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Shares of Ingenia Communities Group (INGEF) surged 8.3% in Sydney trading Monday after Australian property developer AVID Property Group submitted a takeover proposal valuing the retirement housing operator at approximately A$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion).
AVID offered A$5.35 per stapled security, plus
JESSIE J has opened up about ‘healing’ as she shared a selection of snaps following on from her recent surgery and cancer battle.
The Price Tag singer, 38 – who revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2025 – told fans that she was having second reconstruction surgery last month.
Jessie announced that she was free of breast cancer in May after having a mastectomy and breast reconstruction in June 2025.
In a recent Instagram post, Jessie shared a mirror selfie of her in a hospital gown with her thumb up, while in another she posed for a picture in her hospital bed.
She also posted some sweet pictures with her son, as well as her signing her Who You Are record, which was released 15 years ago.
In the caption she described each picture, and for one description she wrote: “[thumbs up emoji] to healing.”
She added: “[thumbs up emoji] to healing (again).”
Late last month Jessie gave a health update after her second reconstruction surgery.
The Domino songstress took to her Instagram story to share an update after her second reconstruction.
“So I just got home from my second surgery,” Jessie told her 13.9m followers.
“And it all went well. I just wanted to tell you that it all went okay.”
She added: “Yeah man, life is good. Sending love. Good energy. See you soon.”
The NHS website states reconstruction is “where a new breast is made using a breast implant, or sometimes skin, fat or muscle from another part of your body”.
At the start of the month, Jessie said that the last couple of years had taken their toll and said she was taking a digital cleanse to focus on herself and life off-stage.
She wrote on Instagram: “I want to start this post off by saying I am ok. I am not at my best but very far from my worst. I know people can twist these kinds of posts.
“It’s no secret that the last 2 years have been magical, successful, life changing and extremely busy.
“I have loved the last 2 years mostly, hated it in moments and learnt the most I have ever learnt about myself and what I want from my life and mostly what I want it to FEEL like.”
She outlined all of the major life events she’d been through including moving from the US back to the UK and acting as her own social media manager and stylist.
“The past 2 years has taken a toll on parts of me that I haven’t had time to give space and grace to,” continued Jessie.“Now’s the time. Work has slowed down. So healing speeds up please.
“So I’m tapping out of this [world] for a while and into my real one. To give my mind, body and heart a well needed hug.
“To finally have my second cancer reconstruction surgery, to recharge, heal, to rest, to process, to love on myself and my boy, to water the next chapter of my life and most importantly be present and really live.”
Jessie went on to thank her fans for “holding me up” and said she might check in from time to time with work commitments.
Student protests, police violence and French media obsessed with ‘barbarians’.
What began as protests over education has rapidly taken over the streets of France and turned into one of the country’s biggest waves of unrest in years.
Many mainstream media outlets have focused their coverage on the violence and looting rather than on the demands of the demonstrators. A lot of airtime has fixated on who the protesters are and what they look like, often using racist terms. That narrative has been picked up by right-wing movements abroad.
Contributors:
Cole Stangler – author, Paris Is Not Dead, and lecturer, American College of the Mediterranean
Diane de Vignemont – Paris-based journalist
Harrison Stetler – lecturer and writer
Philippe Marliere – professor of French and European politics, University College London
Israel’s elections are just days away and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reverted to a familiar alarmist tactic to consolidate support: hyping an “imminent” threat from Iran and telling the United States that it should “finish the job”. Meenakshi Ravi looks at the messaging.
More than four and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine remains under attack, and its journalists are forced to balance many responsibilities at once.
They are documenting a war that has become more dangerous than ever, countering Russian propaganda efforts and trying to hold their own government to account at a time when the news media have been expected to fall into line. The Kyiv Independent, an online newspaper, has been doing all three since 2021.
The Listening Post spoke with its editor-in-chief and cofounder Olga Rudenko about the pressures of reporting when your country is at war.
Featuring:
Olga Rudenko – editor-in-chief, The Kyiv Independent
Published On 25 Oct 202625 Oct 2026
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A NINETIES chart-topper has revealed she has undergone further surgery to ease pain caused by breast cancer treatment.
The singer, 55, whose catchy debut single topped the UK charts in 1994, told fans she was recovering in bed ahead of her next gig.
Whigfield, whose real name is Sannie Carlson, shared the hospital update on Instagram.
She wrote: “Last Wednesday I underwent a second surgery to fix pain in my breast caused by scar tissue from breast cancer operations and radiation therapy years back.
“I’m now on bed rest so I can heal quickly for my next gig.”
She tagged the 90s Supershow, where she is due to perform in Germany in early November.
The star signed off with “Happy Saturday night” — a nod to the song that made her famous.
Whigfield underwent treatment for breast cancer in 2014 and has previously urged women to get checked.
Reflecting on her diagnosis in an earlier Instagram post, she wrote: “Fighting breast cancer was a strange thing.”
She continued: “One moment I was living my best life making new music in London, the next I was stuck in a bubble of numbness.”
The Danish singer described the operations and radiotherapy as tough, but said she drew strength from fellow patients, including children, at Milan’s San Raffaele hospital.
She also recalled that many of those being treated for the disease never left the hospital.
Whigfield, who has previously spoken about living on the outskirts of Milan, shot to fame with Saturday Night, which reached Number One in the UK in 1994.
Her other hits include Another Day and Think of You.
AMY Dowden has taken the high road in response to ex-Strictly pro Brendan Cole’s remarks about her abilities as a dancer.
Brendan – who featured as a pro on the show from 2004 until 2017 – brutally claimed that Amy has “not been doing a very good job”, despite returning to the show after undergoing treatment for grade three aggressive breast cancer.
Brendan made the dig after Amy was the first to be voted off this year’s Strictly for the second year in a row, this time with her partner Chris Appleton.
In a new interview with The Mirror, Amy addressed Brendan’s comments, saying: “I’ll be honest, what do you expect from him?
“It’s fine – I’ve never been brought up to be personal, and in this day and age especially I think it’s so important to be kind, and to think about the next generation.
“I always try to use my platform in the right way – I work with various charities.
“But also I want to be the right kind of role model.
“I run a dance academy and all my little boys and girls really look up to me.
“That’s important.”
Amy had also reacted to Brendan’s comments in an Instagram post, shortly after he made the remarks.
Dressed in a glittering ballroom dress, she lip-synced and danced to the iconic Mariah Carey track Obsessed.
She also penned the caption: “If you know, you know #bekind #inaworldyoucanbeanythingbekind”
Brendan’s remarks came during a chat with Sky Vegas, where the 50-year-old, who exited Strictly a decade ago, said: “To be a pro on Strictly is a big job and one has to be up to the challenge.
“Amy has not been up to the challenge, in my opinion.
“I don’t think Amy’s been doing a very good job for the last few years and she’s been out first for the last few years. One can do the maths on that.
“She’s standing out there counting him in. She’s counting every step for him.
“It’s very obvious that the job has not been done, and I don’t think people are enjoying it.”
Amy’s fans were seething at his words, calling Brendan “wrong” and ordering him to “leave her alone”.
Writing underneath The Sun’s story about Brendan’s comments, one user said: “It’s really wrong to have any complaints re Amy, she has been through a lot, and paired with a few contestants who were not ‘gifted’.”
“Leave her alone. Don’t you think she has been through enough, and to be the first one out is taking its toll on her,” said a second, as a third echoed: “How dare he say these awful things. Amy is immensely talented. His comments are plain cruel. Never liked his arrogant attitude.”
First came the letter from acting Deputy Atty. Gen. Trent McCotter — just three weeks before the Nov. 3 election — demanding that Los Angeles County’s top elections official launch a sweeping investigation into thousands of voters the Trump administration alleges are “likely noncitizens” and withhold their ballots in the meantime.
The letter arrived with a thumb drive purporting to contain the list of voters in question, and a handwritten note providing the password. Dean Logan, head of the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, said accessing the device broke security protocols, and he wouldn’t open it.
Then came an Excel spreadsheet, listing some 20,000 voters by name, date of birth and address. It appeared to contain voters from across the state of California, not just L.A. County, and provided no information on the Trump administration’s methodology for questioning those voters. Logan’s office again pushed back.
“We cannot withhold or refuse to count ballots based solely on unverified allegations, nor can we disregard the legal requirements governing our election — and we certainly have no authority to act on records that are outside of our jurisdiction,” Logan said.
On Friday, the back and forth escalated yet again, when the Justice Department warned in a letter to L.A. County attorneys that county elections officials who tabulate ballots from the flagged voters could face criminal prosecution for being “aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”
For the last week, Trump administration officials and California election leaders have been locked in a fiercely contentious standoff over alleged election fraud that independent elections experts say is like nothing they have ever seen before.
The battle — which escalated into a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the Justice Department against the state, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Logan — features striking assertions of official misconduct. They include willful indifference to systemic election fraud among California officials, as alleged by Trump officials, and a nefarious effort by the administration to “lay the groundwork” for questioning any unfavorable election results next month, as alleged by California leaders and independent elections experts.
With little public clarity around the voters whose registration is being contested and how the administration came to question their eligibility, the debate has centered instead on the efficacy of vetting voter rolls right before an election and the increasingly bitter claims of political meddling from the many federal, state and local officials involved.
“More dangerous nonsense from a President losing his grip on reality,” Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X.
Acting Deputy Atty. Gen. Trent McCotter sent a letter demanding that L.A. County’s top elections official investigate thousands of voters the Trump administration alleges are “likely noncitizens.”
(Finn Gomez / Getty Images)
“No, Governor. You are violating federal law by facilitating voting by noncitizens,” responded First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, whose office is leading the lawsuit.
“Mail ballots are already in most voters’ hands, and Election Day is less than three weeks away. Every count, recount, hand count, lawsuit, and audit has found that there’s no widespread voter fraud in the U.S. The Trump Admin’s last-minute demands are meritless, and we look forward to making our case in court,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta wrote on the same platform.
“We produced a list of 20,000 noncitizens on your voter rolls, and your response is ‘it’s too late’ because you already mailed the ballots. Not good enough,” Essayli shot back. “It’s a violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law for California to dilute the votes of American citizens.”
Both sides have accused the other of being unreasonable and of ignoring practical concerns about voting and election security, though in very different ways.
Trump administration officials have said their effort “should not be controversial,” and reflects a common-sense approach to election oversight. “The law is clear, aliens in the United States cannot vote in federal elections,” McCotter said.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Department argued it is “not practicable or feasible” for the federal government to investigate “thousands, let alone tens of thousands, of individuals” before the November election alone, so California and local officials should be required to help them do it.
California officials — joined by independent elections experts — have accused the Trump administration of breaking the law to bolster a grand election conspiracy the president has propped up for years without evidence, including by trying to purge voters from rolls right before an election.
David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, said the National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from conducting systemic maintenance of voter lists within 90 days of an election, and that the U.S. Supreme Court recently affirmed that limit.
Bonta said the timing of the Justice Department’s demands “reeks of desperation and bad faith.”
Dean Logan, head of the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, attends the opening of a new ballot processing center in City of Industry in 2024.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
State officials and election experts also have questioned why Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggested California had some 190,000 noncitizen voters on its rolls as recently as July if the number now stands at 20,000.
“What happened to the 170,000? You just got those wrong?” Bonta said. He also noted with derision that the administration’s lawsuit repeatedly hedges its assertions by saying that federal officials “believe” that noncitizens “may be” registered in California.
“You believe, or you know?” Bonta said. “They may be or they are?”
Kiersten Pels, a Justice Department spokesperson, said the 20,000 flagged voters “are the ones that have been manually verified” as ineligible, but that number “can and will go up” as federal authorities continue their work. She referred additional questions about the figures to Homeland Security, which did not respond to questions.
Becker said the administration’s figures “should be treated with serious skepticism,” given similar claims falling apart elsewhere. He cited a Homeland Security claim of about 16,000 noncitizens on Nevada voter rolls dropping to 185 voters before Nevada officials investigated and found every single one of those voters was a citizen.
California officials have not shown a similar interest in launching their own investigation.
In a letter to McCotter, Weber wrote that treating the 20,000 voters on the Justice Department’s list as “ineligible until proven otherwise” would not only violate the 90-day quiet period before an election, but amount to “an unprecedented suspension — and even denial — of voting rights.”
She said if the Trump administration has any proof for its claims, California would “review that evidence and any supporting data or methodology” and “take the appropriate steps in compliance with federal and state law” to address any problems. “However, I will not disenfranchise thousands of Californians — or order any county elections official to do so — based solely upon an unsupported and likely inaccurate ‘belie[f]’ that certain voters are ‘likely’ noncitizens.”
A spokesperson for Logan’s office said Friday that it was reviewing the Justice Department’s spreadsheet — in part to determine how many of the voters are actually in L.A. County — but had yet to receive requested information on the methodology used for flagging those voters.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, chair of the Democratic Assn. of Secretaries of State, said the Trump administration’s efforts in California are “another attempt by the federal government to harass and intimidate elections officials,” and that their timing is “obviously a political attempt” to prevent voters — particularly Latino voters —from holding the Trump administration accountable for its failed leadership.
But he also said that California officials — to the extent they can under the law, and working closely with Bonta — should work to refute the Trump administration’s claims through their own review of the data, just as Nevada officials did.
“We are not afraid to defend our elections,” he said. “And California should take that same approach. You cannot be reactive to these situations. You have to be strategic.”
MOVE over Brad and Angelina – Hollywood has another bitter custody war on its hands, and this one is about to get even messier, with a 13-year-old boy preparing to give evidence against his own parents.
Oscar-winner Halle Berry and her ex-husband Olivier Martinez are locked in an explosive legal battle over their son Maceo after allegations of physical abuse plunged their already turbulent relationship into fresh crisis.
Today Maceo will appear in court to give evidence in a hearing over a restraining order sought by his dad, who has accused 60-year-old Halle of attacking the teenager during an argument at her home in September.
The judge has ruled that Maceo will testify, despite Halle’s objections, although his evidence is limited to the restraining order request and he will appear in a closed courtroom.
It marks a dramatic new chapter in a custody battle that has dragged on for years since the couple’s disastrous marriage collapsed in 2015 after just two years.
And while French actor Olivier insists his son deserves to have his voice heard, Halle claims the boy has been “coached and manipulated”.
The latest showdown erupted after Olivier, who is also 60, obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Halle this month, accusing her of physically abusing Maceo on September 26 this year.
In the court filings, he alleged she jumped on their son, put her hands around his neck and choked him.
He claimed the row erupted after Halle called Maceo “stupid” over a game involving virtual reality glasses, and that afterwards a “traumatised” Maceo begged Olivier to pick him up.
Halle has vehemently denied the allegations, insisting the pair were “roughhousing”.
She says the incident arose as she tried to enforce boundaries, claiming Maceo had been physically aggressive towards her.
In a statement, she said: “I have never physically, emotionally, or otherwise abused Maceo. I am a victim of domestic violence, and I help victims of domestic violence . . . I am not a perpetrator of violence. I would never hurt our child.”
Halle has found a fierce ally in 18-year-old Nahla, her daughter by former partner Gabriel Aubry, who leapt to her mum’s defence in a sworn declaration.
She said: “I have never seen my mom hit, slap, choke, grab or physically abuse Maceo in any way.
“I have never seen my mom place her hands around Maceo’s neck, put him in a choke hold, restrict his breathing or engage in any conduct remotely resembling the allegations that have been made against her.”
Nahla described Halle as a “loving and devoted parent”.
It is a far cry from how it all began.
Halle and Olivier met in 2010 in South Africa on the set of the horror film Dark Tide, shortly after she had split from French-Canadian model Gabriel.
They got engaged in 2012 and married in France in July 2013, and Halle gave birth to Maceo that October.
For a time they appeared to have found happiness together, with Maceo’s arrival completing the family.
Now Halle’s lawyer Marina Beck has branded the court filing “entirely meritless and deliberately misleading”.
She claimed Olivier had repeatedly violated court orders, “misconduct for which Mr Martinez has already been legally sanctioned”, and alleged he has a history of “erratic, possessive and violent behaviour”.
Halle also accuses Olivier of ignoring evidence which she says contradicts his version of events, including statements from her now-fiancé Van Hunt, who was present, and what she describes as contemporaneous video evidence.
Her filing reads: “Van Hunt was physically present during the incident and is the only adult third-party eyewitness to the events at issue.”
She argued that Maceo has “a personal interest in minimising his own conduct”, claiming he has behaved similarly at school.
Halle told the court that making him testify would place him “directly in the middle of a highly contentious dispute between his parents” and risk harm to his wellbeing.
She added that he has spent the past two weeks mainly in Olivier’s care, discussing the allegations and the litigation.
But Olivier has launched a blistering counter-attack, insisting his son is the real victim.
His lawyer Patrick Baghdaserians said: “We vehemently deny such allegations. The child is the primary victim here. Victims of abuse should be able to testify regarding the abuse inflicted upon them.”
He added: “We are not surprised that the opposing party does not want the child Maceo to testify.
“The opposing party is seemingly scared of what the child will say.”
Olivier said Maceo “was concerned that no one will believe him over his mother” and “wants to speak with the court to provide his side of the story”.
He continued in his declaration: “Given that our son is 13 years old, I believe it would certainly be in his best interest for him to address the court.
“I believe that our son’s testimony will be the key to the Court learning the full truth about the events that occurred on September 26.
“I am the parent who wants the truth to come out. I am the parent who does not want to suppress Maceo’s voice.”
Mr Baghdaserians warned that if their son was stopped from speaking, Olivier “fears that [Maceo] would be dissuaded from reporting problems or potential abuse in the future”.
The team also expected Halle “will try to prevent Maceo from addressing the court directly”.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelley Kaufman ruled that “the minor child shall not be coached” and reminded both parents that existing orders remain in force, including not discussing custody issues or court papers with him.
But Olivier has hit back by asking the judge to block Nahla from testifying, claiming she is “unquestionably biased” and has “no significant bearing” on the case.
He said it was not appropriate for Halle to “insert her daughter into litigation that does not involve her”.
The hearing is set to be an agonising showdown for two exes who have been trading blows in court for years over how to raise Maceo.
The marriage was short-lived. The couple’s wedding took place in France on July 13, 2013, but cracks soon began to show.
In January 2015, showbiz news service TMZ reported that Olivier had appeared to push a worker at Los Angeles airport with a child car seat as photographers closed in.
He was named a suspect in a battery investigation but no charges followed.
By October 2015 the couple had confirmed their split, saying in a joint statement they were divorcing “with a heavy heart” and wished each other “nothing but happiness in life”.
Yet the bitter legal wrangling rumbled on for the best part of a decade, with their divorce not finalised until August 2023.
The settlement required Halle to pay £6,000 a month in child support, cover Maceo’s private school tuition and contribute more than £41,500 towards Olivier’s legal fees, with the pair sharing joint custody of Maceo.
But the courtroom clashes did not stop there. In 2024 the pair were back in front of a judge over co- parenting therapy, with Halle accusing Olivier of trying to delay it by taking “the summer off” to travel.
She then sought sole custody, claiming Maceo had “serious behaviour and learning problems” and that Olivier refused to get a tutor because it could interfere with their son’s football schedule.
Olivier disputed the claims. Halle also said she had spent more than £150,000 trying to “work with” her ex, and swiped at him over child support.
“As Olivier has advised this court, he lives off my child support,” she wrote.
Now Olivier has filed for sole custody and has been granted primary custody, along with a restraining order barring Halle from coming within 100 yards of him.
She has been given two days a week of court-ordered visitation and every other weekend with Maceo.
She has also completed a court-mandated parenting programme.
For now, the battle lines are firmly drawn, with Halle fighting to protect her reputation and relationship with her son, while Olivier insists Maceo’s account of events must be heard.
And with Maceo due to take the stand today, the latest chapter in one of Hollywood’s most vicious custody disputes is set to unfold in a courtroom far removed from the glitz and glamour of the world that the former couple once shared.
The Sun has approached representatives for both Halle and Olivier for comment.
KATIE Price has taken a subtle swipe at Lee Andrews after she ended their marriage last month.
The former glamour model is currently bracing herself for a “messy” divorce battle with her ex as the conman vows to return to the UK.
The Sun revealed that Katie ended their marriage via WhatsApp last month after finding out he had just £2.22 in his bank account.
Katie has now has taken another step towards being entirely free from Lee with a social media swipe.
She has deleted all of their photos together and it looks as though she has blocked him, too.
Katie has likely blocked Lee because all of his comments and likes have disappeared from her posts.
Lee was recently released from the notorious Al Awir prison after a four-month stint, but is now eyeing up flying back to his home country.
The conman launched a Go Get Funding page last week in a bid to collect bail cash so he can return to Britain.
And as Lee vows to fly back to England, Katie is understood to be “naturally worried” that Lee will come after her money, in what could be one of showbiz’s messiest divorces.
A source previously said: “Katie is determined not to be in financial trouble again.
“She’s been working really hard to get enough income to be comfortable – with her OnlyFans and various other projects, but she is all to aware of how easily it can be lost.
“There is a real worry Lee is going to try and take half of what she’s worth.”
They added: “She does not want to be his next con, and is hoping they can split amicably.”
Earlier this month, Lee appeared to fake his own death on social media, which left fans baffled.
Lee’s death hoax Instagram story, which was posted to his account in the early hours, was swiftly deleted.
Alongside a black and white picture of Lee posing in a car, the post said: “With a huge heart of sadness.
“And this heartfelt message, we say our final goodbyes to this beautiful soul, to our loving Lee who has tragically passed away.”
Lee’s ex Alana Percival, who he dated in 2025, took to her own Instagram to address the post and accused him of faking his own death via the post.
But Lee later took to his account to share another post with a red cross over the original image.
Lee added: “Please don’t believe any of this I have been clearly targeted for the death hoax by sick individuals.
“I’m very much alive and well this is terrible as I have family that had to see it.
“My account is back with me.”
Halle Berry has several loved ones in her corner amid her contentious custody case with ex-husband Olivier Martinez, who accused the Oscar winner of physically abusing their 12-year-old son. Among the actor’s supporters is Nahla Aubry, the 18-year-old daughter Berry has kept largely out of the public eye.
Aubry, whom Berry shares with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, spoke against her former stepfather Martinez and in support of her mother in a declaration filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In his request for a restraining order filed last week, Martinez accused Berry of physically abusing their son, Maceo, “putting her hands around his neck, and choking him” during a Sept. 26 incident. Martinez was granted the restraining order and is seeking sole legal and physical custody. Nahla Aubry said in her declaration, obtained by The Times, that Martinez’s allegations left her “shocked, very sad, and very upset.”
“The statements Olivier claims my mom made are wholly inconsistent with the values she has taught me my entire life,” Aubry said. She added elsewhere in her declaration: “I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone.”
A legal representative for Martinez did not immediately respond on Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
In her declaration, Aubry spoke about her experiences splitting time between her mother and father’s homes amid their separation and and said her mother “consistently provided me with stability, support, guidance” and that she “never heard” the actor speak negatively about her family or her ex-boyfriend. Aubry said she lived with her brother for most of her life and has “never heard my mom say anything about Olivier” to her brother, contradicting claims Martinez raised in his request for a protective order.
Martinez pointed to an alleged 2023 incident when Berry is accused of telling their son, then 9, that his father is “ ‘a white b— trying to rob a Black woman’ due to child support issues,” according to court documents. She added that Berry has “always” encouraged her children to keep “loving relationships with our fathers.” Aubry also said in her declaration that while Berry can be strict, she is also “warm, supportive and deeply involved in our lives.”
“I have never witnessed her act violently toward anyone, however, I do remember Olivier beating up my father in our driveway when I was little,” she said, referring to a 2012 brawl between Gabriel Aubry and Martinez.
In addition to denying the claims of abuse against her mother, Aubry spoke about her stepbrother’s behavior, writing in his declaration he can be “very impulsive” and “often acts without thinking and then refuses to take responsibility for his actions.” Aubry noted she last spoke to her brother a day after the alleged September incident and that he did not seem upset, and that the current restraining order prohibits her from contacting her brother.
Berry’s fiancé, Van Hunt, and her attorneys also filed declarations in favor of the “Monster’s Ball” actor. Attorney Marina Z. Beck in her declaration accused Martinez of refusing to provide information to Berry about their son and his education, of interfering with their son’s therapy and of refusing to follow therapist recommendations. The court documents also include screenshots of text message exchanges between Berry and Martinez and an email from their son’s school about his disruptive behavior days after the alleged incident.
Berry and Martinez were married from 2013 from 2015. Their divorce finally ended in August 2023, when they agreed to joint custody of their son and Berry agreed to pay Martinez $8,000 a month in child support.
In his request for a restraining order, Martinez also asked that Berry refrain from drinking or partaking in other substances during her visitation time and asked that she complete sobriety testing “before, during and after” her visitation, according to court documents. The judge denied those sobriety testing requests until a further hearing for the order on Oct. 16.
Patrick Baghdaserians, an attorney for Martinez, told The Times last week the welfare and safety of Berry and Martinez’s child remains paramount.
Australia play their first Test in South Africa since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal when they start a three-match series in Durban on Friday, with the visitors unlikely to face more than a few heckles over the incident that rocked the sport eight years ago.
The tourists’ efforts to roughen up the ball using sandpaper to aid reverse swing in Cape Town in March 2018 were caught on camera and led to a major reckoning for the game in Australia, with captain Steve Smith among those banned for their role in the subterfuge.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the first Test battle in South Africa since the infamous series.
South Africa have played Tests in Australia since ‘Sandpapergate’, and Australia have toured South Africa in the interim for limited-overs internationals.
The scandal has attracted little media focus in South Africa over recent weeks in comparison to the attention devoted to the incident in the Australian press.
After dethroning Australia last year in a thrilling World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s to win a first major title, South Africa are focused on improving their chances of a return to the final at the end of the 2025–27 WTC cycle.
The pitch at Kingsmead often proves a fickle track but should offer the spinners a chance to play a leading role in a change from South Africa’s usually seamer-friendly surfaces.
It is unusual for South Africa’s chances to be largely entrusted to their spin attack, but Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj wreaked havoc in India last November when they triumphed in their last two Test outings.
Spin was also a key factor for the home side as they beat Australia in the recent One-Day International series.
South Africa may therefore opt to rest frontline attack bowler Kagiso Rabada from the Test as he continues his comeback from a hamstring injury.
South Africa also have a choice to make over their number three batsman, with coach Shukri Conrad having several options including a potential first cap for 30-year-old Marques Ackerman.
Australia are also in need of a boost after a surprise home Test defeat by Bangladesh in August in their drawn series, and with an Ashes tour to England starting next June.
Injury to Australia all-rounder Cameron Green opens up a chance at number five for Cooper Connolly, or a fairytale return for 34-year-old Nic Maddinson after recovering from cancer.
Australia opener Travis Head has taken to task former Test players turned critics whom he accused on Wednesday of “putting a bullet” through the current team.
Head did not single out any pundit directly, but his strong remarks at a news conference came the day after Matthew Hayden, one-time holder of the record for the most runs in a Test innings, accused selectors of “promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket”.
The reference, made in a podcast, was about the recall of Maddinson, who has been out of Test cricket for nearly 10 years, but who joined the squad in South Africa after Josh Inglis fractured his finger and Cameron Green suffered a stomach injury.
“I think it’s unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair,” Head said.
“But that’s what they’re paid to do. Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that’s totally fine.
“This group is strong enough to deal with those sorts of things. That’s how it is. It’s unfortunate sometimes to have some of that feedback from a generation of players that we have huge respect for, but that’s the caper.”
Hayden accused the selectors of “disrespecting first-class cricket”, asserting that batsmen should have an average of 45 runs or more before being considered for Test selection.
Head, however, praised Maddinson’s abilities and the benefits of choosing experienced players for Test cricket despite the 34-year-old replacement having a first-class average of 37.11.
“We need mature guys that know what they need to be doing,” Head said. “That revolves back to why we’ve been so good over a period of time, and why Australian cricket was so good back then in that era, because you’d bring in the Mike Husseys of the world, who are 30, who are tried and tested and know what they need to do.”
Former Australia captain Allan Border suggested that the 32-year-old Head would face his toughest test as an opener against the South African bowling attack and would perhaps be better batting at number five.
“I have laughed at a fair bit of it because if a traditional opening batter had pushed out the same sort of numbers in his first 20 innings, I think he’d be pretty safe and not talked about in the way that it has been talked about,” Head said. “It’s a lot of headline stuff.”
In the build-up to the series, Smith has admitted he is still traumatised by “Sandpapergate” – the series he oversaw as captain.
The prolific batter was sent home in disgrace, banned for a year and sacked as captain for his role in the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test in Cape Town eight years ago.
David Warner, considered the ringleader, was suspended for 12 months and stripped of all leadership roles, while Cameron Bancroft was slapped with a nine-month ban.
Smith said he still suffers flashbacks to a traumatic period of his life, haunted by memories of leaving Johannesburg airport, with cameras clicking furiously around him, and a harrowing Sydney news conference on his return when he broke down in tears.
“I’m not a big fan of cameras … I get anxious around cameras to be honest,” he told News Corp.
“That was a traumatic experience in my life, and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that in a way.
“The 24-48 hours of being told by James Sutherland [then Cricket Australia chief executive] that I was getting banned for a year. That and going through the airport in Johannesburg getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing that press conference.
“I still have little flashbacks here and there of it.”
Smith bore the brunt of the scandal that is considered one of Australian sport’s darkest moments, but bounced back emphatically.
He smashed a superb century against England on his return and has gone from strength to strength, with 10,920 Test runs so far at an average of 56.
“It was certainly a difficult period, particularly the initial period a few days after,” he said.
“The mental state I was in was not great. That’s somewhere I’d like not to get to again, but I certainly learned from that and have been able to move forward with my life.
“I’ve tried to kind of erase a lot of 2018 and what happened,” he added.
“I can’t remember a lot about the series. I’ve tried to block most of it out of my memory bank.”
Smith has been back to South Africa for a white-ball series since 2018, but not for a Test, and he is bracing for hostile crowds.
But the 37-year-old is unperturbed, having negotiated multiple Ashes tours to England since 2018, where the Barmy Army abused him relentlessly.
“It’s something I’m kind of used to. I’ve copped a lot at times away from home at different venues across my career and it’s something that I take in my own stride,” he said.
“I use it as motivation to try and go out and do well and try and take a positive from it.”
CALUM Best shared a sweet tribute to his ‘fighter’ mum Angie as she returned to the UK after treatment amid her colon cancer battle.
Angie, 74, announced that she was diagnosed with the disease in January and in July was told that she was cancer free.
Over the past year she has kept fans up to date while undergoing traditional medicine, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, as well as an alternative mistletoe therapy in Switzerland.
Now Angie is back in the UK with her son.
Calum shared a snap of their pair cuddled up together in the airport car park, as well as one of her approaching him in arrivals.
He captioned the post: “Right then, she’s back on UK soil, let’s get you healed, fed healthy and fighting fit!
“From me to you mother, I’m so proud of what a strong fighter you are, this last year has been hell and u have managed it with such grace, a year or treatments.
“Surgerys and all the rest are not easy and you have powered through it so well and we will continue to.
“What I also want to say is a huge thank you to everyone so far on this journey, so many people asking and involved both in person and through social media, thank you for caring about Angie.”
Many rushed the comments section to share the love.
One said: “Oh wow.. so pleased to see this, right where you belong.. no place like home!”
Another wrote: “Such a beautiful Mother and Son relationship. Rest up now Angie, you’re incredible.”
A third chimed in: “Sending you both love and hugs.”
A fourth commented: “How incredible to go through such a journey and looks so beautiful and be an inspiration to us all!!!!!”
“Wonderful news ,you mum is definitely a true fighter 💪❤️wishing her well,” a fifth added.
Last month Angie revealed that she’s back in hospital after suffering a ‘setback’ following battle with cancer.
Taking to her page earlier today, Angie said: “Update my homies. I find myself back in the hospital.
“I have an infection. They think it’s bacterial. Bt I have to stay here a few days for results and to make it better.
“See you on the other side.”
After major surgery to remove a tumour from her colon in July, Angie revealed that she was cancer free.
Angie and footballer ex George Best are Calum’s parents.
Calum is a reality star who has been on Celebrity Love Island, Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity SAS.
ACTOR Vinnie Jones has won a planning battle at his telly farm despite almost 5,000 objections.
The former footballer, starring in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix hit The Gentlemen, will be allowed to turn redundant buildings into seven guest units.
Campaigners argued he wanted to host shooting parties and raised fears over gunfire, traffic and protected wildlife.
Blackwool Farm in the South Downs National Park, West Sussex, features in the Discovery+ reality show Vinnie Jones in the Country.
Protect the Wild said: “National parks are . . . not for commercialised bloodsports or luxury shooting retreats.”
But Jones’s planning team hit back, accusing opponents of making “false assumptions and inaccuracies”.
Planners sided with Jones, 61, saying: “The application is not for a shooting use, simply visitor accommodation that may or may not include shooting.”
Jones has made no secret of his love of country sports. He plays Geoff Seacombe, the loyal gamekeeper on the sprawling Halstead estate at the centre of the show.
After the recent streaming success, Netflix has already confirmed The Gentlemen will return for a third series.
And Jones could reportedly be joined by Meghan Markle, who has been linked with a possible role in the next series.
Fighting in Sudan’s Kordofan region has intensified since late 2025, turning it into one of the main battlegrounds in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now in its fourth year.
The vast region, which comprises North, West and South Kordofan states, lies where the two sides’ areas of control meet, between the army-held central region and the RSF-controlled Darfur in the West. In recent months, the SAF has pushed the RSF out of much of North Kordofan.
The battle is increasingly being fought from the air. Drone strikes on towns in North Kordofan are growing more frequent and deadly, and civilian infrastructure has been hit across the region.
Since the war began in April 2023, one in five recorded attacks in Sudan has taken place in Kordofan.
Al Jazeera maps where the fighting is concentrated in Kordofan and across Sudan, and the displacement that has followed.
Sudan is broadly divided between the two sides. The SAF controls the capital, Khartoum, and most of the north, east and centre, while the RSF controls the west, including almost all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan. Smaller armed groups, including the RSF-allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), hold pockets of territory in the south.
The army has the upper hand in the north, the RSF in the west, and South Kordofan remains contested.
According to an Al Jazeera analysis of data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), an independent conflict monitor, there were 14,648 recorded attacks between the start of the war on April 15, 2023, and September 19, 2026.
The four most affected states include:
The SAF is associated with the largest share of recorded attacks between April 15, 2023 and September 19, 2026, accounting for just over half (52 percent), compared with just over a third (34.7 percent) for the RSF and 13.3 percent for other actors.
The balance of attacks has shifted over time. The SAF was associated with more recorded attacks than the RSF in the first year and a half of the war, before the RSF overtook it in number of attacks from late 2024 to mid-2025.
Since August 2025, the two sides’ monthly attack counts have been closer, with the SAF generally recording slightly more, even as the overall number of attacks has fallen sharply.
After the fall of el-Fasher, the last major Darfur city held by the army and its allies, in October 2025, attention shifted to Kordofan. The region sits between RSF-held Darfur and the army-held centre, north and east, forming a corridor between the two sides’ heartlands.
Kordofan’s three states recorded 2,717 attacks: North Kordofan had 1,205 (44 percent), South Kordofan 789 and West Kordofan 723. Adding Abyei, a disputed oil-rich area on the Sudan-South Sudan border that was historically part of Kordofan, brings the total to 2,878.
The concentration of attacks differs from state to state. In North Kordofan, Sheikan locality alone accounted for 497 attacks, or 41 percent of the state’s total. Sheikan is home to the state capital, el-Obeid, a commercial and administrative hub linking central Sudan with the west. Taking the city would open a route east towards Khartoum for the RSF.
On September 9, a drone strike on a college in el-Obeid tore the roof off the building and killed a security guard, the college’s dean, Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, told Reuters.
“As you can see, the entire faculty is destroyed and we feel that our dreams are destroyed, our future is destroyed,” Omnia Aboul Gassim, a student who had sat her exams at the el-Obeid college just one day before the attack, told Reuters.
In South Kordofan, Dilling locality was the main hotspot, with 242 attacks (31 percent), followed by Kadugli with 107 (14 percent) and Al Quoz with 94 (12 percent).
Attacks in West Kordofan were spread more evenly across localities. Babnusa recorded the most, with 142, followed by En Nuhud (119), Al Khiwai (112) and Abu Zabad (111).
ACLED has recorded at least 12,314 reported fatalities in Kordofan since April 2023.
The SAF was associated with 1,323 attacks (46 percent) across all three states in Kordofan, compared with 920 (32 percent) for the RSF and 633 (22 percent) for other actors.
About 8.6 million people remain internally displaced across Sudan, according to the latest United Nations figures, down from a peak of 11.6 million in January 2025 as millions returned home to areas retaken by the army. New displacement continues in Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile.
Darfur hosts the largest concentrations of internally displaced people (IDPs), particularly South and North Darfur.
Returns have steadily increased since 2025, reaching about 5.1 million by August 2026. Khartoum has seen a major return of displaced people, with about 2.7 million returnees.
Despite the decline, millions remain displaced more than three years into the war. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the number of people newly displaced in Kordofan since fighting escalated in October 2025 has risen 65 percent in four months, from more than 132,000 in February to at least 219,000 by late June.
The agency has warned that el-Obeid, which shelters about 500,000 people, including more than 83,000 displaced, faces a looming threat of a full-scale invasion.
“The warning signs are impossible to ignore,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope earlier this month. “Across Sudan, families are fleeing violence, losing access to water, electricity and healthcare, and now facing the added burden of destructive floods.”
TOWIE’S Jordan Brook has revealed his brain will be damaged forever as he gave fans an emotional health update following his meningitis battle.
Earlier this year, the 31-year-old told how he had been diagnosed with viral meningitis and encephalitis and spent weeks in hospital after falling ill.
Jordan faced a terrifying battle to survive for his unborn child – as the virus attacked his brain, leaving him unable to speak or walk.
Now Jordan has given fans a new health update after looking over his MRI scans at a follow-up appointment.
He said: “It’s a real and bittersweet feeling when you see a picture of your brain and you see that there is damage there that will be there forever.
“I’m so proud of myself and how far I’ve come and really feel that I’m making that recovery. I’m almost at the six months mark now, which is a huge milestone in brain recovery.”
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Speaking about the scan pictures, Jordan continued: “Imagine breaking your leg or your arm… you will always see that scar on your body and this is one unfortunately you can’t see it, it’s in the head.
“It’s just a reminder about how bad these infections can be on the brain and that they can affect anyone.
“I’m doing everything I can do in my power to help people and raise awareness. I’ve got a lovely charity that I’m working closely with, we’re gonna do some amazing things.”
“I’m so determined to be me, I’m feeling like Jordan again. The energy is high, just got to keep going and fighting through this,” he added.
Jordan captioned the post: “I’ve just come out of another follow-up appointment and today I got to see my MRI and the scarring that’s been left on my brain.
“I won’t lie, seeing it was hard to take. But if this journey has taught me anything, it’s how resilient we really are.
“There are good days and difficult ones, but I’m still here, still recovering and still moving forward.”
One fan wrote: “You are an amazing human been through so much staying positive always is key keep going Jordan take care of yourself.”
Another fan penned: “You have come a long way and have achieved so much. Seeing how poorly you were to where you are now is testament to you.
“Enjoy your family with Soph and Brody. Onwards and upwards Jord!”
Jordan recently fought back tears as he recalled the scary moment doctors suspected he had brain cancer.
After going through a lumbar puncture – a procedure in which spinal fluid is drained and examined in a lab – doctors told him they were considering the possibility that he might have had brain cancer.
During an episode of By the Brook podcast, which he hosts with his girlfriend Sophie Kasaei, Jordan said: “Obviously, the doctors have to give you the worst case scenario.
“That’s when the doctors said, ‘We can’t rule out brain cancer.
“Now, to hear that when you’ve got your girlfriend sat next to you who’s seven months pregnant with a baby you’ve waited for so long…”
Jordan added: “You never want to hear that about your kids. Sophie’s holding my kid.
“You never want to hear about your partner. It was the worst time of our lives ever.”
