Actress Sue Nicholls has played Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street for over 45 years

Coronation Street star Sue Nicholls has played Audrey Roberts for decades, and has become one of the soap’s most beloved characters.

Audrey made her debut on the cobbles back in 1979, where she was introduced as the mum of Gail Platt (Helen Worth).

The character has been involved in several huge storylines over the years, including her tumultuous love life, family drama, and mental health struggles. Audrey notably escaped serial killer Richard Hillman (Brian Capron), and was in a relationship with reformed con-man Lewis Archer (Nigel Havers), as well as battling with depression and alcoholism.

Audrey also got married to Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley) in 1985, before his tragic death in 1999. Similar to her character, actor Sue has also been through her fair share of heartbreak, following the death of her co-star husband Mark Eden.

Mark was best known for his role as villain Alan Bradley in Corrie – a role he played from 1986 to 1989. Alan’s storyline began when he visited Weatherfield to reconcile with his long-lost daughter, Jenny (Sally Ann Matthews), following the death of her mother and his ex-wife Pat.

Alan soon moved in with Jenny and her foster mother, Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox), who he eventually fell in love with. However, the romantic bliss didn’t last very long.

Alan notably defrauded Rita by forging her signature to mortgage her house for his business, Weatherfield Security Systems. He was also abusive, and cheated on Rita with Gloria Todd (Sue Jenkins). The character’s villainous streak came to an end when he was fatally hit by a Blackpool tram while chasing Rita back in 1989.

Away from the cobbles, actor Sue claimed to have experienced love at first sight after meeting co-star Mark at a fashion party in 1983. The couple were married from 1993 until Mark’s death in 2021 at the age of 92. The actor had been living with Alzheimer’s disease “for some time”.

Tributes quickly flooded in for the beloved star, following his death. John Whiston, the former managing director of continuing drama and head of ITV Studios in the north, previously said in a statement: “We are all hugely saddened to hear of the death of Mark Eden.

“The character he played, Alan Bradley, made a real impact in the three years he was in the show, embarking on a reign of terror and clashing with just about every other character in Coronation Street. He was a consummate actor and played the role of psychotic villain to a tee, making the character both chilling and credible.

“The show owes Mark a great deal as he set the template for all the great villains to come, from Hillman to [Pat] Phelan to our latest baddie, Geoff Metcalfe. It’s a fantastic dramatic legacy. Our thoughts go out to Sue and their family and friends at this sad time.”

Audrey hasn’t been seen on screen in recent months, sparking serious concern from fans. The ITV soap offered an update on the beloved character last week.

During a recent episode (February 26), Audrey’s granddaughter, Sarah (Tina O’Brien), spoke to her mum on the phone, confirming that Audrey was on holiday. Fans will surely be devastated by the update, as they hope to see Audrey back in the salon soon.

Emmerdale airs weekday nights at 8pm on ITV1 and STV, and Coronation Street airs weekday nights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and STV as part of ITV’s new soap power hour scheduling pattern for Coronation Street and Emmerdale

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website

If Democrats expect to flip a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, they’ll need all the stars to align. This almost never happens, because politics has a way of scrambling the constellations. But on Tuesday, the first star blinked on.

I’m referring to state Rep. James Talarico’s victory over Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary. Most political prognosticators agree that Talarico, an eloquent young Democrat who speaks openly about his Christian faith, is their best hope in a red state that Donald Trump won by 14 points.

The second star was Crockett’s conciliatory concession — far from a foregone conclusion after a nasty primary — in which she pledged to “do my part,” adding that “Texas is primed to turn blue, and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.”

The third star — a vulnerable Republican opponent — has not yet appeared over the Texas sky, although forecasters say it might.

Most observers agree that scandal-plagued Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton would be beatable in the general election, while incumbent Sen. John Cornyn would present a much tougher challenge. Cornyn is the kind of steady, conventional politician who tends to win elections, and so, of course, modern voters are extremely suspicious of him.

In the GOP primary on Tuesday, Cornyn’s 42% share of the vote edged out Paxton by about a point. Unfortunately for Republicans, neither candidate garnered enough votes to avoid a May 26 runoff election.

Conventional wisdom suggests that when a majority of Republican voters choose someone other than the incumbent in the first round of voting, an even greater majority will inevitably break toward the challenger in the runoff. If that happens, Paxton would become the nominee, and Democrats would get their third star to align.

Even better for Democrats — a fourth star, so to speak — would be for this protracted runoff to become a “knife fight,” as one Texas Republican predicted, in which Paxton staggers out of the fight as the battered GOP nominee.

The only problem is that Republicans can see these stars aligning, too.

And while the Texas Senate seat matters a lot on its own, it matters even more in the context of nationwide midterm elections, in which a Texas win would help Democrats take back the Senate.

Enter the cavalry — or, more accurately, President Trump, who is now entering a second war in the span of a week, this one a civil war in the Lone Star State.

The day after the primary, Trump announced that he would be “making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE!”

Reports suggest Trump may endorse Cornyn in order to save the seat for Republicans. But who knows? Trump is famously unpredictable. And it’s likely he admires Paxton’s ability to survive scandals that would have caused most normal politicians to curl up in the fetal position. As they say, “game recognizes game.”

Whomever he backs, conventional wisdom also says Trump should make his endorsement “soon,” as he promised. That would save Republicans a lot of time and money. But Trump currently has enormous leverage. Right now, people are coming to him, pleading for his support.

Do you think he wants to resolve that situation quickly?

Me neither.

With Trump, you never know what you’re going to get. In 2021, he helped torpedo Republican Senate candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in Georgia, handing Democrats control of the Senate. The following year he backed football legend Herschel Walker in another Georgia Senate race, which did not exactly work out great. Democrat Raphael Warnock won and holds that seat, though Walker is now ambassador to the Bahamas so that’s something.

This is to say: Trump’s political assistance does not always assist.

It’s unclear whether Trump’s endorsement would be dispositive — and whether he could muscle the other Republican out of the primary race.

Paxton, for example, initially vowed to stay in the race, no matter what. (He later suggested he would “consider” dropping out if the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, a bill to require proof of citizenship to vote.)

There’s also this: Trump’s endorsements tend to either be made out of vengeance or to pad the totals of an already inevitable winner, so his track record is probably overrated.

Case in point: While most of his endorsed candidates won their Texas elections, his endorsed candidate for agriculture commissioner lost reelection. And according to the Texas Tribune, “at least three Trump-endorsed candidates for Congress were headed to runoffs, one of them in a distant second place.”

Another issue is that Cornyn needs more than a perfunctory endorsement: He needs a clear, full-throated endorsement.

In a 2022 Missouri Senate race, Trump endorsed “ERIC,” which was awkward because two candidates named Eric were running.

More recently, he endorsed two rival candidates in the same 2026 Arizona gubernatorial race — like betting on both teams in the Super Bowl.

This is all to say that the only thing standing between Texas Democrats and a rare celestial alignment may be the whims of the Republican Party’s one and only star.

Sure, establishment Republicans can beg Trump to quickly step in and settle the race, and maybe he will. But it’s entirely possible the president will find a way to blow up his party’s chances for holding the U.S. Senate — and there’s nothing they can do to stop him.

When you’re a star, they let you do it.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”

The blanket ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes in 2022 was reduced to a partial ban in 2023, allowing athletes from the two nations to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

In September 2025, the IPC lifted that ban entirely but the four individual governing bodies in charge of the six sports contested at the Winter Paralympics decided to keep their bans in place.

In December, Russia and Belarus won an appeal against FIS – the governing body for skiing and snowboarding – at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), permitting their athletes in those sports to compete and accumulate ranking points.

As a result, 10 athletes were then awarded bipartite commission invitations to compete at the Winter Paralympics.

Bipartite commission invites are granted to individual athletes, rather than their international federation, and allow the participation of top athletes “who may not have had the opportunity to qualify through other methods due to extraordinary circumstances”, among other factors.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision “awful” while the country’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi said it was “both disappointing and outrageous”.

“The general assembly lifted the suspension in September so we need to respect the democracy of our movement. The majority voted that way, so we need to implement their decision,” said Parsons.

“But I fully understand the disappointment, I understand the different opinions, and especially [those] coming from Ukraine.”

Asked what he would say to Ukrainian athletes, he said: “My message to them is that the best way to show the strength of Ukraine is on the field of play, by winning medals and by making sure their national anthem is played as many times as possible on Italian soil.”

In addition to Ukraine, teams from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are boycotting Friday’s opening ceremony in Verona in protest against the decision.

Officials from other nations, including the British government, will not attend for the same reason.

The Great Britain team will also not go to the Verona ceremony, but for logistical reasons – a decision that was made some time ago.

Many of the 25-strong British squad – including flagbearers Menna Fitzpatrick and Scott Meenagh – are in competitive action on Saturday morning, several hours’ drive from Verona.

Athletes from Belarus are expected to be in attendance at the opening ceremony, but at the time of BBC Sport’s interview with Parsons, no Russians were due to attend.

“Different countries, National Paralympic Committees, governments, athletes, they have been able to express their views freely, and that’s what we stand for as a democratic organisation,” said Parsons.

“We would like the focus to be more on sport rather than politics and this is what we are trying to do.”

The United States used Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) for the first time during its ongoing war with Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday.

The war entered its seventh day on Friday, with attacks continuing across Iran and other countries in the Middle East.

CENTCOM stated in an X post that PrSMs provide an “unrivaled deep strike capability”.

“I just could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform leveraging innovation to create dilemmas for the enemy,” the post quoted Admiral Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM.

It is unclear where these PrSMs were launched from, or which specific targets they hit in Iran.

So what is the PrSM, and why is it significant that it has been used by the US for the first time?

What are Precision Strike Missiles?

PrSMs are described as long-range precision strike missiles by their developer, the Maryland, US-headquartered defence firm Lockheed Martin, which delivered the first PrSMs to the US Army in December 2023.

PrSMs can hit targets ranging from 60km (37 miles) to more than 499km (310 miles) away, according to Lockheed Martin.

The company’s website adds that PrSMs are compatible with the MLRS M270 and HIMARS family of launchers, both also developed by Lockheed and used by both the United Kingdom and US armies.

MLRS stands for multiple-launch rocket systems, used to launch missiles. The UK sent a number to Ukraine in 2022. HIMARS stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. In 2022, the US sent a number to Ukraine, as well.

M-142 HIMARS is a high-tech, lightweight rocket launcher that is wheel-mounted, giving it more agility and manoeuvrability on the battlefield. Each unit can carry six GPS-guided rockets, or larger missiles like Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs) and PrSMs, which can be reloaded in about a minute with only a small crew.

Lockheed Martin adds that PrSMs can be rapidly developed. “We are ready to produce and deliver to meet the US Army’s accelerated timeline for this long-range precision fires priority,” the website says.

PrSMs feature “open systems architecture”, which means that it is easier to plug in new components, upgrade parts, or work with equipment from other companies. Similarly, they are “modular and easily adaptable”, enabling components to be switched around.

They also feature “IM energetic payload”, or Insensitive Munitions energetic payload, which makes explosions safer, the producer says. This means the warhead is made from explosives that are less likely to blow up accidentally if hit by fire, shrapnel or by accident, but still explode properly when triggered as intended.

What is different about the PrSMs?

PrSMs will ultimately replace the ATACMs currently being fired from the HIMARS launchers, significantly increasing their range from 300km (186 miles) to more than 499km (310 miles), without changing the vehicle carrying the missile.

PrSMs also offer double the “missile load” of ATACMs. While a HIMARS launcher is able to carry one ATACMS missile in its pod, it can carry two PrSMs per pod.

Does the PrSM give the US a strategic advantage?

CENTCOM confirmed that PrSMs have been used in the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran, codenamed Operation Epic Fury and launched on February 28.

CENTCOM posted a video of the PrSMs being launched from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems in an open desert terrain.

PrSMs do give the US military a boost for its pre-existing long-range capabilities.

Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, specifically the Musandam Peninsula, which have military bases hosting US assets and troops, have at least some territory within 400km (250 miles) of Iran.

The US is using PrSMs in conjunction with other long-range missiles such as Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) one-way drones, MQ-9 Reaper drones, ATACMs and Tomahawk Cruise Missiles.

The range for LUCAS one-way drones is about 800km (500 miles), while the range for ATACMs is about 300km (186 miles) and the range for Tomahawk cruise missiles is about 1,600km (1,000 miles).

Why is the introduction of the PrSM significant?

The range of this missile is significant as it is likely that it would not have been permitted under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, which the Trump administration withdrew the US from in 2019. This is because it can exceed the maximum 500km (310-mile) range the treaty imposed on certain land-launched missiles.

The treaty was signed in 1987 by US and Soviet Union leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. It sought to eliminate the presence of land-based nuclear missiles and medium-range arsenals between 500km and 5,500km (310 and 3500 miles) from Europe.

The US suspension of the treaty allowed Washington to resume development of its own medium-range, land-based arsenal.

Following the US suspension, Russia invited the US to reciprocate in a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of ground-launched intermediate-range missiles instead. While Washington initially rejected the offer, in 2022, it said it would be willing to discuss this.

In August last year, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Russia’s withdrawal from this moratorium, however, saying the US had “made significant progress” and “openly declared plans to deploy US ground-launched INF-range missiles in various regions”. INF stands for intermediate-range nuclear forces.

The statement added that such actions by Western countries posed a “direct threat” to Moscow’s security.

Kyiv, Ukraine – As Washington’s Middle Eastern allies use US-made Patriot air defence systems to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones, Ukraine is about to face a dire shortage of ammunition for them.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin is sure to exploit the shortage of pricey guided missiles the truck-mounted Patriots launch at machinegun speed to down his pride and joy, Russia’s ballistic missiles that he once declared were “indestructible”, experts have told Al Jazeera.

The Patriots were developed in the 1970s to down Soviet missiles whose modifications Russia still rains on Ukraine.

The supply of Patriots to Ukraine began in 2023 and was initially limited to several batteries stationed in the capital, Kyiv. The location of the systems was constantly changed to protect them from Russian attacks.

The Patriots utilise advanced radars to detect targets flying at supersonic speeds and launch their guided missiles with the sound that resembles super-fast electronic beats – up to 32 missiles per minute.

But the noise – along with thunderous shockwaves that follow split-second, sun-bright explosions – made Ukrainians feel safe during harrowing, hours-long Russian assaults that have targeted civilian areas and involve hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.

Within weeks after their deployment, the Patriots intercepted Russia’s Kinzhal (Dagger) intercontinental ballistic missiles that are launched by supersonic fighter jets and fly in the Earth’s stratosphere.

The interceptions disproved Putin’s earlier claims that the Kinzhals made any Western air defence systems “useless”.

The safety, however, came with a hefty price tag – each Patriot guided missile costs several million dollars, and their manufacturing never exceeded more than 900 units a year.

‘Tomorrow’s problem’

Some 800 guided missiles have been used to repel Iranian aerial attacks within just three days after Tehran began raining its missiles and drones on almost a dozen nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.

“Ukraine has never had this many missiles to repel attacks,” Zelenskyy said, reiterating his readiness to dispatch Ukrainian experts and drone interceptors to help Gulf nations counter the attacks.

The shortage of guided missiles is, however, not immediate and may occur in several weeks.

“This is not today’s problem, this is tomorrow’s problem,” Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Center for Applied Political Studies (Penta) think tank, told Al Jazeera.

But the problem may become catastrophic.

In recent days, Moscow stopped attacking Ukraine with drones and missiles – a sign of amassing them for massive raids in the near future, Fesenko said.

“Russia’s most obvious actions would be to bleed Ukraine’s stock of Patriot missiles dry to inflict maximal damage on us through massive missile attacks,” he said.

Kyiv already faces a less critical problem with the shortage of missiles for Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets that proved effective in downing Russian missiles.

“The problem is less critical, but also vital for us,” Fesenko said.

Ukraine has experienced a shortage of Patriot missiles before.

Last summer, when the US and Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites, the Pentagon stopped the Patriot missiles’ supply as it was “auditing” its own stocks.

The suspension of Patriot interceptors and HIMARS multiple rocket launchers left Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including thermal power stations and transport hubs, more vulnerable to Russian attacks.

Russia’s tactics of indiscriminate aerial strikes have been tried and tested over the past four years.

Moscow starts an air raid with drones and decoy drones to make Ukrainian air defence units use as many Patriot missiles as possible.

It then launches several more waves of attack drones and ballistic and cruise missiles.

As to upcoming attacks, “the question is that this time, it won’t be energy infrastructure, but whatever other targets the Kremlin will want to choose”, Kyiv-based analyst Igar Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera.

He referred to devastating attacks on energy and central heating facilities that left millions of Ukrainians without power and heat this winter, triggering health problems and deaths from hypothermia.

Russia already targets sites unprotected by Patriots: Military expert

Meanwhile, Israel and the European nations that pledged to transfer their stock of Patriot missiles to Ukraine are reluctant to do so now.

“Considering the general instability, I don’t think that many nations will open up their stock and pass it on to us,” Tyshkevich said.

Since the supplies of Patriots began, the US-Russian technological battle has kept raging on, according to the former deputy head of Ukraine’s general staff of armed forces, who for decades specialised in air defence.

“There is a confrontation in engineering,” Lieutenant-General Ihor Romanenko told Al Jazeera.

“Russians change something, Americans together with our experts change something else, because remaining on the old [technological] level means losing the battle before it begins.”

Russian engineers “modified software making the [Iskander-M] missiles able to manoeuvre mid-air, and the modernisation largely complicated the operation of the few Patriot systems that we have to destroy them,” Romanenko said.

The Patriots, however, have not become a Ukraine-wide aegis against the Russian strikes.

Ukraine has fewer than a dozen batteries, while Kyiv said it needed at least 25.

Russians “already know that we have but a few Patriot batteries against their ballistic missiles, so they were hitting the sites that had not been covered by the Patriots, or where they had not been deployed,” Romanenko said.

Luckily, Ukraine has an alternative.

A handful of French-Italian SAMP/T systems with solid-fuel anti-aircraft missiles have been deployed to Ukraine since 2023 and showed the advantages of their radars and “engagement logic” with high-speed targets.

While a Patriot battery requires up to 90 support servicemen and takes half an hour to deploy, SAMP/Ts require about a dozen.

But their ability to down modified Russian missiles will have to be battle-tested, Romanenko said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s increasingly daring drone and missile strikes deep inside Russia destroy or damage their arm depots and plants producing drones and missiles.

In recent weeks, they hit the Admiral Essen, a Russian frigate capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea, nine air defence systems in Russia-occupied Donetsk and Crimea, and Russia’s only plant that produces fibre-optic cable for drones.

After many delays, ETIAS should be in place by the end of this year, but many holidaymakers have been surprised by the fee that has been hiked to nearly three times as much as originally announced

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is set to become mandatory for Brits travelling to 30 European countries in the last quarter of 2026. Citizens of the UK and 58 other visa-exempt countries will need to apply for travel authorisation ahead of visiting EU countries including France, Spain, and Portugal.

This means that Brits heading off to the Costas or Dordogne, among other holiday hotspots, will need to apply for an ETIAS before they travel, and all passengers will need to complete a form online. While the plan is for most ETIAS approvals to take minutes, those who need further checks could be waiting up to 30 days for approval, so it’s something that should be sorted as soon as a holiday is booked.

While the process sounds simple enough, the fee that comes with an ETIAS application has become the latest blow for British holidaymakers. When it was first announced in 2018, the fee was planned to be €7, just over £6, but it was announced late last year that the fee will actually be €20, about £17.37, almost three times the original cost.

Passengers of all ages will need to get an ETIAS, but the fee is waived for children and seniors, so luckily only visitors aged 18-70 will need to pay it. However, for a couple travelling together, this adds another €40 cost to a holiday that needs to be budgeted.

A statement on the European Commission website says: “ETIAS fee has been set at EUR 20 instead of the previous EUR 7. The new fee takes into account the rise in inflation since 2018 and additional operational costs related to new technical features integrated into the system. It also brings the cost for an ETIAS travel authorisation in line with similar travel authorisation programmes around the globe.”

Once approved, an ETIAS is valid for three years, or until your passport expires, depending on which date comes first. It can be used for multiple trips.

Brits heading to the EU in recent months have also had to use the new EU Entry/Exit system at airports. Set to replace manual passport stamping, it involves taking a photo and fingerprints of anyone entering the Schengen area.

READ MORE: Foreign Office issues fresh Cyprus travel update for BritsREAD MORE: Closed UK airport unveils latest plans to finally reopen 12 years after it was abandoned

The EES system aims to increase security and easily identify overstayers, and once fully-implemented should reduce queues for non-EU citizens such as Brits. However, many travellers have reported delays due to technological issues, with three hour waits reported in Tenerife.

Unlike the ETIAS, Brits don’t need to register in advance for EES. However, they can download the official Travel to Europe app, which allows them to register their details in advance, potentially helping to speed up the process.

At the time of writing, there’s no official start date for the ETIAS. The European Commission has previously said it will announce the date several months in advance, allowing travellers and airports time to prepare. Brits do not currently need to pay for an ETIAS, and once launched, should only use the official ETIAS website for applications.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

This article recounts the historical journey of Ghana as it transitioned from a colonial territory to a sovereign nation. Originally home to the influential Ashanti people, the region was nicknamed the Gold Coast by European powers who were drawn to its vast mineral wealth. Following the global impact of World War II, a domestic movement led by Kwame Nkrumah successfully pushed for the end of British rule. Ghana’s official declaration of independence on March 6, 1957, marked a monumental milestone as it became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve such status. Additionally, the text highlights unique cultural details, such as the national currency be … 

WIZZ Air has been given approval to launch its first flights from the UK to the US.

The budget airline’s first transatlantic route will be to allow Brits to travel to America for the World Cup.

Wizz Air confirmed that despite given the permits to be able to fly between the UK and the US, there were no plans for regular commercial flights.

Instead, it will operate chartered flight for both football teams and supporters to be able to fly to the US during the World Cup season.

Yvonne Moynihan, Managing Director of Wizz Air UK, said it was a “proud and exciting day.”

They added: “Receiving approval to operate between the UK and the United States is a huge milestone for our company.

WIZZ OFF

Top cheap holiday destination with new Wizz Air flights axes pricey tourist visas

TAKING OFF

Wizz Air reveals plans to launch first-ever transatlantic flights from the UK

“It opens the door to incredible opportunities, particularly for European football teams and supporters travelling across the Atlantic this summer.

“We are ready to deliver exceptional charter experiences and bring fans closer to the action in the United States.” 

The charter packages hope to offer flights for both large groups and individual travellers.

They added: “We are excited to welcome passengers on board and to celebrate this new chapter as we expand our reach across the Atlantic.” 

Brits can look at booking charter flights which are now available on the website.

Wizz Air has never operated transatlantic routes, although does have some long flight options the other way.

The airline’s longest flight is London Gatwick to Jeddah, taking just under seven hours.

However, they did also once offer cheap flights from the UK to the Maldives – although these were cancelled in 2022.

The Polish airline first launched in 2004, with Wizz Air UK starting in 2017.

Wizz Air Malta followed suit, and the short-lived Wizz Air Abu Dhabi was axed last year.

When it comes to World Cup travel, some super fans are dropping thousands of pounds.

Two brothers have revealed plans to spend £20,000 travelling across 25 states to follow the England games.

And flight experts have revealed how to find the cheapest flights to see the World Cup.

One of the best action blockbusters of the past few years has just been added to Netflix just in time for an adrenaline-fuelled weekend viewing

Netflix has just added an exhilarating action film starring two of Hollywood’s greatest stars that you won’t want to miss.

Both leads are featuring in some of the most highly anticipated films of 2026, while the director is one of the most prominent action filmmakers in recent years.

The Fall Guy stars Ryan Gosling as stunt performer Colt Seavers, who reluctantly agrees to a comeback after a life-threatening injury when his ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno (played by Emily Blunt) lands her first gig as the director of a major studio film.

However, the pair soon find themselves wrapped up in a complex conspiracy when the movie’s lead actor, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), goes missing.

When Colt is covertly hired to go after the people the producers suspect are responsible for his disappearance, he leaps at the chance to win back his ex by saving her debut. But he quickly realises he’s in over his head.

Both megastars are poised to rule the box office over the coming months. Gosling is about to return to the big screen for the bombastic space opera Project Hail Mary, while Blunt is also tackling extraterrestrial threats in Steven Spielberg’s new sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day.

She is also returning to one of her most iconic roles in The Devil Wears Prada 2, along with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. With The Fall Guy available to stream on Netflix, now is the perfect time to revisit one of their best films ahead of their must-see cinematic experiences.

Fans have been raving about the film since its release, and it received an impressive 82 percent Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, with 84 percent from audiences.

One five-star review from an RT user gushed: “A truly phenomenal film! It’s fun, but locks in when seriousness is needed. I love it so much!”

Someone else described it as “Pure adrenaline popcorn perfection that delivers unfiltered chaos candy!”

The stellar reviews continued on IMDb, where one viewer called The Fall Guy “Pure entertainment” and said: “While watching this movie, I found myself smiling nearly the entire time. If you are looking for pure, unfettered fun (in the form of romcom action of course), then this is the movie for you.

“The plot was fun, the acting was solid, the situations that the characters found themselves in were hysterical, the action was on point, the cinematography was nice, and the romance was entertaining.”

And a final fan wrote: “The Fall Guy is insanely fun, with incredibly cool action scenes, romantically charming elements, and a captivating world of stuntmen.

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“It’s full-on entertainment, especially for film enthusiasts, with meticulously crafted action sequences in both real and fake movies that look fantastic, grand, and impressively complete.

“Both Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt have impeccable chemistry, and the portrayal of the stuntman profession is sharp. The film cleverly satirizes the Hollywood industry with excellence.

“Watching this movie in theaters is an absolutely delightful experience. Director David Leitch nails every aspect of the film, truly delivering on the action-packed excitement.”

The Fall Guy is available to stream on Netflix.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to spend $19 million promoting California and dispelling “myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric” in a marketing campaign that would run through the final months of his administration as he weighs a potential run for president.

The new contract, which is in the bidding process, comes as Newsom’s political future and national standing are closely tied to how voters view California’s economy, crime and quality of life — issues that have become central to attacks from President Trump and conservative media outlets.

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is seeking a contractor to design a statewide taxpayer-funded “California Brand Campaign,” with two-thirds of spending under the proposal to be used for paid advertising and media placements. Bidding on the contract opened Feb. 24 and is expected to end March 13.

The solicitation frames the campaign as an effort to push back on what Newsom has often described as misleading narratives about California. The campaign would launch during a period of financial uncertainty for the state, with Newsom’s January budget projecting a $3-billion deficit next fiscal year.

“California and its business climate have been falsely and maliciously maligned for years, and the state has a right to tell the true story — California is a great place to do live, work, invest and visit,” said Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos. “Setting the record straight will benefit every business, worker and resident of this state.”

Newsom is contemplating a run for president in 2028 and says he remains undecided about whether he will pursue the Oval Office.

State Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), who is vice chair of the Senate budget committee, said the language of the proposal request is concerning. He said it would make it easier to stifle criticisms of policies that he says make it difficult to do business in California.

“This is clearly part of the Gavin Newsom for President campaign, but what is most troubling to me is that this is a program to be developed by some private-sector contractor to define what is acceptable speech in the state of California,” Niello said. “That scares the stuffing out of me.”

The negative image of California — homeless encampments lining the streets, smash-and-grab robberies at malls and an exodus of residents and businesses fleeing high taxes and nanny-state governance — could be a liability for Newsom if he runs for president.

Newsom has seen his popularity surge in the last year after his fight-fire-with-fire approach to countering Trump’s rhetoric. The two-term governor has used his expanding platform, including a podcast and nationwide book tour for his recently released memoir, to repeatedly push back on Trump’s criticisms of California. He argues that California remains one of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies and the envy of other states.

The tone of the marketing campaign bid request itself echoes that message, with its introductory paragraph pulled directly from Newsom’s State of the State speech in January.

“California has never been about perfection,” it reads. “It’s about persistence. The courage of our convictions and the strength to embody them. That’s the California Way.”

Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist who runs the research nonprofit Latino Working Class Project, said scrutiny of the campaign will depend on whether the ads veer into politics or overtly promote Newsom in the way federal border security ads showcased the now ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“You have to ask why now?” Madrid said of Newsom’s timing for the California ad campaign. “He’s in the eighth inning of a nine-inning baseball game. Timing and tone are everything when considering the appropriateness.”

The use of taxpayer dollars to combat negative publicity about the state and the governor isn’t new under the Newsom administration.

Newsom tapped an employee in his communications office to serve as his “deputy director of rapid response” in 2024. Staff member Brandon Richards, who made $136,000 last year, is tasked with quickly dispatching responses to information the governor’s team deems inaccurate or misleading that is spread on social media and in the media.

When right-wing accounts claimed in February that Newsom allows dogs to vote in California, Richards responded with a CBS News article reporting that a woman was charged with five felonies for registering her canine. Richards and the governor’s office pushed back on false assertions that Newsom and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were stealing money from the state through her office that same day.

Newsom’s frustration reached a boiling point over claims about the state’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires last year. President Trump publicly blamed Newsom and “his Los Angeles crew” for the disaster, though the Republican’s claims that a lack of water in Southern California led to a shortage for firefighters were widely debunked.

Newsom’s political team launched a website in January 2025 to fight misinformation about the L.A. fires, which he said at the time would “ensure the public has access to fact-based data.” The site, www.californiafirefacts.com, no longer appears to exist.

At one point, however, it redirected viewers to the redistricting campaign website for Proposition 50, according to internet archives. Newsom championed the successful redistricting ballot measure to add more Democrats to California’s congressional delegation, a direct response to Trump urging Texas and other Republican states to reconfigure their congressional boundaries to elect more Republicans to Congress.

Newsom adopted an even more aggressive social media strategy last summer after Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to California during federal immigration sweeps. The governor directed his team to match the brash communication tactics emanating from the White House. His aides continue to shoot down criticism and launch their own snarky assaults on Trump and his allies.

The new ad campaign appears to be an extension of his work to refute the anti-California narrative.

The request for bids says “some look at this state and try to tear down our progress. They attack our values and caricature our culture. They distort the data to diminish our accomplishments.”

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was in the middle of a brand event at a Beverly Hills mansion on Valentine’s Day when police showed up.

It was 7 p.m., and the music for the event — an invite-only gathering for his 741 Performance brand — had long been silent. Brown came down to talk to an officer, expressing confusion at why police had been called.

“We’re just trying to have an event — a panel talking about culture, talking about future, talking about leadership, and for whatever reason I feel like we’re being targeted,” Brown said in a video of the encounter posted on social media.

He asked the officer why the city was shutting it down. “It’s beyond my pay grade,” the officer replied. “They want it shut down.”

The video immediately went viral, with many questioning why the city shut down what appeared to be a calm event. The debate was framed by a series of incidents in recent years in which the local Police Department was accused of profiling Black people.

Beverly Hills officials issued a statement defending their actions. But it didn’t take long for the city to reverse course, issuing an apology to the NBA star and the owner of the home that hosted the event, Oakley founder James Jannard, for initially putting out inaccurate information.

Brown told ESPN he is considering legal action against the city, saying the episode tarnished his and his brand’s image.

“I feel offended by it,” he said. “It’s hard to say that you were not being targeted.”

Beverly Hills officials insist the city did not unfairly single out Brown and stressed the incident was a code-enforcement matter, not one involving policing issues.

The police’s presence at the event on Trousdale Place was prompted by a resident reporting “excessive vehicles on the street,” Beverly Hills Deputy City Manger Keith Sterling said in an email to The Times. A traffic control officer then found “high vehicular traffic, numerous parking violations (including a vehicle blocking a driveway and several vehicles parked in the wrong direction) and numerous people congregating in the driveway.”

“Code enforcement was on site for several hours and observed what they believed to be well in excess of 50 people congregating for an event, which would require a public assembly permit for the safety of event attendees,” he added.

There was also the sound of a generator, which would require a permit, a check-in table, a metal detector and a temporary wall with branding, Sterling said.

Brown’s function occurred during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. Sterling noted there were six other NBA-related events in the city at that time.

“The City was aware that the event was timed to coincide with NBA All-Star Weekend but did not have details on who was sponsoring or participating in the event,” Sterling wrote. “The event was shut down for safety reasons alone without regard to the event sponsor or participants.”

Still, the incident revived questions of policing in Beverly Hills — a majority white city in which Black residents make up about 2% of the population.

Some advocates called on Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to investigate allegations of racial profiling in Beverly Hills. Bonta’s office declined to comment.

In 2020, the Beverly Hills Police Department launched a special detail — the Rodeo Drive Team — amid complaints over what residents and shop owners said was a “criminal element” along the famed shopping corridor. Officers were tasked with combating what officials said was a rise in thefts, people spending money obtained by defrauding the state’s unemployment system and quality of life issues like loud music and the smell of marijuana drifting into stores, according to a 2021 Times investigation. One document The Times reviewed that year showed about 90% of those arrested by the task force were Black.

The task force was disbanded after just two months.

Attorneys Bradley Gage and Benjamin Crump filed a class-action lawsuit against the city in 2021 that remains ongoing. The lawsuit claims none of the arrests led to convictions and some were never prosecuted because police lacked probable cause to make the initial arrest.

The department has denied allegations that it targeted Black shoppers, saying in a statement in 2021 that officers are “committed to keeping our community safe while enforcing the law with respect and dignity for all.”

Shortly after the task force was disbanded, Salehe Bembury, then the vice president of sneakers and men’s footwear for Versace, was carrying a Versace shopping bag and crossing Rodeo Drive next to the luxury store when police stopped him for jaywalking, told him to put his hands behind his back and searched him for weapons.

Body camera footage showed Bembury repeatedly said he was uncomfortable and thought the pat-down was “excessive,” adding he’d designed the shoes inside the bag he was carrying. He started recording on his cellphone.

“I’m getting f— searched for shopping at the store I work for and just being Black,” Bembury said in the recording, holding up the Versace bag. One of the officers involved in the stop disagreed, saying Bembury was changing “the narrative.”

“It’s a very dangerous, scary situation for people of color, and one that we want to remedy so everyone is treated fairly. I don’t know why that’s such a novel idea, but it seems to be a foreign concept for a lot of folks,” Gage said.

In his clients’ lawsuit against the city, two plaintiffs say they were arrested for riding a scooter on the sidewalk. Another allegedly was jailed for three days after officers pulled him and his friend over on their way to the beach for stopping about three inches over the limit line at an intersection. He never was charged with a crime, according to the complaint.

Mike Asfall, president of Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch of the NAACP, said he’s been working behind the scenes with city officials and the police chief over issues of race and policing. Asfall was honored in February by the Beverly Hills City Council in recognition of Black History Month.

“I do know that we’ve had obstacles,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells or tiptoe around things just because of the color of our skin. But what I’m not going to do is create more of a rift to give us a problem that’s going to create drama for us.”

Staff writer Cierra Morgan contributed to this report.

Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu was elected on promises to tackle the nation’s widespread violence and address two of its root causes: Poverty and corruption. But with the country going to the polls next year, has he delivered on his “Renewed Hope” agenda?

Mehdi Hasan goes head-to-head with Daniel Bwala, Tinubu’s once staunch critic-turned-Special Adviser on Media and Policy Communications, on the administration’s record in office and where he stands on his past accusations against his current boss.

Joining the discussion are:
Ayisha Osori – Director, Open Society Foundations Ideas/Workshop Lab
Aanu Adeoye – Journalist, Financial Times
Tunde Doherty – UK chairman, All Progressives Congress

Supporters of the United States and Israeli military campaign against Iran argue that weakening Tehran by degrading its missile capabilities, crippling its navy and reducing its ability to project power through regional allies will make the Middle East safer. But this strategy rests on an assumption that a weaker Iran would produce a more stable region. In reality, destabilising one of the Middle East’s largest and most strategically important states could unleash forces far more dangerous than the status quo.

According to briefings provided to congressional staff in Washington, DC, there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was planning to attack the US. Yet military escalation continues in the belief that weakening Iran will ultimately serve US interests. If that assumption proves wrong, the consequences could be severe not only for the region but also for American strategic interests.

The first danger is internal fragmentation. Iran’s population is ethnically diverse. While Persians form the majority, the country is also home to large Azeri, Kurdish, Arab and Baloch communities, among others. Several of these groups already have histories of political tension or insurgency, including Kurdish militant activity in the northwest and a long-running Baloch insurgency in the southeast.

A strong central state has largely kept these fault lines contained. But if Iran’s governing structures weaken significantly, those tensions could intensify. The result could resemble the fragmentation seen in other Middle Eastern states after external military pressure or regime collapse.

Recent history offers sobering examples. In Iraq, the dismantling of state institutions after the 2003 US invasion created the conditions for years of sectarian violence and ultimately the rise of ISIL (ISIS). Libya’s state collapse in 2011 left the country divided between rival governments and armed militias, a crisis that persists more than a decade later. Syria’s civil war produced one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the century while turning large swaths of territory into battlegrounds for militias and extremist groups. At the height of the conflict, ISIS was able to seize and govern territory across eastern Syria, declaring a so-called caliphate that controlled millions of people.

Iran’s collapse would produce an even more dangerous scenario. Its population is far larger than Iraq, Libya or Syria, and its territory borders multiple conflict-prone regions. The emergence of armed factions, ethnic militias or insurgent groups inside Iran could quickly transform the country into another arena of prolonged instability.

Such instability would not remain local. Iran sits at the heart of the Gulf, one of the world’s most strategically important energy corridors. Roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran’s southern coastline. Armed factions, rival militias or uncontrolled naval forces operating along Iran’s coast could disrupt shipping lanes, attack tankers or try to block access to the strait, turning a regional crisis into a global energy shock. That would have consequences far beyond the Middle East. Higher energy prices would ripple through global economies, affecting everything from transportation costs to inflation. American policymakers often view energy instability as a regional problem, but in reality, it quickly becomes a global one.

The strategic consequences would extend further. Iran currently serves as a central node in a network of regional alliances and proxy groups that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, various militia groups in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen. These actors operate within a framework influenced, to varying degrees, by Tehran. If the Iranian state weakens dramatically, that structure could fragment. Some groups might operate independently, others might compete for influence, and still others could radicalise further without central coordination. The result would be a far more unpredictable security environment across the Middle East, which would make diplomatic engagement more difficult and military conflicts harder to contain.

Another risk lies in leadership uncertainty. Some policymakers assume that weakening the current Iranian leadership will produce a more moderate political order. But regime change rarely follows a predictable script.

Iran’s political system contains multiple competing factions, including conservative clerical networks, reformist politicians and powerful elements within the security establishment such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran’s leadership transition is less about a single successor than about the balance of power between clerical institutions, elected offices and the security apparatus. If the existing leadership were weakened or removed during wartime conditions, that balance could quickly unravel. The IRGC, which already commands vast military and economic resources, could try to consolidate authority, potentially pushing Iran towards a more overtly militarised political order. In such an environment, more radical actors, particularly those who view compromise with the US as impossible, could gain influence.

There is also little evidence that sustained military strikes will generate pro-American sentiment among the Iranian population. History suggests that external pressure often strengthens nationalist sentiment rather than weakening it. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, for example, did not produce pro-American attitudes but instead fuelled resentment and insurgency. Similarly, repeated Israeli military campaigns in Lebanon have tended to strengthen support for Hezbollah rather than weaken it.

Beyond the Middle East itself, instability in Iran could also trigger significant migration flows. Iran already hosts millions of refugees from neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan. If internal conflict were to erupt inside Iran, even a small share of Iran’s population of more than 90 million people seeking refuge abroad could produce migration flows far larger than those seen during recent Middle Eastern crises.

Many of those migrants would likely move towards Turkiye and eventually Europe, placing additional pressure on governments already grappling with migration crises. While this may appear distant from American shores, the political consequences for US allies in Europe would inevitably affect transatlantic relations and Western cohesion.

Taken together, these risks illustrate a broader strategic problem. Weakening Iran may appear attractive to the US from a narrow military perspective, but destabilising a large regional power rarely produces orderly outcomes.

The United States has confronted similar dynamics before. The collapse of state authority in Iraq after 2003 did not eliminate threats in the region; it produced new ones. Libya’s fragmentation after 2011 created an enduring security vacuum. Syria’s civil war turned into a multisided conflict that reshaped the politics of the entire region.

For Washington, the question should be whether the long-term consequences of destabilising Iran would ultimately make the region and the world more dangerous. If recent history offers any guidance, destabilising Iran may ultimately create the very threats Washington hopes to eliminate.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Jordan Chiles is always in motion.

The decorated gymnast and two-time Olympian recently competed in the latest season of “Dancing With the Stars,” finishing in third place alongside her partner Ezra Sosa. She’s an ambassador for brands including Nike and Hero Cosmetics. In August, she launched a mentorship program called SHERO Athlete Collective for young athletes.

And in the midst of all of that, she’s finishing up her senior year at UCLA.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

“I’m happy, but I’m also sad,” the 24-year-old says about her final year as a Bruin, adding, “It’s pretty cool to know that my dream school has become my legacy.”

Chiles is also in the thick of a legal battle to reclaim the bronze medal she won, then was stripped of, at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In January, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court granted her an appeal to reexamine the matter. “I’m going to stand for what is right,” she says. “I am doing the things to make sure no other athlete has to go through what I had to go through.”

With the Olympics arriving in Los Angeles in 2028, the question of whether Chiles will participate is top of mind for many fans. Her response?

“Right now, it’s just me and my college career,” she says, flashing a bright smile. “I think right now just being able to be a part of UCLA for my last season and then seeing from there on, from April until the next year, we’ll see what happens.”

Chiles trains every day except Wednesdays and Saturdays, but on her perfect Sunday, she’d skip the gym to hang out with her dogs, take a trip to the mall and binge-watch her favorite shows.

9 a.m.: Gospel music to start the day

I feel like waking up at 9 a.m. is the perfect time because it gives you enough time in the day to do whatever, but also you didn’t wake up too early. The first thing I’d probably do aside from washing my face and brushing my teeth, is put on gospel music or listen to anything that can put my mind at ease. If I don’t have practice, then that’s typically what I’m doing, cleaning my house and starting to rejuvenate my body differently. I’d take my dogs out. I have an Aussie doodle, a teacup poodle and a maltipoo. Their names are Versace, Chanel and Dolce Gabbana. Very bougie dogs.

9:30 a.m.: Breakfast with a side of “Chicago Fire”

I’d cook for myself. I like typical scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado toast and sometimes a bagel. To get in some fruit, I’d drink some apple juice to make it feel like, “OK, this was a great, healthy breakfast.” Then I’d most likely sit on my couch and start binge-watching something. This is where lazy Jordan comes in. Like I got up, I did this, I ate, so now it’s time to relax. I’ve recently been watching all of the Chicago [shows] like “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago PD” and “Chicago Med.” I also recently started rewatching “Pretty Little Liars.”

12:30 p.m. Shop for athleisure and other goodies

This is typically when Jordan feels like she needs to go shopping. I’d put my dogs up and go to the mall. I deserve to go shop. I deserve to go splurge. I like going to the Topanga mall. I really, really like Jamba Juice and there’s one in the Topanga mall. I used to know the secret menu by heart before they started putting it on the actual menu. My go-to is the White Gummi smoothie.

I love streetwear, so if there’s sneaker stores around, I’d check that out. I sometimes end up in an Apple Store, don’t ask me how or why. It just always ends up like that. If I need to get athleisure wear, I always go to Nike. You can never have too many Nike Pros. If I need to get my eyebrows threaded or my nails done, I can do everything at the mall while I’m shopping.

4 p.m.: Time for homework

I’m heading back home so I can beat traffic and let my dogs out. I’d probably sit on my couch, scrolling on Pinterest, trying to figure out what I’m going to eat. Then I’d start doing my homework. Since I am still in college, I’d start whatever I need to do for that week. I try to stay as organized as best as I can because it is hard being a businesswoman and still being a college student. I’d probably do homework for about 2 ½ hours.

7 p.m.: Domino’s pizza and more binge-watching

I’d turn whatever show I’m watching back on, then I’d either cook or sometimes I’ll order in. It honestly depends on what Sunday it is. If it’s football Sunday, you know I have the wings and the typical Sunday vibes. But if it’s not, I might make tacos or Alfredo, or order off Uber Eats. I know this is probably crazy but I really, really, really, really love Domino’s. I am a pizza person. My Domino’s order is a small pepperoni, pineapple, olives and sausage slice … hand tossed, cheesed up, and then I will get a side of garlic knots and a side of buffalo wings with ranch.

If it’s not Domino’s, then I either will do Shake Shack or Wendy’s. I know it’s probably crazy and you’re like “Jordan, you’re an athlete,” but sometimes a girl just has to go in that direction. I like teriyaki food and hibachi places, so I’d either order from a place called Blazed N Glazed or Teriyaki Madness, or this place on campus called Hibachi Papi.

9 p.m. Video games before bed

I have an Xbox and a PlayStation, so sometimes I will go into my game room and just literally sit in my chair and play “Call of Duty” or “Halo.” Other than that, I have no night rituals. I will just make sure my dogs are fed. I always pray before I go to bed and my skincare is legit all Medicube, but I always make sure to do a face mask every other day before I go to bed.

10:30 p.m.: Prepare for an early practice

Since I probably have to wake up the next morning for an early practice, I feel like 10:30 p.m. is a good time to go to sleep. Unless I’m doing something with my friends and we don’t get back until like 11:30 p.m., but other than that, I’m in my bed or at least on my couch just relaxing.

Fans of Emmerdale and Coronation Street were not impressed to hear yet again the soaps had been cancelled by ITV in favour of sports coverage, leading to a plea to bosses

Fans of the soaps have once again been dealt a blow, as there’s no Emmerdale or Coronation Street on Friday on ITVX or ITV1.

The soaps have once again been shelved by ITV in favour of sports coverage. It’s sparked fury amongst soap fans who had been promised five days a week of the soaps from January.

Not only that, but most weeks the ‘missing episodes’ never end up being replaced, leaving fans annoyed. This time, it’s the rugby coverage again, while soon it will no doubt be more football that takes the shows off air.

Time and time again viewers have pleaded with bosses to make a change so that fans do not miss out. A suggestion was that the episodes could still drop on ITVX, or sports could be moved elsewhere given ITV as a number of channels.

READ MORE: EastEnders air ‘heartbreaking’ Nigel scenes as character leaves Walford for goodREAD MORE: Coronation Street airs shock twist as Jodie’s downfall ‘sealed’ amid evil scheme

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Taking to social media, fans called out the move once more annoyed that another Friday would see both soaps dropped in favour of sports. A fan said: “What again !! This is happening way too often.”

Another agreed: “Why can’t rugby go on ITV3?” as a third said: “Exactly! Or they could at least still put the Corrie episode on ITVX.” Another fan said: “This really annoys me when this happens.”

A fan then asked: “When will the missing episodes of Corrie and Emmerdale due to sport on Friday be shown?” The answer is never, as the filming of the episodes would have been planned around the ‘cancellations’, while in future there will no doubt be episodes airing on different days.

It’s happened quite often since January, with fans having fumed about it before this week too. A fan said: “Why can’t the footy and rugby be put on another channel, we always miss out , so unfair!!!”

A fan added: “Never mind the loyal supporters of soaps so just take them off for sport.” Another fan commented: “They’re at it again taking Corrie off two nights this week and not making the time up Why oh why do they that? ITV has four channels plus ITVX so why not put football on one of their other channels and leave Corrie alone?” Other fans disagreed with the comments, suggesting it wasn’t a big deal, but soap fans would beg to differ!

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

A DUTCH theme park with six themed lands has announced a £78million makeover – and most Brits won’t have hear of it.

Toverland amusement park in the Netherlands is planning a massive transformation that will allow guests to stay onsite for the first time.

Located in the town of Sevenum – about 40 minutes from the city of Eindhoven – over the coming years the park will carry out several new projects.

The first focus will be new permanent accommodation for guests – something the park doesn’t currently have – in Ithaka, which is a land based on ancient Greece.

There are also plans to build a new attraction on the site of the park’s Maximus’ Blitz Bahn ride, although little else is know about it at the moment.

Port Laguna, which is the Mediterranean-themed entrance to the park and the central hub, is also set to get its first ride which will be a large-scale dark ride.

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The theme park has already started building the Clubhuis which will be a new office space for employees.

According to Blooloop, a spokesperson for the park said: “Toverland is constantly evolving, as are the exact details of the various projects.

“We will therefore announce more information at a later date.”

The theme park is made up of six themed areas in total including Avalon, Port Laguna, Magische Vallei, Ithaka, Wunderwald and Land van Toos.

Across these areas there are around 40 attractions and shows.

Avalon has a medieval theme throughout, with a family drop-tower ride, water playground and winged rollercoaster.

Magische Vallei is all about magic and in this land you will find a water ride, launch rollercoaster and a spinning rollercoaster.

In the land of Ithaka, which is based on ancient Greece, there is a wooden rollercoaster and swing boat ride.

As the central hub, Port Laguna appears like a harbour town with a main promenade past souvenir shops and restaurants.

This is also the land where most of the interactive experiences and shows take place.

The land of Wunderwald is then both indoors and outdoors and based on an adventure through Austria‘s mountains.

Rides include a log flume ride, a fun house and an electric bobsled run.

Last but not least, Land van Toos is an indoor playground that inspires imaginative play with rollercoasters for smaller children, interactive experiences and a climbing mountain.

Across the park a number of shows take place each day.

Starting from April 18, there will be the ‘Epic battle for the Pearl’, which features a large pirate ship with a pool where the pirates jump and dive into, from a height of 25 metres.

There’s also Katara – a magical water fountain show – with music and lights.

The theme park is currently only open at the weekends and on Wednesdays but from March 28 it will be open everyday 10am to 6pm.

Off-peak tickets usually cost €43 (£37.35) per adult and child over 140cm tall and peak tickets then cost €44.50 (£38.65).

Though, these prices are reduced to €37.50 (£32.57), if you book online more than seven days in advance.

For children between 90cm and 140cm tall, tickets cost €36 (£31.27) but if you book online more than seven days in advance this price drops to €29 (£25.19).

Children under 90cm tall then go free, as do anyone who is celebrating their birthday on the day of visiting.

The easiest way to get to Toverland is by flying to Eindhoven.

The cheapest flights to Eindhoven from the UK include from London Stansted for £14 one-way or Manchester for £15 one-way.

Then it takes about 40 minutes to drive from Eindhoven Airport to Toverland theme park.

In other theme park news, you can get a year’s free entry to 20 of UK’s top theme parks and attractions for less than cost of one chocolate bar a week.

Plus, a UK theme park is getting the world’s first Hey Duggee themed hotel rooms this year.

It used to be Wales’ players and coaches winding up the Irish in Dublin.

Trimble himself was left on the floor by Shane Williams in Wales’ Triple Crown victory in 2008 as the wonder wing scored the crucial try at Croke Park.

Four years later, Trimble was left flailing at a rampaging Jonathan Davies who sprinted away to cross for two tries in the 2012 victory that set Wales onto a Grand Slam.

Wales and Ireland’s relations in the past have been spicy, mainly in Warren Gatland’s first stint in charge as head coach.

Gatland, a former Ireland coach, stated the Welsh players disliked the Irish players the most in 2009, while you would often see the likes of Mike Phillips, Liam Williams and Gethin Jenkins scrapping with Paul O’Connell, Rob Kearney and Ronan O’Gara.

That edge has disappeared in recent years.

It has not been helped by Ireland’s dominance of this contest, with Wales having not won this fixture since 2021 and not tasting victory in the Six Nations in Dublin since 2012.

The rivalry is crying out for some attitude.

Wales captain Dewi Lake provided a bit of that by saying he believes his side can beat their opponents on Friday, while attack coach Matt Sherratt has predicted they can give their Irish opponents a scare.

Those are bolder sentiments that some Welsh supporters are crying out for.

Others prefer a more understated approach and head coach Tandy is deliberately more cautious in his messaging.

Understandable, maybe, as he faces his eighth match in charge with six defeats and a one-point win against Japan marking his reign so far.

Asked whether he believes this squad can go to Dublin and win, Tandy replied: “We are at the point where we can go there and be competitive.

“That’s where it is. If we are competitive and bring large parts of what we did against Scotland, then I think we’ll be in the game to get the result we all want.”

Tandy was later again asked whether Wales can believe they can win. His response?

“I absolutely believe in this group,” said Tandy. “I believe in what we’re building and the players believe to and have grown in confidence.

“We’re starting to understand more about what’s needed. I believe we will have a competitive performance on Friday night.”

Whether a competitive showing is enough to give credence to talk of a mini Welsh revival remains to be seen.

One thing is for certain, Lake, Tandy and the loyal travelling Welsh supporters will hope nobody is laughing at this Wales side after they have performed at the home of Irish rugby on Friday night.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Friday that Ukraine has assured him that two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting alongside Russia will not be repatriated to Moscow.

Cho made the remarks during a parliamentary session, responding to a lawmaker’s question regarding the captives who remain in Ukrainian custody since they were captured during combat on Russia’s side in the front-line Kursk region in January last year.

Earlier this month, Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party said after visiting Ukraine that Russia had included the two soldiers on its list of prisoners it demanded be released in a prisoner-of-war (POW) exchange.

“I have received confirmation from my Ukrainian counterpart that the soldiers will not be repatriated (to Russia),” Cho said. “There is no need to worry about the possibility of them being sent back to North Korea or Russia.”

Asked to confirm whether the soldiers were on the POW exchange list, Cho avoided giving a straight answer, indicating that Ukraine would not share such details with Seoul.

Cho stressed that disclosing any details about the soldiers could jeopardize their safety, adding that the foreign ministry is making every effort to ensure their safety and bring them to South Korea in accordance with the Constitution.

Through media interviews, the soldiers have expressed their intention to come to South Korea rather than being sent back to the North.

Yu has called for sending a presidential envoy to Ukraine to discuss their defection, saying their repatriation to Pyongyang cannot be ruled out.

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The saga of “A Court of Thorns and Roses” will continue.

Author Sarah J. Maas announced on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast Wednesday that two new books will be released in the hugely popular romantasy series, ending a five-year drought since the fifth installment, “A Court of Silver Flames.” The sixth book will be published on Oct. 27, 2026, and the seventh on Jan. 12, 2027.

“It took me a while to find the right story and to be in the right headspace. And then, like what poured out of me was this and it poured out very quickly,” the author told Cooper. “The story that was finally ready to come out of me was big. Really, really big.”

Maas first teased the sixth book on Instagram in July, with the caption “First drafts DONE” on a video that drew nearly a million likes.

Maas did not share details about the book titles, cover art or whose point of view the stories will follow, but did mention that the character’s perspective was “one of the surprising things” for her while writing.

On Instagram, Maas thanked her fans for their patience, passion and “never letting the world fade.”

“I know how long you’ve waited. I know how much these characters mean to you. And I also know these stories deserve more than speed and deadlines. They deserve my best self. They deserve the right moment,” Maas wrote. “I’m so honored by the way you guys have always embraced Prythian as your own. I truly hope it feels like coming home for you like it did for me.”

The first installment of the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series was released in 2015, but the franchise gained popularity on BookTok — a TikTok subcommunity dedicated to literature — during the COVID-19 pandemic. The books follow Feyre Archeron in the faerie lands of Prythian and her love story with the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand.

Maas has sold more than 70 million English copies between her interconnected “Throne of Glass,” “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “Crescent City” series, according to her website. Maas is a major player in the romantasy — a portmanteau of romance and fantasy — genre, which has soared in popularity on TikTok.

“This is going to sound silly, and you probably won’t believe me, but just talking about things like legacy is beyond for me,” Maas told Cooper. “I’m still very much that girl in middle school or high school sneaking off to watch anime or drool over Legolas and getting to go play in these worlds in my head and do the thing that makes me come alive every day, that’s incredible.”

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

SEMIFINALS

BOYS

DIVISION I

#1 Mater Dei 2, #4 El Camino Real 1

#3 Del Norte 0, #2 Orange Lutheran 0 (Del Norte wins 4-1 in shootout)

DIVISION II

#4 San Pascual 1, #8 Sultana 0

#2 Mira Monte 2, #3 Fontana 1

DIVISION III

#1 Bishop Amat 3, #4 Palisades 1

#6 Los Alamitos 2, #7 Mt. Carmel 0

DIVISION IV

#1 Irvine University d. #5 Chatsworth, forfeit

#2 Granite Hills 2, #6 Santa Ana Valley 1

DIVISION V

#5 Kern County Taft 2, #1 Ontario Christian 1

#3 Garfield 3, #7 San Diego Lincoln 0

GIRLS

DIVISION I

#1 Santa Margarita 3, #4 Cleveland 0

#2 Mater Dei 2, #6 Oaks Christian 0

DIVISION II

#8 Westview 2, #5 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0

#2 Westlake 1, #3 Garces Memorial 0

DIVISION III

#4 Quartz Hill 1, #1 Del Norte 0

#2 Millikan 0, #3 Ayala 0 (Millikan wins 4-1 in shootout)

DIVISION IV

#5 Coachella Valley 4, #8 Segerstrom 1

#3 San Jacinto 3, #7 Del Sol 2

DIVISION V

#8 Coastal Academy 3, #5 Bravo 0

#3 Delano Kennedy 1, #2 Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 0

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Games at 5 p.m. unless noted)

FINALS

BOYS

DIVISION I

#3 Del Norte vs. #1 Mater Dei at Fred Kelly Stadium

DIVISION II

#2 Mira Monte at #1 San Pascual

DIVISION III

#6 Los Alamitos at #1 Bishop Amat

DIVISION IV

#2 Granite Hills at #1 Irvine University

DIVISION V

#5 Kern County Taft at #3 Garfield, 5 p.m.

GIRLS

DIVISION I

#2 Mater Dei vs. #1 Santa Margarita at Tesoro

DIVISION II

#8 Westview at #2 Westlake

DIVISION III

#4 Quartz Hill at #2 Millikan

DIVISION IV

#5 Coachella Valley at #3 San Jacinto

DIVISION V

#8 Coastal Academy at #3 Delano Kennedy

Note: State Championships March 13-14 at Matomas High in Sacramento (times TBA).

South Korea will receive more than 6 million barrels of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, amid concerns over energy prices due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, announced the plan to purchase crude oil from the Gulf state in a briefing as the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes in the region have sparked fears of an energy crisis.

“At the instructions of President Lee Jae Myung, we have made consultations over measures to introduce crude oil and as a result, an emergency introduction of more than 6 million barrels has been confirmed,” he said, noting the move is expected to help stabilize oil prices.

Kang stressed the need for the emergency measure, noting that 70 percent of crude oil supplied to South Korea passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been shut down due to the conflict.

Two South Korean oil tankers will be sent to a UAE port that does not require passage through the strait to receive 4 million barrels of crude oil, he said, adding the UAE pledged to provide 2 million barrels from a joint reserve stored in South Korea.

The total amount is equivalent to more than two times the supply used by South Korea a day, he said.

Meanwhile, Kang said a passenger flight carrying South Korean nationals has left Dubai and is scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, following talks with the UAE on measures for their safe return.

Commercial flights from Abu Dhabi are expected to resume Saturday, while a chartered Korean Air flight will also be dispatched, he said, noting that he held talks with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Affairs Authority.

“Currently, 18,000 South Koreans are in 14 Middle East nations, and some 4,900 of them are short-term travelers,” he said. “Among the short-term travelers, 3,500 of them are currently staying in the UAE and Qatar, and waiting to return home.”

“We will continue consultations with the UAE to bring all of our citizens back home as soon as possible.”

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