News Desk

THE wild moment when Geri Halliwell and Kylie Minogue locked lips during a TV appearance has resurfaced.

The Aussie pop star and former Spice Girl — whose last name is now Horner — appeared on the iconic TFI Friday show in 1999.

Hosted by Chris Evans, TFI Friday was a huge TV hit in the late 90s thanks to its mixture of music, stars and entertainment.

It was never short of unexpected moments, including the famous snog between Kylie and Ginger Spice.

A clip showing their kiss was shared to Instagram and showed how the pair were sitting opposite each other at a table before embarking on an intense arm wrestle.

As the pair battled it out, they began leaning in closer to each other and ultimately locked lips.

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They then laughed and sat back before coming in together for a quick embrace.

“Back in ’99, pop royalty collided on TFI Friday when Geri Halliwell and Kylie Minogue shared a surprise kiss on live TV,” wrote the 90s TV Legacy Instagram account on the post.

Many people reacted to the video, including TV producer Nathan Eastwood, who was working on TFI Friday at the time.

“I had the job of asking Kylie to do the arm wrestle. She was so lovely, just said of course. The kiss wasn’t planned,” he wrote in the comments.

Other people who remembered the moment happening as they watched live also shared their thoughts.

“Watched it live, classic TV,” commented one person.

Another added: “I remember thinking ‘this is the best day of my life’ watching that as a kid.”

And a third wrote: “Late 90s early 00s was peak humanity and I will not be told any different.”

Kylie herself opened up about the kiss in 2012 when chatting to media outlet, Pride Source.

“That’s true, I hadn’t thought about that… We never discussed it – the kissing or anything. It just all happened,” she said.

Tens of thousands of people in Sudan have fled el-Fasher and the advance of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the Darfur region. Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reports from a camp for displaced civilians in the neighbouring Northern State where people are in desperate need of assistance.

During its 3rd grandiose summit in Luanda that brought together a distinguished panel of leaders, including the ministers of transport from Zimbabwe and Rwanda, the secretary-general of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the director of strategies at Morocco’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the CEOs of Ethiopian Airlines and TAAG Angola Airlines, as well as representatives from the World Bank Group and the European Commission (EC), the African Union finally earmarked $30 billion for aviation infrastructure.

In his opening address, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union (AU), stressed that Africa must invest between $130 billion and $170 billion annually to lay the foundation for sustainable growth. “We must move from words to action,” President Lourenço urged. “This summit represents a decisive step toward mobilizing the resources needed to enhance connectivity and integration across our continent.”

The ambitious investment plan strategically aims at modernizing the continent’s aviation infrastructure under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), according to summit reports. Lerato D. Mataboge, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, during the high-level session on Financing and Modernizing African Civil Aviation Infrastructure to Promote Integrated Continental Airspace and Enable Free Movement Under SAATM, emphasized aviation’s pivotal role as both an engine of integration and a cornerstone of Africa’s economic transformation.

“Aviation is not merely a mode of transport,” Mataboge stated, speaking at the session. “It is a strategic engine of continental integration and a core enabler of Agenda 2063 and the AfCFTA. The Single African Air Transport Market will only succeed if we build the modern, safe, and efficient infrastructure that Africa’s growth demands.”

Citing findings from a Continental Aviation Infrastructure Gap Analysis conducted with AFCAC, ICAO, and the World Bank, Mataboge revealed that Africa needs between $25 and $30 billion over the next decade to close critical aviation infrastructure gaps. Passenger traffic is projected to triple from 160 million in 2024 to nearly 500 million by 2050, intensifying the urgency for investment.

Key funding requirements include US$10 billion for airport and aerodrome infrastructure and $8 billion for modernizing communication, navigation, and meteorological systems. The AU’s strategy aims to mobilize $10 billion in catalytic public finance to attract an additional $20 billion in private and institutional investment. Through partnerships with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and AUDA-NEPAD, the AU is aligning investment priorities with SAATM and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

The modernization plan integrates cutting-edge technologies such as Airport Collaborative Decision-Making (A-CDM) and System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) to enable seamless continental airspace. It also incorporates renewable energy solutions at airports to attract green financing and advance sustainability goals.

“As we modernize African skies, we are doing so sustainably,” Mataboge added. “Every project we prepare is designed to meet global green standards, reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions, and make African aviation an attractive asset class for the world’s growing pool of climate-focused capital.”

Mataboge reaffirmed the AU’s commitment to ensuring that a modern, efficient, and sustainable aviation network drives Africa’s economic integration, connectivity, and global competitiveness. The AU’s officials reaffirmed their focus on Africa’s most strategic priorities, including building aviation infrastructure, digital data systems, and data interoperability. The discussion underscored the importance of collaborative efforts in building a better aviation sector across Africa.

Deals and Dollars: Concrete Commitments 

The summit moved beyond dialogue to secure tangible commitments, marked by the signing of three key Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs):

– A partnership between the African Social Security Association and AUDA-NEPAD to channel African pension funds into continental infrastructure.

– An MOU with Qatar Airways establishing a $500 million endowment for renewable energy and climate-aligned industrialization.

– The establishment of the Angola Export and Trade Facility to promote regional cooperation and trade.

Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, reported significant progress since the previous summit in Dakar, Senegal. She announced that the AU, alongside African financial institutions, has already raised $1.5 billion to execute high-impact cross-border projects.

“The lesson from Dakar is clear: we can no longer treat financing as a fragmented market of scattered deals. We must transform it into a unified strategy,” Bekele-Thomas stated. She detailed new financial instruments, including the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa’s Project Development Fund, which has achieved a first close of $118 million and is managed by Africa50.

In his contribution, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf emphasized that Africa is entering a new phase of self-determination, one in which the continent must take ownership of financing, planning, and implementing its own development. He underscored that infrastructure investment is not merely technical but deeply political and strategic, vital to Africa’s economic sovereignty, competitiveness, and unity. Highlighting progress made under the PIDA framework, he called for an African-driven ecosystem for development financing through domestic resource mobilization, stronger private sector participation, and greater access to climate funds.

Echoing the urgency of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, framed infrastructure investment as a deeply political and strategic imperative for Africa’s economic sovereignty. “We are shifting from a logic of assistance to a logic of alliance, where partners align their engagement with priorities defined by Africa itself,” he declared. He concluded with a powerful vision: “What we are building here are not merely roads and bridges. We are building an Africa that is connected, confident, and sovereign.”

There were special sessions designed to facilitate in-depth due diligence and accelerate projects toward financial close. The summit for Africa’s infrastructure development stands as a definitive moment, signaling Africa’s unified resolve to finance its own destiny and build the interconnected, prosperous future its people deserve.

A mutant killer baby. Lampshades and pickle jars that come alive. Sinister sewers. A demonic clown that preys on children.

HBO Max’s “It: Welcome to Derry,” the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s epic 1986 novel about a deadly clown named Pennywise, has already scared up a lot of buzz since its Oct. 26 premiere with its mix of evil events and nightmarish images.

The first episode featuring Robert Preston warning “Ya Got Trouble” via the classic musical “The Music Man” is an ominous introduction to the subsequent terrors. Gruesome sequences revolving around birth in the first two episodes will likely make several viewers cover their eyes. (The second episode drops Friday on HBO Max in time for Halloween, and it will air in its usual 9 p.m. PT Sunday slot on HBO.)

A prequel to 2017’s “It” and 2019’s “It: Chapter Two” — both directed by Andy Muschietti — the new drama is set in 1962 in the fictional small town of Derry, Maine. Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise in the films, will reprise his role during the season.

The large ensemble of child actors and adults features several Black characters, including Air Force Maj. Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo); his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige), a civil rights activist in a Jackie Kennedy pillbox hat; and son Will (Blake Cameron James). Also featured is Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), the town’s theater projectionist, and his teen daughter Ronnie (Amanda Christine).

Developed by Muschietti, his sister Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, the creators have prioritized increasing the intensity of the films. But the Muschietti siblings add that they are also incorporating certain messages into the mayhem. Many of the Black characters face bigotry and resistance in the predominantly white town that echo challenges that people of color currently face.

“Stephen is a master of weaving these issues into his stories, and it’s impossible to think of doing one of his stories without having that texture front and center,” Barbara Muschietti said.

The Muschiettis, in a video call, discussed diving deeper into the story of Pennywise, getting their young cast to act like kids from the 1960s, and what gives them nightmares. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Siblings Barbara Muschietti and Andy Muschietti on the set of HBO’s “It: Welcome to Derry.”

(Brooke Palmer / HBO)

How soon after the two “It” movies did the idea of a deeper dive into the world of Pennywise come about?

Andy Muschietti: The novel was the inspiration. There are all these enigmas still lingering, enigmas intentionally left unresolved in the book. Part of the greatness of the novel is that you finish 1,200 pages and at the end, you still have no idea what “It” is and what it wants. It’s all speculation. We had conversations with Bill about how great it would be to do an origin story of Bob Gray, this cryptic character, and give him the opportunity to play the human side, the man behind the clown. It’s about completing the puzzle and uniting the stories that lead one to another, creating a story with the final purpose of getting to this conclusive event, which is the creation of Pennywise, the incarnation of evil.

Barbara Muschietti: Once the idea start percolating, we got in touch with Mr. King and he loved the idea. At the beginning of the pandemic we went to (then-Warner Bros. TV chief) Peter Roth. He bought it in the room and we’ve been on it ever since. Not a day of rest.

“The Music Man” plays a prominent role in the first episode, and it gets dark pretty quickly. I’m a huge fan of that movie, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at that joyful musical the same way again.

Andy Muschietti: I actually wanted us to create a musical ourselves that would pretend to be a movie from 1962. But we would have spent so much money and energy. So we started a quest for the right musical. “The Music Man” was made by Warner Bros. in 1962, and it’s about someone coming to a small town not unlike Derry, talking about trouble, trouble. And it just seemed to fit.

Barbara Muschietti: We also hope a lot of younger people will be curious and go see “The Music Man.”

What is the superpower of “It” that makes it a story that keeps giving and giving?

Andy Muschietti: There are a lot of things people connect to. One of them is childhood. Most of us cherish those years as being full of magic and imagination. We’ve all been children and we’ve all been afraid of something. The novel is a testament to the virtues of childhood, and those virtues normally disappear when you become an adult. Arguably the adults are always the enemy in the world of ‘It.’”

Apart from the clown, there’s a whole mythology that has yet to be connected. My purpose in this series is to reveal the iceberg under the water.

Black characters, including Hank (Stephen Rider), Ronnie (Amanda Christine), Leroy (Jovan Adepo) and Charlotte (Taylour Paige) play central roles in HBO’s “It: Welcome to Derry.” (Brooke Palmer / HBO)

You could not have planned the timing of the show coming on, but it seems like the topical issues addressed in this show, like bigotry, have a relevance to what’s going on in the country today.

Andy Muschietti: What’s going on is not new. It’s just found a new expression. It has been going on and on in cycles. We have this illusion that things are good, but around the corner is another dictator trying to come. We came from Argentina, and we don’t have the kind of racial tension that America has had for hundreds of years. Most of Stephen’s books are a song to empathy in general, and denouncing injustice everywhere. It is important to show, especially in an era where some people in the country are trying to delete history.

Barbara Muschietti: Sadly, these horrors keep haunting us, and racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia is still sadly a human condition, needing to find someone below you that you can punch. Yes, our history makes us a little more sensitive. We live in the United States, it’s a country we love, but it is surprising …

Andy Muschietti: Alarming.

Barbara Muschietti: … that more people are not more concerned.

Andy Muschietti: It’s the fog that Stephen King was talking about. People, basically out of fear, look the other way, trying to suppress things they see, and forget. It’s all part of the same reflection.

It’s immediately obvious that some horrific things will be happening in this show, even more so than the films. The imagery is really nightmarish.

Andy Muschietti: Being a shape-shifter is the thing which keeps giving and giving, and there was a clear intention for us to raise the volume of intensity. You need to meet the expectations of the audience — they don’t want to see more of the same. And we are also dealing with a different time when the collective fears were different because of the social and political situation of that era — the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis — was just around the corner. Then there’s social unrest and segregation.

Barbara Muschietti: I’d like to say it’s all very cathartic. We’re very nice people. I swear.

A demon baby birthed in Episode 1 is among the monsters seen in “Welcome to Derry.”

(HBO)

The show also has a great feel and look to it when it comes to depicting the 1960s.

Andy Muschietti: There was a lot of instinctive respect and attention to accuracy, aesthetically and spiritually. It was the true work of a team in every department, the same folks who had worked on the movies. There was also the research from the writers.

Most of the cast members are kids who did not live in that era. How do you communicate that era and feel to a young cast?

Andy Muschietti: There is a lot of talking. Stephen King knows a lot about this because he was a kid in the 1950s. The book is so rich in detail. We have Ben Perkins, who is a child actor coach. And there is imagination. These kids like to play and at this age, they thrive when you don’t put a lot of restrictions on them. The only thing that went overboard was the cursing.

Barbara Muschietti: That’s one thing that Stephen came back to us with. “There’s too many f—.” We also send the kids with Ben who basically sets up a camp — a bicycle riding camp, a swimming camp, stuff like that which kids in 2024 did not have access to. We’ve been doing that since 2016 very successfully. Because of all of this, all these kids have an incredible bond. They’re friends for life. They get to say goodbye to adolescence on our sets in the most beautiful way.

How long will you keep expanding the ”It” universe?

Andy Muschietti: It’s Derry, Derry, Derry all day. “Welcome” is an arc that expands over three seasons. Why is “It’” Derry, and why is Derry “It”? We will eventually reveal a bigger story revolving around the existence of Pennywise.

I have to ask — what gives you two nightmares? What is scary to you?

Barbara Muschietti: Fascism. Guns.

Andy Muschietti: Violence in general. We’ve come so far as a civilization, and it seems like we haven’t learned anything. What happened to empathy, and seeing what makes us similar, instead of things that divide us?

Barbara Muschietti: And love and respect.

Nov. 2 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1889, North and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states of the union.

In 1920, in the first significant news broadcast, KDKA in Pittsburgh reported the U.S. presidential election results in Warren G. Harding’s win over James Cox.

In 1947, Howard Hughes built and piloted the world’s largest airplane, the 200-ton flying boat Spruce Goose, on its only flight, at Long Beach, Calif. The Goose remained airborne for just under 1 mile.

In 1959, Charles Van Doren told a U.S. congressional investigation he had been given questions and answers in advance of appearances on a television game show.

In 1962, U.S. President John Kennedy announced that Soviet missile bases in Cuba were being dismantled.

In 1976, Democrat Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia, was elected the 39th U.S. president, defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford.

File Photo by Don Rypka/UPI

In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing a national holiday to mark the birthday anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1992, legendary filmmaker Hal Roach died at age 100. He was credited with discovering the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy and producing the Our Gang comedies.

In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush was re-elected in a race with Democrat John Kerry.

File Photo by Greg Whitesell/UPI

In 2013, two French journalists, Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, were kidnapped and killed after interviewing a rebel leader in northern Mali. President Francois Hollande expressed “indignation at this odious act.”

In 2016, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series, winning the team’s first championship in 108 years. Though the game began on Nov. 2, a rain delay pushed the final half hour of Game 7 into early Nov. 3.

In 2023, the Beatles released their last new song, “Now and Then,” using new technology to piece together vocals, guitar and piano recorded by the late John Lennon and George Harrison in the late 1970s with new additions by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

In 2024, Kemi Badenoch became the first Black woman to lead a major British political party after defeating Robert Jenrick to take the helm of the country’s Conservative and Unionist Party.

File Photo by Neil Hall/EPA-EFE

Gaza residents say they fear a return to Israel’s full-scale bombing as they struggle to find food, water and medicine.

The battle over Ukraine’s Pokrovsk rages as both Russia and Ukraine continue to hit each other’s energy infrastructure.

Here is how things stand on Sunday, November 2, 2025:

Fighting

• At least four civilians have been killed and 51 injured across Ukraine by Russian attacks, according to local officials.
• A strike blamed on Russia hit a shop in the Samariivskyi district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two and injuring multiple people, regional military chief Vladyslav Haivanenko said.
• The Ukrainian military has said Russian forces launched four missiles and dropped 139 guided bombs over the past day, as well as thousands of shells and drones.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences intercepted 164 Ukrainian drones, including 39 over the Black Sea and 26 over Crimea, overnight.
• Fighting continues to intensify near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, with the Russian army saying its forces destroyed Ukrainian military formations near the railway station.
• Oleksandr Syrskii, Ukraine’s top military commander, said Ukrainian troops were facing a “multi-thousand enemy” force in Pokrovsk, but rejected Russian claims that they were surrounded or blocked.
• Ukraine confirmed that its special forces had been deployed to protect key supply lines in Pokrovsk, while Russia claimed Ukrainian troops were surrendering and some of the special forces were killed while landing in a helicopter.
• Ukraine’s military intelligence announced a strike on the Koltsevoy fuel pipeline near Moscow, claiming all three lines were destroyed.
• A drone attack by Ukraine reportedly hit an oil terminal pier and a tanker in Tuapse town, located on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, setting fire to port infrastructure.

Politics

• Ukraine condemned Russia’s attacks on key energy infrastructure. Its Foreign Ministry accused Moscow of carrying out strikes on a power substation feeding nuclear power plants in “nuclear terrorism”.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that its inspectors visited a substation critical to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, and reported damage “as a result of recent military activities”.
• In a statement on Friday, G7 energy ministers condemned Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, saying they are affecting civilians.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Friday that his foreign intelligence service has identified 339 Ukrainian children who have been allegedly abducted by Russia.

Regional security

• Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the Reuters news agency he is confident that the country’s governing coalition can agree on a new model of military service for implementation next year as planned.
• An unidentified drone was spotted over the Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium on Saturday, the second such sighting over the previous 24 hours.

THE once chart-topping boyband is said to have cut all final ties following a long-running secret divide, years of silence and bitter behind-the-scenes fallouts.

The British boy band – made up of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes and the late Tom Parker – have been at loggerheads since their split in 2014.

The platinum-selling group were behind hit songs such as “Glad You Came”, “All Time Low” and “Chasing the Sun” before they disbanded.

They briefly reunited in 2021 for a charity concert in Tom’s honour, but old wounds have reopened – and some members are said to no longer be on speaking terms.

Insiders claimed friendships “never fully healed” after the band’s initial breakup, with egos, solo projects and clashing personalities driving a deeper wedge between the lads.

The break up

The Wanted announced they were to split in January 2014 to “pursue personal endeavours” after completing their upcoming ‘Word of Mouth Tour’.

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In a statement posted on their website, the band said: “The Wanted are pleased to announce the release of their new video and single ‘Glow In The Dark’ taken from their November release ‘Word of Mouth’.

“They are very excited to perform ‘Glow In The Dark’ along with their smash singles ‘I Found You’, ‘Chasing The Sun’, and ‘Glad You Came’, amongst others for their fans on their upcoming ‘Word of Mouth Tour’.

“This tour will be their last for a while as Tom, Max, Jay, Siva and Nathan have collectively decided to take time to pursue personal endeavours following the tour’s conclusion.

“The band wants to stress to their fans that they will continue on as The Wanted and look forward to many successful projects together in the future.

“They thank their fans for their continued love and support and look forward to seeing them on tour.”

‘Very difficult conversations’

Although their official statement claimed they’d “continue on as The Wanted,” Max later revealed that simmering tensions and clashing ambitions had secretly driven the group apart.

Max admitted: “Over the past year, there has been a lot of tension. Our personal lives drove us apart – things started to happen and we were drifting. We used to be such a brotherly pact, but it started to feel like it wasn’t The Wanted anymore.”

He went on to confess that he and bandmate Nathan were the ones who pushed for the split – despite protests from the others.

“We had a very difficult conversation,” Max said. “Our manager Scooter Braun asked us who would want to take a step out after and try to do their own thing. Me and Nathan both said we have other ambitions.”

Both singers went on to be represented by Braun – with Nathan briefly finding solo success (and headlines) thanks to a short-lived PR romance with Ariana Grande, while Max landed a role on Glee.

But behind the scenes, the duo’s diverging paths reportedly caused even more tension within the group.

Siva hits out at Max

Siva hit back at bandmate Max after The Wanted split, slamming his comments about “personal relationships causing issues” as “untrue and very unfair.”

Speaking out in an interview, Siva instead blamed their E! reality show The Wanted Life for sparking tension within the group.

He said: “I think from doing the TV show we all kind of knew where we stood and from that I felt like there was some sense of… I felt like it was every man for himself looking back on when the show aired.

“I’ve never been that way and I’d never actually seen it before until I looked back at the show. I think that is where we lost the team element and from there it kind of just went.”

Despite the rift, Siva said he wanted to find common ground with Max, adding: “Aside from the drama with Max, I’m going to talk to him to find a way forward and be adults about it.

“All of us boys are like brothers, it’s all I’ve ever known and we’re going on tour together.

“I think we’re just going to be professional with each other and give the fans a good show – because it’s all about the fans at the end of the day.”

Nathan cutting ties

In 2016, Nathan admitted he wasn’t talking to Siva or Max anymore.

Nathan told Yahoo: “I still class Jay [McGuiness] as a really good friend. He’s a really nice person. And Tom [Parker], I’m not so sure about where the others are at but I’m sure they are very busy and very happy.”

However, Nathan admitted that if everyone was on board with a reunion, he would be happy to have a “conversation” about it.

He said: “Obviously, I am very focused on my solo career at the moment, so I haven’t thought about the band ever getting back together, but you never know what is going to happen in the future.

“If there was an opportunity and everyone wanted to, it’s a conversation, but if everyone is still happy doing their own thing, then I think everyone will just be happy to continue as they are.”

Meanwhile, Siva was living in Los Angeles, attempting to crack Hollywood.

Tom’s cancer diagnosis

The band eventually put their differences aside when tragedy struck, after Tom was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer in 2021.

His illness brought the group back together, reuniting them publicly in October that year.

Reflecting on the reunion, Max said: “I think I speak on behalf of everyone, in the time away from it, it gave me time to reflect and appreciate what we’d achieved and how good our music actually was.

“Because at the time we were doing it, it was so packed in that we didn’t get to really appreciate how much we enjoyed each other’s company or how good our music was because… like, every day, it was all a bit mad.”

Jay added: “Even when we were under so much pressure and we’d be squabbling and whatever was going on, we always had fun, we were always very down to earth. But really,” he continued on a more serious note, “time helps a lot. And all of our perspective has changed.

“We are grateful, we’re the boy band that walk into the room and are, like, ‘I’m just happy to be here.’ Back in the day, Max has said this a few times, we wanted a number-one after number-one because we’d had that, and we felt terrible when we didn’t get that. And when five young men have that sort of ambition, it can get really tense.”

Jay said he believes the group reunion proved they could finally let bygones be bygones and simply enjoy being together again.

The Wanted made an emotional return to the stage at the Stand Up To Cancer concert organised by Tom at London’s Royal Albert Hall, an event later featured in the Channel 4 documentary Inside My Head.

“There was a moment where I thought I was going to break down and have a meltdown,” Tom admitted.

“But the boys just comforted me… It was just an emotional night all around, even for the whole day and stuff. And just walking into the venue – we had never played the Royal Albert Hall before, when we played all around the world.”

He added: “There’s just something beautifully special about it.”

Max and Siva tour

The Wanted fans were left baffled in May 2024 after Max announced he was heading on tour with just one of his bandmates.

The Strictly Come Dancing star revealed he would be touring alongside Siva – but without Jay or Nathan.

The duo performed in America for a number of dates and finished up in India.

Before the tour, Max told fans: “Myself and Siva can’t wait for this! Our first time in India… dream come true!”

Fans were quick to question the absence of Jay and Nathan – sparking fears the original line-up had officially fallen apart.

It later emerged that Jay would be performing in 2:22 A Ghost Story in Dublin, while Nathan is thought to be focusing on new music.

The shows marked the first time members of the group have performed since the tragic death of bandmate Tom.

The divide

The band have openly admitted there was a clear divide during their heyday – with Max and Tom on one side, and the others forming their own group.

Max and Siva even confessed they never imagined they’d end up touring as a duo when The Wanted went on hiatus in 2014, admitting they “weren’t the closest” and barely spent time together off stage.

Max said: “I’m not going to lie, if you’d said to us 10 years ago that it’d be me and Siva doing this together we’d be like no, never.

Siva agreed: “Max was with Tom, I was with Nathan and Jay.”

Max continued: “Apart from working, we didn’t spend any time together, so I feel like I’ve got to know Siva more in the last year than in the whole 10 before it.

Reflecting on Jay and Nathan’s decision not to rejoin the group, Max added: “We had lots of conversations with the other boys and each other.

“The other boys are so happy doing what they’re doing and they’re really focused on their lives and their careers.

Siva added: “We missed being in the band… we really wanted to get back on stage.”

Future reunion?

Earlier this year, Nathan told The Sun they would never get back together – as the band “will only ever be a five-piece.”

Nathan, Tom, Max, Siva and Jay reunited for a greatest hits album and one-off show in 2021, which was followed by a tour in early 2022, ending just two weeks before Tom’s passing.

Speaking about the emotional concerts, Nathan said: “Obviously, you’d give anything for it not to have happened.

“But, equally, I’m so grateful that we were able to have that time, given that it did happen.

“It was just such a special time and the reception that he got every night, he really felt it. And it meant so much to him that he could do that.

“He was desperate to do that tour. There were tough moments, but we were having some of our fondest memories with Tom over that time.

While Max and Siva toured as The Wanted 2.0 – a four-piece reunion with Nathan and Jay seems out of the question.

Nathan said: “I’m really happy for them. They get a lot of enjoyment in performing the music and they see it as a tribute to Tom.

“Whereas Jay and I’s approach to it is that there’s a lot of emotion attached to that still. And I think we would find that really difficult.

“It’s just two different approaches and neither one is wrong. I think it’s really difficult imagining The Wanted as a four-piece because The Wanted has been and will only ever be a five-piece.

“It’s difficult imagining not performing with Tom.”

Nathan’s wedding

Nathan tied the knot with his girlfriend of six years Charlotte Burke in October 2025.

Nathan opted for an intimate celebration, inviting just 61 of their closest friends and family, among them was his bandmate Jay.

But Max and Siva were noticeably absent from Nathan’s wedding.

Speaking to OK! Nathan said: “We haven’t touched base recently, so I’m not sure they would have known the wedding date.

“With them being out in America at the time, we’ve not had the chance to [catch up], but I’m sure we will soon.”

He added: “We had a room full of people we’re comfortable with, so it was a really safe space and allowed us to relax.”

However, it now seems that Max and Nathan might not be talking at all.

Unfollow

Fans on Reddit noticed that the pair unfollowed each other on Instagram, cutting off social media communication.

One said: “Couldn’t help but notice Max and Nathan unfollowed each other? I wonder if there’s any beef between them lol.”

Another added: “I’ve always suspected Max and Nathan had a falling out before they broke up the first time.”

A third penned: “It’s a real shame because teenage me loved Nathan and Max’s interactions.

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“I remember when Nathan used to comment on Max’s ig posts around 2 years ago.

“They haven’t followed each other in a very long time.”

Nov. 1 (UPI) — As daylight saving time ends overnight Saturday, a large majority of Americans will turn their clocks back and gain an extra hour of sleep early Sunday morning.

Many clocks will self-adjust at the appropriate time, such as the clocks on computers and cell phones, but others still must be changed manually.

The official time to turn the clocks back is 2 a.m. in states that participate in daylight saving time, which many view as an opportunity to get in an extra hour of celebration in states and locales that require bars to close at 2 a.m. or later.

Most of Canada and northern Mexico also will change their clocks as daylight saving time ends for them.

The purpose is to add an hour of daylight during the morning hours during the winter months and an extra hour of daylight during the evening hours during the summer months, according to USA Today.

Most of Arizona and all of Hawaii do not follow daylight saving time, though, which means clocks will remain the same as the rest of the nation joins them on standard time.

Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, forgoes daylight saving time due to the summers there being so hot.

Hawaii does not participate in daylight saving time due to its close proximity to the Equator and relatively consistent daylight hours throughout the year.

The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands likewise do not participate in daylight savings time due to their relatively stable hours of sunlight.

Daylight saving time started this year on March 9, and Sunday marks its earliest end since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed the end date from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November, starting in 2007.

The act also changed its start date to the second Sunday in March, which extended daylight saving time by about four weeks per year.

Daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. on March 8, 2026.

Germany was the first nation to adjust its clocks in 1916 during World War I, with the goal of reducing its energy usage.

Other nations, including the United States, soon followed.

Daylight saving time became a requirement in the United States upon the adoption of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, but states have the ability to opt out.

No state, however, has the option of permanently setting their clocks on daylight saving time.

Acceptance of the annual fall and spring time changes is not universal.

A CBS/YouGov poll in 2022 showed 80% of respondents favored keeping daylight saving time in effect all year, and the Senate that year passed the Sunshine Protection Act.

The measure died in the House of Representatives, however, as it chose not to bring it up for a vote.

Nineteen states, though, are prepared to eliminate the time change if Congress passes enabling legislation to do so.

A measure that would do so has been introduced in the Senate, but it has not been put up for a vote.

Follow our live build-up, team news, score and text commentary stream from the final in Navi Mumbai at 09:30 GMT.

As we mentioned last time when Sabrina Carpenter hosted “Saturday Night Live,” there’s no substitute for a host who fully throws themselves into “SNL.”

He may not have done double duty as host and musical guest the way Carpenter did, but Miles Teller appeared to fully embrace the challenge of returning to host for a second time (the first was in 2022). The “Top Gun 2: Maverick” star, who’ll next be appearing in the movie “Eternity,” gave a solid performance, appearing in nearly every sketch, including the cold open and two pre-recorded videos.

He first appeared as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a candidate for New York mayor, in the cold open with help from Ramy Youssef and Shane Gillis as opponents Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa.

After that, Teller played a hungover game show contestant recovering from Halloween, a hockey player shooting a public service announcement for the unfortunately named Nashville Predators and both twin Property Brothers in a video sketch about the current White House renovation.

Teller was also in a sketch about a TV newsroom that decides to show viewers what its background employees are doing, a Netflix promo for a true crime story about husbands who don’t know where their wives went, one about a police press conference that takes a turn and a show closer about a silly Italian restaurant in Nebraska.

Teller handled it all well; he’s good with accents and earned strong laughs, especially playing two characters at the same time in the “Property Brothers” sketch and as Cuomo in the cold open.

Musical guest Brandi Carlile performed “Church & State” and “Human.”

This week’s cold open was one of the stronger (or at least funnier) political sketches of the season so far, tackling the New York mayoral race. As hosted by Errol Louis (Kenan Thompson), “the least famous person to be impersonated on ‘SNL,’ ” the debate sketch portrayed Cuomo (Teller) as a sexually harassing (“Yadda yadda yadda, honk honk, squeeze squeeze) panderer to Jewish voters; Mamdani (Youssef) as a force-smiling, TikTok-flirting candidate who’s pretty sure he won’t be able to implement his promises; and long-shot candidate Sliwa (Gillis) as an “old-fashioned New York nut” with one traumatic story after another to recount. The biggest surprise may have been Gillis, who as Sliwa recounted stories about being hung by his testicles and getting assaulted by a Times Square Spider-Man. Where was this energy when Gillis hosted “SNL”? As has been the habit on many a cold open, President Trump (James Austin Johnson) interrupts the proceedings to mock the candidates and insert his own commentary. This time, that included singing a song from “Phantom of the Opera” to conclude the sketch.

Teller’s monologue was short and simple, relaying how as a kid who moved around most of his childhood, “SNL” was a constant. He shared a photo of himself and his sisters dressed up as the “Night at the Roxbury” characters from the show and then made up a list of memories from the show, like having his first beer in the audience and falling over after having a few beers. Teller mentioned that he and his wife lost their Palisades home in January’s Los Angeles fires. As such, he made sure to point out the fire exits for the audience.

Best sketch of the night: An extreme White House makeover

The Property Brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott (Teller times two) meet their toughest clients yet: Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (Chloe Fineman) who need help with their current renovation of the White House to make room for a new ballroom. Melania shared her skeleton and withered tree decorations (“They are for Christmas,” she said), and the couple complained that 55,000 square feet and 132 rooms just isn’t enough space. With a budget of “$350 million to infinity” the brothers get to work with the help of park rangers and astronauts working through the government shutdown. But when it comes to getting paid for their work, there’s a problem. “Aren’t you guys from Canada?” the president asks. Then he calls ICE on them.

Also good: Nobody asked for this much transparency in news

On a show called Newspoint, the host (Fineman) and her guest (Thompson) are trying to have a serious news discussion, but because the show has opened up its full newsroom to viewers, all the workers in the background draw attention. Among them are Mikey Day, who awkwardly notices the cameras are on him before spilling a carrier of drinks, Bowen Yang as a worker who gets electrocuted by a copy machine and Teller, who has manga erotica up on his work screen. It’s nice to see some physical comedy from Day in particular and the sketch’s visual gags work nicely.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: George Santos is back, untruthful as ever!

Andrew Dismukes and Ashley Padilla (who should be a full cast member at this point instead of a featured player) played a couple who just made out but are trying to discuss the government shutdown. But it was Yang as chronic liar George Santos who stole “Update” (and some jewels) after Yang missed an opportunity on the last “SNL” episode to play the former representative, whose prison term was commuted by Trump. Santos claimed he finished the New York marathon, which hadn’t happened yet, and kept interrupting his chat with “Update” co-host Colin Jost to take calls with prisoners with a jail window and phone he brought with him. He purported to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs before revealing that the key to making prison rice pudding is preheating the toilet to 350 degrees. Santos ended the segment by revealing the necklace he stole from the Louvre and insisting that he’d just won the World Series.

Nov. 1 (UPI) — The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, is one of the world’s largest and opened on Saturday after decades of delays and a cost of more than $1 billion.

The 5 million-square-foot museum features exhibits and artifacts ranging across 7,000 years, from prehistory to about 400 A.D., according to CBS News.

It also is the world’s only museum that is dedicated to one culture, which is ancient Egypt.

“It’s a great day for Egypt and for humanity,” Nevine El-Aref told CBS News. “This is Egypt’s gift to the world.”

El-Aref is the media advisor to Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy.

“It’s a dream come true,” El-Aref added. “After all these years, the GEM is finally and officially open,” he said.

The triangular structure is located about a mile from the pyramids of Giza, which makes it a can’t miss for those who want to experience Egyptian antiquities up close with tours of the pyramids and a visit to the museum.

The GEM’s construction initially was budgeted for $500 million, but that price more than doubled over the past three decades amid delays and cost overruns.

Egyptian sources and international contributions covered the building cost.

The museum first was proposed in 1992, but significant events occurred between then and now, including the 2011 “Arab Spring” revolution in Egypt, a military coup d’etat in 2013 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, delaying its completion, CNN reported.

The GEM’s main entrance features a 53-foot-tall obelisk suspended overhead and is viewable from below via a glass floor.

A grand staircase containing 108 steps enables visitors to access the museum’s main galleries and view large statues from top to bottom.

The GEM has 12 main halls for exhibits and encompasses a combined 194,000 square feet that can hold up to 100,000 items, according to the museum.

The museum also two galleries that are dedicated to the pharaoh Tutankhamun and contain 5,300 pieces from his tomb, NBC News reported.

Those galleries and others will exhibit items that never have been made available for public viewing.

It’s also the first time that all of the young pharaoh’s items have been exhibited under the same roof since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut‘s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.

The museum’s walls and slanted ceilings mimic the lines of the nearby pyramids, but the structure does not exceed them in height.

The museum’s opening prompted the Egyptian government to declare a national holiday on Saturday.

How it ranks with the world’s other iconic museums remains to be seen, but it likely will rank favorably with its unique collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and other attractions.

A chartered flight from the UK government evacuating British nationals from Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa is due to land at London’s Gatwick Airport on Sunday.

The flight, which left Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, comes after the UK flew aid in earlier in the day as part of a £7.5m regional emergency package.

Some of the funding will be used to match public donations up to £1m to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent – with King Charles and Queen Camilla among those who have donated.

Despite aid arriving in Jamaica in recent days, blocked roads have complicated distribution after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the island, killing at least 19 people.

The hurricane made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category five storm and was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever measured in the Caribbean.

Melissa swept across the region over a number of days and left behind a trail of destruction and dozens of people dead. In Haiti, at least 30 people were killed, while Cuba also saw flooding and landslides.

Jamaica’s Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Friday “there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened”.

Around 8,000 British nationals were thought to have been on the island when the hurricane hit.

The UK foreign office has asked citizens there to register their presence and also advises travellers to contact their airline to check whether commercial options are available.

The UK initially set aside a £2.5m immediate financial support package for the region, with an additional £5m announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Friday.

Cooper said the announcement came as “more information is now coming through on the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, with homes damaged, roads blocks and lives lost”.

The British Red Cross said the King and Queen’s donation would help the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) “continue its lifesaving work” – which includes search and rescue efforts in Jamaica as well as ensuring access to healthcare, safe shelter and clean water.

The Red Cross said that 72% of people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters.

Until the Jamaican government can get the broken electricity grid back up and running, any generators aid agencies can distribute will be vital.

So too will tarpaulins, given the extent of the housing crisis.

Meanwhile, with so many in need of clean drinking water and basic food, patience is wearing thin and there are more reports of desperate people entering supermarkets to gather and give out whatever food they can find.

The BBC has seen queues for petrol pumps, with people waiting for hours to then be told there is no fuel left when they reach the front of the queue.

Some people are seeking fuel for generators, others for a car to reach an area in which they can contact people, with the power down across most of the island.

The country’s health minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, on Saturday described “significant damage” across a number of hospitals – with the Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth being the most severely affected.

“That facility will have to be for now totally relocated in terms of services,” he said.

“The immediate challenge of the impacted hospitals is to preserve accident and emergency services,” Dr Tufton added. “What we’re seeing is that a lot of people are coming in now to these facilities with trauma-related [injuries] from falls from the roof, to ladders, to nails penetrating their feet”.

The minister said arrangements had been made for the ongoing supply of fuel to the facilities as well as a “daily supply of water”.

Although aid is entering the country, landslides, downed power lines and fallen trees have made certain roads impassable.

However, some of the worst affected areas of Jamaica should finally receive some relief in the coming hours.

At least one aid organisation, Global Empowerment Mission, rolled out this morning from Kingston with a seven-truck convoy to Black River, the badly damaged town of western Jamaica, carrying packs of humanitarian assistance put together by volunteers from the Jamaican diaspora community in Florida.

Help is also coming in from other aid groups and foreign governments via helicopter.

It remains only a small part of what the affected communities need but authorities insist more is coming soon.

EXCLUSIVE: Twinne-Lee Moore played Porsche McQueen in Hollyoaks over a decade ago and the actress turned singer has hinted at a potential return for a reunion with her on-screen family

Hollyoaks could set to welcome back a familar face to the fictional village.

Twinnie-Lee Moore played Porsche McQueen from Novemebr 2014 until December 2015.

The character highlighted the issues of sexual abuse in children and other storylines included a failed marriage when her husband had various affairs.

During her time on the Channel 4 soap, Twinnie-Lee was nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer and an Inside Soap Award in 2015 for her powerful portrayal.

Since leaving Hollyoaks, Twinnie-Lee has swapped Yorkshire for Nashville to embark a career as a country pop singer-songwriter.

However, the TV star has hinted that a return to Hollyoaks could be on the cards after catching up with her on-screen family at the soap’s 30th anniversary celebration last month.

Speaking to Reach PLC, Twinnie-Lee said: “It’s been a whole decade and it’s so lovely to see everybody.

“The McQueens are obviously my favourite family and I was very honoured to be part of it and it brings back a lot of memories.”

When asked about a potential Porsche McQueen comeback, she added: “You’ll have to ask the writers about that.

“I’m currently in Nashville doing my music. I did pitch to them if they did want to come and do a Nashville series. She [Porsche] did leave on a cruise so you never know.”

Porsche was last seen on screen on Christmas Eve 2015 and Twinnie-Lee revealed that fans still message her a decade later about her character.

She explained: “It’s so wild because people even now still message me about Porsche. I posted something and everyone was like ‘omg come back’, ‘when you coming back’.

“She was such a great character to play, made a real impact and very relatable.”

Last year, Twinnie-Lee returned to the small screen in Emmerdale as Jade Garrick, an illegal gambling and underground fighting manager who Ross Barton (Michael Parr) and Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) worked for for a small number of episodes.

Speaking about her new role at the time, the soap star said: “My life has been a bit crazy recently juggling music and acting with lots of back and forth between Nashville and Yorkshire but I’ve been loving it!!

“I’ve loved being back on screen, especially as the show is shot in Yorkshire, being able to be home with family and go to work on such an iconic show has been nothing short of amazing! The whole team has been so welcoming and really supportive.”

Hollyoaks airs Monday to Wednesday on E4 at 7pm and first look episodes can be streamed Channel 4 from 7am

Will Smith’s 11th-inning home run allows LA Dodgers to win Game 7 against Toronto Blue Jays and record seventh World Series title in franchise history.

Will Smith homered in the 11th inning after Miguel Rojas connected for a tying drive in the ninth, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 on Saturday night to become the first team in a quarter century to win consecutive Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series titles.

Los Angeles overcame 3-0 and 4-2 deficits and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to become the first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, and the first from the National League since the 1975 and ’76 Cincinnati Reds.

Smith hit a 2-0 slider off Shane Bieber into the Blue Jays’ bullpen, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the night.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw 96 pitches in the Dodgers’ win on Friday, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth and pitched 2 2/3 innings for his third win of the Series.

He gave up a leadoff double in the 11th to Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who was sacrificed to third. Addison Barger walked, and Alejandro Kirk grounded to shortstop Mookie Betts, who started a title-winning 6-4-3 double play.

Dodgers rally to win Game 7

With their ninth title and third in six years, the Dodgers made an argument for their 2020s teams to be considered a dynasty. Dave Roberts, their manager since 2016, boosted the probability that he will gain induction to the Hall of Fame.

Bo Bichette put Toronto ahead in the third with a three-run homer off two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who was pitching on three days’ rest after taking the loss in Game 3.

Los Angeles closed to 3-2 on sacrifice flies from Teoscar Hernandez in the fourth off Max Scherzer and Tommy Edman in the sixth against Chris Bassitt.

Andres Gimenez restored Toronto’s two-run lead with an RBI double in the sixth off Tyler Glasnow, who relieved after getting the final three outs on three pitches to save Game 6 on Friday.

Max Muncy’s eighth-inning homer off star rookie Trey Yesavage cut the Dodgers’ deficit to one run, and Rojas, inserted into the lineup in Game 6 to provide some energy, homered on a full-count slider from Jeff Hoffman.

Toronto put two on with one out in the bottom half against Blake Snell, and Los Angeles turned to Yamamoto.

He hit Alejandro Kirk on a hand with a pitch, loading the bases and prompting the Dodgers to play the infield in and the outfield shallow. Daulton Varsho grounded to second, where Rojas stumbled but managed to throw home for a force-out as catcher Smith kept his foot on the plate.

Ernie Clement then flied out to Andy Pages, who made a jumping, backhand catch on the centre-field warning track as he crashed into left fielder Kike Hernandez.

Seranthony Dominguez walked Mookie Betts with one out in the 10th, and Muncy singled for his third hit. Hernandez walked, loading the bases. Pages grounded to shortstop, where Gimenez threw home for a force-out. First baseman Guerrero then threw to pitcher Seranthony Dominguez covering first, just beating Hernandez in a call upheld in a video review.

The epic night matched the Marlins’ 3-2 win over Cleveland in 1997 as the second-longest Series Game 7, behind only the Washington Senators’ 4-3 victory against the New York Giants in 1924.

Perhaps the most extraordinary-looking aircraft to have taken to the air in many years, the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology experimental test aircraft, or QueSST, has made its first flight. Much is resting on the test program that has now been kicked off, with the future of supersonic passenger flight arguably dependent on its successful outcome.

The first flight took place at the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Photographer Matt Hartman has shared pictures with us of the X-59 after its departure from Plant 42, as seen at the top of this story and below.

It has been planned that after the X-59’s first flight, it will be moved to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, which is collocated with Edwards Air Force Base in California, for further test flights.

Ahead of the first flight, NASA had outlined its plans for the milestone sortie. This would be a lower-altitude loop at about 240 miles per hour to check system integration. It will be followed by the first phase of flight testing, focused on verifying the X-59’s airworthiness and safety. During subsequent test flights, the X-59 will go higher and faster, eventually exceeding the speed of sound.

Although there were no public announcements, the first flight had been expected earlier this month but was scrubbed for unknown reasons. TWZ has reached out to NASA for more information in relation to today’s flight.

A product of Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works advanced projects division, the X-59 was rolled out at the Skunk Works facility within Palmdale in January 2024.

“In just a few short years, we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said at the time. “NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

The first flight was preceded by integrated systems testing, engine runs, and taxi testing.

Taxi tests began at Palmdale this summer, marking the first time that the X-59 had moved under its own power. NASA test pilot Nils Larson was at the controls for the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test on July 10, 2025.

The X-59 project was kicked off back in 2016, and NASA had originally hoped that the aircraft would take to the air for the first time in 2020. The targeted first flight then slipped successively to 2023, to 2024, and then to this year.

Among other issues, NASA blamed the schedule slip on “several technical challenges identified over the course of 2023,” which the QueSST team then had to work through.

Once at Armstrong, the X-59 will be put through its paces as the centerpiece of NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Technology mission. This is an exciting project that TWZ has covered in detail over the years.

The main goal of QueSST is to prove that careful design considerations can reduce the noise of a traditional sonic boom to a “quieter sonic thump.” If that can then be ported over to future commercial designs, it could solve the longstanding problem of regulations that prohibit supersonic flight over land.

The only genuinely successful supersonic airliner was the Anglo-French Concorde. Even that aircraft had an abbreviated career, during which it struggled with enormously high operating costs and an ever-shrinking market.

Even before Concorde entered service, however, commercial supersonic flight over the United States had been prohibited, under legislation introduced in 1973. Even the U.S. military faces heavy restrictions on where and when it can operate aircraft above the speed of sound within national airspace. Similar prohibitions on supersonic flight exist in many other countries, too.

NASA’s test program aims to push the X-59 to a speed of Mach 1.4, equivalent to around 925 miles per hour, over land. At that point, it’s hoped that its unique design, shaping, and technologies will result in a much quieter noise signature.

The second phase of the QueSST program will be about ensuring that the core design works as designed and will include multiple sorties over the supersonic test range at Edwards Air Force Base.

The third and final phase will be the Community Response Study, in which the X-59 will be flown over different locations in the United States. Individuals in those different communities will provide feedback on the noise signature via push notifications to cell phones.

At one time, the third phase was planned to take place between 2025 and 2026, but, as previously outlined, the program as a whole has now been delayed.

In the past, we have looked at some of the remarkable features that make the X-59 a test jet like no other.

Most obviously, there is its incredibly long nose, which accounts for around a third of its overall length of 99.7 feet. Meanwhile, its wingspan measures just under 30 feet. The idea behind the thin, tapering nose, which you can read about in detail here, is that the shock waves that are created in and around the supersonic regime will be dissipated. It is these shock waves that would otherwise produce a very audible sonic boom on the ground.

The X-59’s nose also dictates its unusual cockpit arrangement, with the pilot being located almost halfway down the length of the aircraft, with no forward-facing window at all. The pilot instead relies on the eXternal Vision System (XVS), which was specially developed for the aircraft, to see the outside world. This makes use of a series of high-resolution cameras that feed into a 4K monitor in the cockpit, something that we have also discussed in depth in the past.

Another noteworthy feature is the location of the X-59’s powerplant, on top of the rear of the fuselage, which ensures a smooth underside. This is another part of the jet that has been tailored to address supersonic shockwaves, helping prevent them from merging behind the aircraft and causing a sonic boom. The powerplant itself is a single F414-GE-100 turbofan, a variant of the same engine found on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Meanwhile, various items found on the X-59 are more familiar. For example, the canopy and elements of the pilot’s seat are taken from the T-38 Talon, the landing gear is borrowed from an F-16, and the life-support system is adapted from that used in the F-15 Eagle.

If all proceeds as planned with the QueSST program, NASA should be able to demonstrate that the rules that currently prohibit commercial supersonic flight over land, both in the United States and elsewhere, can be adjusted.

However, whether that potential regulatory change is enough to spur the successful development of future commercial high-speed aircraft designs remains a big question.

After all, aside from Concorde, the quest to successfully introduce a supersonic passenger transport is one that has otherwise been littered with failures. Many will now be pinning their hopes on the X-59 helping to reverse that trend.

Update: 4:20 PM Eastern –

Lockheed Martin has now put out a press release about the X-59’s first flight. As planned, the aircraft has now arrived at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

“The X-59 performed exactly as planned, verifying initial flying qualities and air data performance on the way to a safe landing at its new home,” according to the release. “Skunk Works will continue to lead the aircraft’s initial flight test campaign, working closely with NASA to expand the X-59’s flight envelope over the coming months. Part of this test journey will include the X-59’s first supersonic flights, where the aircraft will achieve the optimal speed and altitude for a quiet boom. This will enable NASA to operate the X-59 to measure its sound signature and conduct community acceptance testing.”

“We are thrilled to achieve the first flight of the X-59,” O.J. Sanchez, Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, said in a statement. “This aircraft is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our joint team, and we are proud to be at the forefront of quiet supersonic technology development.” 

“X-59 is a symbol of American ingenuity. The American spirit knows no bounds. It’s part of our DNA – the desire to go farther, faster, and even quieter than anyone has ever gone before,” Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation and acting NASA Administrator, also said in a statement. “This work sustains America’s place as the leader in aviation and has the potential to change the way the public flies.”

Contact the author: [email protected]

Nov. 1 (UPI) — Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday was declared the winner of the presidential election amid unrest in the African nation over her candidacy and exclusion of her rivals.

Samia, 65, received 31.9 million votes, which was 97.66% of the total in Wednesday’s election among 17 parties, the electoral commission said.

Almost 87% of the country’s 37.6 million registered voters turned out, in sharp contrast with the 50% who voted in 2020.

Tanzania, which has a population of 71 million, is in eastern Africa and is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the east and south of the Equator.

“We thank the security forces for ensuring that the violence did not stop voting,” Samia, who came into office in 2021 as Tanzania’s first female president, said in a victory celebration in Dodoma. “These incidents were not patriotic at all.”

Although the politician from Zanzibar said the election was “free and democratic,” election observers and European Parliament members say the election was rife with irregularities, according to The New York Times.

Samia’s two main opposition contenders were barred from running.

Tundu Lissu, of the Party for Democracy and Progress, is being held on treason charges, which he denies, and Luhaga Mpina of the Alliance for Change and Transparency was excluded on legal technicalities.

During the unrest, Internet nationwide was been shut down and a curfew is in place.

On Friday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for “a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force” and Tanzanian authorities to uphold accountability and transparency in the post-election unrest.

There were no protests on Saturday, one day after demonstrators in several cities took to the streets, tearing down Samia’s posters and attacked police and polling stations.

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo Thabit said the violence was a “few isolated pockets of incidents here and there.”

And electoral commission chief Jacobs Mwambegele said the election was run smoothly.

“I would like to thank all election stakeholders, especially political parties, candidates for various positions, your friends and members for conducting civilized campaigns and maintaining peace and tranquility throughout the campaign,” he said.

Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar elects its own government.

Hussein Mwinyi, who is the incumbent president, won with nearly 80% of the vote.

Sania was vice president and became president when John Magufuli died on March 17, 2021, of a heart condition at 61.

Her ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, and its predecessor, Tanu, have dominated the country’s politics and have never lost an election since independence from Britain.

The mainland territory of Tanganyika gained independence in 1961 and the islands of Zanzibar became independent as a constitutional monarchy two years later.

In 1964, they merged to become the United Republic of Tanzania.