dangerous

Oct. 19 (UPI) — As protesters marched against the Trump administration on Saturday, Vice President JD Vance took the stage at an event and live artillery demonstration at Camp Pendleton in California, honoring the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The spectacle was criticized as a “dangerous” show of force by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous. Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength — it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office he holds,” Newsom said in a statement. “Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.”

Vance, a former Marine who served in Iraq, delivered a speech in which he attacked Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown and previous diversity initiatives in the military.

He also promised that service members would be paid during the shutdown as hundreds of thousands of other federal workers go without paychecks.

“I know we’re here to talk about the Marine Corps. But I have got to get just a little political,” Vance said during his speech. “Because congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the government shut down even though it would mean that a lot of you would not get your paycheck.”

The demonstration was reported to have been the largest in the United States in a decade and showcased fighter jets, the Naval fleet and live fire from M777 howitzers over a major interstate freeway.

Newsom’s office said in the statement that California officials were recently notified that the White House intended to fire live artillery rounds but were assured on Thursday by Marine Corps officials that they would not be fired over Interstate 5.

“That afternoon, the federal government also directed cancellation of train services, which run parallel to the I-5, on Saturday between Orange County-San Diego County,” Newsom’s office said in the statement.

“Late on Friday, the state then received notice from event organizers asking for CalTrans signage to be posted along the I-5 freeway that would read: ‘Overhead fire in progress.'”

Newsom’s office said California officials then asked the federal government for additional details about the event and were told that the live fire activities would take place.

His office said he closed the freeway to traffic during the demonstration.

“If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead,” William Martin, Vance’s communications director, told CNN. “It would come as no surprise that he would stoop so low, considering his pathetic track record of failure as governor.”

Sept. 30 (UPI) — Forecasters early Wednesday were warning of dangerous surf and “life-threatening” rip currents at beaches of the northern Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and much of the U.S. East Coast as Hurricane Humberto continued its way north across the Atlantic.

With maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, Humberto remained a Category 1 hurricane as of 5 a.m. AST Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said in its morning update.

The storm was located about 280 miles north-northwest of Bermuda and was moving northeast at 14 mph, the NHC said.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect, though forecasters continued to warn that its swells could persist for the next few days.

It is expected to move faster toward the east-northeast over Wednesday and remain “a powerful cyclone” until Humberto merges with a developing frontal boundary Wednesday night.

Humberto is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic season and became the season’s third hurricane on Friday morning.

Ever wondered why there’s specific times during your air travel when you can’t use the toilet on-board? Now pilot Steve revealed the ‘dangerous’ reason behind it…

It can be frustrating to sit strapped to your seat on the plane then all of a sudden, nature calls. There are secret areas passengers aren’t allowed anywhere near, but the toilet, surely not?

But if you’re a regular air traveller, you kind of know the deal by now. The cabin crew talk you through the safety, then you’re asked to fasten your seatbelt. This might all be familiar to many, but occasionally what happens is, we need to use the loo. Now one pilot revealed the ‘dangerous’ reason this is not always allowed in a post which went viral on TikTok.

American Airlines captain Steve, who boasts 401,000 followers on the platform, has been doing a Q&A series with his many fans.

Recently one person asked: “Why can’t I pee while the plane is stationary on the ground?”

The pilot explained the reason and it’s mainly because if one person does it, everyone follows…

He said: “Well, LAX tie 23, because if you get up to go to the bathroom, then everybody else is going to get up and go to the bathroom.

“And we’re taxiing on an active runway or taxiway and one of the most dangerous times of flights is actually during taxiing, because if I have to hit the brakes and you’re standing up in the aisle, you’re going to fall.

“You’re going to hit your head on something. If you’re in the bathroom, good things are not going to happen in there.

“Have I had people get up and have to go use the bathroom? Yes, sometimes nature calls and you can’t hold it off anymore.”

He also explained how the pilot would usually have to stop until the traveller comes out of the bathroom and returns to their seat.

“It holds up the entire airport. It’s really a hassle when that happens,” he concluded.

Further on in the video, the pilot then began discussing safety briefings and making jokes with colleagues.

But since he shared the information on the toilet trouble, many people fled to the comments section as the post racked up nearly 2,900 likes.

One said: “Thank you for your wonderful, informative post!” Another added: “I’ll admit I’ve done that before… I was on a Southwest flight and we were holding before the runway and I had to pee…”

A third commented: “Take it from an FA. That’s so true.”

Kim Jo Yong says the upcoming drills ‘will undoubtedly bring about negative consequences’ for Seoul and its allies.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister has condemned upcoming joint military exercises between the United States, Japan and South Korea, calling them “dangerous” and a “reckless show of strength”.

The comments by Kim Yo Jong, published by state media on Sunday, come a day before Seoul and its allies begin drills combining naval, air and missile defence exercises off South Korea’s Jeju Island.

The drills, called the “Freedom Edge”, will last through Friday.

Kim Yo Jong, who is vice department director of the North Korean governing party’s central committee, slammed the drills as a “dangerous idea”.

“This reminds us that the reckless display of power displayed by the US, Japan, and South Korea in the wrong places, namely around the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, will undoubtedly bring about negative consequences for themselves,” Kim Yo Jong said, using the official name for North Korea.

The statement follows a visit by her brother to weapons research facilities this week, where he said Pyongyang “would put forward the policy of simultaneously pushing forward the building of nuclear forces and conventional armed forces”.

North Korea perceives the trilateral drills as “scenarios for limited or full-scale nuclear strikes and attempts to neutralise its launch platforms”, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the AFP news agency.

“The North is likely using the allied exercises as a pretext to push ahead with nuclear modernisation and conventional upgrades,” he added.

Aside from the trilateral exercises, the US and South Korea also plan to stage the “Iron Mace” tabletop exercises next week on integrating their conventional and nuclear capabilities against North Korea’s threats, South Korean local media reported.

South Korea hosts about 28,500 American soldiers in its territory.

“Iron Mace” will be the first such drills taking place under US President Donald Trump and newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who have expressed willingness to resume dialogue with North Korea.

If “hostile forces” continue to boast about their power through those joint drills, North Korea will take countermeasures “more clearly and strongly”, North Korea’s top party official Pak Jong Chon said in a separate dispatch via the state news agency KCNA.

Since a failed summit with the US in 2019 on denuclearisation, North Korea has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons and declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.

Kim Jong Un has been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow.

Moscow and Pyongyang signed a mutual defence pact last year when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the reclusive state.

Almost one million tourists a year flock to the stunning – but deadly – tourist trap

An abandoned mine has been transformed into a glittering but deadly tourist trap in China. The stunning – but terrifying – former mine and includes death drops at the foot of beds, roaring water fountains and gaping canyons.

The majority of the fairytale town is built into the sides of cliffs, with Wangxian Valley was described as “the most dangerous tourist destination in the world” by one X user.

Now, this rocky death trap pulls in almost one million visitors a year, according to China Discovery. Nestled in Shangrao , in the Jiangxi Province, the quarry that fell into disrepair in 1969 has now been overhauled into a tourism superstructure.

It is surrounded by ancient Buddhist villages and farms, bordered by the Ling Mountain. Its name means “Gazing at Immortals” and legend says in ancient times, “Hu Zuyu ascended to the Immortal Palace”, marking the area as a land of outstanding natural beauty and spirituality.

Blanketed by centuries old forests, the valley is dotted with bright streams, which you can now white water raft in. A stand out is the Wangxian Waterfall which creates its own localised fog with the force of its waters., whereas the serene Sanqing Waterfall is more gentle, complete with quaint mossy rocks.

There is also the fantastical Odd Rock Pool, which is made up of a plethora of quirky and unusually shaped rocks. At night, the cliff side transforms into a stunning light show, with it lit up by a network of warm yellow lights.

If you stay at the White Crane Cliff hotel, which has 12 glass-walled guest rooms, you can read a book with a head-spinning view in their cliff-side library, perched 110 meters above the valley floor. The cobblestone streets such as Baiwei Street, Rock Plaza and the ancient Yang Mansion house reconstructions of ancient Chinese buildings, offering a glimpse into architecture of a bygone era.

If you are more of an activity person, you can trek through a path that follows the valley’s collection of waterfalls. and if you fancy something that will raise your heart rate a little more, you can take a stroll down the breathtaking Cliffside Walkway, a terrifying 388-meter adventure along canyon walls, with 100 meters of vertical drop.

For the truly daring there is also a 50-meter Glass Walkway. Whilst you may rest assured the 28mm thick glass floor will support you, your mind may also be soothed as the glass has been made slightly opaque.

You can also raft in a thrilling 2.8km journey down the river through 185-meter canyon walls. The trip lasts about an hour after a half-an-hour walk up to the launch point

If you’re more interested in trying local food, Wangxian Tofu is a delicious and unique dish made from soybeans grown at an altitude of over 200 meters.

The tofu is prepared using mountain spring water. The Yuyu dumplings consist of a pork filling encased in chewy wrapper made from taro and tapioca starch and the Dengzhan Guo is a lantern-like structure made from filled with shiitake mushrooms, pork, soybean sprouts, and bamboo shoots.

Each evening the streets are filled with performances, folk music and traditional cultural experiences, ending with their famous fire show and bonfire party.

A man who relocated to Benidorm from the UK has shared three ‘dangerous situations’ he has found himself in since the move, and issued some advice to those planning to visit

A man who has “lived in Benidorm for at least seven or eight years” has shared three hair-raising moments that made him question his decision to move, and whether he should hotfoot it back to the UK.

Harry, known as @harrytokky on TikTok, regularly posts about his life in Benidorm – and recently shared the “most dangerous slash scariest situations” he’s found himself in while living in the Spanish party hotspot. However, he did admit that these things could definitely happen in other places and he said he wasn’t trying to put anybody off visiting Benidorm, as he loves his life there.

Almost being hit by a bus

“Yes, you heard, ran over,” Harry elaborated. He went on: “It was one of these back roads here in Benidorm where people drive at mental speeds, and to be honest, they were so close to hitting me.

“I literally had to run out of the way of the road, it was awful,” he said.

Unexpected police search

Harry recounted how he’d been stopped by police, and they “literally said random search” to him. He alleged they were looking for “the naughty stuff,” which Harry insisted he “didn’t have.”

“They did a full-on search on the side of the road here in Benidorm. I honestly thought they were going to handcuff me, chuck me in the back of a car and throw away the key,” Harry claimed.

Nearly being robbed

“This is definitely number one by far,” Harry divulged, explaining: “I was walking down one of the back alleys […] from the beach to the main road and a guy came up to me, shook my hand, twisted my arm around my back and all of this”.

He described the incident as an attempt to “rob” him of his possessions, labelling it as the “worst experience,” that would leave anyone rattled.

However, he clarified that his intention wasn’t to “scare anyone off Benidorm,” but rather to arm people with the awareness that such incidents can occur, enabling them to take precautions.

“Stuff like this does happen everywhere in the world,” Harry emphasised. “But because I live here, it’s happened to me, and I wanted to speak about it.”

Responding to a comment suggesting he’d led a “crazy life” in Benidorm, Harry added: “I know right, super crazy”.

Despite the incident, Harry highlighted some of the benefits of living in Benidorm – including the cheap McDonald’s.

As he sat outside, he announced: “And just like that, the food has arrived. Now you will not believe how cheap this was. We’ve got two meals here. Guess how much this costs? €11 (£9.53)”.

Harry went on to detail the contents of the meal, which included two portions of fries, two burgers, two drinks, and a side of chicken nuggets.

He enthused: “I mean, €11? What do you think guys? I think that’s an absolute bargain, let’s be honest. €11? In the UK, that’d probably be at least £20.”

A large Big Mac meal in the UK typically costs around £7.69, depending on location, while six chicken nuggets are priced at approximately £3.49.

IT was 1984 and newly qualified doctor Daniel Drucker was excited to dive into the world of ­scientific research.

Fresh out of the University of Toronto Medical School, the 28-year-old was working at a lab in Boston in the US when his supervisor asked him to carry out a routine experiment — which proved to be anything but.

5

5

For it led to Dr Drucker’s discovery of a previously unknown hormone, sparking a new era in medicine.

What he modestly calls a “happy accident” then kick-started a series of ­discoveries that made today’s game-changing weight loss jabs a reality.

The hormone was called glucagon-like peptide 1 — or GLP-1, as the world now knows it.

And the drugs that have resulted from its discovery have produced amazing effects — with users losing up to a fifth of their body weight.

So far around 50,000 of us have been prescribed jabs on the NHS for weight loss, but it is ­estimated around 1.5million people here are buying them privately — a figure that is expected to rise sharply.

Dr Drucker, now 69, tells The Sun: “I never felt like I was on the brink of something huge.

“It was just a fantastic stroke of luck to be in the right place at the right time and to be part of an ­innovation that could improve the health of hundreds of millions of people all over the world.”

The drugs are now being hailed as a possible cure for a range of other conditions too, including dementia and migraine.

But Dr Drucker warns: “We need to be cautious, respect what we don’t know, and not rush into thinking these medicines are right for everyone.

‘Full of hope’

“There could be side-effects we haven’t seen yet, especially in groups we haven’t properly studied.”

Some studies have also raised concerns about gallbladder problems and in rare cases, even ­suicidal thoughts.

GLP-1 was found to play a key role in regulating the appetite and blood sugar levels, by slowing digestion and signalling a feeling of fullness to the brain.

Fat jabs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy contain synthetic versions of GLP-1, tirzepatide and semaglutide, which mimic the natural hormone with astonishing, fat-busting results.

Originally these drugs — known as GLP-1 agonists — were licensed to treat Type 2 diabetes, due to their ability to stimulate the body’s production of insulin, which cuts high blood glucose levels.

But over the past 15 years, after studies ­confirmed the potential to tackle obesity, pharmaceutical firms have reapplied to have the drugs approved as weight loss treatments.

And now evidence is emerging almost daily to suggest these drugs could help treat and even prevent other chronic and degenerative diseases.

Hundreds of scientific trials are under way, and Dr Drucker is “full of hope”, adding that he would consider taking the drugs himself, to ward off ­Alzheimer’s disease.

He says: “I think the next five years is going to be massive. These drugs won’t fix everything, but if they help even half the ­conditions we are testing them for, we could finally find ­treatments for conditions once thought untreatable.”

Decades after his discovery, Dr Drucker is now a professor of ­medicine at the University of Toronto, and a senior investigator at the affiliated Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, where GLP-1 research now fills his life.

He says: “Every morning I turn on my phone and check what’s happened overnight — what new ­discovery has been made, what could this hormone cure or treat.”

Even so, in May UK health chiefs warned that the jabs must not be taken during pregnancy or in the two months before conception, after studies of animals found that semaglutide can cause ­pregnancy loss and birth defects.

But with human use, no such ­danger has been ­confirmed, Dr Drucker says, and dozens of women have ­conceived while taking them.

5

5

Some scientists even believe GLP-1 drugs may boost ­fertility, and could become a go-to for infertility treatment.

Dr Drucker, listed in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024, says: “It wouldn’t surprise me if five years from now, once we have more clinical trial evidence, if we start recommending these medicines to help people get pregnant, and have safer pregnancies.”

It is exciting stuff, but Dr Drucker admits he also worries about people using the drugs for the wrong ­reasons — such as slim, young women in pursuit of unrealistic beauty ideals on social media.

He says: “If I’ve got a 17-year-old who wants to lose another five per cent of her body weight to look like some celebrity, that’s a real concern.

“We haven’t studied 10,000 teenage girls on these drugs over five years. We don’t know how they affect bones, fertility, mental health or development in the long term.”

Last year model Lottie Moss, sister of supermodel Kate, revealed she had ended up in hospital after a seizure linked to high doses of weight loss drug Ozempic.

I think the next five years will be massive. These drugs won’t fix everything, but if they help even half the conditions we are testing for, we could find treatments for conditions thought untreatable

Dr Daniel Drucker

A nurse told her the dose she had been injecting was meant for someone twice her size.

Dr Drucker warned that older adults, people with eating disorders and those with mental health ­conditions may respond differently to the drugs.

He says: “We’re still ­learning, and just because a medicine works well in one group doesn’t mean it is safe for everyone.”

One of the biggest risks is dehydration, which OnlyFans star Lottie blamed for her seizure.

Dr Drucker says: “Some people experience nausea and vomiting, which can lead to dehydration, and that in itself can be dangerous.”
He also warns that losing weight too quickly can reduce muscle mass and bone density, which is especially risky for older people.

He adds: “This is why it is important people only take these drugs when being monitored by medical professionals, so they can be properly assessed for side-effects and receive the safest, most effective care.”

5

So far at least 85 people in the UK have died after taking weight loss jabs, according to reports sent to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency watchdog.

While none of the deaths has been definitively linked to the drugs, health bodies noted a “suspicion” that they may have played a role.

Dr Drucker says: “Reports like these can raise flags, but without proper comparison groups they don’t tell the full story.

‘Drugs aren’t candy’

“In fact, large trials show GLP-1 drugs actually reduce death rates in people with Type 2 diabetes and those with obesity and heart disease.

“So far, the evidence looks solid and reassuring.”

With millions of patients treated over the years, GLP-1s have a well-established safety record for diabetes and obesity.

But Dr Drucker warns that for newer uses, such as ­Alzheimer’s, fatty liver disease or sleep apnoea, we need more data.

He says: “I don’t think there are any hidden, terrifying side-effects waiting to be uncovered.

“But that doesn’t mean people should take them lightly. We don’t yet have 20 years of experience ­treating some of these ­conditions.

“We need to approach each new indication with appropriate caution, to really understand the benefits ­versus the potential risks.

“These drugs aren’t candy, they won’t fix everything — and like all medicines they have side-effects.

“I don’t think we should abandon our focus on safety. We need to move carefully and thoughtfully as this field evolves.”

I’m not struggling with Type 2 diabetes or obesity, but I do have a family history of ­Alzheimer’s. I’m watching the trials closely and, depending on the results, I wouldn’t rule out taking them in the future

Dr Daniel Drucker

He continues: “I’m not struggling with Type 2 diabetes or obesity, but I do have a family history of ­Alzheimer’s. I’m watching the trials closely and, depending on the results, I wouldn’t rule out taking them in the future.

“I have friends from college who are already showing early signs of cognitive decline, and there’s hope that in some cases, ­semaglutide might help to slow it.”

Several studies over the years ­support that theory.

A recent study by a US university found that the jabs could prevent Alzheimer’s-related changes in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Separate research from Taiwan found that people on GLP-1 agonist drugs appeared to have a 37 per cent lower risk of dementia.

Dr Drucker now regularly receives messages from people around the world whose lives have been changed by the drugs his lab helped to create.

He says: “I get tons of stories. ­People send me emails and photos, not just showing their weight loss, but how their health has changed in other ways too.”

Some say the jabs have helped their chronic pain, cleared brain fog or improved long-standing health conditions such as ulcerative colitis or arthritis.

Dr Drucker adds: “It’s incredibly heartwarming and I never get tired of hearing these stories.”

But for him there is even deeper meaning attached to his discovery.

His 97-year-old mother Cila, ­originally from Poland, survived the Holocaust, spending months as a child hiding in the family’s attic before they were captured and held in a ghetto, where her mother and sister were later shot dead.

At the end of the war in 1945 she became a refugee in Palestine, then in 1953 she emigrated to Canada, first settling in Montreal then making Toronto her home in the 1990s.

Dr Drucker says his work has helped to ease Cila’s survivor’s guilt which had consumed her for decades.

He says: “She looks at my work and she’s so proud of how many people it could potentially help.”

President Trump declared Tuesday that federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., should seek the death penalty for murders committed in the capital, claiming without explanation that “we have no choice.”

“That’s a very strong preventative,” he said of his decision. “I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have it.”

Trump’s pronouncement is about much more than deterring killings, though. With speed and brazenness, Trump seems intent on creating a new, federal arrest and detention system outside of existing norms, aimed at everyday citizens and controlled by his whims. The death penalty is part of it, but stomping on civil rights is at the heart of it — ruthlessly exploiting anxiety about crime to aim repression at whatever displeases him, from immigration protesters to murderers.

This administration “is using the words of crime and criminals to get themselves a permission structure to erode civil rights and due processes across our criminal, legal and immigration systems in ways that I think should have everyone alarmed,” Rena Karefa-Johnson told me. She’s a former public defender who now works with Fwd.us, a bipartisan criminal justice advocacy group.

Authoritarians love the death penalty, and have long used it to repress not crime, but dissent. It is, after all, both the ultimate power and the ultimate fear, that the ruler of the state holds the lives of his people in his hands.

Though we are far from such atrocities, Spain’s purge of “communists” and other dissenters under Francisco Franco, Rodrigo Duterte’s extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers in the Philippines (though the death penalty remains illegal there) and the routine executions, even of journalists, under the repressive rulers in Saudi Arabia are chilling examples.

What each of those regimes shares in common with this moment in America is the rhetoric of making a better society — often by purging perceived threats to order — even if that requires force, or the loss of rights.

Suddenly, violent criminals become no different than petty criminals, and petty criminals become no different than immigrants or protesters. They are all a threat to a nostalgic lost glory of the homeland that must be restored at any cost, animals that only understand force.

“We have no choice.”

The result is that the people become, if not accustomed to masked agents and the military on our streets, too scared to protest it, fearful they will become the criminal target, the hunted animal.

Already, the National Guard in D.C. is carrying live weapons. With great respect to the women and men who serve in the Guard, and who no doubt individually serve with honor, they are not trained for domestic law enforcement. Forget the legalities, the Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act, which should prevent troops from policing American citizens, and does prevent them from making arrests.

Who do we want these soldiers to shoot? Who have they been told to shoot? A kid with a can of spray paint? A pickpocket? A drug dealer? A flag burner? A sandwich thrower?

We don’t even know what their orders are. What choices they will have to make.

But we do know that police do not walk around openly holding their guns, and certainly do not stroll with rifles. For civilian law enforcement, their guns are defensive weapons, and they are trained to use them as such.

Few walking by these troops, even the most law abiding, can fail to feel the power of those weapons at the ready. It is a visceral knowledge that to provoke them could mean death. That is a powerful form of repression, meant to stop dissent through fear of repercussion.

It is a power that Trump is building on multiple fronts. After declaring his “crime emergency” in D.C., Trump mandated a serious change in the mission of the National Guard.

President Trump with members of law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington on Aug. 21, 2025.

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

He ordered every state to train soldiers on “quelling civil disturbances,” and to have soldiers ready to rapidly mobilize in case of protests. That same executive order also creates a National Guard force ready to deploy nationwide at the president’s command — presumably taking away states’ rights to decide when to utilize their troops, as happened in California.

Trump has already announced his intention to send them to Chicago, called Baltimore a “hellhole” that also may be in need and falsely claimed that, “in California, you would’ve not had the Olympics had I not sent in the troops” because “there wouldn’t be anything left” without their intervention.

Retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, a former acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, told ABC that “the administration is trying to desensitize the American people to get used to American armed soldiers in combat vehicles patrolling the streets of America. “

Manner called the move “extremely disturbing.”

Add to that Trump’s desire to imprison opponents. In recent days, the FBI raided the home of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, a Republican who has criticized Trump, especially on his policy toward Ukraine. Then Trump attempted to fire Lisa D. Cook, a Biden appointee to the Federal Reserve board, after accusing her of mortgage fraud in another apparent attempt to bend that independent agency to his will on the economy.

On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that progressive billionaire George Soros and his son Alex should be charged under federal racketeering laws for “their support of Violent Protests.”

“We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to “BREATHE,” and be FREE,” Trump wrote. “Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!”

Consider yourselves threatened, West Coast friends.

But of course, we are already living under that thunder. Dozens of average citizens are facing serious charges in places including Los Angeles for their participation in immigration protests.

Whether they are found guilty or not, their lives are upended by the anxiety and expense of facing such prosecutions. And thousands are being rounded up and deported, at times seemingly grabbed solely for the color of their skin, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arguably the most Trump-loyal law enforcement agency, sees its budget balloon to $45 billion, enough to keep 100,000 people detained at a time.

Despite Trump’s maelstrom of dread-inducing moves, resistance is alive, well and far from futile.

A new Quinnipiac University national poll found that 56% of voters disapprove of the National Guard being deployed in D.C.

This week, the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. for a second time failed to convince a grand jury to indict a man who threw a submarine sandwich at federal officers — proof that average citizens not only are sane, but willing to stand up for what is right.

That comes after a grand jury three times rejected the same kind of charge against a woman who was arrested after being shoved against a wall by an immigration agent.

Californians will decide this in November whether to redraw their electoral maps to put more Democrats in Congress. Latino leaders in Chicago are protesting possible troops there. People are refusing to allow fear to define their actions.

Turns out, we do have a choice.

In the seven months since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Wall Street’s major stock indexes have been taken on quite the ride.

The president’s unveiling of his tariff and trade policy on April 2 spawned the fifth-biggest two-day percentage decline in the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.52%) in 75 years, as well as hurled the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.88%) into a full-fledged (but ultimately short-lived) bear market.

This sharp downturn was followed by Donald Trump announcing a 90-day pause on higher “reciprocal tariff rates” on April 9. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.89%) responded by logging their largest single-session point increases in history with this announcement and have been in a seemingly unstoppable rally ever since.

President Trump delivering his State of the Union address. Image source: Official White House Photo.

But tariffs represent just one of the ways the Trump administration can potentially influence equities on Wall Street.

According to reports and recent statements made by a member of Trump’s cabinet, the federal government is pondering equity stakes in some of the world’s leading semiconductor companies, including Intel (INTC 5.64%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 2.58%) (commonly known as “TSMC”), Micron Technology (MU 1.82%), and Samsung Electronics (SSNL.F 9.01%). While the rationale behind this idea might be intriguing on paper, it runs the risk of setting a dangerous precedent on Wall Street.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick proposes converting CHIPS Act grants into equity

Before diving further into the proposed details, some background is sorely needed.

Three years ago, in August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act (commonly known as the “CHIPS Act”) into law. This law authorizes grants from the federal government to encourage the domestic manufacture of semiconductor chips, as well as to promote biotechnology and clean-energy technology innovation within the U.S. More than $52 billion was set aside by the CHIPS Act to support the construction and/or expansion of chip fabrication plants in the U.S., as well as advanced semiconductor research and development.

During President Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in March, he referred to the CHIPS Act as a “horrible, horrible thing,” and encouraged lawmakers at the time to defund the program. But his tune may have changed, courtesy of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Lutnick laid out something of a take-it-or-leave-it style proposal that would convert CHIPS Act grants into stock equity for the federal government. Said Lutnick:

The Biden administration literally was giving Intel for free, and giving TSMC money for free, and all these companies just giving them money for free. Donald Trump turns that into saying, “Hey, we want equity for the money. If we’re going to give you money, we want a piece of the action.”

Lutnick clarified his statements by noting that these equity stakes wouldn’t provide the U.S. government with any voting power in these businesses. Instead, it would be all about the American people getting a stake in the businesses U.S. funds are supporting.

Trump has reportedly favored the idea of the U.S. government being given equity stakes in exchange for CHIPS Act funds, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind.-VT) also voicing his support for such a move. “Taxpayers should not be providing billons of dollars in corporate welfare to large, profitable corporations like Intel without getting anything in return,” extolled Sanders.

If this proposal were to move forward, the Trump administration would take up to a 10% stake in Intel, valued at roughly $10.9 billion. Multibillion-dollar stakes would also be made in TSMC, Micron, and Samsung.

Image source: Getty Images.

Government ownership of stocks can be a slippery slope

Though there’s a logical argument to be found in the Trump administration’s proposal to transform these grants into equity stakes, there are also reasons for concern.

Looking to the past as a predictor of the future, there have been previous instances where the federal government took equity stakes in public companies. However, these prior occurrences correlate with periods of historic economic instability.

For instance, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) gave the federal government the green light to take equity stakes in struggling financial institutions during the Great Recession. Additionally, select airline companies issued stock warrants to the U.S. Treasury during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 as partial compensation for the financial assistance they received. Equity stakes on a for-profit basis, as proposed by Lutnick, would be a new and potentially dangerous precedent.

Although the Commerce Secretary told viewers these would be nonvoting equity stakes, the Trump administration nevertheless passes the laws and fiscal policy that can directly impact chip manufacturers. While the federal government might not be voting on executive compensation packages, it’ll have a direct and undeniable influence on the stock(s) it owns. This is effectively the same debate of whether members of Congress should be able to own individual stocks while passing laws that directly impact said stocks… just taken to another level.

For example, a solid argument can be made that President Donald Trump’s tariff and trade policy is far more powerful than a 10% voting share in Intel, or a single-digit percentage voting share in TSMC, Micron, or Samsung. Pardon the necessary pun, but Trump has previously used chip companies, including Nvidia, as bargaining chips to negotiate trade deals. There would be nothing to stop the president or members of his administration from using these bargaining tools to influence corporate strategy and decision-making.

Furthermore, adjusting the funding strategy for the CHIPS Act three years after its passage might encourage chip fabricators to keep their distance from the U.S. government. While subsidies of $6.6 billion, $6.2 billion, and $4.75 billion were awarded to TSMC, Micron, and Samsung, respectively, in 2024, none of these three companies necessarily need this funding to build/expand their chip fabrication presence on U.S. soil. If they had known that an equity stipulation was a possibility, they may not have agreed to a dime in funding.

Even Intel, which has struggled mightily under the weight of increasing competition and the high costs of organically building out its foundry division, may not have opted for government funding if it would have resulted in a forced equity stake. Over the trailing-12-month period, Intel has generated more than $10 billion in cash flow from its operations.

Though discussions are ongoing and nothing is set in stone, as of this writing in the late evening of Aug. 20, the Donald Trump administration potentially becoming shareholders of some of Wall Street’s leading semiconductor stocks likely wouldn’t be a development to cheer.

TV star Sam Faiers has sparked controversy after advising her sister Billie to explore holistic options before going ahead with her young son’s tonsil removal.

Sam Faiers has come under fire after suggesting her sister Billie consider alternative health approaches instead of scheduling her son’s tonsillectomy.

In a scene from their show Sister Act, Billie explains that her eight-year-old son Arthur is set to have his tonsils removed after repeated illness. “Arthur is getting his tonsils out. He had tonsillitis I’d say six times last year, and it made him so poorly,” she says.

“When the doctor looked at them, straight away he said to me ‘nah… they are really, really unhealthy tonsils.” She adds: “But tonsils serve no purpose in your body.” It comes after Sam’s heartache after cruel thieves stole her late grandmother’s precious wedding ring.

READ MORE: Ulrika Jonsson slams Andy Carroll for leaving ex Billi Mucklow to care for his five kidsREAD MORE: TOWIE star Ricky Rayment’s heartbreak as he announces his sister has died

Sam, who later says she leans toward holistic health, disagrees with the decision and encourages testing for allergies first. “Everything in your body serves a purpose,” she argues.

“When you’re not well and something inflames in your body or your tonsils are raised or your hair is falling out, or you’ve got a rash, it’s because your body is telling you something isn’t right.

“So it’s Arthur’s body’s way of telling him I’ve got an allergy, or you know, I’ve got a virus and that’s his way. So when they’re out, how else is his body going to tell you that something is wrong?”

Billie responds, agreeing that “he has some kind of allergy or intolerance.” However, Sam’s comments prompted backlash online, with critics accusing her of spreading misinformation.

One viewer wrote: “She’s no doctor and shouldn’t be allowed to give advice that’s dangerous.” Another labelled her “Mrs Know It All.”

Another user shared a personal warning as they wrote: “Don’t ever mess about waiting for tonsils out… I was rushed into hospital because it made me so ill. I’ve had fibromyalgia for 15 years, and now severe arthritis. I wish I could dream everything be OK with positivity or a cream or holistic, but life’s not like that.”

Earlier this summer, Sam also came under fire for controversial comments she made about sun cream. The reality star took to social media to reveal she doesn’t get her children to wear sun cream.

The former TOWIE star explained that her kids have “built up a really good tolerance to being in the sun” as she made wild claims about sunscreen having “pretty harmful and full of toxic ingredients” in, which has been discredited by a skin doctor.

In a lengthy post shared on social media, she wrote: “So this is always a bit of a controversial one, but honestly, me and my whole family don’t actually wear sunscreen. Over the years, the kids have built up a really good tolerance to being in the sun.

“Of course if it’s really hot and the sun feels too harsh I’ll make sure we head into the shade… usually around lunchtime we’ll go in, have something to eat and just avoid those peak hours.”

She then went on to add: “I’m really careful about sunscreen in general, because a lot of them are actually pretty harmful and full of toxic ingredients. If you do want to protect your kids, I think SPF swimwear is such a good and safer option.

“But also, don’t be afraid of the sun! Early in the morning or later in the afternoon when it’s not as strong, I love letting the kids run around and soak it up, it’s good for them. That said, I do always bring a Tallow Zinc SPF with me when I go away, just in case. And hats or caps are a must! Especially for us ladies because no one wants extra sun damage.”

The comments were later heavily criticised by a skin doctor.

The Mirror has approached Sam’s representatives for comment on this story.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

READ MORE: Shop Dani Dyer’s butter yellow midi dress as she announces Strictly news on The One Show

THIS is the moment a police helicopter pursues a man on an allegedly stolen motorbike while flying just feet above the ground.

Footage shows the chopper circling above the rider as he drives at speed around a field near St Helens, Merseyside.

4

4

The pilot then lowers the helicopter just metres above the ground, in a desperate attempt to keep up with the fleeing motorcyclist.

At one point the dark blue and yellow coloured helicopter is seen to be flying almost parallel alongside the bike.

Moments later, both helicopter and motorbike disappear from the view of the camera behind a small patch of trees.

The chopper flies so low past the outcropping of trees it becomes obscured by the foliage.

The shocking video comes to an end but not before it cuts to a shot of a police officer in the field with the chopper heard circling overhead.

Another cut shows the speeding motorcyclist flying past the camera one last time.

Blitzing through the field at high speeds the rider passes just meters away from the cameraman in a final bid to lose the pursuing helicopter.

The helicopter appears to have stayed on the rider’s tail the whole time however and is seen flying overhead in a final cut.

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) said the high octane chase happened on August 13.

The incident is being reviewed internally in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority.

Merseyside Police said the bike was driving in an “extremely dangerous” manner.

The rider is alleged to have been speeding, mounting pavements and nearly hitting a pedestrian as they revved the off-road bike around the area.

The rider is said to have been joined by a second man with the pair fleeing cops together along the A580 and through fields near a dam.

Officers later detained the second man on the ground when he dismounted his bike.

4

4

The yob seen in the footage was reportedly arrested when he ran out fuel, his bike has been seized.

Chief Superintendent Fiona Gaffney, Chief Operating Officer at NPAS, said: “We’re aware of the video currently circulating on social media and the level of public interest it has generated.

“The circumstances are being thoroughly reviewed internally and in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure all relevant standards and procedures have been followed.”

It comes amid talks that police choppers could soon be replaced by police drones.

One unmanned helicopter being trialled by the NPAS is capable of flying at speeds of 115mph and is able to stay airborne for up to six hours.

The NPAS said that the unmanned helicopter, a Schiebel Camcopter S-100, is larger than existing drones used by police forces and has a greater range.

Travellers flying from this UK airport may want to rethink packing one common food item after a recent incident revealed airport security scanners may flag it as potentially dangerous

Travellers at Gatwick airport carrying one common snack may risk setting off security scanners. The airport’s new state-of-the-art Computed Tomography scanners are not able to distinguish this one fruit from another dangerous device.

In July, a British journalist was travelling through Gatwick’s North Terminal revealed that a long line of travellers looked bemused when security staff questioned whether anyone was carrying fruit in their cabin bags.

The reporter said it was “the last thing” they expected to hear but they were asked if they were carrying an apple by the security staff member charged with going through their backpack. It comes after a ‘traumatised’ family was stranded at Palma Airport after being told they couldn’t board a Jet2 flight.

READ MORE: UK airport where you’re most likely to lose your luggage is namedREAD MORE: Airports say your holidays ‘could be ruined before you fly out’

The reporter said he didn’t realise he was carrying an apple but when the security guard took it out of his bag, the only explanation they received was: “The scanner doesn’t like apples”. Another similar incident last September also highlighted hiccups resulting from the CT scanners.

Children’s medicine was previously flagged by the new scanners designed to detect explosives. Calpol and liquid Nurofen were both rejected by the CT scanners, posing difficulties for families going abroad. While Calpol, which is liquid paracetamol, is legal to take through security, the software in the new systems hit a glitch, not picking up on them as everyday items.

The expensive kit was reportedly rejecting items with the medicines in, forcing passengers to wait in queues for further security checks causing agonising delays.

The CT scanners were introduced at Gatwick in March across all of its security lanes as part of a multi-million-pound project to cut security lane wait times and better safeguard against potential terrorist attacks. Thus, passengers travelling through London Gatwick no longer need to remove electrical items or place liquids in plastic bags.

It’s been over two years since the Department of Transport announced a “major shake-up of airport security rules” to better screen liquids and electrical items such as laptops. The sophisticated scanners utilise the same technology used for medical scanners to create 3D images of luggage to better detect potential threats.

The security update was highly anticipated by travellers as it would finally end the inconvenient 100ml limit on liquids, aerosols and gels (LAG) for hand luggage.

The limit was initially implemented in 2006 after a foiled terror plot but was only ever meant to be a temporary measure.

Initially, there was a June 2024 deadline for UK airports to integrate the new security measure that would see the 100ml LAG limit scrapped. While some smaller airports across the UK were able to integrate the new scanning equipment by the June deadline, larger airports struggled to meet the deadline for reasons varying from post-COVID supply chain issues to the need for additional construction work.

Cannabis stocks soar after US president says he is ‘looking at’ reclassification.

United States President Donald Trump has said his administration is “looking at” reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said he would make a determination on the legal classification of the drug over the next few weeks.

“That determination hopefully will be the right one,” Trump said. “It’s a very complicated subject.”

Trump said that while he had heard “great things” about medical-use cannabis, he had heard bad things about “just about everything else” to do with the drug.

“Some people like it, some people hate it,” he said. “Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.”

Stocks in cannabis-related businesses soared following Trump’s remarks.

New York-based Tilray Brands jumped nearly 42 percent, with Canada’s Village Farms International and Canopy Growth Corp closing up about 34 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

Trump made his comments after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that he told attendees at a recent fundraising dinner that he was interested in reclassifying the drug.

While cannabis is fully legal, including for recreational use, in 24 US states, the use and possession of the drug is illegal at the federal level.

Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, putting it in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

Under the Drug Enforcement Administration’s classification system, Schedule I drugs are defined as those with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.

Former US President Joe Biden proposed reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug – defined as those with a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” – but failed to enact the change before leaving office in January.

Houayxay, Laos – Fishing went well today for Khon, a Laotian fisherman, who lives in a floating house built from plastic drums, scrap metal and wood on the Mekong River.

“I caught two catfish,” the 52-year-old tells Al Jazeera proudly, lifting his catch for inspection.

Khon’s simple houseboat contains all he needs to live on this mighty river: A few metal pots, a fire to cook food on and to keep warm by at night, as well as some nets and a few clothes.

What Khon does not always have is fish.

“There are days when I catch nothing. It’s frustrating,” he said.

“The water levels change all the time because of the dams. And now they say the river is polluted, too. Up there in Myanmar, they dig in the mountains. Mines, or something like that. And all that toxic stuff ends up here,” he adds.

Khon lives in Laos’s northwestern Bokeo province on one of the most scenic stretches of the Mekong River as it meanders through the heart of the Golden Triangle – the borderland shared by Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

This remote region has long been infamous for drug production and trafficking.

Now it is caught up in the global scramble for gold and rare earth minerals, crucial for the production of new technologies and used in everything from smartphones to electric cars.

Over the past year, rivers in this region, such as the Ruak, Sai and Kok – all tributaries of the Mekong – have shown abnormal levels of arsenic, lead, nickel and manganese, according to Thailand’s Pollution Control Department.

Arsenic, in particular, has exceeded World Health Organization safety limits, prompting health warnings for riverside communities.

These tributaries feed directly into the Mekong and contamination has spread to parts of the river’s mainstream. The effects have been observed in Laos, prompting the Mekong River Commission to declare the situation “moderately serious”.

“Recent official water quality testing clearly indicates that the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao border is contaminated with arsenic,” Pianporn Deetes, Southeast Asia campaigns director for the advocacy group International Rivers, told Al Jazeera.

“This is alarming and just the first chapter of the crisis, if the mining continues,” Pianporn said.

“Fishermen have recently caught diseased, young catfish. This is a matter of regional public health, and it needs urgent action from governments,” she added.

The source of the heavy metals contamination is believed to be upriver in Myanmar’s Shan State, where dozens of unregulated mines have sprung up as the search for rare earth minerals intensifies globally.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington and an expert on Southeast Asia, said at least a dozen, and possibly as many as 20, mines focused on gold and rare earth extraction have been established in southern Shan State over the past year alone.

Myanmar is now four years into a civil war and lawlessness reigns in the border area, which is held by two powerful ethnic armed groups: the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Myanmar’s military government has “no real control”, Abuza said, apart from holding Tachileik town, the region’s main border crossing between Thailand and Myanmar.

Neither the RCSS nor the UWSA are “fighting the junta”, he said, explaining how both are busy enriching themselves from the chaos in the region and the rush to open mines.

“In this vacuum, mining has exploded – likely with Chinese traders involved. The military in Naypyidaw can’t issue permits or enforce environmental rules, but they still take their share of the profits,” Abuza said.

‘Alarming decline’

Pollution from mining is not the Mekong River’s only ailment.

For years, the health of the river has been degraded by a growing chain of hydropower dams that have drastically altered its natural rhythm and ecology.

In the Mekong’s upper reaches, inside China, almost a dozen huge hydropower dams have been built, including the Xiaowan and Nuozhadu dams, which are said to be capable of holding back a huge amount of the river’s flow.

Further downstream, Laos has staked its economic future on hydropower.

According to the Mekong Dam Monitor, which is hosted by the Stimson Centre think tank in Washington, DC, at least 75 dams are now operational on the Mekong’s tributaries, and two in Laos – Xayaburi and Don Sahong – are directly on the mainstream river.

As a rule, hydropower is a cleaner alternative to coal.

But the rush to dam the Mekong is driving another type of environmental crisis.

According to WWF and the Mekong River Commission, the Mekong River basin once supported about 60 million people and provided up to 25 percent of the world’s freshwater fish catch.

Today, one in five fish species in the Mekong is at risk of extinction, and the river’s sediment and nutrient flows have been severely reduced, as documented in a 2023–2024 Mekong Dam Monitor report and research by International Rivers.

“The alarming decline in fish populations in the Mekong is an urgent wake-up call for action to save these extraordinary – and extraordinarily important – species, which underpin not only the region’s societies and economies but also the health of the Mekong’s freshwater ecosystems,” the WWF’s Asia Pacific Regional Director Lan Mercado said at the launch of a 2024 report titled The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes.

In Houayxay, the capital of Bokeo province, the markets appeared mostly absent of fish during a recent visit.

At Kad Wang View, the town’s main market, the fish stalls were nearly deserted.

“Maybe this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow,” said Mali, a vendor in her 60s. In front of her, Mali had arranged her small stock of fish in a circle, perhaps hoping to make the display look fuller for potential customers.

At another market, Sydonemy, just outside Houayxay town, the story was the same. The fish stalls were bare.

“Sometimes the fish come, sometimes they don’t. We just wait,” another vendor said.

“There used to be giant fish here,” recalled Vilasai, 53, who comes from a fishing family but now works as a taxi driver.

“Now the river gives us little. Even the water for irrigation – people are scared to use it. No one knows if it’s still clean,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the pollution from Myanmar’s mines.

‘The river used to be predictable’

Ian G Baird, professor of geography and Southeast Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said upstream dams – especially those in China – have had serious downstream effects in northern Thailand and Laos.

“The ecosystem and the lives that depend on the river evolved to adapt to specific hydrological conditions,” Baird told Al Jazeera.

“But since the dams were built, those conditions have changed dramatically. There are now rapid water level fluctuations in the dry season, which used to be rare, and this has negative impacts on both the river and the people,” he said.

Another major effect is the reversal of the river’s natural cycle.

“Now there is more water in the dry season and less during the rainy season. That reduces flooding and the beneficial ecological effects of the annual flood pulse,” Baird explained.

“The dams hold water during the rainy season and release it in the dry season to maximise energy output and profits. But that also kills seasonally flooded forests and disrupts the river’s ecological function,” he said.

Bun Chan, 45, lives with his wife Nanna Kuhd, 40, on a floating house near Houayxay. He fishes while his wife sells whatever he catches at the local market.

On a recent morning, he cast his net again and again – but for nothing.

“Looks like I won’t catch anything today,” Bun Chan told Al Jazeera as he pulled up his empty net.

“The other day I caught a few, but we didn’t sell them. We’re keeping them in cages in the water, so at least we have something to eat if I don’t catch more,” he said.

Hom Phan has been a fisherman on the Mekong his entire life.

He steers his wooden boat across the river, following a route he knows by instinct. In some parts of the river, the current is strong enough now to drag everything under, the 67-year-old says.

All around him, the silence is broken only by the chug of his small outboard engine and the calls of distant birds.

“The river used to be predictable. Now we don’t know when it will rise or fall,” Hom Phan said.

“Fish can’t find their spawning grounds. They’re disappearing. And we might too, if nothing changes,” he told Al Jazeera.

Evening approaches in Houayxay, and Khon, the fisherman, rolls up his nets and prepares dinner in his floating home.

As he waits for the fire to catch to cook a meal, he quietly contemplates the great river he lives on.

Despite the dams in China, the pollution from mines in neighbouring Myanmar, and the increasing difficulty in landing the catch he relies on to survive, Khon was outwardly serene as he considered his next day of fishing.

With his eyes fixed on the waters that flowed deeply beneath his home, he said with a smile: “We try again tomorrow.”

Warnings have been issued ahead of many summer holidays

Brits planning a summer getaway to Portugal are being cautioned that the country is entering a period of heightened environmental risk. The Foreign Office has issued a warning, as Portugal faces an increased threat of wildfires from April to October due to the hotter and drier conditions.

Moreover, the wildfire risk spans across the entire country, meaning all travellers to Portugal should exercise caution. British tourists could also face legal issues if they ignore local warnings.

Official advice from the Foreign Office states: “There is an increased risk of wildfires from April to October when the weather is hot and dry. Wildfires can start anywhere in Portugal. Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable.

“The Portuguese authorities may evacuate areas and close roads for safety reasons.” Furthermore, Brits have been warned that it is illegal to start a fire in Portugal, even if by accident.

Committing this offence could potentially lead to a fine or even a prison sentence in some cases. If holidaymakers are travelling to Portugal when there is a risk of a wildfire, they are advised to do the following:

• follow the advice of the Portuguese authorities
• call the emergency services on 112 if you see a fire
• familiarise yourself with local safety and emergency procedures
• check the fire risk index for your location

Further details on the risk of wildfires in Portugal can be found through the nation’s Met Office here. An interactive map is included on the site ,which helps to quickly communicate which specific parts of the country are most at risk of a wildfire breaking out.

Major wildfire outbreaks in Portugal

While there have been no significant wildfires in Portugal this year, the risk remains high. In 2025, over 1,000 wildfires ravaged the north of the country, requiring thousands of firefighters to control the flames and resulting in at least nine fatalities.

If you are travelling and staying in a specific part of Portugal during your holiday, you can find the local emergency and safety procedures put in place in the event of a wildfire outbreak here. Furthermore, a complete breakdown of any severe weather warnings both in Portugal and the surrounding region can be found via the European Meterological Services website here.

The Foreign Office advises against all travel to war-torn Yemen – and it’s not hard to see why. It is a no-go zone for Brits with no embassy services and no evacuation procedures in place.

Yemen has earned the ominous title of the world’s most treacherous country in 2025, outstripping even war-ravaged Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya in terms of danger.

The UK Foreign Office issues a stark warning for those considering a trip to the country: “Support for British people is severely limited in Yemen. British Embassy services in Sana’a are suspended, and all diplomatic and consular staff have been withdrawn. The UK government cannot help British nationals leaving Yemen. There are no evacuation procedures in place.”

According to the World Population Review’s analysis, Yemen – which shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman – has surpassed Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Syria to claim the top spot.

Owen Williams, a Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey Analyst at Sibylline Strategic Risk Group, offers insight into the country’s precarious situation: “Yemen is often considered one of the most hazardous countries in the world due to the protracted civil war, widespread food shortages, military interventions, and a collapse of public infrastructure.”

READ MORE: Ryanair passengers in tears over man’s random act of kindness on flight

Mr Williams explains that the instability is in part due to the Houthi rebels’ insurgency against the internationally recognised government. The group’s slogan, the sarkha, is a chilling call to arms: “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.”

Since ousting the previous government in 2014, the group, which remains unlisted as a terrorist organisation in the UK, has taken control of much of northwest Yemen, including the capital Sana’a. The ongoing clash between the government and insurgents has plunged the nation into a severe humanitarian crisis.

Mr Williams pointed out that “Yemen was already in a difficult position before the onset of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023”, but the regional tensions have since intensified. He explained: “Following the October 7 attacks, as a member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance, the Houthis began to target shipping in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, as well as launching attacks against Israel.

“This resulted in a US-Coalition intervention in Yemen, with many airstrikes targeting Houthi facilities and key infrastructure. These reached a peak in May 2025, when the US attacked a migrant detention facility. While the US has agreed a ceasefire with the Houthis, the risk of Israeli airstrikes persists.”

The group’s maritime assaults, often from small vessels, have caused global shipping firms to divert their routes, leading ships to navigate around South Africa instead.

Mr Williams has issued a stark warning to Brits against travelling to Yemen, highlighting that despite “there has likely been reduced media coverage of the situation in Yemen in recent years”, Westerners remain highly susceptible to danger and abduction.

One of the very few remaining tourist destinations in Yemen is Socotra, an archipelago that is unlike anywhere else. Sat 200 miles off the coast of mainland Yemen, close to the Horn of Africa, it is home to a unique array of plants and wildlife.

UNESCO recognises Socotra Island as a site of universal importance due to its biodiversity, with nearly 40 percent of its plant species being exclusive to the island. The surrounding islands, including Socotra, are also notable for their land and sea bird breeding spots and unique coral reefs, which are home to over 700 species of coastal fish.

While Socotora is covered by the Foreign Office’s advice—meaning visitors travelling there do so at their own peril and risk having their insurance invalidated—the archipelago has a very low crime rate and has been little impacted by the 11-year war that continues to rage on the mainland.

The main difficulty for those dreaming of visiting is how to get there.

Janet Newenham is a professional traveller who has spent years visiting some of the world’s most inaccessible places. Since visiting Iraq several years ago, Janet has organised small group trips for women to some of these places. Including, in February, to Socotora.

“It’s a paradise island off the coast of Yemen. People in the extreme travel community know about it, but a lot of people don’t,” Janet told the Mirror.

READ MORE: Spain travel rules for UK passport holdersREAD MORE: List of airlines that have banned popular item from overhead lockers amid safety fears

“It’s hard to get to. There are two flights a week from Abu Dhabi, but you can’t book them in a normal way. You have to book them through WhatsApp. It’s through Emirates Aviation, and it’s a humanitarian charter flight. You have to WhatsApp them and then send a bank transfer.

“It was absolutely incredible. I never knew there were places like that in Yemen. It has bright blue water, white sand beaches, and dragon’s blood trees. You won’t find them anywhere else in the world.”

BERLIN — In a country that saw its democracy die in 1933, the more than 170,000 people crowding into three of Germany’s biggest soccer stadiums for Bruce Springsteen’s rock concerts in recent weeks have been especially receptive to his message and dire warnings about a politically perilous moment in the United States, one that has reminded some of Adolf Hitler’s power grab in the ’30s.

At these gigantic open-air concerts in Berlin, Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen, which have been among the largest concerts to date in Springsteen’s two-month-long, 16-show Land of Hope & Dreams tour across Europe, the 75-year-old rock star from New Jersey has interspersed short but poignant political speeches into his exhausting, sweat-drenched performances to describe the dangers he sees in the United States under the Trump administration.

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ’n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen says to cheers at the start of each concert. “In my home — the America I love, the America I have written about — the America that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration. Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.”

Springsteen’s words have had special resonance in Germany, where memories of the Nazi past are never far from the surface and the cataclysmic demise of the Weimar Republic, which led directly to Hitler’s takeover, is studied in great detail in schools and universities. With that Nazi past embedded in their DNA, German fears of President Trump’s tactics probably run higher than anywhere else.

“Germans tend to have angst about a lot of things and they are really afraid of Trump,” said Michael Pilz, a music critic for the Welt newspaper, who agrees that the death of German democracy in 1933 is a contributing factor to the popularity of Springsteen’s anti-Trump concerts this summer. “A lot of Germans think Trump is a fool. It’s not only his politics but the way he is, just so completely over the top. Germans love to see Trump getting hit. And they admire Springsteen for standing up and taking it to him.”

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ’n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen says to cheers at the start of each concert.

(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)

The crowds in Germany have been as large as they are enthusiastic. More than 75,000 filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on June 11; 44,500 were in Frankfurt on June 18; and another 51,000 watched his concert in the faded Ruhr River industrial town of Gelsenkirchen on June 27. All told, more than 700,000 tickets have been sold for the 16 shows in Springsteen’s tour (for concerts that last three or more hours), which concludes on July 3 in Milan, Italy.

“The German aversion to Trump has now become more extreme in his second term — Germans just don’t understand how the Americans could elect someone like Trump,” said Jochen Staadt, a political science professor at the Free University in Berlin who is also a drummer in an amateur Berlin rock band. Staadt believes Springsteen’s 1988 concert may well have helped pave the way for the Berlin Wall to fall a little over a year later in 1989. “Germans are drawn to Springsteen as someone who played an important role in our history when Germany was still divided and as someone who may have helped overcome that division with rock music.”

Springsteen has been filling stadiums across Europe in the warm summertime evenings with his high-energy shows that not only entertain the tremendous crowds but also take on Trump’s policies on civil liberties, free speech, immigrants and universities in thoughtfully constructed messages. To ensure nothing is lost in translation, Springsteen’s brief forays into politics of about two to three minutes each are translated for local audiences in German, French, Spanish, Basque and Italian subtitles on the giant video walls onstage.

To ram the message home to more people, Springsteen also released a 30-minute recording from the first stop of the tour in Manchester, England, that contains three songs and three of his speeches onstage.

“I’ve always tried to be a good ambassador for America,” said Springsteen while introducing “My City of Ruins,” a song he wrote after the 9/11 terror attacks that has taken on a new meaning this summer. “I’ve spent my life singing about where we have succeeded and where we’ve come up short in living up to our civic ideals and our dreams. I always just thought that was my job. Things are happening right now in my home that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy and they’re simply too important to ignore.”

Springsteen’s first speech during the tour’s Manchester show on May 17 prompted a sharp rebuke from Trump on his Truth Social platform. “Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock’… and this dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare’. Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

Springsteen did not respond directly. Instead, he repeated his messages at every concert across Europe. He delivered more political commentary in introducing his song “House of a Thousand Guitars” by saying: “The last check on power, after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people. You and me. It’s the union of people around a common set of values. That’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve really got is each other.” In the song, Springsteen sings about “the criminal clown has stolen the throne / He steals what he can never own.”

His concerts also included the live debut of “Rainmaker,” about a con man, from his 2020 “Letter to You” album. At the concerts in Europe, Springsteen dedicates the song to “our dear leader,” with a line that goes: “Rainmaker says white’s black and black’s white / Says night’s day and day’s night.”

More than 75,000 filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on June 11, 44,500 were in Frankfurt on June 18, and another 51,000 watched his concert in the faded Ruhr River industrial town of Gelsenkirchen on June 27.

(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)

He also changed one line in the song from “they don’t care or understand what it really takes for the sky to open up the land,” to “they don’t care or understand how easy it is to let freedom slip through your hands.”

Springsteen’s enormous popularity across Europe has long been on a different level than in the United States, and that gap could grow even wider in the future. Springsteen’s close friend and the band’s lead guitarist, Steve Van Zandt, recently observed in an interview with the German edition of Playboy magazine that the E Street Band may have lost half of its audience back home because of the group’s unabashed opposition to Trump. (The band’s concerts in the United States are often held in smaller indoor arenas.)

Bruce Springsteen, left, performs with Steven Van Zandt: at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)

But in Europe, Springsteen and his band have been reliably filling cavernous stadiums during the long, daylight-filled summertime evenings for decades with improbably enthusiastic crowds that sing along to the lyrics of his songs and spent most of the concerts on their feet dancing and cheering. There are also large numbers of hearty Springsteen fans from scores of countries who use their entire yearly allotment of vacation to follow him from show to show across the continent. This summer, Springsteen’s message has been amplified even more, sending many in the boomer-dominated crowds into states of near-ecstasy and attracting considerable media attention in countries across Europe.

“The message of his music always touched a deep nerve in Europe and especially Germany, but ever since Trump was elected president, Springsteen’s voice has been incredibly important for us,” said Katrin Schlemmer, a 56-year-old IT analyst from Zwickau who saw five Springsteen concerts in June — from Berlin to Prague to Frankfurt and two in San Sebastián, Spain. All told, Schlemmer has seen 60 Springsteen concerts in 11 countries around the world since her first in East Berlin in 1988 — a record-breaking, history-changing concert with more than 300,000 spectators that some historians believe may have contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall just 16 months later.

“A lot of Germans can’t fathom why the Americans elected someone like Trump,” said Schlemmer, who had the chance to thank Springsteen for the 1988 East Berlin concert at a chance meeting after a 2014 concert in Cape Town, South Africa. “We saw for ourselves how quickly a democracy was destroyed by an authoritarian. The alarm bells are ringing about what a danger Trump is. People love [Springsteen] here because he tells it like it is and because he is standing up to Trump.”

Stephan Cyrus, a 56-year-old manager from Hamburg, said Germans view Springsteen as a trustworthy American voice during a period of uncertainty.

“When Germans hear Springsteen speaking about his worries about the United States, they listen, because so many of us have so much admiration and longing for the United States and are worried about the country’s direction too,” said Cyrus, who saw the June 11 concert in Berlin. “He definitely touched us with his words.”

In one of his concert speeches, Springsteen goes after Trump without mentioning his name.

Spectators watch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Olympic Stadium, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)

“There is some very weird, strange and dangerous s— going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.”

Springsteen then adds: “In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they are inflicting on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society. They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They’re defunding American universities that won’t back down to their ideological demands. They’re removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now. A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.”

He tells the audiences that those in the administration “have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American.”

But Springsteen ends on a hopeful note, promising his audiences: “We’ll survive this moment.”

Even tourist-riddled areas in this country are starting to be impacted by crime and violence, in a huge blow to UK tourists desperate for guaranteed sunshine and pristine beaches

An increasingly popular tourist destination famed for its sugar-like beaches and turquoise waters has been ranked as one of the world’s most dangerous countries.

Lured in by huge all-inclusive resorts, a ubiquitously fascinating history, and scorching temperatures – Mexico has long been a beloved hotspot amongst UK holidaymakers. Sandwiched in between the US and Guatemala, the country witnessed a whopping 45.04 million international tourists last year, a 7.4 per cent spike compared to 2023.

Whether you’re a history buff dying to see the Aztec ruins, an adrenaline seeker wanting to dive with sharks, or a classic Brit wanting to chill on white sands with a good book and a margarita, there’s no denying Mexico’s mass appeal. But, is it actually a safe country to visit?

READ MORE: Brits start ‘snubbing’ Spain and head to sizzling 38C tourist hotspot instead

“The drug war in Mexico is one of the most violent conflicts on the planet with cartel activity permeating through many levels of the Mexican economy and society,” warns Global Guardian, who named Mexico as one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas – and in the world. “Cartel conflicts continue to drive violence across Mexico, including tourist areas previously less affected, such as Cancun, Tulum, and Puerto Vallarta.

“The current criminal landscape in Mexico is driven largely by the battle between the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS), though three other major transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) — Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, and Juarez Cartel — all contribute to high levels of violence. The border regions along with Tierra Caliente, which includes parts of Michoacán, Guerrero, and Mexico states should be avoided, if possible.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) currently advises against all but essential travel to parts of Mexico – including certain areas with the State of Baja California, State of Chihuahua, State of Sinaloa, State of Tamaulipas, State of Zacatecas, State of Colima, State of Jalisco, State of Michoacán, State of Guerrero, and State of Chiapas. This is not a blanket ban on the entirety of these areas, with exemptions for the city of Chihuahua, other municipalities, roads, and border crossings.

Under its ‘Safety and Security’ page, the FCDO warns that street crime is a ‘serious issue’ in major cities and tourist resort areas. “Many Mexican and foreign businesses choose to hire private security,” the body states. “You should: research your destination thoroughly, only travel during daylight hours when possible, monitor local media, and tell trusted contacts your travel plans.”

Pickpocketing and theft in Mexico are also common, while many criminals pose as police officers and try to fine or arrest you for no reason. In the past, these scams have heavily targeted travellers driving in rental cars. “Some genuine police officers have extorted money from tourists for alleged minor offences or traffic violations,” the FCDO added. “If this happens do not hand over money or your passport, ask for a copy of the fine, which is payable later, ask for ID, and try to note the officer’s name, badge number and patrol car number.”

Other warnings flagged by the FCDO include drink and food spiking, sexual assault, kidnapping, roadblocks, and unlicensed taxis assaulting passengers. While the Mexican government makes efforts to protect major tourist destinations including Cancun, Tulum, Cozumel, Los Cabos, and Playa del Carmen – criminals have still targeted Brits in these areas.

“Rival criminal gangs have clashed in popular Cancun tourist destinations and surrounding areas,” the FCDO explains. “Gangs have not targeted tourists, but violent incidents could affect anyone nearby. Since 2021, several shootings have affected tourists. Be very cautious after dark in downtown areas of Cancun, Tulum and Playa del Carmen. Stay in well-lit pedestrian streets and tourist zones. Follow advice from the local authorities and your tour operator.”

You can read the FCDO’s full travel advice for Mexico here.

Do you have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] for a chance to be featured.