balance

VICKY Pattison’s next Strictly performance is hanging in the balance, as she revealed she has been battling a “mystery bug”, hours before the next live show.

Former Geordie Shore star Vicky, 37, has revealed she has been battling an illness this week whilst trying to rehearse for tomorrow night’s show.

3

3

3

Vicky, who is partnered on this series with pro Kai Widdrington, took to Instagram to reveal her plight.

The star shared two pics of herself – one looking glam, the other looking a bit exhausted.

Vicky wrote next to the snaps: “Can we just take a moment for my glam team, stylist and the strictly angels who helped turn me from this feral little rat who looks like they live under a bridge and demands riddles to cross into THIS???!!

“Lads it’s been a WEEK… strictly rehearsals, mystery bug, VT’s, Erc away, my clothing collection launch… and I just don’t want anyone thinking I look too glam to give a damn all the time..

“I just thought it was important to show you all both sides of the coin… she LOVES to be a glam girly don’t get me wrong but there’s a hell of a lot of the time I look more like an exhausted little troll.”

It comes after Vicky told The Sun how her nerves ahead of the live shows had been getting the better of her.

The reality star wowed on the dancefloor last weekend, but was shown looking very anxious before she performed.

Vicky told us: “Everybody knows I’m super nervous about this entire process, I’m just a gobby girl from the north east doing her best.

“The dancing, the being out my comfort zone, learning something new, being judged by the public is also terrifying.

“But the one element that made me feel really excited and I had no reservations about at all was definitely being Strictlyfied.

“I’m sorry but the tan, the hair, the glam! I’ve been preparing for this for like 25 years.

“Like, I didn’t even have to change my fake tan routine at all — this girl was ready.”

Vicky also admitted that people constantly underestimate her and in the 14 years since she shot to fame on MTV series Geordie Shore, has always been a bit of an underdog.

It was something the popular star also faced when she was a contestant on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity a decade ago.

She said: “Winning the jungle was the best moment of my life, maybe tied with the day that I got married to Ercan.

“Everybody just wanted us out initially. Obviously I was in there and in me bubble and I’m actually really grateful for that, you know.

“But I learned afterwards everyone was like: ‘Get her out. We don’t want her in here. Reality TV scum blah, blah, blah.’

Strictly Come Dancing 2025 lineup

Strictly Come Dancing news and the latest line up

Voting in California’s special election continues through election day, Nov. 4.

Proposition 50, a measure that would draw new congressional districts for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections and the only measure on California’s statewide ballot this election, is the latest volley in a national political brawl that could alter the outcome of the 2026 midterm elections and the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Here is information Times reporters gathered about the redistricting measure:

What’s on the ballot

How and where to vote

More election news

The 401(k) account is one of the most common retirement savings accounts that employers offer their workers. Employees are able to contribute pre-tax dollars to these accounts and invest them tax-deferred. Only when withdrawals are made do the account holders pay taxes at their ordinary tax rate.

Employers have the option to offer some kind of matching contribution, usually up to a set percentage of each employee’s salary. Employer contributions are deductible up to a certain point.

With everyone making different salaries and employers having different policies for their 401(k) plans, it’s natural for workers to wonder how much they should save as they approach retirement. While there is no single right answer, available data can help you gauge where you stand.

Image source: Getty Images.

The average 401(k) balance for retirees age 60 and older

While several companies provide data on the average 401(k) balance, I like to use Fidelity when I can, given the company’s size and reputation in the space.

At the end of 2024, Fidelity looked at 401(k) data from 26,700 corporate defined contribution plans that included 24.5 million participants. The company found that the average 401(k) balance was $246,500 for ages 60 to 64, $251,400 for ages 65 to 69, and $250,000 for ages 70 and over.

Fidelity actually recommends saving much more than this amount. In prior articles, the company has suggested having eight times your annual salary by age 60 and 10 times your annual salary by age 67. With median annual earnings for a full-time U.S. worker above $50,000, Fidelity’s recommendation is far higher than the approximately $250,000 average balance for its plan participants near retirement.

But again, there’s always a difference between advice and reality. Retirees should also understand that an average number among tens of millions of people captures so many different scenarios. Ultimately, retirees should think about the lifestyle they want in retirement and work with a financial advisor or on their own to determine how much they need to support that lifestyle.

In the last decade, Southeast Asia has experienced an acceleration in the modernization of defense equipment, especially Indonesia, which is now the first operator of modern ballistic missile systems in Southeast Asia thanks to the acquisition of KHAN missiles produced by Roketsan from Turkiye in 2022. The move taken by Indonesia has the potential to change the balance of power and encourage the defense posture of neighboring countries, especially Malaysia and Singapore, which are within firing range of KHAN missiles.

A brief profile about the KHAN missile, the KHAN missile owned by Indonesia is an export variation that has the farthest range of 280 KM. The system package typically includes mobile launchers (MLRS/8×8), command vehicles, and ammunition carrier vehicles, making them suitable for shoot-and-scoot operations as well as high survivability against counter-battery and ISR counter-attacks.

Looking at these specifications, of course, the KHAN missile is suitable for the geography of Indonesia which has a stretching archipelago. Such missiles are capable of striking high-value targets (C2s, ammunition depots, radars, tactical runways) at theater operational distances without relying on interdiction-prone air platforms. In addition, this missile comes from the Türkiye defense industry which is indeed aggressive in exporting and conducting technological cooperation. With these dynamics, it finally provides an opportunity amid global supply uncertainty for Indonesia to modernize its armed forces and this is not the first cooperation between Indonesia and Turkiye.

In the end, KHAN put Indonesia on a precision ground attack capability, even though it was only 280 KM away, but this was enough to reach key facilities in the border area, tactical bases, or aggressor supply lines. So that the surrounding countries will begin to see the need to strengthen layered air/anti-missile defenses. 

KHAN, who was stationed in Kalimantan, was close to the Ibu Kota Nusantara and his firing range reached the East Malaysian region. Although not the main target, the existence of ballistic missiles adds pressure for Malaysia to increase its air defense. But Malaysia is also aware that Khan is aimed at external deterrence (such as China and other regional extremist threats) so that intra-ASEAN will not be a target for Indonesia. 

For Singapore, which already has advanced air defenses (Aster 30, SPYDER, Green Pine radar). With KHAN presence, it will strengthen the argument that investment in the air defense layer should continue to be expanded. With KHAN in Indonesia’s hands, Singapore can further emphasize air dominance in order to remain able to conduct a first strike in the event of a conflict (although it is unlikely to be an intra-ASEAN scenario).

Therefore, the conclusion for the response of the two countries is:

1. Malaysia will tend to be vigilant but its response is limited and more focused on improving air defense and regional coordination.

2. Singapore will be more proactive, where Singapore will strengthen missile defense and defense diplomacy so that Khan’s presence does not create regional instability.

KHAN presence does not necessarily make ASEAN enter a full-fledged ballistic missile race. But Indonesia opens up the possibility that tactical ballistic missiles will be accepted as a natural part of the defense toolkit in the region. Especially for limited deterrence, and destruction of high-value targets.

And for Türkiye, this is a promising prospect where Türkiye is a new market in the Global South to balance its dependence on NATO. Indonesia as a key partner of ASEAN is a natural target. And KHAN cooperation can be an “entry point” towards a more concrete Strategic Partnership, covering trade, energy, and multilateral diplomacy. Indonesia can also position Turkey as an alternative counterweight to the dominance of traditional suppliers (the US, Russia, and France). So that Turkiye benefits from its image as a global defense exporter, especially since KHAN in Indonesia is the debut of Turkiye ballistic missiles in Southeast Asia.

PIERCE BROSNAN has hit back after being widely mocked for struggling to master an Irish accent – despite being born in Ireland.

He got ridiculed for his lilt while playing mobster Conrad Hannigan in Paramount+ show, MobLand.

3

It contributed to uncertainty over whether the Guy Ritchie-directed thriller, which also stars Helen Mirren and Tom Hardy, would get a second series.

But Pierce told the Radio Times: “My own accent is very soft. Conrad’s accent is a million miles away from me.”

A dialect coach recommended he speak with someone whose voice he could use as inspiration.

Pierce explained: “I told him I needed a Kerry accent, so he gave me the name of a man and I Googled the guy and that was it.

“It was a Kerry accent. And so, I just gave it full tilt.”

Sadly, reviews were mixed.

3

MARTIN KEMP might regret his comments about his sex life on Loose Women yesterday.

During a debate on scheduling intimacy, he said: “I don’t think you can.

“If I had to look in my diary and it says Thursday night, I’m go­ing to do it – I don’t think it works.

“I even feel under pressure if it’s a Sunday morning.”

JOHNNY: C4 LACKS IDENTITY

JOHNNY VAUGHAN has slammed Channel 4 for failing to back the 2022 reboot of The Big Breakfast.

The presenter, who fronted the show from 1997 to 2001, said the channel had lost its identity without a flagship early-morning programme.

3

He also criticised TV execs’ obsession with cooking shows, saying they’re full of “boring, middle-aged, white chefs”.

The 2022 reboot of just four episodes, was hosted by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu.

Johnny told Mo’s podcast he watched the reboot and that the show “just needs time”.

He added: “It’s meant to be an alternative to dreary daily breakfast shows.

“Without it, I think it’s like school without an assembly. You’ve got to say who you are every day. This is what’s on.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.