Reformed Gangs Are Becoming the Guardians of Peace in Maiduguri
Ngomari Costine has a terrible reputation. The area, in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, is filled with delinquent youth popularly referred to as Marlians, named after a controversial Nigerian musician whose songs and style they imitate.
Groups of young people in flashy clothes and elaborate hairstyles gather in front of shops and on benches outside houses in the area. But it’s not their dressing that worries residents; it’s what lies beneath: gangs ready to turn violent at the slightest provocation.
The same issue plagues Gwange 2, another densely populated neighbourhood where hundreds of teenagers roam the streets at almost every hour. Their presence alone sends jolts of fear down the resident’s spine; their actions do far worse than that.
“Almost every day, there is a gang violence incident,” said Zanna Abba Kaka, the District Head of Ngomari Costine. “This made our community a highly unsafe place to live in.”
The aftermath of the heydays of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s North East, particularly in Borno State, which is the epicentre of the violence, has left behind a generation of young people who have become psychologically accustomed to violence.
When the insurgency began to wane and relative peace returned, new forms of insecurity started to take root. The easy availability of light weapons, coupled with limited education and shrinking economic opportunities, pushed many young people into drugs, theft, political thuggery, and the violent street gangs that now dominate several neighbourhoods.
Much of this violence, according to Zanna, stems from political manipulation. “These thugs regard themselves as employees [of the politicians] and they do as they wish.”
The consequences are visible in everyday life. In Gwange 2, community leader Alkali Grema recalled one day at the front of his house when an 18-year-old boy attacked his peer with a knife and slashed his neck before others could intervene.
“It happened so fast,” he said. This was a reprisal attack and just one out of many. Unfortunately, the victim lost his life. Alkali said he had witnessed so many instances where the gangs wielded dangerous weapons; “shiny and can be as long as the length of an adult’s shin.”
‘Unity for Peace’
As such incidents became more frequent and brazen, the authorities began to act. Investigations traced the flow of these weapons to the city’s Gamboru Steel Market, prompting several crackdowns. But when blacksmiths were banned from producing them openly, many quietly moved their operations underground.
In 2019, a different approach emerged. The non-profit International Alert, known for its peacebuilding work, launched the Hadin Kai Domin Zaman Lafia (Unity for Peace) project with support from the US Embassy’s Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership programme. The initiative aimed to reorient the community through peacebuilding and vocational training.
At-risk youth were identified and trained in tailoring, painting, and embroidery. To foster a sense of belonging between the disarmed youth and other members of the community, International Alert engaged local entrepreneurs to facilitate the training.
The non-profit also organised dialogue sessions between community leaders and young people. Gradually, results began to show. The programme inspired community-driven initiatives like sanitation and improved school enrolment for vulnerable children.
“We were able to enrol more children in Gomari Costine Primary School than ever before,” Zanna said. “Sometimes the school accepts them without us paying for registration or other charges.”
A thug’s turnaround
Thirty-nine-year-old Sani Umar has spent most of his life in Gomari Costine. He grew up underprivileged, without formal education or marketable skills, and for 15 years was one of the most feared political thugs in the area. He led a group called “A dakatar da Mutane”, roughly translated as “People must be stopped”.
Sani was one of the 150 youths who participated in the Unity For Peace initiative. “During the programme, I learnt tailoring and ventured into the tailoring business, but it wasn’t moving well because people don’t really bother much about making clothes in this economy, so I switched to selling tea,” he told HumAngle.
These days, you will find him at his tea joint as he tends to his customers and earns an honest living. Three years ago, at this time, he would likely be at their popular gang joint in the community, where many youths like him, who were jobless, would gather to chat, argue, and fight.
While narrating his life in the last decade, Sani looked sombre, with a demeanour that screams regret, especially as he shared a particular incident that threw him into fear and isolation in 2015.
“We attacked a neighbouring community, where unfortunately, my friend stabbed an opponent who was pronounced dead,” Sani paused. “I was shaken and I had to go into hiding to avoid arrest, and I couldn’t be seen in the community, at places where I normally stay for a long time. I was very much disturbed by that.”
The event haunted him for years, but it was not until 2019, after joining the reform programme, that he finally walked away from violence.
Women leading peace
International Alert is not alone in this effort. In Gwange 2, the Unified Members for Women Advancement (UMWA) implemented the Youth Peace Building Initiative with support from the European Union’s Managing Conflict in Nigeria (MCN) programme. The project targeted 20 gang leaders, training them to advocate for peace and reject violence.
According to Hassana Ibrahim Waziri, UMWA’s Executive Director, her team began by identifying at-risk youth and inviting gang leaders for open discussions. “We gradually introduced peace concepts before expanding to the wider community,” she said.
To win trust, they organised a mass circumcision ceremony for boys; a culturally symbolic act showing they had the community’s best interests at heart.
After weeks of training and sensitisation, the reformed youths were appointed as peace ambassadors. Among them was Hassan Kambar, also known as Go Slow. He used to be feared as the leader of one of the local gangs, “The Branch”. He joined the group as far back as 2000, working as a thug for one of the big political parties then.
“When UMWA came, they made us realise that if we keep living this way, what future will our younger ones have? That touched me deeply, and I decided to quit,” he said.
Today, the 45-year-old serves as a chairperson in the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and earns a living as a carpenter.
Their transformation has had ripple effects. Ahead of the 2023 elections, some former gang members carried placards urging voters to reject violence. Others formed night-watch committees to guard their communities.
Many now dream of joining the police, army, or civil defence, determined to serve the same society they once harmed.
Peacebuilding also took a local turn. In Maiduguri, respected elders known as Lawan traditionally mediate disputes under a symbolic shed outside their homes. This same model was adopted in Gwange 2 and Ngomari Costine, where elders and youth now meet regularly to discuss issues.
“At first, the community leaders were afraid. They did not want to be involved with these boys, but they are our kids, there’s nothing we can do,” Dr Hassana.
She explained that UMWA’s approach focused on changing mindsets as much as behaviour, as this goes with educating them that violence doesn’t equal strength as perceived by the gangs, rather it is about the capacity to organise and live peacefully with people, to move forward and foster development.
“We target the mindset… even though we do not give skill acquisition training, some of them reach out to us for recommendations when they want to join forces to do better with their lives,” Dr Hassana said.
Measuring change and facing limits
Community leaders who spoke to HumAngle said gang violence has declined noticeably. “Around 2020 and 2021, we used to get such cases every day, not only in this area but in Maiduguri generally, but it has reduced,” said the District Head of Ngomari Costine.
Yet the progress is fragile.
Zanna, who mobilised the youth to participate in the Unity for Peace programme, noted that only about 150 participants joined — far too few for a city the size of Maiduguri. Many young people remain outside the reach of these projects.
The sustainability of the programme poses another obstacle. While the programmes briefly expanded to London Ciki, Polo, and nearby communities, other hotspots such as Dala and Kaleri continue to struggle with gang activity.
And there is no system in place to ensure that these skills are transferable to the teeming upcoming youth. As much as the beneficiaries may want to help their community, they can only engage one or two people whenever they get a job.
According to UMWA, its Youth Peace Building Initiative lasted just one year due to limited funding. “Ideally, such projects should run longer to make the changes stick,” Hassana explained.
Like most NGOs, both groups rely on donor grants. As funds shrink, their reach contracts, and the continuity of their work becomes uncertain.
A fragile peace
With non-governmental organisations stepping back, local authorities have become the last line of defence. Cases of conflict are now referred to the Lawan or CJTF chairmen, who attempt mediation before involving the police.
But sustaining peace comes at a personal cost. In Gwange, Lawan Grema said the absence of UMWA’s support has made his role harder. “Sometimes I remove money from my own pocket to settle small disputes,” he said. “People are no longer motivated to keep the peace.”
For these communities, the calm that has returned is hard-won but fragile. Without steady support, the cycle of neglect and violence that once defined them could easily begin again.
This story was produced under the HumAngle Foundation’s Advancing Peace and Security through Journalism project, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Gogglebox fans speechless as beloved couple share 40-year-old throwback snap
A Gogglebox couple who have been married for several years have been keeping fans entertained with their hilarious takes on the telly highlights
Gogglebox viewers were left stunned after a married duo posted a nostalgic photograph.
Much-loved South London pair Sue and Steve became part of the enduring Channel 4 programme back in 2019 – and the pair quickly established themselves as audience favourites.
Throughout the years, Steve, a former black cab driver, and Sue, who is semi-retired, have left audiences in fits of laughter with their witty remarks and amusing reactions to television highlights.
Beyond the long-running show, the couple – who have been wed for more than 40 years – are devoted parents to two daughters and proud grandparents to grandson Roman.
Sue and Steve regularly keep their 5,000 Instagram followers informed about their everyday lives. This week, the duo thrilled fans by posting a throwback photograph, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The image, captured during the 1980s, showed Sue and Steve posing for the camera, appearing considerably younger. They wrote alongside the post: “The way we were #somanyyearsago #younglove #the80s #greattimes #dinnerdances #carefree.”
Fans immediately flooded the comments section to praise the “gorgeous” couple. One admirer commented: “You both look amazing then and now. Love you both on Gogglebox.”
Another added on the platform: “Great pic. Steve’s punching here.” A third person remarked: “What a gorgeous picture of you both. Lovely couple.” Sharing similar sentiments, Gogglebox co-star Ellie Warner wrote: “Youngs love dream.”
In a health-related revelation, Sue took a brief hiatus from Gogglebox in 2024, later bravely sharing her battle with Bell’s Palsy, which resulted in temporary facial paralysis.
She candidly discussed the hurdles she faced post-diagnosis, admitting that she had to “relearn” certain fundamental actions. In her words: “One is to speak through the side of my mouth, and the other one is chewing. Chewing takes a long time.”
Steve couldn’t resist a cheeky comment: “I have offered to chew your food for you, but you declined. I’ve gotta say, you haven’t lost the sharp side of your tongue though, have you?”.
Bell’s Palsy is a neurological disorder that causes temporary weakness or lack of movement on one side of the face. The condition can, on rare occasions, spread to both sides of the face, while more typical symptoms include a drooping eyelid or corner of your mouth, dry mouth or drooling, loss of taste and a dry or watering eye.
Gogglebox airs every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Senate votes to block tariffs on Brazil. It shows some pushback to Trump trade policy
WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a resolution Tuesday evening that would nullify President Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, including oil, coffee and orange juice, as Democrats tested GOP senators’ support for Trump’s trade policy.
The legislation from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, passed on a 52-48 tally.
It would terminate the national emergencies that Trump has declared to justify 50% tariffs on Brazil, but the legislation is likely doomed because the Republican-controlled House has passed new rules that allow leadership to prevent it from ever coming up for a vote. Trump would almost certainly veto the legislation even if it were to pass Congress.
Still, the vote demonstrated some pushback in GOP ranks against Trump’s tariffs. Five Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — all voted in favor of the resolution along with every Democrat.
Kaine said the votes are a way force a conversation in the Senate about “the economic destruction of tariffs.” He’s planning to call up similar resolutions applying to Trump’s tariffs on Canada and other nations later this week.
“But they are also really about how much will we let a president get away with? Do my colleagues have a gag reflex or not?” Kaine told reporters.
Trump has linked the tariffs on Brazil to the country’s policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The U.S. ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, according to the Census Bureau.
“Every American who wakes up in the morning to get a cup of java is paying a price for Donald Trump’s reckless, ridiculous, and almost childish tariffs,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Republicans have also been increasingly uneasy with Trump’s aggressive trade policy, especially at a time of turmoil for the economy. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said last month that Trump’s tariff policy is one of several factors that are expected to increase jobless rates and inflation and lower overall growth this year.
In April, four Republicans voted with Democrats to block tariffs on Canada, but the bill was never taken up in the House. Kaine said he hoped the votes this week showed how Republican opposition to Trump’s trade policy is growing.
To bring up the votes, Kaine has invoked a decades-old law that allows Congress to block a president’s emergency powers and members of the minority party to force votes on the resolutions.
However, Vice President JD Vance visited a Republican luncheon on Tuesday in part to emphasize to Republicans that they should allow the president to negotiate trade deals. Vance told reporters afterwards that Trump is using tariffs “to give American workers and American farmers a better deal.”
“To vote against that is to strip that incredible leverage from the president of the United States. I think it’s a huge mistake,” he added.
The Supreme Court will also soon consider a case challenging Trump’s authority to implement sweeping tariffs. Lower courts have found most of his tariffs illegal.
But some Republicans said they would wait until the outcome of that case before voting to cross the president.
“I don’t see a need to do that right now,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, adding that it was “bad timing” to call up the resolutions before the Supreme Court case.
Others said they are ready to show opposition to the president’s tariffs and the emergency declarations he has used to justify them.
“Tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive, “ said Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Republican leader, in a statement. ”The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule.”
His fellow Kentuckian, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, told reporters, “Emergencies are like war, famine, tornado. Not liking someone’s tariffs is not an emergency. It’s an abuse of the emergency power. And it’s Congress abdicating their traditional role in taxes.”
In a floor speech, he added, “No taxation without representation is embedded in our Constitution.”
Meanwhile, Kaine is also planning to call up a resolution that would put a check on Trump’s ability to carry out military strikes against Venezuela as the U.S. military steps up its presence and action in the region.
He said that it allows Democrats to get off the defensive while they are in the minority and instead force votes on “points of discomfort” for Republicans.
Groves writes for the Associated Press.
Louis Rees-Zammit: Wales wing issues ‘positive’ update on fitness return
How many fans that will be there to watch Wales this autumn remains to be seen with the current discontent surrounding the Welsh game.
There has been very little success on the field and disarray off the pitch in the past couple of years, with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) now preparing to cut a men’s professional side.
The Principality Stadium capacity is 74,500 meaning the four matches could attract 298,000 supporters in November.
A WRU statement read: “With more than 200,000 supporters expected to visit Cardiff over the four-match series, to match average attendances over the last 10 years, ticket sales are tracking well against targets for the Quilter Nations Series.
“Fans are keen to see Wales take on Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa on home turf.
“As you would expect, the All Blacks game is the best seller and Principality Stadium’s best chance of a sell-out this autumn.”
2 prosecutors put on leave for saying Jan. 6 was a ‘mob of rioters’
Oct. 29 (UPI) — Two U.S. attorneys in Washington, D.C., have been suspended after turning in a sentencing memo that described the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as carried out by “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters,” sources said.
The prosecutors were assistant U.S. attorneys Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, who were prosecuting a case against Taylor Taranto. Taranto was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his part in the Jan. 6 riots. He was arrested for unrelated threats and firearms charges, and the description of the capitol insurrection was part of a sentencing memo for that case, according to anonymous sources reported by ABC News, Politico and The Washington Post. Taranto is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.
White and Valdivia were locked out of their government-issued devices Wednesday and told they will be placed on leave. It happened just hours after they filed the memo, sources told ABC.
The memo asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to sentence Taranto to 27 months in prison for a hoax threat against the National Institute of Standards and Technology and for driving through President Barack Obama‘s neighborhood with a van full of guns and ammunition.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who leads the Washington, D.C., office prosecuting Taranto, declined to comment.
But Pirro released a statement on the case.
“While we don’t comment on personnel decisions, we want to make very clear that we take violence and threats of violence against law enforcement, current or former government officials extremely seriously,” Politico reported Pirro said in a statement. “We have and will continue to vigorously pursue justice against those who commit or threaten violence without regard to the political party of the offender or the target.”
It wasn’t clear whether the two prosecutors were told why they were put on leave or if the suspensions would change Taranto’s sentencing date.
In the memo, White and Valdivia said the following about Jan. 6:
“On January 6, 2021, thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. Taranto was accused of participating in the riot in Washington, D.C., by entering the U.S. Capitol Building. After the riot, Taranto returned to his home in the State of Washington, where he promoted conspiracy theories about the events of January 6, 2021.”
Powered Test Of Poseidon Nuclear Torpedo, Putin Claims
President Vladimir Putin says that Russia successfully tested one of its Poseidon nuclear-powered, nuclear-tipped, ultra-long-endurance torpedoes yesterday. The Russian leader’s revelation comes just two days after the announcement of a first long-range test for the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, as you can read about here, and is part of a wider pattern of recent strategic signaling by the Kremlin.
Of the Poseidon test, Putin said: “For the first time, we managed not only to launch it with a launch engine from a carrier submarine, but also to launch the nuclear power unit on which this device passed a certain amount of time.” The Russian president made the claims at a hospital in Moscow, while taking tea and cakes with Russian soldiers wounded in the war in Ukraine.
“There is nothing like this,” Putin said of the Poseidon, also known as the 2M39 Status-6, which was one of six ‘super weapons’ that the Russian president officially revealed during an address in 2018. These also included the Burevestnik and different hypersonic weapons.
Putin said that Poseidon is a more powerful weapon than “even our most promising Sarmat intercontinental-range missile,” another one of the weapons highlighted back in his 2018 address. Known to NATO as the SS-X-29, this heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has been developed to replace the Cold War-era R-36M (SS-18 Satan).
In contrast to the Sarmat, the Poseidon represents an entirely new class of weapon, with capabilities falling somewhere between a torpedo and an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV), and with the intent to carry a nuclear warhead.
The Poseidon seems to have first emerged publicly in 2015, when Russian television broadcasts caught a glimpse of it in a briefing book while covering an otherwise mundane meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and representatives of the country’s defense industries. At the time, it was shown on the chart as an “autonomous underwater vehicle.”
Firm details relating to Poseidon’s specifications and performance are almost non-existent.
Russian media reports that each torpedo is around 66 feet, roughly six feet in diameter, and weighs 110 tons. Analysts have previously assessed it as having a range of 6,200 miles, and there have been some claims that it has a speed of around 100 knots, although this may well be an exaggeration. In the past, arms control experts have suggested that Poseidon is powered by a liquid-metal-cooled reactor and armed with a two-megaton warhead.
It is assumed that the primary mission of the Poseidon is to strike coastal installations with little to no warning. There have been various reports that it’s armed with an especially ‘dirty’ warhead, which would ensure not only the usual thermonuclear destruction but also spread radioactive contamination over a wide area. There have also been accounts suggesting that it could potentially be detonated further out to sea to create a kind of radioactive tsunami that could bring even more destruction and contamination to a wider coastal area, although the accuracy of these reports is debatable.
Exactly how it is intended to be used in wartime is somewhat unclear, but these assumed characteristics have fueled media descriptions of the Poseidon as a ‘super torpedo’ or ‘doomsday weapon.’
However, with its nuclear propulsion, the weapon should have the ability to cruise around the oceans for extremely long periods before unleashing a surprise attack. This is especially concerning, since it would make it difficult to defend against. Like the Burevestnik, if perfected, it would provide Russia with a strategic nuclear option that avoids existing missile defense systems.
It would also potentially give Russia a ‘second strike’ capability that could be argued is more resilient than submarine-launched ballistic missiles, should one of its enemies try to paralyze its strategic nuclear forces in a first-strike scenario.
The initial launch platform for the Poseidon is understood to be the Russian Navy’s shadowy Project 09852 Belgorod, the world’s longest submarine.
The Belgorod — also known as K-329 — entered service with the Russian Navy in 2022. It was first launched as an Oscar II class nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine before being heavily reworked, including adding the capacity to carry six Poseidon torpedoes.
In the past, Russia has described the Belgorod as a “research” vessel able to conduct “diverse scientific expeditions and rescue operations in the most remote areas of the world ocean.” More accurately, this submarine was schemed as a ‘mother ship’ that can deploy a variety of deep-sea drones, a deep-diving nuclear-powered minisub, a submersible nuclear powerplant to power an undersea sensor network — as well as the Poseidon.
Ultimately, Russia plans to put three Project 09852 submarines into service. Beyond that, it remains possible that other platforms, too, might deploy the Poseidon, including surface vessels.
There have been announcements of previous Poseidon tests.
A Russian Ministry of Defense video from February 2019, seen below, purportedly showed part of an underwater test of the weapon.
In the summer of 2021, satellite imagery appeared that seemed to show a Poseidon test round, or perhaps a surrogate round of similar dimensions, aboard the special-purpose ship, Akademik Aleksandrov, at Severodvinsk on the White Sea, suggesting a new round of at-sea trials of the torpedo.
In January 2023, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported a series of “throw tests” that it claimed involved mock-ups of the Poseidon, launched from the Belgorod. These likely involved ejection tests of the Poseidon, in which test rounds would have been deployed from the launcher and likely retrieved by a special-purpose vessel afterward, without powering up the reactor.
Only days after that, TASS reported that “the first batch of Poseidon ammunition has been manufactured” for the Belgorod and will be delivered “soon.”
That same report said that trials had already been completed of various components related to the Poseidon, including its nuclear powerplant — Putin’s comments today suggest that earlier tests didn’t involve the powerplant being activated during at-sea launches.
Presuming that the Russian media claims about the delivery of the first production examples of the Poseidon were correct, then the timing of yesterday’s test, billed as the most extensive yet, would seem to tally.
On the other hand, there has so far been no independent verification that the test occurred, and there don’t appear to be very many obvious signs of a Poseidon test yesterday or recently. These might have been expected to include movements of Russian support and monitoring vessels, as well as NATO intelligence-gathering assets, including ships and aircraft. Potentially related, however, was the presence of six unidentified ships off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in northern Russia, situated in the Arctic Ocean, and used for many previous weapons tests.
Putting aside the details of the claimed test, it is notable that it was announced today, two days after the announcement of the Burevestnik test, and a week after Russia began its annual strategic nuclear drills.
This flurry of activity and the explicit nature of the related announcements would appear to be tailored to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tougher stance on Russia, as well as his own more bellicose rhetoric.
Regarding Putin’s comments on the Burevestnik test, Trump said: “I don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying,” and called upon the Russian leader to end the war in Ukraine “instead of testing missiles.”
Trump has previously described Russia as a “paper tiger,” due to the slow progress its armed forces are making in Ukraine.
For Putin, meanwhile, tests of high-profile weapons like the Poseidon and Burevestnik are intended to send a clear message to the West that it won’t bow to pressure, especially over the conflict in Ukraine.
The tests should also be seen in the context of nuclear arms control discussions, with these new classes of weapons having been described by Putin as part of the response to the U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty as well as to NATO’s eastern enlargement.
While other parts of Russia’s military are struggling in the face of the war in Ukraine, crippling international sanctions, and broader economic pressures, strategic weapons programs have generally tended to receive priority. They are also seen as key to projecting Russia’s status as a global military power.
Like the Burevestnik, the Poseidon promises to be a highly versatile and lethal weapon, provided it can successfully complete its development and be fielded. Until then, further details of these mysterious programs are likely to be hard to come by, although, given the prevailing geopolitical situation, there is every sign they will be increasingly used to underscore the potency of Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal.
Contact the author: [email protected]
Molly-Mae Hague makes HUGE commitment to Tommy Fury after getting back together
MOLLY-MAE Hague has taken a major step in her relationship with Tommy Fury after the couple’s recent reconciliation.
The Love Island stars had been living separately for a year following their shock split.
Now The Sun can reveal the pair are “stronger than ever” and have decided to make their reunion official by living under the same roof again.
A source told The Sun: “Molly and Tommy are living together and sleeping in the same bed again.
“She’s been living between her house and his house but it’s too much so she’s making the jump to live full time with him.
“They’re in a really good place and she’s really happy so feels comfortable that it’s the right thing to do.”
The Sun has contacted Molly-Mae’s rep for comment.
Molly-Mae, 26, also dropped hints they’d moved in together again when she featured Tommy in her new YouTube vlog.
In the video, the pair can be seen lounging in bed together eating chocolate with their daughter Bambi, looking relaxed and affectionate.
The influencer also opened up about their living arrangements, explaining that Tommy had temporarily moved back in with her while his own house undergoes renovation.
She said: “He’s doing building work in his master bedroom so it’s unliveable,” adding that he’s been spending most of his time at her Cheshire mansion.
The move marks a big milestone for the couple, who met on Love Island in 2019.
They welcomed their daughter, Bambi, in January 2023.
However, their relationship hit the rocks last year and Molly-Mae ditched her engagement ring as she kicked Tommy out of their home.
Despite the split, she confirmed they were working on their relationship in her Prime fly on the wall series Behind It All series one.
Then in Behind It All series two, Molly, 26, said: “Recently, we have been spending more time together.
“Going out together in public more which at first was scary because we didn’t know what we were going to say.
“We had literally broken up and then suddenly spending time together again.”
She explained: “We are back together. Like we are back together.
“We are, I don’t know what we are.”
Opening up about her fears the Maebe fashion designer explained that she wasn’t quite ready to wear her £600k ring again.
She said: “I’m not putting my ring back on yet just because I don’t feel quite ready.
“And also because I would kinda quite like for him to make a kind of a gesture.
“Not ask me again. That’s a lot but just a nice dinner or something.
“Just to like have that moment of ok, I’ll wear my ring again.”
Now, their reunion and Molly-Mae’s decision to live with Tommy full-time has fuelled speculation the couple could be planning for a second baby.
In her recent vlog, Molly-Mae hinted that family life is once again her top priority, telling fans she’s “in a really happy place.”
Fans have also reacted to her latest photos from Dubai in their droves, insisting she could already be expecting.
She was forced to deny she was pregnant back in April after fans saw a “clue” in her home.
Nigeria’s Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says U.S. visa was revoked after Trump criticism
DAKAR, Senegal — Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka said his non-resident visa to enter the United States had been rejected, adding that he believes it may be because he recently criticized President Trump.
The Nigerian author, 91, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, becoming the first African to do so.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Soyinka said he believed it had little to do with him and was instead a product of the United States’ immigration policies. He said he was told to reapply if he wished to enter again.
“It’s not about me, I’m not really interested in going back to the United States,” he said. “But a principle is involved. Human beings deserve to be treated decently wherever they are.”
Soyinka, who has taught in the U.S. and previously held a green card, joked on Tuesday that his green card “had an accident” eight years ago and “fell between a pair of scissors.” In 2017, he destroyed his green card in protest over Trump’s first inauguration.
The letter he received informing him of his visa revocation cites “additional information became available after the visa was issued,” as the reason for its revocation, but does not describe what that information was.
Soyinka believes it may be because he recently referred to Trump as a “white version of Idi Amin,” a reference to the dictator who ruled Uganda from 1971 until 1979.
He jokingly referred to his rejection as a “love letter” and said that while he did not blame the officials, he would not be applying for another visa.
“I have no visa. I am banned, obviously, from the United States, and if you want to see me, you know where to find me.”
The U.S. Consulate in Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, directed all questions to the State Department in Washington, D.C., which did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
Mcmakin writes for the Associated Press.
Disney folds Hulu + Live TV into Fubo
Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday said it finalized its deal to acquire a majority stake in FuboTV and swiftly combined its Hulu + Live TV business with the sports-focused operation.
The union creates the nation’s sixth largest pay-TV service with nearly 6 million domestic subscribers.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Similar to competitors DirecTV, YouTube TV and Charter Spectrum, both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo distribute traditional channels including broadcasters ABC, CBS and cable channels Fox News, Bravo and ESPN.
The combined company will be overseen by a nine-member board led by Brad Bird, former chairman of Walt Disney International. The firm will continue to offer Fubo and Hulu + Live TV as separate services available through their respective apps.
Disney’s investment plans were announced in January, after the much smaller Fubo sued Disney and two other media companies over their plans to launch a high-profile streaming joint venture, Venu Sports. Fubo argued the collaboration of Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery was “a sports cartel,” one that would crush its business.
A judge agreed based on anti-trust concerns, blocking further development of Venu.
Disney’s deal to acquire 70% of New York-based Fubo ended that litigation.
The combined business will be led by Fubo Chief Executive David Gandler, who co-founded the service, and Fubo’s management team.
“Since Fubo’s founding a decade ago, our vision has always been to build a consumer-first streaming platform defined by innovation and value,” Gandler said in a statement. “Together with Disney, we’re creating a more flexible streaming ecosystem that gives consumers greater choice, while driving profitability and sustainable growth.”
His firm will have access to a $145 million term loan that Disney agreed to provide. Fubo’s ad sales team will join Disney’s sales organization.
The company’s stock will continue to be publicly traded under the FUBO ticker. Existing Fubo shareholders represent about 30% of the company. Shares were up slightly to $3.95 in mid-day trading.
All flights axed to UK seaside destination as airline files for administration with debts of £25million
ALL flights bound for a quaint UK seaside town have been axed after a domestic airline filed for administration.
Eastern Airways, that serves different destinations in England and Scotland, has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator as it stares down crippling debts of over £25million.
The news means that the carrier will no longer be flying to Wick, a popular Scottish coastal town.
Eastern Airways launched flights to the town’s airport with flights to Aberdeen in April 2022, after pausing during Covid.
But Wick John O’Groats Airport will receive its final flight on Sunday.
That means that from next week, the airport will no longer have any commercial flights.
The local Highland Council is calling for a subsidized flight routes to continue to Wick from Aberdeen.
A spokesperson called the cancellation of Eastern Airways “deeply disappointing,” adding: “This makes the case not only for the continuation of the PSO air services to Wick but for the expansion of provision.”
Local businesses are set to be hit by the airline’s financial woes.
It comes after Wick High Street was given a £2millon boost to upgrade the main high street.
Eastern Airways launched back in 1997 and carries around 1.3million passengers each year.
The airline plays a key role in providing regional air travel across the UK, with current destinations including Wick and Aberdeen in Scotland, and then Humberside, Teeside International, London Gatwick and Newquay.
However, the airline has previously operated many other routes including to Gibraltar from Southampton and Birmingham.
Services to Gibraltar were launched back in 2021 but then axed just a year later.
And in March last year, the operator also cancelled its route between Cardiff to Paris Orly, France.
Only this year, did the airline also announce that it would be launching flights from Newquay in Cornwall, to London Southend Airport in Essex.
Currently, this route cannot be seen on the airline’s website.
Eastern Airways is also the number one provider of charter flights for sports teams in Europe – this includes Premier League and Championship football teams, Rugby Union teams and Super League teams.
For the 12 months to March 2024, Eastern Airways reported a net loss of £19.7million — £4.8million higher than the previous year.
The company’s total debt rose by £4.8million to £25.97million, while profit fell sharply to £454,000 from £1.55million the year before.
It isn’t the only airline that recently went bust this year.
Last month, Play Airlines announced that it would be ceasing operations with all flights being cancelled.
Play Airlines flew to a number of different European destinations likes London Stansted, Amsterdam, Paris and Faro.
And last year, Spirit Airlines – a US low-cost carrier – also filed for bankruptcy.
Monarch Airlines ceased operations in 2017, which at the time was the UK’s largest ever to collapse.
Thomas Cook then shut down in 2019 – although the airline has since relaunched.
What to do if you have an upcoming flight with Eastern Airways
LISA Minot, Head of Travel at The Sun, shares her advice…
Passengers stranded by the collapse of Eastern Airways have several options depending on their circumstances.
If you need to still fly, you’ll need to find – and pay – for an alternative flight with another airline.
Many airlines offer rescue fares when competitors go bust, offering lower prices for those who can prove they were due to fly with the airline that has failed.
Or if you can get the train, London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), ScotRail, TransPennine Express (TPE), and Northern Railway are offering free Standard Class travel to Eastern Airways staff and customers on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 October, on suitable routes operated by each train company.
For those without scheduled airline failure insurance, you will sadly be left out of pocket.
If you are due to fly with Eastern Airways in the coming days, weeks or months, you should put a claim in straight away with your debit or credit card provider.
They should refund you without fuss.
For those who are due to fly with Eastern Airways as part of a package holiday they have bought from a travel agent or tour operator, your package holiday provider is obliged to find an alternative way for you to reach your destination or offer you a full refund.
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has the latest information on its website, caa.co.uk
Europe’s little-known Christmas market with 86p mulled wines and £32 flights from the UK
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly alternative to the UK’s overpriced Christmas markets, look no further than the ‘lesser known’ markets in Europe which offer a cosy day out without breaking the bank
Many believe there’s no better way to embrace the festive spirit than with a hot cup of mulled wine while perusing a European Christmas market. However, these events can often be quite pricey.
For instance, a cup of mulled wine at the Berlin Christmas market could set you back five euros, and an additional three if you fancy keeping the mug as a keepsake.
Staying closer to home doesn’t necessarily mean saving money either. It’s well known that UK Christmas markets are among the priciest in Europe.
For example, a visit to the Manchester Christmas markets this year could see you shelling out around £25 for a beer and a bratwurst.
If you’re eager to plan a festive trip but don’t want to break the bank, some of the ‘less popular’ European Christmas markets offer much more affordable prices. Plus, they’re usually less crowded than their UK counterparts, reports the Daily Record.
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In need of some ideas?
The team at Eurochange have done some digging into the best alternative Christmas markets across Europe, including the cheapest flights from the UK and average hotel costs. They’ve also investigated which cities offer the best exchange rates, so you know where your money will go furthest.
Laura Evans-Fisk, head of digital and engagement at Eurochange, said: “Our research shows the Christmas market in Wroclaw, Poland, is one of the best in Europe if you’re looking for excellent value for money and a truly authentic experience. Two nights of accommodation for two adults costs just £47, and food and drinks are very affordable. Sibiu in Romania is a close second when it comes to the cheapest Christmas markets in Europe. Here, you can get a mulled wine for just 86p.”
Sibiu, Romania
Laura describes Sibiu as Romania’s leading Christmas market destination, surpassing even Bucharest. The Transylvanian winter celebration, dubbed ‘The Fair In Sibiu’, attracts Romanians in crowds, running from November 14, 2025, through to January 4, 2026.
The town boasts a distinctive blend of Hungarian, Romanian and German influences, creating a cultural richness unmatched elsewhere in Transylvania, according to Laura. Set within the historic old town at Piața Mare, the markets are “beautifully decorated with thousands of fairy lights and festive trinkets”, she noted.
The affordability is particularly striking, she points out. Mulled wine typically ranges from five to 10 leu (merely £0.86).
Visitors should sample regional delicacies, including Kürtőskalács (spit cakes) and cozonac (sweet bread).
Wroclaw, Poland
According to Laura, Wroclaw is considered among Poland’s finest and most stunning Christmas markets. “It is an idyllic, real-life winter wonderland, scattered across the city,” she said.
Situated across Rynek Market Square, Place Solny, Świdnicka Street and Oławska Street, numerous stalls await visitors. Laura notes many vendors offer handcrafted items and delicacies, largely from independent traders.
Laura explains that prices remain highly accessible, with mulled wine available for merely 15 PLN (£3.08) plus a 15 PLN mug deposit. However, if you prefer not to keep the mug, surrounding restaurants and bars offer warming mulled wine for just 9 PLN (£1.85).
Innsbruck, Austria
Laura said: “Nothing will give you the ‘festive feels’ like roaming the streets of Innsbruck in the run-up to Christmas. The aroma of freshly made Kiachln (piping hot doughnuts laced with Sauerkraut) and the sound of Christmas carols are guaranteed to get you in the festive spirit.
“Fairy lights give the medieval alleys a magical glow, and in front of the city’s famous ‘Golden Roof’, you will find the Christmas markets. Visitors can also wander across to Innsbruck’s main shopping street, Maria-Theresien Straße, where there are even more chalets offering tasty snacks and handmade crafts.”
Tallinn, Estonia
“Tallinn Christmas market is a real-life fairytale in the heart of Estonia’s capital”, Laura says. Visitors can sample local delicacies, including black pudding, sour cabbage, gingerbread and warming festive tipples from 1-2 euros, making it amongst the cheapest and most authentic Christmas markets in Europe.
She said: “The real star of the show is the incredible market Christmas tree, which has been set up every year in the Town Hall Square since 1441, making it the first ever Christmas tree to be put on display in Europe.”
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Zagreb, Croatia
Croatia might not be the first destination that springs to mind when thinking of a ‘festive’ location, but Laura claims Zagreb’s Christmas market shouldn’t be overlooked. Also known as ‘Advent Zagreb,’ the city “truly comes to life” during the festive season with an epic Christmas market, a rich programme of music and art exhibitions, and an impressive ice-skating rink in King Tromislav Square.
RSF fighters film execution in el-Fasher hospital massacre | Sudan war
Fighters with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces recorded themselves conducting an execution while surrounded by dead bodies inside el-Fasher’s Saudi Hospital. As Hiba Morgan reports, it’s the latest example of RSF paramilitaries filming their own actions.
Published On 29 Oct 2025
Saudi Gigaproject May Expand to Rebuild Syrian Historic Sites
Diriyah, a major project in Saudi Arabia, aims to develop a historic site in Riyadh for real estate and tourism.
This week, the CEO, Jerry Inzerillo, discussed with Syrian officials the possibility of helping to rebuild historic sites in Syria, such as Damascus and Aleppo, when they are ready. He mentioned that while they are currently busy, they would consider contributing in the future.
The years of conflict in Syria have harmed many ancient cities, leading to calls for international support for restoration efforts amidst challenges like funding and security.
Diriyah Gate Company could also develop additional cultural heritage sites in Saudi Arabia. This project aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which seeks to diversify the economy and enhance tourism.
The project features luxury hotels, museums, and residential units near the UNESCO-listed At-Turaif district. The company is profitable and plans to go public after 2030, with significant foreign investment expected. The main project in Riyadh is on track to be completed by 2030.
With information from Reuters
Barbara Follett disappeared in 1939. Her life is now a musical
In the world of child prodigies, novelists are the rarest breed. Barbara Newhall Follett, born in Hanover, N.H., in 1914, fit the bill. By the time she was 9 years-old she had completed her first novel, a subsequent draft of which was published by Knopf when she was 12. Two years after that, she released her second novel. Both were met with critical acclaim, and Newhall became a celebrity in the publishing world.
Nearly a decade later, after a fight with her adulterous husband, the 25-year-old Follett left her apartment in Brookline, Mass., with $30 in her pocket and a notebook. She was never seen or heard from again. The mystery of the vanished former child genius has pulled at the public imagination ever since, resulting in a number of books and articles about her life and disappearance, including a 2019 essay in the Los Angeles Review of Books speculating that Newhall had committed suicide by ingesting barbiturates.
Barbara Follett, a child literary prodigy, is the subject of a new musical titled “Perfect World.”
(Courtesy of Stefan Cooke / Farksolia.org)
A world-premiere musical can now be added to the growing list of Newhall-themed explorations. “Perfect World,” written by Alan Edmunds and composed by Richard Winzeler, with lyrics by both men, opens Saturday at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, running through Nov. 9.
The project marks Edmunds’ debut as a librettist. The retired psychologist — who specialized in gifted children — hit upon the idea of creating a musical about Follett’s life after a deep dive into her archives at Columbia University almost 15 years ago.
“As I’m reading through this, I start to feel the tragedy of what really happened to her,” Edmunds said during an interview at the theater over the pounding of hammers and the buzzing of drills as the detailed set was put together. “I thought this is the hero’s journey. Unfortunately, it’s not a happy ending.”
Edmunds was so inspired by the 15 boxes of archival material, including hundreds of hand-typed letters that Follett wrote to dozens of relatives and acquaintances, and endless lyrical descriptions of the imaginary world of Farksolia at the heart of her debut novel, “The House Without Windows,” that he drafted his initial outline for the musical on his knee while taking the subway from Columbia to Broadway to see “La Cage aux Folles.”
The show’s team took creative license in the retelling of Follett’s story, but for the most part Edmunds adhered to the broad strokes of her short, vibrant life. The musical hops back and forth between two story lines: Follett’s experiences up until her disappearance, and the nationwide investigation that unfolded afterward, led by the dogged Capt. Stahl and forever pushed forward by her grieving mother, Helen Thomas Follett.
Follett’s childhood was marked by unhappiness, Edmunds said, noting that Helen, who wrote for a commercial shipping company, and Follett’s father, a Knopf literary editor named Wilson Follett, fought often.
“They were at each other hammer and tongs,” Edmunds said. “And even when they wrote about Barbara, subsequently, you could feel the animosity between them.”
This made sense because about a year after the publication of Barbara Follett’s first book, Wilson left Helen for a much younger woman, moving in with her in Greenwhich Village. Her father’s desertion dealt a crushing blow to Barbara, who adored him. She subsequently embarked on a sailing journey with Helen from New York to Barbados and then on through the Panama Canal. Barbara became seriously ill during the journey — the result of nerves and depression, Helen thought.
Barbara Follett, a child literary prodigy, is the subject of a new musical titled “Perfect World.”
(Courtesy of Stefan Cooke / Farksolia.org)
Around that time, Follett met and fell in love with a 25-year-old sailor named Edward Anderson. Helen did not approve, and Edmunds said she conspired to get Anderson fired from his position as second mate. The loss of Anderson was the second major blow in Follett’s life, Edmunds said, and it’s a thread that runs through the musical, leading to Follett’s meeting with a recent Dartmouth graduate named Nickerson Rogers — the man who would become her husband, and who would eventually leave her after having an affair with her best childhood friend.
The couple shared a love of nature, and before they were married, spent months hiking and camping together along the Appalachian Trail. Photos from the early 1930s show a slender, bare-legged Follett with short-cropped hair, sitting beside an open fire with a cooking pan and an old tin coffee pot.
Follett’s life was filled with crushing disappointment and near-constant stress, but nature provided a release. This is likely why she conjured up the perfect world of Farksolia at such a young age. It was an escape, and Follett packed it with as much detail as possible, including its own system of mathematics, its own language — Farksoo — and its own alphabet.
The heroine of “The House Without Windows” is a young girl named Eepersip who runs away from home to live contentedly with her animal friends in the woods. If it sounds simple, it was. But that was also its genius.
Critics loved it and it sold more than 20,000 copies upon its initial printing.
“I can safely promise joy to any reader of ‘The House Without Windows.’ Perfection,” wrote the English author of children’s books, Eleanor Farjeon, in a review.
Barbara Follett, a child literary prodigy, is the subject of a new musical titled “Perfect World.”
(Courtesy of Stefan Cooke / Farksolia.org)
There are many theories about what happened to the adventurous and headstrong young woman after she vanished, including that she was killed by her husband, who had demanded she stop writing and failed to report her missing until two weeks after she left. Others think she simply moved far away, changed her name and continued to write under a pseudonym. Then there is the recently surfaced idea that she went to a family-owned cottage in the woods and swallowed enough barbiturates to end her life. That theory holds that a body discovered in the late 1940s was misidentified as another woman, when it was actually Follett.
Edmunds has given the matter extensive thought and believes that Follett loved life too much to kill herself. The idea that appeals to him the most comes from a crumb of a clue in Follett’s archives — a letter from the sailor Anderson that Follett received a short time before her disappearance. It could be surmised from her letters that she never stopped loving Anderson. Could it be that she went to find him when her husband’s affair became known to her?
Edmunds ultimately decided not to go down the rabbit hole of speculation about Follett’s demise, opting instead to focus the musical on Follett’s life, “What she did, how she rescued herself, how she was so engaged and connected to nature, and how she wanted people to take care of each other and be good to each other,” Edmunds said. “How we could have a better world.”
‘Perfect World’
Where: El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: Start at $22
Contact: perfectworldthemusical.com
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Paultons Park reveals opening date of mega new Viking land with rollercoaster and ‘feasting hall’
PAULTONS Park has finally revealed the opening date for its much anticipated Viking Valgard land.
Valgard: Realm of the Vikings will be a “fully immersive Viking world bursting with all new adventures, epic discovery, and legendary rides”.
And the new £12million development is set to open on May 16, 2026.
Visitors will be able to head on Drakon – Paultons’ most thrilling rollercoaster yet with two inversions and a “beyond-vertical drop”.
There will also be Raven, which is the park’s Gerstlauer Bobsled ride reimagined and Vild Swing, which swings 12 metres high and is a first of its kind in the UK.
There will also be a themed playground.
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After exploring the attractions, visitors can head to the Feasting Hall where they can chose from a range of hearty dishes.
Valgard: Real of the Vikings will be located next to Lost Kingdom.
According to Paultons’ website, the land will be suitable for parents, older children and teenagers, with the new rides not for the faint-hearted.
James Mancey, deputy managing director at Paultons Park, previously said: “We’ve opened two brand-new rides in the last two years and with the build of Valgard firmly underway, we’re excited to open a further three, bigger-and-better-than-ever-before rides, between now and summer 2027.
“Valgard promises an immersive, atmospheric, and action-packed experience for families and has been specifically designed to grow with our fans.
“The introduction of inversions and a vertical lift hill on Drakon certainly up the adrenaline levels at Paultons Park, but staying true to our roots, we haven’t forgotten about the little ones and there is something for all of the family in our new Viking village.”
Once Valgard: Realm of the Vikings opens, the theme park will boast over 80 rides and attractions across six themed worlds.
In March of this year, the park also submitted plans to build a new holiday village with a resort offering.
It would be located next to Valgard: Realm of the Vikings and would feature between 85 and 95 lodges, parking and its own entrance.
In May, the park then also released a 26-second trailer on YouTube for 2027.
The video doesn’t show much other than a wave washing over a giant ‘2027’ sign standing on a rock, but many fans have speculated that the park will be getting a new water ride.
One person commented: “It’s gonna be the long rumoured water coaster.”
Another said: “Judging by the clue being water, I think that the new investment for 2027 will be a Mack Rides Water Coaster.”
What’s it like to visit Paultons Park?
THE Sun’s travel editor Caroline McGuire recently visited the theme park, and here is what she thought…
Last week, a friend from the school gates and I decided to ignore the alert from the Met Office about high-speed gusts and still visit Paultons Park in the New Forest.
And it turned out to be an excellent decision, because the longest we queued for a ride was about four minutes.
And it was two minutes for popular rides Al’s Auto Academy and the Farmyard Flyer rollercoaster.
That fact alone makes this my favourite theme park in Europe.
Because it doesn’t matter how good the rides are if you’re waiting up to an hour for each one.
On the kids’ favourite rides, such as the Velociraptor and Cat-O-Pillar coasters, we were able to fit in about three rounds in 15 minutes.
Paultons is the perfect starter park for toddlers, and I first took my son there when he was two, lured by its famous Peppa Pig World.
He is in year 2 now, so has grown out of Peppa and moved on to the entry-level coasters, of which they have several.
So despite the yellow weather warnings, we spent the entire weekend outside, grinning from ear to ear.
And we were blown away, in the good sense.
Paultons Park was also named the best theme park in the UK – scooping up 10 awards recently.
Plus, it is the UK’s best value theme park also has the shortest queue times in the country.
EU inks agriculture deal with Ukraine even as political divisions remain over vast exports
An agreement designed to further liberalise trade between the EU and Kyiv came into force on Wednesday.
It will replace the deal in place since 2016, by expanding tariff-free access for Ukrainian goods and services.
However the new agreement has become a political headache for the European Commission, as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are not lifting bans on Ukrainian agricultural imports.
“We are engaging with all the parties to try to find solutions,” Commission deputy chief spokesperson Ariana Podesta said on Tuesday.
“We believe (the agreement) is a stable, fair framework, that can be reliable both for the EU and for Ukraine, to ensure a gradual integration in our single market, while providing stable trade flows,” Podesta added.
The new deal includes safeguards limiting imports of certain sensitive products such as grains and oil. Nevertheless, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have refused to lift their national bans on Ukrainian agri-food imports.
These restrictions were first introduced after the EU opened its market completely to Ukrainian agricultural products following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the Black Sea — a vital export corridor for Kyiv — was effectively blocked.
The resulting land corridors into the EU, designed to keep Ukrainian exports flowing, sparked anger among farmers in neighbouring countries who accused Brussels of allowing unfair competition.
Politically charged
The issue became politically charged, weighing on Poland’s 2023 general election and fuelling tensions in Slovakia and Hungary.
“After the war, imports of agriculture to the EU doubled. We have 117% increase compared to the pre-war levels,” Tinatin Akhvlediani, an expert at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), told Euronews.
However, Akhvlediani added that “it has been unnecessarily politicised because these Ukrainian goods were easily absorbed by the neighbouring countries.”
Ukraine’s main agricultural exports — grain, sugar and oil — are largely unprocessed goods.
“This is complementary with the trading of the EU because it mostly exports processed agricultural goods,” Akhvlediani explained.
“Ukrainian goods in fact are highly demanded in the EU market. That explains why Ukraine is the third largest import partner for the European Union after Brazil and the UK.”
The new trade deal includes a “safeguard clause” allowing either side to impose protective measures if surging imports damage domestic industries.
Yet this has not eased concerns in neighbouring countries.
“Although Brussels wants to give farmers’ money to Ukraine, we are protecting the resources, the livelihoods of Hungarian producers and our market,” Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy wrote on Facebook on Monday, as he and his EU peers met in Brussels.
The ongoing dispute illustrates the broader obstacles facing Ukraine’s path to EU membership.
Within the bloc, some are concerned about how Ukraine’s enormous agricultural capacity — 42 million hectares of cultivated land, the largest in Europe — would affect the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which distributes funds based on farm size.
Even if CAP payments were reformed to focus on production rather than land area, “Ukraine remains quite competitive,” Akhvlediani said.
“The solution could be that the EU puts transition measures in the accession treaty which would limit the benefit from certain policies or not benefit from them at all. This could be the case for the CAP. It’s completely up to the EU,” she concluded.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan, whose country also borders Ukraine, is one of the rare EU leaders to have spoken openly about the issue, saying the discussion about agriculture is “pending”.
According to the Romanian president, the risks of imbalances for the EU are “significant”, especially since Ukraine “does not currently meet the standards that we impose on the agricultural sector in the EU.”
“The discussions taking place are that, in terms of agriculture, Ukraine should have a special status so that it can continue to make significant exports to non-European countries while, in all other clusters, it should be treated as an equal,” Dan said.
New Gladiators immersive experience to open in the UK and you can train like the legends
GLADIATORS fans will soon get the chance to live out the show in real life thanks to a new experience.
Birmingham will be getting The Gladiators Experience at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), full of classic challenges seen on the popular TV show.
In total, the experience will sprawl across 10,000sqm and offer a gladiator ‘training facility’ as well as behind-the-scene insights.
Challenges include The Wall, Eliminator, Hang Tough, Duel and Travelator.
While little details have been revealed about what the different features look like, fans can expect the real-life challenges to be similar to the ones on the show.
For example, in Duel, contenders and gladiators face off on raised platforms, by trying to knock each other off.
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Then for The Wall, two contenders race to climb a large wall, whilst being chased by two gladiators.
For the Hang Tough challenge, contenders must swing on a trapeze as gladiators try to drag them down.
Visitors will then also be able to see behind the scenes of the TV show in the Vault.
And if they want to develop their skills further, they can head to the Gladiator Training Facility.
There will also be a shop where fans can purchase exclusive merchandise.
The experience will be open to all ages and expected to launch in May 2026.
Ticket prices and when they will go on sale are yet to be announced.
The show originally launched back in the 90s and is currently in its third revival.
On the show, contenders compete against gladiators in a series of challenges to earn points.
The show finishes after a final race called The Eliminator, where the contender with the most points gets a head start.
The winner is then the first person to complete the obstacle course.
Dom Bird, senior vice president at MGM Alternative Television said: “Now, fans young and old will get one step closer to walking in the footsteps of their heroes, as we announce our brand new Gladiators Experience.
“Based at the NEC Birmingham, everyone finally has the chance to test their skills on the iconic games – from Duel and Hang Tough, to The Wall, and of course the legendary Travelator.
“Come and see if you’ve got what it takes!”
If you are looking for some other immersive experiences to head to, then there is a Titanic attraction with a major ‘wow’ moment.
Or you could head to the Paddington immersive experience in London with ‘train rides’ and street parties.
‘Most picturesque railway line in UK’ with waterfalls and castles finally reopens
The Conwy Valley Line weaves through the dramatic valleys of Blaenau Ffestiniog, skirts a wildlife-abundant estuary and traces the rolling hillsides and striking rock faces of this breathtaking corner of North West Wales
One of Britain’s most picturesque railway routes has welcomed passengers back after reopening to the public.
The Conwy Valley Line weaves through the dramatic valleys of Blaenau Ffestiniog, skirts a wildlife-abundant estuary and traces the rolling hillsides and striking rock faces of this breathtaking corner of North West Wales.
Despite covering just 26 miles between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, the journey takes over an hour. This is mainly because of the line’s winding and steep character, which snakes through the spectacular mountains and wild beauty of Snowdonia National Park.
Whilst the route primarily serves local residents and daily commuters, it has become a magnet for railway enthusiasts. One visitor praised on Tripadvisor: “The line from Blaenau Ffestiniog up to Llandudno is incredibly scenic, and if you’re looking for a rail journey in Snowdonia this is right up there with the heritage narrow gauge lines.”
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During a debate about Britain’s most beautiful railway routes, one rail enthusiast commented: “How has nobody mentioned the Conwy Valley? It’s utterly spectacular and crams more into an hour than the ECML does into four. One of the nicest little tours you can do in the UK is a loop of Chester-Llandudno Jn-Blaenau-Porthmadog-Machynlleth-Shrewsbury-Chester, though you’ll probably need to use a bus rather than the FfR for the middle bit at present.”, reports the Express.
The railway line welcomed passengers back on Monday, 27 October, after a month of round-the-clock engineering work by Network Rail, forming part of a £1.4 million investment to strengthen the railway against severe weather conditions.
Throughout the past four weeks, engineering crews have been operating across the picturesque valley – felling dangerous trees and clearing 600,000m2 of overgrown vegetation spanning 54 miles of railway track. The extensive clearance work aims to stop fallen trees from obstructing the line when storms strike in future.
An innovative, cutting-edge approach to tackling the traditional issue of leaves on the line is also being tested.
Network Rail has introduced a pioneering rail treatment to the Conwy Valley line for the first time in Wales. A specialist road-to-rail vehicle has been applying a gel formula to the tracks.
The treatment dissolves leaf debris and remains active for up to seven days before being reactivated by rainfall.
“The Conwy Valley line is one of the most picturesque in Wales, but also one of the most weather-exposed. In the past decade, storms have forced the line to close for more than 500 days – disrupting passengers and the transportation of freight goods,” Network Rail wrote in a statement.
Beyond its scenic beauty, the line offers numerous attractions at various stations along the route. Visitors can:
- Experience life as a Welsh slate miner at Llechwedd, where you can join a deep mine tour, go off-road in a quarry explorer, or have a go at slate splitting. From the mine, you can take a ride on Europe’s steepest cable railway as you’re brought back to the surface.
- Learn about local life at Llandudno Museum and Gallery, which is located in the heart of this seaside town. It is a great place to uncover the fascinating stories of local people and how the area has developed over hundreds of years.
- Discover hidden gems as you explore the Conwy Valley line on foot with Ramblers and Transport for Wales. Travel by train and explore on foot with a series of exciting walking routes with Go Jauntly and Transport for Wales.
- Request a stop at Roman Bridge. The station is an ideal starting point for walkers and cyclists looking to explore the area’s breathtaking scenery. Take in the views of the secluded cwm of Blaenau Dolwyddelan before walking to Dolwyddelan Castle, the 12th-century stronghold of Prince Llywelyn the Great.
- Stop off at Deganwy. The town overlooks Snowdonia, the Conwy Estuary, Puffin Island, and Anglesey. Just behind the town is the site of Castell Deganwy, once the seat of King Maelgwn Gwynedd. This much-visited attraction (rebuilt by Henry III in 1245) dates back to the 6th century and plays an important role in the history of Wales.
- Frolic in the spray of a waterfall. The Conwy Falls are located near Vetws-y-Coed and cascade down a gorge in the Fairuy Glen area.
Trump says ‘it’s too bad’ he can’t run for a third term
GYEONGJU, South Korea — President Trump said Wednesday that “it’s too bad” he’s not allowed to run for a third term, conceding the constitutional reality even as he expressed interest in continuing to serve.
“If you read it, it’s pretty clear,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One enroute from Japan to South Korea. “I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad.”
The president’s comments, which continue his on-again, off-again musings about a third term, came a day after House Speaker Mike Johnson said it would be impossible for Trump to stay in the White House.
“I don’t see the path for that,” he told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
Johnson, the Republican leader who has built his career by drawing closer to Trump, said he discussed the issue with the president, and he thinks Trump understands the situation.
“He and I have talked about the constrictions of the Constitution,” he said.
The speaker described how the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment does not allow for a third presidential term and changing that, with a new amendment, would be a cumbersome, decade-long process winning over states and votes in Congress.
“But I can tell you that we are not going to take our foot off the gas pedal,” he said. “We’re going to deliver for the American people, and we’ve got a great run ahead of us — he’ll have four strong years.”
Trump stopped short of characterizing his conversation with Johnson, and his description of the prohibition on third terms was somewhat less definitive.
“Based on what I read, I guess I’m not allowed to run,” he said Wednesday. “So we’ll see what happens.”
Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of trying to stay in power. Hats saying “Trump 2028” are passed out as souvenir keepsakes to lawmakers and others visiting the White House, and Trump’s former 2016 campaign chief-turned-podcaster Stephen Bannon has revived the idea of a third Trump term.
Trump told reporters Monday on Air Force One on his trip to Japan that “I would love to do it.”
He went on to say that his Republican Party has great options for the next presidential election — in Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling with him, and Vice President JD Vance, who visited with senators at the Capitol on Tuesday.
“All I can tell you is that we have a great group of people,” Trump said.
Pressed if he was ruling out a third-term bid, Trump demurred. Asked about a strategy where he could run as vice president, which could be allowed under the laws, and then work himself in the presidency, he dismissed the idea as “too cute.”
“You’d be allowed to do that, but I wouldn’t do that,” he said.
The chit chat comes as Trump, in his words and actions, is showing just how far he can push the presidency — and daring anyone to stop him.
He is sending National Guard troops to cities over the objections of several state governors; accepting untold millions in private donations to pay the military and fund the new White House ballroom, picking winners and losers in the government shutdown.
Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who rose swiftly to become House speaker with Trump’s blessing, dismissed worries about a potential third term by the president’s critics whose “hair is on fire.”
“He has a good time with that, trolling the Democrats,” Johnson said.
Megerian and Mascaro write for the Associated Press.
TUI cancels Jamaica holidays as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic scrap flights after Hurricane Melissa
TUI, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have all cancelled or delayed flights and holidays across Jamaica following the devastating hurricane.
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 hurricane, made landfall yesterday on the island with speeds up to 160mph.
New images coming from Jamaica show widespread destruction, with most of the island left without power.
As many as 8,000 Brits are thought to be on holiday in the country, with many taking shelter in hotels.
And tour operators and airlines have since been cancelling holidays in response.
TUI has cancelled all flights to Jamaica until October 31, although this may be extended.
And all package holidays to Jamaica have been cancelled until at least the end of the week (November 2).
They said in a statement: “We’re working hard to assess the full impact of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and the extent of damage to local infrastructure including resorts, roads and airports.
“We want to reassure our customers that their safety and wellbeing remains our absolute top priority.
“We understand this is an unsettling time and ask that customers currently in Jamaica continue to follow the advice of local authorities and their resort teams. ”
Virgin Atlantic has only cancelled flights up until tomorrow although this is very likely to be extended.
Flights VS165 and VS165 have been cancelled tomorrow (October 30).
And British Airways has also cancelled a number of upcoming flights, with passengers told to contact the airline.
Both Norman Manley International Airport and Sangster International Airport remain closed.
Just remember that you must not cancel your holiday ahead of the your tour operator or you will be left out of pocket.
This is because the Foreign Office has not warned again travel to Jamaica – it is only when it is advised against, that you can cancel a holiday for a full refund.
Instead it is better to contact the tour operator and see if you can push back your flight if you are wary of travelling.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The FCDO stands ready to help British nationals 24/7.
“We have set up a crisis centre in the Foreign Office, including with support from the (Ministry of Defence), and we are also positioning specialist rapid deployment teams to provide consular assistance to British nationals in the region.
“Any British nationals who are there should follow our travel advice and the advice of the Jamaican authorities.”
Most powerful Atlantic huhrricans recorded
THESE are the ten most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever, ranked by pressure.
Lower pressure means a stronger storm.
A minimum of 901 mbar has been recorded in Hurricane Melissa.
- Hurricane Wilma (2005) — 882 mbar
- Hurricane Gilbert (1988) — 888 mbar
- Labor Day Hurricane (1935) — 892 mbar
- Hurricane Rita (2005) — 895 mbar
- Hurricane Allen (1980) — 899 mbar
- Hurricane Camille (1969) — 900 mbar
- Hurricane Katrina (2005) — 902 mbar
- Hurricane Mitch (1998) — 905 mbar
- Hurricane Dean (2007) — 905 mbar
- Hurricane Maria (2017) — 908 mbar