British

“It’s terrible for Israel and for Israel’s future, it’s not what Judaism teaches and it’s deeply wrong”, he added.

Supported by other Rabbis in the liberal and progressive UK Jewish communities, Rabbi Wittenberg believes that it is possible to support Israel, be concerned for the safety of British Jews, and that it is right for the UK government to take action to protect Israelis and Palestinians.

However, he also said he was “extremely sad that it’s come to this” and that he shared the “concerns of the Jewish community leadership that people will use this for antisemitism and for demonising Israel even further”.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who represents the Orthodox community, previously said the sanctions marked a “truly dark day” and placed British Jews at greater risk of attacks.

In Golders Green – where ambulances run by a Jewish medical charity were set on fire and two visibly Jewish men were stabbed in what police called a terror attack earlier this year – there was concern the government’s actions against Israel would increase attacks against British Jews.

“It’s so tricky because, in principle, I agree with opposing these new settlements,” Michael Cohen, who works for a Jewish charity, told the BBC.

But he added: “The timing of it, I think, was completely… just self interest for the Labour Party, signalling before a by-election, before the party conference.”

He said the practical impact of the move would be “almost zero”.

One woman, who runs a jewellery shop that was was twice cordoned off due to incidents in Golders Green, was very critical of the sanctions and said she would “make it my mission” to continue to buy Israeli goods whenever she could.

“We have to [support] our own because no one else is going to”, Deborah Miller told the BBC.

At the end of the week, Jewish congregations will celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.

Police are already increasing security around Jewish areas to protect communities who have faced multiple attacks this year and are fearful of more.

The number of antisemitic incidents recorded across the UK since the start of the year is up by a fifth compared to last year, figures show.

The Community Security Trust (CST), an organisation that provides security support to the Jewish community, recorded 1,926 incidents of anti-Jewish hate across the UK in the first six months of 2026.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, external, estimates that only 44% of hate crime incidents between April 2022 and March 2025 came to the attention of the police.

LONDON: British police said Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that anti-immigration party Reform UK broke rules barring foreign donations.

Last week, Channel 4 broadcast an undercover investigation in which two senior Reform UK officials appeared to discuss ways money from an American financier could be channeled through his U.K.-based son to get around the rules.

U.K. electoral law says parties can only accept donations from British voters or U.K.-registered businesses.

The Metropolitan Police said that after the broadcast, the force “received a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party.

“Detectives have assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offenses requiring investigation,” it said.

Reform UK said it “denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation.”

The party suspended Dan Jukes, a longtime adviser to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and party policy chief James Orr, after the documentary was aired. But Farage denied that there was any breach of electoral law.

The program showed two men purporting to be a U.S. financier and his U.K.-based son discussing with Jukes, in the presence of Farage, how 500,000 pounds ($675,000) could be donated to the party through the son. The “son” was actually a reporter from investigative group Verbatim, and the “father” an actor.

In separate footage, Orr, a Cambridge University theologian, appeared to discuss getting the U.S. donor to pay for opinion polls commissioned by Reform UK.

In a speech to the party’s conference on Friday, Farage insisted Reform UK hadn’t broken any rules or accepted “dodgy money.” He accused “foreign-funded hard-left activists” of being behind what he called “entrapment.” Verbatim is an offshoot of the Center for Climate Reporting, a nonprofit investigative group that says it’s funded by grants and donations.

Reform UK was facing questions about its funding even before the broadcast. Farage is being investigated by Parliament’s standards watchdog over an undeclared 5 million-pound ($6.7 million) gift he received from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire in 2024.

Police said Wednesday that the potential offenses raised by the TV program “are similar in nature to matters already under investigation by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team relating to donations made to the same political party. As a result, these matters will form part of that ongoing investigation.”

Founded in 2018 as the Brexit Party to push for a hard break from the European Union, Reform UK has grown rapidly in membership and support since changing its name in 2021 and honing its anti-establishment, anti-immigration message.

Though it holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, it has often led opinion polls and was the big winner in local elections in May, a result that helped spur a panicky Labour Party to replace then-leader Keir Starmer with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

In July, Farage quit his House of Commons seat in protest of the parliamentary standards investigation, saying he would run for reelection and let voters be his judge. He easily won the August election, which was dismissed as a stunt by his critics and boycotted by all the other main parties.

BBC fans saw a new face join The Great British Sewing Bee as Sophie Willan became the host of the competition alongside judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young.

Great British Sewing Bee fans have been thrilled with the latest addition to the BBC show.

The competition is nearing its end, as BBC viewers will see one contestant crowned Britain’s Best Amateur Sewer, along with a golden mannequin trophy. After weeks of challenges, tasks, and plenty of tears, Anna, Emma, or Beth will win this year’s Great British Sewing Bee.

Ahead of the highly anticipated final, judge Patrick Young appeared on Morning Live to speak about what viewers can expect to see. However, the conversation soon turned to the latest host to front the show, comedian and actress Sophie Willan.

Highlighting that the show is kept ‘fresh’ by bringing in new presenters, the Morning Live star asked what it’s been like with Sophie as part of the cast. Patrick replied: “We’ve had some alright presenters over the years.

“Sophie is amazing. I was a massive Alma’s Not Normal fan. Quite often, we get told who is going to be coming on, and I had to pinch myself. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I loved Alma’s Not Normal’. She’s brilliant, she’s so fun.

“Esme loves her. She just helps create the most amazing atmosphere on set. We’ve been making the show for a long time. A lot of the crew and everybody behind the scenes are the same, but it’s lovely having somebody come in and give it a little zhuzh.”

Despite the show often shaking up who fronts the programme, Patrick confirmed Sophie’s future, and it’s good news for fans. He continued: “She’s amazing, we’re filming next year already, and I love going into work with her every day.”

Elsewhere in their conversation, he spoke about the upcoming final and the pressure he feels comes with it as a judge. He told the BBC presenters it’s mainly because he wants the contestants to excel.

Patrick commented: “We’ve seen it so many times when brilliant people have got to the final, and things just haven’t quite clicked for them. You do feel a certain amount of disappointment, but luckily, this year we didn’t have that.

“We got three brilliant people, and they all brought something really special to it. So actually there is a relief when it’s done, and you’re like, ‘They really have nailed this’.”

Sadly, BBC viewers bid farewell to Heather this week as the contestant narrowly missed out on a place in the final. Although she was teary-eyed over the exit, she was proud of all she achieved.

She commented, “All the stress and sleepless nights have been beyond worth it.” Meanwhile, Beth was awarded garment of the week for her little black dress.

During the show, Patrick told her, “We absolutely loved it. It was so elevated, such beautiful use of the fabrics, and such a lovely story of you know, personalising the LBD. Well done.”

Morning Live is available to watch weekdays on BBC One from 9:30am. The Great British Sewing Bee final airs Tuesday, September 15, on BBC One at 8pm .

“You’ve left everyone here stranded. You could’ve cancelled this flight hours ago which would’ve given many vulnerable people here half a chance,” one passenger wrote on X

British Airways has been accused of leaving passengers stranded in Italy after thousands of flights were cancelled across the UK.

Tens of thousands of people were impacted on Tuesday after a technical issue by National Air Traffic Services (Nats) grounded flights.

Among the carriers affected by the air traffic control issue was British Airways (BA) – with a number of passengers taking to social media to complain about the situation.

Among them was Simon Weeks, who said he, along with others, had been left stranded in Italy for hours without any update from the airline.

Sharing a letter he received from BA late in the evening, the Brit claimed “all hotels” in the port city of Brindisi were now “fully booked”.

He added: “You’ve left everyone here stranded. You could’ve cancelled this flight hours ago which would’ve given many vulnerable people here half a chance.”

BA said it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights on Tuesday, which had impacted “tens of thousands of customers”.

Passengers received a letter from the carrier apologising for the inconvenience, but were left to find a place to sleep themselves.

The statement read: “We’re sorry that your flight has been delayed overnight… We don’t underestimate the inconvenience this will cause.”

It continued: “We’re sorry, but we’re unable to provide you with accommodation, and you need to make your own arrangements.”

“You can submit a claim to us with your receipts and we will reimburse reasonable accommodation costs.”

The disruptions, expected to continue into Wednesday, impacted travel at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is set to speak with Nats’ chief executive officer Martin Rolfe on Wednesday before she addresses MPs in the Commons for the second reading of the Civil Aviation Bill.

Rolfe has said he “always accept(s) full responsibility” when asked if he was considering his position after the incident.

He told Sky News: “I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure, so it is my job to take responsibility for that.

“What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today.

“You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve this issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public.”

LONDON: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has voiced support for the UK’s new ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

He told The Guardian that the decision, announced by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, “became unavoidable as a result of a continuous effort of ethnic cleansing perpetrated by a large group of Jewish terrorists in the West Bank.”

Olmert added: “The crimes of these terrorists are actively assisted by police and military units over a long period of time.

“The highest levels of government led by Minister of Defence (Israel) Katz and Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu are actively supporting these terrorists and avoid taking the necessary measures to stop it.”

Olmert’s comments come as Israelis prepare to go to the polls late next month. “Millions of Israelis are appalled by this terror and are actively resisting the terrorists,” he said.

“Sanctions are directed against the terrorists not against Israel, and as such they are unavoidable.”

In announcing the new UK policy, Miliband referenced earlier comments by Olmert, saying: “Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister, has described what is happening as, I quote, ‘a violent and criminal effort to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank.’”

Teenager Stan Moody knocked four-time champion John Higgins out of the British Open with a 4-2 victory in the last 16.

Moody, 19, progressed to the quarter-finals for the second successive year thanks to a strong finish at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Scot Higgins, 51, twice came from behind to level at 2-2, but a break of 46 nudged Moody 3-2 ahead before a 69 clearance – after four-time world champion Higgins led 61-0 – sealed victory.

Moody will face fellow Englishman Liam Highfield in the last eight on Friday.

Judd Trump breezed into the quarter-finals by beating fellow Englishman David Gilbert 4-0 thanks to breaks of 118 and 105 in the final two frames.

Trump, 37, will face China’s Zhao Xintong after the world number one overcame England’s Mark Joyce 4-2.

Englishman Jack Lisowski triumphed 4-1 over China’s Lyu Haotian to set up a meeting with England’s four-time world champion Mark Selby, who beat Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko 4-2.

Wales’ Jak Jones defeated Latvian Artemus Zizins 4-2, while Northern Ireland’s Aaron Hill beat China’s Fan Zhengyi 4-0 and Highfield saw off China’s Long Zehuang 4-1.

Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones both fell to seeded players as British interest in the US Open singles ended in the second round.

Dart said she felt “under the weather” during her 6-2 6-2 defeat by Czech 25th seed Marie Bouzkova as temperatures reached around 30C in New York.

Her loss meant Jones was the last Briton standing in either singles draw, and she acquitted herself well before falling 6-4 6-4 to 14th seed and rising American star Iva Jovic.

Nine British players competed in the US Open main draws – the most since 1981 – with four coming through qualifying.

Five of them reached the second round, but Jacob Fearnley was the only player to win a set as they all fell to seeded players.

Lucky loser Fearnley fell in four sets to 27th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while qualifier Toby Samuel was beaten by 18th seed Jiri Lehecka.

Katie Boulter lost to Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova in only 58 minutes on Wednesday.

In the men’s draw, Cameron Norrie, Arthur Fery, Harry Wendelken and Jan Choinski exited in the first round.

Jones, ranked 90 places lower than Jovic, made the American work for one hour and 54 minutes to reach the third round.

Humid conditions meant both players frequently dashed to the back of the court between points to dry their hands and face.

It was Jovic who started on the front foot, opening up a double break and a 3-0 lead as the 18-year-old controlled the rallies with some deep hitting from the baseline.

Jones snatched a break back and kept in touch with Jovic – but she could not make the most of a break point as Jovic served for the set.

After wrapping up the opener, Jovic raced into a 4-1 lead in the second, only to once again be dragged back by Jones.

The Briton saved three match points on her own serve but Jovic produced one of her best service games to seal victory and set up a meeting with good friend Alexandra Eala.

ONE woman was left in Turkey for almost a week with her family when her flight home with easyJet was cancelled last minute.

Macy Neve Flye was due to fly home from Dalaman in Turkey to Bristol with easyJet but was left “stranded” with her family after a technical problem with the aircraft.

The date of the original flight was August 22 , due to take off at 11:25pm.

But by the time it hit 12:30am, passengers were told to check their emails, to which they found out their flight home had been cancelled.

To maker matters worse, the return flights home were almost a week later due to the busy summer season.

Macy and her family were been split between two replacement flights departing on August 27 and August 28.

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Talking to creatorzine.com, Macy said: “Being stranded has been nothing but stress, anger and confusion.”

She was travelling with her boyfriend and three members of his family, including a five-year-old who were all later transferred to a different hotel.

This was due to the original hotel not having enough space for all 150 passengers affected.

On the ordeal, Macy said: “‘As you can imagine, it has just been awful and stressful. We had budgeted for a two-week holiday.

“This experience has made us not want to fly with them again.”

The family have been advised to keep receipts so they can claim back additional expenses incurred during the disruption.

easyJet confirmed the flight was cancelled after the aircraft experienced a technical problem.

They also said it arranged hotel accommodation and meals, and would reimburse the family for expenses.

It said alternative flights with other airlines and indirect routes were extremely limited because of the busy summer travel period.

Some members of the family were therefore given seats on a flight on August 27, with the remainder booked to travel the following day.

An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that Ms Flye and her family’s flight from Dalaman to Bristol was unable to operate due to the aircraft experiencing a technical issue.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and we have been doing all we can to support the family, including providing hotel accommodation and meals.

“Alternative flight options including with other airlines are very limited at this busy time of year and so while we have transferred the family onto the next available flights this week, we are sorry for the difficulty caused by the delay returning home.

“We are in touch with the family to apologise for their experience and reimburse them for any expenses incurred.”

A contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee spoke about how proud they were to have made it so far.

A contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee has spoken of their pride in making it so far, as they were forced to leave the show. The BBC competition’s 12th series is well underway, with Patrick Grant and Esme Young returning as judges, while Sophie Willan replaced Sara Pascoe as presenter.

Just a week before the semi-finals, the remaining amateur sewers were challenged with Literary Icons week. As they channelled their inner bookworms, they were tasked with creating a deerstalker worn by Arthur Conan Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes in the Pattern Challenge.

They were then asked to imagine what Roald Dahl’s Matilda would be like as a grown-up, creating an outfit from second-hand school uniforms. And finally, in the Made-to-Measure, the sewers created an outfit from the Regency period, inspired by the works of Jane Austen.

Despite her enthusiasm for the challenges, it was unfortunately Rebecca who missed out on a place in the semi-finals. She broke down in tears as Sophie announced she would be leaving the competition.

Sophie said: “Now for the difficult bit, one of you does have to go home today.” She went on: “You’ve all been amazing, it’s getting very serious now, it’s up here, so it’s very difficult for the judges. But unfortunately, the person going home today is Rebecca.”

Rebecca was supported by her co-stars as she wept over her exit, before sharing her pride in making it so far. She said: “I’m feeling incredibly proud of myself, I never thought I’d make it to the quarter-finals, so it’s been a privilege, every step of the way.”

Esme added: “I’ll really miss Rebecca. She was such fun, and making a dress and jacket was a lot of work. But she made so many mistakes.”

Rebecca continued: “Doing all of what I’ve achieved, being in pain the whole time, it’s just, I’m so proud of myself, and I hope that anyone who is living with an invisible disability or any disability, knows they can do incredible things.”

The Great British Sewing Bee continues next week, with the BBC teasing: “It’s the semi-final, and judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young set three challenges celebrating wardrobe heroes. These are items found in every wardrobe. However little or often they are worn, these clothes are must-haves and essentials.

“First, in the Pattern Challenge, the sewers must put their spin on the classic leather jacket, only this time, the judges have asked them to use plant-based leather.

“Next, for the Transformation Challenge, the sewers take men’s shirts and transform them into outfits for a wedding. Finally, in the Made-to-Measure, it’s the timeless little black dress that is the inspiration Four sewers remain, but only three will make it to the final.”

The Great British Sewing Bee is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Argentina international Enzo Fernandez signs for Manchester City in a deal from Chelsea worth 125 million pounds ($169m).

Manchester City equalled the British transfer fee record for a player when they signed midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea on deadline day for deals in Europe.

The 25-year-old Argentina international, who was part of his country’s team that reached the 2026 World Cup final, had long been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.

The deal, however, was stretched to the final few minutes of the summer transfer window, which shut at 22:00 GMT on Tuesday.

City confirmed the deal with a video on the social media platform X, with the fee matching the 125 million pounds ($169m) that Liverpool paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer.

The deal seemed to have been agreed upon between the clubs hours before the window shut, allowing for the player to complete a medical, but doubts about the deal started to emerge with the clock ticking on the deadline.

Fernandez himself had taken to his Instagram page ahead of the deadline on Tuesday to bid farewell to Chelsea fans.

“I want you to know that these have not been easy days for me. Writing this is not easy either. The truth is, I haven’t been in a good place,” Fernandez wrote in a message directed to fans of the London club.

“Three years ago, Cobham [the club’s training ground] and Stamford Bridge became home for me and my family.

“Believe me when I say that, from the moment I arrived, I became obsessed with winning and with bringing this club every trophy that its history deserves.

“We suffered, we cried, I got angry many times, but we also celebrated titles and unforgettable victories. Together, through the good times and the difficult ones.”

Fernandez was part of the Chelsea side that won the UEFA Conference League in 2025 before going on to claim the expanded FIFA Club World Cup that year.

City boss Enzo Maresca worked with Fernandez at Chelsea before taking on the daunting task of succeeding Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.

The Italian was a driving force behind the deal to land Fernandez after the recent sale of influential World Cup winner Rodri to Barcelona, as well as the departures of fellow midfielders Bernardo Silva, Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders.

The 25-year-old will partner with England international Elliot Anderson and Moroccan Ayyoub Bouaddi in City’s revamped central midfield at a cost of more than 300 million pounds ($405.4m).

“Every player wants to be part of a club like this, because everyone knows how well-run City are,” said Fernandez in his statement released by City upon completion of the deal.

“This is a club built for success. If you look across the squad, City have quality in every area. I want to learn from my new teammates and become a better player.”

Fernandez, who signed for Chelsea from Benfica for 106 million pounds ($143.2m) in 2023, angered the Blues last season by expressing interest in joining Real Madrid, and was dropped for two matches as a result.

He scored twice in Argentina’s run to the World Cup final, including a stunning strike against England in the semifinal.

But his tournament ended with a red card in the final as Argentina were beaten 1-0 to miss out on retaining their status as world champions.

“He is a complete midfielder: technically gifted, hardworking, tenacious, and a goalscorer,” said City’s director of football Hugo Viana.

“To have played in two World Cup finals and won major trophies in multiple countries at just 25 says everything you need to know about his mentality, professionalism and technical quality.

“We are delighted to bring him here, and feel very strongly he will improve our team.”

World champion Wu Yize set up an intriguing second-round tie against former Crucible winner Kyren Wilson at the British Open after both won their opening matches.

China’s Wu beat compatriot Liu Hongyu 4-3 in Cheltenham, while 2024 world champion Wilson was a 4-1 winner against Austria’s Florian Nuessle.

Last year’s British Open champion Shaun Murphy was joined by Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins, Judd Trump and John Higgins in progressing to the second round.

However, three-time world champion Mark Williams lost 4-0 to David Gilbert, world number two Neil Robertson fell 4-1 to Pang Junxu, and 2023 world champion Luca Brecel fell 4-3 to Chris Wakelin.

Mark Joyce, who replaced Ronnie O’Sullivan after the seven-time world champion withdrew because of medical reasons, beat Poland’s Mateusz Baranowski 4-1.

New world number one Zhao Xintong, the first Chinese player to become world champion in 2025, will play his opening-round match against England’s Oliver Brown on Tuesday.

Zhao reached the final of the Wuhan Open last week, securing the top ranking spot in the process, only to lose 10-7 to countryman Chang Bingyu in the title match.

The British Open uses a random draw for each round, with no seeds, meaning high-profile names can face each other early in the tournament.

British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the United Kingdom after his arrest by American immigration authorities.

The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that Yiannopoulos was returned to his home country Friday after being accused of overstaying after entering the U.S. legally in May 2019. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal July 22 after he failed to show up for an immigration hearing, a Homeland Security spokesperson said.

Yiannopoulos was arrested Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Louisiana and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement.

Yiannopoulos and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment, and he has not posted on the social platform X since Thursday.

Yiannopoulos is a well-known champion of conservative causes and has frequently taken provocative public positions criticizing feminism, Islam and immigrants. He has been especially supportive of President Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement policy, aimed at people in the country illegally.

“Zero immigration for the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts,” Yiannopoulos said on X last year.

Yiannopoulos’ arrest and deportation come amid a nationwide uptick in detentions as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In social media posts, the Department of Homeland Security touted Yiannopoulos’ arrest and posted a booking photo of him. It added that it encourages people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily, saying the U.S. offers “$3,000 and a free flight to self-deport.”

“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” the department said.

Collins writes for the Associated Press.

U.S. immigration officials arrested controversial British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday in New Orleans, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Immigration officials announced on Friday that Yiannopoulos was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accused him of overstaying after entering the United States legally in May 2019 through New York City. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to show up for his immigration hearing, a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.

“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a spokesperson for DHS wrote in an emailed statement.

ICE’s online detainee locator doesn’t say where Yiannopoulos is being held but directs family and legal representatives to the agency’s office in Alexandria, Louisiana, a deportation hub for international flights.

Representatives of Yiannopoulos did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear whether he has legal representation.

The British national has most recently worked for the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday evening.

Yiannopoulos is a well-known champion of conservative causes and has frequently taken provocative public positions criticizing feminism, Islam and immigrants. He has been especially supportive of President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“Zero immigration for the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts,” Yiannopoulos wrote on the social platform X last year.

Yiannopoulos rose to fame in the early 2010s as an incendiary writer for the conservative website Breitbart News. He resigned from the company in 2017 after a video of him endorsing pedophilia resurfaced online. He later apologized for the remarks and said he himself was a victim of sexual assault as a minor.

Yiannopoulos’ arrest Friday comes amid a nationwide uptick in detentions as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Far-right conservative activist Laura Loomer swiftly took to social media to applaud Yiannopoulos’ arrest after years of public feuding between the two personalities.

“I was the first person to report on the fact that Milo was in the US illegally where he incited violence against President Trump and worked for Marjorie Traitor Greene,” Loomer wrote on X.

Controversy around Yiannopoulos ballooned in 2017 when he carried out what he called his “Troll Academy Tour” across college campuses nationwide. Fights broke out when some students protested Yiannopoulos’ appearances and accused him of hate speech, while others celebrated him as a champion of free speech. Around that time, Buzzfeed reported on Yiannopoulos’ cozy relationships with self-proclaimed white nationalists.

In recent years, Yiannopoulos continued to work in the orbit of conservative activism. In 2022, he was an intern for former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to the Washington Post. He subsequently ran the short-lived 2024 presidential campaign for Ye. Most recently, Yiannopolous has worked as a spokesperson for Ye, who has been beset by controversy of his own following antisemitic comments that the rapper has since apologized for.

Riddle writes for the Associated Press.

When it comes to romantic comedies, it’s not where it’s going — that’s a foregone conclusion — but how it gets there. The way the central couple navigates the twists, turns, roadblocks and unforced errors that entangle their budding relationship is the beating heart of these films. It’s what sets each one apart and delivers its entertainment value. That’s the test: pass or fail.

Which brings us to “Finding Emily,” a sweet new entry from Working Title Films, the producer of such gold-standard rom-coms as “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually.” It may not be destined for a place alongside those favorites, but “Emily” has a wonky charisma all its own that just might satisfy fans of those British charmers.

Or not.

That’s because the film’s journey, which follows Owen, a struggling musician (Spike Fearn) searching for his vanished dream girl with a hand from a cynical psychology student (Angourie Rice), may not feel quite captivating or propulsive enough to carry its pie-in-the-sky story to its inevitable finale. As someone behind me at the end of the film’s screening said, “Well, that plane took a while to land.” I can’t fully disagree.

Fortunately, the movie, inventively directed by first-time feature helmer Alicia MacDonald, is anchored by a pair of winning performances by Fearn (“Alien: Romulus,” “Ella McCay”) and Rice (2024’s “Mean Girls” musical). Their quirky, endearing moments and oddball chemistry often patch over — or at least divert us from — the contrivances and bits of filler in Rachel Hirons’ busy script.

Owen, who works as a sound engineer at the Manchester City University student union, falls headfirst for an enchanting redhead (wearing fairy wings, no less) named Emily (Sadie Soverall), whom he meets at a party. But when he tries to text her the next day, he realizes the number she gave him is missing a digit. Was that on purpose or an accident?

No matter, Owen is obsessed with finding her, even if he doesn’t know her last name and there are 318 Emilys in the campus directory. A false lead misdirects him to one of those women, Emily Raine (Rice), a psych major writing her thesis on the “self-sabotaging madness” of romance. It’s a theory clearly waiting to be blown to smithereens.

Their meet-cute develops into an offbeat friendship when the “wrong Emily” (is she really?) offers to help lovestruck Owen track down the “right Emily” (is she really?), secretly using him as a real-life case study to nail her dissertation. If she succeeds, the Iowa transplant will be able to secure the work visa she needs to stay in her adopted England.

It’s a device that adds to the character’s urgency, if not her likability. Though in true rom-com fashion, this Emily is appealing in other required ways — and is also adorable. The plot kicks into high gear when, again to fuel her thesis, she deviously provides Owen with a contact list of every Emily in the college database and suggests he mass-email them to locate the elusive, fairy-winged Emily.

This goes all kinds of wrong, setting off a viral brouhaha and turning the hapless Owen into an unwitting pariah. The loud-and-proud gang of Emilys brands him a stalker and a “toxic incel” (as well as the jauntier “Email Guy”). The mania is compounded by Owen’s stab at damage control when he appears on a campus podcast hosted by a savvy button-pusher (Nadia Parkes, pitch-perfect), unaware the show is going out live on video. Oh, and none of this results in a response from his desired Emily.

Amusing and brightly satirical as this turn of events is, it begins to feel more like a tempest in a teapot than the sustainable story engine Hirons was aiming for.

The film hits its predictable highs and lows as the mismatched Owen and Emily get closer and romantic complications mount. The search for “Fairy Emily” yields some anticlimactic results.

Still, there’s a kind of hip, comfort food aspect to the entire enterprise that keeps it an easy, if slightly cluttered and overlong watch. (See plane-landing comment.) MacDonald makes superb use of the story’s Manchester backdrop. The city’s vibrant neighborhoods and residents, along with its dynamic music scene, practically form their own character.

The vivid, at times overly kinetic supporting cast includes Prasanna Puwanarajah as Emily’s egotistical psych professor, Timothy Innes as her oblivious crush and Cora Kirk as her supportive, strong-willed flatmate; Jack Riddiford and Isabella Laughland as Owen’s brother and his better half; and Kat Ronney as a take-no-prisoners student body president — also named Emily. Minnie Driver is sadly underused as the school’s detached dean.

So does “Finding Emily” pass the aforementioned rom-com test? Flaws aside, it’s ultimately a pleasant enough way to beat the heat, grab a few laughs, take in a fine soundtrack and find yourself in some good company. But even if your name happens to be Emily, you won’t be fully swept away.

BRITISH Airways has launched its September sale making it the ideal time to book a holiday to get over the seasons changing.

The September sale started yesterday and will run until September 29, with loads of destinations included.

Travellers can get discounts on British Airways Holidays as well as flights.

For Europe, there are a number of Club Europe (business class) seats in the sale including to the Dutch capital – Amsterdam – which costs from £120 per way.

You could pay the same price and head to Berlin in Germany.

Or if you fancy some last minute Spanish sun, you could head to Ibiza for £120 per way or Madrid for £130 per way.

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Perhaps you want to splash out on a long-haul flight? Well, there are plenty of options.

If you fancy heading off to the US, you could travel to New York from £401 return.

Perhaps you want somewhere sunnier? Then you could go to Los Angeles from £401.

For those who have always wanted to go to Australia, return flights to Melbourne cost from £846 – and the timing couldn’t be better as Australia is due to host some pretty major sporting events.

Alternatively, if you want to see crystal clear waters and white sand beaches you could fly to Barbados from £523 return.

There are some great British Airways Holidays packages in the sale too.

For example, you could head to Barcelona for two nights between November 30 and December 2, staying at the Parador de Cardona with return flights included for £163 per person.

Alternatively, you could go on holiday to the Algarve in Portugal for seven nights at the four-star Alcazar Hotel and Spa from £319 per person.

If you book between now and September 1, British Airways Holidays will offer members of The British Airways Club 20,000 bonus Avios points when booking a holiday as part of the sale.

Andrew Flintham, Managing Director of British Airways Holidays, said: “We know many customers are already thinking about their next break and looking for opportunities to escape the everyday.

“Whether it’s a relaxing beach escape, a cultural city break or an unforgettable far-flung adventure, our September Sale offers great value on flights and holidays across our network.”

When it comes to asking for travel advice, there is nobody better at giving you hints and tricks than cabin crew who travel multiple times a month for their job

A member of British Airways cabin crew has shared one thing she believes everybody should do before they board a plane to make their trip less stressful. When it comes to taking advice from people ahead of travelling, there is nobody better to ask than cabin crew.

With many members of crew doing multiple long and short trips each month, they know all the tips and tricks to make boarding, packing and planning even easier.

This is true for one member of cabin crew who has shared one thing she believes everybody should do before stepping foot on a plane ahead of any holidays.

The member of staff gave people her advice after being asked what her top-tip was for travel on the official British Airways TikTok account.

One of the cabin crew said: “Just screenshot everything. Screenshot your boarding pass. Have a copy of the hotel that you’re going to.

“A photographic copy, so that you have it on your phone, just in case when you land to your destination, and your phone doesn’t have 4G, you actually have a picture of it.”

It’s common for people to struggle to get a signal in a new country due to phones having been on airplane mode for a number of hours and trying to connect to a new local network. The metal cabin of the airplane can also block out cellular radio waves.

Three more members of crew also gave their advice to holidaymakers, with one coming up with a solution for travellers who treat themselves in duty free.

Another member of BA staff said: “I would say as cabin crew, always pack a portable tote bag. You’re always going to need it, and it’s something to put stuff in, and then you’re not lugging a big suitcase around when you’re travelling.”

A third said: “My top travel tip is to bring electrolytes on board. Having electrolytes in your water makes you rehydrated.”

While a fourth added: “My travel top tip would be to have your phones and devices set to automatic before you depart, so that they’re already synced to the local time before you arrive.”

People took the time to comment on the video and share their own experiences with British Airways.

One person said: “My best customer service was with BA. it was a very long time ago, but I had to travel back from Paris to London and I missed my flight, it was the first flight.

“I was so desperate because I had to go to work straight after arriving. The lady offered me a seat on next flight free of charge. I was so happy because I was on budget and I couldn’t afford another flight ticket, perhaps she sensed it. Thank you for the empathy.”

A second said: “Can you pls start flying from London Southend again.”

A third said: “Always have a great experience on BA.”

A contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee has shared an emotional statement after their exit.

A contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee has broken their silence after being forced to leave the competition. The beloved BBC show has returned with its 12th season, with Esme Young and Patrick Grant reprising their roles as judges, whilst comedian Sophie Willan replaced Sara Pascoe as presenter.

The episode airing Tuesday, August 25, saw the remaining amateur sewers “hit all the right notes” for music week, for a place in the quarter-final. In the Pattern Challenge, they paid homage to the original Material Girl, making cone bras inspired by the Jean Paul Gaultier creations Madonna wore in the 1990s.

The Transformation Challenge saw the sewers tested in teams, as they had to use bedroom furnishings to create outfits for two different pop acts. And the theme was DISCO for Made-to-Measure, with the sewers creating outfits inspired by the genre that defined 1970s pop music.

However, sadly, one sewer was forced to leave the competition, with primary school teacher Adele going. She’s now addressed her exit on social media and been supported by a new legion of fans.

The 36-year-old shared: “My incredible Sewing Bee journey has come to an end. What a fantastic experience it has been, with memories I’ll cherish forever. (Watch to the end for my favourite photo EVER!) I have 11 special sewing friends for life! We all supported and looked after each other. Our little Bee family.

“I am so proud that I pushed myself to do it, despite the overwhelming nerves. It’s so terrifying putting yourself out there, but I really wanted to encourage others to give it a go too!

“A huge thank you to my supportive husband Steve, who has encouraged me so much and held the fort at home with the kids, even though I said I’d probably be sent home after the first episode! Also, a big thank you to my mum, who helped look after the kids so I could practice all the made-to-measure last summer.

“Thank you to my beautiful models @amygr.y (Team Ginger!) and the lovely Janvii, who absolutely nailed it and really encouraged me.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d reach episode 7. I only started dressmaking 5 years ago, after being encouraged by the Sewing Bee to start. What a dream come true.”

As part of her post, Adele shared snippets from her Sewing Bee journey, and added: “It’s been the BEST experience of my life. I hope I’ve made everyone at home and my children proud. Believe in yourself and have confidence to chase your dreams. See what magic you can create.”

Adele was showered in support after sharing her post. One follower wrote: “You are amazing, and my son and I have loved watching every moment of you on the Bee and cheering you on. You should be so so proud of yourself.”

The Great British Sewing Bee is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Aug. 25 (UPI) — British authorities said a dozen people have been arrested in an investigation following a weekend crash that killed seven people, including two police officers.

Police in Cleveland, which serves the Teesside area of northeast England, announced the arrests Monday, identifying those detained as nine men and three women between the ages of 19 and 61.

They were detained on a range of offenses, including allegations of participating in organized crime, possession of an offensive weapon and drug-related crimes.

The suspects were detained over the weekend in a wide-scale investigation following a collision early Saturday involving a Volkswagen Passat and a police vehicle on the A66, resulting in the deaths of the five occupants of the Passat and two officers in the police vehicle.

Authorities were initially alerted early Saturday to reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously in Middlesbrough. A Volvo XC60 was reportedly seen ramming properties, while a Volkswagen Passat was believed to be associated with the Volvo. Police said both vehicles were operating with cloned license plates.

Police later spotted the Passat and pursued it for nearly seven minutes before the Passat entered the A66 at South Bank, traveling against traffic, prompting the pursuing police vehicle to end its case.

However, seconds later, at 3:39 a.m. local time, the Passat collided with a second police car, which was traveling in the correct direction, authorities said.

The deceased officers have been identified as Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38. The deceased occupants of the Passat were named as Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Jakub Matusiak and Michael Robert Cahill.

“The events of that tragic night will have a lasting and profound impact on the Cleveland area and the communities we seek to protect,” Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox said Monday in a statement.

Fox said they have a duty to investigate the “serious criminal activity” that led to the fatal crash and bring those responsible to justice, though it was not clear how those detained were involved.

“Our robust response will continue in the weeks and months to come, as we continue to tackle those that seek to cause harm to our communities and tackle serious and organized crime,” Fox said.

In the mixed doubles competition, Britons Henry Patten and Lloyd Glasspool will both seek to beat some of the sport’s biggest stars after coming through two qualifying matches on Monday.

The US Open mixed doubles was controversially revamped last year to include singles stars in a bid to attract more attention to the format.

Under the new format, the top six pairs with the best combined singles rankings received direct entry into the main draw, with another eight receiving wildcards.

The tournament now takes place over three days in the week before the main draw began, and features a shorter scoring system with only four games required to win a set in matches before the final, no ‘advantage’ scoring and 10-point match tie-breaks instead of a third set throughout.

Both Patten and Glasspool had to come through qualifying with their respective partners on Monday.

Patten, a two-time winner of the men’s doubles competition at Wimbledon, and Czech team-mate Katerina Siniakova defeated Americans Peyton Stearns and Christian Harrison in straight sets in their second qualifying match.

Next, Patten and Siniakova – the respective men’s and women’s world number ones in doubles – will take on 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the first round of the main draw.

After defeating El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and France’s Kristina Mladenovic, Glasspool and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe will face 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams and seven-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz will be playing his first match in four months after recovering from a wrist injury, while Williams is making her return to the sport after a four-year absence.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — On his first visit to Ukraine as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised Monday to share Anglo-French long-range cruise missile technology with Kyiv in its fight with Russia, saying Britain would stand with Ukraine until there was “a just and lasting peace.”

Burnham said European defense contractor MBDA would be authorized to declassify blueprints for the parts of the Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles that are made by Britain to help Ukraine build its own version of the weapon that Britain has for the past three years been giving to Kyiv.

The Storm Shadow enables Ukrainian forces to hit targets 150 miles inside Russia.

Burnham said Britain would join forces with France to build production plants in Ukraine following a similar pledge of help by President Emmanuel Macron, who also told Zelensky at the weekend that France would supply Kyiv with more anti-missile interceptors in the wake of a series of deadly ballistic missile strikes.

“On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the U.K. is behind you today and for as long as it takes. I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security,” Burnham said in a statement issued Sunday night.

“The friendship between our two countries will long outlast Russia’s illegal war. In both the fight and in the rebuilding to come, we will stand with Ukraine and deliver opportunities for people across both our countries. Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace,” said Burnham.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov likened the missile plan to pouring gasoline on relations with Russia and warned Britain over “participating in this war” on Ukraine’s side, saying that the Russian military was actively collecting data to uncover and destroy any missile production sites.

“Britain is methodically and regularly adding fuel to the fire and methodically and regularly plotting to prevent any progress in the peace process,” said Peskov.

Burnham’s high-profile, public backing for Zelensky came as he faces challenges both from nightly Russian ballistic missile strikes and to his authority, amid calls for elections which have been suspended for more than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

As well joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Independence Day celebrations in Kyiv, Burnham was also scheduled to chair a meeting of the U.K.-France-led Coalition of the Willing for talks on providing more help to Ukraine.

Established in 2025, the focus of the 34 country plus Ukraine partnership is to provide security guarantees in the event a cease-fire agreement is reached, including providing a multinational force to support and monitor it from day 1, though not necessarily in the format of a traditional peace-keeping force.

The stand by Burnham, coincided with a similar pledge from from Brussels, backed up by a multi-billion dollar package of fresh European Union military aid.

“On Ukraine’s Independence Day, we show our unfaltering support. Today, we approved $7.1 billion for the air and missile defense systems, missiles, ammunition and radars that Ukraine urgently needs. Europe stands with you today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X.

The package is in addition to $18.7 billion already approved by the 27-country bloc, $9.7 billion of which has already been provided to Kyiv.

Three men in a boat on the Thames

One of my best UK holidays was the week I spent in June 2013 rowing from Oxford to London with two friends, James and Tom.

We hired the boat from a company called Thames Skiff Hire that mainly caters to people recreating the fictional adventure of the characters in Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat. Our boat – Ewen – was a 26ft, 130-year-old mahogany skiff. It came with two pairs of oars, a rudder, a cooking stove, a boat hook, and iron hoops that supported a green canvas roof over the hull.

After an hour’s briefing at a slipway by Donnington Bridge, we were off, piloting the boat 80 or so miles downstream to London. That June was blustery and wet. The first day was deceptively fine, but on the second, we got soaked on the stretch of water between Abingdon and Day’s Lock, and came close to packing it in.

Even with the current helping us, the miles ahead seemed like folly. It’s not generally remembered that Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat ends in disappointment and recrimination as the companions abandon their sodden skiff at The Swan in Pangbourne.

But we kept going. And, over the subsequent days, the weather improved, we got better at rowing and it turned into an extraordinary and memorable adventure.

Looking back, the trip appears to have been packed with incident. We visited lovely riverside pubs, brewed tea on uninhabited midstream islands, and popped into a meditation centre run by an ascetic Hindu sect. We passed Medmenham Abbey, the headquarters of Francis Dashwood’s Hellfire Club; Monkey Island, where the doomed romance in Rebecca West’s The Return of the Soldier unfolds; and we moored for lunch one day at the luxurious faux-gothic hotel Oakley Court, immortalised as Frank-N-Furter’s castle in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Logistically, the trip was never entirely straightforward. Although the Thames skiff was designed to be slept in, it was not big enough for three and the rules around wild camping made things more complicated. I also remember feeling a certain anxiety when mooring the boat to go to the pub. We had been instructed to hammer iron spikes into the riverbank and fasten the skiff to them. But it always seemed weird to walk away from this precious antique and assume it would be there when we got back.

Negotiating the locks that regulate the water level of the river was also tricky. Someone had to remain in the skiff with a boat hook and keep it from bumping against the sides as the water poured out of the sluices. And, of course, rowing that distance, even with the current, requires a certain stick-to-it-ness.

Paradoxically, the minor hardships of the trip probably made it more relaxing than a holiday whose explicit goal is relaxation. The overall pace was slow and reflective. And even within commuting distance of our own beds, it always felt as if we were very far from the daily grind. There were stretches of extraordinary tranquillity, deep silences, wonderful birdlife; I still remember the flash of a kingfisher in the willows outside Abingdon.

Other river-users took kindly to us and our venerable skiff. One evening, we were invited for drinks onboard a beautiful narrowboat whose owner we met as we were queueing at a lock.

Our final destination was Walton-on-Thames, but by the time we reached it, we were enjoying ourselves so much we pushed on to Hampton Court before turning the boat round and heading back upriver to return the skiff.

It’s a trip I’ve always meant to repeat. I’ve travelled much further, at much greater expense and had nothing like as much fun.
Marcel Theroux

A birthday break in the Trossachs

“Gravelfoyle,” my cycle-mad partner, Gary, replied instantly when asked where he’d like to go for his birthday. Gravelfoyle is the nickname of the village of Aberfoyle – gateway to the Trossachs, about 50 miles north-west of Edinburgh, and even closer to Glasgow – which claims to have “the UK’s finest gravel riding” and the waymarked trails to prove it.

Growing up in Edinburgh, I spent many happy summers camping in the Cairngorms and roving around Perthshire. This instilled a habit of going north rather than west, so I didn’t know Scotland’s first national park, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, as well.

Off we set, bikes strapped to the car, passing Falkirk’s Kelpies, whose steel heads reared up alongside the M9, imposing Stirling Castle and the Mordor-esque Wallace Monument in the distance. The drive was only 75 minutes, but we stopped en route at The Smiddy farm shop in Blair Drummond (close to the safari park my brother and I went to as kids) to pick up cheese and chorizo scotch eggs, “the best thing we sell”, according to the butcher.

I’d booked a snug-looking glamping pod on the Cardross Estate near Port of Menteith, not far from Aberfoyle. Tucked away down a single-track road flanked by farmland, where kites soar overhead, it’s a slick operation, from the easy self-check-in to the trolleys for wheeling stuff from the car park. Inside the curved, wooden pod was a sofa, pull-down double bed, shower and fridge, with picture windows framing fields speckled with cattle and crops rolling towards Ben Lomond. We could have chosen one of the estate’s self-catering cottages or a B&B stay in Cardross House, but the pod felt like the most decadent way to enjoy the outdoors, especially once the fire pit was roaring and fizz was in hand.

Later that day, we embarked on our first ride, the 18.2-mile (29.2km) Lomond View, one of three Gravelfoyle routes plotted for gravel biking, and a wet and muddy affair after recent rain. Afterwards, at Aberfoyle Bike Co (where you can hire bikes if you don’t bring your own), the owner, Liam, was ready with a hose and hot drinks.

The next day, we hiked out of the nearby town of Callander on the 3.5-mile (5.3km) circular Bracklinn Falls hiking route. Crossing the bridge over the thundering waterfall, we pressed on through thick forest before returning to baguettes oozing generous fillings at Mhor Bread. The afternoon’s downpour gave us a great excuse to nest in our cosy pod, read and, in my case, nap – the indulgence!

That evening, the sun sprang loose, and we chinked glasses in the flower-strewn garden of Scottish chef Nick Nairn’s namesake restaurant, Nick’s at Port of Menteith. Swallows and housemartins swooped as we ate fish and chips and seafood linguine.

Over three days, we biked and hiked various routes alongside lochs and through yawning, forest-clad valleys, ate fabulous, locally produced food, and soaked up the nurturing goodness of being immersed in the wilderness of the national park.
Kirsten Henton

At the edge of north Wales

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve passed through Ynys Môn (Anglesey) over the years, but until recently I’d never actually been there. Ghosting through the darkness to catch the night ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, I had no idea what the island looked like until our daughter suggested an outing while we were visiting her at her student digs in Bangor, across the Menai Strait.

That first time, she took us to Newborough Forest, a nature reserve on the south-west coast of the island made up of Corsican pines, sand dunes and a sweep of beach that offers panoramic views of the peaks of Eryri (Snowdonia) across the bay. We spent the afternoon walking over to the small tidal island of Ynys Llanddwyn, with its lighthouse and the ruined remains of Saint Dwynwen’s church. Saint Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, the equivalent of Saint Valentine. It was love at first sight for us, and we hatched a plan to come back for a longer visit.

On that next visit, we rented a cottage with floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the mountains on the road out of Llanfair – or Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch to give it its proper majestic name – well, how could we not? What we discovered on that stay pretty much chimed with what I had read in HV Morton’s book In Search of Wales, published in 1932: “The long roads run through flat, green country, linking quiet, stone-built little market towns together.”

But it’s at the edges that Ynys Môn comes into its own. On the first day, we walked the Wales Coast Path along the cliffs at Rhoscolyn on Ynys Gybi (Holy Island) in the north – an island off an island with dramatic sea arches – and enjoyed a feeling of apartness, of almost floating out to sea.

On another day, we parked up at the beach at Rhosneigr and again followed the signs for the coast path, walking through the marram grass and gorse on the dunes until we found a sheltered cove to go swimming. Then we drove across the island that at one time was called Môn, Mam Cymru (Anglesey, the Mother of Wales) because it was said to grow all the corn needed to feed the country, to Red Wharf Bay and another sweeping beach at the bottom of a single-track lane. There was no corn on the menu at the Boathouse cafe, but we made do with crab meat crumpets and mussels.

Leafing through HV Morton’s book back at the cottage that night, I came across a line that made me rue the fact that I had rattled through this glorious little island on the boat train on so many occasions, simply seeing it as an embarkation point without ever having had the imagination to jump off and spend a bit of time here: “Holyhead is an excellent place for a holiday … you have bathing, fine cliff scenery, and all round you is excellent flat walking country with a supreme view of the whole Snowdon range.”
Andy Pietrasik

North Yorkshire with 42 pals

Twelve years ago, I was sitting in my son Ned’s primary school playground when I said to my friend Vicky, “I’m thinking of taking a few friends up to Yorkshire.”

“I’m in,” she said.

Word got out, and before I knew it 42 of us were heading to lovely Cote Ghyll Mill, on the edge of the pretty village of Osmotherley. It was a youth hostel in those days, before its recent transformation into a B&B. Ned and I made a giant Welcome to Yorkshire banner and Blu-Tacked handwritten names on to the bedroom doors.

None of us realised that week would become our June tradition, until Covid brought it to a halt.

Brilliantly, my mum and dad took charge one day, leading us on a six-mile circular walk from Grosmont through the fairytale hamlet of Beck Hole, a centre for the traditional game of quoits, and back across the North York Moors.

I remember Mum, ever the feeder in our family, opening the boot of their car to reveal her homemade fruit cake alongside a stack of enormous sandwiches they had collected from Danby Bakery. Dad brought a few short thumbsticks (traditional walking sticks) he’d made for the kids from hazel branches. Florence, now 19, still has hers, and Julie, her mum, now uses it to reach an awkward light switch.

Halfway round was Dad’s favourite pub, the Birch Hall Inn, where his drink of choice was always the same: a bitter shandy. The pub doubles as a sweet shop and we came away clutching paper bags of lemon sherbets, cola cubes and pear drops, all bought by the ounce, while Ned carefully chose Barratt’s liquorice sticks for his grandad, as is tradition.

Part of our walk crossed the North Yorkshire Moors Railway line to Whitby, and, after watching a train steaming past us, we all wanted to take a ride. It is a magical way to see the moors. Every carriage told its own story. Couples were more romantic, kids chatted around the tables, and happy heads hung out of the windows to catch the smell of coal and steam. Eleven-year-old Eleanor caught far too much coal dust in her eye and ended up in A&E in Northallerton. Thankfully, she was fine.

In Whitby, Ned’s pals buried him in the sand on Tate Hill beach. Although we brushed him down and emptied his shoes, he still left a little trail of Whitby all the way back to the station and on to the train.

Our trip wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to my own boozer of choice, the Sun Inn, or Spout House, in Bilsdale. Its infamous cricket field, with a dramatic slope where fielders on the boundary can disappear from view, is where my dad and brother played. Spike W, AKA Prince Harry, is also recorded in the score book.

My old primary school friend Audrey is the landlady now. I used to ride her ponies, her dad was the village milkman, and she somehow makes everyone who walks through the door feel as if they’ve come home.

Audrey laid on a domino tournament and the most amazing Yorkshire platter, with cakes worthy of victory at any country show. Competition was fierce, with some local diehard domino players, mainly farmers, joining in. Harriet, aged just six, beat the lot of them. She burst into tears, while her mum, Steph, cried with laughter.

This year, I casually asked Ned, now 21, “Do you think anyone might fancy going back to Yorkshire?”

“Absolutely, Mum,” he replied.

So we’re going back to Cote Ghyll Mill this month.

I’ve dug out the original Welcome to Yorkshire banner and Harriet, now 18, is fiercely ready to defend her domino title.
Jill Mead

A quick dip into Bristol

Travelling by train from Kent to Bristol on one of the hottest days of the year might have been pretty close to madness. In sweltering heat and amid cancellations and delays, I arrived in the city hot, broken and miserable. Less than an hour later, I was gliding through the water at the city’s lido, smugly thanking myself for booking what may be one of the best summer city hotels in the country.

I was in Bristol for the opening of an exhibition – Polly Braden: Against the Tide – at the brilliant Arnolfini arts centre, which seemed the perfect excuse to visit a city that had somehow eluded me. The Arnolfini is a leading hub for the contemporary arts, housed in a 19th-century warehouse on Narrow Quay beside the harbour, a vibrant area packed with restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as some of the city’s leading tourist attractions, including the aquarium and Brunel’s SS Great Britain.

My base was the Lido Townhouse, a six-bedroom hotel in a Georgian building that opened in 2024 in the city’s sought-after Clifton neighbourhood. Each of the rooms has been done out simply but with fabulous taste, featuring colourful throws, sparkling white bedlinen and jauntily tiled bathrooms.

The real attraction is the lido itself, which dates back to Victorian times and has been restored after falling into disrepair. Open year-round, with the water heated to 20-24C, the pool is flanked by old-fashioned changing cabins on one side and a bar and restaurant on the other, with windows and a terrace that look out over the action. Booking directly with the hotel grants you full access to the lido, which is just a few steps across a (very quiet) road in the hotel’s robes and slippers. In 24 hours, I managed to squeeze in three swims, including one at 9.30pm (it closes at 10pm), emerging to sit in my robe at the bar nursing a glass of amaro. Breakfast the next day out on the deck was equally enjoyable, with coffee and a generous plate of Turkish eggs and coffee.

A colleague and I paid £210 for two double rooms and a shared bathroom on the top floor of the hotel, which, with unlimited swims thrown in and 10% off our food bill, seemed like an excellent deal. The harbour is a 25-minute stroll from the hotel along shop-lined Georgian streets, past picturesque College Green and the cathedral. So, though it was a lightning visit, the city showed its best side. A return trip is on the cards.
Max Benato

Most people, when asked what terrorism is, will say that it is the use of violence and terror to create fear among people. This is broadly the dictionary definition. The 2017 Manchester Arena bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, in which 22 people, including many children, were killed, is a clear example.

Yet the legal definition of terrorism in Britain is far broader than this common understanding. Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows even “damage to property” to constitute terrorism when it is carried out for a political, religious, racial or ideological purpose and is intended to influence the government or intimidate the public. Where firearms or explosives are involved, the latter requirement does not apply.

Including politically motivated damage to property within the definition was controversial from the start. When Parliament debated the bill in 1999, animal liberation activists were among the groups MPs had in mind.

Labour MP Alan Simpson warned during the debate that by defining attacks on property as terrorism, “we transform the relationship between civil protest movements and elected Parliaments and the judicial system.”

The criticism did not end with Parliament. The Supreme Court later described Section 1’s definition of terrorism as “very far-reaching”, while David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, called it “remarkably broad – absurdly so in some cases”.

In his 2012 report, Anderson observed:

“The current law allows members of any nationalist or separatist group to be turned into terrorists by virtue of their participation in a lawful armed conflict… however odious the regime which they have attacked.”

In his 2014 Terrorism Report, he warned:

“To render people subject to the terrorism laws whom no sensible person would think of as terrorists risks destroying the trust upon which these special powers depend for their acceptance by the public.”

Yet defining what can count as terrorism is only part of the story. Not every organisation whose conduct falls within that definition is proscribed. That decision rests with the government.

Proscription therefore adds a political choice: Which organisations should be banned, making membership and inviting support for them criminal offences.

For example, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish group that has fought the Turkish state for decades, is proscribed in Britain. Its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), is not, because PYD-led forces became Western allies in the fight against ISIS (ISIL).

Britain proscribed Hamas’s military wing in 2001. In 2021, Home Secretary Priti Patel extended that proscription to Hamas in its entirety, including its political wing, declaring the previous distinction between the two “artificial”. Many civilian members of Hamas who had never picked up a gun were now deemed terrorists alongside its fighters.

By collapsing the distinction between Hamas’s military and political wings, Britain legitimised Israel’s portrayal of Hamas’s civilian administration as part of a terrorist apparatus and, with it, the targeting of hospitals and schools as terrorist infrastructure.

The asymmetry is stark. Britain’s terrorism laws can criminalise non-state organisations and those who support them, while state terrorism, including Israel’s, remains outside their reach.

The proscription of Palestine Action brought a different consequence of these laws into focus: Their use against protest in Britain. Palestine Action is a British direct-action group that has targeted arms companies supplying Israel. In July 2025, the government proscribed it under the Terrorism Act 2000.

United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk warned that the decision to proscribe Palestine Action “raises serious concerns that counter-terrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist”.

The ban has been fiercely contested in the courts. In February 2026, the Divisional Court ruled the proscription unlawful. On June 15, the Court of Appeal reversed that decision and upheld the ban. The court also described Elbit as carrying out a “lawful business”, ignoring its role in supplying the Israeli military during the genocide.

In upholding the ban, Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr drew a contrast with the Suffragettes, saying Palestine Action was not “a direct action civil disobedience protest group like the Suffragettes operating transparently in the open” but “a covert group operating in cells”.

Carr’s characterisation rests on an extraordinarily sanitised version of suffragette history.

In November 1909, a suffragette attacked Winston Churchill with a horse whip. In the same month, suffragettes, armed with a catapult and missiles, attacked Prime Minister H. H. Asquith’s car in Liverpool.

In 1912, Suffragettes attempted to set fire to the Theatre Royal in Dublin during a matinee attended by Asquith. They left a canister of gunpowder close to the stage. Earlier in the day, Mary Leigh had hurled a hatchet towards Asquith.

In 1913, four postmen in Dundee were severely injured by phosphorus chemicals left in post boxes. The following year, Mary Richardson slashed the Rokeby Venus in the National Gallery, while bombs were discovered in St Paul’s and churches were burned down.

This history sits uneasily with Carr’s distinction. The Suffragettes themselves engaged in politically motivated attacks on property and people of precisely the kind that Britain’s modern definition of terrorism is broad enough to capture.

The Filton case shows what this can mean in practice. When the Filton 25 attacked an Elbit factory in Bristol, they were remanded in custody for up to 18 months. When six of them went on trial in November 2025, the jury acquitted them of aggravated burglary, the most serious charge, and failed to reach verdicts on criminal damage. No defendant was convicted at that first trial. At a retrial, four were convicted of criminal damage; only one was eventually convicted of grievous bodily harm, without intent.

The jury was not told that guilty verdicts could later lead to the offences being treated as having a “terrorist connection” for sentencing. Justice Jeremy Johnson subsequently made precisely that finding. Johnson had also ruled out defences based on necessity and the need to prevent the greater crime of genocide. In doing so, he usurped the role of the jury.

The consequences of the ban were not confined to those accused of taking direct action against Elbit. Once Palestine Action was proscribed, inviting or expressing support for the group became a terrorism offence.

When the government proscribed Palestine Action, people defied the ban. Nearly 4,000 people have been arrested for holding placards supporting Palestine Action.

The Home Office reported that in the year ending March 2026, there were 3,061 terrorism-related arrests, 2,819 of them linked to suspected support for Palestine Action. The average age of those arrested in connection with Palestine Action was 59, compared with 31 for all other terrorism-related arrests. A majority of the Palestine Action arrests were women.

The profile of Britain’s average “terrorist” changed from a man aged 31 to a woman aged 59.

This is where Britain’s extraordinarily broad definition of terrorism, combined with the government’s power to proscribe organisations, has led. Conduct once understood as protest and political expression can now be prosecuted under terrorism legislation.

As Orwell wrote, “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” When the meaning of “terrorism” is stretched far enough, the extraordinary powers attached to that word stretch with it.

Today, my own trial begins. I am accused of inviting support for Hamas. My prosecution is not separate from the story told here. It is where that story leads.

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