face

Tulkarem, occupied West Bank – Fawza Awad, a 75-year-old widow, couldn’t hold back her tears as she described the living conditions she has endured since being displaced from the Tulkarem refugee camp in January 2025 – a result of an Israeli military operation that targeted refugee camps in the northern West Bank, forcibly displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

With little money, Fawza and her family found shelter where they could: a small, unfinished house in Tulkarem belonging to her daughter. She currently lives in a portion of the structure alongside her son, his wife, and their child.

The family previously relied on limited financial and food assistance provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), but has not received aid in the past five months.

The UN agency officially announced a 50 percent reduction in the number of food aid recipients in the occupied West Bank in September, citing “critical funding constraints”, the result of reduced funding from international funders. Food needs, conversely, have more than doubled since 2023, when Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza, and increased attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

The WFP noted at the time that approximately 900,000 people in the West Bank are currently suffering from food insecurity.

In a statement given to Al Jazeera, the WFP confirmed that some families had stopped receiving aid before the official announcement in September.

Fawza and her family have been left to fend for themselves. There is no prospect of returning to her old home – she says that the Israeli army has completely demolished the structure, replacing it with a wide road to facilitate the movement of its military vehicles.

She added that one of her sons has been detained by Israel since 2024, while her other sons, who previously worked inside Israel, are now all unemployed.

“I suffer from asthma and high blood pressure, requiring monthly medication that costs at least 200 shekels ($64), an expense no one covers for me. We used to receive modest food aid barely enough for two or three people, but now that has stopped completely,” Fawza told Al Jazeera.

‘Not even bread’

Not far away, in the al-Muwahhad School building in the Thannabeh suburb of Tulkarem, more than 1,000 Palestinians displaced from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps are sheltering, having found nowhere else to go and unable to pay rent.

Among them are Rabab Qasim, 47, her husband Talib Abu Sarriya, 72, and their three children. For the second consecutive year, they have been living in a small, 30-square-metre (320sq-foot) room on the ground floor of the school, with no source of income and totally reliant on aid.

For the past three months, the family has received no aid whatsoever following the WFP food assistance cut.

“I suffer from a herniated disc in my back, requiring monthly treatment that costs 300 shekels ($96) – an amount I cannot afford,” Rabab said. “I also need physical therapy, which I have never been able to access because I cannot pay for it. I sleep on a worn-out mattress on the floor; all I wish for is to be able to buy a bed.”

Talib told Al Jazeera that the family are often unable to find bread or a meal, and frequently go to sleep hungry. It’s a far cry from their former life in the Tulkarem refugee camp, where he once owned a small vegetable stall. It was a modest livelihood, but one that gave them enough to get by.

Alone in the struggle

The WFP has blamed increasing Israeli pogroms and forced displacements in the West Bank for devastating livelihoods, deepening hunger, and pushing families into even more severe crises. The latest quarterly food security analysis conducted by the WFP indicates that 76 percent of Palestinian households in the West Bank have experienced a significant decline in income.

According to the analysis, 12 percent of the population has poor food consumption, and one-third of households cannot afford a healthy diet due to rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. Rural areas and the governorates in the southern occupied West Bank have been the hardest hit.

Said al-Amour, 61, a resident of Khirbet al-Rakeez in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, told Al Jazeera that he and his 14-person family haven’t received any assistance from the WFP for the past seven months.

In April 2025, while confronting repeated attacks by settlers on the village, Said says he was shot by a settler. The injury resulted in the amputation of his leg and a permanent disability; he continues to face periodic assaults and beatings whenever he encounters the settlers – part of the ongoing pogrom against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“They are trying to steal our land. I refuse to let them take it, and I will continue to defend it, but I am paying a heavy price. Now, they have cut off the aid I used to receive that helped my family remain steadfast here,” he told Al Jazeera.

Due to the amputation of his leg, al-Amour requires monthly medical treatment costing at least 1,200 shekels ($385), an expense that he cannot afford. He has no source of income other than a few olive trees, which settlers frequently attempt to seize.

Collapse of livelihoods

In cooperation with its partners, the WFP still provides assistance to 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank through cash transfers, food vouchers, direct food supplies, livelihood programmes, and nutritional services.

However, the WFP told Al Jazeera that it simply does not have the resources to cover the needs of all the families in the West Bank requiring assistance.

“The cessation of aid does not imply that a beneficiary is ineligible; rather, it is a broad decision affecting all current beneficiaries, regardless of the outcome of their individual assessment,” the WFP said. “It is possible that changes may occur, and aid could be reinstated for some beneficiaries; in such cases, they would be contacted and notified via text message.”

Economist and human rights activist Ubai Aboudi told Al Jazeera that the West Bank is facing a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the loss of the WFP food aid, as well as a financial crisis affecting the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel has completely withheld the customs revenues it collects on behalf of the PA since May 2025, leaving the authority unable to pay public sector salaries.

Aboudi noted other factors, such as the tens of thousands of Palestinians previously employed in Israel and illegal settlements in the West Bank who have been out of work since October 2023, when Israel stopped giving them work permits.

He also added that Israeli restrictions on Palestinian and international NGOs, including the suspension of registration for 37 international organisations and the closure of some local groups, have further limited the ability to provide humanitarian assistance.

“Around half a million Palestinian families need food assistance, while the actual need may be greater,” Aboudi said. “With aid declining from the World Food Programme and other sources, many families are unable to secure food.”

CAMILA Cabello accidentally poured water over her dancer before throwing the bottle in her FACE live on stage during a performance.

The awkward moment happened as the Havana songstress, 29, was doing her thing while singing her 2024 tune June Gloom.

Camila looked incredible as she performed the song, which is from her fourth studio album, C,XOXO, while sitting on a rotating carousel.

The star wowed in an all-white outfit and matching knee high boots.

Half way through she started to pour water over herself.

While she showed off her sexy dance moves, one of her dancers was on the floor pushing the carousel around with her arms.

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After Camila had finished with all the water in her bottle, she accidentally threw it into her dancer’s face.

But like a true professional, the dancer carried on as if nothing had happened.

Shortly after the tune ended, the pair pointed at each other and smiled as the dancer walked off stage.

The fan captioned the post: “The poor dancer taking a bottle accidentally from Camila lol.”

The superstar has had a pretty successful career since shooting to fame as part of Fifth Harmony on The X Factor USA in 2012.

The girl group, which consisted of Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jaurengui and Normani, ended up placing third on the second series of the singing competition.

Fifth Harmony released songs such as Worth It, Work from Home and That’s My Girl, and have won various awards.

The band were together until 2018 and reunited last year.

But Camila decided to go solo and left the group in 2016.

Her most popular songs include Havana, Senorita, Band Things, Never Ben The Same and My Oh My.

She dated singer Shawn Mendes between 2019 and 2021, and for a few months in 2023.

Prime Video’s Last One Laughing is back for its very first Halloween special

Last One Laughing fans risk missing a key episode of the Halloween special.

The Prime Video show is finally back on our screens with an exciting line-up of comedians taking on the side-splitting challenge. After its hugely successful second series, the competition was confirmed for a new season coming out in 2027. But viewers still have four fresh episodes to devour in the meantime.

We are, of course, referring to the spooky Halloween special which slightly changes the show’s beloved format. As always, a group of famous comics put their comedic talent to the test as they try to break their opponents – laugh and you’re out. But there’s an additional spooky-themed rule this time around: scream and you’re out.

The final comedian standing will take home the crown and join season one winner Bob Mortimer and season two champion David Mitchell in the hall of fame. So when can viewers tune in to the special episodes?

When is the Last One Laughing Halloween special released?

The first three episodes of Last One Laughing: Halloween are available to stream on Prime Video from Friday, October 23. Fans will be forced to wait another week before the final episode, which drops on Friday, October 30.

A synopsis for the seasonal special teases: “Over the course of the first Halloween Special, the famous faces will use every ounce of their comedic talent to break their opponents without laughing or screaming.

“And it’s not just their rivals they need to watch out for. Cursed props, ghostly interruptions and spine-tingling surprises are all designed to catch even the bravest comic off guard. The rules are simple: laugh and you’re out, scream and you’re out. Who will survive last One Laughing: Halloween?”

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Jimmy Carr returns as the show’s host, with the likes of Jack Dee, Daisy May Cooper, Phil Wang, Lou Sanders, Reece Shearsmith, Harriet Dyer and Tom Allen on the cast.

A 30-second teaser for the upcoming episodes has been generating buzz on social media, where one fan raved: “Looking forward to it!” Someone else said: “Looking forward to seeing Jack Dee on this!!”.

A third fan chimed in with: “Oh this is going to be funny for Halloween,” with a fourth adding: “THE BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.” And another enthusiastic viewer commented: “Oh great… Now you want to make me laugh to death on Halloween. Good grief!”

The first three episodes of Last One Laughing: Halloween are available to stream now on Prime Video

The world authority on threatened wildlife classified 96 percent of all coral reef systems as “critically endangered”.

Almost all of the world’s shallow-water coral reefs face an extremely high risk of collapse in the next 50 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned in a new global assessment.

In a report released on Thursday, the world authority on threatened wildlife classified 96 percent of the planet’s coral reef systems as “critically endangered”, its highest risk category, with total extinction possible by 2075.

“The future threat of climate change is looming and severe, and that poses a very high risk to the survival of these ecosystems,” said Mishal Gudka, scientific lead of the IUCN Red List of Coral Reef Ecosystems assessment.

Corals are heat-sensitive and particularly vulnerable to human-driven climate change, which is warming the world’s oceans and increasing the frequency and intensity of damaging bleaching events.

When a reef collapses, hard corals disappear and are replaced by algae, rubble and sponges. As a result, the reef no longer supports a diverse ecosystem that can include everything from tiny invertebrates to reef fish like grouper.

The emergence this year of a “super” El Nino, the natural warming phenomenon, also presents a risk to corals, Gudka said at a news conference at the UN’s COP17 biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia.

It’s the latest dose of bad news for coral reefs, which are critical sources for seafood and tourism and often serve as buffers against coastal erosion and storms.

Sometimes dubbed “rainforests of the sea”, they have some of the world’s richest biodiversity and support a quarter of marine species as well as coastal communities and businesses.

Most of the world’s famous reef systems – including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Coral Triangle in the Western Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and the Red Sea coral reefs – are critically endangered, according to the assessment.

Elevated risk of extinction

For its report, the IUCN used the “middle-of-the-road” scenario from the UN’s panel of climate experts that projects global temperatures rising 2.7C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

Its analysis examined 127 tropical and subtropical coral systems covering 188,362 square kilometres.

A week ago, another IUCN study in the journal Nature found that nearly 44 percent of reef-building coral species face an elevated risk of extinction due to climate change. A year ago, a survey found that harmful bleaching of the world’s coral had grown to include 84 percent of the ocean’s reefs, the most intense of its kind in recorded history.

Despite its warning, the IUCN said coral reefs in most parts of the world “are not yet lost”.

“Coral reefs have shown a remarkable ability to bounce back from devastating bleaching events,” said Gudka. “Pockets of surviving, resilient coral reefs can still remain in the future, so we must do everything within our reach to set them up for success.”

Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet on Wednesday, as a light rain fell over the already-yellowing grass. A crow perched on an empty seat. Scattered lights flickered in mostly-dark hallways.

Before the World Series had begun, the stadium was closed down for the season, hosting just one last event before officially wrapping up the 2026 slate.

In the interview room, tucked away at the entrance to the clubhouse, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes took their seats at the podium for their end-of-season press conference.

There was the usual end-of-season checklist. Are you expecting any changes to the coaching staff or front office? “I expect status quo,” Friedman said. Is Shohei Ohtani going to undergo offseason surgery? “That’s not on the table,” Friedman said.

But from that emerged a persistent throughline.

The Dodgers had fallen short of their goal of a three-peat. But considering the age of the position-player core, the scrutiny owner Mark Walter is under, and MLB owners’ insistence on a salary cap in their early CBA proposals, was the Dodgers’ dynasty over?

“I welcome it,” Friedman said of such claims. “For us, and we’ve talked about this a lot, even after successes and we winning a World Series and then winning back to back, everything we do is for our fans. And there’s a lot of noise around us in general. We don’t really pay much attention to it. It’s a partnership we feel with our fans, and so people saying that we’re done and we’re on the downside of this run — it’s just more noise to us because everything for us is about the motivation we have to have a parade in the streets of Los Angeles next November.”

Friedman also didn’t seem to anticipate any trickle down from Walter’s outside ventures — Walter’s insurance companies are under federal investigation and face several lawsuits — affecting the Dodgers’ offseason budget.

“It’s been business as usual for us,” Friedman said. “We talked to Mark after we lost, and he was obviously really disappointed. But so much of his focus was on, ‘OK, what can we do? What are our plans? What are our thoughts for the off season?’ And our brains weren’t quite there yet, but so much of his focus was how do we put ourselves in the best position to win in ‘27?”

How will the Dodgers go about picking themselves up from their NLCS exit?

The Dodgers’ 2026 season wasn’t exactly a failure. They won 100 games in the regular season and lost in the playoffs to the only team that won more than that — the Brewers. But the Dodgers, with their star power and payroll, aren’t in the business of accepting moral victories.

Though plenty went wrong in the postseason, from Ohtani’s struggles following hisinjured list stint, to stalwart Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s surprising short start in Game 2 of the NLCS, the overarching theme in the Dodgers’ four straight losses to the Brewers was a lack of offensive execution, especially with runners in scoring position.

“Obviously throughout the latter part of the year, it was stuff we were talking about and trying to put our finger on,” Friedman said of the offense. “And in a lot of ways, it’s a little bit of a game of whack-a-mole, where it can be one thing for some period of time, and then it’s something else, and then it’s something else. Sometimes it’s noise, and sometimes it’s real. And what’s important for us is to be able to sift out the noise and isolate what’s real and what things we can improve upon. We’ll spend a lot of time really focusing on that in the off season.”

Asked if the age of the lineup could be a contributing factor, Friedman pointed to the strong finishes of some of the more veteran players on the roster.

“I don’t think it’s as easy as to paint it with that broad of a stroke,” he said.

Friedman, in an effort to continue to extend the Dodgers’ run of success, has kept in mind the cliff that successful veteran teams can fall off of, if the roster isn’t properly backfilled.

“This isn’t something that we just woke up and were like, ‘Oh wow, the age of our position player group,’” Friedman said. “We knew what things were going to look like in ‘26, ‘27, but also how talented these guys are, the way they prepare. And so much of our long-term contract bats are betting on the human — betting on the person, betting on the work ethic, betting on them doing everything they can to keep themselves in the best position to have success. But when you couple the core talent that we have at the major league level with the position-player strengths that we have in our farm system, that’s what makes us excited, is the art of how to onboard some of these young, talented minor league players.”

The Dodgers had the No. 1 ranked farm system as of mid-August, according to MLB Pipeline. But many of those prospects, including the three outfielders who the Dodgers’ Top 3 (Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota), are blocked by veteran players.

“For us, it’s just about having as many many talented players as we can, and things tend to sort themselves out,” Friedman said.

This offseason, the Dodgers will also have to figure out what to do about their soon-to-be free agents, a group headlined by left-hander Tarik Skubal. The two-time Cy Young winner was not only the best pitcher available on the trade market when the Dodgers acquired him from the Tigers at the trade deadline, but he’s in line to be the best pitcher available this offseason as well.

“It’s not easy for a guy to get traded in the middle of a season to come to a new city, new clubhouse,” Friedman said. “You have set routines, and you have to make those adjustments. It’s not easy. The way he was able to seamlessly transition, not just in terms of on the field, but in the clubhouse, I can’t say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for him on and off the field. … He’s put himself in this position to go out and be a free agent. And for us, it’s, continue to talk to [his agent, Scott Boras]. But he and his family have to make a choice over where they want to spend the next X number of years, and obviously we wish him nothing but the best.”

When asked about negotiations, however, Friedman spoke generally, saying the Dodgers were still “wrapping [their] arms around” their offseason strategy.

The impending lockout, which is expected to go into effect on Dec. 1 as soon as the current CBA expires, and uncertainty over changes in the next CBA, will certainly affect the free agent and trade markets this offseason. And though MLB navigated a lockout just five years ago, the owners’ push for a salary cap has many around the industry bracing for a longer work stoppage and murkier landscape on the other side.

“I never have any feel for how a market’s going to play out,” Friedman said. “We’ve kidded ourselves in the past that, like, ‘Hey, we think this is going to happen,’ and it just takes on its own life form. So for us, it’s just about being as prepared as we possibly can be, and pouncing on opportunities.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Freddy Peralta threw 5⅓ gritty innings, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night to advance to the World Series for the third time in the franchise’s 29 seasons.

The Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the first matchup in which both teams are seeking their first World Series title since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals.

Game 1 is Friday night in Milwaukee.

The loss thwarted Cleveland’s chance at a World Series championship, extending its drought to 78 years.

On the 18-year anniversary of their first AL pennant in 2008, the Rays jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning on Richie Palacios’ two-run double and clinched it with closer Bryan Baker on the mound.

The Guardians wouldn’t give up and had the go-ahead run at first base in the eighth when Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to leave the bases loaded after two runs scored.

Peralta allowed one run and five hits to earn his second win in the ALCS in his third appearance. He threw six scoreless innings to win Game 2 and got two outs in relief in Game 4.

A sellout crowd of 40,230 fans waved yellow-and-blue rally towels, rang cowbells and chanted “Let’s go Rays!” throughout the night at Tropicana Field, which needed major renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof two years ago and caused extensive damage throughout the stadium.

The Rays played their 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex, got new ownership before this season and secured a new stadium deal to be ready in 2029 near the NFL’s Buccaneers. They returned to the Trop to win 55 games in the regular season. Only Milwaukee had that many home wins this year.

After sweeping the Yankees in the AL Division Series, the Rays fell behind the Guardians 0-1 and 1-2 in this series before taking three straight games.

Caminero gave Tampa Bay a cushion with his first career postseason homer in the seventh inning. The two-time All-Star sent a drive off the left-field foul pole to give the Rays a 5-1 lead, becoming the first player to go deep on a splitter by All-Star closer Cade Smith.

Caminero turned around before reaching first base, looked toward his dugout and pounded his chest with both arms, cupped his ear rounding second to hear more cheers, stopped before reaching the plate, pointed into the stands and crossed his arms before reaching home.

Caminero hit 42 homers in the regular season but needed 33 at-bats to get his first in October.

The Guardians answered against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour by loading the bases on two singles and a walk with two outs. Seymour walked Patrick Bailey to force in one run and hit Angel Martínez with a pitch to force in another. Kelly entered and fanned Rocchio on three changeups.

Díaz, who guaranteed a Game 6 victory when speaking through an interpreter on Sunday, gave the Rays a four-run lead with a two-run shot off Hunter Gaddis in the bottom of the eighth.

Caminero led off Tampa Bay’s second with single off opener Shawn Armstrong, who took the loss in his second start in three games. Left-hander Tim Herrin replaced Armstrong. Chandler Simpson reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before Victor Mesa Jr. walked. Simpson advanced to third on Jonny DeLuca’s flyout to center. After Mesa stole second, Palacios looped a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead.

Armstrong, who was the opener in Game 4, faced the first four batters, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to start a game after pitching both of the previous two days.

DeLuca’s sacrifice fly off Joey Cantillo made it 3-0 in the third but the Rays missed an opportunity to break it open with more runs after they loaded the bases with no outs.

Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single in the sixth drove in Cleveland’s first run.

The Chargers will have their two top wide receivers back Sunday as they seek their first win of the season against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.

Ladd McConkey (foot) and Quentin Johnston (chest) are each off the injury report after missing the Chargers’ Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos.

“Heck yeah. Fired up about that,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Really good week of preparation. … Excited for this opportunity.”

Harbaugh said he didn’t know whether McConkey or Johnston would have limited snaps.

The Chargers, though, could use all the reinforcements they can get. They enter Arrowhead Stadium averaging 16.8 points per game — third-worst in the NFL — eager to snap a nightmare five-game skid heading into their bye week.

Tre’ Harris, who led the Chargers’ banged-up wideout unit against the Broncos, is out with a hamstring injury; KeAndre Lambert-Smith (hamstring) is questionable with the same ailment.

Rookie wideout Brenen Thompson (quad), whose unparalleled speed helps open up offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s scheme, is also questionable after missing the last three games.

Quarterback Justin Herbert isn’t the type to complain about working with limited options.

“You have to try to keep the game the same,” Herbert said. “You can’t let it affect you too much.”

But it’s refreshing to have McConkey and Johnston back.

“Yeah, it was awesome to see those guys out there,” Herbert said Wednesday. “They’ve made so many plays for us. And, you know, we expect them to make more plays for us, too.

“To have those guys back out there — I know they’re doing everything they can to be out back out there for this team.”

Unfortunately for the Chargers, the offensive line is still severely hobbled.

Chargers offensive linemen, from left, guard Logan Taylor, guard Alex Harkey, center Jake Slaughter and guard Cole Strange run onto the field with quarterback Justin Herbert during a loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 11.

(Scott Strazzante / Associated Press)

Right tackle Joe Alt (neck) and left guard Kayode Awosika (fibula) remain out, meaning rookie center Jake Slaughter will continue to anchor a front that has featured several inexperienced players over the last two games.

The offensive line was already down left tackle Rashawn Slater (ankle), who is on injured reserve, and center Tyler Biadasz, whose season was over before it started when he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament tear in August.

McDaniel liked what he saw from the offensive line against the Broncos. He’s optimistic, really with no other choice, about the unit entering the matchup with the Chiefs, a team allowing the NFL’s seventh-fewest points per game (19.3).

“There [were] a lot of positives from the offensive line perspective,” McDaniel said. “I’ve never been a part of that many rookies playing at once. Fortunately, we drafted the right guys, and they [are] made of the right stuff. … There was a lot to build on.”

Kansas City, as usual over the last decade, will be a force to reckon with — especially at home.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and new running back Kenneth Walker III have the Chiefs averaging the fifth-most points per game (29.5) and the second-most yards per game (412) amid a 4-0 start.

“Explosiveness, man,” Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack said. “[Walker is] breaking tackles. Just the ability to create plays between him and [Mahomes], man. That’s a special duo there in that backfield.”

One the Chargers will have trouble stopping, as they’ll also be without key defensive players like safety Derwin James Jr.

Winning in the NFL is already challenging enough. But for the injury-riddled Chargers, it’s been impossible so far, and it won’t be any easier Sunday.

“Communicating and keeping your poise and all those factors,” Harbaugh said of preparing for the loud environment in Kansas City.

SHARON Osbourne has revealed she has a dent in her face from botched surgery and sworn off future operations.

The former X Factor judge, 74, said she can still feel the indentation in the right side of her face as she discussed surgical procedures.

Speaking on The Osbournes podcast with her son Jack, she explained: “I have an indentation left from it here, all the way down here.”

As she showed the damage above her mouth, Sharon said: “I think the surgeon left it to his mate to do.

“I think he took a phone call and then his mate was all, tap in.”

Sharon once joked that she was on her “third face” after multiple procedures to stay youthful.

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Sharon did not identify which operation had left the dent but said: “You go and you complain and you go there.

“And then he starts injecting, and you go, ‘What is in this that you’re injecting me with?”

She said he replied: “Don’t worry, it’s my special concoction. It’ll work!”

However, she revealed that it didn’t f***ing work because she was still left with a dent.

On the podcast, the TV personality, whose husband Ozzy Osbourne died last year, spoke about a hugely famous actor she had met many years ago.

She said: “The actor came over to me and he said you know what? I couldn’t believe that Ozzy married somebody that looks like a Fraulein.”

Jack explained that a Fraulein was a German word used to describe a full figured woman.

Sharon continued: “I knew exactly what he was saying and I wanted to grab him by the throat and say, you motherf*****, and headbutt him.

“But I thought it wouldn’t go down well. So I just ignored it. But when you are not expecting it you just go f***.”

Sharon explained how remarks about her appearance could erode her confidence.

She said: “You go home and you think, I have got to do something. I have to. So if you’re with this all the time, it affects you mentally.”

She also explained that she believed people who had never struggled with how they look might find it difficult to understand why others had surgery.

She said: “Unless you’re unhappy with your body or your face, other people don’t realise what it’s like to walk around in our bodies having that face that every time you look in a mirror, you don’t like it.

“And it bothers you and how insecure it makes you feel.”

She added: “From the minute you’re born, people are mean about you and you feel uncomfortable in the body that you have.”

However Sharon revealed that she was no longer interested in having more work done.

Asked whether she was finished with surgery on her face, she replied: “Who am I doing it for now?”

ANYONE planning to get to London Heathrow this weekend should check travel options before heading to the airport.

Major engineering works will see one tube line partly close and two other services to the terminals will be scaled back.

On both Saturday and Sunday, the Piccadilly Line will have no service between Hammersmith and London Heathrow terminals.

There will also be no Night Tube service on October 16 – normal service is expected to resume on October 19.

Travel to or from Heathrow Airport on the Elizabeth Line will also experience issues.

Services on Saturday will run as usual, but on Sunday, there will be a reduced service between Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 4.

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The disruption means that only two trains will serve the terminal an hour.

Meanwhile, there will be four trains an hour on the Elizabeth Line between Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3.

The Heathrow Express will run as normal on Saturday, but will see disruption on Sunday due to the ongoing engineering works.

Between 9.40am and 10.40pm on Sunday, trains will have a reduced timetable between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5.

These trains will run every 30 minutes.

The bus timetable will run as normal with some accepting pre-paid rail tickets due to the closures.

The Tom Cruise-led “Digger” is poised for a massive loss after ticket sales for the political satire fell 60% in its second weekend in theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

The Warner Bros. film made just $3.2 million in those theaters over the weekend, according to a studio estimate. Its opening weekend brought in $8 million, Cruise’s lowest opening as a leading man since 2007’s “Lions for Lambs.” Global ticket sales for “Digger” were only $35.3 million.

The tepid box-office returns mean the studio is now expected to lose at least $150 million on the film, including ancillary revenue streams such as premium video-on-demand and streaming, industry sources said. Historically, a film has typically needed to make 2½ to three times its budget to recoup its costs.

A Warner Bros. spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

It’s a tough result for the film, which stars Cruise as an aging oil tycoon whose company sets off an environmental catastrophe. Analysts have said that the film was challenging to market, given a major twist in the plot, and that Cruise’s nearly unrecognizable appearance could have dissuaded his fan base from coming out to support the film.

The film suffered from polarizing critical reviews, notching a 53% on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Opening-night audiences gave it a C+ on CinemaScore, a grade that typically points to weak word of mouth and steep drops in the weeks that follow.

The budget for “Digger” raised the stakes. Warner Bros. has said the film cost $125 million to produce, though some industry experts and trade reports have estimated the cost was at least $160 million, citing production delays.

That figure also doesn’t include marketing costs, which sources said could have increased in the days after the film’s opening since Warner Bros. began using the divided reviews in social media and TV ads to encourage people to see the film for themselves.

The film will have value to Warner Bros. — and Skydance, the newly combined company that now owns it — beyond its theatrical reception. “Digger” probably will make money through downstream revenue sources such as streaming. If Cruise wins his first competitive Oscar, that also would be a plus for the film.

But a film’s domestic reception, and to some extent, its international box office revenue, does play a role in the value of those downstream revenue opportunities, experts said.

“Even with respectable ancillary income based on the film’s pedigree, the movie is going to lose a lot of money,” David A. Gross wrote in his FranchiseRe movie industry newsletter shortly after the film’s opening.

The reception for “Digger” comes during a tough time for Warner Bros.

The film opened Oct. 2, the same day the studio’s film chiefs, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, departed. Four days later, Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and the combined company took the name Skydance.

The studio has had a string of disappointments this year, including Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” and DC Studios’ “Supergirl.” None of its 2026 releases has crossed $100 million at the domestic box office.

But the prospects for Warner Bros. should improve next year, according to the research and brokerage firm Bernstein. Skydance has said it will keep the Warner Bros. and Paramount studios distinct, though Paramount Pictures chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are expected to oversee both. Bernstein expects the Warner Bros. film and TV studios to amass $11.7 billion in revenue, driven by strong titles that include the sequel to “Minecraft” and a new “Lord of the Rings” movie.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani says Qatar has demonstrated its strength and cohesion.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has told the Shura Council that the region has faced “exceptional events”, following months of instability amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

Speaking in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Tuesday morning, Sheikh Tamim said the events had demonstrated the strength and cohesion of the country’s state institutions.

“Our country and the region have faced exceptional events that have once again proven the cohesion of state institutions,” the Emir said.

Qatar has found itself caught up in the war, which began on February 28 and has triggered a global energy crisis. The Gulf state has been directly attacked by Iran on several occasions, including in March, when Tehran struck Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas facility, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production site.

Sheikh Tamim said Qatar had been able to absorb the consequences of the regional instability due to policies implemented before the war, stressing that Doha’s preference was to resolve conflicts through peaceful means and dialogue. However, the Emir maintained that the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) security was non-negotiable.

“The security of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the preservation of their sovereignty is a matter that cannot be compromised on,” he said.

The war on Iran has disrupted global supply routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively blocked since the start of the conflict.

Sheikh Tamim said efforts to safeguard maritime routes must be increased.

“Efforts must be doubled to secure navigation in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and to protect energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.”

LAS VEGAS — Kayla Thornton scored 18 points and the second-year Golden State Valkyries became the quickest expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals, sweeping the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday night in Game 3.

The second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage and will host No. 4 Atlanta beginning Oct. 17. The Dream swept New York earlier on Friday, and now teams are 22-0 in playoff history when leading a series 2-0.

Las Vegas, which was seeded third, had won three of the past four championships.

Gabby Williams added 16 points for the Valkyries, including eight in overtime. Former Aces Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes each had 11 points, and Stokes also grabbed 10 rebounds.

A’ja Wilson, honored before night’s game for winning an unprecedented fifth MVP, scored 21 points, but on six-for-19 shooting for the Aces. She also had 10 rebounds, joining DeWanna Bonner as the only players with 1,300 points and 600 rebounds in the postseason.

Jackie Young added 18 points and Chelsea Gray 17.

A 17-point run bolted Golden State past the Aces for a 53-47. Las Vegas closed within a point by the end of the quarter, giving the Aces only seven points in the period.

The Aces led by six points late in the game before the Valkyries evened the score when Gabby Williams stole the ball from Wilson and Thornton finished with a transition layup to make it 69-69 with 1:50 left.

Golden State then took the lead Veronica Burton’s 9-foot floater with 1:12 remaining. The Aces tied the score on Gray’s inbound pass to Young with 27 seconds left and ultimately force overtime.

The extra period belonged completely to the Valkyries, who outscored the Aces 16-6.

New Delhi, India – Stand-up comic Brijesh Jha posted a parody video on Instagram last week to protest the removal of his name, along with his father’s and sister’s, from a voter list in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

The video, which alleged that India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had disenfranchised millions of voters at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), garnered 1.7 million views after it was posted on September 29.

Two days later, Meta, the United States-based company that owns Instagram, took the video down, citing “local laws” without giving further explanation.

“I felt very helpless that day. I have only one thing in this country – that I can vote. If you take that away from me, then I have nothing left. So I didn’t know what to do. As an artist, I can just make art, or I can protest,” the Mumbai-based artist told Al Jazeera.

Jha said his parody song was removed because the Modi government is “scared” after an investigation by the Indian Express newspaper last month revealed that two of the election commission’s three members had raised serious concerns over a controversial revision of voter rolls being conducted by the poll panel across the country.

The exercise, known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), was launched in June last year to identify deceased, duplicate or dubious voters and remove them from the rolls. So far, the process has deleted more than 130 million voters – nearly 14 percent of India’s total voters, an overwhelming number of them Muslims who do not usually vote for Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.

The Indian Express investigation found that two of Kumar’s fellow election commissioners had formally objected at least 14 times to key decisions linked to the SIR exercise taken by their chief.

Opposition politicians and critics accused Kumar, a Modi government appointee, of acting at the behest of the BJP and demanded an independent inquiry into the decisions taken by the election commission during his tenure.

The revelations have led to street protests across India, demanding Kumar’s resignation.

On Tuesday, police in the capital New Delhi briefly detained the main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, and other leaders of his Congress party as they tried to march to the election commission office.

“The country has been hijacked by Narendra Modi through vote theft,” Gandhi told reporters. “What has been done to our country is called treason. Nobody is going to escape.”

In response, the BJP accused the opposition parties of “making a concerted effort to change the government”.

“They are deliberately attacking India’s democracy and constitutional institutions,” a BJP spokesman told reporters on Tuesday.

The Congress protesters and their political allies were back on the streets on Wednesday. Their demonstrations followed a series of protests by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and a group of left-wing students in Mumbai and New Delhi since October 2. The CJP has planned another demonstration in New Delhi on October 10 if Kumar does not resign by then.

‘Question the people in power’

What stood out in these protests was an increasingly inventive language of dissent, driven by humour, art and music, with much of it existing online alongside the demonstrations on the streets.

But a crackdown on such memes and jokes has also been simultaneous.

According to the Indian Express newspaper, the government issued nearly 195,000 content-blocking orders to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube between March and July this year – an average of one blocking order every 68 seconds.

Rejecting the newspaper report, the government said in a statement, “With 600 million users in India posting up to 78,703 items every 68 seconds, it is reasonable to expect that on average, one of these items may not be lawful.”

The crackdown came after the Modi government tightened rules governing online content in February. According to the new rules, social media platforms must remove content that a government authority or court has declared “unlawful” within three hours of receiving the order, down from 36 hours previously.

Among those whose works were taken down was political cartoonist Satish Acharya.

Several of Acharya’s cartoons, some up to three years old, were removed and his Instagram account was blocked in India from September 28 until late on October 5, he told Al Jazeera.

“At different phases of history, people used cartoons as a tool to express their protest and question the people in power. With the advanced use of social media, cartoons appear in different forms now, sometimes memes and reels,” the 55-year-old said.

“I have a lot of hope in Gen Z. They are fearless, they are creative and they care for the country. Our politicians can learn a lot from them.”

Stand-up comic Jha, who attended the CJP’s protest in Mumbai, agrees. “The more cruel the power is, the softer, more humorous and more artistic the protest becomes,” he told Al Jazeera.

But Jha has refused to apply for a reinstatement of his name in the voters’ list.

“I think they will see this interview and probably I will be in some detention centre. I just want to see what will happen. I’ll not register my name again,” he said.

However, he had a satirical message for Modi as he urged the Indian leader to stop the crackdown on online content.

“Please give back my right to vote. You are a great leader with a 56-inch chest. You shouldn’t be scared of one video,” he said, invoking a long-held right-wing boast about Modi’s famous bust.

Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the tiebreaking run in the fifth inning before making a pivotal catch on Manny Machado’s drive to the wall in the eighth, and the Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the National League Championship Series for the second straight season with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night, winning their best-of-five Division Series in four games.

Mitchell also drove in Sal Frelick with Milwaukee’s first run as the Brewers ended their 12-game postseason road losing streak and reached the team’s fifth League Championship Series.

Machado nearly tied Game 4 with a 406-foot drive off reliever Abner Uribe, but Mitchell coolly tracked it down and reached just above the short wall in right-center to keep it in the yard.

Second baseman Brice Turang then ended the eighth with an acrobatic catch of Ty France’s tailing popup in foul ground.

After fending off the surging Padres in four tight games decided by a combined five runs, the 103-win Brewers will get an NLCS rematch with the Dodgers, who eliminated Atlanta on Wednesday.

The Dodgers swept Milwaukee last October on the way to their second consecutive World Series title.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 429-foot homer on an otherwise tepid offensive night for the Padres, who repeatedly tested the majors’ best regular-season team before falling short of only the fourth NLCS appearance in team history.

One night after the Padres avoided elimination in Game 3, Milwaukee claimed its first road playoff win since the 2018 NLCS by sticking to its season-long formula for success.

While four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, Milwaukee’s lineup calmly worked counts, pounded 10 hits through the Padres’ defense and manufactured enough runs to head home smiling.

Game 2 hero Jackson Chourio capped his high-impact series by driving in Mitchell to become the Brewers’ career leader in postseason RBIs at just 22 years old. Chourio has 17 RBIs, including six in this series, in 16 playoff games.

Milwaukee opened the scoring in the third when Frelick reached on an infield single, stole second and came around on a single by Mitchell, an Orange County native and UCLA product.

Brewers starter and former Padres draft pick Robert Gasser threw four innings of three-hit ball, but Tatis ended his 1-for-19 skid since San Diego’s playoff opener with a long shot to center in the third. It was the longest homer ever hit in the postseason at Petco Park by a San Diego player.

Padres starter Walker Buehler yielded just three hits and a run, but manager Craig Stammen replaced him with Game 1 starter Robbie Ray after William Contreras’ leadoff single in the fourth.

Mitchell then stroked a mild liner perfectly over first base and into the right-field corner leading off the fifth, and he scored on Chourio’s single through the drawn-in infield. Chourio surpassed Ryan Braun for the most postseason RBIs in Brewers history.

Jake Bauers singled leading off the sixth and went to third on Cooper Pratt’s ground-rule double before scoring on Frelick’s sacrifice fly.

The Padres were already down 3-1 in the seventh when Mason Miller allowed three baserunners, but no runs. The vaunted closer missed Game 3 for the birth of his first child.

After sitting below .500 and in 11th place in the NL in late July, San Diego roared into the first wild-card spot and then swept the Cubs in the wild-card series last week. The Padres had won 19 of 22 before losing three of four to Milwaukee.

Brits are continuing to face delays due to the EES system, and queues of five hours were reported just last week at a popular city break destination for those visiting from outside the EU

European Entry/Exit System (EES) continues for Brits with a major European airport confirming that non-EU visitors faced five hour queues last week.

The Brussels Times reports that non-European travellers, including Brits and Americans, were forced to go through staffed control posts leading the the huge queues. In a statement to the Belgian news outlet, the airport confirmed that additional police officers are being trained for the border control posts and they were seeking “structural solutions”.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson from Brussels Airport said: “Since the introduction of the European Entry/Exit System (EES), border checks for travellers covered by this system have taken longer, as is the case at many other airports. In addition, passengers from certain non-EU countries can no longer use the e-gates. As a result, more passengers need to go through staffed border control points, which has increased waiting times.”

They added: “All parties involved continue to work together on long-term solutions.” The airport spokesperson confirmed the airport had added two extra border control booths for the Federal Police at departures, in addition to two booths that were added at arrivals before the introduction of EES.

They went on to say: “The Federal Police also increased staffing levels on a permanent basis during the summer, and further reinforcements have been planned. More police officers are also being trained to ensure sufficient staffing at border control points, and additional infrastructure needs are being assessed.

“In addition, 60 EES pre-registration kiosks have been installed. These allow non-EU travellers to submit some of their information in advance. The connection between the e-gates and the pre-registration kiosks is still being tested so that, in the future, passengers from certain non-EU countries may be able to use the e-gates again.”

EES launched nearly a year ago, on October 12 2025, before officially becoming operational on April 10 2026. However, over the summer months holidaymakers have reported a myriad of issues with the system.

But no sooner was it launched than countries started to pause, or even shelve the scheme, due to the huge queues snaking through airports. Nine countries have put full EES implementation on hold, despite the fact that the EU said there would be no extension to the deadline. Holiday hotspots such as Greece briefly made an exemption for British holidaymakers over the summer, which has now been reversed, putting them back in the queue.

Over on Reddit, a poster took to the R/Belgium sub with a post titled: “Brussels airport queues should be a national scandal”, asking: “Why are they so bad? EES isn’t new anymore. They hardly have anyone checking passports. Are people in Belgium aware that queuing for 1hr + isn’t normal?”

One poster replied: “If you’ve got a kid under 12 you have to go through a manual check and can’t use the kiosks, and while usually shorter than the all passports line, it can sometimes be long as well. We waited 20-30 minutes last Friday mid morning. The all passport line was all the way along the back of the security screening area. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen more than 3 agents working and an all passport line shorter that didn’t back up into the arrivals corridor. “

Reviews of the airport on Google tell the same story. One visitor said: “The passport control situation at Brussels Airport is completely unacceptable. Every time I arrive and have to use the “All Nationals” queue, I face the same problem: an enormous line and an extremely long wait, sometimes lasting hours.”

They added: “This is an international airport and one of the main gateways to the capital of Europe. Yet the passport control capacity seems completely inadequate for the number of arriving passengers. Hundreds of people are forced to stand in line after long flights because there are simply not enough control points operating to process passengers within a reasonable time.”

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

In 2008, Drogheda went into examinership, Ireland’s equivalent of administration, and were deducted 10 points in the league.

Trabzonspor fans heard of their plight and sent letters to the club with cash inside.

Two years later, their relationship was made official when they became sister clubs and there were plans for a ceremonial friendly in Dublin in 2013.

“They travelled over here to play and there was a freak deluge of rain that fell within an hour of kick-off,” explains Wogan.

“We had our staff in the turnstiles waiting to scan tickets in, but the game was deemed unplayable and Trabzonspor went home without playing the fixture.”

So Thursday’s match has been a long time coming.

When Drogheda announced the friendly on social media on 2 September, Trabzonspor fans reacted in their droves. The post on X has been seen well over half a million times.

About 30% of Drogheda’s social media following is from Turkey. More than their share of followers from Ireland.

And it is not just online where the crossover of fans is being seen.

Trabzonspor shirts and flags are commonly spotted at Drogheda matches and Turkish fans sometimes visit the club during the week just to see the stadium.

One Trabzonspor fan, Cafer Bektas, lives a couple of miles outside Drogheda and attends every game.

When he first moved to the area, wearing a Trabzonspor jersey caught the attention of locals and got him discounts in shops.

Saracens are set to receive a series of fines from Prem Rugby due to director of rugby Brendan Venter’s failure to fulfil media commitments.

It is understood the club have already been handed a £5,000 sanction after Venter was not present at the Prem’s pre-season launch day.

The South African also did not speak to the media before, during or after the opening-weekend victory at Leicester.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier on Tuesday, external that Venter “resigned” as director of rugby last month and took up a new role of “head of rugby culture and wine consultant”, with head coach Joe Shaw assuming responsibility for media commitments.

The report also claims Saracens asked permission in July for Shaw to front the club’s media commitments.

However, none of this has been confirmed by the club nor Prem Rugby.

It is also thought a change of job title would not preclude Venter from his contractual responsibilities.

Saracens announced in January that Venter would be returning to the club as director of rugby and have yet to confirm any change to his day-to-day responsibilities.

He succeeded Mark McCall, who stepped down at the end of last season after 15 trophy-laden years in the job.

Venter’s first spell as Sarries’ director of rugby, which began in 2009, also included clashes with authorities over media commitments.

In September 2010, the club apologised to European Rugby Cup (ERC) officials for then-captain Steve Borthwick’s failure to attend the Heineken Cup launch at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Borthwick, now England head coach, was the only missing representative from the coaches and captains of 12 English, Welsh and Scottish clubs attending the event.

He had been told by Saracens to instead attend a team bonding session at a beer festival in Munich.

In December 2010, Venter himself was warned by European Rugby Cup officials for a post-match interview after his side’s 24-21 Heineken Cup loss to Racing Metro, in which he repeatedly gave short answers, agreeing with whatever was being asked.

He later said it was inspired by a scene in the football mockumentary film, Mike Bassett: England Manager.

Venter left his full-time role at Saracens halfway through the 2010–11 season, to be replaced by McCall.