Saudi’s Remaining Energy Lifeline To The World Under Threat After Successful Houthi Strikes (Updated)
Just hours ago, the Saudi Aramco refinery at Jazan on the Red Sea was engulfed in flames after a Houthi missile and drone attack. Strikes at the heart of the Saudi’s energy infrastructure on the Red Sea, which acts as the remaining primary lifeline of energy exports out of the region, threaten to drastically impact global oil prices further, a concern we have been raising for some time. In the wake of the attack and additional fighting in the Persian Gulf, oil prices surged toward the $100 per-barrel mark.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative, large-scale military operation, targeting the Aramco company in Abha, Najran and the Economic City, Aramco in Jizan, and Khamis Mushait Air Base with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones,” Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree stated on Telegram. “The strikes were precise, by God’s grace, and direct, causing major damage to those facilities.”
Saree claimed that the strikes were “in response to the Saudi aggression that targeted our people and our country with 121 air strikes over the past three days.”
Saudi officials confirmed Houthi attacks and said they would retaliate.
“The terrorist Houthi Militia’s senseless attacks, the latest of which targeted civilian and economic sites in the cities of (Abha, Khamis Mashait, Jazan and Najran) resulting in injuries to (73) civilians, including women and children, constitute a blatant violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty and a direct threat to the security and safety of its citizens and residents,” anti-Houthi coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki stated on X.
“The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will take all necessary operational measures to deter this Terrorist Militia and resolutely confront its hostile approach, in defense of the Kingdom’s sovereignty, the preservation of its national assets and the safety of its citizens and residents,” Al-Maliki added. “The Command will also take all necessary measures and actions to respond to the sources of the threat and neutralize its danger.”
“…several energy sector facilities and installations in the southern region of the Kingdom were targeted this morning,” the Saudi Ministry of Energy stated on X. The attacks “caused fires at several locations, leading to a temporary halt in some operations,” the ministry added. “Specialized field teams have begun containing the fires, securing the sites and assessing the damage.”
Videos on social media this morning showed the Saudi Aramco facility still burning after the attacks.
Data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) indicates a large amount of ongoing thermal anomalies in and near the massive Jazan refinery.
The Houthi attacks inside Saudi Arabia came amid increased fighting in Yemen between the rebels and anti-Houthi forces backed by Riyadh.
The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis grew out of a civil war in Yemen that erupted in 2014. It expanded a year later when a Saudi-led coalition joined forces with the government ousted by the Houthis and raged on until the parties reached a tenuous ceasefire in 2022. The Saudis held off on getting involved in the recent Red Sea conflict which saw the U.S. and coalition warships duking it out with the Houthis, and eventually led to a U.S.-led air campaign over Yemen. Tensions, however, reignited after that conflict ended when the Houthis joined the U.S.-Iran conflict on the side of their major supporter. The Houthis recently imposed a blockade on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and began striking Saudi ships in the Red Sea as well as refineries.
As we have frequently detailed, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure put further pressure on oil exports from the Middle East, already drastically affected by the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels of oil per day through pipelines to its Yanbu port on the Red Sea in an effort to minimize the energy shortages due to the hostilities near the Persian Gulf. This also raised the specter of the U.S. having to get as involved as it did during the previous Houthi campaign against shipping that ended last September, which could pull resources away from Iranian-focused operations, if supporting such an operation is even possible at all at this point. The bottom line here is that if the Houthis stop Saudi oil from transiting through the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal, this last lifeline of energy to Europe and Asia and beyond would be severed. This would drastically exacerbate an already ballooning oil crisis.
The Houthi strikes on Tuesday followed a spike in attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it destroyed three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) oil tankers after the Iranians fired ballistic missiles at U.S. warships.
On Tuesday, “American forces have struck multiple Iranian tankers tied to the IRGC in response to more attempted missile attacks on a U.S. Navy warship,” a U.S. official told TWZ.
The CENTCOM strikes are part of the Trump administration’s new tanker-for-a-tanker policy of hitting Iranian vessels in response to Tehran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This marks a change from previous incidents where ships were only attacked for running the ongoing U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. The sinking of one of the Iranian tankers in the most recent strikes is another escalation. Previous incidents following major combat operations during Epic Fury involved U.S. forces disabling Iranian transport vessels, not sinking them.
“Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask,” the command stated on X on Saturday. “American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo (also known as the “Noxen”) in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship.”
The three Iranian crude oil tankers “are part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” the command added. “Iran has no means by which to defend them.”
“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
In addition to the tanker attacks, CENTCOM is maintaining its naval blockade of Iranian ports. “As of Sept. 6, U.S. forces have redirected 92 commercial vessels, disabled 3 and boarded 2 to ensure strict compliance,” the command stated on X.
As these events unfold, the price of oil is rising further, as we noted earlier in this piece. As of noon on Tuesday, the per barrel price of Brent crude was trading at nearly $98, a $10 per barrel gain from Aug. 26, according to OilPrice.com.
Analysts said the price reflected “the market’s recognition that there is no end in sight for the conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted oil flows through two vital arteries: the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea,” The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
“Oil market participants are now pricing in a more prolonged disruption to shipping flows,” Hamad Hussain, a senior economist with Capital Economics, a research firm, told the publication. “They and other analysts have raised oil price estimates, based on an expectation of increased disruptions.”
Amid the strikes on oil-related targets, Iran claimed it captured an Anduril Dive-LD UUV and is in the process of reverse-engineering it. The IRGC released video and images of the device.
The IRGC “captured one of the most modern intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist U.S. military at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz at dawn today, in a complex operation involving intelligence and operational surveillance,” the organization claimed.
The vessel “possesses the latest technology in the field of underwater systems in the world and was delivered to the fleet of the terrorist U.S. military in 2025,” the IRGC added.
Asked if Iran captured a UUV, a U.S. official denied that the Iranians obtained anything sensitive.
“An underwater drone operated by U.S. forces malfunctioned more than a day ago,” a U.S. official told us. “It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment. U.S. operations in area waters continue.”
The Dive-LD can be configured for demining operations. Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, recently stated that: “We have successfully cleared sea mines in the strait’s international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Internationally recognized transit routes in the strait are free of Iranian sea mines, thanks to the incredible work of the U.S. military.”
It is unclear whether the Dive-LD system was used in those operations; however Financial Times last week reported that the U.S. sent “Navy Seal divers, robot boats and specialized underwater craft into the perilous strait for a four-month mine-clearance mission.”
“The fraught process of explosive device disposal was carried out underwater and in darkness in an attempt to eliminate a crucial factor deterring ships from carrying vital cargoes through the strait since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February,” the publication added.
As the Houthi-Saudi exchanges continue and the Strait of Hormuz is still heavily contested, there appears to be no real movement toward a diplomatic solution.
U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed that the U.S. will defeat Iran.
“Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran,” the president stated on his Truth Social site. “Three Dollars a gallon, but ultimately, below Two Dollars a gallon. It will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon. MAGA!”
Iran, for its part, said it will continue fighting.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always opposed war and has considered the preservation of the people’s interests and regional security to lie in refraining from igniting conflict,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X. “However, just as it has boldly risen to defend against aggression up to this day, it will continue this resistance with full strength until the aggressors are brought to complete regret and will remain the guardian of the rights of the great Iranian nation.”
Should there be a resolution to this conflict, U.S. military and intelligence officials have had “recent quiet discussions about cutting the number of people and facilities typically stationed in Middle East,” CNN reported.
That’s it for now. We’ll update this story when new details emerge.
UPDATE: 6:25 PM Eastern:
CENTCOM said it “destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.”
“The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed,” the command added on X. “In response to Iran’s most recent failed attacks, CENTCOM destroyed the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman as well as M/T Derya near Kharg Island. American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable. Iran has used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran has no means by which to defend these vessels.”
In the wake of the CENTCOM strikes, Iran launched a new wave of ballistic missile attacks, a Jordanian source confirmed to us. The official Iranian Fars media outlet said Muwaffaq Salti Air and Prince Hassan air bases were targeted.
Video has emerged on social media of interceptors in Jordan defending against the attack.
Contact the author: howard@twz.com
Literary village is ‘UK’s answer to Stars Hollow’ with cosy cafes and bookshops
If you’re on your annual Gilmore Girls re-watch and dreaming of an escape to Stars Hollow, without the long-haul flight, then this UK village gives seriously cosy vibes for a day out
The village has been compared to Stars Hollow by British fans of the show(Image: SWNS)
Gilmore Girls may just be the perfect autumn show, and when the weather starts cooling off, many fans find themselves binge-watching the comedy-drama about a quirky mother and daughter duo.
And anyone who has watched the show will no doubt have dreamed about visiting Stars Hollow, the cosy Connecticut town where the Gilmores live, full of unique characters, friendly local shops, and of course, great coffee. Sadly, Stars Hollow isn’t a real location – the pilot was filmed in Canada before a set was built on a studio backlot in Burbank, California – but many fans have been looking out for locations that give the same vibes.
If you don’t fancy the flight to New England, British Gilmore Girls fans have been debating where the UK’s answer to Stars Hollow can be found, and one village with long literary associations is often named as the best local dupe.
Taking to TikTok, travel creator @lilyjbet posted a video captioned: “pov: you just found the real-life Stars Hollow in England” showing footage of the quaint village of Haworth in Yorkshire. Her video shows a variety of eclectic shops, cafés, and bookstores that would thrill any Gilmore Girls fan.
Haworth has literary associations that Rory Gilmore would find fascinating. The Brontë sisters lived and wrote most of their novels here, and their former home is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Sitting atop a hill, it overlooks miles of countryside, and the view no doubt inspired the rugged backdrops of many of their famous works. Fans of gothic literature can walk to Top Withins, a remote farmhouse surrounded by moorland, which many believe helped inspire the gloomy setting of Wuthering Heights.
The museum is an incredible memorial to the literary sisters, many rooms still holding the original furniture and personal items, as if waiting for the family to return.
Many of the colourful independent shops in Haworth look like they belong in Stars Hollow. Wave Of Nostalgia, a vintage bookshop that also sells unique gifts, would certainly be a place the Gilmores would visit. Cabinet of Curiosities is a kind of old-school apothecary which could easily be from the Victorian era, while Spooks of Haworth, a ‘spiritual emporium,’ is the perfect stop for lovers of autumn and Halloween.
And of course, there are plenty of cafés where you can enjoy cosy mother-daughter chats or simply sit and read your book. Café Verde has a great location with outdoor tables on the cobbled streets, while Villette Coffee House and Bakery offers a range of freshly-baked pastries and Yorkshire specialities.
The perfect way to arrive in Haworth is by train. Not only because riding the vintage steam trains to your location feels like stepping back in time, but also because you can avoid needing to navigate the extremely narrow, steep roads that were built for a horse and carriage. The village is on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, a five-mile heritage railway that runs through the Yorkshire countryside, giving you stunning views on the way to your destination.
Fans of classic movies may also recognise the train line as being the setting of the 1970s adaptation of The Railway Children. In addition to standing in for the Edwardian railway hub, filming was completed around the village in locations including St Mary’s Churchyard.
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
Arab News | Alcaraz falls to Shelton in epic latest-ever US Open finish
NEW YORK: Carlos Alcaraz tumbled out of the US Open quarter-finals at 3:34 am Wednesday, falling to Ben Shelton in an epic five-set thriller that broke the record for latest finish ever at Flushing Meadows.
The big-hitting Shelton claimed his first career win over Alcaraz, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7), ending the Spaniard’s hopes of retaining his title in his first tournament back after a four-month injury absence.
These underrated travel destinations are desperate for more tourists
Each year, Intrepid Travel releases its Not Hot List, spotlighting a short list of lesser-known destinations that are ready to welcome more visitors over the coming year
The old village of Chora in Alonnisos island is on the list(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
While some destinations are creaking under the strain of too many visitors, others are actively hoping more tourists will come.
In recent years, Canary Islanders, Romans, Santorinians and even Laplandic folk have complained that overtourism is changing the way they live their lives, and for the worse. Roads are too busy; accommodation too expensive; neighbourhoods unreconigsable.
There are, however, some places that are actively hoping more people will come.
Each year, Intrepid Travel releases its Not Hot List, spotlighting a short list of lesser-known destinations that are ready to welcome more visitors in 2027. Developed using insights from Intrepid’s extensive global network of local leaders and destination experts, the list shines a light on under-the-radar alternatives and less-visited regions where travellers’ presence can have an outsized positive impact.
The destinations on the Not Hot List are selected based on three key criteria:
(1) being less visited, with fewer visitors than comparable places
(2) demonstrating tourism readiness, with infrastructure and capacity to support more tourists
(3) new initiatives, improved connectivity, major events, launches or infrastructure developments that give travellers a compelling reason to visit in 2027.
The 2027 Not Hot List
1. Samburu National Reserve, Kenya
2. Mestia, Georgia
3. Northern Highlands, Jordan
4. Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
5. Alonnisos, Greece
6. Dili, Timor-Leste
7. Pekoe Trail, Sri Lanka
8. Liepāja, Latvia
9. Carretera Austral, Chile
This year’s list is designed to highlight destinations that offer compelling alternatives to some of travel’s most popular experiences. Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve, for example, represents a nationwide effort to combat overtourism in some of East Africa’s busiest national parks. While Chile’s Carretera Austral provides an alternative to some of the well-trodden trails of Patagonia.
The 2027 Not Hot List also highlights countries like Timor-Leste, Latvia and Georgia, which receive fewer international visitors than their regional counterparts, as well as lesser-known regions of Jordan and Sri Lanka.
To coincide with the report, Intrepid has launched five new trips to several of the featured regions. These include the new 10-day Kenya Safari Adventure, the 16-day Wild Canada & Alaska, the 10-day Hike Sri Lanka’s Pekoe Trail, the 12-day Jordan Uncovered and the new 9-day Trek the Trans-Caucasian Trail in Georgia.
Erica Kritikides, general manager of experiences at Intrepid Travel, said: “If we want tourism to continue to be a force for good, we need to constantly rethink how and where we travel. The Not Hot List isn’t just about surfacing lesser-known places, it aims to shift the conversation and help travellers to discover new destinations where their visit can make a meaningful contribution to local communities and economies.”
Girls’ flag football: Tuesday’s scores
HIGH SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
Southern Section
Adelanto 27, Victor Valley 8
Alta Loma 19, Covina 13
Antelope Valley 18, Eastside 0
Aquinas 41, Arrowhead Christian 6
Arlington 34, Vista del Lago 0
Arroyo Valley 47, Fontana 0
Ayala 18, Glendora 6
Baldwin Park 15, Garey 7
Banning 19, Indio 8
Burbank Providence 19, Pasadena Poly 18
Cajon 14, Vista Murrieta 6
California 19, Mayfair 0
Camarillo 25, Royal 21
Cerritos Valley Christian 19, Village Christian 7
Chaminade 20, Thousand Oaks 7
Citrus Valley 18, Norte Vista 7
Colony 7, Etiwanda 0
Dos Pueblos 49, Lompoc 0
Downey 19, La Serna 6
Eastvale Roosevelt 6, Rancho Cucamonga 0
Edison 39, San Clemente 14
Eisenhower 26, Carter 6
El Rancho 13, Paramont 0
Elsinore 27, West Valley 12
Fillmore 38, Bishop Diego 0
Gahr 60, Long Beach Jordan 0
Garden Grove 34, La Palma Kennedy 6
Grand Terrace 19, Bloomington 14
Hart 46, Golden Valley 6
Heritage 32, Citrus Hill 12
Highland d. Littlerock, forfeit
Hillcrest 25, Canyon Springs 6
Hueneme 37, St. Bonaventure 25
Indian Springs 21, Rialto 19
Jurupa Hills 20, Summit 14
Jurupa Valley 36, San Bernardino 0
Knight 0, Palmdale 0
Liberty 31, Orange Vista 12
Los Alamitos 31, Lakewood 6
Los Osos 29, Ontario 0
Moorpark 20, Oak Park 6
Moreno Valley 39, Valley View 6
Mountain View 13, Pomona 6
Nogales 51, Duarte 0
Norco 33, Riverside North 7
Northview 21, Temple City 6
Oaks Christian 24, Ventura 13
Orange Lutheran 19, Mater Dei 12
Oxnard Pacifica 38, Rio Mesa 20
Patriot 34, Corona 27
Quartz Hill 31, Lancaster 0
Rancho Verde 13, Paloma Valley 7
Rim of the World 20, Colton 14
Rio Hondo Prep 33, Chadwick 0
Riverside Poly 32, Hemet 0
Rowland 19, Whittier 6
Sage Hill 33, San Juan Hills 9
San Gorgonio 14, Kaiser 6
San Jacinto Valley Academy 7, Nuview Bridge 6
Santa Barbara 13, Santa Paula 0
Saugus 14, West Ranch 12
Segerstrom 7, Placentia Valencia 6
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 52, Louisville 0
Simi Valley 32, Newbury Park 12
St. Paul 24, San Marino 6
Sunny Hills 20, Chino Hills 0
Tahquitz 13, San Jacinto 6
Temecula Prep 47, Desert Christian Academy 0
Temescal Canyon 34, Riverside King 26
United Christian Academy 14, Public Safety Academy 0
Valencia 12, Castaic 7
Vasquez 32, PACS 6
Windward 53, YULA 0
Intersectional
Brentwood 33, Cleveland 7
MONDAY’S RESULTS
No games, Labor Day
‘My £3K Loveholidays 4-star hotel was so horrific I flew my family home early’
A British family said they were forced to fly home early from their summer holiday to Greece after their four-star all-inclusive resort was ‘derelict’ and ‘horrific’
Adam and his family checked into a ‘derelict’ four-star resort in Greece, but flew home early(Image: Handout)
A family of four were left with no choice but to fly home early from their holiday after checking into a hotel that was ‘derelict’ with a ‘green swimming pool’ and ‘brown water slides’.
Adam, his wife and two kids booked a last-minute summer getaway with Love Holidays after seeing a tempting deal at a four-star all-inclusive resort in Kos, Greece. They paid £3,500 for a 10-night stay at Kipriotis Village Resort, which Adam said was almost half price, with rates ranging from around £5K to £6K, during the peak travel season.
“Everything advertised looked good, and Love Holidays advertised it as a four-star, all-inclusive hotel. We read the reviews, and they were ok, so we booked it,” Adam exclusively told the Mirror. “We didn’t expect the Ritz, but we did expect cleanliness and something that was livable.” But before they even reached the hotel, Adam was given a worrying warning. “We got a taxi from the airport, and the guy said, ‘Kipriotis Village?’, and I said, ‘Yeah’, and he went, ‘Oh dear’, so I sat there and thought, oh no.”
Have you experienced a holiday from hell? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
‘It was derelict and dangerous’
The family checked into the Kipriotis Village Resort in Kos at around midnight on Friday, 14 August, but as soon as they walked into their room, they were stunned by its condition. “Honestly, in all my years of travel, I’ve never seen a room like what was presented”, Adam revealed. “There were holes all in the walls, the floorboards were all up, they were manky all around the bed.
“The air conditioning wasn’t working, there were cobwebs and clearly the room hadn’t been cleaned for years. The toilet was constantly running, the flush wouldn’t work, and there was mould around the bath. It was basically derelict.” Love Holidays said the hotel’s four-star rating is based on Greece’s official hotel rating system and aligns with local standards.
In addition to its conditions, the father of two said: “It was a mezzanine room, so the idea was that we had the main bit downstairs and the top part was for the kids’ bed, but the safety bannister was rocking like mad, and if they leaned on it in the night, and they fell off that, it would have killed them.”
No other choice
Horrified by the room, they complained at the hotel reception and declared, ‘We can’t have this.’ Adam claimed that the hotel staff told them, ‘Well, it’s tough, because we’ve got no rooms’, and said, “they were not interested in dealing with us”. He said he called Love Holidays to help with the situation and was allegedly told, ‘We’re just an agent, deal with the hotel’.
Adam said they had “no choice” but to spend the night, as there were no other hotels available. He claimed that at reception the next morning, “the queue was unbelievable”, and said, “everyone had the same problem, all the rooms were falling apart”. Adam claimed: “Love Holidays haven’t checked it, assessed it or done any of the groundwork whatsoever, and they’ve advertised it with old pictures.” He said he spoke to Love Holidays again, to which he was allegedly told, ‘We tried to contact the hotel, they’re not answering, you’ll have to deal with it yourself’.
On their second morning, the hotel offered them an upgraded room. They viewed the room, but Adam said it was “nothing like the photos, but it was all on one level, and the floorboards were intact.” He added, “There were no other hotels I could book. I needed something safe for my kids. What do I do? So I thought, right, I’ll take it.”
The father of two claimed that he was “presented with a waiver form” and was told, ‘You can only have the upgraded room if you sign this’, with article three alleging stating, ‘I waive all my rights for any claims against the hotel’. The dad said he refused to sign it.
Adam claimed the form was “snatched away” from him and was told, ‘Right, you’ll stay where you are then’. But in a bid to get the upgraded room, Adam said he asked how much it would be without signing the waiver, and was told €280. “It’s not ideal, nothing that was advertised, it’s horrific, but at least it’s a safe room for the kids, because I can’t get anything else,” he told the Mirror.
‘Green swimming pool and raw food’
Yet it wasn’t just the rooms that seemed to be inadequate. “The resort was derelict,” Adam said. “The swimming pool was green, there were green stains around the rim, and the drains were green. There were some kids’ slides with brown, sewage-smelling water at the bottom, and some people were letting their kids go down them. The sunbeds had obviously been there for 20 years, just rotting.
“The tennis courts were just dug up, you couldn’t even walk on the surface and were all closed up. The football pitch was a mess, and the kids’ club was non-existent. The cleanliness of the place was horrific; I couldn’t let my kids go in the communal toilets.” He added: “The food, I can’t tell you how bad it was. People were getting raw food. I went for a chicken skewer, and it was just raw inside. The food was really bad. The trays the food was served in will turn your stomach.”
For the first few days of the trip, the father of two said he spent days at reception but “got nowhere”, so in the end, left the hotel every day for aslong as long as possible. “We literally slept in the bed, went out for planned days out, to waterparks and boat trips. I can’t tell you how bad the place was.”
Flying home early
Just when they thought it couldn’t get any worse, Adam said they had “a really bad sewage smell” in the new room. He stated he emailed Love Holidays back and forth, but said, “they were not interested and kept saying, ‘speak to the hotel’.” In the end, the family flew home three days early, “just to get out of there”. “It was just horrific,” Adam added.
He claimed: “Love Holidays have been absolutely horrific with everything. The lack of support and accountability, and lack of remorse from Love Holidays was just so bad, and they would try to fob us off to a hotel that just wouldn’t listen. It’s not necessarily about me. There are people out there who are genuinely saving all year to put money aside to take their families on holidays, and when they get to a place that hasn’t even been checked by Love Holidays, it’s in such a state and so bad.”
A Love Holidays spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that Adam and his family’s recent experience at their hotel in Greece fell short of our usual high standards, and we are investigating the issues raised directly with the hotel. We have contacted Adam to offer our sincere apologies and reimburse him £1,799, covering 50% of his total accommodation costs and out of pocket expenses.”
The Mirror has contacted Kipriotis Village Resort in Kos for comment.
‘Prison cell’ hotel room
This isn’t the first time Kipriotis Village Resort in Kos has been called out for its ‘derelict’ condition. Just last month, a mum told the Express that she paid £1,500 for a ‘holiday from hell’ with a room that compared to ‘a prison cell’ after checking into a room at the same hotel.
Linda Martin, from Cardiff, said: “It was a big place, with massive grounds. We dragged our suitcases down the steps and dragged them through buckets of vomit. So I immediately thought, red flag, this is disgusting.” She explained: “I opened the door to enter what I can only describe as prison cell block H. We were hit by stifling heat, it was stinky, and there were mosquitoes flying everywhere.
“There were three single beds, which were rock hard. The room did not resemble in any fashion the photos in the brochure. It was dilapidated. The curtains were not wide enough, so they couldn’t be closed, and the room was dirty. We had separate rooms, and my daughter looked at the room, and she just burst into tears and said, ‘I’m not staying here, I want to go home, I just want to go back to the airport’.”
The holidaymaker added: “When we walked around the pool area, it was derelict, the sun loungers were hanging, and I had seen nothing like it.” In the end, Linda and her daughter were forced to book another hotel in the area, and Love Holidays reimbursed her £1,772, covering 50% of her total accommodation costs and her taxi expenses.
Why Nepal is demanding climate justice and compensation after deadly floods | Climate Crisis News
Nepal is demanding “climate justice” and $20m in compensation after the recent devastating floods in the country and China’s Tibet region, which led to the deaths and disappearances of thousands of people.
The catastrophe, which scientists say was caused by the effects of climate change, was triggered when part of a mountain glacier collapsed and a torrent of water and mud flooded down into Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions, as well as into China’s Tibet region on August 26. More than 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,000 remain missing.
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“We are paying the ultimate price for a global crisis we did not create,” Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said last week.
“Support for Nepal should not be seen from an angle of aid or charity, but should be seen from the perspective of climate justice,” he told the AFP news agency.
On Monday, the country’s President Ramchandra Paudel made a similar demand during an address to the nation.
“I make a heartfelt appeal to the international community not only to listen to the voices of ecologically vulnerable countries, including Nepal, but also to take concrete and effective steps to ensure climate justice for them,” he said.
Nepal’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Environment have written a joint letter to the United Nations, which set up a fund to respond to loss and damage caused by climate change in 2022 in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate, with a request for $20m in damages.
The UN’s Loss and Damage Fund is, however, facing a $2.8bn funding gap as it prepares to approve its first climate recovery projects.
‘Collective frustration’
Nepal’s leaders may have a point.
Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and generates most of its electricity from renewable sources of energy. Yet its geographical location in the Himalayas makes it particularly vulnerable to severe climate and weather events.
Last month’s catastrophic flooding in the country comes against a backdrop of rapid global warming and glacial loss across the Himalayas.
Glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountain range – which spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan – lost ice 65 percent faster between 2011 and 2020 than during the previous decade.
Nepal’s glaciers, which are sandwiched between two major carbon emitters – India and China – have lost close to one-third of their ice volume in roughly three decades due to global warming, the United Nations said in 2023.
Tanuja Pandey, a Nepal-based climate activist and lawyer, said there is collective frustration behind Nepal’s demand for climate justice.
“People here feel the world often pays attention to Nepal only when a climate disaster becomes impossible to ignore. It is deeply painful to people here that global attention intensifies when headlines report thousands of people dead or missing and in the end, their suffering does not generate any urgency to fight climate change,” she told Al Jazeera.
Shreya KC, a 28-year-old Nepali climate activist, said there is profound anger and sadness among people in Nepal who say that they must no longer continue to suffer the impact of climate change, which, as they see it, other countries are responsible for.
“My hometown is in Solukhumbu in eastern Nepal,” the activist told Al Jazeera. “It is a district of mountains and is also home to the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, and my home is also downstream. After the glacial collapse happened two weeks ago, people in my region have realised that this can now happen anywhere in Nepal since the Himalayas are warming and glaciers are melting faster.”
While Nepal has been actively fighting climate change, Shreya KC said she herself has been involved in projects in the country that focus on clean hydropower generation, forestry and other such climate advocacy programmes.
“Because of other countries,” she said, “today Nepalis are the ones most impacted by climate change. So people want justice.”
Is there such a thing as ‘climate justice’?
According to preliminary estimates from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the country’s property, housing and infrastructure losses in the floods amount to some $2.56bn.
But claiming compensation under a notion of “climate justice” won’t be straightforward, according to Joyeeta Gupta, a professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam.
According to the United Nations, “‘climate justice’ is the moral and ethical principle that seeks to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities and future generations”.
“I define it as a system of justice where others’ perspectives are taken into account, and no harm is caused to others,” Gupta told Al Jazeera.
Nepal is a country that has very low emissions, she said, but is facing the brunt of climate issues which it never created. “That is reason enough for Nepal to claim climate justice,” she noted.
But, practically speaking, can it? In the pre-1990 period, there was a lot of discussion among nations about the need for large emitters to compensate those that would be harmed, Gupta noted. But soon after that, the term “compensation” disappeared from the agenda of international climate treaties, which turned more to discussions about providing assistance to developing countries that need to tackle climate change instead.
In a July 2025 advisory opinion on climate change, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that “all nations have binding legal duties under international law to prevent significant climate harm”.
The ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate change also says that states breaching their international climate obligations can be required to make full reparations, including financial compensation to “injured states” or countries impacted by climate change caused by the actions of other countries.
While the ICJ’s opinion is not legally binding, Gupta said, it is a statement in international law that could support Nepal’s government’s international appeal for climate justice and compensation.
‘No climate justice without internal justice’
Nepal’s rapper-turned-prime minister, Balendra Shah, is scheduled to travel to New York on September 22 to address the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 24. His country’s appeal for climate justice is expected to be a key part of his address.
For climate activist Shreya KC, while UN meetings and international conferences on climate change may hold some weight when it comes to discussing climate disasters, right now, what Nepal needs is money.
“So much of our money allotted for healthcare, education and to transition into a more developed nation is now being spent on fighting climate change. So countries who are causing emissions, especially from the global north, need to commit more money to the UN’s Loss and Damage Fund,” she said, adding that money from that fund should be disbursed to vulnerable communities in need, not as a loan but as compensation for bearing the brunt of climate change.
Pandey noted that this is not the first time a climate disaster has occurred in Nepal and said that the new government, which came into power in March this year on the back of Nepal’s Gen Z protests last year, has also failed to make climate a priority in its budget.
While it is a good sign that Nepali politicians are appealing for international climate justice, she said, they also need to address the country’s internal development model to fight climate change in the first place.
“There is no climate justice without internal justice within the country itself,” she said.
“I hope that even in our development, partners and investors stop treating climate resilience as an optional addition to development in Nepal just because we are economically vulnerable.
“Investing in Nepal without investing in sustainability is simply a bad investment.”
On Monday, Nepal declared a national day of mourning to remember the more than 1,300 people who are known to have died in last month’s catastrophic floods. Thousands more are still missing.
The country’s President Paudel used the opportunity to call on people to unite.
“This is not a time for division. Nor is it a time to blame one another or become entangled in political disputes and confrontation,” he said.
“This is a time to demonstrate national unity and solidarity. It is also a time for reconstruction, rehabilitation and economic recovery.”
But Gupta says Nepal’s biggest challenge right now is establishing a precedent for compensation for climate change-related disasters.
“It was recently a glacial collapse in the country, but soon, it will become a bigger issue as time goes on because the monsoon patterns will change, the sea level will rise,” she said.
As many other developing countries – notably island states that face being submerged altogether – are also likely facing similar climate change challenges, the damage could become huge.
“That is going to be a very big reason why many rich countries will probably be unwilling to pay compensation, because that would set a precedent for future issues,” Gupta said.
“But the issues countries like Nepal are facing are a very strong argument to try and convince the whole world to accelerate action to phase out fossil fuels and fight climate change.”
Everything We Know About The U.S. Navy’s Submersible Drone Iran Just Captured
The U.S. Navy has lost an advanced uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV), and it is now in Iranian hands. Here’s what we know about the Dive-LD drone and its apparent seizure, and its implications.
Authorities in Iran said earlier today that they had retrieved a U.S. Dive-LD uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) largely intact near the Strait of Hormuz. The regime in Tehran subsequently released pictures and video clips of the UUV being lifted out of the water, seen at various points below. This looks to be the first known instance of an operational deployment of the Dive-LD. This is still a relatively new capability for the U.S. Navy that only began entering service a little more than a year and a half ago. American officials have previously confirmed the use of UUVs, in general, to help keep the Strait of Hormuz free of Iranian naval mines, one of many threats that have dramatically slowed maritime traffic through this critical waterway.
İran, ele geçirdiği ABD’ye ait insansız denizaltının görüntülerini yayınladı
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “captured one of the most modern, unmanned, and smart submarines … at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in a complex intelligence and operational action at dawn today,” according to a statement shared earlier today via Iranian state media. The exact circumstances surrounding the seizure remain unconfirmed.
“An underwater drone operated by U.S. forces malfunctioned more than a day ago,” a U.S. official said in response to our queries about the Iranian claims. “It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment. U.S. operations in area waters continue.”
The official did not confirm or deny the type of UUV in question, or that Iran had retrieved it. They also did not elaborate on the nature of the malfunction. TWZ also reached out to Anduril, which initially deferred any questions to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). However, they subsequently confirmed the loss of a Dive-LD operating in the region.
“Dive-LD is an attritable autonomous system, meaning it is designed from the outset to operate in dangerous environments where loss of the vehicle is an expected possibility. Its purpose is to keep warfighters out of the most dangerous parts of the undersea mission,” an Anduril spokesperson told us in a statement. “This vehicle had already delivered significant value operating thousands of hours in months-long operations in CENTCOM.”
Categorized as a large UUV, the Dive-LD is 19 feet (approximately 5.8 meters) long, four feet (around 1.2 meters) in diameter, and has a gross weight of close to three tons. The design features a 3D-printed exterior, but is said to be capable of diving down to depths of some 19,685 feet (3.7 miles or 6,000 meters). The UUVs can also remain at sea for around 10 days at a time, depending on their exact configuration, and do so with a high degree of autonomy. Dive-LD was originally developed by U.S.-based Dive Technologies, which was founded in 2018 and then acquired by Anduril in 2022.
Anduril Welcomes Dive Technologies
Anduril announced the delivery of the first Dive-LD to the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Group One (UUVGRU-1) in April 2025. The Navy had already released a picture of personnel training with one of these UUVs five months earlier. How many Dive-LDs are now in U.S. service is unclear.
The Dive-LD has a highly modular design. Anduril’s website says that the UUV can be configured for various military missions, including so-called intelligence preparation of the operational environment (IPOE); general intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); mine warfare; and precision placement of objects underwater. IPOE refers to the collection of various types of intelligence on a specific area as part of planning for upcoming operations.
As mentioned, U.S. officials have previously stated that UUVs have been supporting mine-clearance operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Broadly speaking, uncrewed underwater platforms offer a way to find and record the location of naval mines using sonars, cameras, and other sensors, while helping keep friendly forces further away from potential threats. Afterward, depending on the type of mines that are found, various methods can be employed to neutralize them. Mine sweeping is time-consuming and dangerous, even in permissive environments, let alone when conducted under the threat of enemy attack.
This past weekend, the Financial Times newspaper in the United Kingdom published a story saying U.S. forces have been using UUVs in exactly this way to help clear Iranian mines, citing “people familiar with the operation.”
“Mostly at night, it [the U.S. military] sent Navy Seal [sic SEAL] divers, robot boats and specialised underwater craft into the perilous strait for a four-month mine-clearance mission,” according to FT‘s report. “U.S. Navy divers worked in small teams using inflatable-hulled craft. They located Iranian mines with the help of robot boats and submersibles – such as the U.S. Navy’s Common Uncrewed Surface Vessel – operating towed sonar arrays.”
The Common Uncrewed Surface Vessel (CUSV) is a speedboat-sized drone boat that has been in Navy inventory since the early 2020s, explicitly for counter-mine operations. FT‘s story does not say where any USVs, UUVs, and/or boats full of divers were launched from as part of these operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz, but it posited that the Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base ship USS Miguel Keith could have been involved.
CUSV®
A trio of Independence class Littoral Combat Ships specifically configured for mine-sweeping duties, including using CUSVs, had been forward deployed in Bahrain before the start of the conflict with Iran in February. At least two of those ships, USS Santa Fe and USS Tulsa, emerged thousands of miles away in Southeast Asia in March, something TWZ was the first to report on. At the time of writing, those ships currently appear to be in Singapore. The exact disposition of the third of these LCSs, the USS Canberra, is unclear, but USNI News reported today that it is sailing in the South China Sea.
The Navy has a host of other warships in the Middle East that could support counter-mine missions. With a 10-day endurance, Dive-LDs, specifically, could potentially have been launched from locations away from the Strait of Hormuz, including friendly ports.
Dive-LDs could also be used for other missions beyond mine clearance in the region. As mentioned, the U.S. official told TWZ the UUV had malfunctioned while “surveying regional waters.” While this would be a relevant task in the context of a larger mine-sweeping operation, underwater surveys would be valuable for other purposes, too. For months now, U.S. forces have been facilitating the movement of ships in and out of the Persian Gulf via a route that hugs the Omani coastline, keeping them as far from Iranian threats as possible. Having up-to-date and highly accurate maps of the seafloor in these areas would be critical to ensuring they are deep enough for large commercial vessels to pass through safely.
IPOE and general ISR support, above and below the waves, would be part of any current or future U.S. activities in the region. This includes a new campaign of strikes targeting Iranian tanker ships that began last month and monitoring general port activity in Iran as part of the ongoing blockade.
Employing Dive-LDs in operations against Iran also provides a valuable real-world opportunity to prove out new UUV capabilities and associated tactics, techniques, and procedures, which could prove critical in a future high-end fight against a peer opponent like China. Dive-LD has been feeding into Anduril’s development of an even more capable large UUV called Ghost Shark, the first customer for which is the Royal Australian Navy. Ghost Shark is a militarized version of a design called the Dive-XL that followed the Dive-LD. In March, Anduril announced it was among those selected for the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform Project (CAMP), an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle rapid prototyping effort being run by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Navy. Anduril did not say what platform it would be supplying for that project, but used a picture of Ghost Shark to illustrate the announcement.
Introducing: Dive-XL
The U.S. military is already known to have taken advantage of the ongoing conflict with Iran to demonstrate new weapon systems and other capabilities, including uncrewed maritime systems. In June, a Saronic Corsair drone boat conducted a first-of-its-kind at-sea rescue of the crew of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that had gone down in the Gulf of Oman. The following month, U.S. forces launched their first known kamikaze USV attack on Iran’s Bandar Abbas Naval Base using explosive-laden Corsairs.
With all this in mind, it is worth noting that the apparent loss of a Dive-LD intact to Iran is still significant, even if the core design is not brand new and if it does not have any especially sensitive mission systems onboard. It is not necessarily ‘exquisite,’ bleeding-edge technology as it is designed to be optionally attritable, but is still an advanced modern system in operational U.S. service now. Insights into its capabilities and limitations would certainly be of interest to Iran and others. What attempts the U.S. military made to recover the Dive-LD are also unknown. However, the fact that it was not destroyed before or while the Iranians were retrieving it points to American forces having completely lost any sense of its location beforehand.
For its part, Iran has long been a collector of foreign military hardware, primarily U.S. and Israeli, including drones of all types. The capture of a largely intact RQ-170 Sentinel in 2011 is the most famous (or infamous) example. The regime in Tehran also regularly works to reverse engineer what it recovers to varying degrees, and has promised to do the same with the Dive-LD. It could also share its latest prize with its own international partners, including Russia and China, for further analysis and exploitation. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) notably has its own very active UUV programs.
On top of all this, the seizure offers propaganda benefits for the Iranian government, which is already making heavy use of the information space to push back against U.S. military and economic pressure.
Countries seizing foreign USVs and UUVs is certainly not new at this point, even in ostensible peacetime periods. TWZ pointed out that this was only likely to become commonplace, and that steps would need to be taken to address these risks, after a pair of incidents involving Iran in 2022. On August 29 of that year, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attempted to capture a U.S. Navy Saildrone USV in the Persian Gulf. Just days later, the IRGC briefly commandeered a pair of American Saildrones in the Red Sea.
Iran tries to seize U.S. sail drone
The current conflict with Iran has only further underscored the important roles that uncrewed maritime platforms are playing in U.S. operations now, which are only set to keep growing as time goes on. As those same operations expand, so will the risks of capture and other losses.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
Nine Howard Stern Show staffers marked safe from layoffs as they return to air in new video ahead of season premiere
A SLEW of Howard Stern Show staffers have been marked safe from the rounds of layoffs that concluded over the summer.
In a new video posted to the show’s official Instagram page, at least nine employees were revealed to still be working for Stern.
Executive producer Gary Dell’Abate, also known by his nickname Baba Booey, greeted fans from his office in Stern’s SiriusXM studios before colleagues began to imitate his signature voice.
Producer Jason Kaplan then chimed in with his impression, along with associate director Sam Greenwood.
Richard Christy, JD Harmeyer, Steve Nowicki, Will Murray, Mike Pearlman and Sal Governale also gave their takes on Dell’Abate.
Sadly, at least 50 Stern Show employees were laid off in two rounds of layoffs this year, including the last cut in July.
On-air talent Memet Walker, Benjy Bronk, Jonathan Blitt, Mike Trainor and Rahsaan Rogers were among those let go from the team.
The cuts come with many changes at the Stern Show, including the shock jock downsizing to just one show a week.
SiriusXM archival channel Howard 101 was dropped, and taken over by Stern’s rival Andy Cohen. (Just Howard 100 remains.)
In addition, segments like The Stern Show’s Fantasy Football League will not return this season.
Most read in Entertainment
“The Stern Show Fantasy Football League is defunct…it’s done,” the league’s commissioner Michael Rapaport announced last week.
The league had been held for the past 18 years, and the source of major friction between staffers each fall.
The reclusive Stern has remained silent about the layoffs and changes, though he will return to air on September 14.
Stern is thought to have remained hunkered down on his Hamptons compound, making just a rare appearance at John Mayer’s concert in Amagansett in August.
The King of all Media re-signed a three-year deal with SiriusXM in December, after heated negotiations and rampant rumors the show would be canceled once and for all after 20 years at the streamer.
Dutch Pension Shift Hits Long-Term Debt Market
European CFOs must adjust as the region’s biggest pension buyer of long-dated debt cuts back.
This article appears in the September 2026 issue of Global Finance Magazine.
The Netherlands pension system is beginning to reduce one of Europe’s most reliable sources of demand for long-dated debt as a broad regulatory shift changes how Dutch pension funds manage their assets and liabilities. ING Groep NV estimates that nearly €600 billion ($699 billion) of assets have already been affected by the change, with more than €900 billion expected to follow early next year.
Under the old defined-benefit pension system, Dutch funds were required to hedge the interest-rate sensitivity of long-term pension liabilities by using long-dated bonds and swaps to match assets with payments extending decades into the future. Under the new defined-contribution model, which became law in 2023, that liability matching requirement has been significantly reduced, allowing funds to carry less duration and scale back their long-term hedges, resulting in less structural demand for the longest-dated debt and swaps.
For European CFOs, this could mean a higher premium for 20-, 30- and 50-year borrowing as companies and governments compete for a smaller pool of long-duration investors.
The change “should reduce structural demand for long-end duration assets and support curve steepeners over the long-term horizon,” wrote Sara Adjir, senior vice president and portfolio manager, and Jeroen van Bezooijen, account manager, at Pacific Investment Management Co., in a research note. They expect the impact will be mostly concentrated in 50-year swaps, but will also be felt in the demand for 20- and 30-year euro swaps and government bonds, including German and Dutch debt.
Deadlines
The Netherlands runs Europe’s largest pension system, with roughly €1.6 trillion in assets, and every fund must complete the switch by January 2028. Dutch pensions have long dominated the market for European long-dated debt, holding around €88 billion of interest-rate swaps maturing beyond 25 years at the end of last year, roughly a quarter of the total.
The first major wave of the transition came on Jan. 1, when 24 funds converted, among them the healthcare scheme PFZW and the metals scheme PMT, with an estimated €550 billion to €600 billion of pension assets between them. Analysis by the Netherlands central bank shows that Dutch pensions bought almost €34 billion net of swaps maturing inside 25 years while selling more than €12 billion of longer-dated ones.
The bigger test, however, comes when more than €900 billion of pension assets is scheduled to convert on Jan. 1, with the Dutch civil service scheme ABP accounting for about €530 billion of that.
The shift does not mean long-dated Dutch debt is suddenly becoming illiquid or even hard to sell: “Overall, we still see strong demand for our 30-year bond. Remember, we are AAA,” said Saskia van Dun, director of the Dutch State Treasury Agency.
Sovereign Issuers Adjust
Data indicates that sovereign borrowers are already adjusting to the change.
The share of Netherlands government bonds sold at maturities beyond 10 years fell from 42% at the start of 2025 to 31% by the third quarter, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which calls the constraint on long tenors structural. The OECD expects eurozone debt agencies to sell a record €1.35 trillion of medium- and long-term bonds this year into that thinner pool of demand.
For European finance chiefs, however, times are changing. For two decades, long-dated bond demand was unusually deep and predictable. As it recedes, the shifting cost of locking in 20 or 30 years of funding could become a live question.
Thomas Monteiro is a contributing writer based in Spain.
2,836 UK holidaymakers turned away from airports at two travel destinations
Travel experts say people are confused and think they only need a passport
A TSA agent screens travellers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
Thousands of UK holidaymakers are being stopped at international borders and refused entry due to confusion around visas, permits, and entry requirements, new figures have shown/ Data obtained by Confused.com found that more than 2,800 British travellers were refused entry at the US and Australian borders between 2023 and 2025. 2,836 Brits were denied entry across the two countries over the three-year period. More were turned away in 2025 alone (1,607) than in the 2 previous years combined (1,229).
In the US, the 2,533 refusals related to visa or travel-documentation requirements under the visa waiver programme (VWP). In Australia, 303 Brits were refused immigration clearance between 2023 and 2025.
The US figures show a sharp rise in recent years, more than tripling from 424 refusals in 2024. Of the 2,533 Brits turned away, men made up more than two-thirds (1,745), while 18–35-year-olds were the largest age group (1,498). Nearly 100 under-18s were also refused.
Incorrect documentation was behind over half of UK refusals at the Australian border. While some destinations now offer visa-free access, many still require certain permits or specific documentation to be allowed in the country.
Travellers often assume they can rely solely on their passport or arrange permits upon arrival, when in reality, permits can take time to process or come with additional costs. This leaves them at risk of being turned away at the border.
Further research suggests the problem is part of a broader lack of awareness and confidence among travellers. Half say they aren’t confident which countries require a tourist visa for entry and 54% say the visa application process is too complicated or confusing.
Over half of travellers cite visa fees as a deterrent.
Confused.com has launched a new visa checker tool, designed to help UK travellers quickly understand the entry requirements for their destination before they travel.
Tom Vaughan, travel insurance expert at Confused.com, said: “Being turned away at border control is something no traveller expects, but it’s a real risk if you’re unsure about the entry requirements for your destination. Visa rules can be complex and vary between countries, so even small mistakes can result in people being refused entry and losing out on their holiday.
“And it’s worth knowing that if you’re refused entry, it may not be covered by standard travel insurance. Insurers may treat refusals as a preventable risk rather than an unforeseen emergency. This means you could be left to bear the cost of return flights and non-refundable bookings yourself.”
He added: “Visas are just one part of getting ready for a trip. Travellers should also check their passport validity, make sure they have appropriate travel insurance and understand what it does and doesn’t cover, and keep important documents and emergency contacts easily accessible to avoid any last-minute issues.”
Destinations with visa requirements
European Union
- Requirement: European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) permit required for short stays (up to 90 days in a 180-day period).
- Cost: €20 application fee (exempt for under 18s and over 70s).
United States of America
- Requirement: Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program.
- Cost: $40 USD.
Australia
- Requirement: eVisitor visa or Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), valid for stays up to 3 months.
- Cost: Free eVisitor visa, or a service fee of $20 AUD if applying via the ETA app.
China
- Requirement: Temporary visa-free entry allowed for short stays under a policy running until December 2026.
- Cost: N/A (Free during the temporary policy window).
India
- Requirement: e-Visa or regular paper tourist visa (passport must be stamped upon arrival).
- Cost: £25–£80 for an e-Visa (depending on duration); approximately £127 for a standard paper tourist visa.
Pakistan
- Requirement: Tourist visa required prior to arrival; Intent to travel must be submitted at least 24 hours before departure to obtain a Visa Grant Notice.
- Cost: Varies by visa type and duration (processing takes 7–10 business days).
Kenya
- Requirement: Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) applied for online in advance (recommended at least 2 weeks prior to departure).
- Cost: Approximately £16.
Arab News | Pilots in Amazon cargo plane Miami crash released from hospital
Miami: The two pilots of an Amazon cargo plane that overran the runway while landing at Miami International Airport, striking a van and killing five people, have been released from hospital, officials said Tuesday.
Three people are in hospital, two in critical condition and one stable, following Sunday’s accident, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said at a news conference.
Cordero-Stutz said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was leading the investigation into the accident while the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office would conduct its own inquiry into the deaths on the ground.
NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy said officials were reviewing flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the plane.
Flight data released by investigators on Tuesday suggests the plane tried to abort a landing, before it tore through a perimeter fence and slammed into two vehicles.
NTSB investigator Chihoon Shin said the plane attempted to perform a “go-around” — a routine safety maneuver where a pilot stops a landing attempt and returns to the air to safely make another approach — before abandoning it.
The pilots then applied the brakes to try to stop the plane and put the throttle into idle, Shin said.
Homendy said the plane’s pilot and co-pilot, aged 55 and 37, would be interviewed on Wednesday.
The plane came to a halt about 1,300 feet (400 meters) past the end of the paved runway surface, Homendy said. The five fatalities were in a cleaning-services van.
Hundreds of flights were delayed at Florida’s busiest airport following the crash.
Homendy said the plane was a Boeing 767-300 built in 1994 and operated by 21 Air LLC, based in Miami and contracted to Amazon.
It was on its third flight of the day, and arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Man spends night in Benidorm and is floored by how much it costs
A YouTuber set himself a £100 challenge to discover just how much food, drink, accommodation and entertainment he could squeeze into a night in Benidorm
Ed allowed himself just £100 for the experiment(Image: YouTube/EdChapman)
The seemingly endless cost of living crisis is making even our weekly shop a major budgeting challenge. So it’s no surprise that some of us have given up on luxuries like holidays. With that in mind, YouTuber Ed Chapman set out to see how far £100 could take a holidaymaker in one of the most popular Spanish resorts.
Benidorm is renowned for “The Strip”, a street lined with garishly neon-lit English pubs and restaurants promising a traditional fried breakfast. It’s the ideal spot for a cheap and cheerful stag or hen weekend, but just how cheaply can you spend a night there?
Armed with €116 (£100), Ed scheduled a night out, a stay in a one-star hotel and a fun activity for the following day.
A key part of his plan was tracking down a hotel that wouldn’t leave him out of pocket. Ed explained that while he could have saved a bit of cash by opting for a hostel, he’d rather have a proper hotel room to himself.
And given what he paid for it, he said the room exceeded all expectations: “Believe it or not, we have a balcony,” he said. “I was sort of shocked by this for the price.”
The hotel bathroom also came as a welcome surprise: “This is a nice big modern shower. I was really shocked about this. You’ve got a toilet here. You’ve even got a little sink at the side as you’d expect, and a bathroom hand dryer in a holster,” reports the Express.
The room, which set Ed back just £62, was something of a revelation, he said: “I didn’t expect such a good shower situation. And it is a very powerful shower as well. I’ve been really impressed with this for one night.”
For his evening meal, Ed nipped into a bar-restaurant called the Bulldog and went for a wallet-friendly jacket potato. For €6 – just over a fiver – he tucked into a perfectly decent jacket potato with baked beans, served alongside a side salad which, as he rightly noted, “no-one ever eats.”
Washed down with a “massive” pint of cider that brought his total spend to £9, it was a hearty and satisfying meal that set Ed up nicely for a bar crawl.
Spending an evening solo on Benidorm’s notorious “Strip” could have been quite a daunting prospect, but Ed says he had a brilliant time. Settling down with a pint of cider in one particularly “friendly” bar, he recounts how a complete stranger wandered over and planted a kiss on his ear: “Bit friendly, bit familiar,” he said.
Ed spent a couple of hours strolling around Benidorm, noting that while it’s widely regarded as a destination for a “lads’ holiday”, the ratio of men to women meant that romance was unlikely to be on the cards.
He did clock one club hostess, however, stripping a gleeful punter and giving him a smack on the bottom with a leather tawse, which was about as close to romance as the evening got.
With his night’s entertainment wrapped up, Ed headed back to his hotel room before venturing out the following morning for a fry-up, which set him back a very reasonable £5. However, after forking out on two bottles of water with his meal, the total breakfast bill came to £7.
Technically, the “entertainment” element of Ed’s getaway pushed him marginally over budget. His session at a water-park assault course set him back €16 (roughly £14).
Featuring Ed’s efforts to balance on some oversized vinyl beach balls and a go on a soggy trampoline, it proved a somewhat chaotic conclusion to the trip: “No one ever does this on Total Wipeout, do they?” Ed said, admitting that he’d spent £101 of his £100 budget.
Europe’s wildest pilgrimage route: a trek through the mountains of north-west Sweden | Sweden holidays
I wasn’t exactly in “Sunday best”, but I had made some effort. Well, I’d changed my underwear for the first time in a couple of days and given myself a baby-wipe bath. Still, as we filed into the chapel at Alkavare, I felt more a member of an expedition than a congregation. We sat on the low wooden benches, waterproof jackets rustling and leather walking boots stamping on the flagstone floor to keep warm. Fortunately, the priest, Mogens Amstrup Jacobsen, appeared to be a “man of the Gore-Tex”, as well as a man of the cloth, as he unzipped his own black rain jacket to reveal his dog collar. As the service began, the Arctic wind whipped through cracks in the dry stone walls, insulated only with reindeer hair, and candles flickered in their brass sconces.
I had hiked to Alkavare following the Präststigen, or “Priests’ trail”, a 37-mile (60km) route from Kvikkjokk that could stake a claim as Europe’s wildest pilgrimage route, and certainly one of its most beautiful. The Präststigen follows the path that priests would once have taken to the chapel, built in 1788, to perform a service each summer, and today, on the last weekend in July, intrepid hikers and perseverant pilgrims can attend that same service.
Alkavare sits on the western border of Sweden’s Sarek national park, home to many of the country’s highest mountains and steepest valleys, yet with no campsites or tourist huts and only scant sections of the more famous Kungsleden trail. There are no other marked paths and to hike here means wild camping, a heavy backpack and a sense of adventure. It was described by famed Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld in 1926 as vår sista stora vildmark – “our last great wilderness”.
“I hate it when people use the term ‘wilderness’,” Christian Heimrot from Laponia Adventures, a local guiding operator, told me, as I joined him on the research exhibition for a new Präststigen group trip launching next year. “This is a living landscape, people have lived, worked and shaped this land for thousands of years.” Indeed, Sarek national park, (as part of the wider Laponia region), was recognised as a Unsesco World Heritage Site in 1996 for both its cultural and natural value.
The Sami, Europe’s last Indigenous population, have braided themselves into these landscapes as tightly and beautifully as the thread of pewter in their traditional handicrafts. The Sami word for the Laponia area is Sápmi, the same word they use to refer to themselves, highlighting the indelible link between people and their environment. Sarek sits on the Sami’s traditional reindeer herding grounds. While they might now use motorcycles and snowmobiles to follow and herd the reindeer, their knowledge of and kinship with this landscape remains undimmed.
So, not wilderness, then, but certainly wild. To even reach the start of the Präststigen, I had crossed the Arctic Circle on the road north from Luleå, met with Christian at his warehouse in Jokkmokk (home to the famous Sami winter markets each February) to load up our rucksacks for the six-night trip, and journeyed an hour farther west to the town of Kvikkjokk. From there the trailhead was a short boat ride across Sakkat lake.
The first section of the trail climbed steeply, switchbacks tightly coiled in birch woodland; wild blueberries and cloudberries littered the path. Eventually we left the woodland and reached the ridge for our first proper view of Sarek. Away to the north was the cloud-covered summit of Bårddetjåhkkå, where in 1911 Swedish geologist Axel Hamberg built an observatory to conduct meteorological and glacial studies.
We slept soundly, as we eased into the rhythms of wild camping – water collected from a gin-clear lake, a hearty supper of reindeer stew, and an eye mask to keep out the midnight sun. The next day we hiked deeper into Sarek via the Vállevágge, the skies the blue of the Swedish flag, the silence only disrupted by the occasional breath of wind.
We were following the guidebook Priest’s Path by Hans Fowelin (currently only published in Swedish), and while there was no marked trail, Fowelin had plotted a path of cairns we were supposedly to follow. While some were solidly built square towers, most were little more than one rock propped up against another, mere whispers of waymarkers in a landscape of scree and moraine.
Alongside the familiar buttercups and heather there were bright blue blossoms of mountain gentian, red ptarmigan berries and otherworldly looking wild angelica, a source of vitamin C for the Sami. Sarek was visited by botanist Carl Linnaeus during his epic expedition through northern Sweden in 1732, and the first part of the Priest’s trail is sometimes referred to as Linnaeus’s trail.
On our fourth day of hiking Alkavare chapel appeared on a bluff above the glacial blue waters of Alggajavvre lake, surrounded by high peaks and valleys. It was utterly beautiful. I had a grin on my wind-burnt face for most of the day, one that even wading across rivers (a common feature of hiking in Sarek), shin-high in glacial meltwater, failed to dim.
After rowing across the Miellätno river, using one of the rowing boats left on each bank by the park rangers, we climbed up to the chapel late on Saturday evening where Jacobsen greeted us with a beaming smile.
Over tea, he told us he had been dropped off by helicopter at Alkavare with his family on Friday morning and this was his first time leading the service here. Others in the diocese no longer volunteered. “It is physical, hard work and the days are long,” he said, before heading off to re-tar the chapel’s roof and fix one of the rowing boats that had come loose and floated away down the river – returned, later, swinging beneath a helicopter.
Sunday mass began promptly at 11am the following morning for our small band of pilgrims (we numbered 11 in total, including the priest). The altar had a simple wooden cross and cloths on loan from the church in Jokkmokk. They were in the poster paint palate of traditional Sami clothing and a reminder that it was for the Sami that the chapel had been originally built – not an act of benevolence, but as part of the forced Christianisation and eradication of their shamanistic beliefs in the 18th century.
After the service we sat outside for coffee and pastries, before beginning our hike home. Christian was keen that we hiked via Sweden’s point of inaccessibility or otillgänglighetspunkten, just over the border from Sarek in the Padjelanta national park. This is the country’s point furthest from any road or town, about 31 miles (50km) in fact, and is often cited as western Europe’s remotest too. Marked with no cairn or monument, just a circle of quartz stones and a trio of reindeer antlers, it felt no more or less remote than most of the previous week’s hiking. And I was struck that what made Sarek and the Präststigen special wasn’t just the scenery, as beautiful as it was, it was the people – the Sami, Hamberg and Linneaus, and the motley congregation we’d briefly joined, and it was a route firmly deserving of more visitors. “I told you,” Christian said, grinning, “It isn’t a wilderness.”
The trip was provided by Laponia Adventures, which will lead a guided, small-group trip along the Priest’s Path to Alkavare in July 2027, and offers equipment rental and advice for independent hikers. For more information on Sarek national park and northern Sweden, visit arcticsweden.com
Arab News | Slovenia turns Israeli ally with new embassy
LJUBLIJANA: A chill has set in between much of Europe and Israel recently over its treatment of Palestinians, but the Alpine nation of Slovenia is bucking the trend.
Under nationalist Prime Minister Janez Jansa Slovenia is launching a diplomatic reset of its relationship with Israel, which will send its foreign minister to open its first embassy in Ljubljana on Wednesday.
It is an about-face from the policies of the previous centre-left government, which had been one of the EU’s most critical voices on Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which it described as “genocide”.
And it comes a day after the United Kingdom and other European countries provoked Israeli fury by banning imports from settlements in the occupied West Bank — the latest move by European governments grappling with growing international condemnation of Israeli policies towards Palestinians.
But in Slovenia, Jansa – who took office for the fourth time earlier this year, and who is often at loggerheads with the European Union – has instead received Israeli accolades for defying the EU over the West Bank settlements.
“Thank you PM Jansa for your courage and clarity amidst EU hypocrisy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X late last month, after Slovenia vetoed an EU statement condemning the settlements.
Under Jansa, Slovenia has also reversed its own ban on imports from the settlements, lifted its arms embargo on Israel and scrapped entry bans on Netanyahu and two of his ministers.
In his first official visit to the country, Israel’s top diplomat Gideon Saar will inaugurate the embassy Wednesday, with his ministry describing Jansa as a “friend of Israel”.
Jansa has said his government was “only normalising Slovenia’s foreign policy and fixing the damage” caused by liberal ex-prime minister Robert Golob.
“To fulfil its priority of improving the well-being of Slovenians, the government will carry out pragmatic policies,” Jansa said in another post earlier.
‘Instrument’
Not all Slovenians are on board, however.
A poll conducted by the daily newspaper Delo in June found that 56 percent of Slovenians opposed closer ties with Israel, while 14 percent supported them.
Several rights groups have announced protests against the embassy’s inauguration, which has also drawn sharp criticism from the opposition.
Golob’s party has described the new embassy as “a return of the favour” for Israel’s alleged support of Jansa during the March election.
The last days of campaigning ahead of the March 22 vote were overshadowed by claims of foreign interference, with authorities probing whether Israeli company Black Cube was behind secretly recorded videos alleging graft in Golob’s government.
Jansa – who faced accusations his party was linked to the videos – has admitted to having met a Black Cube official, but denied being behind the videos.
Daily Dnevnik’s columnist Darijan Kosir in a weekend commentary said Jansa was serving “as the US-Israel’s Trojan horse” in the EU, taking the place of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s long-time premier who lost April elections.
Former president Danilo Turk told AFP that Slovenia has “become an instrument of Israeli policy”.
“This is a very uncomfortable situation,” said Turk, an International Law professor at Ljubljana University.
Arab News | EU to help cities tighten screws on Airbnb, holiday rentals
BRUSSELS: European cities will gain more leeway to curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb under plans to bring down housing costs in tourism hotspots that the European Union is to unveil Wednesday.
The European Commission is to lay out conditions under which local authorities can limit short lets, as part of an “affordable housing” package that seeks to address what EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has called a “social crisis”.
“Nurses, teachers, and firemen cannot afford to live where they serve. Students drop out because they cannot pay the rent. Young people delay starting families,” she said in a speech last year highlighting the issue as a priority for Brussels.
Though hugely popular with visitors, short-term lodgings are blamed by residents in many popular travel destinations for depriving locals of apartments for long-term rent and pushing up prices.
From New York to Tokyo and Barcelona, a growing number of cities worldwide have imposed or considered restrictions on tourist flats in recent years.
But curbs have often been followed by court challenges from rental providers and tourism operators, resulting in legal uncertainty.
The commission’s Affordable Housing Act aims to provide cities with legal cover, clarifying when authorities can take action without falling foul of EU single market rules.
Cities and other relevant authorities will be allowed to limit holiday rentals as well as the purchase of property for short-term letting purposes in areas deemed “under housing stress”, according to a draft seen by AFP.
The document laid out a series of parameters that needed to be met for an area to be defined as under stress, such as the ratio between house prices and incomes there.
“Population dynamics” and future housing supply and demand will also need to be taken into account, the draft said, adding any measure should be non-discriminatory, necessary and proportionate.
‘Structural solutions’
The legislation will not affect landlords that rent out their own primary residence for short periods of time.
Housing affordability has become a growing issue across the 27-nation bloc in recent years.
Property prices have surged by 60 percent, while rents have climbed by 20 percent over the past decade, leaving millions struggling to find a home they can afford, according to Brussels.
The EU says this is mainly driven by insufficient housing supply but short-term lets add extra pressure in certain areas.
Short rentals account for only about 1.2 percent of the European Union’s housing stock but the share can reach as much as 20 percent in popular districts of some tourist destinations, according to EU data.
Holiday lets “can generate important economic and social benefits, especially for households struggling to make ends meet” but “they may also aggravate housing demand pressures in some constrained local housing markets,” the EU draft read.
Yet, that’s something rental providers dispute.
“For the great majority of cities, the claim that short-term rentals are driving housing stress does not survive contact with this evidence,” tech lobby group CCIA wrote in a letter to the commission this month.
In some cities with restrictions, rents and hotel prices have gone up, the letter added, noting Lisbon recently overturned some of the curbs it had previously imposed.
“Europe’s housing crisis needs structural solutions, and the implementation of this Act should focus on increasing the supply of homes,” said an Airbnb spokesperson.
New Oasis teaser video ‘confirms’ latest tour location with cheeky nod to moment that caused band to split
A NEW teaser video from Oasis ‘confirms’ an upcoming tour location – with a subtle nod to a moment that happened around the group’s original split.
The legendary rock band – led by brothers Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher – reformed in 2024 after breaking up in 2009.
It saw the pair overcome their 15-year feud as they embarked on a reunion tour in summer 2025.
The band have now posted a cryptic clip online, with fans certain they sussed out an upcoming tour location.
Fans were convinced the clip hinted at a France tour date – with references to “Rock en Seine” and “Au Marché” visible.
One person commented: “A French date for next year’s tour I see! Possibly for the 7th of July?? Interesting…”
Another added: “Hey Oasis, you owe me a gig in Paris!!! I was there that night in 2009. F*****g night. So VIVE LA FRANCE!!”
In addition to this, the video also includes a reference to an infamous moment in Oasis history.
A viewer remarked: “Please tell me that was a plum he threw. Genius.”
While a second person said: “OMG ITS LIAM THROWING A PLUM AT NOEL !!!!!”
In the clip, a man wearing a leather jacket took out a plum from a paper bag and began eating it.
Soon after this, he lobbed the plum away somewhere off camera, into the distance.
It references Noel previously telling how – during a heated 2009 argument at the Rock en Seine Festival in Paris the time of his Oasis departure – Liam threw a plum at him.
In 2011, he said at a press conference for solo album Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: “He storms out of the dressing room and on the way out, he picked up a plum and threw it across the dressing room and it smashes against the wall.”
Noel added: “Part of me wishes it did end like that – “plum throws plum.”
Ameren prices $900M junior subordinated notes due 2057
Ameren prices $900M junior subordinated notes due 2057
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Flex your football brain with our daily quizzes
Test your ball knowledge with today’s Who Am I?, Five in Five and Brainteaser.
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Collage session
At this session participants use scraps of paper and other materials to create a fun collage of their friends. It is being held on Sept. 10. Book through experiences.suplift.com .
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The case for the US going back to the firing squad | Death Penalty
The US has evolved its method of criminal executions, but drug shortages and protests over medical ethics have made lethal injections increasingly difficult to carry out. John Malcolm of the Meese Institute tells Al Jazeera that the US should ‘go back to a firing squad’.
Published On 9 Sep 2026
How Zendaya became Hollywood’s hottest heroine raking in $2.4BILLION at box office in biggest year of her career to date
HOLLYWOOD star Zendaya has become the big screen’s hottest heroine after her films raked in some £3billion this year alone at the global box office.
The 30-year-old actress has pulled in £1.8billion with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and £1.2billion with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey — with Dune: Part Three still to come.
It puts her ahead of every other leading lady in cinema in 2026 — with her annual income from movies alone estimated at tens of millions of pounds.
Zendaya plays MJ in the Spider-Man movies, opposite husband Tom Holland, also 30, in the title role.
The superhero extravaganza has become one of the biggest movies of all time.
She also stars alongside him and an ensemble cast including Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway in The Odyssey.
The swords and sandals epic has itself become a massive summer hit and a box office phenomenon.
It easily grabbed the cinema top spot after its July 17 release, until the latest Spider-Man movie took the crown when it came out two weeks later.
Spidey stayed at No1 on the global box office throughout August — until The Odyssey knocked it off again last weekend, proving the pulling power of newlyweds Zendaya and Tom.
She began the year with her other release, romantic dark comedy The Drama, in which she starred alongside Robert Pattinson.
It made £97million worldwide.
And Zendaya is showing no signs of slowing down, with Dune: Part Three set to debut on December 18 and looking to be another massive hit, possibly grossing another billion dollars (£740million).
Dune: Part Two made a global gross of over £526million in 2024, growing from part one’s £303million in 2021. It is now likely the third instalment will skyrocket way past its prequel.
It all comes as Hollywood’s leading lady just recently celebrated her 30th birthday after becoming one of the most influential young actresses of her time.