News Desk

JOJO Siwa stripped to a bikini as she shared an emotional post with boyfriend Chris Hughes.

The Celebrity Big Brother star, 22, shared a series of snaps with the former Love Island finalist on Instagram, as the couple enjoyed a beach getaway together.

She hinted at “hard moments” in the caption, while heaping praise on her boyfriend Chris, describing herself as a “lucky girl”.

In the caption, she wrote: “In the last week I’ve realized more than ever that I’m a lucky girl who is in love with the one who I laugh the loudest with, have the most fun with, and enjoy time the most with.

“Beautiful days are here and they are gorgeous [Chris Hughes] thank you for this beautiful week, and for every day since we’ve met continuing to make me smile through even the hard moments.

“I Love you beyond [heart emoji]”.

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The CBB star can be seen sharing an embrace with Chris in one sun-soaked beach snap as the pair both don swimwear.

The couple are also seen enjoying a dance in a sweet video shared within the post, which included a series of highlights from their trip.

The post has already clocked over 100,000 likes, with fans quick to show support for the couple in the comments section.

One wrote: “You both deserved a love like this. I’m so happy you both chose to do big brother”.

Another added: “We are all so happy you’ve found love with Chris. You deserve someone who sees your heart the way he does. You’ve been through so much, and it’s beautiful to see you finally loved the way you deserve.”

JoJo and Chris – who are already discussing marriage plans – first became incredibly close during their 19-day stint in ITV‘s spy house back in April.

Scenes on the CBB show saw them share a forehead kiss as well as a peck on the shoulder.

Viewers were continually left confused over Chris’ seemingly “flirty” behaviour towards JoJo – who had a partner, Kath Ebbs, at the time – before the pair secretly held hands in the bedroom.

Back in the real world, when JoJo had split with Kath, the duo then left fans convinced they were sending secret “love” signals during a TikTok video.

JoJo then clarified her relationship status with Chris in a joint interview on ITV daytime show This Morning in April, during which she said they shared a “soulmate friendship.”

But last week, Chris revealed that just weeks after the interview, during their Mexico trip in May, they made things official.

He spoke openly about their connection on the Question The Default podcast with Harry Corin, in which he shared “nothing was rushed or forced, it just happened.”

He then confirmed it was when he flew to Mexico to surprise her at a festival she was playing at which happened few weeks after CBB – with her family there – where they became an item.

Chris said they “rekindled and met up in Mexico” and said: “I flew out to surprise her, which was nice.

“I spent a few days with her and her family in Orlando as well before flying home and that’s where it all started.”

Later in the chat, he said: “I went to Mexico and met up with her which is where the whole feelings developed and things changed.

“Which was lovely and no secret to anybody.

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“But it was genuinely lovely and nothing was rushed or forced it just happened.”

He then told how they were managing long-distance at the moment yet would find a solution at some point.

GYEONGJU, South Korea, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) — President Lee Jae Myung and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation during summit talks Friday.

The two sides met on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with Lee expressing hopes for a higher level of cooperative bilateral ties through Marcos’ visit to South Korea.

“For a long time, South Korea and the Philippines have supported and cooperated with one another as friendly nations,” Lee said, noting Manila’s deployment of troops in support of South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Marcos said the two countries have reached multiple milestones in ties, citing the signing of a bilateral free trade deal, and cooperation in the defense and security sectors.

Lee also thanked Marcos for the creation of a “Korean help desk” within the Philippine police to deal with cases involving South Korean nationals, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as defense, shipbuilding and infrastructure, as well as for regional coordination to stamp out transnational crime, including scam centers, he said.

Lee also said he would make efforts for “peaceful co-existence” on the Korean Peninsula, while Marcos pledged his country will cooperate in such efforts as the upcoming chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, Kim added.

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The United Kingdom’s King Charles III has stripped his brother, Andrew, of the title of prince and ordered him to leave his lavish residence near Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday. Observers say the Palace is finally taking decisive action over Andrew’s connections to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations that the two men sexually abused Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager.

Andrew, 65, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth and younger brother of King Charles, has faced growing scrutiny over his personal conduct and ties to Epstein. Earlier this month, he was pressured into giving up his title of Duke of York.

“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life,” Andrew said at the time. He also said he “vigorously den[ies] the accusations” against him.

Buckingham Palace hopes to be seen as taking a decisive step, drawing a line after years of compromising scandals. In 2022, Andrew was removed from numerous royal duties due to his connections to Epstein.

How did Andrew’s ties to Epstein come to light?

Born in 1960, Andrew was once one of the more popular members of the British royal family, known for his military service as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War in 1982.

For years, however, Andrew’s personal antics have generated embarrassing headlines, testing the patience of the royal family. In 2024, for instance, court documents revealed that a close adviser on Andrew’s business affairs was a suspected Chinese spy.

But it was Andrew’s persistent ties to Jeffrey Epstein that ultimately forced King Charles’s hand and led to Andrew stepping down from his royal duties in 2019. Epstein died by suicide in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

In 2021, Virginia Giuffre – one of the most prominent accusers of Epstein – filed a lawsuit alleging rape and sexual abuse against then-Prince Andrew. She claimed she had been forced to have sex with him on multiple occasions when she was 17, a minor under US law.

Prince Andrew has always denied Giuffre’s allegations, even insisting that a now-infamous photograph that appeared to show them together had been doctored. But in 2022, he agreed to settle the lawsuit, costing him as much as $16m.

Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April this year. She was 41 years old.

Earlier this month, British newspapers reported that Andrew had emailed Epstein in February 2011 – more than two months after the prince told the BBC he had severed all ties with his former associate.

The email was sent at a time of heightened media coverage of the Epstein scandal, with Andrew telling Epstein they were “in this together” and would “have to rise above it”.

These disclosures ultimately prompted Buckingham Palace’s response on Thursday.

What has Buckingham Palace said?

In a statement released on Thursday night, Buckingham Palace said the King’s brother is now to be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

He will no longer be styled “Prince” or “His Royal Highness (HRH)” and he has lost his dukedom, earldom, barony, military ranks and royal patronages.

It also announced that he is to be evicted from his residence, the sprawling Royal Lodge that was once home to the Queen Mother, near Windsor Castle, west of London.

“His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation,” the palace statement said.

“These censures are deemed necessary… Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” it added.

A palace source said the decision was taken by King Charles, but that he had the support of the wider family, including heir-to-the-throne Prince William, in a bid to limit reputational risks to the monarchy.

Elsewhere, culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC’s Question Time programme that the king’s latest decision was a “truly brave, important, and correct step”, sending a “powerful message” to survivors of sexual abuse.

Why has Andrew been evicted from Royal Lodge?

In recent weeks, the British press has been rife with speculation about Andrew’s finances after The Times newspaper reported on October 21 that he had not paid rent on his 30-room mansion – known as Royal Lodge – for two decades.

It was revealed that he had a lease on the property stipulating a “peppercorn rent”: In return for carrying out renovations and maintaining the mansion, Andrew was paying a rent of “one peppercorn” each year.

In a rare political intervention, a British parliamentary committee on Wednesday questioned whether Andrew should still be living in the house, which is owned by the monarch and located 5km (3 miles) south of Windsor Castle.

On October 28, the BBC also revealed that Prince Andrew had hosted Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell – Epstein’s associate, later jailed for sex trafficking – and Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced film producer convicted of rape, at Royal Lodge.

The three visited Andrew’s home in 2006 to celebrate his daughter’s 18th birthday, just two months after a United States arrest warrant had been issued for Epstein over the sexual assault of a minor.

Where will Andrew live now?

It is understood that Andrew will move to a property on the private Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, which will be privately funded by his brother, the king.

The wider Sandringham Estate covers approximately 8,100 hectares (20,000 acres) with 240 hectares (600 acres) of gardens, and the Palace has not stipulated which property he will stay in.

It is also understood that Andrew’s move to Sandringham will take place “as soon as practicable”.

His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson – who still lives at Royal Lodge with him – will also move out of Royal Lodge and make her own living arrangements.

Have other royals in the UK been stripped of their titles in the past?

The stripping of Prince Andrew’s royal titles by King Charles III is unusual in modern British history.

Other royals have relinquished titles voluntarily – such as Princess Diana giving up HRH following her divorce from King Charles – and King Edward VIII, who abdicated from the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American woman who had been divorced twice.

Others have lost their privileges for political reasons – such as Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, for siding with Germany in World War I – but there has not been a case of a reigning monarch or immediate family being stripped of their status for scandal-related reasons.

In that sense, Andrew’s case is the most serious demotion of a senior British royal in recent memory.

“Bread of Angels,” Patti Smith’s mesmerizing new memoir, only deepens the mystery of who this iconic artist is and where her singular vision originated. I’ve long been struck by her magnetism on stage, her fearless approach to her craft, and the stark beauty of her words on the page, including the National Book Award-winning “Just Kids.” She has a preternatural belief in her own instincts and a boundless curiosity that, taken together, help explain the extraordinarily rich life and oeuvre she’s constructed. This transcendent — and at times terrifying — account of that evolution enriches that understanding. And yet, Smith’s persona remains veiled — sphinx-like — an ethereal presence whose journey to fame was fueled by her questing spirit and later detoured by tragedy.

Like Jeanette Walls’ classic, “The Glass Castle,” Smith’s saga begins with a hard-scrabble childhood she relates as if narrating a Dickensian fairy tale. In the first four years of her life, her family relocated 11 times, moving in with relatives after evictions, or into rat-infested Philadelphia tenements. Smith’s mother was a waitress who also took in ironing. Her father was a factory worker, a World War II veteran scarred by his experience abroad. They shared their love of poetry, books and classical music with their daughter, who was reading Yeats by kindergarten.

Smith, who was born in 1946, was often bed-ridden as a young girl, afflicted with tuberculosis and scarlet fever, along with all the usual childhood ailments. She writes: “Mine was a Proustian childhood, one of intermittent quarantine and convalescence.” When she contracted Asian flu, the virus paralyzed her with “a vise cluster of migraines.” She credits a boxed set of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” recordings her mother bought with tip money for her return to health.

As a 3-year-old, Smith recalls grilling her mother during evening prayers, posing metaphysical questions about Jesus and the soul, immersing herself in Bible study and later joining her mother as a Jehovah’s Witness. She didn’t confine herself to a single religious discipline, though. For example, while still a young child, she saw the movie “Lost Horizons” and became entranced by Tibet and the teachings of Buddhism — “an awareness of the interconnectedness of all things.” While “this seemed beautiful,” she writes, “it nonetheless troubled me.”

There is a romantic quality even to the deprivations Smith chronicles, an effect heightened by what she chooses to highlight or withhold. With little money for toys, she and her siblings entertained themselves using the knobs on a dresser as instruments on a ship, sailing on faraway seas. She and her younger siblings regularly set out with their mother to the nearby railroad tracks, where they harvested leftover lumps of coal to fuel their pot-bellied stove — the apartment’s sole source of heat. Under the floorboards of her closet, Smith conceals “glittering refuse I had scavenged from trash bins, fragments of costume jewelry, rosary beads,” along with a blue toothbrush she’s invested with magical powers.

Their apartment building overlooks a trash-strewn area dubbed “the Patch,” which is bordered by “the Rat House.” There, Smith proclaims herself general of the neighborhood’s Buddy Gang, fearlessly fending off bullies twice her size, while at school, she was viewed as odd by her teachers, “like something out of Hans Christian Andersen.”

Within this urban setting, Smith often paused to marvel at nature. Taking a short cut on the long walk to school, she stumbles on a pond in a wooded area. A snapping turtle emerges and settles a few feet away. “He was massive,” she recalls, “with ancient eyes, surely a king.”

It’s impossible to know if Smith was really this self-possessed and ruminative as a child or if nostalgia has altered her perspective. What’s undeniable, though, is that her extraordinary artist’s eye and soulful nature emerged at an age when the rest of us were still content to simply play in our sandboxes. She recollects fishing Vogue magazines out of trash cans around age 6 and feeling “a deep affinity” with the images on their pages. She’s immersed in Yeats and Irish folk tales while being bored at school reading “Fun With Dick and Jane.” On her first visit to an art museum, viewing Picasso’s work produces an epiphany: She was born to be an artist. A decade later, she boards a bus bound for New York City.

At this point, about a third of the way into the book, we enter the vortex that is Patti Smith’s talent and ambition on fire. The pace of the memoir accelerates. An alchemy infuses each chance encounter. Opportunities abound. Everywhere she turns there are talented photographers, poets, playwrights and musicians encouraging and supporting her. She writes poetry and finds a soulmate in Robert Mapplethorpe. She meets Sam Shepard, who features her poem in a play he’s writing. She meets William Burroughs, performs a reading with Allen Ginsberg. She forms a musical partnership with Lenny Kaye, and begins performing her poetry, with the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud as her spiritual inspiration.

Smith’s story unfolds as a bohemian fairy tale. Luck is with her, bolstered by a fierce conviction in her own bespoke vision. “There was no plan, no design,” she writes of that time, “just an organic upheaval that took me from the written to the spoken word.” Bob Dylan becomes a mentor. Her fame grows enormous with the 1975 release of “Horses” and the international touring that followed, yet she retains the bearing of an ascetic. She writes: “We hadn’t made our record to garner fame and fortune. We made it for the art rats known and unknown, the marginalized, the shunned, the disowned.”

Smith’s rock star trajectory is diverted by her love affair with Fred Sonic Smith, for whom she ditches her career at its height, against the advice of many of those closest to her. But as with every decision she’s ever made, she can’t be dissuaded. In this intimate portion of the book, we receive glimpses of two passionate artists hibernating, in love. They marry, have two children, and cultivate an eccentric version of domestic bliss. But harsh reality intervenes and the losses begin to accumulate. One after the other, Smith loses the men she loves most — Robert, then Fred, then her beloved brother, Todd. These losses haunt the memoir; she grapples with them by returning to the stage with a fierce new hunger.

The book’s final pages reveal Smith continuing to grieve, mourning the loss of other loved ones — her parents, Susan Sontag, Sam Shepard. I wish I could simply reprint those pages here — they moved me deeply. At 78, she reflects on the process of “shedding” — which she describes as one of life’s most difficult tasks. “We plunge back into the abyss we labored to exit and find ourselves within another turn of the wheel,” she writes. “And then having found the fortitude to do so, we begin the excruciating yet exquisite process of letting go.”

“All must fall away,” she concludes. “The precious bits of cloth folded away in a small trunk like an abandoned trousseau, the books of my life, the medals in their cases.” What will she retain? “But I will keep my wedding ring,” she writes, “and my children’s love.”

Haber is a writer, editor and publishing strategist. She was director of Oprah’s Book Club and books editor for O, the Oprah Magazine.

Oct. 31 (UPI) — An upscale London real estate firm has apologized for failing to apply for local authority approval for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to rent out her familiy home in South London after offering to take care of it.

Gareth Martin, owner of Harvey & Wheeler, based in South London’s exclusive Dulwich Village, said Thursday that the firm’s then-property manager had promised to obtain the $1,250 “selective” permit required from Southwark Council, but the application was never submitted.

“We deeply regret the issue caused to our clients as they would have been under the impression that a license had been applied for,” said Martin.

Martin said the manager unexpectedly quit the firm just days before the house was leased and nobody else in the office picked up on the fact the application to register the property as a rental remained outstanding.

He stressed the firm did not normally deal with the permits as compliance with housing codes was the responsibility of homeowners but the offer was made in this case in order to be helpful.

The mix-up led to Reeves having to issue a written apology to Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid calls from opposition lawmakers for her to be investigated or fired over the infringement for which the borough could impose an unlimited fine on Reeves or Harvey & Wheeler.

Southwark Council said it would not be taking action against either party, explaining that it usually sent a notice to landlords reminding them they are required to apply for a change of use and that it only resorted to prosecution as a last resort.

However, Reeves was still facing questions over the issue Friday because in her apology letter to Starmer she said had not been aware a permit was necessary.

Hours later, she was forced to issue a clarification, writing in a second letter to Starmer, that Harvey & Wheeler had informed her husband a license would be required, but that they would deal with the application. Reeves said she took full responsibility for the oversight.

Starmer has staunchly backed Reeves, saying Sir Laurie Magnus, his independent adviser on ethics, had ruled that it was an inadvertent oversight and that she had not broken the ministerial code.

Presented with the emails between Harvey & Wheeler and Reeves’ husband when consulted for a second time late Thursday, Magnus’ advice remained that he found “no evidence of bad faith.”

Magnus was appointed to the role by the previous Conservative administration of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Starmer offered only a mild rebuke of Reeves, who is set to deliver a watershed budget for the government in less than a month, in which she will lay out how she plans to plug a fiscal hole of as much as $40 billion and boost lackluster economic growth.

“Clearly it would have been better if you and your husband had conducted a full trawl through all email correspondence with the estate agency before writing to me yesterday,” he wrote, but said he accepted it was a mistake and that no further action was necessary.

However, Reeves’ defense that she did not know she needed to get a permit has also come under scrutiny because in recent days she posted on social media praising the regulations and saying they should be adopted more widely.

In a series of posts on X on Oct. 20, she hailed a city hall decision in the district in northern England she represents to extend the licensing scheme for private landlords to more areas.

“I welcome Leeds City Council’s decision to expand their selective landlord licencing policy to include the Armley area. While many private landlords operate in the right way, we know that lots of private tenants in Armley face problems with poorly maintained housing,” she wrote.

Opposition Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour had been mired in a series of scandals but there should now be a formal investigation by the ethics adviser, saying she would accept the outcome whatever was conclude

“She is the Chancellor,” she told the House of Commons on Thursday.

“This is an offense that she is supposed to have committed as Chancellor, a criminal offense, and maybe it is the letting agent’s fault. But isn’t it funny with Labour, it’s always somebody else’s fault. Always. It’s never their own fault,” said Badenoch.

Reeves put the family home on the market for $4,265 a month in July 2024 after becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer when Labour won a landlside general election victory.

The position comes with a residence in Downing Street, at no. 11, next to the prime minister’s.

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has told Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents they are legally protected from prosecution and local officials cannot arrest them.

Fox News host Will Cain questioned Miller during an October 24 interview. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Cain said, “talked about interfering with, arresting, ICE agents in Illinois”.

Cain asked Miller under what federal authority the Trump administration could arrest Pritzker if the governor tried to arrest ICE agents.

“To all ICE officers, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties,” Miller said. “And anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.”

Miller said his answer applied to any local or state official “who conspires or engages in activity that unlawfully impedes federal law enforcement conducting their duties”.

The day before Miller’s comments, Pritzker signed an executive order establishing the Illinois Accountability Commission to document federal law enforcement actions and refer possible law violations to local and state agencies for investigation. Chicago is the latest target in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and agents have arrested more than 3,000 people there.

Pritzker acknowledged in an October 16 interview that “federal agents typically have federal immunity, but they’re not immune from the federal government holding them accountable and responsible”.

His statement is less sweeping than Miller’s, and Pritzker noted that the federal government can prosecute federal agents.

Immigration agents, like other law enforcement officers, have broad protections when conducting official duties. That doesn’t mean they can’t be held legally accountable if they break state or federal law.

“Federal officials are not categorically immune from state criminal prosecution, even while on duty,” Bryna Godar, a lawyer at the University of Wisconsin’s State Democracy Research Initiative, wrote in a July 17 report.

When contacted for comment, the White House pointed PolitiFact to an October 23 letter that US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote to California officials.

“The Department of Justice views any arrests of federal agents and officers in the performance of their official duties as both illegal and futile,” Blanche wrote.

He cited several federal laws and provisions, including the US Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. The clause limits when states can prosecute federal agents who break state law, but it does not act as blanket immunity, legal experts said.

Miller’s statement is “wrong on its face”, Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown University constitutional law professor, wrote in his October 27 newsletter.

The federal government can prosecute immigration agents who break the law

Federal immigration agents can’t break the law with impunity.

In 2024, a federal judge convicted and sentenced to federal prison a US Customs and Border Protection agent for using excessive force against two people at the southern border. Department of Homeland Security watchdog officers investigated the case.

The federal government has cited its power to hold agents accountable in court arguments. After a Border Patrol agent shot and killed a 15-year-old Mexican boy at the southern border in 2010, the Justice Department said in a 2019 Supreme Court brief that the federal government investigates allegations of excessive force by agents “and may bring a federal criminal prosecution where appropriate”.

Non-government organisations can also sue the federal government for its agents’ actions. Several groups in Chicago, including journalism organisations, sued the Trump administration saying federal agents are using “a pattern of extreme brutality in a concerted and ongoing effort to silence the press and civilians”.

In that case, federal District Judge Sara Ellis ordered immigration agents not to use tear gas and other riot control tactics unless people are posing an immediate threat. If the agents are going to use tear gas, they are required to give a verbal warning first.

After reports that agents weren’t following the court order, Ellis ordered Gregory Bovino, the senior Border Patrol official overseeing the federal immigration actions in Chicago, to meet with her every weeknight to report all confrontations officers have with the public. A federal appeals court has since temporarily paused Ellis’s order.

Vladeck wrote that even if the Trump administration does not investigate or prosecute immigration agents who might have broken the law, it doesn’t mean the federal government doesn’t have the power to do so.

Pritzker said his state’s commission seeks to document actions that could be prosecuted in the future.

State governments aren’t barred from prosecuting federal agents

State governments can also prosecute immigration agents if they break state law. However, there is a limitation known as supremacy clause immunity, which comes from the US Constitution’s clause that says federal law supersedes conflicting state laws.

Protections against state prosecution for federal agents date back to a 1890 Supreme Court decision. David Neagle, a US marshal assigned to protect a Supreme Court justice, shot and killed a man who assaulted the justice. California arrested Neagle and charged him with murder. The Supreme Court ruled that the state couldn’t prosecute Neagle because he was carrying out official duties.

Generally, federal agents are protected from state prosecution if their actions were authorised by federal law, and if the actions were “necessary and proper” for agents to fulfil their duties.

A federal court ruled in 1990 that a customs agent was immune from state charges for speeding while driving during a drug operation. The agent acted under US laws and was justified in concluding speeding was necessary to fulfil his duties, the court said.

But a US marine wasn’t given immunity in 1990 after he killed a person in a car accident while he was driving in a military convoy in North Carolina.

“In short, while Supremacy Clause immunity grants federal officials a partial shield from state prosecution, that immunity is not absolute,” Godar wrote.

Contrary to Miller’s statement, Vladeck wrote, it’s not a felony “for local or state authorities to arrest someone who they have probable cause to believe committed a state crime”.

If a state brought charges against federal immigration agents, the court would have to determine whether an officer reasonably would have thought the actions were necessary to carry out federal duties.

“That’s a generous standard, to be sure,” Vladeck wrote. “But it is by no means a get-out-of-prosecution-free card.”

Our ruling

Miller said: “To all ICE officers, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties.”

Immigration agents, like other law enforcement officers, have broad protections when they’re conducting official duties. But they’re not immune from prosecution if they break state or federal law.

The federal government can and does prosecute federal officers who break the law.

States can’t prosecute agents for breaking state law if the agents were acting under the reasonable confines of their official duties. But those restrictions aren’t absolute.

The statement contains an element of truth; federal immigration agents have some immunity from state prosecution. But the protections aren’t as sweeping as Miller made them sound, giving a different impression. Federal agents can and have been prosecuted by states.

We rate Miller’s statement Mostly False.

Decades since it’s release fans continue to hail this 90s sci-fi movie as both ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘breathtaking’ and they can watch it once again on ITV tonight

Film fans have dubbed this 1991 movie as the “best action movie of all time”, scoring it an impressive 91% on the review site Rotten Tomatoes – and it’s on ITV for free tonight.

The classic American science-fiction movie is set to appear on TV tonight,for the perfect slice of nostalgia as you gear up for the Halloween weekend. Terminator 2: Judgement Day is the second instalment in the famed Terminator series, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the leading role, in what viewers are calling the best sequel to exist.

In the film, directed by James Cameron, the malevolent artificial intelligence network, known as Skynet, sends a highly advanced killing machine, The Terminator, back in time. It finds itself in 1995, on a mission to kill the future leader of the human resistance while he is still a child in order to protect the future of humanity.

One fan of the film wrote on Rotten Tomatoes: “This is one of those stellar classic action movies, and it was the best action movie of the 1990s. It was significantly ahead of its time! Groundbreaking special effects, a relentless and threateningly powerful villain, humorous and awesome moments, and entertaining action set pieces and sequences that looked convincingly real!”

Another viewer simply says: “In my opinion, this is the greatest action movie of all time. And the greatest movie sequel of all time.” Meanwhile, someone else wrote: “My favourite movie of all time, no notes.”

The film went on to be an instant classic, as a box office boom and critical success, grossing $519–520.9 million. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1991 across the globe and the third-highest-grossing film of its time.

Decades later, Terminator 2 is still considered to be one of the best science fiction films ever made, as a trailblazer for visual effects and computer-generated imagery. Not to mention, it has an all-star cast made up of Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and Dean Norris.

A viewer praised the cast’s performances in the sequel, writing: “Judgment Day elevates the franchise with groundbreaking visual effects and breathtaking action. Arnold delivers one of his most iconic performances, while Linda Hamilton’s transformation into a fierce and determined Sarah Connor is unforgettable.”

If viewers’ raving reviews aren’t a convincing enough reason to kick back tonight and have a movie night in, the film’s numerous accolades may prove it worthy. Terminator 2 went on to receive an impressive six Academy Awards, as well as a BAFTA Award and four Saturn Awards, honouring its visual effects, hair and makeup and, of course, the best sound effects.

A review says: “Best Terminator movie, period. This is the one that all others are judged on, and it’s a high bar.” If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, flick over to ITV4 tonight at 9pm to see an all-time classic movie from the comfort of your sofa.

Carla grew up witnessing her father’s fight to protect Valencia’s fragile beach ecosystems. Now, as climate change warms the Mediterranean, sea turtles – driven by rising sea temperatures – have begun arriving to lay their eggs on her city’s shoreline. But the beaches they rely on are under threat. Mass tourism, unchecked development, and the recent floods are eroding these vital habitats.

At 27, Carla is an environmental lawyer and conservationist who works with her father to restore the beaches and protect turtle nests, knowing the species’ survival depends on their efforts. After the catastrophic 2024 floods, Carla rallies her community to act fast to restore Valencia’s coastline. With turtle nesting coinciding with peak tourism, Carla urgently needs volunteers to protect each nest – and time is running out.

After the Floods is a documentary film by Adriana Cardoso and Rodrigo Hernandez.

VICK Hope looked incredible as she made a return to work after giving birth to her first child with Calvin Harris.

The TV and radio host, 36, welcomed son Micah with the Scottish DJ in an Ibiza home birth back in July, and returned to the spotlight at the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards last night.

The mum-of-one, who looked radiant in a strapless pink satin gown, admitted she was “bricking it” as she stepped out on the red carpet for the first time since giving birth.

She pleaded that the crowd “be gentle” with her as she took to the stage to cheers following her return from maternity leave.

The star said she hadn’t slept for 13 weeks, and admitted that she’d been covered in “bright yellow s**t” since giving birth.

And addressing a graphic snap of her placenta, posted by hubby Calvin, she joked: “‘It was posted by my husband but placentas are amazing. I am keen to celebrate motherhood after what my vagina has done – it’s f***ing majestic. 

happy family

Vick Hope shares rare look at Calvin Harris’s Ibiza home and son Micah

ZEN PAD

Calvin Harris & Vick Hope turn Cotswolds estate into health haven with yoga studio

“And now you’ve all seen my placenta too!”

The placenta pic was included in a series of snaps he posted, as he announced the birth of his son on Instagram back in August.

The post, which included images of Vick in a birthing pool, had snaps of her placenta with capsules, suggesting they had it encapsulated, which is an increasingly popular trend.

He wrote in the caption: ““20th of July our boy arrived. Micah is here! My wife is a superhero and I am in complete awe of her primal wisdom! Just so grateful. We love you so much Micah.”

Last week, Vick posted a series of summer highlights on Instagram, and looked radiant as she cradled the couple’s three-month-old son Micah at the couple’s sprawling Spanish residence.

Calvin, 41, bought the stunning 138-acre farm, known as Terra Masia, back in 2022, and the couple have spent much of the summer there, with Vick giving birth in the Ibiza property back in July.

Vick shared a series of snaps with hubby Calvin, along with close family and friends, as she marked the end of summer.

The Radio 1 host was still pregnant in a large chunk of the pics, before sharing adorable snaps with Micah post-birth.

In the caption, she wrote: “A womb with a view, a summer of love and another trip around the sun [sunshine emoji]”.

In one of the pics, Vick is seen cradling her huge baby bump in the Spanish sunshine, with a number of the snaps showcasing her and Calvin’s life as new parents.

The pair are seen pushing young Micah in a pram on the farm residence, along with Calvin holding their son during a seaside walk.

Vick is then seen beaming as she holds their three-month old, wearing a green and yellow halterneck one-piece bikini.

The post received over 40,000 likes as celeb pals and fans showered the new mum-of-one with love in the comments section.

The snaps also reveal a deeper look into Calvin’s huge rural Ibiza property, which he bought after selling his two multi-million pound mansions in Los Angeles.

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The chart-topping DJ and producer’s swanky pad is the largest organic farm in the White Isle.

It can produce veg, eggs, wine and farm-to-table meals, and also hosts special events such as weddings.

Oct. 31 (UPI) — The Trump administration will permit a record-low 7,500 refugees into the United States during the 2026 fiscal year, with most spots allocated to White South Africans.

The number, a drastic drop from the 125,000 that the previous Biden administration had set for 2025, is expected to be swiftly challenged by Democrats and human rights and immigration advocates.

The announcement was made Thursday, with the presidential determination being published in the Federal Register.

According to the document, the Trump administration said the number “is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”

The document specifies that “admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners,” in line with President Donald Trump‘s February executive order that sought to penalize South Africa over a land expropriation law allowing the government to confiscate land if it was in the public interest and in a few specific cases without compensation.

Trump has claimed, without evidence, that Black-majority South Africa would use the law to take land from White Afrikaners. He has said that they were victims of “racial discrimination” and “large-scale killings.”

South Africa has repeatedly refuted the characterization.

In May, the first 49 Afrikaners granted refugee statues by Trump arrived in the United States.

About two weeks later, tensions flared between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Trump at the White House as the American leader said he had heard “thousands of stories” about violence against White South Africans in the country.

The International Refugee Assistance Project criticized the Trump administration for issuing the decision without consultation with Congress, as required by law. It also rebuked the administration for reserving admissions mostly for Afrikaners, at the expense of at-risk refugees.

It said the Trump administration was valuing “politics over protection.”

“Today’s announcement highlights just how far this administration has gone when it comes to abandoning its responsibilities to displaced people around the world,” IRAP President Sharif Aly said in a statement.

The 7,500 is the lowest since Trump set the refugee limit at 15,000 for fiscal year 2021, during his first term.

Earlier this year, Ya Jalo Mustapha stayed with her two sons, Ali and Bor, in Njimiya, a village in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, North East Nigeria, an area under the governance of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). 

In Njimiya, as in other villages under its control, ISWAP’s authority is absolute — enforced through rules, fear, and constant surveillance.

One day, Ya Jalao’s sons went out and never returned. No one could say where they had gone or whether they were alive. In the weeks that followed, rumours spread that some men from nearby settlements had been seized by the military during raids.

Such disappearances are not uncommon in Borno State, where years of insurgency have blurred the lines between civilians and suspects. In one well-known case, 42 men from Gallari village were arrested by the military on suspicion of being Boko Haram members and detained for 12 years without trial; only three were recently released. Other times, the insurgents also abduct and forcibly recruit young men. 

In October, five months after their disappearance, Ya Jalo’s daughters-in-law remarried Boko Haram terrorists. 

Stranded with her four grandchildren, Ya Jalo knew she could not remain in Njimiya. Her eleven-year-old granddaughter, Magana, was next in line to be forced into marriage. “A suitor was already chosen for her,” Ya Jalo told HumAngle. “I was at the risk of losing her, too.”

Staying in the villages is rarely a sign of loyalty. For most families, it is because they risk execution if they flee, while staying at least allows them to eat from their farms.

Every day brought a deeper fear for Ya Jalo. She worried that her grandsons would slowly absorb the teachings of the insurgents. With no schooling except the sermons of Boko Haram, the risk of their indoctrination weighed heavily on her.

She kept her plan secret until the morning of her escape. That day, Ya Jalo informed neighbours that she was visiting a relative in a nearby settlement with her grandchildren. That began the three-day trek to Bama town. They travelled through bush paths, walking mostly at dawn and dusk until they reached the camp. 

“The journey was full of risks and uncertainty,” she said. “Even the children don’t know where we’re heading.” They eventually arrived. 

A different kind of struggle

For families fleeing Boko Haram-held villages, arriving at the Bama IDP Camp feels like stepping out of a nightmare. Many come with the hope that they are walking into safety, a place where food, shelter, and healing will finally be waiting. 

But what they find is a different struggle altogether. The displacement camp has exceeded its capacity, with hundreds of people living there. In early 2025, the government relocated about 3,000 persons to Dar Jamal, a small fraction that barely reduced the camp’s congestion. 

New arrivals, like Ya Jalo, often sleep in the open because no shelters are available. Since she was with children, Ya Jalo moved in with a relative who lives nearby. 

At the camp, individuals are required to register with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), which forwards the information to ZOA International. The organisation provides breakfast and lunch for five days and a cash token of ₦11,450 per person for three months. 

However, there is no provision for education, healthcare, and psychosocial support.  

Several others who are fleeing their homes for refuge at the camps are confronted with this reality. “We thought this would be a place to rest, but it is only another kind of struggle,” Hajja Kura lamented. She fled Zarmari in October, another Boko Haram stronghold, in early July to the Bama displacement camp.

The absence of proper shelter and long-term care leaves many returnees questioning whether their escape was worthwhile. Some, disillusioned, quietly return to their villages, where the danger of insurgents still lurks.

Children at risk

In Bama, Ya Jalo’s fears for her grandchildren continue in new ways. She often worries about how years of exposure to insurgent preaching may have shaped their minds.

“The children are like wet clay,” said Abba Kura, a community leader at Bama. “Whoever holds them first will shape them. In many of those villages, it was Boko Haram who held them first.”

The effect is visible across the camp. When HumAngle visited, ten-year-old Modu Abbaye recalled lessons he learned in the forest. “Boko Haram are kind,” he said. “They always preach to us not to cheat people, to be kind, and not to insult others.”

Even though the group killed his parents and his friend’s father, a schoolteacher, Modu still speaks of them with a child’s innocence. He has never attended a formal school and insists he never will because “it is forbidden”.

“I don’t want to go to school,” said Modu. He lives with a relative at the camp.

Due to the absence of structured education and psychological support at the camps, many children remain caught between conflicting identities, victims and vessels of the very ideology that uprooted them.

“Children growing up in displacement camps or conflict zones suffer disrupted education, delayed development, and persistent anxiety. They often struggle to imagine futures beyond survival,” said Mohammad Usman Bunu, an educator at Future Prowess School for displaced and vulnerable children in Maiduguri.

For Ya Jalo, that future feels uncertain too. As she watches her grandchildren adjust to life outside of their hometown, she is haunted by the same questions: what kind of lives will they build without their fathers and mothers, and will they ever know peace again? Her thoughts often drift to Ali and Bor, the sons who vanished months earlier.

“I also came here to wait for news of my sons,” she said. “I feel closer to them in Bama. I believe they are with the military, and one day I will be reunited with them.”

In Borno’s camps, stories like hers echo everywhere. Families are displaced, divided, and still holding on to hope that the war has not taken everything from them.

It’s no surprise that many Latinos are obsessed with all things haunted, deathly and Halloween. From the celebration of the deceased known as Día de los Muertos, to the foreboding thrills and life lessons underpinning Latin America’s fiendish folklore, spooky things are as revered as they are feared.

In the past few decades, the “espooky” community has only been strengthened by a multicultural, multigenerational exposure to the arts, especially music. Many grew up with parents sharing the allure of goth, new wave, punk and metal (as well as their dark aesthetics), all of which became more discoverable thanks to the internet. There’s also been a surge of nostalgia for slasher films and scary movies — and a new crop of entertainment inspired by them, such as the 2025 reboot of “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” This enthusiasm to connect with like-minded film and music freaks online has bred a new dark subculture that simply won’t die.

If Jenna Ortega’s devious dance to the Cramps in Netflix’s “Wednesday” felt like a cultural moment, social media solidified it. Today, Instagram and TikTok are filled with influential figures in the space who also happen to be Hispanic. In Los Angeles, creator access to the entertainment industry has helped many build powerful profiles that brands and entertainment companies want on red carpets, at themed events and at home, unboxing or modeling their products. And it’s not just about tapping into Latin consumer spending power; these black-garbed creatures of the night are having a ball as they build monstrous followings from all walks of life, year-round.

Victoria Venin

With her vixen vibes and campy catchphrases, Victoria Venin, whose real name is Victoria Perez, has built an avid following online that, in the wake of the pandemic, has ballooned to 709,000 followers on Instagram and more than 54,000 followers on TikTok. Aside from conducting on-the-spot interviews at conventions such as Midsummer Scream and Monsterpalooza, and modeling for brands like Hot Topic and Romwe, Venin is best known as the main fashion fiend and model for Kreepsville, the local goth-glam clothing brand with a flagship store, Monster-A-GoGo, in East L.A.

She’s expanded her wicked world into the music scene as of late, hosting ticket giveaways for major bands and music promoters —most recently, Social Distortion and Morrissey at Toyota Arena. The Mexican American actress and model came to L.A. from San Diego to pursue her dreams and tapped into the power of social media after her partner, Danny Morales (of Pomona’s long-running new wave dance party Club Rock It!), got behind the camera to capture her adventures.

“I just started taking pictures, going out every day, and tagging all the brands and it really took off when I met Danny,” says Venin, who first became attracted to the dark side while seeing the film “Bride of Chucky” as a kid. “I remember seeing Tiffany, played by Jennifer Tilly, and thinking she looked so pretty. I thought, ‘I want to be like that when I grow up.’ I’ve always loved horror, all things spooky-cute, so I was able to use that, but make it glamorous.”

Venin’s advice for building a following online? “Work hard, go to all the events, make connections and put yourself out there,” she says. “Be the best version of yourself possible and don’t put yourself in a box. Being Latina is not something I’m trying to be, it’s just something that I am. Victoria Venin the brand isn’t limited to being Latina — she’s for everyone worldwide. I want to inspire everybody.”

Hauntina

Tina Estrella, a.k.a. Hauntina, has been celebrating horror and Halloween-related content online for over a decade, touting the “spooky side of life.” Tellingly, her most viral moments have melded her heritage with her horror sensibilities, such as a recent hit clip in which she cooked albondigas in a cauldron.

“I built a community of like-minded people, especially in Southern California, who feel the same year-round excitement for the spooky season,” says the creator, who counts 67,000 followers on Instagram and more than 109,000 on TikTok. “I think my following grew because I’ve always stayed true to myself and treated horror and Halloween as more than a phase; it’s a lifestyle.”

The Mexican American creator, who was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Inland Empire, cites her middle school years as formative for her love of alternative music and culture. “It led me into Gothic literature, especially Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles,’” she shares. “That opened up a whole new world for me, and soon I was obsessed with horror films, especially slashers like ‘Scream’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’”

Today, she says Guillermo del Toro is her biggest inspiration, noting the filmmaker’s fantastical worlds and macabre beauty. “His work made me feel seen and inspired me to embrace my own love for the eerie and the extraordinary,” she says. “I believe that Latinos put so much into alternative spaces like the spooky community and we deserve to be seen and highlighted, so I’m always grateful to attend events where people who look like me aren’t typically invited or celebrated.”

Backstitch Bruja

Social media began as a fun way for South Gate native Yvette Aragon-Herrera to promote her clothing line, Backstitch Bruja. But ultimately, it spawned something bigger — soon she became the brand, building a following of 144,000 on Instagram and more than 142,000 on TikTok.

“It was very organic,” the designer says. “I was posting DIY [tutorials] online as a plus-size creator about seven years ago. There weren’t a lot of spooky plus-size clothes and accessories that were affordable … it started snowballin, so I turned it into an actual side hustle and it ended up being my main business.”

Inspired by her time as a UC Santa Barbara Chicano Studies major and retail jobs at stores like MAC Cosmetics, her gender inclusive and ethically made “Mexi-goth” brand was a hit out the gate. But she soon realized that her followers enjoyed not just her clothes — available via the website she started in 2019 and inside a San Dimas brick-and-mortar store she opened two years later — but her whole witchy aesthetic. As she started sharing more, her numbers grew, which led to invites to a wider array of invites and events.

“When movie studios and PR companies were like, ‘Hey, do you want to come to this movie premiere?’ I was like, ‘I’m not an influencer,’” she reflects. “But they were like, ‘No, you are.’ So now I’m at all these cool things.”

In addition to fashion and movie promo, Aragon-Herrera prioritizes her culture, especially on her Instagram stories. “I think it’s very important to share the Latino experience, current events, things that are affecting us,” she stresses, noting that her most popular posts were from her Halloween wedding in 2022 and out at protests. “We should be politically aware about what’s going on. I know a lot of my customers do enjoy my shop, but they enjoy me as a person, so I just try to keep it very authentic.”

Pinup Doll Ashley Marie

(Pinup Doll Ashley Marie)

On social media, where niche means everything, successfully melding multiple subcultures into content creation can be tricky, but Ashley Herrera has done it with style. Known as Pinup Doll Ashley Marie, the Mexican American creator’s social media ascent began with vintage hair and fashion tutorials. But soon her love of horror, DIY and storytelling helped her expand her audience. Her content has yielded her 668,000 subscribers on YouTube, more than 190,000 on TikTok and 198,000 on Instagram.

“I love having my hands in multiple passion projects, which is why I mixed my two favorite loves, 1950s glamour and horror,” she says. “The vintage and pinup community was tiny online, so it became this beautiful, supportive space. As I evolved, I brought my followers along for every phase — the fashion, the home projects, the Halloween builds. In my neighborhood, [my house is] the Halloween house, because I create large elaborate decorations that you can’t buy in stores.”

The Santa Ana native’s horror content also includes her AshleysFreakyFriday channel for paranormal tales, inspired by familial storytelling and “La Mano Peluda,” which was her grandfather’s favorite radio show. “People would call in and give their accounts of all the paranormal sightings they would see,” she recalls. “The mix of folklore and fear sort of became comfort for me. It connected me to my roots and my imagination. I was also born on Nov. 1, so my birthday was often celebrated on Halloween day — so it’s naturally been my favorite holiday since I was a child.”

Ghoul Daddies

Chicano couple Matthew Chavana and Paul Silva, who call themselves the Ghoul Daddies, have been covering haunts and scream scenes ever since a very eventful first date at an extreme haunt in Fullerton — now in Buena Park — known as the 17th Door.

“They threw cockroaches in my face, then they tazed us and drowned us,” recalls Chavana of the experience, which requires signed waivers to enter. “Paul filmed it, and the rest is history.”

Silva says that after his post went viral, he realized that “haunts, paranormal investigations and celebrating Halloween year-round wasn’t very common, [but] a lot of people related to it.”

Sharing their dates from the dark side since 2021, the pair both grew up in La Mirada and have built a robust fanbase online from their photos and videos, which explore the eerie side of life (and death) in L.A. and beyond. They have garnered more than 14,000 followers on Instagram and roughly 38,000 on TikTok, many of whom also belong to the LGBTQ+ community.

Chavana says it’s all in the familia. “This is all because of my mom,” explains Chavana, who often brings his mother, Mary Alice, along to outings to help film them. “She would go all out on decorations every Halloween and took me to every haunt in L.A. since I was 5 years old and it really stuck with me.”

From ambassador gigs with Fangoria magazine to podcast appearances talking all things scary, the duo stays busy year-round, but this is obviously their favorite time of year. They’re currently hitting smaller home haunts across the city, but Silva says, if you go to just one this season, make it Reign of Terror. “It just has a special feel to it,” he says. “You can tell how much they love Halloween — like we do.”

Beijing is positioning itself as the defender of free trade as Washington’s tariff hikes disrupt the global economy and Trump skips the economic summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to promote economic globalisation and multilateralism at an annual economic regional forum pointedly snubbed by United States President Donald Trump.

Xi took centre stage at the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that began Friday in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, as Trump left the country a day earlier after reaching deals meant to ease the escalating trade war with China.

“The more turbulent the times, the more we must work together,” Xi said during the opening session. “The world is undergoing a period of rapid change, with the international situation becoming increasingly complex and volatile.”

The Chinese leader positioned his country as the defender of free trade systems that observers say are being threatened by Trump’s tariff hikes and “America first” policy.

Xi called for maintaining supply chain stability, as opposed to US efforts to decouple its supply chains from China, and expressed hopes to work with other countries to expand cooperation in green industries and clean energy.

Chinese exports of solar panels, electric vehicles and other green tech have been criticised for creating oversupplies and undercutting the domestic industries of countries it exports to.

The US president left the country before the summit, after reaching several deals with Xi meant to ease their escalating trade war. Trump described his meeting with Xi on Thursday as a roaring success, saying Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and to start buying US soya beans in exchange for slashing tariffs.

The US president’s decision to skip APEC, a forum that represents nearly 40 percent of the world’s population and more than half of global goods trade, fits in with his well-known disdain for big, multi-nation forums that have been traditionally used to address huge global problems, with his preference for grand spectacle one-on-one meetings that generate blanket media coverage.

Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from Gyeongju, said Xi was “filling the vacuum left by Trump”.

While on his first visit to South Korea in 11 years, Xi is scheduled to meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi separately on Friday. Xi and Lee are scheduled to discuss denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula on Saturday.

Barton said the meeting with Japan’s Takaichi would be “setting the diplomatic tone for the foreseeable future”. The Japanese prime minister is described by Chinese media as a far-right nationalist who has visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.

The site, dedicated to 2.5 million Japanese who died in wars beginning in the 19th century, is a political lightning rod in East Asia. Among those honoured are World War II leaders convicted as “Class A” war criminals, some of whom committed their atrocities under the Imperial Japan flag in China in the 20th century.

“South Korea and China share some of these historical issues with Japan,” Barton said. “They came out essentially saying, we’re going to put legacy issues on one side and diplomacy on another, so there is scope for a positive outcome.”

Xi also met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday to discuss trade. “We’re expecting perhaps the biggest substantial economic deal to come out of that meeting,” Barton said.

Leaders and other representatives from 21 Asian and Pacific Rim economies are attending the APEC meeting to discuss how to promote economic cooperation and tackle shared challenges.

The APEC region faces an array of issues, including strategic competition between the US and China, supply chain vulnerabilities, ageing populations and the effect of AI on jobs.

South Korean officials said they have been communicating with other countries to prod all 21 members to adopt a joint statement at the end of the summit, so as not to repeat the failure to issue one in 2018 in Papua New Guinea due to US-China discord over trade.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said last week that issuing a joint statement strongly endorsing free trade would be unlikely because of differing positions among APEC members.

Al Jazeera’s Barton said the result might be a “watered-down version”.

“The question really is, can APEC survive this age of US-China rivalry?” he added.

“You have control.” I grip the control column with my right hand and follow my pilot “Lambo’s” instructions, rolling the M-346 jet trainer into a left-hand turn and applying back stick pressure to ramp up the g-force. “Keep pulling, keep pulling,” he says calmly as I watch the g-meter in the top left of the head-up display tick up past 5g. As he eases the throttles back to idle power, the speed begins to bleed off. As it does, the jet automatically responds by reducing the amount of g-force my stick pressure allows. The jet’s programmable safety system is preventing us from exceeding a pre-selected angle-of-attack limit that means we can’t depart from controlled flight – a critical element of the M-346’s flight control system that enables carefree handling.

TWZ was provided the opportunity to experience many of the M-346’s training-related design safety features first hand during a visit and demonstration flight at the Beech Factory Airport in Wichita, Kansas, in October. Beechcraft, part of Textron Aviation, and its industry partner Leonardo of Italy, shipped a prototype M-346FA (Fighter Attack) variant to the U.S. in September for a series of demos designed to help cultivate awareness of the jet’s capabilities. The two companies are jointly preparing to offer a bespoke M-346N variant in response to the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition, which seeks to replace the aging T-45 Goshawk.

Fly along with us in the M-346 by clicking the video at the top of the story and check out our full walk around tour of the jet in the exclusive video below:

Leonardo test pilot “Lambo” went on to demonstrate what’s known as the Pilot-activated Recovery System, or PARS, which at the touch of a large red button on the console takes control of the jet and returns it to stable flight, should the pilot become disorientated. I was also able to get a feel for the handling performance through a series of aileron rolls and tight turns. Having got a hands-on grasp of the flight control safety features – we moved onto what Leonardo and Beechcraft see as a fundamentally important element of the M-346 – its embedded tactical training system (ETTS).

“Lambo” selected an air-to-air training scenario in the ETTS menu, and a computer-generated radar scope appeared on the left-hand multifunction display. Although the M-346FA variant can be equipped with a real radar, the training variant relies on virtual mission systems generated by the jet’s computers. Acting as my instructor, “Lambo” tee’d up an enemy target on the synthetic radar display on one of the cockpit’s three multifunction screens. Out of beyond visual range, an “Su-27” was now being tracked. He walked me through how to identify and then target and fire upon the hostile aircraft with one of our virtual AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. As well as air-to-air modes, the M-346’s embedded training system can also generate synthetic targets on the ground for attack training with smart munitions, as well as other important air combat scenarios such as engagements by surface-to-air missiles. 

“Lambo” set up another target, this time a C-130 transport aircraft flying within visual range of us. In addition to a radar track, the software can generate a synthetic electro-optical image from a virtual targeting pod. This enables the student to manipulate the pod imagery, in this case to gain a positive visual identification of a target. The set of demonstrations was carefully planned to illustrate some of the many facets of the ETTS, which enables development of mission management skills during flight training and much more, as I’ll explain later.

After 50 minutes, we were back flying the pattern at the Beech Factory Airport before touching down for a full-stop landing.

M-346 development

The baseline M-346 configuration stems from development of the Yak-130, which started in 1991. In search of a technology partner, Russia’s Yalovlev teamed up with Alenia of Italy in 1993 during the improved relations between Europe and Russia in the post-Cold War thaw, and the joint venture resulted in the first flight of a prototype Yak-130/AEM-130 in 1996. This partnership was dissolved in 2000, and both companies parted ways to pursue separate programs.

Alenia (today known as Leonardo) developed its own substantially modified and aerodynamically different version of the jet trainer. The resulting M-346 embodied many of the attributes found in modern front-line fighter aircraft such as multifunction displays, hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls, carefree handling and a helmet-mounted display. The first M-346 was rolled out at the now Leonardo plant at Venegono on June 7, 2003, and made its maiden flight on July 15, 2004.

The lead customer for the M-346 was the Italian Air Force, which procured the aircraft to replace the Aermacchi MB339 jet trainer. As the M-346 entered service with the Italian Air Force, it exposed other air forces and NATO air arms to the aircraft, some of which ultimately seized upon the opportunity to train fighter pilots in partnership with the Italian operator. As the overseas requirement gathered pace, the M-346 became the basis for a new International Flight Training School at Decimomannu in Sardinia from 2018 under a collaboration between the Italian Air Force and Leonardo. Leonardo has also secured sales of the M-346 to Israel, Poland, Singapore and Qatar.

Having initially partnered with General Dynamics and then with Raytheon as prime contractors, Leonardo proceeded alone in offering a version of the M-346 – dubbed the T-100 – for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X trainer competition to replace the T-38 Talon. After a long procurement process, Boeing’s clean-sheet design T-7 Red Hawk was selected by the USAF in 2018.

Leonardo is now partnered with Beechcraft to offer the M-346N to the Navy for the UJTS jet trainer competition, which also looks set to invite proposals from Boeing for the T-7, as well as for the TF-50 from Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin, and from SNC for its new Freedom Trainer.

Suitability to replace the T-45

The T-45 Goshawk has been in service for three-and-a-half decades, and it soldiers-on as the Navy’s singular fast jet training aircraft. The Goshawk is used to teach student naval aviators coming from the T-6 Texan II basic trainer, taking them to their first fast jet “hop,” to then learning the skills required for taking off and landing from an aircraft carrier, as they navigate the challenging path towards gaining their coveted ‘wings of gold.’ 

The Navy has been exploring replacement options for the T-45 for several years, although the timeline for acquiring this new aircraft was pushed back substantially in 2023. The Goshawk has had its fair share of issues in recent years, from a high-profile onboard oxygen generation issue to a number of crashes and subsequent groundings, which have had a significant impact on training output.

The M-346 is powered by twin non-afterburning Honeywell F124-GA-200 turbofan engines that produce 6,280 pounds of thrust each, which enables transonic speed performance for the aircraft. Having two engines is noteworthy as a significant number of single-engine T-45 losses have been caused by bird ingestion. “This airplane is a fantastic replacement for the Goshawk because it is not only a high performing twin-engine, fly-by-wire jet, but also because it’s part of an entire training system.” says Steven Helmer, a Textron Aviation and Defense Flight Test and Demonstration pilot.

The initial climb rate of the M-346 is in the region of 22,000 feet per minute. After getting airborne, a pilot can raise the gear and flaps and pitch up to 20-25 degrees nose high, and leave it there as the jet climbs away. “A high thrust-to-weight ratio translates to very good turn performance as well – the aircraft will sustain as much as 8g at low altitude, and 5-6g at medium altitudes,” comments Helmer, who is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

Helmer says that despite having two engines, the M-346N is expected to save in the region of 25-30% in fuel costs per hour compared to the T-45. The bespoke Navy variant is also expected to be offered with an Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS).

“The twin-engine setup provides built-in redundancy, particularly for critical systems like electrical and hydraulic, which are independently powered by each engine,” Helmer explains. “This design helps eliminate single points of failure, enhancing overall safety. This advantage becomes even more important with modern aircraft, which demand more onboard power. In contrast, single-engine aircraft with afterburners must rely on highly dependable emergency power units and duplicate several systems to meet safety standards.” 

“The U.S. Navy has indicated to us that they will not require supersonic performance for the UJTS aircraft. There is no advantage to having a supersonic aircraft, particularly in the era of digital fly-by-wire flight controls, which compensate for the change in aerodynamics as an aircraft accelerates through Mach one,” says Helmer. “The ability to sustain supersonic flight comes at a cost in terms of fuel and engine complexity, which would negate some of the operational cost advantage of M-346N. It’s also worth noting that the maximum speed for M-346 is 1.15 Mach, yielding transonic training capability and safety margin for students.”

Blending simulation with live flying

Synthetic training has become an intrinsic element of military flying training and a key requirement for any modern training aircraft. This reflects a desire to “download” flying handling and mission systems management to training aircraft, which are cheaper to operate than frontline platforms. It also helps to simplify the path for new aviators as they progress to type conversion for their operational aircraft.

“It’s incredibly important to have a mature synthetic element because that gives you multiple ways to inject different things into the scenario,” says Helmer. “The maturity of it allows you to inject things in a way that’s realistic and that has already been fed back from the customer to the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] to make the system match reality in the best way possible, and that’s going to allow you to have massive cost savings.”

The M-346 aircraft itself sits at the center of a significant integrated training system. Student aviators coming to the M-346 start their fast jet journey with a set of ground-based training aids that promote familiarity with the aircraft, teach safety procedures and mission systems so they are suitably prepared for live flying in the actual aircraft. The simulator elements include desktop procedural training devices and full-motion dome simulators, which afford students realistic handling and a mission systems training environment. 

The live, virtual, constructive (LVC) element of the training system is particularly noteworthy, as it sits across both the simulator and live flying. The simulators can be connected to real M-346s flying missions. This allows live flights to be linked with simulator ‘flights,’ with a student in the air able to “fly” alongside a student wingman in the simulator on the ground, all overseen by an instructor in a real time monitoring station and all connected together via data link.

“Instead of sending up two jets with two red air aggressor jets for perhaps a 2-v-2 mission to generate one student exercise, with this system we can send up a pair of M-346s and generate two virtual jets that are being flown in the simulator. It means we are using half as many actual aircraft,” Helmer says. “With the same number of airplanes on the line, I can generate sorties faster and get students through the syllabus with a lot less friction, or I can have fewer jets and save money that way as well. So either way it’s going to allow a lot more bang for buck for the U.S. taxpayer.”

“The embedded tactical training system, or ETTS, gives us the live, virtual, constructive capability. That’s the live airplane, the virtual part is all of the tracks we can inject synthetically – whether that’s other friendlies, enemy aircraft, enemy ground troops, surface-to-air threats, things of that nature – into the scenario. The constructive part would be having two airplanes [for example], but each one of us has a virtual wingman, either synthetically injected and working in concert, or being flown in the simulator. So, I’m in the airplane and we’re wingmen or we’re fighting each other. It gives the Navy a lot of flexibility in how they train going forward. We’re going to bring in a lot more virtual training and a lot more flexibility to the syllabus to start introducing some advanced concepts sooner.”

The ETTS utilizes a mission computer inside the jet that enables a fully-integrated live virtual constructive menu of options for the instructor and student. It also allows the students to train with simulated stores and sensors, which were demonstrated during our flight. “You can have imagery that looks like you have a [targeting] pod on the airplane even though you don’t. So when I slew around using my HOTAS controls, just like I would in an F/A-18, that’s going to show me an image on the ground that actually matches reality, because we geo-rectify those images based on where we are. So you set up a scenario based on each base you’re at or the en route portion of a flight, for example, and that’s going to show you that relevant imagery,” says Helmer. 

The M-346’s synthetic radar can simulate a mechanically scanned array radar or an electronically scanned radar. It also includes electronic warfare modes that provide a simulated radar warning receiver, missile approach and launch warning system, laser warning system, countermeasures dispensing, and an active electronic countermeasures system. “It really is up to the customer on what they want to see. So you’re bringing in sensors. It’s not just tracks.”

“As far as looking outside is concerned, you’ve got everything on your screens to cue your eyes in the right direction, but what am I actually going to see when I look outside?

From that point, we go forward into augmented reality, which starts with a helmet mounted display, similar to what F-35 and F/A-18 pilots use in the fleet,” says Helmer. Beechcraft says the M-346N is planned to feature computer-generated imagery in the helmet visor for close range air-to-air training. “Now you’re seeing tracks when you look outside, you’re at least seeing a data link track if not seeing some kind of representation of an airplane. So you may be going to the merge [in a dogfight] with an empty piece of sky, but the system is showing you something that’s actually there. There’s a huge training value in that. Granted, we still want pilots to learn how to work with actual other airplanes, but there’s a huge constructive piece that’s allowing you to build a scenario with very few physical assets.”

The maturity of the M-346 ETTS is viewed by Beechcraft as being a very important factor for UJTS, especially as there will be some critical uses of simulation by the Navy as it retires the T-45 and moves to its next jet, particularly when it comes to training for operations from aircraft carriers.

No call to fly from the aircraft carrier

In March this year, the U.S. Navy publicly released new requirements for its T-45 replacement program, which said the new training aircraft would not need to perform Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) to touchdown. The Navy had already eliminated the requirement for the jets to be able to land on or take off from aircraft carriers, as T-45s have done in the past for student carrier qualifications (CQs).

FCLPs are flown at a land base, and as they are currently flown are designed to mimic as closely as possible the experience of touching down on a real carrier. However, the repeated heavy touchdowns impose a significant structural impact on the airframe and the undercarriage. The current UJTS requirement from the Navy says the new trainer will only be required to fly FCLPs to a wave-off. This means that the student would apply power and perform a go-around instead of touching down. This change to the FCLP syllabus – eliminating repeated touchdowns – means that the new trainer will not “bounce” (touch-and-go on the runways) as students build up their carrier landing skills at their training airfield. Removing FCLP to touchdown from the UJTS requirement opens up the competition to existing land-based training jets, without the need for significant structural modifications.

SNC says that its newly-unveiled clean-sheet Freedom Trainer is the only UJTS competitor currently being offered with a structural design that would allow it to fly FCLP to touchdown. You can read more about this here.

The Navy has already fundamentally changed the way it trains new naval aviators, many of whom don’t fly off a carrier at all until they reach their Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) in charge of the aircraft type they have been assigned to fly in the fleet. “It’s not new,” one former navy instructor pilot told TWZ. “It was done as an experiment initially, but it has now become the default to do initial CQ in the FRS.”

Naval aviators were previously required to fly manual approaches to aircraft carriers, requiring uncompromising levels of skill and competence, with little margin for error. This required skilled throttle and control column inputs to coax an aircraft down onto the deck with precision in order to catch one of the arresting wires. Delta Flight Path technology was conceived to help make the F-35C Lightning II easier to land on an aircraft carrier, even with a pitching and rolling deck. This led to a spin-off program for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler that is known as Magic Carpet or Precision Landing Mode (PLM). Advances in flight control software using PLM have dramatically reduced the piloting challenges of landing carrier-borne strike fighters on a narrow flight deck. PLM features enhanced flight control logic that is designed to make the carrier landing easier and more predictable for the pilot. This has facilitated an evolutionary change in the way that both new aviators train, and how more experienced fleet pilots maintain their carrier currency.

“The Navy has signaled to us that they are already not taking students to the aircraft carrier in all cases [during training], and that their intention going forward is to not take student naval aviators to the aircraft carrier at all in an advanced jet trainer,” Steven Helmer explains. “So as we understand it, the customer is signaling to us that they do not need a carrier-capable airplane.”

The M-346 doesn’t feature a tailhook, even for use on runway arrestor gear in the event of emergencies. “This airplane has multiple redundant hydraulic systems and multiple redundant braking systems, so a tailhook is actually not required for the aircraft, so it was never built into the aircraft,” comments Helmer. “Could we add one if it was required? Absolutely.” The M-346N that will be offered to the Navy could feature PLM in its flight control software, but this will depend on the final requirements when they are issued later this year.

The M-346’s standard landing gear is set up for regular airfield operations. If the Navy decided that FCLP to touchdown would be needed, it would require modifications. “If you were going to do full-rate FCLP touchdowns, i.e., fly the [meat]ball all the way to touchdown, we would need to reinforce that landing gear structurally,” says Helmer. “That’s certainly something we can do and we’ve done a lot of background engineering for that, so that’s an offering we can give to the customers should those requirements change. But as we understand it now, there will be no shipboard operations and no FCLPs to a touchdown.”

The virtual training in the M-346 system would now introduce the aircraft carrier to the students. “We’re going to be bringing in precision landing modes in the simulator, and we’re going to be teaching students how to operate around the carrier using a virtual environment,” Helmer adds. “Then what they get in the jet is the physical feel of it going fast, the g-forces, actually thinking in that dynamic environment so that they have the experience they need when they get to the fleet.”

Building the M-346N

Having been in operation and training new aircrews for over a decade, the M-346 is promoted by Beechcraft as being a proven option for the Navy. “Leonardo has produced about 140 airplanes and they’re on a hot production line. They’re training a number of different air forces, including pilots that are flying the F-35 today. So the airplane has a proven track record of training pilots for 4th, 5th, and eventually 6th-generation fighters. On top of that, the ETTS has proven its worth as they’re using that every day with all the scenarios that I talked about.”

“We’re jumping in at a really good time too, because the airplane is on the verge of a major avionics upgrade [under Block 20],” says Helmer. The M-346N version would be based on the new Block 20 standard. “Leonardo is changing from a multi-function display format to a single large area display touchscreen, really bringing the airplane into the modern fold for avionics. One of the requirements the Navy has signaled to us is that they want to have a large area display, which makes sense because the advanced Super Hornet and the F-35 both have large area displays as well. So it’s really training the aircrew on the same kind of system they’re going to see in the fleet, and that’s kind of the point of an advanced jet trainer is to do that. You’re introducing a lot of new concepts and bringing them into something that’s more in alignment with what they’re going to see when they actually get to their fleet jet.”

Beechcraft has a notable relationship with U.S. Navy aviator training, as Helmer notes. “I flew the Beech T-34 when I was in flight school in 2006. That airplane was getting close to retiring, and it was replaced by the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. That’s flown by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and 14 other countries. We have produced more than 1,000 of those, creating decades of experience in the trainer market. On top of that, Beechcraft has involvement in the multi-engine trainer market with the T-44, the C-12, and now the T-54A that’s servicing the Navy’s future needs. So that really gives us a lot of experience in the fixed wing trainer market.” Leonardo is also connected to U.S. Navy training through its TH-73 Thrasher, which is replacing the TH-57B/C Sea Ranger as the undergraduate rotary and tilt-rotor helicopter trainer for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

M-346s are currently assembled in Venegono, Italy, but Beechcraft revealed on October 28, 2025, that M-346Ns would be assembled by the company in Wichita if selected by the Navy.

Current indications call for a formal request for proposals to be issued this coming December, leading to a contract award in 2027. Leonardo will collaborate with Beechcraft on updates for the new M-346N variant to meet U.S. Navy UJTS specifications. “The M-346 is well positioned to address the U.S. Navy’s requirements for an advanced jet trainer, which are unique to the Navy,” Helmer concludes.

The M-346 is clearly a proven solution as an advanced jet trainer that has been teaching new fast jet pilots for over a decade. The International Flight Training School alone has taught student pilots from Austria, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and now the United States, with 10 USAF cadets having arrived in Sardinia in September 2025 to train on the M-346.

At the same time, the M-346 faces stiff competition. Boeing’s T-7A is already in the U.S. military inventory and hundreds of these aircraft will eventually be in service with the USAF as its advanced jet trainer. Korea Aerospace Industries developed the TF-50 in partnership with Lockheed Martin, and it was extensively evaluated under the USAF T-X competition. It too is proven, with variants of the aircraft in service with seven nations. SNC’s Freedom Trainer is a clean sheet design and not proven, yet it is currently the only contender that is offering a structural configuration that would permit FCLP to touchdown.

The T-45 Goshawk is old, it’s struggling with reliability, and the Navy needs a new jet trainer fast that is capable of preparing pilots for the modern platforms they will be flying. Time will tell if the solution will be the M-346N or not, but it certainly has a strong case to make.

Contact the editor: [email protected]

Oct. 31 (UPI) — At least 15 passengers of a JetBlue flight were hospitalized after their aircraft experienced a sudden drop in altitude, according to reports that state the plane made an emergency landing in Tampa, Fla.

According to air traffic tracker Flightradar24, the Airbus A320-232 departed Cancun, Mexico, at 1:03 p.m. local time Thursday for Newark, N.J., but was diverted to Tampa, where it landed.

JetBlue told Fox News in a statement that flight 1230 experienced a “drop in altitude” and a “flight control issue,” causing it to be diverted.

It landed in Tampa at around 2:18 p.m. EDT.

Tampa Bay Fire Rescue spokesperson Vivian Shedd told CNN in a statement that between 15 and 20 people were evaluated and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

“The safety of our customers and crew members is always our first priority, and we will work to support those involved,” JetBlue said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

The incident comes as the now month-long government shutdown has been particularly taxing on air travel, resulting in an increase in traffic issues as employees are being asked to work without pay. Ground delays have been reported throughout the country.

THE original line-up of Five have finally stepped back on stage for the first time in 25 years.

Eight months since they announced their comeback in Bizarre, fans swarmed to the Utilita Arena in Cardiff.

Five hours before kick-off, I joined Abz Love, Jason “J” Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon as they flitted between agony and ecstasy backstage . . . 

Sipping an Asahi 00, Scott says with a laugh: “I’m a nervous wreck,” just as Ritchie brings me a handmade lucky charm from a fan who has flown all the way from China.

He says: “Do you want to have a hold of my ball?”

J adds: “He’s flown over from China. It’s taken him 15 hours. He’s taken two weeks off work and he’s seeing six shows.

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“He’s renamed himself J and he gave us all these lovely gifts. He made that ball himself.

“And he’s got silk scarves for us all too. He embroidered them all himself. It’s a really nice touch.”

Telling me the ball is a symbol of good luck, Abz interjects and jokes: “Or he’s cursed them and we’re all f***ed.”

‘Getting shirty’

But they most certainly are not. As Five walk on stage to deafening screams later in the evening, they are slick, solid and on song.

The set begins with a bang, with the lads emerging from a haze of smoke before they burst into Slam Dunk (Da Funk) and Got The Feelin’.

For a band who last performed together two decades ago, they’ve not lost their chemistry.

Recalling the run-up to the first night, Ritchie explains: “The rehearsals had all gone great but two days ago, I was a wreck.

“As it went on, for the first time we had a couple of moments where we were getting shirty with each other.

“We all had to just step back and say, ‘Let’s just really look at the situation with 48 hours to go until the first gig.

“Let’s just acknowledge that whatever level of stress you think you’re at, you’re actually probably a little bit more’.

“We just worked to get through it all.”

The screams of fans — including a woman holding up a message that reads: “Get your tops off” — never subside as they whip through their back catalogue. Their rendition of 1998 track When the Lights Go Out proves emotional.

Fans who were looking forward to seeing the proper Nineties choreography got a treat.

It’s clear the lads have worked hard to get to this point.

“We’ve actually got new routines,” J says with a smile.

Scott adds: “The old moves didn’t come back immediately but there was some muscle memory there.

“Paul Domaine, our choreographer, he’s less spiky than he was in the Nineties.”

Abz jokes: “We’re better behaved now,” before J adds: “We’re better than we were before, but we’re not giving the behaviour of fully grown men with kids at nearly 50 years of age.”

Ritchie adds: “He was dealing with naughty school kids but now at least we’re applying ourselves a bit.”

Sitting in the underbelly of the arena, Five are physically and mentally in the best place they’ve ever been.

“We’ve been saying to everyone that we’re going to do the best tour ever,” Scott tells me.

“We said we would bring it all: the vocals, the dance moves. We weren’t just saying it though. We believed it.”

Sean adds: “It is 100 percent the best show we have ever done. Better than anything in the Nineties.

“It’s like everything’s been delayed to get to this point. It’s been 25 years. It’s meant to be.”

A-list celebrities including Cara Delevingne have been slipping into their DMs to blag tickets to the tour, which will see Five playing 24 more shows across the UK and Ireland, including Brighton tonight.

But Five have kept the first night more intimate.

Scott says: “My wife Kerry is here with my twin girls.

“They’ve never seen us perform as a five-piece in their lives.

“On the journey up here, one of my girls sent me a message and I let the boys read it. I couldn’t do it because I kept crying.

“She said how proud she was of me. She’s 11 years old. I thought, ‘This is going to be epic’.

“All I know is that I am going to be crying my eyes out.”

The atmosphere rocks up a notch with Let’s Dance and Everybody Get Up, before Five knock through a medley of House Of Pain’s Jump Around, Place Your Hands by Reef and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky.

A final encore of Keep On Movin’ closes a history-making first night and Five are grinning like Cheshire cats.

On stage, Sean takes a moment to reflect and turns to his bandmates as he says: “We are lucky guys.”

As the band rallies round him, he adds: “I just wanted to say, I did not expect that so many years on it would mean so much to so many people.”

Ash a Madge coney phoney

ASHLEY ROBERTS looked the image of Madonna in this outfit for Halloween – as hopes build she will return with the Pussycat Dolls.

She was certainly more treat than trick in bright-red lippy and iconic Jean Paul Gaultier-style cone bra, just like the pop superstar on her Blond Ambition tour from 1990.

It comes as Ashley’s former bandmate Nicole Scherzinger teased “possibilities” for the group, after settling a legal dispute with the group’s founder Robin Antin, which derailed their planned 2020 arena tour.

Nicole told LA Times: “Our lawsuit is settled. That should have never happened. That was an unfortunate mistake on someone’s part – not mine.

“However, time heals things, and grace is always beautiful in life. I’m very positive and, dare I say, excited for the possibilities to come on the horizon.”

Shona bid for charts stardom

EASTENDERS’ Shona McGarty is following in the footsteps of fellow Walford favourites Nick Berry, Martine McCutcheon, Sid Owen and Michelle Gayle with a music career.

The actress, who played Whitney Dean in the soap from 2008 to 2024, has today dropped her debut single Unapologetically Me in a bid to make a name as a powerhouse vocalist.

The track was co-written and produced by hitmaker Steve Anderson.

He has previously worked with Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears, so she’s off to a good start.

Shona said: “I wrote Unapologetically Me as a reminder to myself, and to anyone who’s ever felt pressure to be someone they’re not – that it’s OK to simply be who you are.

“Having spent years in the public eye, surrounded by glitz, glam, and expectation, I’ve often felt the need to play a character, to present a polished version of myself that fits what people want to see.

“But beneath all that, I’m just human. I’m silly, sensitive, strong, and imperfect, and that’s OK.”

Freya returns as Wicker Woman

FREYA RIDINGS is pulling no punches on comeback single Wicker Woman – the first taste of her third album that’s coming out in 2026.

The English singer-songwriter, who posed in this striking and spooky black dress, said of the song that is released today: “It’s an unashamed, euphoric celebration of reclaiming primal feminine power, a return to the core of who we are, and an ode to the forgotten women and gods who came before us.”

Mika is also making a return today with his single Modern Times, ahead of an arena tour next spring, and Jessie J releases H.A.P.P.Y.

British boyband ABSNT MIND have put out their latest single Stitch and fresh from winning over a new fanbase on The Celebrity Traitors, Cat Burns has dropped her second album, How To Be Human.

Lily on tour

LILY ALLEN will perform her new album West End Girl in its entirety on a 13-date UK tour next year.

She will hit the road for the first time since 2019, kicking off at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on March 2.

Tickets go on sale from 10am next Friday.

KT’s got eye on Prada 2

SOMEHOW it has been 20 years since KT Tunstall broke on to the scene with her debut album Eye To The Telescope.

The record peaked at No3 in the UK charts and spawned a series of hits including Black Horse And The Cherry Tree, Other Side Of The World and Suddenly I See, which featured in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada.

Now with Devil Wears Prada 2 set for release in 2026, KT is back in the studio working on a follow-up track which she hopes film bosses will use in a full-circle moment.

KT told Bizarre: “I would love them to use Suddenly I See, but I think they will want to move it on.

“I am writing a song to pitch to them as it’s the 20th anniversary of that too and they are using the same cast.

“I am coming up with a sequel. Who knows if they will be interested but I am going to give it a shot.”

She has today released a special 20th anniversary edition of Eye To The Telescope featuring a series of new tracks including Anything At All – which sees KT duet with her younger self.

She said: “It was so weird. I’m listening to this young woman who hasn’t had a record out yet.”

The never-before-heard title track is also on there.

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She added: “I’d only written the verse and chorus and then I abandoned it.

“But the record label said, ‘Why don’t you finish that song?’ It was difficult as I couldn’t really get myself back to what I was thinking at the time. It’s really cool it has taken 20 years to write the song.”

Promising hint

FLEETWOOD MAC greats Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks have given a promising hint that the band will reunite for the 50th anniversary of their album Rumours.

The former couple had a huge fallout in 2018 but have revealed they are now back in touch after re-releasing their 1973 joint album Buckingham Nicks – so they really could come back together for the band.

The pair were interviewed separately about the making of the record, for the podcast Song Exploder.

But proving they are back in touch, Stevie said on the episode: “Lindsey and I started talking about it last night. This whole thing seems really like yesterday to us.”

Oct. 31 (UPI) — Hurricane Melissa, now a weakened Category 1 storm, was passing north of Bermuda early Friday after battering the Caribbean over the past few days, forecasters said.

Forecasters said Melissa was at its nearest approach to Bermuda, where a hurricane warning was in effect and hurricane-force winds were being felt.

The eye of Melissa was about 150 miles north-northwest of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 a.m. EDT update.

It had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, a drop of 15 mph from 8 p.m. Thursday. The storm was moving northeast at 40 mph. Earlier in its life cycle, the storm was largely stationary, moving at about 2 mph as it made its way toward a Jamaican landfall Tuesday.

Forecasts had indicated that the storm would pick up speed as it moved away from the Bahamas. It was forecast to become a strong extratropical cyclone near the southeastern tip of Newfoundland on Friday.

Hurricane-force wind gusts were being reported early Friday on Bermuda, as the storm made its closest approach. The outer bands of Melissa could pour an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain over Bermuda through early Friday, while a brief period of heavy rain was considered possible for the southern Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland on Friday night.

Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday at about 1 p.m. as a powerful Category 5 storm, with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. It was the strongest direct hit on Jamaica since records have been kept in the Atlantic basin. It was also the first storm to make landfall in the Caribbean this season.

The storm lost some strength as it traveled over Jamaica’s western mountains, but maintained major hurricane status as it headed for Cuba. It remained a hurricane when it reached the Bahamas.

Melissa is the 13th named storm and fifth hurricane of the season. The other Category 5 storms in the Atlantic this season have been Erin and Humberto.

In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and devastated the Bahamian islands, including the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, as a Category 5 storm.

The all-time highest sustained wind speed recorded in the Atlantic was Hurricane Allen at 190 mph in August 1980 over the Yucatan Peninsula before weakening to a Category 3 when it struck South Texas.

The most destructive Category 5 storm in the United States was Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, causing $27.3 billion in damage. Hurricane Michael, also a Category 5 storm, struck the less-populated Florida Panhandle in October 2018.

Hurricane Gilbert struck Jamaica in 1988 as a Category 3 storm.