In a prior warning to passengers, they have advised that no trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly.
This will last for nine days over February half term (Saturday 14 – Sunday 22).
Some trains from across the north will also be impacted as well as direct connections to Manchester Airport station.
Services normally running to and from Manchester Piccadilly will terminate at other stations, including Stockport.
Platforms 1-12 will be closed but the concourse will remain open to the public.
There will be a limited service westbound from platforms 13 and 14.
More detailed information about alternate travel plans are to follow in due course.
Julien Dehornoy, Network Rail’s North West & Central deputy regional managing director, said: “We’re investing £7.9m in renewing the Piccadilly corridor, a stretch of track critical to the journeys of around 400,000 trains into Manchester every year.
“This work is going to significantly reduce disruption for the many passengers who regularly use this route.
“Once the job is done, we will have a better, more reliable railway.
“The major overhaul over six railway lines can only take place during a full railway closure and we are working closely with train operators, TfGM and Manchester City Council on alternative travel plans to keep people on the move.
“The full details on which will be published in mid-November.”
Network Rail has warned passengers that Manchester Piccadilly is set to close for nine daysCredit: Network Rail
The short-range weapon is believed to have flown 700km (435 miles) and landed in the East Sea, otherwise known as the Sea of Japan.
Published On 7 Nov 20257 Nov 2025
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North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile towards its eastern waters, the South Korean military has said, just days after United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited South Korea for annual security talks.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the development on Friday, saying the short-range missile flew 700km (435 miles) towards the East Sea, otherwise known as the Sea of Japan.
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The Japanese government also said North Korea had launched a missile, adding that it is likely to have fallen in waters outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Pyongyang’s latest launch comes four days after South Korea said its neighbour had fired 10 rounds of artillery into its western waters, and about a week after US President Donald Trump gave Seoul permission to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
Experts say the move, which will see South Korea join a small club of countries using such vessels, will greatly enhance its naval and defence capabilities.
South Korea wants to receive enriched uranium from the US to use as fuel for the nuclear-powered submarine, which it plans to build at home, a South Korean presidential official said on Friday.
Since they both took office earlier this year, Trump and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung have sought to restart dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
However, Kim has shunned any talks with Washington and Seoul since previous discussions with the US collapsed in 2019.
North Korea’s leader said in September that he was open to talks provided that the US drop its demand for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons. He has repeatedly said his country is an “irreversible” nuclear state.
Last month, Kim attended a major military parade in Pyongyang, along with high-level officials from allied countries, including Russia and China. It showcased some of his nation’s most powerful weapons, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korean and Russian military officials met in Pyongyang this week to discuss strengthening cooperation, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday.
Pak Yong Il, vice director of the Korean People’s Army’s General Political Bureau, met a Russian delegation led by Vice Defence Minister Viktor Goremykin on Wednesday.
KCNA said the allies discussed expanding ties as part of the “deepened bilateral relations” agreed between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier this week, South Korea’s spy agency said it had detected possible recruitment and training activities in North Korea, noting this could signal a potential further deployment of troops to Russia.
So far, Seoul estimates that Pyongyang has sent 15,000 soldiers to Russia to aid it in its war against Ukraine, and large numbers have died on the battlefield there.
On Tuesday, the South Korean National Intelligence Service also said it believes that Kim has dispatched about 5,000 military construction troops to its ally since September to help with infrastructure restoration projects.
BBC viewers have been urged to look out for any clues as the broadcaster is reportedly gearing up to announce the return of one of its biggest shows very soon
23:45, 05 Nov 2025Updated 23:45, 05 Nov 2025
Line of Duty could be making a comeback very soon(Image: BBC)
A huge BBC drama is set to announce its comeback within a matter of days. Fans have been waiting on tenterhooks to see if another series will be released, and now the cast have finally aligned their schedules to make it happen.
The BBC are said to be gearing up to confirm Line of Duty will be back on screens for a seventh series. Fans have been urged to keep an eye out for any online announcements that will be followed by TV teaser trailers.
Now, it seems fans won’t have long to wait for an official announcement as a source said: “Although this has been discussed at length since the unsatisfactory ending of series six in 2021, it’s still going to create huge excitement when the Beeb makes the announcement.
“It’s one they’ve been preparing to make for weeks, but they’ve been trying to pick the right moment, since The Celebrity Traitors has been hogging quite a lot of limelight recently.” They added to Sun: “And the BBC very much view Line Of Duty as one of the jewels in its crown that they want to deliver with some fanfare.”
The BBC declined to comment when approached by the Mirror. Back in July, Actor Adrian said: “We’re really excited about getting our hands on a Line of Duty script, to see what happens to us.”
The Ridley star even teased what is to come on the programme, which could air in 2026, as he told The Times: “It is down to the BBC to make an announcement, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that next year we’ll be working on a new series. No doubt Jed will think of some interesting twists and turns.”
Martin Compston played DS Steve Arnott in the show, which came to an end when his character and his team discovered the identity of “H”. He also shared details on whether viewers can expect more from the series.
“We’re always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot,” he said to The Sun. Martin didn’t dare share more and added: “Everybody’s got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off.”
Before Martin discussed a potential new series, a source told the same publication that Adrian, Vicky McClure and Martin will reunite to film six new episodes. They said at the time: “This is the news Line of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired back in 2021.
“The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes to continue the story, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were instantly snapped up for other projects. But after several meetings with Jed [Mercurio, creator and writer] and the production team, they’ve finally managed to clear space in their calendars next year to commit to making the show.”
While last August, Adrian said that he was desperate to get back into character for another series. He told Good Housekeeping: “We all want another series.
“We filmed our last series in lockdown, which meant we didn’t get to do anything other than work, so we’re really keen to get together for one last hurrah.”
Commuters can expect travel chaos in the days ahead after the derailment of train on a major line, with the train operator issuing an urgent warning for anyone travelling by rail this week
A train has derailed, sparking police to declare a ‘major incident’(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Less than 48 hours after passengers were stabbed in a frenzied attack on a train near Huntingdon, Cambridge, police have declared a second ‘major incident’.
The incident occurred at 6.10 am this morning (November 3), and all passengers were safely removed from the train by emergency crews. Meanwhile, photographs show a train carriage in a crushed state, with pipework and wires exposed.
Four individuals suffered minor injuries following the derailment near Shap in Cumbria, North West Ambulance Service confirmed, but thankfully, after assessing 87 people, ambulance workers determined that “no one required further hospital treatment”.
However, while the major incident status has since been “stood down”, an operation remains in place as crews work to clear the scene, and Avanti West Coast have now warned commuters to expect significant disruption to its network in the days to come.
Warning commuters not to travel north of Preston, an Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “At 06.10hrs today, 3 November, the 0428 Avanti West Coast service from Glasgow to Euston was reported to have derailed at Shap in Cumbria. Our priority is the well-being of everyone who was on board and getting them safely off the train. We are assisting emergency services who are on the scene.
“As a result, all lines are blocked north of Preston. Please do not attempt to travel north of Preston today. We’ll provide further information in due course, but it is likely there will be significant disruption to our network for a number of days.”
With the line from Glasgow to London Euston being the main route for services operating in the west of the UK, it’s expected that thousands of passengers will be impacted by this ongoing disruption.
Echoing Avanti West Coast’s warning not to travel north of Preston, National Rail stated: “Major disruption between Carlisle and Preston expected until the end of the day. A derailed train between Penrith and Oxenholme means all lines are blocked. Trains running between Carlisle and Preston may be delayed by up to 120 minutes or cancelled.”
Meanwhile, National Rail has also clarified that rail replacement buses are no longer in operation between Carlisle and Preston, “due to a limited supply of coaches”, while it’s anticipated that “replacement vehicles may be busier than usual”. The train company advised: “You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.”
It was previously reported that some 130 passengers have been taken to the nearby Shap Wells Hotel, with hotel director Shabeeh Hassan, revealing that the commuters arrived from 07:30am and seemed to have no injuries. He did however remark that some of the passengers were in shock, telling BBC Radio Cumbria: “I’m doing as much as I can just to make them comfortable.”
It comes after passengers on the 6.25pm LNER train from Doncaster to King’s Cross on Saturday night ended up running for their lives down the carriages as one of the biggest mass stabbings in British history unfolded.
A total of 10 people – including a man who was allegedly stabbed in the head while protecting a young girl – were rushed to hospital after the quick-thinking driver made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, allowing passengers to flee down the platform.
Anthony Williams, 32, of Langford Road, Peterborough, was charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of Actual Bodily Harm and one count of possession of bladed article.
The US president sent mixed signals over his plans for Venezuela as his military build-up in the Caribbean continues.
Published On 3 Nov 20253 Nov 2025
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President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals over the potential for a United States military intervention in Venezuela, as he dismissed talk of “war” but threatened the South American country’s leader.
During a CBS interview, released on Sunday, the president warned that President Nicholas Maduro’s days are numbered. The comment came amid a build-up of US military units in the Caribbean, where the US has conducted multiple strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels that UN officials and scholars say are in clear violation of US and international law.
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Asked if the US was going to war against Venezuela, Trump replied: “I doubt it. I don’t think so.”
However, when asked if Maduro’s days as president were numbered, the president replied: “I would say yeah. I think so.”
US media outlets have reported that Washington is planning strikes on military installations in Venezuela as part of its war against “narco-terrorism”.
Trump appeared to deny that he is planning attacks inside Venezuela, although he did not rule the idea out completely.
“I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that,” he said. “I’m not going to tell you what I’m going to do with Venezuela.”
Maduro, who faces indictment in the US on drug trafficking charges, has accused Washington of using a drug offensive as a pretext for “imposing regime change” in Caracas to seize Venezuelan oil.
The US military has carried out more than a dozen strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific in recent weeks, killing at least 65 people. The campaign has prompted criticism from governments across the region.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk and rights groups say the attacks, which began in early September, amount to “extrajudicial killings” even if they target known traffickers.
Washington has yet to make public any evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the US.
Suzanne Rogers, who has spent more than five decades as a cast member on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” has enviable endurance. This past summer, she learned she was even stronger than she’d thought.
For six weeks between June and July, Rogers, 82, underwent treatment for Stage II colorectal cancer, she told TV Insider in an interview published Thursday. The actor said she was diagnosed with the disease earlier this year after consulting a doctor about a nagging feeling that something “wasn’t quite right” with her body.
Colorectal cancer is a term for cancer originating in the colon or rectum. Chances of occurrence increase with age, and experts recommend regular screenings for those age 45 and above, continuing until at least age 75.
Rogers suspected her health issues might be serious when her doctor told her he would like to do a slew of tests, including a colonoscopy, MRI and PET scan. Still, when he confirmed the bad news, the Daytime Emmy winner — who already did routine colonoscopies — couldn’t believe it.
“I think I was in shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself,” she told TV Insider. Fortunately, her doctor said, “It’s a good thing you caught it in time.”
After wrapping on “Days” in June, Rogers began daily radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She said the intense regimen made her treasure her weekends “because I didn’t have to go to and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors.”
Luckily, the Peacock soap happened to be on hiatus at the time, so Rogers had no trouble making her appointments. On top of that, her onscreen daughter Linsey Godfrey, who herself battled Hodgkin‘s lymphoma as a teenager, was able to accompany her on treatment visits, which made the ordeal less daunting.
“We really feel like a family,” Rogers said, adding that other cast and crew members regularly called to check in on her, and the “Days” producers never rushed her recovery.
“They all said, ‘Don’t worry about a thing, take care of yourself, get yourself well. That’s the most important thing. We are here,’ ” Rogers said. As the actor heads back to the “Days” set next week, she said she is “feeling really good,” albeit nervous that lingering fatigue might hold her back.
“That’s the only anxiousness I feel. It’s not because of my illness, let’s put it that way,” she said. When she does return to the screen, Rogers will still be sporting her famous ginger mane, as she didn’t lose her hair during chemo.
“Days of Our Lives” premiered on NBC in 1965 and is currently airing Season 61 on Peacock. In July, the classic daytime drama announced it had been renewed for a 62nd and 63rd season on the streaming service.
Reporting from Washington — To any nefarious hackers looking for information that could be used to sway elections or steal Americans’ identities, the file compiled by a GOP data firm called Deep Root Analytics offered all manner of possibilities.
There in one place was detailed personal information about almost every voter in the U.S. It was a collection of some 9.5 billion data points that helped the firm assess not only how those Americans would probably vote, but their projected political preferences. In some cases, the data collectors had scoured people’s histories on Reddit, the social media platform, to match vote history with social media use, and well-informed predictions were made about where each voter would stand on issues as personal as abortion and stem cell research.
It’s the kind of sensitive information that, if a bank or a big-box retailer or almost any other corporation had failed to protect it, would have triggered major trouble with regulators. But there it sat on the Internet, without so much as a password to guard it, for 12 days.
Luckily for the Republican Party and Deep Root, an Arlington, Va.-based firm that handles data management and analysis for the party, it was a cybersecurity consultant who came across the treasure-trove of political data this month, not a foreign agent. There is no indication that the database had been tapped by any other unauthorized parties while it was unprotected.
But the exposure of the data, which some are describing as the largest leak of voter information in history, is a jolting reminder of how deeply the political parties are probing into the lives of voters and how vulnerable the information they are compiling is to theft.
The Deep Root incident is the latest in a series of such problems with political data, the most infamous being the case of the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee. As cybersecurity experts sound an increasingly loud alarm about the potential consequences, the lapses keep happening — often with nobody held accountable for them.
“This is a catalog of human lives, with intrinsic details,” said Mike Baukes, chief executive of UpGuard, the Mountain View, Calif., firm that came across the file during a routine scan of cloud systems.
“Every voter in America is potentially in there. The scale of it is just staggering, and the fact that it was left wide open is wholly irresponsible.…This is happening all the time. We are continually finding these things. It is just staggering.”
Privacy experts were skeptical that political operatives will change their ways following the latest incident.
“The state of security for massive data sets is so incredibly poor despite a daily drumbeat of data breached,” said Timothy Sparapani, a former director of public policy for Facebook who is now a data privacy consultant at the firm SPQR Strategies, based in Washington. “It is shocking. It is embarrassing. People ought to lose their jobs.”
Sparapani said if the culprit had been a private firm, it would be subjected to punitive actions by attorneys general, consumer lawsuits and big fines from regulators. But political operations face no such repercussions.
“As a voter, you are left with almost no recourse because our laws have not caught up to the massive computing power which is readily available to gather enormous data sets and make them searchable at the click of a button,” he said. “The breadth and depth of data collection by these companies is not well understood. If it were, I think the average voter would be frightened.”
UpGuard was able to access the file merely by guessing a Web address. It alerted Deep Root as well as federal authorities.
Deep Root apologized in a statement, but also suggested the incident had been overblown.
The data file “is our proprietary analysis to help inform local-television ad buying,” the statement said. It noted that much of the voter information the analysis is built on is “readily provided by state government offices.” The firm said it has put security procedures in place to prevent future leaks.
Other digital strategists warned, however, that the failure to protect such detailed information not only raised major privacy and security concerns, but also may have tipped off political adversaries to the inner workings of the Republican Party’s closely guarded digital strategy.
The GOP contracted with Deep Root during the presidential campaign. The firm’s co-founder, Alex Lundry, led the data efforts of GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and then worked for the unsuccessful presidential campaign of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last year.
GOP officials said the data belonging to the party that was exposed was limited to very basic information about voters, such as their party registration. They said none of the GOP’s sensitive strategic data was exposed. The party has suspended work with the firm pending an investigation by Deep Root into security procedures.
The failure by Deep Root to protect its massive database was particularly troubling to some advocates at a time when Congress is investigating how Russia exploited data vulnerabilities to meddle in last year’s presidential election.
“This is data used for opinion manipulation,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the nonprofit research group Electronic Privacy Information Center, based in Washington. “It needs to be regulated. And there needs to be consequence for breaches. We have a major problem in this country with data security, and it’s getting worse.” The foundation wants Congress to hold hearings on political data security.
But holding political parties and contractors accountable for their data practices has proven tricky. David Berger, an attorney with the Bay Area-based firm Girard Gibbs who has represented consumers affected by data breaches at Anthem and Home Depot, said part of the problem is voters are not demanding changes loudly enough.
When a retail company fails to protect the privacy of its customers, Berger said, the company suffers and lawmakers hear about it from the victims.
“When people see Deep Root, they are not going to necessarily associate that with the [Republican Party] or anything else,” he said. “If your average American knew the amounts of data and profiling that is already put together by these companies about every single one of us, people would be very concerned. But there’s no face here, and they try to keep quiet.”
Halper reported from Washington and Dave from Los Angeles.
All week, author, law professor and former Democratic Party operative Susan Estrich debates closing Gitmo, the GOP’s future and more with law professor and nationally syndicated radio talkshow host Hugh Hewitt.
Line of Duty actor Mark Bonner was banished on Thursday’s (October 23) episode of Celebrity Traitors.
The Line of Duty star was banished from the Traitors castle(Image: BBC)
Celebrity Traitors star Mark Bonnar has revealed who he reckons will triumph as he declared two contestants’ “days are numbered”.
The Line of Duty actor was booted out on Thursday’s (October 23) episode of the BBC smash hit after his destiny was sealed through the Chest Of Chance following a voting stalemate between himself and David Olusoga.
He fell under scrutiny after his fellow contestants branded him of being excessively theatrical.
At the time, Rugby player Joe Marler said his performing abilities would enable him to ‘slip into the role of a traitor’ with ease.
Traitor Alan Carr also set his sights on the 56 year old actor after spotting a chance to eliminate another faithful, reports Wales Online.
After his departure from the Celebrity spin-off, the actor featured on Saturday’s (October 25) episode of BBC breakfast with presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty.
It wasn’t long before the hosts grilled the star on some programme spoilers as Naga questioned: “Who do you think is going to win?”
Mark declared: “I don’t know but I think at this stage I would say probably.. I’ll choose one from each camp and it’s either Nick or Cat.”
Naga pressed on: “So Cat is a Traitor and Nick is Faithful.” Mark responded: “Yes. I think they’re both playing a really brilliant game.”
Charlie interjected: “It’s kind of a tricky one now, you know what you’re allowed to say and what you’re not allowed to say.”
Naga was eager for the star to reveal some programme secrets as she questioned: “So do you know because you said you generally don’t know.”
Mark kept his cards close to his chest, stating: “I generally don’t know.” Naga pressed on: “So you only know up to your involvement.”
The TV host continued: “As you were watching you said Cat and not Jonathan or Alan.”
Mark speculated: “I think Jonathan’s days are numbered because Joe has been kind of gunning for him. Even though he goes for him and says ‘Jonathan, Jonathan’ but ends up voting for something else.”
He added: “I still think his days are numbered and he knows it as well. Alan has really grown into it, he started off really sweaty but now he is just accusing people left right and centre.
“But I think his days might be numbered too because if they don’t get him next week, they’ll come back to that forgetting he had a shield and that is a big thing. He has forgotten because he doesn’t care.”
You can catch up on Celebrity Traitors on BBC iPlayer
Smith, who is a California native, was last seen around 9 p.m. Friday in a building on campus, police said.
A drone is being used to “identify potential search area,” police said Monday.
Vermont State Police on Wednesday activated a Search and Rescue Team to be Thursday in full force.
Middlebury Fire Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, FBI and New York State Police are assisting in the search.
“We will do everything we can to find Lia,” three Middlebury administrators said Monday in a statement. “She is a beloved member of our Middlebury family and there is nothing more important than the health, safety, and well-being of our students and of our entire community.”
She is 5-foot-11, approximately 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Smith, a double computer science and statistics major, competed on the college’s women’s swimming team and was a member of the chess club.
“If anybody knows anything, even if it’s a friend that’s just afraid that maybe the information they may have might not be useful, please share it with the police because anything is worth us looking into and trying to decipher whether it benefits the investigation,” police Sgt. Nathan Hayes said Monday.
“If there’s any concern, or if Lia thought she was in trouble for anything, she’s not. Nnobody’s in trouble for this. We just truly want to find out where she is and make sure she’s safe.”
Middlebury College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1800, has about 2,800 undergraduate students and about 700 graduate students in International Studies in Addison County in the state’s Champlain Valley.
Middlebury is among the schools considered as Little Ivies.
THE opening date for a massive £160 million train station servicing London is just days away – and all destinations and ticket fares have finally been revealed.
It is the first new station on the East Coast line for 100 years, and will be a massive boost for thousands of commuters.
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The new station will provide frequent trains to-and-from London Liverpool Street in just 40 minutes
As previously reported, Beaulieu Park Station in Chelmsford is being built in the north of the city and is part of a huge regeneration project in the area.
It will provide frequent trains to-and-from London Liverpool Street in just 40 minutes and opens on Sunday, October 26, 2025.
The mega station will have three platforms, a new track for passing, faster trains, plus a taxi rank, drop-off areas and bus connections.
There will also be more than 750 parking spaces for people to leave their vehicles while using the trains.
Parking charges start from £3.50 for an hour rising to £11.50 for the day.
London Liverpool Street connects over 100 million people annually and is one of the UK’s busiest stations.
An off-peak day return from Beaulieu Park Station to London Liverpool Street is priced at £28.20, while seven-day season tickets will cost £134.60.
A day return to London Liverpool Street during peak hours will cost travellers £42.60.
For those travelling to and from Stratford, the costs are £22.60 for an off-peak ticket, £19.70 for a standard day single and £35.30 for a standard day return.
The new service will also service Southend Airport, with tickets costing £16.90 for a standard day single, £24.10 for a standard day return, and £21.30 for a child day return.
Residents of other cities such as Ipswich and Norwich will also benefit from Beaulieu Park Station.
The full list of fares and services is available from operator Greater Anglia.
Major upgrade
The new station is part of a major upgrade to the city.
This includes the construction of new roads and up to 14,000 new homes.
Of these, more than 4,000 homes have received planning permission so far, with 2,000 of those already built.
The project has been years in the making.
The original planning permission was granted in 2013.
Work has been ongoing since 2023 with the opening date finally on the horizon.
Chelmsford has a huge commuter rail service that sees over 15,000 passengers every day and 5.7 million annual users.
The development of Beaulieu Park has also been put in place to try and relieve congestion in the city centre.
The new north-eastern bypass will make access to the new station from surrounding towns such as Braintree much easier.
There’s A New Train Operator In Town …
They hope to challenge Eurostar with trips across the Channel…
A brand-new train operator is hoping to launch services between the UK and Europe, offering ‘competitive fares’ for passengers.
Currently, Eurostar is the only rail operator that connects the UK to destinations across Europe, including cities in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
This could all change as a new train operating company, Gemini,has announced its plans to launch services between the UK and Europe.
The new train operator, which is currently being established, hopes to begin its rail journey by launching services from London to Paris and Brussels.
Once services between London and Paris/Brussels have launched, Gemini hopes to further its list of European destinations.
The new rail operator plans to introduce ‘new cutting-edge trains and a fresh approach to sales and ticketing’ on services between the UK and Europe.
The Taliban has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul
Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after more than a week of deadly fighting.
The foreign ministry of Qatar, which mediated talks alongside Turkey, said both sides had agreed to establish “mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability”.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said ending “hostile actions” was “important”, while Pakistan’s foreign minister called the agreement the “first step in the right direction”.
Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties during the clashes, the worst fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of harbouring armed groups which carry out attacks in Pakistan, which it denies.
Clashes intensified along the 1,600-mile mountainous border the two countries share after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul.
Rumours had circulated the blasts in Kabul were a targeted attack on Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan Taliban. In response, the group released an unverified voice note from Mehsud saying he was still alive.
In the days that followed, Afghan troops fired on Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistan to respond with mortar fire and drone strikes.
At least three dozen Afghan civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday.
A temporary truce was declared on Wednesday night as delegations met in Doha, but cross-border strikes continued.
Under the new agreement, the Taliban said it would not “support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan”, while both sides agreed to refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the latest ceasefire meant “terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan’s soil will be stopped immediately”, with the two sides set to meet in Istanbul for further talks next week.
Pakistan was a major backer of the Taliban after its ouster in 2001 following a US-led invasion.
But relations deteriorated after Islamabad accused the group of providing a safe haven to the Pakistan Taliban, which has launched an armed insurgence against government forces.
Ange Postecoglou has been sacked by Nottingham Forest following the side’s 3-0 defeat by Chelsea at the City Ground.
The Australian’s dismissal – 39 days after his appointment on 9 September – means Postecoglou’s stint at Forest is the shortest permanent managerial reign in Premier League history.
The former Tottenham boss failed to win any of his eight matches in charge of Forest, with two draws and six defeats across all competitions.
Forest collected just one point from Postecoglou’s five Premier League matches in charge, leaving the side one point above the relegation zone in 17th.
“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that after a series of disappointing results and performances, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect,” a Forest statement read.
“The club will make no further comment at this time.”
The National Trust has shared some of the best places to visit in the UK in October and November and among them a country estate which offers breathtaking views, magnificent ruins and even a deer park
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The Yorkshire estate has impressive ruins at its centre (Image: James Ennis via Getty Images)
Autumn stands as one of the finest seasons to explore the countryside and witness nature’s spectacular leaf-based show before winter arrives.
If the weather is spot on, this time of year truly delivers ideal walking conditions: not sweltering like summer, not bitter like winter, but just right. Then there are the stunning autumn colours, turning rural landscapes into a magnificent tapestry of hues.
To mark this enchanting season, the National Trust has compiled some of the finest excursions for the coming weeks. Amongst these is a Yorkshire estate boasting spectacular vistas, impressive ruins and even a deer park, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The National Trust suggests exploring Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal in North Yorkshire for “dramatic autumn views, with reflective pools and tree-lined avenues glowing in shades of red, yellow and brown.”
Originally, the estate comprised two distinct locations. There were the remarkable remains of Fountains Abbey, a remnant from medieval times and Britain’s most extensive monastic ruins.
Meanwhile, Studley Royal was reimagined by John Aislabie during the 18th century into one of England’s most spectacular water gardens, earning World Heritage Site recognition in 1986.
In 1767 William Aislabie purchased the Fountains Abbey ruins to finish the garden and craft the perfect panorama. Prime viewing spots include the Octagon Tower and Tent Hill, offering stunning views across the water garden, as well as the gradual reveal of the abbey from Anne Boleyn’s Seat at the Surprise View.
With autumn in full swing and October half-term just around the corner, it’s an ideal time to explore the grounds if you’re local. Wander along riverside paths that lead to a deer park, home to Red, Fallow and Sika deer, and ancient trees such as limes, oaks, and sweet chestnuts.
The abbey and garden are open daily from 10am to 4.30pm, with an on-site tea room and restaurant for visitors. Tickets start from £21 for adults, £10.50 for children aged five to 17, while under fives go free.
Free parking is available at the visitors centre. For more information, visit the National Trust website.
If you do find yourself in Yorkshire this autumn and fancy leaning into the spookier end of the month, then why not stop off in Bradford?
According to Tarotoo, the spookiest city in the UK is Bradford. The West Yorkshire spot was found to have an alarming 143 cemeteries and 255,699 grave sites. It also had 3,284 empty houses and 66,080 properties over 100 years old. As everyone knows, ghosts love old houses.
The city has a number of reportedly haunted hotspots too, including Paper Hall, which is a Grade II listed building dating back to 1643. One of the most striking reports of paranormal activity to come out of Paper Hall tells of a pair of large staring eyes belonging to a very ghastly face often seen looking out of the windows.
Kilian Jornet, one of the world’s most accomplished mountaineers, did something this month that left even other elite athletes gasping: He climbed all 72 summits in the contiguous United States that stand over 14,000 feet tall.
In 31 days.
That’s like climbing California’s Mt. Whitney — the nation’s tallest mountain outside of Alaska — two-and-a-half times per day, every day, for a month.
But reaching so many summits, so quickly, was only half the battle. In fact, it was “the fun part,” a surprisingly rested-looking Jornet said in a Zoom interview from Seattle earlier this month, three days after summiting Mt. Rainier in knee-deep snow to complete the grueling journey, which he started in early September.
The hard part was negotiating the spaces in between.
Spanish mountaineer Kilian Jornet treks through the Sierra Nevada range known as the Normans 13, which connects 13 summits over 14,000 feet.
(Andy Cochrane)
“If you’re driving, you see the landscape,” Jornet explained. “But you don’t feel it.”
OK, how do you feel it?
By running the hundreds of miles of remote mountain ridges, and biking the thousands of miles of desolate highway, that separate the towering summits scattered across Colorado, California and Washington.
In total, Jornet covered 3,198 miles under his own power. He biked 2,568 miles. He ran 629 miles. He climbed 403,638 vertical feet.
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Tommy Caldwell, arguably the best technical rock climber of his generation and the first to climb Yosemite’s nearly impossible Dawn Wall, followed Jornet’s progress on Instagram. When the Spaniard finished, Caldwell posted, “my mind is officially blown.”
Like many elite climbers, Jornet, 37, slips into a stoic, been-there-done-that voice when describing mountain conditions that would terrify mere mortals. But he broke character, briefly, talking about climbing the summit of Mt. Shasta in Northern California.
As often happens on that free-standing volcano, a howling gale struck just as Jornet approached the 14,162-foot summit.
Shaky video shot by a climbing partner shows Jornet’s trekking poles flailing and his feet sliding around on the ice as he struggles — and fails — to remain upright in what sounds like a hurricane.
“It was crazy,” he conceded, “probably the windiest day I have ever had in the mountains.”
Asked why, exactly, he puts himself through so much agony, he snapped back into aw-shucks mode. He sank into his comfy seat, smiled with the confidence of a man who has parried that question a thousand times, and said:
“Why not?”
Spanish mountaineer Kilian Jornet climbed 72 summits over 14,000 feet in the contiguous U.S. in 31 days.
(Nick Danielson)
In an age saturated with professional outdoor athletes competing for social media attention and lucrative sponsorships — and in a world where the most iconic summits have been climbed, the biggest waves have been surfed and the wildest rivers have been run — one fashionable way to stand out is by setting a fastest known time, or “FKT.”
Jornet’s jaunt over and between those 72 summits, which he dubbed “States of Elevation” and gorgeously documented for his 1.8 million followers on Instagram, was, by all accounts, the fastest known time. It was also the only known time. Apparently, nobody else has tried to link all of those summits together in a single, human-powered push.
“Yes, it’s hard,” Jornet said with a laugh when asked if the constant, grinding pain was worth it. But after a while, “you get used to the discomfort, it’s just part of it, it doesn’t really bother you.”
The finale of Jornet’s 72-peak feat was a 14,441-foot volcano covered with glaciers, one of the broadest and most visually imposing mountains on the planet. Few people even attempt to climb Mt. Rainier this time of year because the weather can be so brutal.
As Jornet pedaled closer to the peak, it started to rain down in the flats, so he knew that meant snow on the mountain.
Crossing the glaciers with their immense, yawning crevasses hidden by fresh snow would have been too dangerous, so Jornet chose a steep and challenging rock route known as Success Cleaver. But even that was buried in knee-deep snow.
After summiting Mt. Rainier, Jornet posted that his U.S. journey was, “never about just the numbers, but rather a deep connection to wild places, and true test of resilience in body and mind.”
Anyone else claiming that might have been met with eye rolls, but Jornet is one of the few outdoor athletes who probably doesn’t need to pad his resume: He cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats long ago.
Spanish mountaineer Kilian Jornet hikes in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado in September.
(Nick Danielson)
Born just outside of Barcelona in 1987, he grew up in a ski area in the Pyrenees where his father was a mountain guide. He climbed his first mountain over 10,000 feet when he was 5.
At 20, he won the first of six titles in the Sky Runner World Series, an international competition consisting of long, high-altitude foot races that test speed and endurance on steep mountainsides.
At 26, he set FKTs for climbing Switzerland’s Matterhorn and France’s Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Western Europe. A year later, he broke the speed record climbing the bitterly cold and deadly Denali, in Alaska, the tallest mountain in North America.
A few years after that, he climbed Mt. Everest twice in one week without supplemental oxygen.
In addition to all of the technical mountaineering, Jornet has been one of the most successful ultramarathoners in history, winning the prestigious Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, a 100-mile race through the Alps, four times.
After his early career dominating distance races in relatively cold climates, Jornet showed up at Northern California’s Western States ultramarathon in 2010. It’s a 100-mile race that starts near the shore of Lake Tahoe and descends to the Sacramento suburbs in late June, when the sun and temperatures can be unforgiving.
He was comically unprepared. “I didn’t do any heat training,” Jornet recalled, “so when I arrived I was like, ‘Should I have brought water for this race?’” Still, he came in third, then returned the next year to win.
In June, he went back to the Western States 100 for the first time in 14 years. The event has evolved since then: The field is fitter and more professional. But even at his relatively advanced age, Jornet came in third, dropping more than an hour off his winning time in 2011.
Back then, he relied mostly on raw talent, Jornet said. “I train much better now, I know I need to prepare specifically and put in the work.”
But does he ever just kick back and spend a weekend sprawled on the couch, a remote in one hand and a bowl of ice cream in the other?
“For me, that’s not relaxing,” he said, recalling the time he and his wife, Emelie Forsberg, also a world champion runner and skier, tried to take a normal vacation.
They had just completed a race on Reunion Island, off the coast of Madagascar, when they decided to spend a week on the nearby tropical island of Mauritius.
“We said we’d just sit on the beach and read books, and that’s all,” Jornet said. But by the end of the first day they looked at each other and wondered if they should change their flight to get back to running and skiing in the mountains. “It was like, yes, yes, yes for both of us,” Jornet said.
Spanish mountaineer Kilian Jornet in the Sierra Nevada range known as the Normans 13, which connects 13 summits over 14,000 feet.
(Andy Cochrane)
After years living in Chamonix, France, a hard-partying resort in the Alps regarded as the mountain sports capital of the world, Jornet and Forsberg moved to a house by a remote fjord in Norway. It’s a quiet place to raise their three young children, grow their own vegetables and train in the surrounding mountains, some of which have no names.
“Sometimes when you’re climbing Everest, or Mont Blanc, or Mt. Whitney, it’s like you’re climbing the famous name,” Jornet said. As he matures, he prefers climbing mountains simply “because they’re beautiful.”
But he still craves big challenges.
Last year, he climbed all 82 summits in the Alps over 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) in 19 days, traveling the 750 miles between them on foot and bicycle.
“This was, without any doubt, the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life, mentally, physically, and technically,” he wrote on social media. “But also maybe the most beautiful.”
That got him thinking even bigger, trying to imagine the most “aesthetic line” for a similar expedition in the United States.
After landing in Denver last month, he went straight to the trailhead for 14,256-foot Longs Peak. “But I really felt like crap,” he said, blaming a combination of jet lag and the air being so much drier in Colorado than in Norway.
For the first week, he wondered if he should just quit. But then, somewhere along the way, his body switched, “from fighting to adapting,” and he settled into a comfortable rhythm.
After summiting 56 mountains in Colorado, Jornet hopped on his bike and pedaled 900 miles to California, where 15 more high peaks awaited. At times, the headwind was so brutal he slowed to a maddening crawl, even when going downhill.
He’d also lost 10 pounds in the mountains and, at 5’7” and about 130 pounds, his slender frame has nothing to spare. So he spent much of his time on the bike shoveling calories — even spiking his water bottles with generous helpings of olive oil — to replace lost fat.
His long slog on the bike ended in Lone Pine, a dusty town four hours north of Los Angeles, where the Eastern Sierra rise 10,000 feet, like a solid granite wall, from the desert floor.
Jornet had covered nearly 200 miles that day, and faced a 6,000-foot climb to the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead, where he would sleep before starting the toughest part of the whole trip.
The road up to Cottonwood Lakes is 23 miles of harrowing switchbacks, with vertigo-inducing views of the valley below at almost every turn. The drive, alone, freaks out a lot of people.
“It was cool that I arrived there in the dark,” Jornet said, undaunted by the prospect of pedaling off the side of a cliff. “Nice to do the climb when it wasn’t so hot.”
The next morning he started running “Norman’s 13” — a baker’s dozen of 14,000-foot summits along the Sierra Crest between Lone Pine and Bishop, the most remote and punishing alpine terrain in California. He made astonishing time: cruising over 14,032-foot Mt. Langley and 14,505-froot Mt. Whitney like they were speed bumps.
But for all their imposing altitude, the standard routes up Langley and Whitney don’t require any special skills, they’re just long hiking trails with very little exposure to deadly falls. Things changed when Jornet reached a section called the Palisades Traverse, just up the hill from Big Pine.
There, a ridge of jagged granite rises like an upside down saw’s blade over one of the last remaining glaciers in California. There are no hiking trails, just daunting towers of shattered and jumbled rock, where seemingly any misstep can lead to a thousand-foot fall.
Only the most committed mountaineers go there, and they tend to take their time, waiting for good weather and climbing with ropes and harnesses.
But when you’re on a mission like Jornet’s, you don’t get to “choose your weather,” he said. You just start and then you’re committed, you have to take what comes.
What came the day he reached the traverse was a surprising, early-season blizzard. It covered the usually reliable, grippy granite with about 4 inches of snow and ice. The storm made climbing “more complicated,” Jornet said, and more miserable.
It was cold and “I was completely soaked,” Jornet said. But with the help of Matt Cornell, a well-known climber from Bishop, he was able to keep going and finish the 100 miles of Norman’s 13 in 56 hours, shaving more than 19 hours off the previous record.
He only slept once during that span, he said, for about an hour and a half, lying in the middle of a trail.
When speed climbing over peaks, Jornet traveled light, carrying only the bare essentials to stay nourished and protected from the weather.
When possible, he was accompanied by photographers and videographers, most of whom had to be exceptional athletes to keep up.
He also stayed in contact with his press team and social media producers, and he sometimes slept in a support RV at the trailheads.
But after the frigid Palisades Traverse he indulged in a bit of luxury, pizza and a glorious night in a hotel bed in Bishop. The next morning, he hiked 14,252-foot White Mountain and then hopped on the bike for the 500-mile ride to the unexpected ordeal that awaited him on Mt. Shasta.
Having survived that with no serious damage, he biked through Oregon, finally with a tailwind, and then surmounted Mt. Rainier.
When he finally descended, instead of popping champagne in front of cameras and an adoring crowd, he and a few close friends spent a quiet night in an RV, swapping stories from the road and sharing shots of pickle juice — an inside joke that started somewhere during the trip.
“I’m not a big celebration guy,” Jornet explained.
He wouldn’t say what his next project will be, but several times he returned to the idea of climbing without crowds or fanfare.
“I do these things because I love them, because they bring me joy and happiness, not because I think they’re very important.”
One place he can sit quietly is at home in Norway, looking out the window, across the fjord to the nameless, snowcapped mountains in the distance.
He lets his eyes linger on their faces, settling on pretty lines to climb up or ski down.
The report says 10 small, ocean-dependent nations will experience the biggest increase in dangerous heat days, despite collectively producing only 1 percent of global heat-trapping gases.
Published On 16 Oct 202516 Oct 2025
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A new study by World Weather Attribution and United States-based Climate Central has calculated the increase in dangerous “superhot days” – defined as warmer than 90 percent of comparable days between 1991 and 2020 – due to climate change.
The report, which is not yet peer-reviewed but uses established techniques for climate attribution, was released on Thursday. It highlights the significant effect of the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Before the 2015 accord, the world was on track for a catastrophic 4C (7.2F) of warming by the end of the century, which would have resulted in an additional 114 superhot days per year.
By fulfilling current commitments to curb emissions, the world is now heading towards 2.6C (4.7F) of warming. Under this scenario, the Earth will still add 57 superhot days annually by 2100 – nearly two months of dangerously high temperatures – but this is half the increase of the worst-case scenario. Since 2015, the world has already added 11 superhot days on average.
Potsdam Climate Institute Director Johan Rockstrom, who was not part of the research team, said people should not be relieved that we are no longer on the 4-degree warming pre-Paris trajectory because the current track “would still imply a disastrous future for billions of humans on Earth”.
The report does not say how many people will be affected by the additional dangerously hot days, but coauthor Friederike Otto of Imperial College London said “it will definitely be tens of thousands or millions, not less”. She noted that thousands die in heatwaves each year already.
The study also underscores the profound unfairness of the impact of climate change across the world, showing a massive disconnect between carbon pollution and expected heat exposure.
The 10 countries that will experience the biggest increase in dangerous heat days are almost all small, ocean-dependent nations like Panama, the Solomon Islands, and Samoa. These countries are expected to see the largest spikes, with Panama projected to face 149 extra superhot days a year. These 10 nations collectively produce only 1 percent of global heat-trapping gases.
In stark contrast, the top carbon-polluting countries – the United States, China, and India – are predicted to get only between 23 and 30 extra superhot days. Despite being responsible for 42 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide, they will face less than 1 percent of the additional superhot days.
University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who was not part of the study team, said this heat inequality drives “yet another wedge between have and have-not nations”, potentially sowing seeds of geopolitical instability.
Reality television production in Los Angeles declined sharply this summer, leading to a nearly 21% drop in overall TV shoot days, a new report shows.
The total number of shoot days in the greater L.A. area from July to September was 4,380, down 13.2% compared to a year ago, according to data from FilmLA, a nonprofit that handles film permits for the Los Angeles region.
Projects that received an incentive have 180 days to start production after notice of their award, and it often takes time to commence filming.
Because of that, FilmLA executives were not surprised to see on-location production continue to slip during the summer months.
“Fortunately, we’ve already begun to see early signs of these incentives having their desired effect,” he said. “We’re excited to be taking calls from productions looking to line up their locations and pull permits,” FilmLA Vice President Philip Sokoloski said in a statement.
TV production totaled 1,441 shoot days, down 20.7% compared to the same time period last year. The decline is especially significant because TV is the region’s main driver of production.
Reality TV dropped to 649 shoot days, down 31.4% compared to last year. Other genres of TV production also saw a downturn — drama (down 19%) and pilots (down 34.5%). Production of television comedies, however, was a bright spot with 79 shoot days, up 41.1%.
Feature film production in L.A. also ticked up with 522 shoot days, an increase of 9.7% compared to last year. But commercial production, which does not receive a tax incentive, was down 17.9% to 668 shoot days.
The report’s “other” category, which includes student films, still photo shoots and documentaries, saw a decrease of 9.9% to 1,749 shoot days.
A shoot day represents one crew’s permission to film at a single location in a 24-hour period.
A POLISH woman has been discovered in a shocking state after allegedly being locked in a tiny room by her parents for nearly three decades.
Mirella, now 42, was just 15-years-old when she vanished from public life in 1998.
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Mirella, 42, has been discovered in a shocking state after allegedly being locked in a room for three decadesCredit: Unknown
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The Polish woman was found ‘days away from death’Credit: Unknown
She lived in the city of Świętochłowice, in southern Poland.
Her parents reportedly told neighbours at the time that their teenage daughter had gone missing. For years, no one questioned it.
But this summer, police stumbled upon the horrifying truth.
Officers were called to an apartment block in July after residents heard a disturbance coming from inside.
When they knocked on the door, the elderly landlady, 82, denied anything unusual was going on.
Cops then spoke to Mirella directly. She reassured them that “everything was fine”.
But officers quickly noticed severe injuries on her legs and decided to call and ambulance.
She was rushed to hospital – and doctors determined she was just “days away from death” from infection.
Although Mirella’s discovery took place in July, the shocking case has only now come to light after locals launched a fundraiser to help her recover.
One of the organisers posted online: “Doctors determined that she was only days away from death due to infection.
“She has been in hospital for two months now due to her critical condition.
“People who knew Mirella thought she left her ‘family’ home almost 30 years ago.
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The emaciated woman was discovered by cops. Police had been called to an apartment block back in July after neighbours reported hearing a disturbance.Credit: Unknown
“People who knew Mirella thought she left her ‘family’ home almost 30 years ago.
“Unfortunately, the truth turned out to be different.
“Much remains unknown, and several facts cannot be revealed at this stage. One thing is certain: the truth must come to light as to why this young, healthy 15-year-old stopped leaving her home and disappeared without a trace.
New CCTV in search for missing woman, 34, who vanished from her home
“It is unimaginable to spend so much time in one room.
“She herself says that she has never even seen her city develop, that it is behind in everything, that she has missed out on so many things, she has never been to a doctor, never obtained an ID card, never gone for a simple walk or even to the balcony…
“She’s never been to a dentist or a hairdresser.
“Her hair and teeth are in critical condition, even threatening her health, so visits to a private clinic are now necessary.”
Mirella’s nightmare began when she was just a teenager. Her parents allegedly confined her to a small room in their flat and cut her off from the outside world completely.
For 27 years, neighbours believed the couple’s story that their daughter was missing.
Residents assumed only two people lived in the flat: the elderly couple.
Her ordeal only came to an end at the end of July when neighbours heard noises and alerted the emergency services.
When police and paramedics entered the second-floor apartment, they were met with a devastating scene.
Witnesses said Mirella looked “extremely neglected,” and her legs “appeared to be necrotic.”
One neighbour said: “It’s unbelievable. I remember Mirella as a teenager. We used to play in front of the building when I visited my grandmother for the holidays.
“Then she suddenly disappeared under mysterious circumstances.”
After she was rescued, Mirella spent two months in hospital fighting for her life.
Authorities have now launched a criminal investigation.
Prosecutor Agnieszka Kwatera confirmed that the case is being formally investigated.
Junior Asp. Anna Hryniak from the Municipal Police Headquarters in Świętochłowice told Fakt: “After our intervention and transporting the woman to the hospital, the district police officer contacted the Social Welfare Center.
“We are awaiting feedback on this woman’s situation from the Social Welfare Center so we can take further action.”
It is not yet clear what legal consequences Mirella’s parents will face.
The shocking discovery comes just days after a separate case made headlines in Brazil.
Authorities were tipped off anonymously and found the child in a state of neglect. She had never been to school, received no vaccinations, and could not speak.
Child protection counsellor Ligia Guerra said: “The girl was very apathetic and dazzled by everything.”
She added that the child’s hair was “tangled” and looked “as if it had never been washed.”
The girl had reportedly eaten nothing that day and survived only on liquids.
She communicated with police and counsellors through sounds rather than words.
The child was immediately taken to hospital for medical checks before being moved to a children’s home.
Both cases have horrified the public and raised questions about how such extreme abuse can go unnoticed for so long.
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She lived in the city of Świętochłowice, in southern PolandCredit: Getty
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Her ordeal only came to an end at the end of July when neighbours heard noises and alerted the emergency servicesCredit: Getty
More than two decades after their peak, the music of Yellowcard is a pop punk message in a bottle. The note that washed ashore from a simpler time describes the image of a young, sharply-dressed band full of aspirations, thrashing on their instruments — violin included — in the echoey tomb of an underground parking garage in the music video for “Ocean Avenue” as the chorus kicks into overdrive.
“If I could find you now, things would get better, we could leave this town and run forever, let your waves crash down on me and take me away,” frontman Ryan Key sang ecstatically at the top of his lungs.
That hit song, the title track of 2003’s “Ocean Avenue,” created a tidal wave of success that changed the course of their career from struggling artists to a world-touring headliner and darlings of MTV’s Total Request Live.
“The first time it happened, we were really young,” Key said, gingerly grasping a spoon with his heavily tattooed hand while stirring a cup of hot tea. “We were quite literally a garage band one minute, and then we were playing on the MTV Video Music Awards and David Letterman and whatever else the next minute.”
It’s a moment that hasn’t escaped his memory 22 years later. Now, he and his bandmates — violinist Sean Mackin, bassist Josh Portman and guitarist Ryan Mendez — are far from the ocean but not too far from water as they look out at a sparkling pool from the window from a suite at the Yaamava’ Resort and Casino in Highland. A couple hours from now, the band will play a splashy pool party gig for 98.7 ALT FM. The set will include a raft of all the old hits, including “Ocean Avenue” of course, as well as their first new songs in almost a decade.
Before the release of the first singles for the new album, “Better Days,” it might’ve been easy to write off their 11th album as another release destined to be overshadowed by their early catalog. However, with the right amount of internal inspiration and outside help from Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, who produced and played all the drums on the album, the result was a batch of new songs that haven’t simply been washed out to sea. Quite the opposite, actually.
Prior to the album’s release, the title track “Better Days” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. This achievement came after a 22-year wait since their first appearance on the chart with the “Ocean Avenue” single “Way Away.” Key also notes that it’s the first time fans are using the band’s new music for their TikTok videos instead of “Ocean Avenue.”
“That’s crazy,” Key said. “Everyone is using ‘Better Days.’ I don’t think we’re alone in that. I think for bands in our scene, new music is getting a lot of love and a lot of attention again, and it’s amazing to see.”
It’s been about three years since the band reemerged to play a reunion set at RiotFest in Chicago, following their 2017 farewell show at the House of Blues in Anaheim. At the point they were ready to call it quits, the band was struggling to sell enough tickets to their shows to keep the dream alive. For Mackin, fatherhood forced him to also consider his family’s financial stability, prompting him to enter the corporate workforce as a sales rep and eventually becoming a service director for Toyota. At one point, he was responsible for managing 120 employees. “I just thought that was going to be what I was going to do to take care of my family for the next 20 years,” Mackin said.
After Yellowcard’s hiatus, Key continued playing music in several projects that distanced themselves from the pop punk sound — including recording solo work under his full name William Ryan Key, touring with bassist Portman at his side. Key also produced a post-rock electronic-heavy project called Jedha with Mendez, and the pair also does a lot of TV and film scoring work. For a long time, Key and his bandmates mourned the loss of what they had with Yellowcard. It was the most important thing in Key’s life, though he said he didn’t realize how much the band truly shaped him until it was over.
During their hiatus, band members took day jobs. One member managed 120 Toyota employees before the 2022 Riot Fest reunion reignited their passion.
(Joe Brady)
“Ungrateful is not the word to use about how I felt back then. It’s more like I didn’t have the tools to appreciate it, to feel gratitude and really let things happen and and stay in the moment and stay focused. Because I was so young, I was so insecure about my place, my role in all of it,” Key said.
But after some time away, the raucous 2022 Riot Fest reunion show relit the band’s fire in a way they hadn’t expected. They followed up with a 2023 EP “Childhood Eyes” that pushed the band to take things further with a new full album. Along with these plans came the stunning news that Barker would sign on to produce and play drums for them on the project. For a band that grew up idolizing Blink 182 and Barker specifically as the band’s red-hot engine behind the kit who spent the last 20 years evolving into a music mogul, it was a surreal experience.
“We look at him like a general. It was never lost that the best drummer of our generation is playing drums with us,” Mackin said. “We know him as Travis now, but man, this guy is just oozing talent — he’s doing all these amazing things and he doesn’t seem overrun by it, not distracted one bit. While we were recording, he was right there with us.”
Key says he was initially intimidated singing in front of Barker in the studio and had a few moments where negative, self-conscious thoughts were getting the better of him in the vocal booth during recording. Instead of getting annoyed, he says Barker helped ease his anxiety with a few simple words.
“Travis came into the booth, closed the door, put his hand on my shoulder, and he said, ‘You’re gonna do this as many times as you need to do it. I’m gonna be here the whole time.’” Barker was truly speaking from experience. He told Key at the time that he’d just recorded 87 rough takes of his parts on “Lonely Road,” his hit song with Jelly Roll and MGK. “That was a real crossroads for me,” Key said.
The aspect of the album that feels most akin to “Ocean Avenue” was that Barker never really allowed them to overthink anything when it came to songwriting, a skill the band had unwittingly mastered as kids back in the “Ocean Avenue” days by writing songs on the fly in the studio with little time to care about how a song might end up before they recorded it.
“There’s something about the way we did this record with Travis, where we would walk in and did it in a way we haven’t done in 20 plus years with him saying ‘We’re gonna write and record a song today,’” Key said. “ It was a return to that style of songwriting where you have to kind of get out of your comfort zone and just throw and go.”
The final product moves swiftly over 10 songs, the track list starts with a flurry of energy from the bombastic opening drums of “Better Days” that propel a song on inner reflection on the past. It moves on to the high-energy heartbreak of “Love Letters,” featuring Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. Avril Lavigne lends her soaring vocals to the unrequited love song “You Broke Me Too.” Songs like “City of Angels” and “Bedroom Posters” track episodes in Key’s life where his band’s hiatus took a negative toll on his outlook on life but also about looking for a way back to rediscovering himself. The album wraps with the acoustic lullaby “Big Blue Eyes,” which Keys wrote as a tribute to his son.
Though the songs on “Better Days” frequently wrestle with self-doubt and uncertainty, the response from fans has been surprisingly supportive, Key said.
“I cannot recall seeing this level of overwhelming positive feedback. People are just flipping out over these songs,” the frontman said. “The recording was such a whirlwind. When I listen to it, it’s still kind of like ‘When did I write that song?’ It happened so fast, and we made the record so fast, but I’m glad we just did it.” Despite the success, Key is hesitant to label the band comeback kids, “probably because we are officially passed kids label,” he said.
“Maybe it’s the return of the gentlemen?” Mackin joked.
Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker produced the album, helping the band recapture the spontaneous energy that defined their 2003 breakthrough “Ocean Avenue.”
(Joe Brady)
Whatever they call themselves, coming back to the band after so many years of different experiences has made Yellowcard’s second shot at a career feel all the more rewarding.
“Because you feel like you know you’re capable of something other than being in this band, capable of connecting with your family in a way that you couldn’t when you were on the road all the time,” Mackin said. “There’s things that happened in that break that set us up for success as human beings, not just as creative people.”
For Key, it’s about taking all the lessons they’ve learned as a band and applying them to their future, realizing that the album’s title refers not just to the past behind them, but what lies ahead.
“This record needed to be the ultimate revival, the ultimate redemption song for our band,” Key said. “And so far it’s, it’s proven to be that.”
