COPENHAGEN: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen heads to Greenland on Sunday for a two-day visit aimed at reaffirming the bloc’s support for the Danish autonomous territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.
On Monday, she is due to sign a joint declaration between the European Union and Greenland.
“Greenland is becoming increasingly important to the EU as a gateway to the Arctic and because of its geopolitical location, critical raw materials and role in Arctic security,” Marc Jacobsen, a researcher at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP.
Trump was adamant earlier this year about Washington’s need to control the vast Arctic island for reasons of national security, though he ultimately ruled out annexing it by force.
A Danish-Greenlandic-US working group has since met regularly to find an agreement on cooperation going forward.
Following Trump’s threats, European countries broadly backed Denmark and Greenland, and in January von der Leyen vowed “massive” EU investment in Greenland to step up security in the Arctic.
Greenland is not a member of the bloc though Denmark is.
Brussels has also proposed doubling direct EU aid to Greenland to 530 million euros ($616 million) under the bloc’s next budget for the 2028-2034 period.
According to the Financial Times, von der Leyen is expected to propose an additional 200 million euros in support during her visit on Sunday and Monday.
Her visit coincides with the start of NATO’s Arctic Shield military exercise, bringing together soldiers from 10 countries.
Mikaa Blugeon-Mered, a geopolitics researcher at the University of Quebec, called the timing a “not insignificant coincidence”.
The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Denmark of neglecting Greenland and Arctic security.
Copenhagen has since reinvested in the region, as has NATO, which launched its Arctic Sentry mission at the start of the year.
“The EU cannot provide Greenland with a military security guarantee in the way NATO can, but it can provide something politically important: a clear signal that Greenland is not standing alone,” Jacobsen said.
Pressure
The message is all the more important as the US has kept up pressure on Greenland — though Trump has been less vocal since a May visit by his special envoy Jeff Landry.
“We’ve been getting ‘postcards’ from Trump or those close to him about Greenland every month, showing that they haven’t forgotten,” noted Blugeon-Mered.
One such image Trump posted on Truth Social in May showed him peering over the island, with the headline “Hello, Greenland!”.
In August, media reports of an American oil company’s preparatory operations in a remote region of eastern Greenland rekindled concerns on the island.
The project, run by a Texas-based company with licenses granted before a 2021 moratorium on oil and gas exploration and extraction, has left locals and authorities uneasy.
Authorities have yet to grant the company approval for exploratory drilling, citing procedural reasons.
Greenland is also struggling to develop its mining industry, which could help it fund its independence from Denmark.
In this area, Greenlandic and European interests are “highly complementary”, Jacobsen said.
“Greenland needs investment, infrastructure and markets if it is to realise its mining ambitions, while the EU is looking for more secure and diversified access to critical raw materials,” he said.
But turning Greenland’s geological potential into reality is proving more difficult than expected.
Some 135 mining permits are held by more than 60 companies, but only two mines are currently in operation.
“The question is whether the current geopolitical momentum will ultimately be a game-changer,” Jacobsen said.
Blugeon-Mered said von der Leyen’s visit to Greenland — her second in two years — was a strong signal that European investment is long-term.
The EU chief is scheduled to hold talks during her visit with Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and the head of government of Denmark’s other self-governing territory, the Faroe Islands.
A BELOVED 90-year-old lido has been forced to shut early this summer due to flash flooding.
Season ticket holders have been directed to a nearby lido, where they will be able to swim free of charge.
Letchworth Lido has cut its summer season short as a result of flooding in the areaCredit: Letchworth Lido/FacebookThe lido will now reopen to the public in the winter for its seasonal ice rinkCredit: Letchworth Lido/Facebook
Letchworth Lido in North Hertfordshire has cut its summer season short due to local flash flooding and torrential rain.
In a statement on its Facebook page, Letchworth Lido said: “We are sorry to confirm that, due to the impact of localised flooding, Letchworth Lido will remain closed and will not reopen for the remainder of this season.
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Bookings were set to be taken up until Sunday, September 6 at the heated lido, however, it will now reopen in winter for its seasonal ice rink.
Letchworth Lido had initially shut on August 27 due to “unforeseen circumstances”, where closures were expected to remain in place during the following week.
This was the second time in just over a year that the pool had shut, with facilities also closed in July 2025 after flooding required a clean-up operation.
The historic heated outdoor swimming pool, located on Norton Common in Letchworth Garden City, originally opened in 1935 as a beloved destination for local residents.
Over 27,000 people attended the 50metre heated lido last summer, with facilities that also include a learner pool, sunbathing area and a cafe.
Customers with bookings before the closure announcement will be contacted directed and offered a full refund for all cancelled sessions.
Season ticket holders for Letchworth Lido will also be able to transfer their ticket to the nearby Hitchin Swimming and Fitness Centre to swim between now until Sunday.
The Doggy Splash sessions that were planned to take place at Letchworth Lido will now also be held at Hitchin Swimming and Fitness Centre on September 11, 12 and 13.
Letchworth Lido continued to say: “We’re very sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience caused by the early closure and thank customers for their understanding.
“We look forward to welcoming you back to Letchworth Lido later this year when it transforms into our festive ice rink.”
AN airport in the UK has been forced to close AGAIN just days after strike action resulted in cancelled flights.
Strikes have been ongoing throughout the last few weeks causing some passengers to be rerouted by over 100 miles.
Several KLM flights to and from Norwich Airport have been cancelled todayCredit: AlamyIt comes just days after another strike forced the airport to closeCredit: Alamy
And Norwich Airport will close again for three parts of today with flights already cancelled and delayed.
The air traffic closures are from 6am to 2pm, then 4pm to 4.45pm, and finally from 6.45pm to 7.30pm.
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Three KLM flights have been cancelled so far, two of which were departing Norwich Airport this morning.
The 9am KLM flight from Amsterdam to Norwich has also been cancelled.
However the 2.05pm flight is currently delayed to depart at 2.45pm.
Another flight set to depart Norwich at 5pm for Amsterdam remains on the schedule.
The TUI flight to Rhodes is set to leave at 2.05pm, rather than its scheduled time of 12:35pm.
On the website, it reads: “Due to Air Traffic Control staff sickness and ongoing industrial action which limits the flexibility to provide additional staff cover, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic on Thursday 3 September during the following periods: 0600 to 1400, 1600 to 1645 and 1845 to 1945.
It comes as part of strike action at Norwich AirportCredit: Refer to Caption
“Airlines have been informed of the closures. Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information about their flight before travelling to the airport.
“We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience this may cause.”
A COUPLE due to travel to Greece were denied boarding over a simple passport mistake and lost out on £500.
And now the couple is warning other travellers about the common mistake.
A couple has been caught out by passport rules and is now warning other travellersCredit: Getty
Celia Jenkins, 78, and her husband Rees, 82, were meant to fly from Bristol Airport to Kefalonia, Greece, for a six-month stay at their house on a Greek island, but were unable to board their flight.
They were caught out by a rule that means UK passport holders are now seen as ‘third-country nationals’ by the EU, meaning they must follow strict entry rules where their passport is less than 10 years old, regardless of when their document expires.
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Jet2 staff told the couple that their passports were 10 years and three days old, meaning their passports were past the limit.
According to The Independent, Celia said: “We were escorted out through border security because technically we had no passports suddenly. We felt like criminals.”
She explained that while the couple missed the fact their passports were no longer valid, they feel like the Government and airlines have not made the rules clear.
She added: “We weren’t informed clearly enough by anybody at any time.
“We didn’t get it because we saw the expiry date rather than the date of issue as being a problem.”
The couple had paid for an airport hotel as well as the flights, meaning they spent and lost around £500.
To enter the EU, your passport must not be older than 10-years-oldCredit: Getty
The couple has since applied to renew their passports but believe they will no longer be able to meet up with their family in Greece.
The 10-year passport rule was actually introduced for UK citizens back in 2021, however many people still get caught out by it.
UK passports must not be issued more than 10 years before the date of entry into the EU and there must be at least three months remaining on the intended day of departure from the EU.
At least three months remaining on the intended day of departure from the EU.
This means that if you returned from a holiday today and have exactly three months left on your passport, but want to travel again next month – you would need to get a new passport.
Getting a new UK passport usually takes around three weeks through the HM Passport Office.
However, the Government advises that Brits apply at least 10 weeks before travelling, especially during busy periods.
US rapper J.Cole has cancelled his show in northern California after one of his crew members tragically died in a major highway crash.
The No Role Modelz rapper was due to hit the stage at Sacramento’s Golden 1 centre but fans learned just hours before the show it would be cancelled due to the fatal accident.
J.Cole cancelled his concert in Sacramento just before it was due to startCredit: GettyIt was cancelled after one of his crew members died in an accidentCredit: Instagram/thefalloff26
“Following the tragic passing of a member of the touring crew in a trucking accident this morning, J. Cole’s performance at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento tonight, August 27, has been canceled,”J.Cole and tour operator Live Nation posted on their respective social media accounts.
“Our thoughts are with the crew member’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”
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The crew member was driving a semi-truck on the Interstate 5 highway in Yolo County, about a 41 minute drive north-east of Sacramento, when the vehicle veered off the road and overturned, per the Sacramento Bee.
He died at scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.
J.Cole was touring with his The Fall-Off tourCredit: GettyJ.Cole rose to fame in 2011Credit: Getty
The man was later identified as Jarlath Parkinson, 66, of Jackson, South Carolina by the Yolo County Coroner’s Office which said it did not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the accident.
Parkinson had been driving the truck full of concert gear from J.Cole’s previous show in Seattle down to Sacramento.
J.Cole is currently on the road with his The Fall-Off tour which was scheduled to include 73 shows across the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Live Nation said that those with tickets to the Sacramento show should contact Ticketmaster for refunds.
Jermaine Lamarr Cole, better known as J. Cole, is a a German-born Americanrapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He is thought to be one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
Cole released his debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in 2011 which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.
He has won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, a Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Album, three Soul Train Music Awards, and eight BET Hip Hop Awards.
A POPULAR UK theme park will reopen today after being forced to close due to flooding.
The owners issued a statement on social media yesterday stating that it needed to shut to ensure the “safety of its customers”.
Drayton Manor was forced to close after heavy floods in the areaCredit: AlamyThe theme park closed for the entire day to ensure customer safetyCredit: Drayton Manor
Drayton Manor Resort has now said it will open as usual today between 10.30am and 6pm – although it has warned not all of its rides may be open depending on conditions.
Today, Dayton Manor said on social media: “We’re open today and operating as normal.”
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It continued: “As always, ride availability can be affected by weather or operational requirements, so we recommend checking our ride availability page before visiting for the latest updates.”
Yesterday, the theme park was closed due to heavy downpours and thunderstorms caused flooding in the area.
Locals reported their cars having been stranded and homes were inundated with flood water.
A statement on the theme park’s Facebook said on Thursday: “Due to adverse weather and flooding, Drayton Manor Resort will be closed today.
“We know many of you were looking forward to visiting, and we’re very sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience this causes.
“There’s no need to contact us at this stage. We’ll be in touch with affected guests shortly with information on how to rearrange your visit for another date.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding while we make alternative arrangements. We look forward to welcoming you to Drayton Manor soon.”
Drayton Manor announced the closure on social mediaCredit: Drayton Manor Resort
Drayton Manor, located in Tamworth in Staffordshire, is considered to be the best-value park in the country.
It has over 50 rides and attractions, and is home to Europe’s only Thomas the Tank Engine Land and a 15-acre zoo.
In 2024, Drayton Manor opened its new Wild West themed world called Frontier Falls.
It opened in July 2024 with a new rollercoaster called Gold Rush where visitors are whisked away in a runaway mining cart.
It’s the first rollercoaster in the UK to feature a backward launch into an outdoor gravity track.
The roller coaster has a two-minute ride time, with Drayton Manor claiming it to be the longest track length for a family coaster in the country.
A UK airport has been forced to close today as staff walk out with ALL flights suspended.
Norwich Airport is closed today following the strike action.
Norwich International Airport has closed with all flights cancelled todayCredit: Skyworks Places / GettyIt comes as staff carry out strike actionCredit: Alamy
Flights cancelled today include three arrivals from Amsterdam and an arrival from Alicante.
As for departures, four flights to Amsterdam have been cancelled and one flight to Alicante has as well.
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Airlines impacted by the strike action include Ryanair and KLM.
The strike was announced earlier this week, which has resulted in the flight suspension until the end of the day.
It comes as Prospect union announced the strike as part of an ongoing dispute over pay, terms and conditions.
In a statement on the airport’s website, it says: “Due to the 24-hour strike by Prospect union members in Air Traffic Control, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic on Friday 28 August and no flights will operate to or from the airport that day.
“Airlines have been informed. Passengers due to travel on Friday should check with their airline for the latest information about their flight and the options available to them.
“We apologise for the disruption and inconvenience this will cause to passengers.
Airlines impacted include Ryanair and KLMCredit: Skyworks Places / Getty
“We remain firmly committed to resolving this dispute through constructive dialogue and will continue to engage with Prospect with the aim of reaching agreement.”
The airport operates to a number of destinations abroad, such as Spain and the Netherlands.
Yesterday, local travel agents told holidaymakers that they would need to travel 101 miles to catch their flights.
They would instead be departing from Southend Airport in Essex with passengers told to head to Norwich Airport, where they would then be taken on a coach to Southend.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Trump’s war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told the Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack.
The U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
In the event of a Russian ballistic missile assault on, for example, a military headquarters or power plant, NATO could be in a similar position to Patriot-starved Ukraine and be forced “to take punch after punch in the mouth,” the U.S. defense official said.
In Europe, the American military “definitely” does not have enough Patriots to stop any possible sustained ballistic missile attack and would have “very limited” capability to defend against a single ballistic missile strike or a stray Russian missile that goes off course, the U.S. official said.
It illustrates the cascading fallout from Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran, a conflict that reaches the six-month mark on Friday. U.S. missile stocks in Europe have been moved to the Middle East, where U.S. and Gulf allies have fired off significant numbers of interceptors, including Patriots, to thwart Iran’s drones and missiles. Some of those attacks have killed and wounded American troops.
Though a Russian ballistic missile attack against NATO countries is not imminently expected, CIA Director John Ratcliffe went to Moscow this week to warn Russia not to attack, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trump played down the significance of the rare and secretive trip, saying it was “sort of semi-routine.”
European and NATO officials say Russia could be in a position to attack countries in the alliance by 2030. Patriot stockpiles are projected to rebound by then. In the meantime, Russia’s war in Ukraine could hinder its ability to carry out any missile attack on Europe as it would be a challenge for Moscow to fight an air war on two fronts.
U.S. Patriot transfers to Ukraine played a role in the drawdown, but the Iran war wasn’t expected
The Patriot missile shortage is most acutely felt in Ukraine, where officials are begging for more air defense support and where previous U.S. transfers also have drawn down some supply. Kyiv says only U.S.-made Patriots can stop Russia’s advanced ballistic missiles, which increasingly are getting through Ukrainian defenses, including as part of a barrage overnight into Thursday.
The U.S. supplied hundreds of Patriot missiles to Ukraine over the course of the 4 1/2-year-long conflict, but the Iran war was the tipping point for shrinking inventories, said Ed Arnold, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a military think tank in London.
The supply to Ukraine was planned for and reasonably measured, he said, whereas stocks in the Middle East have been unexpectedly and quickly drained, exposing supply chain constraints.
The U.S. military in Europe also is grappling with critical shortages of the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, a medium-range ballistic missile designed to strike behind enemy lines, the two officials said. But the overall munitions picture in Europe is less dire than on air defenses alone because some European militaries have their own offensive missiles, such as the Taurus and Storm Shadow, which are both long-range air-launched bunker-busting missiles.
U.S. Army Col. Martin O’Donnell, a senior NATO military spokesperson, said it is “simply not the case” that the number of Patriot missiles in Europe is beyond critical.
NATO, he said, is able to “block punches” and has enough air defense munitions available to defend itself as well as to donate to Ukraine.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Thursday that claims of U.S. munition shortages “are false.”
“We have everything required to strike at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Parnell said. “Across multiple combatant commands, we have already executed successful operations while maintaining a deep, ready arsenal to defend our people and our interests.”
Europe has few alternatives while stocks are low
The dearth of Patriot interceptors in Europe would leave few alternatives for shooting down Russia’s more advanced ballistic missiles, which can be combined with swarms of inexpensive drones to overwhelm defenses, experts say.
Ukraine and some allies already use systems that can destroy slower-moving drones without expensive missiles. But ballistic missiles are a challenge because they dive steeply toward targets at more than five times the speed of sound, leaving little time to stop them.
The Patriot system tracks the missile, predicts its path and launches within minutes, all while carrying out complex calculations to ensure the interceptor finds its target. One Patriot battery can only cover a limited area: for example, a small military base but not a whole city.
One alternative could be France and Italy’s SAMP/T NG air defense system. France has promised to speed up the delivery of the system — the upgraded version of the current SAMP/T — to Ukraine, which the manufacturer says is better able to counter ballistics.
The new iteration, however, has not yet been battle tested and the current version of the SAMP/T has a smaller range than the Patriot.
While U.S. and European militaries have warships that can serve as mobile air defense, they may be too far from a target to protect it and could risk getting sunk.
Patriot stocks have plunged during the Iran war
Ukraine has received Patriots from American and European stockpiles since Russia’s 2022 invasion, with the U.S. providing about 600 of the interceptors during the Biden administration, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
But the greatest expenditure has been during the Iran conflict, which has used up 65% of U.S. Patriots, amounting to roughly 1,500 of the nation’s 2,330 interceptors, CSIS says. About 600 missiles, including those destined for Europe, should be made this year, with a production goal of 2,000 Patriot missiles a year set for 2030, Cancian said.
NATO says Europe’s first Patriot missile production facility is expected to open in Germany in September, with deliveries possibly beginning early next year. The first deliveries should go to countries that have already placed orders, including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain, the U.S. defense official said.
But for now, that means some countries, such as Germany, have bought expensive Patriot systems but are in the “ridiculous” position of not having any ammunition to fire from them, said Arnold of the London think tank.
Germany’s defense ministry said it does not comment on stockpiles.
Russia also has limitations
Moscow likely cannot carry out a sustained air assault on a NATO target while it launches almost nightly attacks on Ukraine, Arnold said.
Ukraine’s recent strikes into Russia also have exposed weaknesses in Russia’s air defenses, which could prompt Putin to think twice about provoking a retaliatory attack.
“The uncomfortable truth is possibly the best air defense that we have is Russian constraints,” Arnold said.
Burrows and Finley write for the Associated Press. Burrows reported from London. AP writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
A MAJOR UK theme park has been forced to close all day “due to adverse weather and flooding”.
Owners of the park have apologised for any disappointment caused by the decision, telling visitors “your safety comes first”.
Drayton Manor has closed its entire resort today due to flooding and thunderstorms in the areaCredit: Alamy
Drayton Manor Resort will remain shut all day today after heavy downpours and thunderstorms caused significant flooding in the area.
Floods have swamped Birmingham and the West Midlands overnight, with locals reporting cars being “stranded” in flood water and homes being left inundated with water.
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More rain is forecast to hit Birmingham and other cities throughout today, with a Met Office yellow warning for thunderstorms continuing into the evening.
Customers have been advised not to contact staff at Drayton Manor at this stage, saying they would contact visitors at a later date to rearrange visits.
A statement on the theme park’s Facebook said: “Due to adverse weather and flooding, Drayton Manor Resort will be closed today.
“We know many of you were looking forward to visiting, and we’re very sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience this causes.
“There’s no need to contact us at this stage. We’ll be in touch with affected guests shortly with information on how to rearrange your visit for another date.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding while we make alternative arrangements. We look forward to welcoming you to Drayton Manor soon.”
The resort announced the closure on its Facebook page earlier todayCredit: Drayton Manor Resort
Drayton Manor, located in Tamworth in Staffordshire, is considered to be the fourth-largest theme park in the country.
With over 50 rides and attractions, Drayton is home to Europe’s only Thomas the Tank Engine Land and a 15-acre zoo.
Bosses have not yet confirmed whether the park will reopen to visitors tomorrow or throughout the Bank Holiday weekend.
David Hills, Chief Customer Officer at Jet2, said: “Lots of customers travel with everyday items such as power banks and e-cigarettes, so this is a simple but important reminder to check where they are packed before setting off for the airport.
“These items are common, but they do need to be carried correctly, and doing so helps us keep everyone safe while they travel to enjoy their well-deserved holidays.”
The reminder follows a number of lithium battery incidents on a number of flights over the past couple of years.
Back in May, an easyJet flight travelling from Egypt to the UK was forced to divert to Rome after a passenger revealed they had left a phone connected and charging via a power bank in their checked luggage.
Power banks or other electricals with a lithium battery should go in hand luggageCredit: Getty
In July last year, a power bank caught fire on a Bangkok Airways flight from Samui to Hong Kong.
The CAA’s power bank rules are as follows:
Power banks must be carried in carry‑on baggage
Power banks must be individually protected when not in use
Power banks must not be recharged on board the aircraft
Power banks should not be used to charge other portable electronic devices on board the aircraft
A WOMAN who hasn’t had a proper summertime holiday in eight years due to her husband’s dedication to sports has been treated to the trip of a lifetime – without him.
Hayley Hayes, from Newport, Wales, hasn’t been on a getaway over the summer for almost a decade, as their plans were often made around key sporting events so husband Anthony was able to watch them, meaning they have had to travel at other times of the year.
Hayley won giffgaff’s Fair-play Summer fundCredit: Matthew Horwood/PinPepAround 22 per cent of people polled said they’d changed holiday plans over a sporting eventCredit: Matthew Horwood / SWNS
In some instances, their holiday destinations have even been determined by the sporting events taking place nearby, with one trip to India in 2024 coinciding with test match cricket.
The couple – who wed in 2016 – found themselves back in India a year later, this time during the Six Nations.
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Despite the time difference, Hayley donned her Wales rugby shirt and joined her husband for late-night and early-hours match screenings from their holiday accommodation.
But now, the 60-year-old retiree has been given the chance for a trip of a lifetime to Svalbard, Norway – a cold weather landscape that fascinates her – but with her friend Rebecca, leaving sports-loving husband Anthony, 66, at home to keep up with the sports fixtures.
The fund was set up to help people overcome barriers getting in the way of a great summerCredit: Matthew Horwood / SWNSAround 14 per cent of people polled have cancelled a holiday due to a sporting eventCredit: Matthew Horwood / SWNS
Hayley was chosen as the winner of giffgaff’s Fair-play Summer Fund, which was designed to help people overcome the barriers standing in the way of a great summer and make the season feel a little fairer.
Speaking about her trip of a lifetime, Hayley said: “I was literally both bouncing up and down and crying with excitement when I found out I’d won and would be going on a cold weather summer holiday I could only previously dream about.
“I’m fascinated by the landscapes of Svalbard, and in particular the varied wildlife that calls the island home.
“Since my husband absolutely does not tolerate the cold, a wintry weather trip was never going to be on the cards for us, so this prize delivers on two fronts.
“Summer is turning into a whole new adventure for me.”
Juggling sports and summer holiday plans isn’t just a balancing act for Hayley and Anthony, as research found over a fifth (21 per cent) of holidaymakers regularly check the sporting calendar before booking a trip.
A poll of 2,000 holiday-goers found 22 per cent have booked, changed or adjusted their travel plans because of a sporting event, with 42 per cent of those scheduling activities around matches.
Some fans have gone even further to avoid missing out, with 24 per cent returning home early from a trip and 14 per cent admitting they’ve cancelled a holiday altogether because of sport.
Meanwhile, half of all respondents have watched or streamed live sport while away, according to the OnePoll findings.
Of those, a quarter have tuned in from a restaurant, while 14 per cent have followed the action poolside.
Time differences don’t stop dedicated supporters either, with 21 per cent waking up early or staying up late to catch their favourite team in action.
And some admit to going to surprising lengths to avoid missing a moment on holiday – with five per cent of all those polled confessing they’ve watched while in the middle of sightseeing.
Others have been willing to spend extra to stay connected, with 10 per cent paying for Wi-Fi access and nine per cent using mobile data despite incurring roaming charges.
giffgaff internal data backs up this demand for watching sports abroad, as it saw large data roaming surges during the football this summer with international matches seeing uplifts of up to 90 per cent for key matches.
Kate Dohaney, CEO for the mobile and broadband provider, which is currently giving data boosts on SIMs starting from just £8 per month, said: “We launched the Fair-play Summer Fund following new data that showed many of us feel like summer doesn’t always play fair.
“From rising costs and hidden charges to missing out on experiences that matter, we wanted to help tackle some of these.
“This season, we’ve provided even greater value on our SIM plans so our members can stay connected for less.
“We’ve also helped 200 people solve their summer sting via our Fund, and are delighted to be sending Hayley to Norway as her fairness fix so she doesn’t have to miss out on the summer trip she’s always dreamed of.”
TRAINS to a major UK airport are experiencing major delays or have been cancelled due to a fire near the track.
Anyone travelling to the London Stansted Airport today has been warned of the disruption.
Lots of Stansted Express trains to London Stansted have been cancelled this morningCredit: AlamyA fire near the track between Cambridge Heath and London Fields has damaged equipmentCredit: Getty
A fire that broke out between Cambridge Heath and London Fields has damaged signalling equipment causing delays on the tracks.
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On X, Greater Anglia issued a travel warning. It explained: “A fire next to the track yesterday, between Cambridge Heath and London Fields, has damaged signalling equipment.
“Trains are unable to run between London Liverpool Street and Hackney Downs. Network Rail engineers are working on replacing the damaged signalling cables as quickly as possible.”
London Liverpool Street to and from Stansted Airport
London Liverpool Street to and from Cambridge North London
Liverpool Street to and from Hertford East Service
Tickets are being accepted at no extra cost on other lines such as the London Overground Mildmay Line between Stratford and Hackney Central.
They are also being taken between Kings Cross and Cambridge and Moorgate and Hertford North, and between Liverpool Street and Kings Cross with London Underground.
Passengers will have to look at alternative routes to London StanstedCredit: Getty
On the Stansted Express website, most trains from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport have been cancelled up until midday.
A UK airport is set to close for an entire day this week – with strikes having already caused chaos.
Norwich Airport in Norfolk will be closed on August 28 due to another air traffic control strike taking place at the airport.
Norwich Airport will close on August 28Credit: Alamy
As a result, the airport will not be able to operate across the day meaning all flights will be cancelled, as there will be extremely low staff numbers.
It comes as Prospect union announced the strike as part of an ongoing dispute over pay, terms and conditions.
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Strike action started last Monday after the airport failed to make an offer to resolve the dispute, with several cancellations on Friday including Loganair flights to and from Aberdeen.
Strike action means that staff will work strictly to their contract, not work overtime, won’t swap shifts and will withdraw goodwill.
In a statement on the airport’s website, it says: “Due to the 24-hour strike by Prospect union members in Air Traffic Control, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic on Friday 28 August and no flights will operate to or from the airport that day.
“Airlines have been informed. Passengers due to travel on Friday should check with their airline for the latest information about their flight and the options available to them.
“We apologise for the disruption and inconvenience this will cause to passengers.
“We remain firmly committed to resolving this dispute through constructive dialogue and will continue to engage with Prospect with the aim of reaching agreement.”
The closure is due to ongoing industrial actionCredit: Alamy
Destinations you can fly to from the airport include Faro, Malta, Alicante and Amsterdam.
Cancellations include a flights to Aberdeen, Corfu, Amsterdam, Alicante, Majorca and Dalaman.
David Avery, Prospect National Secretary for Aviation said: “It is extremely disappointing that we have still not received an acceptable offer from Norwich Airport, which has left us with little choice but to push ahead with this industrial action.
“Our members in air traffic control are not making unreasonable demands, they are simply asking for pay levels and terms and conditions that are normal for their colleagues across the country.
“We hope that the employer can quickly return to the bargaining table with an improved offer that will enable this dispute to be resolved without the need for strike action.”
A Long March-5 rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 spacecraft blasts off from its launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province. The next planned mission, the Chang’e-7, was postponed due to poor weather. FIle Photo by Guo Cheng/Xinhua/EPA
Aug. 23 (UPI) — China’s space agency on Sunday postponed the launch of an ambitious mission to search the south pole of the moon for ice due to poor weather.
The robotic lunar probe Chang’e-7 had been slated to take off on Sunday night but failed to meet launch conditions, the China Manned Space Agency said.
The agency added an “assessment was conducted following the principle of prudence, reliability and absolute mission success,” Xinhua reported.
The main reason for the delay was poor weather due to Tropical Depression Narra in the Gulf of Tonkin, Space.com reported.
Officials had at first pushed the launch back by a day, the news outlet reported. Now, it is unclear when the launch will happen.
The Chang’e-7 mission would have been the first in history to probe ice on the moon’s south pole.
“It looks like an incredibly capable and ambitious mission with multiple scientific components on the orbiter, lander, rover and hopper,” Katherine Joy, a professor at the University of Manchester, told SpaceNews. “There is a potential for a huge science return if the mission can successfully land at its intended landing site close to Shackleton crater.”
Joy, who studies lunar and planetary science, added the mission would represent “a really important step for understanding the future human exploration potential of the south pole of the moon, and for investigating the origins of lunar volatiles.”
Low rainfall caused by El Niño was blamed for a decision by the Panama government to slash the number of ships permitted to transit the Panama Canal each day by more than a tenth, with the policy to be phased in from early September. File photo by Carlos Lemos/EPA
Aug. 21 (UPI) — The Panama government blamed low rainfall caused by El Niño for a decision to cut the number of vessels permitted to transit the 51-mile-long Panama Canal by more than 11%, despite being in the middle of the wet season.
Shipping lines were notified by the Panama Canal Authority on Thursday that as of Sept. 15, it was slashing the number of daily ship movements through the canal from 36 to 32 to ensure there was no disruption to traffic and to conserve water for human consumption.
The authority said the step was necessary “to support the long-term sustainability of transit operations,” even though it had already implemented other water-saving measures and the rainy season had finally arrived.
With the sea-warning El Niño weather cycle expected to be one of the most intense on record, Britain’s Met Office said Central America, along with tropical South America and countries in the western Pacific, was at significant risk of low rainfall in this year’s wet season.
With vessels already lining up to transit the canal, in some cases for weeks, fears were growing of a knock on impact from the delays and extra costs on goods prices, including fuel and medicine.
One container ship reportedly paid $4 million to jump to the front of the line.
San Francisco-based freight-forwarding firm Flexport, which had 30 containers on the ship, told CNN that the delays at the Pacific end were the longest in three months, when there was significant backlog due to a surge in demand from maritime traffic displaced by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The ripple effects are significant through supply chains and all the way to consumer prices at stores,” said Benjamin Gedan, senior fellow and director of the Latin American program at the Stimson Center in Washington.
The canal relies on fresh water from Lake Gatun to feed 12 sets of locks that use water compartments to move vessels up or down as they navigate the topography of the Panama Isthmus.
Extreme drought during El Niños in 2023 and 2024, forced Panama to impose deep cuts in the number of ships transiting daily — 24 compared with 36 in normal times — after water levels in Lake Gatun retreated to historic lows.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famed “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on August 28, 1963. The speech galvanized the nation’s civil rights movements and led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. File photo by UPI | License Photo
Flights to and from Norwich Airport have been cancelled today amid strike action.
The five hour closure will take place between 8am and 1pm today while air traffic control industrial action takes place.
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An announcement on the Norwich Airport website read: “Due to ongoing industrial action, short of a strike, involving Prospect union members in Air Traffic Control, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic between 08:00 and 13:00 on Friday 21 August.”
The airport said that all airlines have been made aware of the closures.
Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines for updates about any flights today before heading to the airport.
Air Traffic Control members of Prospect Union voted in favour of industrial action from August 17 in relation to pay and conditions.
Those involved are working strictly within contracted hours, and are refusing to work overtime, work on a goodwill basis or swap shifts.
The industrial action centres around pay disputes, with the union demanding a 10 per cent pay increase for workers, bringing them up to the UK market rate.
Union members are also calling for better maternity and paternity leave as part of the industrial action.
Loganair flights to and from Aberdeen have been cancelled amid the closure, as well as KLM flights to and from Amsterdam.
A number of flights are still scheduled for this afternoon, including TUI flights to Palma and Ryanair flights to Alicante.
A spokesperson for Norwich Airport said: “We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience this may cause.
“Discussions with Prospect are continuing and we remain committed to resolving the dispute through constructive dialogue.”
DENVER — The Dodgers are putting closer Edwin Díaz on the injured list for the second time this season, this time with inflammation on the right side of his neck, manager Dave Roberts said before the game against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
The Dodgers are going to have Dr. Robert Watkins, who specializes in spine injuries, examine at Díaz’s neck in L.A. on Wednesday morning, Roberts said. He’s set to undergo imaging.
“It’s something he felt [Monday] night,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 7-6 win against the Rockies on Tuesday. “We don’t know if it’s something that has been there the last, call it, week or whatever but it showed its head last night. So we’re going to address it.”
The move comes after Díaz gave up nine runs and recorded three blown saves in a span of six appearances.
“I know Edwin is — I don’t know if it’s encouraged, but just know that there could be a reason why the stuff is not playing like it has in the past,” Roberts said. “And the neck, obviously, there’s ties with the whole body, the arm, and all that stuff matters. So I’m personally excited to kind of find something that kind of make us understand what’s going on.”
“We’ll know more after seeing Dr. Watkins,” Roberts said, “but given where he’s at, I don’t see a situation where he’d be out for the year.”
Díaz has only made 16 appearances for the Dodgers this season, recording an 11.85 ERA and 6.01 FIP. He spent three months on the IL after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow in late April.
After collecting a save in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on July 29 in his first appearance back, Díaz was unable to show command in subsequent outings. He blew saves on consecutive days against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 7-8, and then blew a 4-2 lead last Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers — which proved critical for the Dodgers in losing the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Brewers as the division leaders jostle for playoff seeding.
During the Dodgers’ 11-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night, Díaz pitched the ninth inning and gave up three runs and four hits.
With Díaz no longer an option in save situations, left-hander Tanner Scott is set to slide into that role.
“I just wait for the phone to ring, I don’t care when,” Scott said after a four-out save Tuesday. “You get the adrenaline rush when your name’s called and just go out there and pitch.”
On Tuesday, Roberts turned to Scott to get the final out of the eighth inning, with runners on first and second in a two-run game. He induced left-handed pinch hitter Brett Sullivan to ground out to third.
Back out for the ninth he gave up a one-out double to Jake McCarthy’s and a two-out RBI single to Willi Castro. But the run was of no consequence.
“He’s been great,” Roberts said of Scott’s contributions this year, in multiple roles. “Tanner doesn’t complain. He’s always ready, wants to pitch, wants to help his teammates, his team. And certainly, given how last year went, for him to come back and right the ship, he’s been our most consistent reliever by far. I trust him, and I feel like you can use him in any situation.”
The Dodgers also recalled right-hander Emmet Sheehan on Tuesday as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. Sheehan, optioned to triple A at the trade deadline for a reset, made two starts for Oklahoma City.
“I got the hang of it a little bit last year in the playoffs,” Sheehan said of pitching in relief. “I have the routine that I would have for starting, and that I have for coming out of the bullpen. So comfortable doing either one or whatever they want me to do.”
Ohtani may be ready for next step
Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani appeared to throw two simulated innings in his bullpen session on Tuesday, for a total of about 45-50 pitches.
When Roberts asked how it went, he said Ohtani gave him a thumbs up.
Roberts did not rule out the possibility of Ohtani throwing live batting practice back in Los Angeles as his next step.
“I could see that,” Roberts said.
Serving as the designated hitter Tuesday, Ohtani hit a two-run homer in the third inning. It was his third homer in two games and his 30th of the season. He’s reached the 30 home-run mark in six straight seasons.
“You’ve got to be available, you’ve got to be a high-performer,” Roberts said of the feat. “And Shohei this series is back to being who he is. I like the at-bat quality. I like the swing decisions. And obviously he’s hitting homers out with breaking balls, fastballs, a curveball tonight. When he goes, it certainly adds a lot of energy to our offense.”
MORE Brits are facing problems at the border in Europe, with many being stopped and facing even longer queues – and it could affect thousands.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires biometric checks from Brits, has been in place since April.
Brits are now required to register their biometrics with EESCredit: AlamyThe requirement has already resulted in long queues at multiple airportsCredit: Alamy
But a new report from The Telegraph has found that those with ‘faded fingerprints’ are being rejected by the machines – a problem associated with older passengers.
One 80-year-old woman told the publication how EES failed to recognise her fingerprints on a trip to Palma in Majorca.
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Angela Evans said: “I tried several times, on different machines and with assistance from a member of staff, but to no avail. My fingerprints would not register.
“I suspect this is because of my age – 80 – and that my fingers are probably worn smooth and not ‘ridgy’ enough to record.”
Another holidaymaker, Barbara, struggled to register her fingerprints at Salzburg Airport.
After holding up a “long line of passengers”, Barbara said she discovered she has “no fingerprints”.
Both women had to then see a member of airport staff and queue to have their passports manually stamped.
Another older couple couldn’t get through the EES gates at Naples Airport and had to join a queue that was so long it went outside the terminal.
After waiting for two hours and missing their transfer pick up, the couple were seen by a member of staff but said they were “put off flying” as a result.
While fingerprints don’t technically ‘fade’, they do change as skin loses its elasticity with age.
Older travellers have experienced issues getting through EESCredit: Alamy
The surface is then less defined and harder for digital scanners to read.
It’s not the first issue to come with the introduction of EES.
The International Energy Agency warned Wednesday of sharp drop in oil stocks amid renewed disruption to exports from Gulf producers with the Iran war seeing “lower volumes” transiting the seas to markets around the world. File photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA
Aug. 12 (UPI) — The International Energy Agency warned Wednesday of a sharp drop in global stocks oil amid renewed disruption to exports via the Hormuz Strait and Caspian Sea resulting in “lower volumes of oil” transiting the seas to markets around the world.
In its August Oil Market Report, the agency said measurable global oil inventories — strategic reserves, on tankers at sea — plunged by 69 million barrels in July to just under 7.9 million barrels, down from 410 million barrels per day at the start of the war at the end of February.
Onshore stocks declined by just 6 million barrels per day as the pace of IEA releases of its emergency stocks eased, even as China continued to draw down on its crude oil reserves.
“Although the market is projected to return to surplus towards the end of this year, risks remain substantial and the urgency of reopening the Strait has increased, as previously available inventory buffers are rapidly depleting,” the IEA said.
The IEA data comes two days after the U.S. Department of Energy said the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve had fallen to less than 300 million barrels in the previous week, its lowest level in 43 years — but still well above the 70 million barrel minimum for it to run as intended.
President Donald Trump ordered 172 million barrels to be released in March after exports from Gulf producers including Saudi Arabia Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE were severely curtailed by Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Use of other routes to move oil and the drawing down of inventories, including China’s massive 1.4 billion barrel reserve which has seen a sharp drop in its oil imports, have so far helped ward off the damaging global oil shortage it was feared the closure of the Hormuz Strait would trigger.
The IEA also warned that the destruction of global demand for oil was escalating, driven by the continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz and high fuel prices suppressing consumption, forecasting a 1.6 million barrels per day drop in demand in 2026, up from its previous estimate of 1 million barrels per day.
However, it said said the pace of market contraction would slow, down from a 4.9 million barrels per day decline in the second quarter to 2.8 million barrels per day drop in the third quarter, and return to growth in the final quarter, with expansion of global demand of 2.4 million barrels per day expected in 2027.
On the supply side, the IEA said overall production for 2026 would fall more sharply than demand, but would bounce back to outpace demand in 2027.
Production rose by 2.4 million barrels per day to 101.5 barrels per day in July, but remained well short of the 6.3 million barrels per day supply growth pace seen in July 2025, with 8.3 million barrels per day of Persian Gulf output “still shut in.”
“Renewed hostilities and maritime disruptions in July and early August undermined the recovery efforts, reducing projected third quarter 2026 oil supply by 1.7 million barrels per day compared with last month’s report.
“Global oil supply is now projected to decline by 4.3 million barrels per day on average in 2026 and rebound by 8.3 million barrels per day next year to 110.3 million barrels per day,” the IEA said.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famed “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on August 28, 1963. The speech galvanized the nation’s civil rights movements and led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. File photo by UPI | License Photo
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Gen. Michael Guetlein, the top U.S. military officer in charge of the Golden Dome missile defense shield, says he is confident that the initiative will be able to deliver the desired capabilities within its current stated budget of $185 billion. Operational elements of the huge new architecture are currently scheduled to start coming online in mid-2028. This is despite independent estimates that the required ‘system of systems’ could cost exponentially more to develop, field, and maintain. At the same time, Guetlein has now warned that work on Golden Dome could abruptly end, at least for a time, regardless of its total price tag, if a huge budgetary hurdle is not overcome.
Guetlein, whose current title is Director of Golden Dome and is presently assigned to the U.S. Space Force, shared new details about the initiative during a talk today at the annual Space & Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, at which TWZ is in attendance.
“What is the bill to the nation? How much national treasure are we asking the American public to commit to the defense of the homeland?” Guetlein said in his introductory remarks. “I’m on record, and I’m still up here saying the exact same number: $185 billion. We started at 175 billion dollars, and we added 10 more billion [dollars] worth of accelerating space capabilities that we thought the nation needed, that were not part of our original architecture.”
Gen. Michael Guetlein seen speaking today at the 2026 Space & Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium. National Defense Industry Association
“That is a lot of money. It’s one of the biggest systems that we’ve ever put together as a nation. We [have] got to keep it affordable,” Guetlein continued. “There’s two other cost estimates out there that are exceptionally larger, but I’m going to tell you those cost estimates are not estimating what we are building.”
The general did not specify what cost estimates he was referring to, but the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has put out two top-level figures since the initiative was first unveiled in 2025. CBO’s first estimate in May 2025 said the complete architecture could cost up to $542 billion to develop, deploy, and then operate over a period spanning two decades. The office put out a second estimate in May of this year that said the full price tag might actually be nearly $1.2 trillion over the same 20-year timespan. At that time, CBO also explicitly said its analysis had been hampered by a lack of publicly available information about exactly what the so-called “objective architecture” for Golden Dome actually entails.
There are other independent estimates of Golden Dome’s full cost that are even higher than CBO’s May 2026 projection.
“We’re building something completely differently, and that architecture is coming together, and is being proven every single day,” Guetlein stressed today. “We have radars on contract. We have launchers on contract. We have space-based interceptors on contract. Hypersonic ballistic tracking system on contract. Space data network is on contract. Our construction contracts have been let [sic], and we are moving out with haste to get after what the President [Donald Trump] asked us to do in the summer of 2028.”
The Northrop Grumman video below includes a computer-generated clip depicting a space-based interceptor engaging a target outside the Earth’s atmosphere, starting at 0:13 in the runtime.
Northrop Grumman Third Quarter 2025 Highlights
“We have our first operational site. We are digging dirt around the homeland, getting ready for the capabilities that the President asked us to deliver in the summer of 2028,” Guetlein also said, but did not elaborate on where that work was being done or its exact purpose.
“We’ve had two tests. We can’t talk about those tests, but those tests were phenomenally successful, and they demonstrated that the capabilities that we are putting together, both command and control, our sensor network, and our effectors, are going to be effective against the threats as they are currently designed,” the Golden Dome director added.
“We had committed to the President last year that we would do a major test every single year. So in January this year, I gave a challenge to the Missile Defense Agency of what test I needed to happen in the summer of 2026, and we executed that test,” Guetlein did note later on in the talk. “It was the most complex test with the most threats in the air in the history of WSMR [the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico]. MDA pulled that off and executed that test in six months, and met every single test objective that I gave them.”
“So the MDA team, plus the WSMR team, plus SMDC [the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command], plus PAE Fires [the Army’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires], plus Fort Bliss [in Texas], plus a whole host of other agencies, all came together in less than six months, starting from scratch, and delivered what I will argue is the most complex integrated missile defense test that we have pulled off as a nation,” he continued. “But that test is a fraction of what we got to do to deliver what they’ve asked us to do in [20]28. So the test in [20]27 will be even more complex.”
Despite all of this apparent progress and significant authority to keep pushing ahead, Guetlein warned today that Golden Dome is facing a potentially insurmountable budget impasse. This has to do with how the initiative has been paid for so far, with core funding coming from outside normal defense spending streams via a process called reconciliation.
L3Harris
“When the President submitted his President’s Budget over to the Hill for FY27 [Fiscal Year 2027], I was not in the top line. I’m in what they call mandatory funding, which is another reconciliation-type funding bill,” Guetlein explained. So, yes, we have a CR [continuing resolution], and we’re not going to shut down the federal government, but a CR doesn’t help me under Golden Dome because I don’t have a top line to fall back to to get that percentage of the continuing resolution.”
Continuing resolutions are short-term spending bills Congress passes to keep the government running in the absence of the approval of a full annual budget.
The defense budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year that the Trump administration submitted earlier this year was already historically large, in part because of expected reconciliation funding. The $1.5 trillion “topline” was broken down into a base budget of $1.1 trillion and then “$350 billion in additional mandatory resources through reconciliation.”
“So we’ve got to figure out, as a nation, a different way of funding Golden Dome, at least for [20]27. Right now, that’s under reconciliation,” Guetlein added. “I will tell you that if they don’t figure it out, there is no Golden Dome because there is no funding.”
Guetlein said today that $22.5 billion has been appropriated for Golden Dome so far, and that 95 percent of that money is already committed to specific work.
“I do believe, as a nation, we’re going to figure this out just because the sense of urgency is so great, but it is a challenging budget environment,” he continued.
As an aside, the Senate, which is currently controlled by President Trump’s Republican Party, just passed its version of the new continuing resolution last week. It notably omitted certain defense spending provisions the White House had sought, including $1 billion for work on the Trump class battleship program, another top priority for the administration. That bill still needs to be reconciled with a separate temporary spending bill making its way through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives before it can be sent to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law (or vetoed).
A rendering of the first planned Trump clsss battleship, to be named USS Defiant. USN
On top of all this, there has been some bipartisan pushback to further use of the reconciliation process and related mechanisms to boost defense spending outside of the U.S. military’s base budget.
“I think it’s safe to conclude there will not be another reconciliation bill,” Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said during a hearing on the U.S. Air Force’s proposed 2027 Fiscal Year budget back in June.
It is also worth noting here that a significant delay in additional funding could have a cascading impact on Golden Dome and its aggressive schedule. The Pentagon could also seek to redirect funds from other parts of its budget, but this could then have similar effects on other efforts. Guetlein did tell reporters after his talk at the SMD Symposium that the Pentagon is looking at contingency options to keep Golden Dome running in the absence of direct funding, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
“Several of the space capabilities that we are investing in are also being invested in by the Space Force,” he said, per Air & Space Forces Magazine‘s report. “So, if Golden Dome is not able to continue to invest in those type of capabilities, then the Space Force could decide at that time to continue the investments.”
“Because we have diversified execution of a lot of these capabilities, and a lot of these capabilities are already requested by combatant commands, there are some alternatives that we can pursue. We have not made any decisions on any pathway,” he also noted.
Based on Guetlein’s comments today, Golden Dome now looks to be approaching its first major watershed moment, with this budgetary dilemma set to have significant impacts on how the initiative continues to progress.
A THEME park in the UK has been forced to close at short notice due to a water outage.
Chessington World of Adventures confirmed that anyone heading to the park will have their tickets “revalidated” for a future visit.
Chessington has been forced to close for the remainder of the dayCredit: AlamyAnyone with tickets will be able to visit another day free of chargeCredit: Alamy
The water outage was reported by Thames Water, which said a burst water main was affecting the KT9 area.
While repairs are underway, the park will be closed for the rest of the day.
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Chessington said in a statement: “Due to a water outage in the local area affecting our operations, Chessington is closed today.
“All tickets booked for today will be automatically revalidated under our Return Promise and can be used on a future date.
