Holly Willoughby is poised for a dramatic return to our TV screens, following her departure from This Morning in October 2023, as she’s set to host Strictly Come Dancing
Holly Willoughby is tipped to host Strictly Come Dancing(Image: PA)
Mr Fincham, who since managed ITV between 2008 and 2016, said: “My hairdresser also cuts the hair of a well-known channel controller. What’s said in Harry’s the hairdresser stays in Harry’s. But he says with great confidence that Holly Willoughby will take over.”
The insider spoke to Richard Eden, a journalist with the Daily Mail, who wrote Holly is likely to present Strictly from the start of the next series in 2026. Tess and Claudia will depart at the end of the current series, from which actress and model Ellie Goldstein was eliminated on Saturday.
The experienced presenter was dropped by his talent agency YMU after the affair, which was not illegal, and he also stepped down from ITV completely – meaning he did not host the British Soap Awards in the following days.
The presenter is currently impressing millions with his playful charisma on The Celebrity Traitors, on which he has reached the final five. A source had said: “He’s an old-fashioned showbiz pro who would be just perfect hosting Strictly. If he does manage to win Traitors it will be a sign to the BBC that he has the star quality to present its flagship show.”
Nov. 3 (UPI) — The Justice Department announced Monday that “multiple suspects” have been charged in Michigan in an alleged Halloween plot to support the terror group ISIS in an “attack on American soil.”
Monday’s charges come three days after Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel announced that the FBI had “stopped a potential terrorist attack in Michigan before it could unfold.”
“Thanks to swift action and coordination with our partners, a violent plot tied to international terrorism was disrupted,” he said Friday.
On Monday, Patel provided more details.
“Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit — stockpiling weapons, scouting targets and training at gun ranges,” Patel wrote in a second post on X. “This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.”
According to a Justice Department press release Monday, FBI agents made the arrests Friday in eastern Michigan.
“This newly unsealed complaint reveals a major ISIS-linked terror plot with multiple suspects arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan targeting the United States,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear and a detailed plan to carry out an attack on American soil.”
No information was provided on the identity of the suspects, as the FBI called the investigation “ongoing.”
“With today’s unsealed criminal complaint, the American people can see the results of months of tireless investigative work where the FBI acted quickly and likely saved many lives,” Patel added. “We’ll continue to follow the facts, uphold the law and deliver justice for the American people.”
The special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office credited local authorities for their work to “ensure the safety of the citizens of Michigan and beyond.”
“Defending the homeland will always be one of our top priorities,” said Special Agent Jennifer Runyan. “We will utilize every available federal resource to disrupt and dismantle any individuals or groups who threaten national security.”
Absences surge among US air traffic controllers, who have been working for more than a month without pay.
Published On 4 Nov 20254 Nov 2025
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Airports across the United States are experiencing major delays and cancellations due to an uptick in absences from air traffic controllers, who are under “immense stress and fatigue” from the ongoing, record-breaking US government shutdown, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
More than 16,700 US flights were delayed and another 2,282 were cancelled over the weekend from Friday to Sunday, according to FlightAware, a US website that provides real-time flight tracking.
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The delays continued into Monday evening in the US, as FlightAware counted more than 4,000 delays and 600 cancellations across major airports, like Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, Denver and Newark.
The FAA said on X that half of its “Core 30” facilities at major US airports were experiencing staffing shortages due to the shutdown, with absences at New York-area airports hitting 80 percent.
Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers have been working without pay for weeks, ensuring the safety of more than 50,000 daily operations across the national airspace system (NAS).
As we head into this weekend, a surge in callouts is straining staffing levels at multiple…
Air traffic controllers, who number nearly 13,000 across the US, are classified as “essential workers”, which means they have been working without pay since the shutdown began on October 1.
But the FAA said that there had been a surge in absences, which had forced it to reduce the flow of air traffic in the US to maintain safety standards.
“The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travellers can avoid further disruptions and delays,” the FAA said on X on Friday. “When staffing shortages occur, the FAA will reduce the flow of air traffic to maintain safety. This may result in delays or cancellations.”
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy told CBS News’s Face the Nation programme on Sunday that the delays will continue to maintain airline safety.
“We work overtime to make sure the system is safe. And we will slow traffic down, you’ll see delays, we’ll have flights cancelled to make sure the system is safe,” Duffy said, according to a transcript of the programme.
Duffy said that although air traffic controllers were using their absences to work second jobs elsewhere, they would not be fired. “When they’re making decisions to feed their families, I’m not going to fire air traffic controllers,” he said.
The government shutdown is due to enter its 35th day on Tuesday in the US, when it will tie with the 2018-2019 shutdown as the longest in US history.
At least 670,000 civilian federal employees have been furloughed due to the shutdown, while about 730,000 are working without pay, according to the Washington, DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center.
DOWNLOAD festival has landed a Hollywood A-lister to perform at the rock and metal event next summer.
The 2026 line-up was announced this evening and features the surprising actor, as well as three American bands topping the bill.
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Keanu Reeves will play Download festival next summer as bassist for band DogstarCredit: GettyGuns N’ Roses will also hit the stage on the SaturdayCredit: Getty
Download will return to Leicestershire’s Donington Park from June 10 to 14, with The Matrix and John Wick star Keanu Reeves set to play.
The band Dogstar, for which he plays bass, are among a series of acts which have been officially unveiled.
Linkin Park will close the festival on the Sunday night, marking their first performance at the festival since frontwoman Emily Armstrong was brought in.
They previously headlined four times between 2004 and 2014 with their original line-up.
And it comes after Linkin Park played a sold out concert at Wembley Stadium in June.
Tickets are already on sale for the 23rd annual festival, which will also feature performances from Pendulum, Trivium, The All-American Rejects, Mastodon and Bush.
Other acts on the line-up include Feeder, Ash, Tom Morello, The Pretty Reckless and Those Damn Crows.
Limp Bizkit’s booking comes just a fortnight after it was revealed that bassist and founding member Sam Rivers had died aged 48.
They paid tribute to him last month when they described him as not “just our bass player” but “the soul in the sound.”
The band said: “From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced.
“His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.”
The full rundown of artists was revealed at a launch event at the Barbican in central London, where guests were entertained by fortune tellers and a string quartet.
Nov. 3 (UPI) — Two young girls were in intensive care at a hospital after they were thrown from a Ferris wheel at a festival near Baton Rouge, La.
The girls, both under 13 years old, around noon Saturday were ejected from the ride’s basket while it was rotating and they fell 20 feet onto a steel platform in New Roads, which is part of Pointe Coupee Parish, about 40 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. A third girl clung to the basket and was rescued.
WAFB-TV reported one girl has a possible brain bleed and the other has broken bones. They were taken to the Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, NBC News reported.
Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux told NBC News that the girls were sitting in the basket when it tipped over.
“As it was going around, it was just, like, stuck at an angle and they flipped out of it,” Ronald Brasseaux, who witnessed the incident, told WAFB-TV.
He said he felt unsafe riding the same ferris wheel the previous day.
“They need to take this thing down,” he told the TV station.
Brasseaux said he believes the basket’s hinges might have gotten stuck.
The ride didn’t have any restraints.
“I feel like it should be seatbelts on there, because, mind you, it’s just a gate on there, like somebody can easily fall out, a child can easily just open the gate and then step out,” witness Madison Fields told WBRZ-TV.
Another visitor, Eddie Jones, told WAFB: “We were in line to buy tickets to the Ferris wheel, and I heard a girl scream, and I looked over, and the Ferris wheel car was kicked over. I don’t know how it got in that position, but it was stuck. Yeah, I’ll probably never get on another Ferris wheel.”
The ride and another one nearby were closed to the public amid an investigation.
The state’s fire marshal’s office is required to perform safety checks on rides and attractions.
The Ferris wheel is operated by Crescent City Amusements, based in Slidell, La.
In 2023, a ride operated by the company, the Ring of Fire, stranded riders upside-down for more than three hours in northeastern Wisconsin. An investigation found a lighting transformer lodged into the track.
The Ferris wheel was part of the annual Harvest Festival, which supports the local agriculture-based community,” according to its website. It ran from Friday through Sunday on False River.
The Ferris wheel is named after its inventor, civil engineer George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., who designed the ride for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Here are the key events from day 1,349 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 4 Nov 20254 Nov 2025
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Here is how things stand on Tuesday, November 4:
Fighting
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, an important transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for more than a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Pokrovsk remained under severe pressure, though Russian troops had made no gains in the past day.
He also said that Russia was massing troops by the nearby town of Dobropillia, where Kyiv’s forces advanced earlier this year in a successful counteroffensive. He described the situation in Dobropillia as complicated.
Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps said that Ukrainian forces had thwarted a Russian attempt to cut off a supply route to Pokrovsk from Rodynske, to the north.
Elsewhere, Russia said its troops had also attacked Ukrainian forces near another eastern city, Kupiansk, and dislodged them from four fortified positions in the industrial zone on the left bank of the Oskol River. Zelenskyy said that up to 60 Russian soldiers remained in Kupiansk, and that Ukrainian forces were trying to clear them.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces had carried out heavy overnight strikes on a Ukrainian military airfield, a military equipment repair base and military-industrial facilities, as well as gas infrastructure facilities that supported them.
Ukraine’s military said it hit an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region, adding that a successful strike and resulting fire had been recorded on one of the refining facilities.
Ukraine also said that it had hit Russian military logistical facilities in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk.
Weapons
Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv will set up offices for arms exports and joint weapons production in Berlin and Copenhagen this year.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine plans to launch mass production of its domestically produced missiles – the Flamingo and Ruta – by the end of this year.
He also said that a Ukrainian delegation would visit Washington, DC, next week for further talks on a US-Ukraine drone deal, which Kyiv hopes will bolster ties with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Politics and diplomacy
The European Commission (EC) said in a draft text that Ukraine is showing “remarkable commitment” to joining the European Union, but must reverse recent negative trends in the fight against corruption and accelerate rule of law reforms, according to the Reuters news agency.
The agency reported that the EC also said that Kyiv needed to make more progress on judicial independence, fighting organised crime and respecting civil society.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin departed for a two-day visit to China, which the Kremlin said is significant and includes planned talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Economy
Zelenskyy said Ukraine still needs to raise $750m to secure gas imports for the upcoming winter. The government wants to increase natural gas imports by about 30 percent after Russia sharply intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector in recent weeks, focusing on gas facilities.
For over a decade, the Hammer has curated its Made in L.A. series to feature artists who grapple with the realities of living and making art here. It’s an art show that simultaneously pays homage to legacy L.A. artists like Alonzo Davis and Judy Baca, and gives a platform to newer faces such as Lauren Halsey and Jackie Amezquita.
This year’s show, which opened last month, features 28 artists. As part of that cohort, Martinez, Villalobos and Ruiz bring their lived experiences as Latinos from L.A. to the West Side art institution, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of their upbringing.
While creating their displayed works, Martinez took note of the many neon signs hanging in stores’ windows, leading him to make “Hold the Ice,” an anti-ICE sign, and incorporate bright pink lights into his outdoor cinder block mural, “Battle of the City on Fire.” With flashing lights and a shuttered gate tacked onto a painted wooden panel, Ruiz drew on her experiences exploring the city at night and the over-surveillance of select neighborhoods in the interactive piece, “Collective Scream.” Villalobos filmed Figueroa Street from a driver’s perspective, observing the street’s nighttime activity and tracing the energy that surrounds the place where soul singer Sam Cooke was shot.
This year, Made in L.A. doesn’t belong to a specific theme or a title — but as always, the selected art remains interconnected. These three artists sat down with De Los to discuss how their L.A. upbringing has influenced their artistic practice and how their exhibited works are in conversation. Made in L.A. will be on view until March 1, 2026.
The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
All three of you seem to put a spotlight on various elements of L.A.’s public spaces. How is your art affected by your surroundings?
Ruiz: I really got to explore L.A. as a whole, through partying and going out at night. I prefer seeing this city at night, because there isn’t so much traffic. That’s how I started my art practice. I would perform in queer nightlife spaces and throw parties in cheap warehouses. With my commute from the Valley, I would notice so much. I wouldn’t speed through the freeway. I’d instead take different routes, so I’d learn to navigate the whole city without a GPS and see things differently.
Martinez: That’s also how I started seeing neons. I had a studio in 2006 in downtown, off 6th and Alameda. I would wait for traffic to fade because I was staying in Montebello at the time. I would drive down Whittier Boulevard at night. And you see all the neon signs that have a super saturated color and glow bright. I thought about its messaging. None of the businesses were open that late. They were just letting people know they were there.
Ruiz: Specifically in this piece [“Collective Scream”], there’s a blinking street lamp. It reminds me of when I would leave raves and would randomly see this flickering light. It’s this hypnotizing thing that I would observe and take note of whenever I was on the same route. There’s also a moving gate, [in my piece,] that resembles the ones you see when you’re driving late at night and everything’s gated up.
Villalobos: You do experience a lot of L.A. from your car. It’s a cliche. But f— it. It’s true. When I moved out of L.A., I felt a little odd. I missed the bubble of my car. You can have what seems to be a private moment in your car in a city that’s packed with traffic and so many people. It made me think about what that means, what kind of routes people are taking and how we cultivate community.
Patrick Martinez’s “Battle of the City on Fire,” made in 2025, was inspired by the work of the muralist collective, named the East Los Streetscapers.
(Sarah M Golonka / smg photography)
It’s interesting that you all found inspiration in the biggest complaints about L.A. Maybe there’s something to think about when it comes to the way those born here think of car culture and traffic.
Martinez: I see its effects even with the landscapes I make. I’ll work from left to right, and that’s how we all look at the world when we drive. I always think about Michael Mann movies when I’m making landscapes, especially at night. He has all those moments of quiet time of being in the car and just focusing on what’s going on.
Beyond surveying the streets, your works touch on elements of the past. There’s a common notion that L.A. tends to disregard its past, like when legacy restaurants shut down or when architectural feats get demolished. Does this idea play any role in your work?
Martinez: The idea of L.A. being ashamed of its past pushed me to work with cinder blocks [in “Battle of the City on Fire”]. One of the main reasons was to bring attention to the East Los Streetscapers, the muralists who painted in East L.A. [in the 1960s and ‘70s as a part of the Chicano Mural Movement]. There was this one mural in Boyle Heights that was painted at a Shell gas station. It was later knocked down and in the demolition pictures, the way the cinder blocks were on the floor looked like a sculptural painting. It prompted me to use cinder blocks as a form of sculpture and think about what kind of modern-day ruins we pass by.
Villalobos: Speaking about L.A. as a whole feels almost too grand for me. But if I think about my specific neighborhood, in South Central, what comes to my mind is Black Radical Tradition. It’s where people are able to make something out of what other people might perceive as nothing. There’s always something that’s being created and mixed and mashed together to make something that, to me, is beautiful. It’s maybe not as beautiful to other people, but it’s still a new and creative way to see things and understand what comes before us.
Ruiz: Seeing my parents, who migrated to this country, come from nothing and start from scratch ties into that idea too. Seeing what they’ve been able to attain, and understanding how immigrants can start up businesses and restaurants here, speaks so much to what L.A. is really about. It’s about providing an opportunity that everybody has.
So it’s less about disregarding the past and more about making something out of nothing?
Martinez: It ties back to necessity, for me. Across this city, people come together by doing what they need to do to pay rent. It’s a crazy amount of money to be here. People need to regularly adjust what they do to survive. Recently, I’ve been seeing that more rapidly. There are more food vendors and scrolling LED signs, advertising different things. Once you understand how expensive this backdrop can be, that stuff sits with me.
Freddy Villalobos’ “waiting for the stone to speak, for I know nothing of aventure,” is an immersive work in which viewers can feel loud vibrations pass as they, figuratively, travel down Figueroa Street.
(Sarah M Golonka / smg photography)
We’ve talked a lot about how the past affects L.A. and the role it plays in your art. Does a future L.A. ever cross your mind?
Villalobos: I feel very self-conscious about what I’m gonna say. But as much as I love L.A. and as much as it helped me become who I am, I wouldn’t be too mad with it falling apart. A lot of people from my neighborhood have already been moving to Lancaster, Palmdale and the Inland Empire. When I go to the IE, it feels a little like L.A. and I’m not necessarily mad at that.
Ruiz: It’s really difficult to see what the future holds for anybody. Even with art, what’s going to happen? I don’t know. It’s really challenging to see a future when there’s a constant cycle of bad news about censorship and lack of funding.
Martinez: It’s murky. It’s clouded. This whole year has been so heavy, and everyone talking about it adds to it, right? We’re facing economic despair, and it’s all kind of heavy. Who knows what the future will hold? But there are definitely moves being made by the ruling class to make it into something.
The North Korean news agency (KCNA) shows the test-firing of new-type large-caliber multiple launch rocket system. File Photo by KCNA/EPA
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) — North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system earlier this week, coinciding with a joint visit by the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the South’s military said Tuesday.
The North launched the rockets toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea at around 4 p.m. Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, adding an analysis of the weapons test is under way.
The launch came less than an hour before U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas, just south of the Joint Security Area (JSA) within the DMZ, for a joint visit to the tense border with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back.
Separately, the military confirmed the North also fired another 10 artillery rocket shells at around 3 p.m. Saturday, when President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held summit talks in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering.
“Our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various activities under a steadfast South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintains capabilities and a posture capable of overwhelmingly responding to any threat,” the JCS said.
While the North’s launches involving multiple rocket launchers do not violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, its 240mm multiple rocket launcher puts Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range.
In October, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles, just about a week before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to visit South Korea on the occasion of the APEC summit.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
A worker who was trapped after part of a medieval tower collapsed in the heart of Rome, has died, according to hospital officials.
Octay Stroici was pulled free at 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT), nearly twelve hours after a section of the Torre dei Conti, on the edge of the famous Roman Forum and close to the Colosseum, gave way and trapped him beneath.
His heart stopped in the ambulance, and doctors at the hospital he was rushed to were unable to save him.
The Romanian foreign ministry said Stroici was a Romanian national, as was another worker among three others pulled from the rubble. One is said to be in a critical condition.
Stroici’s rescue was initially described as an exceptional feat by firefighters who had worked late into the night. Rescue teams used drones and rubble clearers to try to reach him, despite the risk that the fragile tower could collapse further.
He had been conscious and talking to the emergency workers throughout the rescue. His wife was also at the scene.
Stroici had been carrying out conservation work on the medieval tower which is part of the Roman Forum, one of this city’s busiest tourist sites. But this particular building had been empty and abandoned for many years.
The Rome Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident.
Efforts to rescue Stroici – reported to be in his 60s – were interrupted when a second section of the 29m (90ft) high tower began crumbling again, with bricks raining down, creating a huge cloud of dust.
Earlier, Rome prefect Lamberto Gianninihad described it as a “very complex situation”. Giannini said that after the initial collapse firefighters had “put up some protection” around the trapped man, so when the second collapse happened, “they obviously shielded him”.
He added that the rescue was a long operation due to having to “mitigate…the enormous risks faced by the people trying to carry out the rescue”.
One firefighter was taken to hospital with an eye problem, according to local media, but the rest were unharmed, eventually resuming their search for the man.
A police chief said there was no imminent danger that the tower will disintegrate.
“My thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to the person currently fighting for his life beneath the rubble, and to his family, for whom I sincerely hope that this tragedy finds a positive outcome,” wrote Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on X before the rescue was complete.
Another worker, 67-year-old Ottaviano, who was inside at the time of the collapse but escaped from a balcony uninjured, told the AFP news agency: “It was not safe. I just want to go home.”
Rome’s mayor and Italy’s culture minister visited the scene.
The 13th Century tower is part of the Roman Forum, a major tourist attraction in the centre of Rome, but it is separated from the main visitors’ area by a road. The streets all around have been taped off by police as a precaution.
The medieval tower was built by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his brother.
United States Republican President Donald Trump says he will restrict federal funds for New York City if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the city’s mayoral elections, to be held on Tuesday.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Monday that “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required”, if Mamdani wins the race.
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Polls show Mamdani leading against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who is the Republican nominee.
According to the latest RealClearPolitics polls on Monday, Mamdani led with 45.8 percent, maintaining a 14.7-point advantage over Cuomo’s 31.1 percent and a 28.5-point lead over Sliwa’s 17.3 percent.
On the final day of campaigning on Monday, the mayoral candidates raced across New York City’s five boroughs after months of back-and-forth barbs, social media hits and saucy debates.
As the closely-watched election day edged closer, Mamdani led a sunrise walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, flanked by hundreds of supporters, before kicking off the day with a speech at City Hall.
Cuomo, on his part, denounced socialism in the Bronx, visited seniors in Chinatown, and popped off an X post calling Mamdani a “poser”.
And Republican candidate Sliwa greeted supporters in the Coney Island neighbourhood of Brooklyn in his signature red hat, as he spoke at a subway station where a woman was killed on a train last year.
Mamdani and Cuomo’s duelling campaigns have reflected their positions in the New York race: the son of another former New York governor, steeped in the liberal Democratic political establishment, versus a young and little-known assemblyman who would be the city’s first Muslim, first person born in Africa and the first person of South Asian descent to lead New York City.
The mayoral race, which has captured outsized global attention, has seen a record 735,317 early votes cast over the past nine days, more than four times the total for the 2021 election, according to the New York City Board of Elections.
‘Our time is now’
Mamdani, a 34-year-old New York state assemblyman, has galvanised New Yorkers with an optimistic, multilingual campaign that promised free buses, rent freezes and universal childcare, partially paid for by taxing the city’s wealthiest residents.
“If [Cuomo is] elected as mayor, our city will descend deeper into the darkness that has forced too many of our neighbours to flee, and made it impossible for working people to live lives of dignity,” Mamdani said.
In his City Hall speech on Monday, Mamdani seemed to embrace the seismic shift that his campaign has represented for New York’s politics.
“There were few in this city who dared to imagine that we could win, and what it would mean for a city that has – for too long – served only the wealthy and powerful, at the expense of those who work through sunrises and sunsets,” Mamdani said.
Moments later, the crowd broke out in cheers of, “Our time is now!”
Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 after an independent state probe found he had engaged in a pattern of sexually harassing women, took aim at Mamdani’s democratic socialist promises in his final hours of campaigning, likening them to left-wing governments in Latin America.
“Socialism didn’t work in Venezuela. Socialism didn’t work in Cuba. Socialism is not going to work in New York City,” Cuomo said. Mamdani, however, is a self-described “democratic socialist”.
New York’s most prominent billionaires, including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, have supported Cuomo’s campaign, with Ackman doling out a total of $750,000 through donation vehicles known as super PACs, CNBC reported last week.
Bello Gambur dreads going to the stream before 2 p.m.
Every morning, he leaves home with a herd of over 30 cattle, with his staff slung across his shoulders as they head into the bush. For about five hours, he watches them as they graze, rest, and wander, but none can drink. The only stream in the community lies just a short walk away, yet he must wait until 2 p.m. to take them there.
Going earlier, he says, could have deadly consequences.
All his life, the forty-year-old has lived as a herder in Mararaban Bare, a small community in the Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State, North East Nigeria, where his ancestors migrated and settled a long time ago.
Over the years, the herders lived in peace with their host community, but in 2017, violence broke out over water. The clash claimed many lives, and several properties were destroyed. In October, security operatives stepped in to quell a similar incident.
So, Bello doesn’t mind his herd enduring hours of thirst if it helps keep the fragile peace.
Bello Gambur stands behind his herd in a grazing field at Mararaban Bare. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/HumAngle
He leads the cattle to the stream when most locals have finished using it and are back at their homes. Bello and the other herders go there between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to prevent coming in contact with the locals who visit the stream every morning to bathe, wash, and fetch water for domestic chores.
The rationing also requires the locals to leave before 2 p.m.
However, this arrangement has not ended the clashes between the groups, as locals believe it does little to address deeper grievances.
Tension keeps building
“Irrigation farmers use the water from the canal to farm. And other community members drink the water, the cattle also drink from it, so this is a problem,” Alphonsus Bosso, a 55-year-old farmer and resident of Mararaban Bare, told HumAngle.
He said the tension is unlikely to end soon, especially with the dry season approaching. This competition for access to the stream intensifies during this period.
Alphonsus said a lasting solution would be to provide the herders with their own water source “because we no longer co-exist”. In some other Adamawa communities, humanitarian organisations have already supported the creation of alternative water sources, which have helped ease similar tensions, a model yet to reach Mararaban Bare.
Alphonsus Bosso, a farmer and resident of Mararaban Bare. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/ HumAngle.
“We used to have canals that served as water sources for our cattle, and we barely used the stream until the canals began to dry up,” said Muza Alhaji Shenya, a 37-year-old herder in the area. He linked the recent drying up of water bodies in the area to industrial expansion, particularly the construction of embankments to store water for sugarcane plantations. HumAngle saw some of these embankments during a visit.
Herders said the construction of embankments for the irrigation of sugarcane plantations affected water bodies. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/HumAngle
However, environmental experts say the problem extends beyond industrial activity.
Hamza Muhammed Usman, the Executive Director of Environmental Care Foundation, a non-governmental organisation in Adamawa State that promotes a climate-friendly environment, food security, and peacebuilding, explained that prolonged dry spells, erratic rainfall, and deforestation, among other factors, are responsible for the shrinking water bodies in the state.
He said that overgrazing by livestock and human activities such as excessive farming on the same location and mining reduce vegetation cover, which disrupts the natural flow of water into its channels and bodies, especially in local government areas such as Numan, Fufore, some parts of Madagali, Maiha, Gombi, and the southern zone.
Hamza also noted that migration and growing birth rates in the affected areas have increased the competition for water. “There are people from Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and other places trooping into Adamawa for greener pastures. This leads to overdependence on the limited resources,” he said.
Muza Alhaji Shenya has been grazing in Mararaban Bare for over two decades. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/HumAngle
‘They pollute the water’
Locals insist that sharing the water with the cattle is unhealthy.
“The cattle are polluting the water with mud and urine,” said Silas Simon, the community leader. “We dilute the water with alum when we want to consume.”
Even this treatment becomes difficult during the dry season, which starts in October.
During the season, the herders in Mararaban Bare are left with two options: lead their cattle to the local stream or trek six kilometres into Bare, the nearest village with multiple water sources. The journey takes about six hours, making the local stream the closest option for many.
Some herders trek for six hours to Bare every day to access water for their cattle. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/HumAngle
One herder, who treks to Bare to avoid being attacked by locals, said his cattle often drink water once a day, mostly in the afternoon, and sometimes, in the evening while returning to their settlement. There, water is provided for them in small containers, but much priority is given to the calves since the water is not enough.
“The cows are getting thinner; their health has deteriorated over the years,” he said. “Every water source is drying up.”
“If we can have alternative water sources, then we won’t go to the stream for water where the people drink from,” Muza said.
There is a borehole in Mararaban Bare, but it barely functions.
Silas noted that if the borehole was functional, locals would use it as a water source and leave the stream for the herders, which would reduce the clashes.
“The borehole barely works. If it ever pumps water, it ceases at any time, so one has to wait for hours before the water runs again. Sometimes, people queue up from morning to evening and get unlucky because it ceases anytime,” he said.
The only borehole in Mararaban Bare barely functions. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/HumAngle.
‘No agreement’
Several meetings have been held between the locals and herders to resolve the conflict, but no lasting agreement has been reached apart from a temporary water-use arrangement. Silas said tensions remain high, as youths from both groups often act as the main instigators during clashes.
“We do not wish to provoke anyone; we are only after the welfare of the cattle,” said Alhaji Ngala, the chairperson of herders in the community. He also noted that farms have taken over grazing routes, leaving them with “no freedom”.
“If we can have access to grazing routes and enough water supply, then our minds will be at peace,” Ngala told HumAngle.
Hamza, the climate-friendly environment advocate, urged the government to invest in solar-powered boreholes as a way of promoting clean energy and sustainable water supply across communities facing similar challenges. He also called for stronger conflict-resolution mechanisms across the state.
A group of young herders watch cattle graze in the open fields of Mararaban Bare. Photo: Saduwo Banyawa/HumAngle.
“Water scarcity is not just an environmental issue but a driver of insecurity, because in a place where there is tension, certain groups can take advantage of the situation to infiltrate such communities and cause problems,” Hamza said.
Although the state government has collaborated with civil society organisations to adopt measures like afforestation, small-scale irrigation projects, and awareness campaigns, among other initiatives, to address the recurring clashes over water and limited resources. Hamza noted that many communities still lack the technical capacity and financial support to sustain these interventions.
“Some of the measures, like afforestation and proper waste management, are not owned properly by the locals,” Hamza said.
He further called for integrated water resource management and inclusive governance to protect watersheds and prevent further land degradation. “Degraded lands can be restored through rotation. Herders should not graze on the same spot for more than five years, and farmers should do the same,” he said.
He also stressed the need for interdependence; farmers relying on cow dung as manure, and herders being granted access to reserved grazing areas.
FORMER Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague has broken her silence on her Behind It All documentary and the backlash she faced.
The 26-year-old successful star and mum of one, was slammed when her newAmazondocuseries,Molly-Mae: Behind It All, was released.
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Molly-Mae Hague has opened up about the backlash she received after her docuseries dropped on AmazonCredit: YouTube/mollymae9879The reality star and influencer said she deleted TikTok after seeing some of the commentsCredit: YouTube/mollymae9879
Breaking her silence on the backlash and reaction from viewers, Molly-Mae opened up in the introduction of her new YouTube video, which was shared on Monday evening.
The influencer and fashion mogul even revealed she was forced to delete TikTok amid the comments she saw about the series.
Speaking in her vlog, she said: “I had seen what people were saying about the doc and then made the executive decision to basically delete TikTok.”
Molly-Mae added how deleting the app “has been quite frankly one of the best decisions I ever made”.
The reality star then said how though she has grown a thick skin over the years, “there’s something about that app that just feels like so insanely toxic”.
Molly-Mae then explained how she saw her makeup artist scrolling on social media and spotted “at least three things within that short time of me looking at her phone that I didn’t want to see”.
“So, I just felt like, okay, definitely definitely in no way, shape or form rushing to get the app back anytime soon.
“I just want to say that I’ve also received so many incredibly lovely messages and people saying that they’ve also really enjoyed it.
“And that’s literally all I wanted for the doc. It’s never ever been to do anything other than just create something for people to watch and enjoy.
“And I think I’ve definitely definitely learned a lot,” she added.
Molly-Mae then told of how she was nervous about the documentary coming out.
“Like I think even before the premiere, there’s a bit of me in this vlog where I’m like severely anxious,” she explained.
Molly-Mae then said that she had anticipated some of the critique the documentary got.
“I literally said like ‘that’s going to cause this’ and ‘this is going to cause that’.
“I have been doing this job now for a really really long time and I feel like we kind of had a formula that we followed for years that avoids what has happened with the doc from happening.
“And with this drop of the doc like we literally did the complete opposite of what we normally do.
“Like we spoke about things we don’t speak about.
“We kept things in that probably I would never ever show of myself like because with the last drop of the doc everyone was like we want more. We want more.”
Molly-Mae went on: “So, it’s like you give it, but then it’s not like it’s too much or it’s, you know…
“I saw someone saying that they fell asleep halfway through one of the episodes because it was so boring yet they feel like the episodes aren’t long enough.”
She then said how she “really really can’t keep everyone happy” no matter how much she tries.
Molly-Mae’s documentary on Amazon divided opinion among viewersCredit: Prime Video
A Tesla pictured in Oct. 2022 near the Meta campus in Menlo Park, Calif. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla received 16 reports of exterior door handles becoming “inoperative due to low 12VDC battery voltage in certain MY 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles.” File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo
Nov. 3 (UPI) — Federal regulators have ordered Tesla to comply with an investigation into possibly defective door handles that reportedly led to trapped passengers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the Elon Musk-owned Tesla that the federal government received scores of complaints on its electric vehicles.
As of Oct. 27, the NHTSA said it received 16 reports of exterior, retractable door handles becoming “inoperative due to low 12VDC battery voltage in certain MY 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles.”
Reports indicated children were trapped in the cars in some cases, and owners unable to enter or exit vehicles due to battery that impeded door handle use.
A deadly 2024 crash in Wisconsin led to a lawsuit that claimed Tesla was negligent in its door handle designs.
Meanwhile, Tesla officials have until Dec. 10 to provide records to federal regulators.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Norway has become the latest customer of the pan-European NH90 helicopter to walk away from its acquisition, agreeing on an out-of-court settlement with manufacturer NH Industries (NHI). The NATO member follows Australia, whose departure from the program TWZhas discussed in depth in the past, and Belgium, which announced earlier this year that it would retire its Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) versions.
It was confirmed today that NHI would pay Norway €375 million ($432 million) to bring to an end the dispute around the Scandinavian nation’s long-contested NH90 contract, which involved 14 navalized versions of the helicopter. In a joint statement, Norway and NHI said that the 14 NH90s would be returned to the manufacturer together with spare parts, tools, and mission equipment. The aircraft and components will be recycled back into the program so they can be passed on to other customers.
An NH90 on the deck of a Royal Norwegian Navy ship. NHI
“This solution reflects the parties’ mutual agreement to bring all related disputes to a conclusive end,” the joint statement said.
Norway announced plans to buy the 14 helicopters in 2001, with these to be divided between the Royal Norwegian Navy and Norwegian Coast Guard, with deliveries planned between 2005 and 2008. The Navy was to get six examples outfitted for anti-submarine warfare, while the Coast Guard would receive the remaining eight configured for search and rescue.
From the start, the program was dogged by problems, with the first example not being delivered until December 2011. The following year, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that the slow pace of deliveries meant that another helicopter type might have to be purchased to fill the gap once the country’s Westland Lynx shipborne helicopters were retired in 2014. At that time, it began to be reported that Oslo was looking at the U.S.-made MH-60 Seahawk as an alternative to the NH90 for anti-submarine warfare.
A Norwegian Coast Guard Westland Lynx. Norwegian Armed Forces
By January 2016, six NH90s had been delivered, and two years later, a Norwegian Armed Forces report found that the NH90 fleet was not providing the required flight hours to meet its intended roles. The report recommended that all 14 helicopters be converted for the anti-submarine warfare role.
A subsequent Norwegian Armed Forces study, in September 2018, suggested that it might still be possible for the 14 NH90s to perform in both the Navy and Coast Guard roles. However, this would require the ready availability of spare parts, as well as sufficient overhaul capacity. The goal was to achieve this by 2022.
By 2022, however, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense was voicing more concerns over new delays and NHI’s alleged failure to meet contractual obligations. Once again, an alternative helicopter was on the agenda.
Finally, in June 2022, then-Norwegian Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram announced that the NH90 contract would be terminated and that the helicopters would be immediately grounded. Oslo cited delays, errors, and excessive maintenance requirements and demanded compensation from NHI.
A Norwegian NH90 helicopter in the hangar. Norwegian Ministry of Defense
By that point, 13 NH90s had been delivered, but only eight arrived in a fully operational configuration, according to the Norwegian Ministry of Defense. Where the fleet was required to fly 3,900 hours a year, it was averaging just 700 hours annually.
“Regrettably, we have reached the conclusion that no matter how many hours our technicians work, and how many parts we order, it will never make the NH90 capable of … meeting the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces,” Gram said at the time.
Seahawk lands at Haakonsvern with Norwegian pilots lands at Haakonsvern for the very first time. This marks a historic milestone for the Navy and the phasing in of the new maritime helicopters in Norwegian service.
The Norwegian development is the latest blow for NHI in what has been a disappointing year.
In July, Belgium’s Minister of Defense Theo Francken said that the country will soon retire its four NH90 TTHs, describing the acquisition as a “bad purchase.” Belgium will continue to operate a similar number of maritime-tasked NH90s.
Like Norway, Australia cited difficulties with maintenance and availability when, in December 2021, it announced it was ditching its fleet of MRH90 battlefield utility helicopters, a variant of the NH90 also known locally in that country as the Taipan, and replacing them with U.S.-built UH-60 Black Hawks. The NH90 had entered Australian service in 2008, and the fleet of 46 Taipans was retired a decade ahead of schedule.
An Australian Army MRH90 provides support to the New South Wales government following a request for assistance in response to flooding across the state. Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defense
“The performance of the MRH90 Taipan has been an ongoing and well-documented concern for [the Australian Ministry of Defense], and there has been a significant effort at great expense to try to remediate those issues,” then-Australian Minister for Defense Peter Dutton said at the time. “It is critically important that there is a safe, reliable, and capable utility helicopter available for our servicemen and women into the future, with reasonable and predictable operating costs.”
Norway’s neighbor, Sweden, has also been less than satisfied with its NH90s, of which it took nine each of the TTH and NFH, albeit modified to meet local requirements for specific search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare roles, respectively. Delays in getting the TTHs fully operational led to Sweden ordering 15 UH-60M Black Hawks as a stopgap, while in November 2022, the country revealed plans to replace its NH90 NFHs entirely.
Outside of these cases, other NH90 operators have faced a variety of problems with the helicopter, although these issues have rarely been consistent, especially since individual variants — more than 20 in all — can differ from country to country.
Examples include Germany, where the Army’s helicopters were revealed to have rear ramps too weak to support fully equipped soldiers, cabin floors that can be damaged by combat boots, among other faults. At one point in 2019, only around 12 percent of Germany’s NH90s were mission-capable, with the German Armed Forces blaming Airbus, which is part of the NHI consortium, for alleged failings in its maintenance services.
A German Army NH90 is loaded aboard an An-124 strategic airlifter at Leipzig/Halle Airport for transport to Mali in 2017. Bundeswehr/Mario Bähr
On the other hand, NHI has continued to trumpet the NH90’s successes, where they have occurred.
Last year, the company’s CEO, Axel Aloccio, said that he considered there were “lots of commercial opportunities” available for additional NH90 sales. He said that, in particular, there was “a lot” of interest from Middle East nations and identified an overall market for between “50 to 100” sales of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, 13 other operators continue to fly the NH90 in a variety of roles, and the helicopter is expanding into new missions, too. As part of its defense spending drive, the Netherlands announced last year that it would add to its NH90 fleet.
For the time being, however, the NH90’s loss in Norway, and previously Australia, further tarnishes the helicopter’s reputation but is certainly good news for Lockheed Martin, whose H-60/S-70 series is a readymade and well-proven replacement.
Diane Ladd, the Oscar-nominated actor who received acclaim for her work in films including “Rambling Rose,” “Wild at Heart” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” has died. She was 89.
Oscar winner Laura Dern, Ladd’s daughter with Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Dern, announced her mother’s death in a statement shared Monday. “My amazing hero and my profound gift of a mother, Diane Ladd, passed with me beside her this morning, at her home in Ojai,” Dern wrote. A cause of death was not revealed.
“She was the greatest daughter, mother, grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams could have seemingly created,” “Marriage Story” star Dern said in her statement. “We were blessed to have her.”
Nov. 3 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate reconvened Monday afternoon for a possible funding bill as the federal government shutdown moved one day closer to a record 35 days, set in 2019 during President Donald Trump‘s first term.
There have been 13 unsuccessful procedural votes on a House-passed continuing resolution, which would fund the government through Nov. 21.
The Senate convened at 3 p.m. after last meeting on Thursday. The House hasn’t been in session since Sept. 19. The government shut down on Oct. 1.
Senate Majority Leader John Thunetold reporters Monday that he is “optimistic” but not necessarily “confident” senators from both parties will reach a deal to reopen the government this week.
“Based on sort of my gut of how things operate, I think we’re getting close to an off-ramp. But this is unlike any other government shutdown in terms of the way Democrats reacted to it,” he said.
Thune hopes to have an agreement this week because the Senate is scheduled to be in recess next week for Veterans Day.
“There were a lot of conversations over the weekend and hopefully that will bring about the desired result,” Thine said. “But you know, if we don’t start seeing some progress or some evidence of that by at least the middle of this week, it’s hard to see how we would finish anything by the end of the week. And I think that would be the objective here, to try and get something that we could send back to the House that would open up the government.”
Thune said he is agreeable to extending the resolution until January.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that GOP leaders are discussing ways to deal with the expiration date of the continuing resolution that passed the House 217-212 on Sept. 19.
The House only needs a majority to pass legislation.
In the Senate, they have failed to reach the required 60 votes. The Republicans have a 53-47 advantage.
Trump has called for Senate Republicans to “get rid of the filibuster” to allow them to pass the stopgap funding bill with a simple majority. The so-called “nuclear option” would eliminate the need for the 60-vote supermajority typically required to pass legislation in the upper chamber.
Thune said he’s against invoking the nuclear option for fear Democrats would use it as a precedent and take advantage of it when they control the Senate in the future.
In fact, he said Monday that there’s not enough support among his colleagues on scrapping the filibuster.
The Trump administration opposes negotiating with Democrats on healthcare until the government reopens. The Democrats don’t want to approve any funding bill until subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, are extended into next year.
“Our position has been very clear,” one White House official told CNN. “The clean CR [continuing resolution] needs to be passed, and then there’s room for talks after that.”
The White House is calling it a “Democratic shutdown” on its website and social media.
A bipartisan quartet of House lawmakers released a “statement of principles” Monday for an extension of Obamacare subsidies for two years and an income cap for eligibility, Politico reported. It was by Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said lawmakers have been on a “taxpayer-funded vacation” instead of negotiating and Trump was at his home in Florida, including hosting a $1 million-per-play campaign fundraising dinner.
“What’s Donald Trump been doing this weekend? He was on the golf course, spitting in the face of the American people with his inaction and his indifference,” Jeffries said.
Only essential personnel are working and without pay. That includes air traffic controllers. Flights have been delayed at airports throughout the nation. At last 670,000 federal employees have been furloughed and roughly 730,000 working without pay. In past shutdowns, workers off the job received back pay.
“There is a level of risk that gets injected into the system when we have a controller that’s doing two jobs instead of one,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday on ABC News’ This Week. “We will delay, we will cancel, any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe.”
Flights are being spaced out to handle the diminished staff.
From Friday morning until Sunday night, 98 Federal Aviation Administration facilities reported a “staffing trigger” in which air traffic controllers had to alter operations to keep the airspace safe.
FlightAware reported 5,890 total delays involving U.S. airports on Sunday. The delays aren’t only related to air traffic control issues.
In October, manufacturing economies worldwide faced challenges, particularly due to weak demand in the U. S. and tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Factories in the U. S. struggled with lower new orders and strained supply chains, leading to a decline in manufacturing activity for the eighth consecutive month. Manufacturers expressed concerns about the unpredictable tariff situation affecting future costs and the ability to expand production.
In the Eurozone, factory activity stagnated, with flat new orders and reduced workforce. Germany, a key player, showed minimal recovery, experiencing a slowdown in production growth. Engineering orders in Germany dropped sharply, while France’s manufacturing sector remained weak and Italy saw a slight contraction. Spain was the exception, with its factories performing better than in September. Analysts noted that growth in the Eurozone was primarily driven by strong domestic demand, but foreign orders remained a concern, especially from France and the U. S.
In Britain, outside the EU, factories reported their best month in a year, largely due to the resumption of production at Jaguar Land Rover following a cyberattack. Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in China grew at a slower pace, and South Korea saw a decline in exports amid cautiousness over U. S. demand. China’s official PMI indicated a seventh straight month of falling factory activity, with economists suggesting the economy lost momentum in October. Despite a recent agreement between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease tariffs, deeper trade tensions persist.
In Asia, India experienced a boost in factory activity driven by strong domestic demand, in contrast to some declines in Malaysia and Taiwan, while Vietnam and Indonesia saw improvements in their manufacturing sectors.
The Split Up is a spin-off from the hit BBC drama The Split and will follow another family’s law firm.
A spin-off from the hit BBC drama The Split has received a significant update.
Fans were gutted when the legal series starring Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan wrapped up after three seasons in 2022, followed by a two-part special last year. Now, fresh information about the upcoming show The Split Up has emerged, including casting announcements.
The original programme featured Annika star Nicola as Hannah, grappling with the breakdown of her marriage to Nathan (Stephen) whilst juggling affairs, romance and complicated relationships, all while managing her family’s law practice alongside the chaos created by her two sisters and mother.
The Split Up will now centre on a different family law practice, this time based in Manchester and focusing on the British-Asian elite Kishan family.
The six-episode series will explore “the high-stakes world of Manchester’s divorce law circuit, where one family of lawyers, the Kishans, reigns supreme,” according to the previous announcement, reports Wales Online.
It adds: “Kishan Law is a British-Asian high net worth family law firm in Manchester, noted for its clientele and its reputation.
“They are the ‘go to firm’ for Manchester’s elite who come to them for their excellence, integrity, and discretion.
“But the future and legacy of Kishan Law hangs in the balance when a family secret from the past comes to light, throwing their professional and personal lives into turmoil.”
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The line-up for the series has already been unveiled, and it’s now been confirmed that The Good Place star Jameela Jamil is coming on board.
When the announcement was posted on social media featuring a photo of Jameela with leading lady Ritu Arya, the She-Hulk actress responded: “I love her.”
“My two favourites together,” one supporter wrote, whilst another added: “OMG can’t wait. Love you both!!!”
“Very excited for this,” a third person commented.
Jameela is joining The Umbrella Academy’s Ritu Arya, Unforgotten’s Sanjeev Bhaskar, alongside Aysha Kala (Virdee), Arian Nik (Film Club), Danny Ashok (Dinosaur), Dimitri Leonidas (Those About To Die), Mawaan Rizwan (Juice), Sindhu Vee (Matilda the Musical), Shalini Peiris (The White Lotus) and Tom Forbes (Queenie).
Celebrity guest appearances will also feature Lenny Henry and Jane Horrocks.
The BBC revealed: “The fast-rising star of Kishan Law is Aria Kishan (Ritu Arya), poised to step up and take the mantle from her father Dhruv (Sanjeev Bhaskar). However, the death of her mother has cast a new light over these plans for Dhruv, who has begun to wonder if his daughter can, or should, take on this responsibility single-handedly.
“Aria’s relationship is placed under scrutiny too with the wedding for long-term partner Neal (Danny Ashok) on the horizon, but with their personal and professional so entwined it’s unclear if their relationship can withstand any more pressure – a problem further compounded when a former secret flame (Dimitri Leonidas) arrives in Manchester unexpectedly.
“Alongside her siblings Maya (Aysha Kala) and Kav (Arian Nik), Aria must navigate the splits that divide family and those we love – and ask herself: who should you live your life for?”
Creator Ursula Rani Sarma expressed: “Having admired The Split and Abi Morgan for years, I was honoured to be asked to bring The Split Up to life. As a writer passionate about representation, it’s a dream come true to place a contemporary British South Asian family centre stage. Diversity deepens our understanding, enriches our stories, and reflects the true fabric of our society.
“It’s thrilling to watch our amazing cast led by Ritu and Sanjeev bring the Kishan family to life. I can’t wait for audiences to meet them and to witness the drama as it unfolds.”
Abi Morgan chimed in: “The chance to take all that was loved about The Split and use it to inspire the next generation of British South Asian talent, to create a new family of dynamic lawyers spilling over with all the messiness of life, both personally and professionally, has been a brilliant challenge, beautifully realised by lead writer Ursula Rani Sama. I hope audiences will take it to their hearts.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry says it also received the remains of 45 Palestinians from Israel through the Red Cross.
Israel has released five Palestinian prisoners as part of a fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas, offering a rare moment of relief for the families in Gaza.
The five men, freed on Monday evening, were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah for medical examinations, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported from outside the facility.
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Relatives gathered at the hospital, some embracing the freed prisoners, while others anxiously sought information about missing family members.
“This is the first time since the ceasefire that Israeli forces have released unknown Palestinian prisoners,” said Khoudary.
Thousands of Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israel, many held without charge under what rights groups call arbitrary detention.
Israel returns remains of Palestinians
Earlier on Monday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said it received the remains of 45 Palestinians from Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), bringing the total number of bodies handed over under the ceasefire agreement to 270.
Forensic teams have identified 78 bodies so far and will continue their examinations “in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols” before returning the remains to families, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Officials previously reported that many of the returned bodies bore evidence of torture and abuse, including bound hands, blindfolds, and facial disfigurement, and were handed back without identification tags.
The handover forms part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, which includes prisoner and body exchanges mediated by Turkiye, Egypt, and Qatar, with involvement from the United States.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Khoudary said, “Many of the bodies returned show signs of torture.” She added that families of missing Palestinians are still searching for relatives among the dead.
“If these bodies are not identified, they will be buried along with other Palestinians in a mass grave in Deir el-Balah,” she said.
Israeli ceasefire violations
Despite a ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out deadly attacks. A source at Nasser Medical Complex told Al Jazeera Arabic that three Palestinians were killed on Monday by Israeli fire north of Rafah in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army said it launched strikes on southern Gaza, claiming individuals had crossed the “yellow line”, an Israeli-controlled area, in what it called a ceasefire violation.
The Israeli version of events could not be independently verified. It also remains unclear whether the Israeli military was referring to the same attack that killed the three Palestinians.
In Gaza City, a child was among three people wounded by Israeli fire in the city’s east, a source at al-Ahli Arab Hospital told Al Jazeera.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said Israel continues to use quadcopter drones to drop grenades on buildings left partially standing. “Authorities here describe these acts as violations of the ceasefire,” he said.
The Gaza Government Media Office has accused Israel of committing more than 125 ceasefire violations since the truce took effect, warning that continued attacks threaten to reignite full-scale hostilities.
