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Published on
24/06/2025 – 7:59 GMT+2

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Stocks rallied on Tuesday after US President Trump said that a “complete and total ceasefire” between Iran and Israel would take effect in the coming hours.

Iran’s foreign minister denied that an official ceasefire agreement had been reached, but noted that Tehran would not continue its attacks as long as Israel halted its “aggression”. At the time of writing, Israel had yet to comment.

The truce, which Trump is labelling the end of the “12-day war”, came after Iran attacked a US base in Qatar on Monday, retaliating against the US bombing of its nuclear sites over the weekend.

In response to Tuesday’s development, oil prices dropped as fears over a blockage to the Strait of Hormuz subsided. 

About 20% of global oil and gas flows through this narrow shipping lane in the Gulf.

Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 2.92% to $69.39, while WTI dropped 3.18% to $66.35.

Last week, Brent reached over $78 a barrel, a level not seen since the start of this year.

Looking to the US, S&P 500 futures rose 0.58% to 6,112.00 on Monday, while Dow Jones futures increased 0.51% to 43,118.00.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.89% to 8,550.10, South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.75% to 3,097.28, and the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.07% to 3,417.89.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2% to 24,162.70 and the Nikkei 225 increased 1.16% to 38,796.39.

The US Dollar Index slipped by 0.32% to 98.10. The euro gained 0.25% against the dollar while the yen dropped 0.48% in comparison to the greenback.

Economists had suggested that persistent threats to oil would increase the value of the US dollar and hurt other currencies such as the euro, notably as the US economy is more energy independent.

Greg Hirt, chief investment officer with Allianz Global Investors, told Euronews earlier this week that although the dollar may see a short lift on the Iran-Israel conflict, “structural issues around a twin deficit and the Trump administration’s volatile handling of tariffs should continue to weigh on an overvalued US dollar”.

June 18 (UPI) — The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that May mortgage demand was down 4.5% year-over-year, despite lower interest rates. Refinance demand was also lower in May.

“Economic uncertainty, rising mortgage rates and increasing competition from growing existing-home sales inventory likely dampened overall demand for new-home purchases in May,” association vice president and chief deputy economist Joel Kan said in a statement.

“Applications to purchase newly built homes fell to their slowest pace in three months as buyers held off on their purchase decisions,” he added. Mortgage applications were down 9% compared with April.

According to the mortgage bankers’ group, new single-family home sales dropped 12.1% from April’s sales level. The association estimated that 631,000 new homes sold in May, compared with 718,000 in April.

Kan said applications to buy newly built homes fell to the lowest level in three months.

The average mortgage loan for new homes was $379,209 in May. In April it was $376,992.

Mortgage loan application volume for the week ending June 13 was down 2.6% from a week earlier, according to the association.

That is despite interest rates dropping to 6.84% for a 30-year fixed loan, the lowest level since April.

Mortgage News Daily CEO Matthew Graham wrote in a statement that what the Federal Reserve does next could cause the mortgage market to react.

“This has nothing to do with ‘cut vs no cut’ (there is zero chance of a rate cut) and everything to do with the other information the Fed presents on announcement days,” Graham wrote. “Of this info, it is the dot plot that carries the most weight.”

The dot chart is the Fed’s rate outlook over several years.

Hollywood star Julia Roberts was in attendance at Old Trafford for Soccer Aid 2025, which sees an England team take on Soccer Aid World XI FC in a charity football match

Dermot O’Leary delivered a “profuse apology” to ITV audiences after Tyson Fury, the heavyweight champion, let slip some colourful language during a pre-match pep talk live on air for England’s Soccer Aid 2025 team.

The star-studded charity event at Old Trafford also saw silver screen icon Julia Roberts mingling with football legend Wayne Rooney during the annual fundraiser that pits an England squad against Soccer Aid World XI FC, all in support of Unicef.

In the throes of motivation, Fury, who took on the role of manager for the England team, couldn’t contain his passion in the dressing room speech as he dropped the seven-letter swear. He said live on ITV:

“Let them know how good we are. We are England. We are f****** Spartans. We are Spartans.”

Following the raw moment, presenters Alex Scott and Dermot O’Leary swiftly offered their apologies to viewers, with Scott commenting:

“What can I say about Tyson Fury? We do apologise for the swearing, but it is Tyson Fury, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

READ MORE: Soccer Aid’s Sam Thompson speechless as he’s given shocking news live on airREAD MORE: Hollywood star Julia Roberts makes unlikely cameo at Soccer Aid as hosts speechless

Adding to Scott’s sentiment, O’Leary stated: “We do profusely apologise.”

However, some viewers remained angry that Fury had used the language in the first place, with some even demanding that he should not appear on our screen again. Taking their outrage over the pre-watershed moment to X, one user said: “Why bother getting Tyson Fury on #SoccerAid2025? Of course he’s going to swear constantly on TV.”

Noting that lots of people were getting angry about his use of the F-word, @brikka49 took the mick, saying: “Hi ITV… it’s totally disgusting that uneducated idiot Tyson Fury was allowed to swear at 18:25 in the evening on the lord’s day.

“He should never appear on TV again!”

And some were just outraged that other people were outraged. @96_mikeys said: “God forbid Tyson Fury swearing on Soccer Aid, and people moaning and groaning already! Because at no point in your sad little cretin lives have you ever heard someone swear before.

“Grow up”

Adding a Hollywood shine to Old Trafford was ‘Pretty Woman’ actress Roberts, a self-proclaimed Manchester United enthusiast, captured taking pictures and sharing a smile with Rooney, who not long after dazzled the crowd by netting England’s opening goal.

Other notable names wearing the England kit included ex-One Direction star Louis Tomlinson and celebrated Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah.

This year’s England team also welcomed Last of Us star Bella Ramsey, comedian Paddy McGuinness, ex-Manchester United player Gary Neville and singer Tom Grennan.

Last year saw England triumph with a 6-3 victory, marking the Three Lions’ first win in six years.

Soccer Aid was jointly established in 2006 by Robbie Williams to fundraise for children’s aid organisation Unicef. Since its inception nearly two decades ago, the charity match has raised over £106 million.

EASTENDERS has dropped the biggest clue yet a show icon is returning next week.

The BBC has remained silent on The Sun revealing there are two icons making a shock comeback in the coming months.

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But now they have announced that Monday’s episode – the first under the tenure of new boss Ben Wadey – will not be made available on iPlayer at 6am as has become standard.

And it’s set to be an exciting one.

Ben said: “Next week marks the start of something big in Walford that we hope will get everyone talking, and it’s only just the beginning. 

“We’ve got twists, shocks, and plenty of drama lined up for a summer you don’t want to miss.”

pisode spoilers have revealed it will feature a mysterious phone call from Stacey Slater to Alfie Moon.

Stacey has undeniably connections to the two characters returning to the Square.

Max Branning is her former lover, boyfriend and father-in-law.

And her cousin Zoe Slater is also making a bombshell return after 20 years away.

The shock return will see Michelle Ryan, 41, back in Walford this year — delighting fans who had hoped to see her in the soap’s 40th anniversary special in February.

A source said: “Bosses have repeatedly reached out to Michelle over the years, but the timing has never been quite right.

“People are still talking about her character, so it’s a real coup to bring her back.

“She feels like now is the perfect moment — and there was an exciting script on the table.”

Michelle starred on the soap from 2000 to 2005, before moving to Hollywood after landing the lead role in a series called Bionic Woman.

Disney Plus has brought back a mega monthly deal that shaves 60% off its usual price and makes it the cheapest streamer compared to Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+

Disney+ is offering a subscription for £1.99 with the return of a hugely popular streaming deal. The streamer from the House of Mouse has just kicked off a ‘limited-time promotion’ that saves 60% compared to the usual price.

It allows both new and returning customers to subscribe to Disney+ Standard with Ads for £1.99 per month for four months. This would usually cost a total of £19.96 but is now up for grabs for £7.96 – a £12 discount.

However, the deal won’t be around for long and is due to expire on June 30. After the four-month promotional period, Disney+ Standard with Ads will automatically renew at the then-current monthly retail price until cancelled.

READ MORE: Top Tech: Sky vs Virgin Media as free iPad and cheapest ever TV deal up for grabs

READ MORE: ‘Perfect’ Father’s Day present dubbed ‘must have for dads’ is £11

The deal makes Disney+ the most affordable major streamer compared to the cheapest subscription tiers of Netflix (£5.99), Amazon’s Prime Video (£5.99) and Apple TV+ (£8.99). It comes ahead of a packed summer slate of new and returning films and series, led by Disney blockbuster Snow White, streaming now.

Also on the way this summer are Marvel’s Ironheart (June 25), season four of The Bear (June 26) and new prequel series Alien: Earth (August 13). They’re set to join an ever-growing library featuring recent hits and critically acclaimed series, Andor, Welcome to Wrexham, Rivals, Only Murders in the Building and Shōgun.

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Disney+ has brought back its popular deal that lets new and returning customers join its Standard with Ads plan for £1.99 per month for four months.

This means members can stream hit shows like Andor, The Bear and Alien: Earth, plus countless titles from Star Wars and Marvel, for a fraction of the usual price.

The £1.99 deal also provides access to the Stolen Girl, Good American Family and season two of the beloved reality series, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. For those put off by the prospect of adverts interrupting their viewing, the Disney+ plan plays on average less than four minutes of ads per hour of TV, which is less than on terrestrial TV.

What’s more, adverts will only play before a film starts and not during. Aside from the deal, Disney+ also offers the equivalent of two months free to those paying for a year upfront on the Standard or Premium plan.

Opting for an annual plan provides 12 months access for the price of 10 and saves up to £25.98, as well as higher video quality up to 4K UHD and HDR and the ability to stream on four devices simultaneously. Of the many positive reviews left by Disney+ members on Trustpilot, one says: “Offering a fantastic and constantly updated collection.”

Another says: “I love Disney+. I’m a Star Wars and Marvel fan but since the addition of Starz it boosted my love, there’s even more content for adults now that’s worth it all round.

However, the same user added: “Only reason it didn’t get five stars is Disney are not using their other brands in the subscription. If they did this could easily be the best subscription service ever but there is much more content locked behind their own service.”

However, another five-star review says: “Good servers, good services, this nostalgia when watching old cartoons from TV. The subscription is really cheap compared to other streaming services.”

In the latest twist in the legal saga between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, Lively is dropping two claims against Baldoni of emotional distress.

As if the drama couldn’t get any messier, the accusations continue to fly. Baldoni’s lawyer filed a letter requesting that the judge in the case compel Lively to “identify her medical and mental health care providers” — signing a HIPAA release to open up access to her therapy notes and pertinent medical info, as People reported.

Rather than do so, the letter says, Lively requested to withdraw her claims of emotional distress, but maybe just for now. Baldoni’s attorney Kevin Fritz said the actor wanted to keep the right to re-file those emotional distress claims at a later time — but Lively “can’t have it both ways.”

Lively’s lawyers take another view.

Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb accused Baldoni’s legal counsel of a “press stunt,” saying they are simply “preparing our case for trial by streamlining and focusing it,” as per Deadline’s reporting.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis J. Liman had this to say on Tuesday: The two parties must decide “whether the dismissal is with or without prejudice” before proceeding further — the claims are either to be dismissed forever or possibly pursued again, but there is no in-between.

Representatives of Baldoni and Lively did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on Tuesday.

The order comes as the latest event in the lawsuit, with a trial set to begin in March 2026. Lively initially filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint in September.

She accused Baldoni, along with his team, of orchestrating a smear campaign against her after she reported on-set sexual harassment, as first reported by the New York Times.

Most recently, Lively sought to dismiss a defamation countersuit from Baldoni. The motion, filed in March, cites a California law that prohibits “weaponizing defamation lawsuits” against those who have filed suit or “spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation.”

Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman later called the motion “one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system.”

But Lively’s motion only picked up steam as it drew widespread support from advocacy groups. Equal Rights Advocates, a gender equity and workplace protection-oriented nonprofit based in San Francisco, urged a federal judge to support the motion and uphold the aforementioned law.

Jessica Schidlow, legal director at Child USA, a nonprofit that pushes for more legal protection of abuse victims, told The Times in May that if the law were to be struck down, it would “essentially do away with the protections for all survivors.”

“It would be a devastating setback and completely undermine the purpose of the law, which was to make it easier for victims to come forward and to speak their truth without fear of retaliation,” she added.

Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao thanked the SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and the Trump team for “pushing back against regulation by enforcement.”

The SEC and Binance have filed a joint motion to end a nearly two-year legal dispute, marking yet another backdown in the agency’s dealings with crypto firms.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, a former crypto lobbyist, has taken a much softer stance than his predecessor, Gary Gensler. It sends a message that the United States is open for crypto business, enhancing the industry’s potential to innovate and build without the risk of legal retaliation.

This vibe shift has been a driving force behind the recent crypto price rally, and the latest SEC settlement indicates that the trend isn’t slowing down. With that in mind, investors have real opportunity to profit if they successfully identify the best crypto to buy. So here are our top picks.

BTC Bull Token

BTC Bull Token is a Bitcoin-themed meme coin that pays real Bitcoin rewards. It will monitor Bitcoin’s price and run airdrops at key milestones. The first will occur when Bitcoin reaches $150K, and the second will happen when it hits $200K.

JD Vance recently spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference and said he expects the number of Americans owning Bitcoin to double from 50 million to 100 million in the near future. BTC Bull Token is actively working toward increasing Bitcoin ownership, which is why it could be a smart buy.

The project is currently undergoing a presale, which has raised over $6 million to date, indicating substantial market interest.

The project also has a staking mechanism that currently provides a 62% APY. Moreover, $BTCBULL has a built-in burn mechanism that will destroy a portion of the token’s total supply at key Bitcoin milestones. The first will be at $125K, and then with $50K increases afterward.

With a meme coin allure and innovative community reward features and tokenomics, everything is in place for $BTCBULL to thrive this year.

BNB

Solaxy

Solaxy is building the world’s first Solana layer 2 blockchain. Solana is another cryptocurrency that the Gary Gensler’s SEC deemed a security; however, that definition has been dropped under Atkins.

In fact, Solana has been embraced by the Trump administration, having even been added into the US’s newfound crypto stockpile.

While this positions Solana for growth, shrewd investors may buy Solaxy instead. Its layer 2 blockchain tackles Solana’s congestion issue, which leads to longer wait times and increased rates of transaction failures in periods of peak network activity.

The project is undergoing a presale where it has raised a whopping $42 million so far.

In recent weeks, Solaxy has made several major announcements, including a native DEX, a token launchpad, and the end to its presale in 17 days. All of this is culminating into a sense of FOMO, which is causing the Solaxy presale raise to soar.

However, with a promising use case and growing momentum, there’s every chance that this translates into the $SOLX price rallying once it hits exchanges.

XRP

While not directly related to the recent Binance-SEC news, XRP also experienced its own version of this a few weeks ago when the SEC dropped its long-standing lawsuit against Ripple Labs.

The next bull market rally will be the first time since 2020 that XRP has been able to climb without an overhanging lawsuit – that could result in explosive gains.

It’s no secret that XRP is a fan favourite cryptocurrency; its goal of being a cross-border payment solution for banks and institutions is surprisingly popular with retail investors.

With the lawsuit out of the way, investors may now purchase XRP with more confidence. This could generate bigger liquidity flows and cause the price to surge.

To understand the popularity of XRP, look back at its performance in November. It soared 5X and added $120 billion to its market cap in one month after Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

SPX6900

One may be the loneliest number, but No. 2 is what sent Shaquille O’Neal urgently mincing off the “Inside the NBA” stage last month while the cameras kept running.

O’Neal copped to the truth Thursday night during his 18th appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” giving what might be more detail than anyone needed about that sudden departure in April.

First, he clung to the fib, saying, “I was drinking a lot of water that day. So I know I had the No. 2 run, but it was really a No. 1. So let’s just get that out of the way.”

He explained he was drinking olive oil at the time “to be sexy,” because he’d seen on Instagram that if he drank olive oil daily for 14 days, he would clean out his system and have a flat stomach. “So I was trying that.”

A laughing Fallon held his face in his hands.

“You know what,” O’Neal said. “I just made a mistake. I lied to you on national TV. It wasn’t a No. 1 run. It was a No. 2 run. I had to go bad. Oh, I had to go so bad.”

Fallon begged him to keep telling the lie. O’Neal asked whether the host had seen him squeezing his butt cheeks as he scooted away from the “Inside the NBA” desk.

Then Fallon showed a photo of what the crew did to O’Neal the next day: It put a blue porta-potty in studio on his side of the table.

Blessedly, the conversation then moved in a different direction.

Things were a bit more serious but no less amusing back in April when O’Neal got up while a co-host was in the middle of talking and — in a big hurry — walked awkwardly in front of his fellow panelists and out the stage door. Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley weren’t sure what was going on.

“You all right, big fella?” Barkley asked with a look of concern on his face.

As the camera (cruelly) followed him, O’Neal blurted to his co-hosts to “go ahead, keep talking” while one reminded him, “Hey, we’re on TV.”

“It’s that olive oil you’ve been drinking,” Barkley said. “Hey, take some matches with you.”

As the remaining hosts broke into giggles, Kenny Smith said, “After 40, you can’t hold it no more.”

“That wasn’t something planned, was it?” Ernie Johnson Jr. wondered.

Smith also noted that O’Neal had been drinking olive oil to clean out his system, saying, “Oh, he’s cleaning out his gut all right!”

“I did not like his gait as he left!” Johnson said.

And Barkley simply couldn’t move past the idea of the smell.

“Please turn his mic off, that’s all,” Smith quipped. Then, as Smith tried to return to talking about L.A. Clippers forward Kawhai Leonard, the team in TNT’s Studio J came through with the instant replay of Shaq bailing out. Instant. Freaking. Replay.

IN SLO-MO.

The three very professional analysts immediately began very professional analysis of O’Neal’s shambolic gait.

The big man returned fairly soon after that, mumbling something about drinking too much water and about Barkley talking way too long when he really needed to cut to a break.

“Sorry about that, America,” he said.

Seriously Shaq, you have absolutely no reason to apologize. As long as you remember the matches.

LOVE Island fans have been sent into a spin after convincing themselves one star from the show is set to announce her engagement.

Eagle-eyed fans have spotted that the villa alumni is wearing a ring on her wedding finger after recently going public with her boyfriend.

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Sharon Gaffka only unveiled her romance with Matthew Torbitt in March, having previously kept quiet about her private life since her Love Island days.

But now, alongside a series of telling new photos, the 29-year-old is already talking about having a baby with her fella.

Sharon now works as a VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) activist and is an ambassador for domestic violence charity Refuge.

Matthew, meanwhile, is a Homelessness & Prison Reform Advocate.

Together, they have addressed the Oxford Union after being invited there to tell Oxford University students about their work.

Sharon has since shared several black and white photos that were taken backstage at the talk, which show her in a stunning long-sleeved dress and Matthew in a tux.

But after the law graduate posted the pictures on Instagram, fans couldn’t help but spot the ring on Sharon’s left hand.

Sharon told her followers: “I can’t wait to tell our future child that mum and dad were once guest speakers at the union they’ll one day be members of 👀.”

Replying, one follower wrote: “It’s giving engagement announcement pics tbh.”

Much to everyone’s delight, Sharon and Matthew both confirmed that an engagement is very much on the cards.

“It’s coming,” Sharon replied.

Matthew added: “Trust me, it’s coming.”

Sharon even went one stage further in response to a follower who had written: “This is so gorgeous. I’m seeing the not too distant future here.”

The former reality star replied: “Everyone get ready for the wedding content 😂.”

Sharon Gaffka’s love life

What we know about Sharon’s private life since she left Love Island…

Sharon appeared on Love Island in 2021 because she had grown tired of “being the only single one” in her group of friends.

The former beauty queen and law graduate said she was on the look out for someone intelligent.

Sharon was paired with Hugo Hammond on the show but later accused him of ‘touching her inappropriately’ outside of the villa. Hugo flatly denied her allegations.

Although it appeared Sharon was heterosexual, she also accused Love Island bosses of editing out a bisexual confession.

Sharon went off the radar in terms of her private life following her villa stint.

But in 2023, she made a rare admission about her love life – revealing she had enjoyed a celebrity romance.

Sharon confessed: “I have only ever dated one person in the public eye in the past two years, it lasted for the best part of five minutes, so it’s no even known about outside my inner circle.

“I’d want a relationship that was known of, not known about.”

In the same year, Sharon also opened up about suffering a tragic miscarriage.

Sharon, who did not reveal who the baby’s father was, cried as she told fans about her emotional and heartbreaking experience in a video.

In March 2025, Sharon revealed she had found her happy-ever-after with fellow activist Matthew Torbitt.

The pair declared their love for each other on Instagram alongside a series of photos taken during a trip to Spain.

Sharon had hoped to find a boyfriend in the seventh series of Love Island in 2021.

She was was briefly coupled up with Hugo Hammond during her time in the villa, but later accused him of “inappropriately touching” her – which he denied.

She alleged her friendship with Hugo ended because of his behaviour following Love Island, however he described her claims as “completely false” on social media.

Sharon has since remained tight-lipped about romantic liaisons but revealed two years ago that she had suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage.

Opening up as she marked what would have been her baby’s first birthday, the women’s rights campaigner said: “Grief is not a linear process.

“I’m tired of being told that time is healer and this truth is especially evident in the aftermath of miscarriage for those who never planned to have children. Feelings of loss, confusion, guilt, and even relief can surface unexpectedly, and these emotions are all valid.”

Sharon told her fans she wasn’t sharing her story for sympathy, but as part of her healing process.

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