The Grand Mosque of Paris is celebrating 100 years since its inauguration. Built to remember Muslim soldiers who died in World War I, the mosque has become a symbol of Islam in France and a flashpoint for political tension.
Published On 16 Jul 202616 Jul 2026
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Extreme weather disrupted the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations, forcing evacuations, cancellations and delays. Despite setbacks including a National Mall evacuation and a fireworks display setting the Brooklyn Bridge on fire, Trump called the day ‘one of the most joyous and glorious’ in US history.
Published On 5 Jul 20265 Jul 2026
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US President Donald Trump has praised the US as the ‘greatest force for peace and justice on Earth’, in a speech marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Trump’s speech and the main celebrations were delayed by several hours by extreme thunderstorms.
Published On 5 Jul 20265 Jul 2026
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The TWZ Newsletter
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The U.S. Navy has confirmed to TWZ that the MQ-25 Stingray demonstrator drone, also known as T-1, is embarked on the supercarrier USS Nimitz. Pictures of Nimitz with the uncrewed aircraft on its deck had prompted questions about whether the initial production representative MQ-25, which made its maiden flight in April, had now gone aboard a carrier for the first time. We now know that is not the case. Regardless, the images of T-1 aboard Nimitz still underscore just how big the Navy’s first advanced carrier-based drone actually is, especially when placed next to other aircraft in the air wings. Production MQ-25s will be an important and imposing presence when they enter operational service, something the service hopes will finally start next year.
“We do indeed have a Boeing-owned T-1 prototype currently onboard,” a Navy spokesperson told TWZ today when asked about the drone seen on Nimitz‘s deck.
The spokesperson directed us to contact Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for more information about the current status of the MQ-25 program. T-1 has been flying since 2019 and has taken part in a slew of testing in support of the development of the Stingray in the air and on the ground. This also includes deck handling testing aboard the Nimitz class carrier USS George H.W. Bush in December 2021, something we will come back to later on. T-1 has never taken off from or landed aboard a Navy carrier, and would have had to be transported aboard Nimitz.
“To honor the United States’ 250th anniversary, the MQ-25A T1 prototype is aboard the USS Nimitz, offering a glimpse of the Navy’s carrier air wing of the future,” Boeing has now also written in a post on X. “The special ‘Boeing Backs America’ mark highlights our support for U.S. aviation.”
The USS Nimitz has been sailing in the Atlantic Ocean as part of Fleet Exercise 250 (FLEETEX 250). This is a large, multi-national event that is running concurrently with several celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. In addition to the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Senegal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom are also taking part, according to the Navy. As part of FLEETEX 250 activities last week, Nimitz had taken the lead in a group sail photo exercise that included 25 other naval vessels from 13 of the participating countries.
“USS Nimitz is underway taking part in Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 alongside 25 other warships, multi-national aircraft, and their crews, conducting a series of structured training events at-sea,” a Navy spokesperson had also told TWZ last week in response to queries about that ship after it was spotted leaving Mayport, Florida, on June 25. “Following FLEETEX, we are scheduled to take part in another major event celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday.”
The T-1 demonstrator was lashed to the carrier’s deck for the pictures, along with four F/A-18E Super Hornet fighters and two C-2A Greyhound carrier onboard delivery aircraft. The drone notably has new “250” markings written in blue on both sides of the fuselage.
As noted, T-1’s size stands out when parked next to the F/A-18Es, which are themselves not small aircraft. The production MQ-25 has a wingspan of 75 feet, according to Boeing. With its wings folded, the drone is still 31.3 feet across, as well as 51 feet long. For comparison, the Super Hornet’s wingspan is nearly 45 feet and it is just over 60 feet long, per the Navy.
T-1 looks large even when contrasted with the C-2As, at least with their wings folded. With its wings extended, the Greyhound is 80 feet, seven inches from tip to tip, according to the Navy. It is also 56 feet, 10 inches in length.
All of this underscores the amount of work the Navy will have to do to get production MQ-25s ready for routine operational use. As we wrote roughly a year ago, when the start of ground testing of the production representative Stingray was announced:
The Stingrays will also have to be woven into the existing cadence of flight deck operations, including just figuring out how to move them around amid the hustle and bustle of other activity. Carrier decks are very constrained environments physically, and present very different conditions to operate in compared to bases on land. This is true even for crewed aircraft operations, where individuals onboard can provide additional situational awareness. A wearable glove-like system that personnel could use for deck handling was notably used during testing of the X-47B. A different kind of portable control device has been used in testing of the T-1 MQ-25 demonstrator in the past, as well. The video released today does not appear to offer any major new insights into how the Navy plans to maneuver the Stingray around on carrier decks.
This is on top of more general flight testing, including demonstrating that the drones can safely take off from and land on Navy carriers, as well as integration with the control systems on those ships. The MQ-25 will bring new tactics, techniques, and procedures to the service’s carrier air wings, as well as open the door to further operational developments.
Right now, the MQ-25’s principal mission will be extending the reach of other aircraft in the carrier air wing. This is a critical capability for the Navy as adversary anti-access and area denial bubbles, especially ones that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has established and continues to expand, threaten to push carriers out of reach of target areas.
By extension, the Stingray will also eliminate the need to use crewed F/A-18F Super Hornets in the tanker role, freeing them up for other missions and reducing wear and tear on those airframes.
The drones will also come with a built-in secondary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability, thanks primarily to a sensor turret under the nose. The size of the MQ-25, its extreme range potential, and other attributes of the design could well lead it to be adapted to other roles in the future, such as a long-range strike platform, as TWZ has previously explored in detail.
Showcasing the T-1 during FLEETEX 250 does highlight the Stingray program and its importance to the Navy. The effort has faced significant delays and cost growth in recent years, with the original goal being for the MQ-25 to have reached initial operational capability (IOC) in 2024. As noted, the first production representative example only flew in April, despite a major push by the Navy and Boeing to hit that milestone before the end of 2025. When that drone might make its first appearance on a carrier deck remains to be seen, but the Navy is now aiming to reach IOC sometime next year.
As an aside, carrying T-1 for display during FLEETEX 250 and associated events may be the extent to which Nimitz ever embarks any MQ-25s. The Navy has extended the carrier’s service life due to a number of factors, but only into March of next year. The USS George H.W. Bush received a first-of-its-kind drone control center in 2024. The Navy subsequently moved to install that equipment on the USS Carl Vinson, USS Theodore Roosevelt, and USS Ronald Reagan, creating an initial group of Nimitz class carriers that will be able to operate the Stingrays.
The Navy also sees the MQ-25 as a ‘pathfinder’ to future uncrewed additions to its carrier air wings. This is set to include carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, an effort that is still very much in its infancy. Navy officials have talked in the past about a goal to see the makeup of future carrier air wings be 60 percent or more uncrewed.
In the meantime, T-1’s latest appearance on the deck of the USS Nimitz has already underscored the big changes coming to Navy carrier air wings, both figuratively and literally.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
In many ways, Saturday was a typical July 4 holiday in the United States.
The country marked the anniversary of its Declaration of Independence with hotdog-eating contests, parades, fireworks and baseball games.
But this Independence Day was different, not least because it marked the country’s semiquincentennial: the 250th year since the US’s founding.
It also was one of the most politically charged Independence Day celebrations in recent memory.
President Donald Trump is expected to speak this evening from the National Mall in Washington, DC, right before what has been billed as the “world’s largest fireworks display”.
More than 850,000 fireworks are expected to launch from barges in the Potomac River, lighting up the sky above the capital.
But while Independence Day festivities have long been billed as non-partisan events, Trump has pledged to make the night’s celebration “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all”.
The event comes as Trump’s Republican Party seeks to defend its control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, with a heated primary season already under way.
Trump’s involvement in the semiquincentennial has long been controversial.
On January 29, 2025 — just nine days into his second term as president — Trump issued an executive order establishing a White House task force to oversee celebrations for the 250th anniversary. Trump named himself its chair.
That task force would eventually set the groundwork for Freedom 250, a public-private partnership that organised some of the biggest events of the semiquincentennial, including the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.
But Freedom 250 was accused of funnelling resources away from America250, a congressionally approved panel that had likewise been charged with planning semiquincentennial celebrations since its founding in 2016.
The existence of the two groups has also spurred confusion. In late May, for instance, a suite of performers dropped out of the Great American State Fair, alleging they had been misled about its affiliation with Trump.
Before Saturday’s events, Democrats in the House of Representatives released a report (PDF) accusing Trump of using Freedom 250 for political purposes, including by awarding contracts to Trump allies.
It also alleges that Freedom 250 has been “operating outside the transparency and accountability requirements” Congress imposes on such celebrations — and that it may even have committed wire fraud by redirecting “unsuspecting donors” away from America250 and towards its own programmes.
“Under President Donald Trump, this anniversary has been hijacked and perverted into a hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment,” the report reads.
But speaking at a naval parade in New York City on Saturday, Vice President JD Vance brushed aside the criticisms. He called on revellers to reject the “small but loud voices” that “speak obsessively” of the US’s “imperfections”.
“What I’d ask you to do, my fellow Americans, on our 250th birthday, is to reject the two-dimensional view of your fellow citizens and reject the two-dimensional view of your country,” he said.
“Reject that America is a place for zero-sum thinking because it is not. Our history is one of people carving a great civilisation out of the wilderness. Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins but not its grace and its greatness.”
VICTORIA and David Beckham have celebrated 27 years of marriage with sweet tribute posts on their wedding anniversary.
The superstar couple said “I do” in 1999, and have been smitten with each other ever since.
Today, they thrilled fans when they each shared posts to commemorate their long and happy marriage.
Victoria, 52, posted a picture of herself lovingly kissing her husband on the cheek, and penned: “After 27 years of marriage, four amazing children and countless matching outfits, you’re still my *everything*.
“Happy anniversary!! I love you so much.”
While David, 51, shared a slew of pics from their time together, dating back to when they first met.
READ MORE ON THE BECKHAMS
The smitten husband then wrote: “29 years together. 27 years married & you have given me everything I could ever wish for.
“Our proudest achievement will always be our family 🩷 I love you & Happy Anniversary.”
The famous couple said their “I do’s” on July 4, 1999, with their first-born Brooklyn as their ring bearer.
The big day came after the two started dating in 1997 and Becks popped the question the following year.
Posh and Becks sat on golden thrones at the altar and spent all the money needed to have their dream wedding.
According to reports, they splashed out around £500,000, making it one of the most extravagant celebrity weddings.
Along with Brooklyn, the couple also share three more children – Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, and Harper, 14.
However, their eldest son is currently embroiled in a bitter estrangement with David and Victoria.
In January, Brooklyn made a dozen explosive accusations in a ruthless statement hitting out at his family.
The aspiring chef called out his famous parents for their “inauthenticity”, accused them of making bribes and scolded the family for their treatment of his wife on their wedding day.
In a shock move, he also sent his parents a legal notice warning they can only contact him via lawyers.
In the extraordinary “desist” letter, he also instructed them not to “tag” him on social media.
But in a surprising twist, last month Brooklyn filmed a World Cup advert taking a savage swipe at his family’s estrangement.
It showed the eldest Beckham boy throwing down his match tickets onto the coffee table, which appeared to show a £250,000 designer watch gifted to him by his dad and a stack of unopened letters.
The ad went live on social media after we revealed Brooklyn spurned his sister Harper’s attempt at a reconciliation.
The teenager was pictured delivering a letter to the house Brooklyn shares with his wife Nicola Peltz, 31.
They quickly hit back at the Beckhams, claiming the letter felt like an “orchestrated move by his family” – insisting it “made them feel uncomfortable.”
A spokesman for the couple added: “That photographers were in place as the letter was hand-delivered says it all.
“This was choreographed for the cameras.”
But a source close to the Beckhams called it “another untrue and unfair accusation”.
At Mount Rushmore, Trump warns of ‘communist menace’, ties rhetoric to immigration ahead of November midterms.
Published On 4 Jul 20264 Jul 2026
United States President Donald Trump has used the opening weekend of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations to praise the US military and critique democratic socialists, warning of a “communist menace” that he claims poses a major threat to the country.
Speaking beneath the granite monument at Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day on July 4, Trump invoked national identity and ideology ahead of the November midterm elections.
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“We created the strongest and most powerful military. We won two world wars,” he said, claiming that the Cold War had left the US’s enemies “in the depths of history”.
He also said the US “beat Venezuela in one day” and “knocked the hell out of Iran”.
The address comes amid voter concerns over persistent inflation and elevated energy prices driven by the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.
Briefly addressing the Iran war, Trump said Tehran is “dying to settle” and that Washington had granted “a week off for a funeral because we’re nice”, in reference to the days-long state funeral being held for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on the first day of the US-Israeli war.
A larger chunk of Trump’s address was focused on what he considers ideological threats at home.
“There is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life,” the president said, calling communism “the enemy of the Constitution”.
He pledged that “the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly.”
Trump tied his anti-communist rhetoric to a hardline immigration stance, suggesting that left-wing political figures and certain undocumented arrivals should be removed from the country.
His remarks followed a string of recent progressive primary victories in US states including New York, Colorado and Texas.
He labelled the rise of democratic socialists the “greatest threat to our country since its founding”, comparing the movement’s potential impact with World War II and the September 11 attacks.
He closed the address by calling the anniversary “the beginning of the golden age of America.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Republican strategist Eli Bremer said parts of the speech were unifying enough that they “could have been delivered by Ronald Reagan … 45 years ago,” but added that “the gap between the American left and the American right has really never been wider”.
However, Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign adviser, Ameshia Cross, told Al Jazeera that Trump wants to wipe out the country’s diverse history.
Trump “is upset that there is a younger crop of Democrats who are running and winning across this country,” she said, adding that the speech reflected “a president who sees his grip on America steadily slipping away”.
She noted that it also came “on the heels of him losing a Supreme Court decision just a couple of days ago to eradicate birthright citizenship“.
The address highlighted the contrasting visions framing the country’s milestone anniversary.
In New York, progressive Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered an alternative narrative during a naturalisation ceremony, using a desk once belonging to George Washington to praise immigrants’ contributions and frame civic dissent as patriotism.
Democrats have also criticised the administration’s handling of the anniversary, alleging a conservative group took control of 250th-anniversary planning from a previously bipartisan congressional commission.
A century and a half ago, Richard Wagner was running out of cash as he was preparing to stage his four momentous nights of opera known as the “Ring Cycle” when he got a message from the Women’s Centennial Executive Committee in Philadelphia. It offered him a princely $5,000 (around $150,000 today) to write a triumphant 12-minute orchestral score to open the Centennial Exposition in Fairmont Park celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
On May 10, 1876, Theodore Thomas, perhaps America’s most famous conductor at the time (he would go on to head the New York Philharmonic and help found the Chicago Symphony), led the premiere of Wagner’s “Grosse Festmarsch” with a 150-member orchestra, its brass and percussion so impressive that the addition of cannon fire Wagner suggested was not needed. The crowd was said to number well over 100,000. President Ulysses S. Grant attended and invited Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil to join him along with members of Congress and Supreme Court justices for what remains a unique Declaration of Independence spectacle and debacle.
The “Centennial March,” as it came to be known, turned out to be dreck. Even Wagner, who carelessly tossed it off in a couple of weeks, said the best thing about the score was the fee, which he had demanded to be paid in gold. But what sounds like something AI might come up with if asked to write a pompous march in the style of Wagner began the American obsession with celebrating the Declaration of Independence, the words and deeds of our presidents, our very democracy with the assist of the symphony orchestra and opera.
One hundred years later, the country was awash with federal, state, city and philanthropic funding for a music-happy bicentennial of exceptional ambition. “With millions available in hand and more money to come,” Time Magazine wrote in 1975, “the Bicentennial is the biggest bonanza for the American composer since Hollywood discovered the musical.”
And so it was. The centerpiece was the National Endowment for the Arts Bicentennial Orchestra Commissioning Project. That funded America’s six top orchestras to each commission a major work that all six would play. In addition, the NEA offered further support to 34 American orchestras for dozens more new scores.
Everyone got into the act. The New York State Council of the Arts alone sponsored 68 commissions. Orchestras everywhere came up with striking projects. The Pittsburgh Symphony, for instance, premiered L.A. composer John LaMontaine’s opera/oratorio “Be Glad Then America” that featured the folk singer Odetta as the Muse of Liberty and enlisted ROTC students to reenact the Battle of Lexington overhead the orchestra.
The National Symphony commissioned symphonies from Roy Harris and William Schuman as well as Alan Hovhaness’ “Ode to Freedom,” a lovely short violin concerto written for Yehudi Menuhin. The list goes on.
We are obviously not seeing or hearing much like that in a semiquincentennial year when our government’s green gets the most attention for promoting algae. Even so, the NEA does indeed have an “America250” project (though it does little to publicize it, let alone fund it on the scale of 50 years ago) that is promoting more than 50 artworks. In music, they range from the Montgomery Symphony’s premiere in February of Nkeiru Okoye’s oratorio “A Time for Jubilee,” commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights marches, to a New West Symphony premiere last weekend of Michael Christie’s “A Ronald Reagan Portrait” at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
The major East Coast orchestras are paying some attention. The New York Philharmonic premiered David Lang’s luminous “the wealth of nations.” The National Symphony got the most attention in its attempt to commission Philip Glass’ “Lincoln” Symphony, which the composer pulled in opposition to an un-Lincoln-like presidential takeover of the Kennedy Center. Glass then gave the rights to the Boston Symphony for a July 5 first performance.
The National Symphony did pull off the premiere of Peter Boyer’s “American Mosaic,” and it was to the Altadena composer that Philadelphia, this time around, entrusted its Declaration of Independence commemoration. Boyer’s multimedia oratorio, “A Hundred Years On,” was given its premiere by the Philadelphia Orchestra last month at the orchestra’s outdoor summer home, the Mann Center.
Upcoming will be a few repeat performances. Next month, “the wealth of nations” lands at the Aspen Festival, as does the “Lincoln” Symphony at the Cabrillo festival (with an L.A. Phil performance next season). “American Mosaic,” of which the Pacific Symphony was a co-commissioner, had its West Coast premiere in Costa Mesa last month and was scheduled to be performed at the Hollywood Bowl by the National Symphony in August, but that has now been replaced by Dvorak’s commonplace “New World Symphony.”
None of this comes close to comparing with the attempted civic zest of 1976. The NEA made it a matter of admirable policy that commissioned new works get multiple performances. Yet despite several of these being substantial works by some of our most noted and venturesome composers, few bicentennial commissions have survived. Even odder is that many of the composers did not necessarily feel compelled to explore nationalist themes. For them, American liberty implied freedom to simply write the kind of music they cared about.
The six works for the six orchestras were David del Tredici’s irresistibly over-the-top “Final Alice” (Chicago Symphony), Elliott Carter’s arrestingly impenetrable-on-first-hearing “Symphony for Three Orchestras” (New York Philharmonic), John Cage’s irrepressibly come-what-may “Renga” (Boston Symphony), Morton Subotnick’s brilliant electronic-landscaped “Before the Butterfly” (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Leslie Bassett’s introspective “Echoes From an Invisible World” and Jacob Druckman’s abstract-modernist “Chiaroscuro” (Cleveland Orchestra).
No orchestra has brought back its commission over the last half century, and only Chicago and New York recorded their commissions. No recording at all exists of L.A.’s, although Subotnick’s inventive uses of electronic music with a standard symphony orchestra went on to have considerable influence. None of these works, it appears, are likely to be heard anywhere in America this year, with one sort-of exception.
An explanation for that may be that, while 1976 was a fraught time for America — the country was recovering from the Vietnam War, we had a president and vice president who were not elected, there was runaway inflation, etc. — the music of the time represented optimism. Many works around the country explored new electronic music technology. It was the year Glass wrote “Einstein on the Beach” and Steve Reich created “Music for 18 Musicians” — the composers’ first masterpieces — demonstrating that Minimalism mattered.
That sense of liberation is clearly behind Del Tredici’s “Final Alice,” an hourlong romp around the ending of “Alice in Wonderland” for superhuman soprano and orchestra. It is so obsessively and addictively wild that its tamest moments sound like Richard Strauss on LSD. It does have a cult following although performances are few and far between.
Cage’s score is an abstract work based on the Japanese form of collective poetry known as renga, in which each poet attempts to write a line that is as distant as possible in meaning from the preceding line. Cage translates that to an independence of instrumental parts. While “Renga” can be performed alone Cage further suggests it be played along with an actual bicentennial work he wrote separately, “Apartment House 1776.” That is what Boston and the other orchestras did.
Indeed, “Apartment House” got the lion’s share of bicentennial attention and ridicule. When Zubin Mehta conducted it at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the L.A. Philharmonic did not take it seriously and many walked out on it.
The work features four vocal soloists who represent Native American, Sephardic, African American and Protestant religious traditions, along with instrumental music based on early American hymn tunes. Everything is cut up and put together through chance operations into what Cage called a Musicircus. Under the circumstances “Renga” was hardly noticed, although two decades later, “Renga” came into its own when Michael Tilson Thomas famously conducted it with the San Francisco Symphony and the surviving members of the Grateful Dead.
Still the idea that “Apartment House” need not stand alone, that our traditions and those of long-ago Japan belong together, represented for Cage a future for America. We need not act like a superpower, he noted, but merely be one nation, no more and no less, among many.
We are obviously not that nation. A half-century later, “Apartment House” tends to exist mainly in its own right. An excellent London new music ensemble calls itself Apartment House. Detroit Opera recently staged it with a 2026 need to give the singers the opportunity to select their own music rather than reflect on our heritage. If American music in 1976 represented a collective, inquisitive, inventive American spirit of discovery, the semiquincentennial in the age of social media has become more about the individual identity.
As a sign of how we think about ourselves, the Los Angeles Philharmonic begins its Hollywood Bowl season five days after the 4th with a program of American music conducted by Thomas Wilkins that opens with Valery Coleman’s “Fanfare for Uncommon Times,” which was written five years ago.
But for now, the work that stands out is Lang’s “the wealth of nations.” It balances harsh thoughts of how the promise of capitalism has failed society and how racism remains with music of stunning beauty and glory, to gently but forcefully show us, in our age of American dissatisfaction, the direction in which we might go to make us proud again. It needs many performances.
Demonstrators mark the second anniversary of a 2024 protest where 60 people were killed by security forces.
Published On 25 Jun 202625 Jun 2026
Kenyan police have dispersed protesters in the capital and detained others who took to the streets in memory of the demonstrators who were killed in anti-government rallies against tax rises two years ago.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on Thursday that a total of 355 people were arrested in various parts of the country. He called those detained “criminals” and apologised for the use of barricades and other security measures aimed at containing the protests.
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“We regret the inconveniences occasioned by these measures, and at the same time appreciate their effectiveness in securing the city and other parts of the country,” Murkomen told reporters.
A correspondent for the Reuters news agency also saw police fire tear gas to disperse people who were gathering peacefully outside of Nairobi’s police station after forces detained six people outside parliament, where they had laid flowers.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, organisers had planned to mark the second anniversary of the demonstrations that had left at least 60 people dead after protesters had breached parliament grounds in 2024.
But in Nairobi, shops and restaurants in the central business district remained closed as police set up roadblocks with water-cannon trucks.
Reporting from Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcom Webb explained that the heavy police response to the protest was due to the government’s desire to avoid a repeat of the events two years ago.
“This comes following a series of different protests in recent weeks, some led by [President William] Ruto’s political opponents, others by transport unions over increases in fuel prices and a state of simmering discontent that hasn’t really recovered since that day two years ago when dozens of people were killed,” he said.
Opposition leaders joined the victims of alleged police brutality and families of protesters who were killed in the crackdown before they headed to parliament.
“As parents, we sought permission just to come here … to mourn and lay flowers for our children. But when we arrived, we were shocked because the police blocked us,” said Edith Wanjiku, whose 19-year-old son Ibrahim Kamau was killed in 2024.
“That is very shameful,” she continued.
“And one thing I would ask of President Ruto: those police officers who killed the children – because they are known – I am only asking for justice for those children and also compensation,” she added.
Protest organisers have said that they want a credible investigation into past police conduct and guarantees against the use of excessive force.
While Ruto has acknowledged what he called “instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions by members of the security services” and said last week that two billion Kenyan shillings ($15.5 million) had been set aside for victims of protest-related abuses, some activists have said it was not enough.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) offering flowers to the portrait of late Russian extraordinary ambassador to North Korea Aleksandr Ivanovich Matsegora, during his condolence visit to the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo by KCNA / EPA
June 19 (Asia Today) — North Korea marked the second anniversary of its defense treaty with Russia on Friday by calling the agreement an “essential legal weapon” for achieving global strategic stability and pledging to further strengthen bilateral ties.
The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, published an article titled “The Power of the North Korea-Russia Alliance Is Being Demonstrated More Forcefully” to commemorate the anniversary of the treaty.
The newspaper described the agreement as “a reliable guarantee” for establishing a new international order and securing a brighter future for humanity.
“It is the unwavering position and will of the government and people of our republic to permanently expand and develop the traditional North Korea-Russia friendship through close and multifaceted solidarity in all fields on the basis of the new interstate treaty,” the newspaper said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. The agreement includes a mutual defense clause requiring either country to provide assistance if the other comes under armed attack.
The Rodong Sinmun said the treaty had led to an unprecedented increase in communication across politics, economics, culture, defense, diplomacy and security.
It also said cooperation had expanded in trade, science and technology, education, public health and the arts.
The newspaper cited the construction of a North Korea-Russia friendship hospital, the resumption of direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow and North Korea’s participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine as results of the closer relationship.
“The victory of the sacred common cause of the peoples of North Korea and Russia is certain,” it said. “The great friendship between the two countries, forged in blood and growing stronger by the day, will remain immortal.”
North Korea has sent troops and weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow have presented their military cooperation as an implementation of the strategic partnership treaty.
Separately, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior Workers’ Party official, condemned a Group of Seven statement calling for the denuclearization of North Korea.
In a statement Thursday, Kim accused the G7 leaders of repeating what she called an outdated demand and said denuclearization was a matter that had been permanently closed.
“The nuclear weapons we acquired to defend ourselves after being subjected to constant and persistent nuclear threats from our adversaries should cause concern to no one except those who intend to harm us,” Kim said.
She said North Korea’s nuclear status was written into its constitution and portrayed the country’s arsenal as a defensive and retaliatory capability.
“Possession of nuclear weapons is our core interest that must be firmly defended, and denuclearization is an irreversible line that can never be crossed,” Kim said.
She warned that challenging the core interests of what she called a nuclear-armed state would be “the worst and most disastrous choice.”
South Korea’s Unification Ministry reiterated that Seoul remains committed to pursuing North Korea’s denuclearization through a phased and realistic approach.
“Our position remains unchanged that, based on reality, we must develop phased and feasible measures that are acceptable to both sides to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula,” Deputy Ministry spokeswoman Jang Yun-jeong said at a regular briefing Friday.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260619010006805
TOM Parker’s pregnant widow Kelsey has revealed her emotional struggle ahead of the first anniversary of her stillborn baby’s death.
Kelsey, 36, tragically lost her son Phoenix in June 2025 after he was born sleeping.
Kelsey has two children with The Wanted singer Tom, who died in 2022 aged 33, – Aurelia, six, and Bodhi, four – but had been expecting her third child with new partner Will Lindsay.
In May, she announced she is pregnant with her rainbow baby but she explained she is now set to tackle a bittersweet weekend.
Amid her pregnancy joy, it will be the one-year anniversary of Phoenix’s passing and in a candid Instagram upload, she admitted she “deeply misses my little boy and wish things had been different”.
Kelsey uploaded a selfie showing her in the sunshine, wearing a white vest top and sunglasses with a gold chain.
In a frank message posted alongside it she put: “I’ve been really quiet on here the last couple of days.
“Truthfully, I’ve been working a lot, trying to keep busy and just processing the fact that Sunday is a big day.
“It’s Phoenix’s first anniversary and it’s Father’s Day too.
“Grief is a strange thing. Some days you can keep going and stay busy, and other days it all catches up with you.
“I’m learning that both things can exist at once. I can feel excited about this next chapter of life, be grateful for everything I have, and still deeply miss my little boy and wish things had been different”.
Giving advice to her followers, Kelsey added: “If you’re navigating grief, anniversaries or simply carrying something heavy right now, please know you’re not alone.
“As always… stop waiting, start living. But also, give yourself permission to feel it all”.
Recently, the brave mum appeared on ITV daytime series Good Morning Britain to reveal her home was “treated like a crime scene” after Phoenix arrived into the world.
Kelsey’s spouse Tom died in 2022, aged 33, following a brain tumour battle.
She previously admitted that that grieving Phoenix was “harder than grieving Tom” as she spoke on the Mum’s The Word podcast.
She shared: “It was so hard. I think with Phoenix, it was harder than it was with Tom.
“I think because they [her kids] were so much younger, it’s like I could just be like, ‘daddy wasn’t coming back.’
“And you know, when I said about the angels taking daddy, ‘we won’t see daddy again’, it was like they accepted that and we sort of moved on.
“And now as time’s gone on, they asked me more questions about their dad and stuff, but that initial I suppose with Bod as well. He was 18 months old. It wasn’t a question that he even thought.”
At the time of Tom’s death, Aurelia was around three, and Kelsey’s co-host Georgia pointed out: “They were almost ages where they didn’t understand.
“So you almost didn’t have to explain it too much. You obviously have to explain it, but it’s very different to having a child that completely understands, knows what death is”.
WASHINGTON — An upcoming celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, “The Great American State Fair,” recently had several musical guests back out, partly over the event’s ties to President Trump. Now, Trump himself is slated to headline the festivities.
“I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance,” Trump posted on his social media platform Saturday. With a boastful and derisive flourish, he adding that he was thinking of bringing “the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists.’”
The group organizing the June fair on Washington’s National Mall, Freedom 250, confirmed the billing in a statement Saturday, writing, “We are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24.”
Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, said the fair that is officially scheduled from June 25 through July 10 will feature exhibits, family friendly attractions, flyovers and musical performances — by those still remaining on the program.
Trump was dismissive of the acts that backed out, insulting them and suggesting in a follow-up post that the solution is to “Cancel it.”
“We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” he wrote.
Freedom 250 is billed as nonpartisan, but it was launched last year by Trump and is led by a former State Department appointee from the president’s first term. Several artists, including Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride dropped out last week.
Michaels and other artists have said that they were misled about the theme of the shows or were otherwise wary of being caught up in a political fight. McBride, in a statement on Instagram, said she had been “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”
Other artists plan to attend, including Flo Rida, Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice. The latter’s representative previously said that the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was “proud to help celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!”
Bedayn and Binkley write for the Associated Press. AP writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — Yet another White House construction project is underway, though this one is meant to be only temporary.
Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn that will host next month’s UFC bout, helping mark the nation’s 250th anniversary — and President Trump ‘s 80th birthday.
Online renderings depict what the completed, wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space is expected to look like ahead of the June 14 event. It will be ringed by a red, white and blue stage under a towering arch featuring stars and stripes patterns and two large screens carrying the action live.
The cage and stage will themselves be surrounded by thousands of temporary seats, including ringside space for a full marching band that can set the entire scene to blaring music.
The project is part of a series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776. Other planned functions include an IndyCar race that will pass by the White House and the Great American State Fair taking place on the National Mall.
Trump has said that the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets,” Trump said recently of demand to attend the UFC fight, adding, “That’s gonna be something.”
The card has been panned by fans online as underwhelming, featuring just two championship fights. Brazil’s Alex Pereira will meet France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.
The president’s other efforts to leave his mark include tearing up part of the Rose Garden to make room for a patio space reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, affixing partisan plaques to the wall of the colonnade for a Presidential Walk of Fame, redoing the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom and renovating the Palm Room, placing new flag poles on the north and south lawns and demolishing the entire East Wing for a sprawling ballroom.
The president also wants to repaint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building beside the White House and build a 250-foot arch at the nearby Lincoln Memorial — the same monument where weigh-ins for the upcoming UFC fight are scheduled to take place, bout organizers say.
Weissert writes for the Associated Press.
IT’S the news that all Mis-Teeq fans have been waiting for – the band have announced they are reuniting.
The noughties girlband, made up of Alesha Dixon, 47, Sabrina Washington, 47, and Su-Elise Nash, 45, shared their exciting news this morning.
Announcing the news in Vogue, the trio revealed they would be doing a one-off show at Wembley Arena in September.
Revealing why they got back together, Alesha said: “We’ve been offered reunion stuff over the years, but it’s never felt right.
““This time, everything just lined up.”
The BGT star added: “It feels like it is just slotting back into place, guys.
“It’s just like it used to be – me saying too much and them two looking at me like, ‘Oh, here she goes!’”
The band’s reunion is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, Lickin’ On Both Sides.
The record, which came out in October 2001, peaked at No3 in the Official Album Charts and bagged them five Top Ten singles including All I Want, One Night Stand and B With Me.
The Sun revealed in January that the band would be getting back together.
A source said at the time: “Alesha has been excitedly talking about this for a while and would love a Mis-Teeq reunion with Sabrina and Su-Elise to happen.
“Fans shouldn’t expect a Girls Aloud-style comeback tour, though.
“At the minute, lots of things are being discussed and one thing that has come up is the idea of a one-off show. It could be an intimate gig for their die-hard fans or a performance on a big TV programme such as Britain’s Got Talent — which Alesha is a judge on.
“Nothing has formally been offered but nothing is off the table.
“Lickin’ On Both Sides launched Alesha, Sabrina and Su-Elise’s music careers and that record holds a really special place in their hearts.
“They want to celebrate that album with their fans.”
More on this story to follow…
Video shows German police violently hitting and pepper-spraying protesters as thousands gathered in Berlin to mark the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
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Thousands of protesters marched through central London on Saturday to mark the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, the forcible displacement of 800,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Published On 16 May 202616 May 2026
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SPICE GIRLS fans might not be getting a reunion tour for their 30th anniversary — but they could be enjoying something a lot more futuristic.
Victoria Beckham has confirmed they are in discussions about a hologram spectacular, a year after I revealed talks were under way with former manager Simon Fuller.
With a full-blown comeback looking unlikely, Posh said the girls all reckon a digital show would be “great” — and have already been chatting about it over dinner.
The concept would follow in the footsteps of ABBA Voyage, which turned the Swedish band into digital avatars and has been raking it in since launching in East London in 2022.
Victoria said on SiriusXM radio: “I think it would be a great idea.
“The principle of it would be great.
“We were talking about it at dinner, but we’ll see.”
It comes after Melanie C poured cold water on reunion hopes, insisting a tour “is not happening”.
So fans shouldn’t hold out for the band hitting the road together anytime soon.
Still, a Spice Girls show without the stress of rehearsals, travel or arranging five schedules sounds very on- brand.
And if anyone can make Girl Power go digital, it’s music boss Simon, who first dreamed up ABBA’s avatar take
My insiders first told me of the girl-group’s plans last May, with Simon keen to celebrate their greatest hits with the show.
A source added: “Simon is desperate to have one last hurrah with the Spice Girls and this is his latest idea.
“He was the person who came up with the original idea for Abba and their digital show and he thinks this model could work perfectly for the group.
“Simon knows this plan would mean the band would be making money in their sleep and it would open up their music to a whole new generation.
“It’s a really exciting concept and he thinks he could make it work.”
Now he’s got Posh on board, I don’t think there is anything stopping them.
SUCCESSFUL musicians can be lazy sods after years of having lackeys looking after their every whim.
And Damon Albarn has revealed he’s become so high and mighty, that he’s decided to stop doing anything not worth his time.
The result, my friends, is absolutely disgusting.
The Blur frontman said: “Sometimes I don’t even really wipe my bum properly.
“No, it’s not all the time, but you know what I mean. I just don’t allow many of the conventions that slow the day down to get in my way.”
Defending his toilet habit, Beatlebum singer Damon, insisted: “It’s more of the principle of the thing.
“If I’m in a hurry, I won’t waste extra time doing something that is not necessary to do at that moment.”
Remind me to never sit down wind of him at a party.
HOLIDAY-loving Dua Lipa wore denim and stripes as she zipped off on another trip with her actor fiancé Callum Turner.
They have just returned from a romantic getaway to Copenhagen and she shared snaps online of them together and him tucking into a burger.
But it sounds like she may soon have a surprise up her sleeve, after sending fans wild with a message about a potential film of her Radical Optimism tour, which kicked off in November 2024 in support of her third album.
Dua shared a video on WhatsApp of herself performing and people screaming in the crowds.
In an accompanying note to fans, she wrote: “Happy 2 years of Radical Optimism . . . how should we celebrate?”
Her song End Of An Era features in new flick The Devil Wears Prada 2 and with the singer already hard at work on her next album, now would be the perfect time to close the book on her previous one.
THE World Cup kicks off in just over a month and Olivia Rodrigo is already proving she’s on the ball when it comes to the beautiful game.
But rather than getting behind the US team, she’s more focused on La Liga champs Barcelona, teaming up with the Spanish club and Spotify to create a limited-edition jersey.
Perhaps we just forget about her trip to Stamford Bridge in 2023 to see Chelsea when it was proudly claimed she was a Blues fan.
The women’s team will wear the tops in their home match against Levante on Thursday. On Saturday, Olivia will play a Spotify Billions Club Live gig there.
Olivia, who follows acts such as Ed Sheeran, Drake and The Rolling Stones by featuring on the club’s kit, said: “Seeing ‘OR’ on a Barcelona jersey, I don’t even know how to process that.
“Getting to perform for the fans who’ve been listening since day one, in a city like Barcelona, is going to be special.”
EUPHORIA actor Jacob Elordi has broken his foot.
The Page Six gossip column in the US said the Aussie heartthrob’s injury means he is out of the running to be on the Cannes Film Festival jury, which he was expected to be part of.
The festival starts next Tuesday, but the injury means we are unlikely to see him striding down the red carpet.
THERE were plenty of doubters and mixed reviews – but The Devil Wears Prada 2 certainly hasn’t fallen out of fashion.
It has topped the box office worldwide, and over the weekend banked $233.6million, including $77million in North America.
That’s more than double the $27.5million the original 2006 flick made in its opening weekend.
It’s finally proof there is demand for female-fronted films, after male movies such as Michael and Project Hail Mary dominated in cinemas.
Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway reprise their roles, with all eyes back on Runway magazine and its editor Miranda Priestly.
Unlike the fictional mag, there’s nothing to worry about with these bumper figures.
CAMERON DIAZ has become a mum for the third time, aged 53.
She and hubby Benji Madden, of rock band Good Charlotte, have welcomed a baby boy called Nautas.
The Charlie’s Angels actress, who had daughter Raddix and son Cardinal by surrogate, previously said she was conscious about being an older mum.
RIHANNA gets fruity in an new shoot for her Savage X Fenty’s latest undies range.
The singer, who looked stunning in sett decorated with strawberries, wrote on X: “It’s giving everything but basic for your everyday basics.”
Rihanna has been really quiet lately, with all whispers of new music once again dying down – a decade after the release of her last album, Anti.
C’mon girl, it’s what we RiRi want.
KATY PERRY and Justin Trudeau have got themselves in a right little pickle.
The singer proved her unlikely romance with the former Canadian Prime Minister had gone from strength to strength – when she shared loved-up photos on Instagram, including one of their personalised jar of pickles.
The label shows the couple under the name “Katy & Justin’s Pop + Policy Pickles.”
Customised jars like theirs set customers back £22, but she clearly enjoyed the savoury souvenir, given that she shared the photo with her 200million followers.
Katy, pictured with her arms wrapped around her boyfriend, will head out on a six-week tour next month with stops in Dublin, Cardiff, and Isle of MTV festival in Malta.
At least with this momento stashed in her suitcase, she will have a reminder of home.
PRIMAL SCREAM frontman Bobby Gillespie has taken a swipe at rock royalty, accusing some of music’s biggest names of getting too cosy with the Royal Family.
The singer didn’t hold back as he blasted those who accept honours, taking aim at the likes of Sir Brian May, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Rod Stewart.
At the launch of the David Bowie: You’re Not Alone immersive experience in London, Bobby said: “David Bowie was one of the few admirable rock stars who never took an honour from the Royal Family, which I think is incredibly cool.
“Maybe the coolest thing he ever did.
“The rest of them grovel on their knees, Bowie was like, nah. Too cool.”
Bobby made it clear his admiration for Bowie goes far beyond just snubbing a title, though.
He added: “I was a teenager in the Seventies so I’d be going to school in the morning and my mum would have the radio on and The Jean Genie would be blasting out, or Suffragette City or Golden Years.
“So since I was a conscious kid, a teenager, a pop music fan, he’s always been there.”
Bobby also praised Bowie’s constant reinvention, which he says helped shape his own band’s sound.
He added: “The way that he changed as an artist from album to album – he did different styles, as did The Beatles – that’s been a big influence on Primal Scream.”
ROBBIE WILLIAMS had to grin and bare it after breaking off half of his front tooth.
He shared this smiley selfie with the damaged gnasher on full display, telling his Instagram followers he hadn’t noticed it was missing until getting into bed with his wife Ayda Field.
Robbie revealed: “She said I look like Dumb And Dumber. Fair enough, I guess I do.”
But Rob is in Miami and his dentist is in Los Angeles, so he’s in a quandry over whether to fly five hours to get it fixed before his upcoming shows.
Whatever he does, I doubt he will be taking PALOMA FAITH’s advice.
She commented: “Knock them all out to match.”
That sounds more like a threat than a solution.
The passports are part of broader plans to celebrate the milestone anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
United States President Donald Trump will feature on a new, limited-edition US passport being issued to mark the country’s 250th anniversary in July, officials said, the latest area of public life to receive Trump’s personal branding.
The commemorative passports are part of broader plans to celebrate the milestone anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence, with events planned across the country next July.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Images released by the White House and the Department of State on Tuesday show Trump’s portrait incorporated into the design, set against elements of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag. The rendering also includes the president’s signature in gold.
Another page will feature an illustration of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence.
“As the United States marks its 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” said Tommy Piggott, a spokesperson for the US State Department.
The commemorative passports will be available to US citizens applying through the Washington Passport Agency, with distribution set to begin this summer and continue while supplies last.
Current US passports feature images tied to the country’s history and identity. The inside front cover shows a painting of Francis Scott Key after the Battle of Fort McHenry, when he saw the US flag still standing after an attack. This moment inspired him to write a poem that later became the US national anthem, with lines from it printed alongside the image.
Other pages include moments from American history, such as the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and symbols like the Statue of Liberty.
The passport redesign is the latest example of efforts by Trump and his administration to place his name, image or signature on institutions and initiatives across Washington and the country.
Some of those efforts have already been implemented. This year’s national park passes, for example, display Trump’s image alongside George Washington, a departure from the programme’s traditional focus on natural landscapes.
The United States Mint has also released draft designs for a $1 coin featuring Trump’s profile as part of the 250th anniversary commemorations.
Proposed imagery for the coin redesign includes his portrait alongside inscriptions such as “Liberty” and “In God We Trust”. The reverse depicts him raising a clenched fist in front of an American flag with the phrase “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT”, referencing a chant he used after a 2024 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump has pushed Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer to rename New York’s Penn Station after him, linking the idea to the release of federal infrastructure funding, but the effort has failed to gain traction.
Trump has also placed his face on government buildings around Washington, DC, in the form of long banners.
Even the architecture of the US capital city is changing to reflect his tastes: Last October, he tore down the White House’s East Wing to build a massive ballroom, and he has plans to build a triumphal arch in the capital, similar to the one in Paris, France.
In December, Trump’s name was added to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, just one day after his hand-picked board members controversially voted to rename the art venue, the first time a national institution has been named after a sitting US president.
Within days, workers had added metal lettering to the building’s exterior, renamed as “The Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts”.
JENNIFER Ellison looked incredible in a series of sexy photos celebrating her wedding anniversary.
The actress and former glamour model, 42, has been with her beau Rob for 18 years.
In commemoration of the special day Jennifer shared a series of snaps on her Instagram page, dressed to impress at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland.
In the first snap Jennifer is wearing a sexy black strapless bodycon dress that falls at the knee.
It hugs her figure perfectly, accentuating her curves and snatching in her tiny waist.
She finished off the look by adding a pair of stiletto heels and curling loose waves through her long, blonde hair.
Read more Jennifer Ellison
Another snap shows Jennifer posing in a brown and white bikini while taking a mirror selfie in a hotel.
It features geometric patterns and high-rise bottoms, flaunting her flat stomach.
Later photos feature her and Rob posing by a mirror, both dressed smartly to enjoy a round of drinks.
Jennifer wore a black blazer and matching dress trousers, paired with large dark sunglasses and a matching black bag with gold accent details.
Meanwhile husband Rob opted for a smart navy shirt, smart trousers and a chunky watch.
Penned in the post’s caption, Jennifer gushed all about her man, saying: “18 years of me and you. Had the most gorgeous 2 nights away, from start to finish!
“Thank you for everything you have given me @tickle.rob Love doing life with you!
“My best mate, my husband, my partner in work and crime my everything. For as both as we long shall live.”
Jennifer finished the caption off by thanking a loved one for taking care of her sons while she was away with Rob.
Fans of the star left their love in the post’s comments section, wishing the couple all the best for their anniversary.
One user said: “Happy anniversary guys,” followed by a stream of red love heart emojis.
A second shared: “Such a beautiful couple.”
A third added: “Beautiful Jen, happy anniversary to you both.”
Jennifer and Rob tied the knot in October 2009 after only a year of dating.
Rob popped the big question in May of 2008 while him and Jennifer were on a trip to the Maldives.
Actress Jennifer played the role of Emily Shadwick in Liverpool-set soap Brookside between 1998 to 2000 before going on to play a supporting character in Phantom Of The Opera in 2004.
Today Jennifer mostly stays out of the spotlight, instead running her own dance studio Jelli Studios.
She prepares students who are interested in getting into the industry of dancing or musical theatre.
Jennifer also made a TV appearance in 2022 where she starred on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares wins.
ROBBIE WILLIAMS could be getting back in the studio — this time with boyband Blue.
It comes after Rob wrote the lads’ new single Flowers, which is on the setlist for the UK leg of their 25th Anniversary world tour.
Biz on Sunday’s Emily caught up with Blue members
Antony Costa, Simon Webbe, Lee Ryan, and Duncan James at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, West London, this week.
The band are on their milestone tour following the release of seventh studio album Reflections.
Antony said: “We would love to work with Robbie’s people and that is the conversation that is happening.
“Karl Brazil (Robbie’s music director) is very much on our side.
read more on robbie williams
“He is championing Blue and us and the lads have spoken to Karl separately and together.
“You never know, watch this space.”
Antony revealed that Robbie reached out to the band after watching their story on the BBC documentary Boybands Forever.
He said: “It resonated with him because we were all young and he was a young lad in Take That.
“Take That went on a different journey than us, but we still wanted that same goal.
“Robbie has always been there and he’s been a big supporter of me and the boys.”
Duncan said: “We’re so lucky that after 25 years we’re still getting to sell out gigs, still touring around the world and we’ve got the adoration from the fans.
“We’ve had the nod from Robbie to write that song for us, so it’s almost like the industry is opening the door again and we’re feeling the love.”
Of their new hit Flowers, Duncan added: “A lot of people have said it sounds like a Robbie song as well.”
Blue are one of the few bands still touring with an original line-up.
Simon said: “One of the reasons we have stood the test of time is all four of us wanted to be in a boyband.
“Most are full of members who want to be solo artists but weren’t good enough.
“So all of a sudden you’ve got egos.
“We don’t understand why bands argue or why they don’t get on because when you’re a team, you’re a team player.”
The boys are playing at London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea on June 11.
I will get my prosecco and picnic blanket ready.
Tickets are on sale at myticket.co.uk.
Meanwhile, the band revealed Ellie Goulding got them to perform at her 70s-themed baby shower in January, ahead of the birth of her daughter Iris.
The boys sang their 2002 track One Love with Ellie.
Duncan added: “We didn’t realise she was a big fan of our music.”
SAM THOMPSON is stepping down from his role on Love Island: Aftersun.
The 2023 I’m A Celeb winner has been a panel regular on the spin-off since his stint in the jungle.
But an insider revealed: “Sam’s schedule is jam-packed and producers are going in a different direction so there’ll be a bit of a shake-up on Aftersun.
“ITV is really keen on harnessing new talent, especially plucking from its pool of influencers and TikTokkers to boost ratings.
“Sam may well return as a guest, but he won’t be a regular.”
A spokeswoman for Sam said: “He absolutely loved his time as part of the Love Island team and the show will always have a special place in his heart.”
NOEL GALLAGHER might have a thing for cigarettes and alcohol – but he also likes more refined smells, too.
The Oasis great shares the same taste in scent as suave Thirties and Forties playwright and composer Noel Coward.
He visited bespoke perfumer Azzi Glasser at her London studio.
Azzi, who has created scents for Kylie Minogue, Tom Hardy And Jude Law, charges £1,500 for a “fragrance workshop” to create a one-off scent to match your personality.
Noel spent £400 on candles and chose Vetiver scent by Floris London – favoured by Noel Coward.
Azzi revealed that Noel is also a fan of her £259 Mystere Vetivert.
She said: “It smells like you’re wearing a million dollars.”
MADONNA returned to Coachella in the same jacket and corset she performed in 20 years ago as she joined Sabrina Carpenter for her headline set on Friday.
The sparkling duo performed the Queen of Pop’s hits Vogue and Like A Prayer before launching into a new song, I Feel So Free, from Madonna’s long-rumoured new album, Confessions II, set for release on July 3.
Madonna was delighted to stand four inches taller than Sabrina, who is just under 5ft.
She told the crowd: “The other thrilling thing I need to point out to everybody right now is this is probably the first time I’ve ever performed with someone who’s shorter than me.
“So, thank you for giving me that experience.”
In response, Sabrina shouted, “Amen!”.
Cute as a button.
ROLLING STONES fans reckon there could be live dates on the horizon under their alias, The Cockroaches.
Rumours started after the rockers updated their website to include a poster of a 1977 surprise gig at El Mocambo Club in Toronto, attended by Princess Margaret , which was billed as a gig by The Cockroaches.
Keith Richards also posted a cryptic comment saying: “Great fun though huh?
A good rhythm section, a couple of mates, where else can you go.”
A source said: “There is a lot of buzz about this as next year it will be 50 years since the Stones last played live as The Cockroaches.”
TALIA MAR is hoping to work with DJ Sigala again.
The pair collaborated on 2022 dance track Stay The Night.
Asked if she would like to work with him this year, Talia told me: “Oh my God, yes. I was talking to him the other day. He is summer. I was like, ‘Can we get some new music please, because it is summer?’.”
Talia who has released new track Lady, will play at London’s Courtyard Theatre on May 16.
She said: “I want it to be really casual, I don’t want it to be glitz and glamour.
“Stripping it down is a really lovely moment.”
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET has been enjoying some chill-out time on the beach.
After watching Justin Bieber at Coachella with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner last weekend, he headed for Miami to relax.
The Marty Supreme actor paid homage to his movie with a “Supreme” Wu-Tang Clan tee.
Tim was later seen catching some rays shirtless and sipping on a Coke.
Lovely.
