They said they had no work-life balance

A family who moved to Britain’s most remote inhabited island, where just 50 people live, say it takes seven hours to get a takeaway curry delivered.

Katy Phenix, 33, partner Josh Moore, 35, and their kids have relocated to Fair Isle for a quieter life after quitting the rat race of working long 12-hour days. She saw an Instagram ad to live and work on the Scottish island near Sheltand and registered ”on a whim”.

They applied to move to the isle – where there are more birds than people – despite never visiting before. Numbers are strictly controlled and new residents are only allowed in when others leave.

Interview process

They had to go through a rigorous interview process with its inhabitants and the National Trust for Scotland to ensure they were a “good fit”. Four months later, Katy and Josh moved to the UK’s most geographically remote inhabited island.

They were accompanied by their children, Hetty, six, and Teddy, 11, three dogs and four cats. Despite the huge lifestyle change, they said they are now living the “absolute dream” – and all the children miss from the mainland is a trip to McDonald’s.

But they say they’ve learned to be resourceful, getting an Indian takeaway on the Island ferry, which took seven hours from Shetland to their croft, in what they describe as a “military operation”. Katy revealed they can place the order with the Indian at midday, order a taxi to pick it up and take it to the island ferry.

It is then picked up from the ferry and heated up for dinner when it arrives. Apart from missing easy access to their favourite takeaway, Katy, an early years practitioner, and Josh, an electrician, said the move has been a dream.

No work-life balance before

They had almost no work-life balance and “lived to work” when they applied from North Yorkshire in March 2026. They sold their three-bed new build home in Redcar and are now renting a five-bedroom house with 17 acres of land and five outbuildings from the National Trust.

She said: “We had a really large mortgage in England, but now pay peanuts in comparison to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the UK. It feels like we’ve won the lottery. I don’t think you could get a bigger change of lifestyle – but as a family we are all loving it.

“We were kind of like passing ships in the night before. Neither of us thought there was any chance at all we would hear back from our application, but the more we researched into it the more we were totally hooked.”

Fair Isle sits about 24 miles south of the Shetland Mainland in the North Sea. After their interview in May 2026, they received their offer to move to the island.

Massive gamble

Katy, who now works around four hours a day Monday to Friday, said: “It was a massive gamble and a long journey. It cost us £8,000 for the move in July.

“The only thing we knew is that there was a five-bedroom house, and it had 17 acres of land and five outbuildings. We saw a floor plan, but that was out of date.”

Outgoing tenants Deryk and Hollie and their four children have been a great help to Katy and Josh, passing on all of their crofting knowledge with a yearly planner and selling their sheep to help them start their own croft. There are seven children living on the island, five in school, one in nursery and an infant with two teenagers in high school on the mainland.

Hetty and Teddy were able to have calls with the school to help get them settled before the move. Luckily for them, there was a six-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy already on the island, giving them “an immediate best friend”.

Katy said: “The little boy and Teddy are off all the time mushrooming, fishing, they’re in our outbuildings making weird contraptions out of wood. Hetty is such a little animal lover, she’s been out with the sheep and we’ve got hens she’s with all the time. We’ve not had many challenges at all.”

With no high school, teenagers go to a school on the mainland with free accommodation and frequent trips home. Every half term the Fair Isle children will go to visit to meet their future classmates and ensure a smooth transition when they begin school.

The island has a pub in their bird observatory in the summer season, shop open four days a week, a Post Office and even has Amazon Prime. There is also a nurse on the island and when any situation begins to raise concerns, it takes a helicopter 15 minutes from Shetland and patients are airlifted off the island. Josh has found a lot of work as resident handyman.

Katy said: “He’s been out today fixing someone’s washing machine. He’s re-plumbed our house, he’s done everything.”

Slower pace of life

The significantly slower pace in life and family time has been the ultimate highlight for Katy.

She said: “We’re not stressed and overworked, we’re so much more present for the children. I remember Teddy once said ‘oh mum you’re so much nicer in the school holidays’. It was a throwaway comment, he didn’t mean anything by it.

“It stuck with me. I never wanted to be that mum, but it was kind of the way life pans out and you accidentally get there.

“This has just given us that time to breathe and be as a family. We do everything together and that’s made it totally worth it.”

What would typically look like a five-minute job can take residents three weeks to do, as they need to plan ahead for deliveries. They are also bound by the weather as the small plane or ferry may not be able to get to them as planned.

Learning how to shear and herd 30 sheep and a ram has not been the easiest at times, but it’s “all hands on deck”, and the children love it. Teddy uses his shepherd’s hook and chases the sheep as the family doesn’t have a sheep dog.

Katy said: “I think the massive misconception is that it’s lonely and there’s nothing to do. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Our lives haven’t actually changed that much. We’ve got something on every day.

“Everybody is here to help you out. I have a really good group of mum friends here. I do pilates and yoga. This is the most social I’ve ever been and Josh is quite an introvert, so he’s really come out of his shell now.”

Full calendar

Their calendar is always full with dress-up parties or harvest festivals. Katy is even learning the tradition of Fair Isle knitting from another resident to help keep the culture alive, a craft skill welcomed by the National Trust to maintain tradition.

Crofting and fishing were the other traditional occupations, but today the island’s economy is far more diverse. There are significantly more species of bird on the island than people, with over 350 different kinds.

To move to the island you have to wait for a current family to move away. National Trust for Scotland then reviews all applications to check for appropriate skills and applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed. Other desirable skills include direct experience in crofting and land management, trade skills such as plumbing expertise, joinery, or maritime skills.

LOOKING at thousands of holiday deals all day, every day, you start to spot patterns and see certain bargain resorts always cropping up.

But let’s get one thing straight: cheap does not automatically mean good value when you factor in some of the other forgotten costs.

When I’m digging through deals at On The Beach, I’m ALWAYS looking at the practical realities.

Like what the hotel actually offers, whether you’ll be stranded miles from the beach pushing a pram up an incline, and how much cash you’ll burn through on snacks and dinners once you arrive.

So I’ve crunched our booking data and matched it with years of deal-hunting experience to bring you eight proper bargains that are actually worth it.

And these aren’t just cheap on paper – they’re places I’d genuinely spend my own hard-earned cash on.

1. Els Llorers Apartments, Lloret de Mar from £190pp

Lloret sometimes gets pigeonholed as a party spot, which means people overlook what makes it a useful budget holiday: beaches, plenty of places to eat and enough going on that you don’t need to pay for an excursion every morning.

You can have a great week’s holiday built around a beach bag, some brilliant spots to eat and a wander – that’s a fairly strong itinerary in my book!

I’d look at Els Llorers Apartments, where having your own kitchen gives you control over the spending: breakfast in, lunch out and cold drinks in the fridge.

There are pools, children’s play areas and it’s set in a quieter area around a kilometre from the beach, which gives you some breathing space from the busiest part of the resort.

The booking data backs up the budget credentials: three-quarters of the packages analysed were below £300pp – that’s the sort of consistency that gets a hotel straight onto my radar.

The deal I found is seven nights self catering from £190pp, including flights from London Luton on April 13, 2027. A week away for under £200pp is never something to be sniffed at.

2. Colina da Lapa, Carvoeiro, Portugal from £145pp

Carvoeiro is the side of the Algarve I’d suggest to someone who wants a relaxing week, with a gorgeous beach tucked between cliffs and some of the best food the region has to offer.

And my hotel pick, Colina da Lapa, suits that approach to a tee, which is an apartment and villa complex near Carvoeiro, with gardens, outdoor pools, tennis courts and self-catering accommodation.

I’d choose it for space and a decent little base, while allowing some budget for getting around.

What caught my eye with this one originally was the breadth of affordable departures, with deals from a whopping 23 UK airports.

And a bargain becomes considerably more useful when you don’t have to rely on a major airport for flights.

January and February produced the cheapest prices here, so I’d consider those months for exploring and eating out, with a good chance of some welcome winter sunshine.

The deal I found is seven nights’ Self Catering from £145pp, including return flights from London Stansted on February 2, 2027.

That’s about £21 per person per night for the flights and accommodation combined, and for someone who wants an inexpensive change of scenery, that definitely deserves a look.

3. Tildi Hotel & Spa, Agadir from £245pp

If you want a proper winter escape with a relaxed pace and some winter warmth, Agadir is somewhere I always recommend as Morocco‘s beach capital.

You can explore, because Agadir is also packed with culture, but you can also have a day where your main achievement is getting up in time for lunch.

My hotel pick here is Tildi Hotel & Spa, a four-star option close to the beach.

And the location is why I love this one, because being able to get out on foot makes a holiday easier and helps avoid the drip-feed of transport costs.

I’d look particularly closely at the B&B packages – breakfast included gives you one meal sorted, while leaving you free to try different places later on.

In the booking data, Tildi’s packages were 30 per cent below the average Agadir B&B deal throughout 2026 – that’s a useful saving to know about.

The deal I found includes seven nights on bed & breakfast from £245pp, with flights from London Stansted on November 20, 2026.

Breakfast sorted, beach nearby and a week out of the usual routine before December takes over. Bosh.

4. Phenicia Hotel, Hammamet from £275pp

Hammamet is one I’d consider when the goal is to stay somewhere nice, eat well and come home feeling like you’ve had a proper break.

There’s a beachy coastline and an old town to explore, but don’t feel like you can’t keep the pace pleasantly low with a little wander, a little shopping, a long sit-down (no medals available for doing too much, right?).

Phenicia Hotel makes sense – it sits between gardens and the beach, with direct beach access right out the hotel.

That gives you somewhere lovely to spend your days without constantly paying to go elsewhere.

This is also where the guest feedback deserves a mention: 4.6/5 on Tripadvisor from more than 10,000 reviews – a very reassuring detail when the price looks particularly tempting!

And here, I’d prioritise Half Board.

Having breakfast and dinner included makes the week’s spending easier to judge, especially if you’re going mainly to relax.

The deal I found is seven nights’ Half Board from £275pp, including return flights from Liverpool on March 4, 2027 – that’s flights, a week in a beachfront hotel and two meals a day for under £300pp.

5. Sunlight Garden, Side from £350pp

Side is a good choice for someone who likes a beach holiday but also likes a splash of culture on their jollies with ancient ruins as well as an old town and a massive list of places to eat.

And all of this gives the week a bit of variety without requiring you to organise expensive excursions.

My hotel pick here is Sunlight Garden, particularly if you’d rather get the main holiday spending sorted before you arrive.

There are two main outdoor pools, a separate slide pool and children’s pools, all in a gorgeous setting.

The beach is around 500 metres away, with a shuttle service available too if you don’t fancy the walk.

But the value argument here is definitely picking the all inclusive board option, taking all the stress out of having to find a spot for meals.

The deal I found is seven nights on all inclusive, with flights from London Gatwick on May 5, 2027 from just £350pp.

That works out at £50 per person, per night for a week where your meals and drinks are covered.

6. Gorkem Hotel, Ovacik from £330pp

Ovacik is criminally overlooked in Turkey – you’re inland rather than directly on the beach, so this is a different proposition from booking a seafront resort.

But I’d choose it as a base for exploring the surrounding area, mixing pool days with trips towards Oludeniz and evenings out.

Gorkem Hotel fits that simpler style of holiday.

The pool and mountain setting are a big part of the appeal for me, but I’d be booking it for a relaxed, good value base rather than a long list of luxury extras.

The bed & breakfast basis makes sense here, because you’ve got the first meal of the day covered, then the flexibility to go out for lunch and dinner rather than feeling you should stay at the hotel to get your money’s worth.

Its 4.6/5 Tripadvisor rating is also worth talking about – it’s not easy to get a score like that at a budget hotel.

The deal I found is seven nights’ Bed & Breakfast from £330pp, including flights from Birmingham on July 1, 2027.

I’d keep some spending money for exploring and eating out, because that freedom is a large part of why I’d choose it.

7. Pebbles Resort, St Paul’s Bay from £185pp

Malta is somewhere I’d happily consider outside the main beach season if you wanted to keep the cost way down.

There’s more than enough to build a week around exploring, eating and getting out along the waterfront, and you can use St Paul’s Bay as your base to mix slower local days with trips further afield.

My pick here would be Pebbles Resort hotel, particularly for a winter deal.

It has an indoor pool open throughout the year, alongside an outdoor pool, plus a fitness centre and a hot tub – useful facilities when you’re travelling at a time of year that might involve the occasional change of plan.

But the timing is what makes this recommendation really work – January packages were around £178pp in the analysis, considerably below the hotel’s overall median.

That’s why I look at when a hotel becomes good value, rather than deciding it’s permanently cheap or expensive.

The same place can make much more sense on different dates. The deal I found is seven nights with bed & breakfast from £185pp, and includes flights from Liverpool on January 22, 2027.

A week in Malta with breakfast thrown in for under £200pp? I’d happily start planning a few days out around that.

8. Surfing Colors, Corralejo from £265pp

Corralejo is one I’d put forward for someone who wants beaches, places to eat and enough life around them to enjoy going out in the evening.

It also gives you access to Fuerteventura’s famous scenery and the option to try something more energetic than just turning your sunlounger towards the sun.

Surfing Colors hotel definitely fits that sort of holiday.

It offers a heated swimming pool, free yoga classes and access to surf and kite lessons. Yeah, really!

You don’t have to become a surfer, but it’s a useful choice if you fancy a relaxed hotel with a few things to get involved in between pool sessions.

The deal I found comes in at £265pp for seven nights on a room only basis, including return flights from London Stansted on December 5, 2026.

And, personally, I’d much rather spend that week deciding where to have lunch than standing in a Christmas shopping queue wearing a damp coat.

With six days to go before the November 3 midterm elections in the United States, Democrats are leading Republicans in national polls, but several key Senate races seem too close to call.

President Donald Trump has stepped up his campaigning, holding two Republican rallies in Texas on Tuesday before heading to Ohio on Wednesday. Ex-President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris are also hitting the campaign trail in Georgia for the Democratic Party.

Here is what the latest polls say, what happened on the campaign trail and what to expect on Wednesday.

What do the latest polls suggest?

With less than a week to go before the midterms, a Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests the Democrats are ahead of the Republicans by nine points.

According to the October 22-26 survey, 47 percent of voters support the Democrats, compared with 36 percent who support the Republicans. When undecided voters’ leanings were taken into account, Democrats lead with 50 percent compared with Republicans’ 41 percent.

Trump’s approval rating improved by a percentage point to 32 percent, with 73 percent of US adults saying the cost of living was going in the wrong direction.

In Texas, where Democrats have not won a Senate election since 1988, James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton are virtually tied in the polls.

Trump has made several trips to the state ahead of the midterms, but the polls indicate a much tighter race than the president has suggested.

“The good people of Texas have probably never seen so much of President Trump. Four visits in seven weeks, which, to put that into context, is twice as many as we saw at the comparable period leading up to the 2024 election, which perhaps shows just how concerned Republicans are,” Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle said, reporting from the Texas coastal city of Corpus Christi.

Lavelle said local analysis suggested more Republicans have voted early than Democrats, but Talarico has also been courting Republicans dissatisfied with Trump.

“That doesn’t mean Republicans are voting for Republican candidates,” Lavelle said.

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are also competing in a closely contested Senate race.

“I was a Republican forever, but I became an independent in the last two elections,” Michael Alexander, a Native American backing El-Sayed, told Al Jazeera.

“I don’t really vote for a party any more. I vote for who I think will do the best job.”

Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, but Republican incumbent Roger Marshall now faces a close contest against Democrat Adam Hamilton.

The race has brought Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, to the state.

“There’s a reason why we’re seeing not only US President Donald Trump but also Vice President JD Vance heading to Kansas because it’s actually in play,” Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane said.

According to The Associated Press news agency, both parties and their allied groups have committed about $71m to campaign advertising in the Kansas race, making it the most expensive Senate contest in the state’s history.

What happened in the US midterm campaigns over the past 24 hours?

Trump addressed two campaign rallies in Texas on Tuesday in support of Paxton.

In Corpus Christi, Trump pointed to a tanker that he said was carrying one million barrels of Venezuelan oil and called it a win for his administration. He also suggested the idea of making Venezuela the 51st US state. The Trump administration has signed an oil deal with Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, after abducting socialist President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation in January.

Trump also announced plans to roll back the Biden-era restrictions on methane emissions from oil and gas production, stating that it would help bring down energy prices.

Fuel prices have become a huge election issue as the US-Israel war on Iran continues. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also joined Trump for a rare campaign-trail appearance in Texas.

In Alaska, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has backed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor rather than Bernadette Wilson, the Trump-endorsed candidate.

What’s next for Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday?

Trump heads to Ohio on Wednesday for his third rally in the state this month, as Republicans try to defend a Senate seat being challenged by former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.

The US president is scheduled to speak in Chillicothe at 23:00 GMT. Republican Senator Jon Husted, who took over Vance’s seat when he became vice president, is facing Brown, who is seeking a return to the Senate after losing his seat in 2024.

The two are in a closely contested race, with more than $400m spent or reserved for campaign advertising as of October 8, according to an Axios report.

Republicans are particularly concerned in Texas, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, where even a few percentage points for a third party could swing the outcome.

Trump is scheduled to hold rallies in Ohio on Wednesday and Iowa on Sunday.

Vance will be in Kinston, North Carolina, campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who is running against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. The vice president is expected to speak at 16:30 GMT.

In Georgia, former President Obama will campaign in Atlanta alongside Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms at 20:00 GMT.

Ossoff is running against Republican Mike Collins, while Bottoms faces Republican Rick Jackson in the governor’s race. Trump won Georgia in the 2024 presidential election.

Former Vice President Harris also begins a three-day visit to Georgia on Wednesday, with early in-person voting due to end on Friday, October 30.

In Wisconsin, Marquette Law School will publish its latest statewide poll at 18:15 GMT.

Wednesday’s poll will also examine voters’ views on inflation, tariffs, the US-Israel war on Iran and Trump’s presidency.

Celebrity Traitors finalist Nick Mohammed has shared how isolating it was to film the show amid monitored phone calls with his children and limited downtime

A year on from being hoodwinked by Alan Carr in the Celebrity Traitors final, Nick Mohammed is revealing what it was really like to film the BBC game show.

Speaking with Jessie and Lennie Ware on their Table Manners podcast, the actor described the isolation of filming, sharing that he was only permitted to have one call with his children a day and that those chats had to be monitored.

Nick, 46, said: “I was allowed once a day to FaceTime them, but only with the producers listening into the phone calls.” He added that this was “because if anything gets out, the game was over”.

“So that was the most difficult thing, and not being able to tell them exactly when I would be going because I didn’t know, and I could be back in 48 hours. I could be gone in three weeks, which turned out I was.”

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He continued to say that the celebs “downtime” was limited: “You didn’t get that much downtime, really. […] It looks in the programme like you get in those cars and go off, but it’s a more elaborate way out of the castle because they don’t want you to see who’s going in what direction. You’re actually in a holding area and dismissed at random, so you have no way of knowing whether someone’s been dismissed early and what that might mean.”

The Ted Lasso star was a Faithful on the show and made it all the way to the final. Though fellow Faithful Joe Marler was suspicious of Traitor Alan, Nick and David Olusoga both thought it was Joe who was the final Traitor and voted him off. As such, Alan won the game, stealing the prize pot for his chosen charity. Alan’s win won a BAFTA for most Memorable Moment.

Nick shared that he almost felt as though it had “never happened”. He explained: “It’s such a strange thing because we filmed it over April and May of last year, and then it didn’t come out till October of that year. So there is a good sort of four or five months where you can’t talk about it. You can’t give anything away, and you are not doing press for it because everything’s embargoed. So to a degree, it almost feels like it never happened. […] And you’ve got no access to the outside world, or you don’t have your phone on you, or anything like that during it.”

This year’s cohort have faced similar conditions concerning contact with the outside world. In a recent interview with The Times, current Traitor James Acaster shared that he was told off by the production team after a conversation with his partner. He said: “You can’t have an authentic conversation because you can’t tell them anything that’s happening.

“At one point my partner said, ‘Have you caught the sun?’ I was saying, ‘Oh yeah, we were outside for one of the missions.’ I was told I couldn’t even tell her that.”

He added that it was “just a game” and that the production team should remember that. His words were criticised by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde on their podcast. The former Pointless star said: “When James says it’s just a game and the production team would do well to remember that, the thing is it’s not just a game, it’s a television show about a game.

“And I am absolutely certain that they would have overstepped lines which the talent would rather they hadn’t overstepped because their job is incredibly difficult and you need to keep things as tight as you possibly can.”

Marina agreed: “You can’t call your family because you’ve been told in the rubric of the show before you go on it and before you sign the contract that that’s part of the game….You’ve got to toughen up.

“You’re being paid 40 grand for like 10 days work or something and you’re doing it for disadvantaged people so try and remember your chosen charity and just push it down.”

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The provided text outlines the historical background of Independent Czechoslovak State Day, commemorating the formation of a unified nation after World War I. Prior to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakiaexperienced distinct political climates and economic structures under separate foreign administrations. Despite these differences between the industrialized Czech territories and agricultural Slovakia, regional nationalist campaigns successfully seized the historic opportunity to merge. Official autonomy was publicly declared in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on October 28, 1918, establishing the First Republic. Finally, leadership of this newly forged country was entrusted to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who had previously spearheaded the external nationalist movement against imperial rule.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for 13 countries, including Turkey and Egypt, amid ‘regional tensions’ in the Middle East

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for 13 countries, including Turkey and Egypt, due to ‘regional tensions’ across the Middle East. ‘Do not travel’ warnings remain in force for various areas as the situation ‘remains deeply unpredictable’.

In the update issued on Tuesday, 27 October, under ‘regional tensions’, the FCDO warned: “The context in the Middle East remains deeply unpredictable, and the risk of sudden escalation is high. Since conflict began in early 2026, Iran has stated its intention to target locations associated with the US and Israel, including, but not limited to, organisations, businesses, facilities, and institutions. There have been strikes and retaliatory attacks by Iran and others across the region against civilian and US military infrastructure.”

The Foreign Office went on to caution that British nationals planning to travel through the Middle East or who are currently in the region “should be prepared for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions”. They advised doing the following:

• Read If you’re affected by a crisis abroad – GOV.UK. This includes guidance on “how to prepare for a crisis” with suggestions on what you might include in your emergency supplies and “what to do in a crisis”
• Sign up to FCDO Travel Advice email alerts
• Follow advice from the local authorities
• Monitor local and international media for the latest information, including updates relating to airports and airspace, which could close at short notice
• Stay away from areas around security or military facilities
• Keep your departure plans under review, and ensure your travel documents are up to date
• If advised to take shelter, stay indoors or find the nearest safe building or designated shelter. An interior stairwell or a room with as few external walls or windows as possible may provide additional protection. The greatest risk is from falling debris caused by intercepts, and you are safest inside a secure structure. Do not approach or touch any drone or missile fragments or unusual objects.

While the most recent travel guidance for the 13 nations concerned ‘regional tensions’, it’s crucial to consult the FCDO directly for any additional warnings or advice for your chosen destination, as there may be additional or differing advice, and updates can be issued at extremely short notice. There are also critical ‘do not travel’ warnings in effect for various locations, alongside guidance ‘against all but essential travel’ to other areas, reports the Daily Star.

Currently, the Foreign Office has advised ‘against all travel to parts’ of the following nations: Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the FCDO has advised ‘against all travel’ to Iran, Yemen and Syria. It’s worth noting that some of these warnings were in place before the events in the Middle East and are unrelated to the tensions.

For example in Yemen, the FCDO states: “Since July 2026, the Houthis have launched air strikes against Saudi territory and Saudi shipping vessels in the Red Sea. There is an ongoing risk of further military escalation, including in Yemen and the Red Sea, which could occur at short notice.”

Full list of 13 countries with updated travel advice

1. Egypt
2. Turkey
3. Qatar
4. Iran
5. Israel
6. Kuwait
7. Palestine
8. Bahrain
9. Jordan
10. Yemen
11. Syria
12. Pakistan
13. Saudi Arabia

For more information, or to check travel advice for a specific country, visit the Foreign Office website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

• This article was updated to reflect that the Foreign Office’s advice ‘against all travel to parts’ of certain countries are not all linked to the events in the Middle East.

Oct. 28, 2026 3:13 AM PT

Donald Trump could be in the White House for as long as another 26 interminable months, which is beyond depressing. But Democrats are mobilizing to use that time wisely if they win at least one congressional majority in midterm elections next week.

The odds are good that as of January 2027, they will be in charge of the House, and they’re slight favorites to run the Senate. If voters punish Republicans with a thumping (George W. Bush’s description in 2006) or a shellacking (Barack Obama in 2010), a few GOP lawmakers might even decide to help Democrats undo some of the damage inflicted by their president and party.

Steep cuts in federal healthcare money, price-hiking tariffs across the globe and Trump’s inflationary war on Iran are among the targets ripe for rapid action in the first 100 hours of a Democratic House, and potentially in a Democratic Senate as well.

Who knows what Trump would do or say if an actual bill were to land on his desk. When Congress passed a major bipartisan bill to lower housing costs this year, he called it a yawn and let it become law without his signature. But in 2019, he refused to work with Democrats on an infrastructure bill — purportedly one of his own priorities — unless they stopped their “phony investigations” of him. They did not stop, and we did not get an infrastructure package until the Biden administration.

If those first-term investigations annoyed Trump, he’ll be livid at what’s on tap for the next two years. Constant reports of corruption and profiteering are a hallmark of his second term, and Democrats are readying literally countless investigations of him and his family, and their businesses and associates. Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Robert Garcia of California know each other well (Garcia says he sees Raskin as a mentor) and are discussing their plans in the likely event they become chairs, respectively, of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees.

The to-do list is daunting, starting with Trump’s scandalous and seemingly pay-to-play pardons, his foreign gifts, and the Trump family’s government contracts and cryptocurrency cash haul. Other areas of interest include vindictive government prosecutions, penalties and threats; foreign influence-buying; rising authoritarianism; civil liberties; abusive immigration enforcement; corporate corruption; unfinished inquiries involving Jeffrey Epstein associates; and suspect tariff deals, conflicts and profits.

Former Republican Kurt Bardella was a senior House Oversight Committee advisor and communications specialist from 2009 to 2013, during California Republican Darrell Issa’s tenure as chair. A Democrat since 2017, these days Bardella is closely following Trump-era corruption and how Democrats are handling it in his newsletters, “The Watchdog Report” and “The Agenda.”

“The success of these investigations really comes down to how you message and communicate to the American people,” Bardella said in a weekend interview. “You have to spend the first part of this building the case. Telling the story.” The story, he said, is “the level of corruption we’re seeing” and its cost to every American. As one of his newsletter headlines reads, “Every Trump investigation needs a price tag.”

Bardella has suggested that House committee chairs report to an “oversight czar” to avoid chaos and competition. He has also prescribed a “Special Select Committee to Investigate Trump Family Finances” to coordinate the many committees that would need to be involved in addition to Oversight or Judiciary — for instance, Armed Services (sweetheart defense contracts), Ways and Means (Trump’s IRS slush fund and other tax shenanigans), and let’s not forget Don Jr.’s Bahamas wedding, bankrolled by a Russian oligarch (Foreign Affairs, or maybe Intelligence?).

Democrats should also hire former special counsel Jack Smith as top investigator for the Oversight or Judiciary panels, or for both as a joint employee, Bardella wrote in July: “Let him assemble an anti-corruption mod squad that’ll shake up the status quo, send MAGA media into a nervous breakdown, and restore checks and balances to our government.”

That may remain a Never-Trump fantasy, but Democrats are taking appropriate steps for a complex mission. They are organizing their work through a House Litigation Task Force formed to fight unlawful or unconstitutional Trump actions, demanding answers as new corruption issues arise, and preparing to build cases based on information from whistleblowers, private-sector players and other sources.

The investigations will unfold as the 2028 presidential race takes shape. It seems inevitable that, like the Jan. 6 investigation, they will generate revealing hearings and a stream of viral moments. “We are going to hold the crooks accountable,” likely Speaker Hakeem Jeffries pledged last summer in Pennsylvania.

Democrats can also pass message bills that put their legislative priorities on blast — ICE restrictions, a stock trading ban, a higher minimum wage — even if they can’t yet become law. Depending on results Tuesday, the messaging could extend to a Democratic Senate that can block Trump judicial nominees, Supreme Court justices included, and tell America exactly why they’re nonstarters.

Ideally, what happens on Capitol Hill for the next two years will give Democratic White House hopefuls bragging rights on programs and policies most people actually want, as well as a foundation — and launchpad — for the sweeping, urgently needed accountability that has been such a long time coming.

I’m itching to conclude here with “bring it on.” It’s too soon, but in a week or so it might not be.

Jill Lawrence is a journalist and the author of “The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock.” Bluesky: @jilldlawrence

Scotland men emulated their female counterparts by opening the European Curling Championships with victory.

Grant Hardie’s rink triumphed 8-4 in Ostrava in the Czech Republic and face Belgium later on Wednesday.

The men picked up two at the opening end and three at the third to lead 5-1. The Dutch were 6-4 down after six ends but Scotland picked up two more at the seventh to see out the win.

Fay Henderson’s Scotland women began their campaign with a comprehensive 12-3 victory over Denmark.

They edged the opening two ends by single points before the Danes halved the deficit.

However, the Scots took control of their opening, surging into a five-point lead by the close of the fourth end.

Although Denmark scored two points in the fifth, Scotland ended the contest emphatically with a six-point haul in the sixth and final end.

Turkey are up next for Henderson’s rink.

A MAJOR London road and tourist destination will be permanently pedestrianised.

Camden High Street will be fully pedestrianised following a year-and-a-half trial.

The high street is a well-known tourist destination in the capital, being home to the historic Camden Market – which around 250,000 people visit every week.

Camden High Street has been temporarily pedestrianised since last May from outside the tube station up to The Elephant’s Head pub.

Eventually, the pedestrianisation could be extended up to Camden Lock Bridge.

Following a consultation, 57 per cent of respondents said that they wanted the street to be pedestrianised permanently.

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Councillor James Slater said: “Camden Town is an important shopping and transport hub for local residents as well as being an internationally recognised destination that draws people in from across London, the rest of the UK, and the world.

“After 18 months, we asked this summer whether you wanted to see the pedestrianisation become permanent.

“Based on our consultation and the positive outcomes we have seen, we have made the decision to make it permanent.”

He added: “Better bus journeys around Camden Town are very important to us – that’s why we will be introducing a trial bus lane on Kentish Town Road with the aim of speeding up northbound bus journeys.

“We will also be introducing additional new community safety patrols as part of a £1 million investment in Community Safety Officer patrols around Camden’s town centres.

“We also heard that many of you are open to the idea of the pedestrianisation being extended over Camden Lock Bridge towards the junction with Chalk Farm Road.

“We will therefore be developing and testing a design for a potential extension over the next few months, and we will publish further information next spring to seek your views on it.”

It comes after the UK’s busiest street – Oxford Street – was pedestrianised yesterday.

The pedestrianised section stretches over half a mile.

Future plans will see more trees added to the street, as well as seating areas and two public squares.

Israel has only ever been governed by coalitions. Can you put one together that reaches 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats?

Israelis voted on October 27, but there appears to be no clear winner.

The next government, like every government in Israel’s history, will have to be a coalition.

The question now is who can secure at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats to form a government and become Israel’s next prime minister.

Al Jazeera has built an interactive tool that lets you test different combinations of parties. Start with any of the four exit polls or enter your own seat numbers. Then add parties until your coalition reaches 61 seats. You can add an entire bloc at once or select parties individually.

Who is ahead?

Initial counting by the Central Elections Committee put Likud ahead as the largest single party, with 27 seats.

Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 54 seats, against 50 for Eisenkot’s.

Four exit polls published on election night showed how close the race is.

Kan 11 and Channel 13 put Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc level at 51 seats each. Channel 12 gave Netanyahu 52 seats to Eisenkot’s 49, while Channel 15 was most favourable to the incumbent, projecting 55 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc against 49 for the opposition.

How many seats are needed?

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has 120 seats. Parties win seats in proportion to their share of the national vote, provided they clear the 3.25 percent threshold to enter parliament.

A government needs the support of at least 61 politicians to secure a majority.

Neither of the main blocs has reached that number in the exit polls or the initial count. The next step is to find enough parties willing to join forces to make up the difference.

Why is forming a government so difficult?

The Arab-led parties Ra’am and the Joint List could hold the balance of power, with exit polls putting their combined support at between 16 and 19 seats.

But the political obstacles are considerable. Netanyahu has described a coalition with Arab parties as “shameful”, while leading figures in the Jewish-led opposition have also ruled out governing with them.

That leaves potential coalitions that may work on paper but face serious political barriers.

Which parties belong to each bloc?

Netanyahu’s bloc spans Likud, the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, and the far-right parties Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich, and Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Eisenkot’s opposition bloc includes his Yashar party, the Together list associated with former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu and Yair Golan’s Democrats.

What happens next?

Once the results are certified, the president gives the mandate to the member of the Knesset considered most likely to assemble a majority.

That politician has 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of up to 14 days. If they fail, another lawmaker can be given a chance. If no one can form a government, Israel may have to hold another election, as it did repeatedly between 2019 and 2022.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, with 19 years in office across three stints, remains caretaker prime minister while coalition negotiations unfold. He is also standing trial on corruption charges, which he denies.

Official results are due on November 4. Negotiations to form a government could take considerably longer.

Blue Badge holders travelling in Europe can now park in a major holiday hotspot, thanks to an agreement between the Department for Transport and Ministry of Disabilities

British holidaymakers with Blue Badges can now use it in a major holiday hotspot. The disabled parking permit assists people with severe mobility issues or hidden disabilities to park nearer to their destinations. It covers both drivers and passengers.

Now the Department of Transport has struck a deal with Italian authorities so the paperwork can be used in the boot-shaped country.

It builds on a similar arrangement agreed with France, where Brits have been using their permits since August last year. Work is ongoing with Spain to explore similar arrangements for Blue badge holders. Italian visitors travelling to the UK will also benefit, with Italy’s disabled parking permits to be recognised here.

Roads Minister Justin Madders said: “Disabled people shouldn’t have to worry about whether their parking permit will be recognised when travelling abroad. These new arrangements with Italy mean Blue Badge holders can relax and enjoy their trip, with easier access to reserved parking and exemptions from charges, whether they’re travelling for a holiday, visiting family or for work.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The definitive status of Blue Badge recognition across European Union nations – together with key neighbouring non-EU countries – falls into several distinct categories.

The Blue Badge is fully or partially recognised in the following countries:

• Austria — Fully
• Belgium —Fully
• Croatia — Fully
• Cyprus — Fully
• Czech Republic — Fully
• Denmark — Fully
• Estonia — Fully
• Finland — Fully
• France — Fully
• Germany —Fully
• Greece — Accepts non-EU parking cards
• Hungary — Fully
• Iceland — Accepts non-EU parking cards
• Ireland — Fully
• Italy —Fully
• Latvia — Fully
• Liechtenstein — Fully
• Lithuania —Fully
• Luxembourg — Accepts non-EU parking cards
• Malta — Fully
• Netherlands — Fully
• Norway — Fully
• Poland — Fully
• Portugal —Fully
• Romania —Fully
• Slovakia — Fully
• Slovenia — May not recognise non-EU-issued parking cards
• Spain (including Balearic and Canary Isles) — UK Blue Badge recognition decided by local administrations
• Sweden — Fully
• Switzerland — Fully

The DfT cautions that even in nations where the badge is recognised, disabled parking regulations can shift quickly or differ between towns. To steer clear of hefty penalties or vehicle removal, travellers should consult local tourist information centres or local authorities before departing.

Certain countries demand a local parking notice or clock disc be shown alongside the Blue Badge. The DfT also suggests carrying a doctor’s letter or a translated version of your Blue Badge, particularly when entering countries with stricter enforcement policies.

When parking you should always:

• look for any signage indicating disabled parking spaces
• make sure that your Blue Badge is displayed correctly and that you comply with any additional requirements, such as displaying a parking disc in countries such as Denmark

Hands-on experiences dominate the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where encountering artifacts that highlight aerospace history is on equal footing with learning about its future.

The many interactive exhibits that dot the new building’s 200,000 square feet of gallery space are geared to entice and educate people of all ages. But kids will be especially intrigued. The center’s leaders, including Science Center President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Rudolph and Ken Phillips, curator of aerospace science, said during a recent tour that in many ways the museum is meant for kids. It’s not a childish place, but it does produce childlike wonder. It’s hard to remain cynical when you’re surrounded by physical evidence of the vast nature of the universe.

The sheer scale of it hits you all at once. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you step into the museum, with its planes hanging from the ceiling and its rockets jutting through the floors. This list of the best interactive exhibits on offer will help you plan a successful visit in advance. Just be sure to brace yourself for your children’s inevitable wails when you try to pull them away.

And expect lines — these experiences are likely to be in high demand.

A recent Times review of the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center declares that the Endeavour space shuttle — displayed for the first time ever in launch position — “is, simply put, one of the greatest artifacts ever installed in a museum.”

While it may be true that visitors will flock to L.A.’s newest cultural haven just to see the shuttle, the 200,000-square-foot addition to the California Science Center contains plenty of other mind-melting artifacts to gawk at — especially if you’re an aerospace buff. If you’ve read Tom Wolfe’s riveting 1979 book “The Right Stuff” (or seen the movie) about the early years of NASA’s space program, you’ll likely feel downright starstruck when confronted with iconic pieces of history ripped straight from its pages.

But there’s much more than history at this tech-forward new museum. This list of must-see artifacts reminds us of all we know about air and space, and all we don’t — as well as the many novel and ingenious ways we continue to work toward fresh discoveries.

Two trains have crashed in central Spain, authorities said, with a local official saying some passengers were injured.

Spain’s rail system operator ADIF said that the incident occurred Wednesday morning in the province of Toledo.

The mayor of the nearby town of Urda, Manuel Galan, told Spanish state broadcaster TVE that passengers had been injured and that civil protection authorities had asked his town hall to prepare a sports pavilion to attend to passengers.

More to come…

KIM Kardashian has worn a very daring plunging dress to the premiere of her Hulu series All’s Fair.

The gown desperately struggled to contain her boobs as she posed at the event in Mexico.

The Skims mogul, who just turned 46 this month, wore a very unique white dress with a gaping neckline that reached down to her stomach.

Posing in front of a marble-effect backdrop, Kim wore her raven locks in a sleek style as she smiled for the cameras.

Reacting to Kim’s sensational appearance at the premiere, fans went wild.

The reality star shared a clip of her posing at the event on X, which sparked an influx of gushing comments.

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One person penned: “Beautiful!!! So youthful! i’m really loving all these looks.”

“Kim I hope you know how beautiful you are!! Just stunning,” said a second.

“She just keeps aging backwards lmao,” penned a third.

While a fourth wrote: “The most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.”

And a fifth said: “Kimberly this is insane. You never fail me ever. so chic.”

This comes after Kim showed off her figure at the All’s Fair screening in Rome.

She wore a daring cut-out gown by designer Galia Lahav and styled by Zendaya’s BFF Law Roach.

In one shot where Kim faced away from the camera, fans spotted a strange and deep dent in her back.

One follower cheekily called the mark a “backgina,” seemingly in response to her infamous “pitgina” in 2025.

“What am I looking at?!” one Reddit follower marvelled.

“I’m so confused,” another chimed in.

Last summer, Kim shocked fans with what they called a “pitgina” in a very tiny bandeau top.

As she waved to onlookers in Venice, a deep indentation in her armpit could be seen.

“Why does it look like a belly button?” one follower asked on a Reddit thread.

“What is that? I’m terrified!” said a second.

Alonso is one of a number of managers who have become increasingly guarded when discussing team news in media conferences.

Last month, he said: “I prefer not to give more information than needed.”

On that occasion, his side went on to lose 3-0 at Brentford, having kept several injury concerns, including one involving Joao Pedro, under wraps.

Yet such is the popularity of Fantasy Premier League – a game played by more than 11 million people according to official figures – that many staff members, players and relatives of footballers also take part.

By identifying leagues or teams linked to players, staff or family members through the game, which provides an open database of participants, it can be possible to infer what is happening behind closed doors at various training grounds.

Previously, the highest-profile case involved Jack Grealish’s absence from Aston Villa‘s match against Leicester City in February 2021.

Leicester’s manager at the time, Brendan Rodgers, admitted he had heard about the issue before the match, while Villa boss Dean Smith reportedly banned figures inside the club from playing FPL after the 2-1 defeat.

Later that year, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described the situation as “unethical and unprofessional”.

There have been many further examples, claiming to suggest players from clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester and Newcastle made revelatory changes to their teams.

Often that information is widely shared on social media, but it is also known that some top FPL players will withhold information for smaller circles to gain a competitive advantage in the game itself.

BBC Sport was able to find accounts that trackers claim are linked to staff, players and family members at clubs across the Premier League.

One of the experts in finding these club-linked accounts is FPL Focal, who told BBC Sport: “I am sure there are many more that have not been found. I have noticed some players have started using aliases. I’ve also had a couple of requests over the years to remove accounts, which I have always respected.

“The FPL leaderboard is completely public, so it is straightforward to look players up. Verifying that an account genuinely belongs to a player takes a bit more time.”

Reality star Savannah Chrisley on Tuesday announced her pregnancy and engagement to her mystery fiancé, finally revealing that his name is Jason after months of secrecy.

“The past few years have taken me through fires I never imagined I’d have to walk through,” the “Chrisley Knows Best” star captioned an Instagram post with a video announcing the news. “Right in the middle of the heartbreak. Before all the pieces were put back together. And somehow, he began healing parts of me he never broke.

“And just when I thought my heart couldn’t hold any more love,” Chrisley continued, “God gave us our sweetest blessing yet… we’re having a BABY!”

The news comes after years of fighting on behalf of her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were jailed in 2023 for tax evasion and bank fraud. Savannah’s efforts paid off when President Trump issued pardons for them in 2025, despite their conviction for conspiring to defraud Atlanta-area banks of more than $30 million in loans by submitting false documents.

“I’m finally in my happy era. And it’s taken a lot for me to get here,” Savannah said in her podcast “Unlocked.”

“I have really struggled [with] like, ‘When’s it going to happen for me?’” she continued. “I see so many people getting married and having kids and living this picturesque lifestyle and white picket fence and all of these things. And for so long I thought like, ‘It’s just not going to happen…Mom and Dad aren’t going to be here for these moments and those moments, and maybe I’m just not going to find the right person.”

In the episode, she describes her courtship with Jason and his proposal during their visit to the Cayman Islands.

“In all the silence that I’ve been giving, I’ve been living a lot of life, and I’ve been enjoying it for myself,” she said, acknowledging there is a “huge” age gap. “That’s probably part of the reason I kept a lot of it quiet, because I know how brutal the public can be.

“It’s just such an amazing, fulfilling feeling to finally find your person, and I’m there,” she continued. “So, yes, the age difference. So what? I don’t care. Let me tell you, he does not look his age, nor does he act his age. His body is great. His mind is even sharper. So, I really don’t care. OK? This person is the love of my life, and it made all the heartbreak that I’ve gone through worth it.”

A commercial airline pilot told the Mirror that falling asleep in the cockpit was common due to the long hours that aviators are required to work, following a damning European Cockpit Association report

Pilots are falling asleep in the cockpit because they’re so overworked, a damning new report claims. A survey of 7,200 pilots commissioned by the European Cockpit Association (ECA) warned of tiredness leading to “micro-sleeps in the cockpit”. One pilot told the Mirror that falling asleep while flying was common, but claimed that aviation insiders ‘do not care’.

The ECA has argued that there was “insufficient rest to prevent cumulative fatigue” and flight duties extended “beyond legal maximums”. The report suggests fatigue is “underreported across the industry”. “Airlines’ reporting systems are often seen as neither effective nor trusted, and a substantial share of pilots fly fatigued because of fear of a punitive reaction from their airline,” it noted, warning that the situation was particularly bad at low-cost airlines.

Ireland and Malta were identified as countries where the problem is particularly bad, but overall, more than three out of four pilots (77%) reported at least one microsleep while operating an aircraft in the four weeks before completing the survey.

One commercial airline pilot, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Mirror that he’d fallen asleep in the cockpit “many times”. “I have the responsibility of 234 souls, and I can legally work up to 14 hours straight, not including the repositioning. But after many years I realised nobody cares because, at the end of the day, no airplanes are falling from the sky,” he said.

“After many nights in-flight, you experience microsleeps from a few seconds up to two to three minutes, but you do not realise and it’s subtle because you might seem to be aware, but you are technically sleeping. It impairs your situational awareness and your judgment ability. But…as I said, nobody cares.”

Only 37% of those surveyed said that they report unfit when fatigued, while 24% confirmed flying when tired. Almost two in five reported a fear of punishment or a “retaliatory response” to reporting fatigue.

ECA president Captain Tanja Harter said: “The numbers in this report – and the lack of any meaningful improvement over the past three years – are a clear wake-up call for airlines, authorities and the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Something must change in the way Europe deals with pilot fatigue.”

BALPA, the British Airline Pilots Association, said the survey’s results were worrying and should lead to action. Joji Waites, BALPA director of flight safety, policy and regulation, said “The ECA’s survey of almost 7,200 pilots is a clear safety signal. That 24% of pilots usually continue flying rather than report themselves unfit due to fatigue is a concern. Aviation is the safest mode of transport through pilots’ expertise and professionalism in tandem with other aviation professionals; however, fatigue remains one of the most significant threats. Safety margins cannot hold if pilots are routinely rostered to the upper limits of their flight and duty time limitations (FTL).

“With almost half of pilots fearing repercussions for reporting fatigue, we fully support ECA’s call for EASA to strengthen fatigue rules and enforce non-punitive reporting and responsible calls on the use of commander’s discretion.

“BALPA thanks the ECA for the considerable work involved in gathering this data. We are still running our Realtime fatigue app to collect actionable intelligence on UK pilot fatigue, so combined with the ECA’s findings, we can create a clear picture of pilot fatigue, which will be fed into the CAA’s ongoing FTL review.”