more recently, the Houthis’ own capture of Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast from government forces last week, and attacks on Saudi Arabia, have played a major role in increasing prices.

“When I heard the announcement of the new fuel price, I was shocked and frustrated. We’re hardly surviving, and this price increase will make survival even harder,” said Yahya, as he lamented another burden in a country where 18 million already face acute food insecurity – a lack of reliable access to enough food.

‘Rent or food?’

Yahya, a father of three, has been working as a taxi driver for five years. Although the job helps make ends meet, he feels financially insecure, especially with the ongoing changes in food and fuel prices.

“My family spend about 75,000 Yemeni riyals [$140] a month on food expenses such as flour, rice and cooking oil. With the fuel price rise, we will need at least 85,000 Yemeni riyals [$159] a month for the same food items,” said Yahya.

The resumption of fighting in Yemen in the past few months, after a four-year period of relative calm in the country’s war, has contributed to the price rises. But for Yahya, relatively safe in Sanaa, it’s the increased expenses that are the more troubling development.

“When prices rise, they affect what we eat, drink, and how we live,” he said. “Let me give you an example: I pay 25,000 Yemeni riyals [$47] in rent every month. With the increase in food prices, putting money aside to pay the rent has become more challenging. What is the priority? Rent or food?”

An April report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Yemen’s internal conflict has led to significant macroeconomic vulnerabilities and a marked decrease in income per capita, leaving more than half of the population in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

“It [the conflict] has caused widespread food insecurity, disease outbreaks, mass family displacement, and limited access to clean water,” the report said.

Risky and costly transportation

One of the links between the renewed fighting and the increase in prices is the longer distances needed to transport products across the country, as truckers avoid roads near the front lines.

“A truck carrying goods from the south to the north or vice versa now takes up to a week to reach its final destination. Before the renewed fighting, a similar journey would have taken three days or less,” explained Saleh Abdullah, a shopkeeper in Sanaa.

The increased transportation costs, including the higher fuel prices, are passed on to the consumer.

“This means no family is immune to this trouble,” Abdullah said. “Whether it is the flour, the baby milk, the fruits, the vegetables, or anything else, families will feel the pain of price increases.”

“Some customers become angry at us when we sell products at a higher price,” he added. “We didn’t impose prices. We just react and adapt to the changes in the country or the region.”

Ibrahim Abdu, an employee at the Nehm customs checkpoint in Sanaa governorate, said the number of trucks arriving in the capital has declined over the past few weeks.

“Fighting has cut off many roads, and merchants have avoided risking their products and drivers,” he told Al Jazeera.

‘A hunger multiplier’

Years of war have taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s economy, disrupted businesses, and pushed millions of people into poverty and food insecurity. Against this bleak backdrop, the country’s humanitarian tragedy has been worsening.

Ahmed Mohammed, a former humanitarian worker in Hodeidah, describes the fuel price rise as a “hunger multiplier” in war-torn Yemen.

“If a breadwinner struggles to buy a family three meals a day, he may be able to afford only two given the rising price of food commodities. This will deepen hunger among families,” said Mohammed.

He added: “War is ugly, and one of its ugliest aspects is seeing a family unable to afford a kilogramme of flour, sugar or rice.”

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned this week that the violence threatens to trigger a humanitarian crisis as more people are displaced, pressuring communities with limited resources.

A multi-faceted impact

Wafiq Saleh, an economic researcher and executive director of the Taiz Centre for Yemeni-Gulf Studies, said the 10 percent hike in fuel prices in Houthi-controlled areas deals a blow to Yemeni consumers.

“Its impact will manifest as a major inflationary wave, placing a heavy burden on the most vulnerable and income-deprived segments of society,” Saleh told Al Jazeera.

While this price increase may appear modest in percentage terms, its effects extend far beyond the petrol station, rippling through various goods and services and creating new hardships, according to Saleh.

“Petroleum products serve as intermediate inputs for a wide range of goods and services. Consequently, a 10 percent rise in fuel prices does not merely increase people’s expenses by 10 percent; it triggers a cascading effect on prices,” he said.

“The most severely affected sectors include agriculture – which relies on diesel for crop irrigation – and the transport and services sectors, where rising costs immediately drive up passenger fares and food prices.”

He added that the increase would also affect water and electricity services, many of which rely on diesel-powered generators, further increasing the cost of basic services.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises are similarly affected.

“Small enterprises are operating on narrow profit margins, and they may be forced to either cease operations or pass the increased costs on to the final consumer,” Saleh said.

In the memoir, Earl Spencer writes of his sister’s troubled marriage – claiming a friend of Diana’s had told him that on the eve of their wedding in July 1981, Prince Charles had told her he was “very happy to marry her, but… not actually in love with her”.

Things became “very difficult indeed” in the marriage early on, Earl Spencer writes, adding that he is “sure that both spouses despaired of the other at times”.

He now believes his sister had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, external (ADHD), and as part of her condition suffered from Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria – describing the latter as an “intense emotional pain in the face of others’ rejection or criticism”.

In her later years, he writes, Princess Diana considered taking her own life on more than one occasion but love for her sons “stopped her from going further”.

The former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II described the latest claims serialised in the Daily Mail of Charles sounding “giddily elated” as “hogwash”.

Dickie Arbiter, who was press secretary to the late Queen at the time of Princess Diana’s death and funeral, told BBC Newsnight that Charles was “devastated at the time” and that “it’s not in his character”.

“There’s no way he could have ever said anything like that. Charles Spencer is just talking hogwash,” he added.

Royal commentator Jennie Bond meanwhile said Earl Spencer’s “vindictive account” was “extraordinary”.

“I have no reason to disbelieve this is his memory of what happened, but there are usually two sides to a conversation and a story,” she told BBC Breakfast.

Amid the royal drama, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in Greenwich on Thursday evening.

In his first public appearance since moving back to the UK, Prince Harry posed for photographs for the press and selfies with veterans, before delivering a speech.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday granted Paramount Skydance’s request to allow Middle Eastern royal families to hold a substantial stake in a merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery.

The sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are slated to indirectly own nearly 50% of the equity in David Ellison’s proposed mega-studio, Paramount-Warner Bros. That will give them a hefty stake in CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, HBO and two historic Hollywood film studios.

Ellison needed FCC approval because the deal will change the ownership structure of CBS.

As part of the Communications Act of 1934, Congress placed restrictions on foreign ownership of broadcast outlets because of concerns about national security. Current rules prevent foreign investors from owning more than 25% of a company that holds a U.S. broadcast license — unless the FCC determines that foreign ownership would serve a public interest.

CBS owns more than two dozen TV stations with FCC licenses, including KCBS-TV Channel 2 and KCAL-TV Channel 9 in Los Angeles.

“Upon review of [Paramount’s] Petition and consideration of the record of this proceeding, we find that the public interest would be served by granting the Petition,” FCC said in its ruling, noting that Paramount has said the proposed ownership changes would “not result in a transfer of control of Paramount.”

Instead, “Ellison family will retain a majority of the voting interests and control of Paramount,” the FCC said.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, an appointee of President Trump, has been supportive of Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Trump and his lieutenants, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have been cheering for Ellison to control CNN, a Warner property.

Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democratic FCC commissioner, slammed the agency’s decision, saying it “just let some of the most repressive governments in the world indirectly control nearly all of a combined Paramount-Warner Bros.”

“An investment this large in one of America’s biggest media companies doesn’t just buy equity, it secures influence over what gets said and what gets made,” Gomez said. “That’s why I called for this new and novel issue to go to a full commission vote given what’s at stake. Instead, the FCC snuck this ruling out as a staff-level decision, with no public vote and no accountability for a call of this magnitude.”

Ellison’s billionaire father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, in February agreed to personally guarantee the $47 billion in equity needed to buy out Warner Bros. Discovery’s existing shareholders for $81 billion. Ellison and longtime Skydance investor, RedBird Capital Partners, then entered into agreements to assign some of their purchase rights to the sovereign wealth funds.

The funds plan to invest $24 billion in the Paramount-Warner deal. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is set to contribute $10 billion while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. will separately add $7 billion.

Paramount has separately lined up debt financiers to help pull off the leveraged buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery — Hollywood’s biggest merger in decades. The deal has been stalled by an antitrust challenge brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and 11 other Democratic attorneys general, representing such states as New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon.

The foreign ownership rule was adopted nearly a century ago because members of Congress wanted to make sure that hostile foreign players were barred from using U.S. airwaves to spread propaganda, particularly in times of war.

“We appreciate the FCC’s careful review and are pleased that it has granted Paramount’s petition,” Paramount said in a statement, adding the Trump administration’s Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector had separately recommended approval of the deal, subject to several conditions to protect the data of the company’s U.S. based consumers.

Paramount said that, once the deal closes, the Ellison family and RedBird would “collectively hold the largest equity stake in the combined company and 100% of the voting shares, with no other equity participant having any governance rights.”

Paramount has two classes of stock — an ownership structure that will be replicated in a merged Paramount-Warner Bros.

The Ellison family owns 77.5% of Paramount’s voting Class A common stock. RedBird indirectly holds the remaining 22.5% of the Class A shares. The Ellison family separately has 40% of the non-voting Class B shares.

“At a time when the media industry faces unprecedented competitive pressure from dominant big tech companies, a combined Paramount-WBD will have the scale and resources necessary to compete, invest, innovate, and deliver premium content to audiences worldwide,” Paramount said in its statement.

Published on
18/09/2026 – 7:54 GMT+2

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.9% to 65,332.57 after the Bank of Japan raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year high.

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The move had been widely priced in, coming after the Federal Reserve also raised its key rate this week. Pressures have been coming from the US for Japan to raise rates because of concerns about the weakening yen.

The nations intervened together recently to prop up the yen. But the efforts haven’t had a big impact.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 157.11 Japanese yen from 155.95 yen. The euro cost $1.1487, up from $1.1480.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.3% to 6,866.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, slipping less than 0.1% to 8,731.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up nearly 0.7% to 24,769.80, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.0% to 3,916.08.

Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its losses from the prior day.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% for just its second rise in the last nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7%.

Wall Street stocks got a boost after the price of a barrel ofBrent crude oil slid from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide.

In Asian trading, Brent, the international standard, lost 0.94% to $103.83 a barrel. Benchmark US crude slid 0.83% to $101.06 a barrel.

Brent is still more expensive than the $72 per barrel that it cost earlier this summer, but the recent drop helped pull yields lower in the bond market and removed some pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.93% from 5.01% late Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the short-term interest rate that it controls, the federal funds rate, by a quarter of a percentage point for its first hike in more than three years. Officials also hinted that they may raise the federal funds rate one more time this year as they try to get high inflation in the US under control.

The signals sent Wall Street on a roller coaster. Stocks initially remained higher for the day after the Fed made its announcement Wednesday. They then slid sharply before recovering a chunk of the losses before trading ended.

On the upside for markets, the shift to higher interest rates built confidence that the Fed is committed to getting inflation back to its target of 2%. On the downside for markets, higher rates undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 85.95 points to 7,637.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 316.14 to 51,778.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 439.87 to 26,418.30.

Additional sources • AP

Russians head to the polls from Friday to Sunday to elect members of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, in the first parliamentary election to be held since the country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The vote comes as Russians face a slowing economy as well as Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries and warehouses far from the front line.

United Russia, the governing party that backs President Vladimir Putin, is expected to keep its dominant position.

The authorities are presenting the election as a chance for voters to have their say. Critics argue that with no genuine opposition on the ballot, the result is largely settled in advance.

So why are the elections worth watching? Here is what you need to know:

How do Russia’s elections work?

Starting Friday and lasting through Sunday, Russians will elect members of the lower house, the State Duma.

They will also cast ballots in local elections.

Voters in 11 regions will elect their governors, and 39 regions will elect members of regional legislatures.

Voting is spread over three days to boost turnout among the 111 million eligible voters and includes areas Russia occupies in Ukraine. Electronic voting is allowed.

Half of the Duma’s 450 seats are filled by party lists and the other half are contested in single-ballot races.

What is United Russia?

Russia’s governing party, formed in 2001 from a merger of pro-Kremlin parties, has backed Putin and dominated the parliament ever since.

United Russia won more than two-thirds of the Duma’s seats in the 2021 election. It is again poised to dominate the body.

The party’s list is led by political heavyweights: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat for 22 years, and Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s powerful mayor.

In an apparent bid to add fresh faces to what is widely seen as a party of bureaucrats, its third-highest-ranking official is war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, who was badly wounded by a Ukrainian drone.

Members of United Russia have pledged to back the war effort and Putin’s maximalist goals in what the Kremlin calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Who else is running in Russia’s elections?

Alongside United Russia, other “systemic opposition” parties that vote in sync with the government on key issues are also expected to remain.

The liberal Yabloko Party, the only registered political party that opposes the war, was initially on the ballot, but the Supreme Court ordered it removed in August.

It cited, among other reasons, that the antiwar stance was akin to seeking the violation of Russia’s territorial integrity. Yabloko now runs only single-ballot races.

The Communist Party has been a leading force in the Federal Assembly since the 1990s, led for more than three decades by 82-year-old Gennady Zyuganov, a former Soviet official.

Throughout Putin’s rule of more than a quarter-century, the Communists have criticised some aspects of government policy but carefully avoided any criticism of him. They steadfastly support the war in Ukraine.

Alexander Bratersky, a political analyst and independent journalist, told Al Jazeera that the race for second place is worth watching.

If the Communist Party nab second, it would “suggest voters are angry about economic hardship and falling living standards”.

The Liberal Democratic Party, an ultranationalist force that has been a significant presence in the legislature since the early 1990s, will also likely retain some influence in the Duma.

Like the Communists, it staunchly supports the war and boasts of having multiple veterans as members.

Other smaller parties round out the ballot.

The party known as A Just Russia has been on Russia’s political scene for 20 years. A social-democratic party, it competes with the Communists for older and middle-aged voters nostalgic for the Soviet past, and it supports the war in Ukraine.

The New People Party was founded shortly before the last parliamentary election in 2021, seeking to position itself as a liberal voice representing younger voters and technocrats. It won just more than 5 percent of the vote, allowing it to form a small faction.

Bratersky described the party as “a liberal-leaning party backed by some Kremlin people who are more technocratic and more pro-peace”.

He said it appeals to the “middle-class audience”, and after the Kremlin banned Yabloko, it has been viewed as its substitute.

“So, if they come third with a good number of votes, this is a sign that those who are antiwar used them as their legal avatar,” he said.

Other parties seeking seats include Communists of Russia, a small rival of the main Communist Party; the Party of Pensioners; the Green Party; the Party of Direct Democracy; and the Motherland Party.

Why do the elections matter to the Kremlin?

While these elections may seem routine, the fact that they are the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is what makes them important, Bratersky told Al Jazeera.

He said that Putin has linked the elections to support for the war: Endorsing United Russia at its party congress in August, Putin said the party’s duty was “to do everything for victory” in the war in Ukraine.

“This shows that the Kremlin is a bit worried since the elections are the only legal way to show disrespect for the Kremlin,” Bratersky said. “Even Putin’s core fans hate United Russia as a corrupt force.”

How have past elections gone?

Since Putin first came to power in 2000, United Russia has won every Duma election, usually by a wide margin.

The results have repeatedly been disputed.

In 2011, allegations of vote-rigging set off the largest street protests of Putin’s rule.

After the 2021 vote, independent monitors and statisticians said the party’s real support was far lower than the official count.

The authorities have rejected claims of widespread fraud. Opposition parties and critics of the war have increasingly been kept off the ballot.