fears

Government spoke out to passengers booked with carriers like Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and Wizz Airs amid fears of fuel supply disruption and potential flight cancellations

The Government this afternoon issued a statement to passengers across the UK amid growing concerns over jet fuel shortages and the prospect of flight cancellations. The Department for Transport stepped in to respond following warnings from the European Union.

EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said this week: “Unfortunately, it’s very likely that many people’s holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets.”

He added: “Even if we do everything we can do, if the jet fuel is not there, then it’s not there. [Currently] it is primarily a crisis of prices and not yet a crisis of supply, but unfortunately we cannot be sure to prevent a crisis of supply, especially on jet fuel in the future, if the crisis continues.”

Earlier today, President Trump suggested the Iran situation could drag on for weeks, stating he ‘wouldn’t rush’ a deal. The DfT then issued direct guidance to passengers booked with carriers including Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz, easyJet and British Airways.

It said: “There is no current need for passengers to change their travel plans. UK airlines buy jet fuel in advance, and airports maintain stocks to support their resilience. The government is working closely with the aviation industry to monitor risks and minimise disruption to passengers.”

“If your flight is cancelled, you have clear legal rights, including the right to a full refund or re-routing. Read this factsheet for the full picture on the current situation and what it means for you.”

Is there a shortage of jet fuel in the UK?

DtT said: “UK airlines are clear that they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel. It is typically bought in advance, with airports and their suppliers keeping stocks of bunkered fuel to support their resilience.”

Do you need to change your travel plans?

Officials explained: “There is no current need to change upcoming travel plans. Government regularly meets with industry to monitor risks, understand pressures and ensure clear communication with passengers, should circumstances change.

“We recognise that families may be concerned, and that aviation and tourism businesses are operating in challenging global conditions. We are working hand‑in‑hand with industry to help flights keep operating.

“We advise passengers to continue checking with their airlines before they travel, and to check the FCDO travel advice for the latest updates. You should also ensure you have appropriate travel insurance.”

How is the government protecting passengers?

Under UK law, if your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to either a full refund or to be booked onto an alternative flight if you:

• depart from an airport in the UK on any airline
• arrive at an airport in the UK on an EU or UK airline
• arrive at an airport in the EU on a UK airline

For more information about your rights, you can:

What is government doing?

The UK Government said: “Since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we have been closely monitoring UK jet fuel stocks and working with airlines, airports and fuel suppliers to ensure passengers keep moving and businesses are supported.

“We continue to plan for a range of contingencies, while focusing on securing a long lasting and workable solution to get shipping flowing freely again through the Strait of Hormuz.”

How are airlines being supported?

In terms of carriers the DfT said: “At some UK airports, airlines are given scheduled times known as ‘slots’ in which to take off or land.

“Under normal rules, airlines must use at least 80% of their allocated slots during a season to keep them for the following year. If they fall below this threshold, those slots can be reassigned to another airline. This is known as the ‘use it or lose it’ rule.

“Airport Coordination Limited, the independent body that manages slot allocation at UK airports, has updated its guidance so that airlines will not lose their slots if fuel shortages prevent them from flying. Airlines can now apply for an exemption from the ‘use it or lose it’ rule in these circumstances.

“This means airlines can focus on minimising disruption for passengers, rather than feeling pressure to operate flights purely to protect their slots.”

JET2 has issued an update to all travellers about increasing flight fares and holiday prices.

The UK’s biggest tour operator has confirmed that it will not be raising flights or holidays prices to cover increased costs caused by the fuel crisis.

The announcement comes as the ongoing fuel crisis has resulted in a number of airlines increasing their flight prices, including Virgin Atlantic.

The update applies to all flights and holidays with the provider, booked through any channel – whether that be online, via the app or via an independent travel agent.

It means that when passengers book with Jet2, the price that is shown for their holiday or flight, will be the price they pay.

Holidaymakers will still need to pay tourist taxes, which is usually done once you are on holiday at the resort or directly to your accommodation provider.

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Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2 said: “Holidaymakers should have every right to book their hard-earned break in the sun, without worrying about being hit with additional costs, and they can have that complete assurance when they book a flight or holiday with Jet2.

“As a result of today’s announcement, customers booking with Jet2 know that they are locking in their price without additional cost surprises later and we strongly believe that is the right thing to do by them.

“Ahead of a busy summer this is yet more evidence of why, on top of our incredible holidays and award-winning customer service, nothing beats a Jet2holiday.”

In a previous statement, a Jet2 spokesperson also told Sun Travel: “We remain in continual dialogue with our fuel suppliers, as is standard practice.

“Based on the conversations we have been having, we see no reason not to look forward to operating our scheduled programme of flights and holidays as normal.

“We understand that our customers work and save very hard for their holidays, and we are looking forward to making sure that they enjoy their award-winning Jet2holidays.”

The announcement comes as a number of other airlines have issued statements regarding upcoming flights and holidays.

TUI holidays confirmed that bookings have not been impacted or cancelled by the fuel crisis.

A TUI spokesperson told Sun Travel: “We’re closely monitoring the developing situation in the Middle East and its potential impact on global aviation fuel supplies.

“At present, we’re not anticipating disruption to our flight schedules or holiday programmes from fuel shortages.”

Budget airline easyJet has also said that flights are currently not impacted by the fuel crisis.

A spokesperson for the airline told Sun Travel that there was “no disruption to flights” and “no plans to make any changes to our flying schedule”.

However, earlier this week, easyJet’s CEO for Spain and Portugal did comment that it was “difficult to see” what would happen in the next few weeks.

Here’s a full rundown of what all the UK airlines have said about fuel crisis concerns.

And in other flight news, a major UK airport is set for May bank holiday weekend travel chaos as staff are to walk out.

Plus, Ryanair is axing thousands of flights from a European airport this summer.

WASHINGTON — Polls show that record numbers of Americans think the country is on the wrong track. Anxious voters find no shortage of corroboration. Seeming proof of national decline is everywhere–the savings-and-loan bailout, an imperial Congress, overpaid executives at the top of underperforming companies, record murder rates in cities, declining school quality, an intractable drug epidemic, spiraling health-care costs and a flat economy riddled with deep pockets of regional recession. We haven’t felt good about ourselves, our country or our future since the Gulf War.

President George Bush’s decline in the polls mirrors this trend. As long as voters were concerned about foreign policy, his high standing compensated for lower ratings on domestic affairs. The Cold War’s end has changed the issue mix of presidential races forever.

The recession is an immediate problem, but that will decline in importance when the growth most economists predict resumes this spring. But the recession masks a deeper fear that our post-Cold War inheritance is a declining standard of living, with high-paying jobs and prosperity flowing overseas. That fear will not recede quickly.

With the recession ending by spring, campaign planners will be tempted to heave sighs of relief and run a status-quo candidacy against the uncertainties of a switch to the Democrats. That would be a serious mistake.

For Bush will never have more fertile ground to lay out a new GOP agenda that addresses the deep fear voters have about the future of America. He can capitalize on the public’s thirst for certainty by laying out a set of ambitious goals–in government, in jobs, in schools and in social progress.

He can start with government. A recent Gallup poll shows 20% blame Bush for the economy’s condition, but 54% blame Congress. Support for term limits and a Trumanesque campaign to fix what’s wrong with Congress will not only pay political dividends, but give him a governing coalition for a second term. Beginning with this week’s State of the Union, Bush should challenge Congress to pass his economic recovery program within 100 days and return it to him for signature. He should also push legislation on health-care reform, education and crime by similarly challenging Congress. To dramatize the push for excellence, he might consider national middle-class merit scholarships for college.

Nor should he give up on trade, despite the Japan trip. Presidential involvement in a few trade confrontations will make his claim to fight for American jobs more credible. Where unfair trading practices are found, executive action on import relief should be swift.

By establishing his vision for the post-Cold War future, contrasting his own activism with Democratic and congressional obstruction, showing that he thinks free trade should benefit us as well as our partners and fighting hard for the middle class–in essence charting a course the country thinks takes us in the right direction and gets us off the wrong track–he’ll win not only reelection but a mandate.

It’s also important to understand this is not the 1984 reelection. Compression of the primary calendar means there are fewer days between the first Iowa caucuses, Feb. 10, and Super Tuesday, March 10, and the Democratic winner-take-all rules could give a front-runner enough momentum to be the apparent nominee by April. There is little prospect for a protracted Democratic primary battle like 1984’s between Gary Hart and Walter F. Mondale.

Because the Democrats won’t be tearing each other apart as long, Bush should engage the Democrats early. But he needs to shore up his own vulnerabilities before he begins to contrast with the Democratic nominee. He needs to sharpen his middle-class message, starting with the economy and people’s fears about the future.

This should be done well before the summer Democratic convention, when the Democratic ticket will have a solid week of national television coverage to engage in Bush-bashing.

It’s also critical to understand this is not 1988. The Democratic nominee will also have learned a lesson from Michael S. Dukakis–define your candidacy before your opponent gets a chance to define it negatively for you. It’s highly unlikely the ’92 Democratic nominee will be kept on the defensive for months as was Dukakis.

This year’s presidential election takes place in politically uncharted territory. It is the first contest of the post-Cold War era, probably the last election with a World War II veteran running for President. World events, from Eastern Europe’s velvet revolutions of 1989 to last summer’s failed Soviet coup, have irrevocably reshaped America’s political landscape.

Foreign policy and defense no longer matter much to voters. Communism’s death also buried anti-communism as an issue. With few external threats, Americans see old relationships through a new prism. They supported the post-war alliance with Japan for mutual security; without the Cold War, that same relationship looks one-sided.

To win reelection, it’s critical to understand what this dramatic shift means. The old rules are gone–now is the time for a new political order in American campaigns. For four decades, we’ve elected presidents against a Cold War backdrop. Now that we’ve won the Cold War, we need a new presidential agenda that’s relevant for the ‘90s.

KERRY Katona has revealed she’s experiencing speech difficulties after she was rushed to hospital over stroke fears.

The Atomic Kitten singer said she was with her partner Paolo Margaglione and her daughter Heidi who noticed that her mum’s face didn’t ‘appear right’.

Kerry, 45, was in London at the time of the incident, watching her eldest daughter Molly in a new play, when she fell unwell midway through the performance.

The TV personality was then rushed to hospital in an ambulance where it was treated “as a stroke”.

Although it was later ruled out as a stroke and most likely a result of stress, the mother-of-five said she’s still dealing with aftereffects.

Writing in her New column, she said: “I know I’m talking differently and I know my face looks different after my suspected stroke, but it’s actually loads better.

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“It comes and goes.”

Kerry admitted that the terrifying ordeal had sent her anxiety through the roof.

She continued: “I’ve just got to try and not think about it, because I’m the worst hypochondriac in the world.

“It’s awful for my family, I think they’re all fed up and sick of me at this point.

“I have severe health anxiety, so when I start reading all the comments and I start learning all these new things that could be wrong, it makes me truly panic.”

Kerry opened up about the hospital dash earlier this month.

She told the Mirror: “I went to the toilet and noticed my face wasn’t right.

“And Heidi was like, ‘Mum, what’s wrong with your face?’ I started panicking. I discreetly left, went to my hotel and asked to see a doctor. I told the staff, ‘Something’s not right.’”

The mum-of-five was subsequently rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

“I got there, and they said, ‘We’re treating this as a stroke,’ so they blue-lit me in an ambulance from St Thomas’ to King’s College Hospital,” explains Kerry.

“They were shining lights in my eyes while my face and speech were getting worse.

“An hour ago I was watching our Molly in a play and now I’m being treated for a stroke. What the actual f**k? It just shows how quickly things can change.”

She said she felt ‘really scared’ and feared the worst but a stroke was later ruled out after a CT scan.

The Celebs Go Dating star revealed that her health scare was down to ‘delayed stress’ that can affect a person after they’ve ‘found peace’.

Following the incident, Kerry jetted off on holiday to Spain with her family to celebrate Dylan-Jorge’s 12th birthday but said she would see follow-up care when back in the country.

Kerry has Molly, 24, and Lilly-Sue, 23, with ex Brian McFadden; Heidi, 19, and Max, 17, with ex Mark Croft; and daughter Dylan-Jorge (known as DJ), 12, with late-husband George Kay.

Kerry exclusively told The Sun how things have been looking up for her ever since coupling up with new beau Paolo – 12 years her junior.

“Paolo is just a complete one-off,” she said.

“I’ve never met a human being like him. It actually makes me anxious, because I keep thinking it’s just too good to be true. I get emotional talking about him.

“I am so lucky I found him. I feel loved and wanted. I’ve never felt like that. I don’t think I’ve ever really truly been in proper love until I met Paolo. I don’t think I realised how starved I was of affection.

“I wasn’t even looking for a boyfriend or to get married again – I couldn’t think of anything worse. I wanted a pay cheque, exposure and a therapist [from the show]. Then I met him and thought, ‘You’re different.’”

OFFICIALS have warned that there is just weeks of jet fuel supplies left before airlines start running out.

Earlier this week, the head of the International Energy Agency warned that vital supplies remain blocked by conflict in Iran – as a result, many airlines have already started axing routes.

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is holding up major supply chains which has led to a huge hike in fuel costs – and shortages.

ACI Europe, which represents European airports, said the key trade route must open within three weeks or fuel reserves will run drastically low.

In response, a number of major airlines have been cancelling flights in preparation for shortages – with thousands affected.

Here are the major eight airlines that have already cut back on their routes…

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United Airlines

United Airlines said that five per cent of flights would be cancelled in the second and third quarters of 2026.

With up to 5,000 flights a month – working out to around 4,000 domestic and 800 international routes – this means it affects around 250 flights a month.

United Airlines has the world’s largest airline fleet with more than 1,075 aircraft.

Scandinavian Airlines

SAS was the first major airline in Europe to axe flights because of of the cost of fuel going up.

It said in mid-March that it would cancel 1,000 flights throughout April.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa‘s subsidiary airline CityLine is to cease operations due to both the Iran crisis and ongoing strike action.

The division ran business flights between European airports but will ground its entire fleet of 27 aircraft. 

Flight routes typically connected London to Frankfurt and Munich.

It will also cut six planes from its international fleet after the summer holiday season, warning that the cutbacks could last into winter.

KLM

Dutch airline KLM has cancelled 160 flights for the coming month, but has said it will affect less than 1 per cent of its schedule

The airline insists there is no shortage of jet fuel, saying the move is purely down to spiralling costs.

A KLM spokesperson said: “Passengers affected by these changes will be rebooked onto the next available flight.

“KLM expects a busy May holiday period and is making sure passengers can travel to their holiday destinations as planned.”

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific has confirmed that two per cent of passenger flights will be cancelled from May 16 to June 30.

This will affect a number of regional routes, as well as longer-haul connections to destinations across Australia and South Asia.

Its budget airline HK Express is set to cut six per cent of flights due to increased costs.

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand announced in March that it will be cutting back on flights over the next two months.

Chief Executive of Air New Zealand Nikhil Ravishankar said the airline would see roughly a five per cent reduction in its services which would continue until the beginning of May 2026.

This reduction equates to around 1,100 flights which in turn will affect 44,000 passengers out of its 1.9million.

Norse

Norse Atlantic Airways has removed all flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from its summer schedule.

A spokesperson said: “Due to the continued increase in fuel constraint risks, fuel prices, and the resulting impact on our operating costs, we have had to make the difficult decision to suspend our LAX operations this summer, May to October.”

Norse operated a summer route from London Gatwick to LA.

British Airways

British Airways will drop its service from London Heathrow to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia permanently from April 24, 2026.

The airline had been operating a four flights a week service since November 2024.

BA said the terminating of the service was due to a shift in demand rather than fuel costs as hasn’t axed any flights because of that so far.

Virgin Airways

Virgin Atlantic announced earlier this month that it would be permanently scrapping its London flight to Riyadh from April 7, 2026.

It said some of the reasons were the “evolving situation in the Middle East” and “operating costs.”

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And here are the European holiday destinations Brits are flocking to instead of Turkey and Egypt due to Iran crisis.

WASHINGTON — It was hard to miss President Trump’s very public spat with Pope Leo XIV this week.

The split was the first time in modern memory that an American president has so openly badmouthed a sitting pontiff, or, for that matter, distributed an image depicting himself as Jesus Christ. Critics cried “blasphemy!” even as supporters continued to stand behind the man whose presidency, some argue, was God sent.

Students of American history will recall an earlier incident that pitted papal and presidential authority against each other. The concern: that a president would align himself too closely to the church, or even take orders from the pope.

That anxiety seeped into the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, whose eventual victory would make him the first Catholic president.

Back then, Kennedy was constantly fending off accusations from Protestant ecclesiastic types who were wary that his nomination meant the pontiff, John XXIII, was already packing his bags for a move into the White House.

President John F. Kennedy meets with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in July 1963, one month after Paul succeeded John XXIII as pontiff.

(Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)

The issue was so pronounced that 150 clergymen and laypeople formed Citizens for Religious Freedom, which in a pamphlet warned, “It is inconceivable to us that a Roman Catholic President would not be under extreme pressure by the hierarchy of his church to accede to its policies and demands.”

One particularly loud voice among the ministers was the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, a popular and influential pastor and author. Peale was especially disturbed by Kennedy’s prospects.

“Our American culture is at stake,” he said at a meeting of the ministers. “I don’t say it won’t survive, but it won’t be what it was.”

The group asked Kennedy to “drop by Houston” to make clear his views on faith and government. He agreed, making a televised speech at the Rice Hotel, where he famously spelled out his firm opinions on the separation of church and state.

“I am not the Catholic candidate for president,” Kennedy told the group. “I am the Democratic Party’s nominee for president who happens to be Catholic.”

Time magazine reflected on the address some years later, concluding that the speech had gone so well for Kennedy “that many felt the dramatic moment was an important part of his victory.”

Since then, modern presidents have occasionally found themselves at odds with the Vatican. Typically Republican presidents would hear from the pope about foreign wars, while Democratic presidents were derided over abortion policies.

But such disagreements tended to be handled with the decorous language of diplomacy.

President George W. Bush presents Pope John Paul II with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Rome on June 4 , 2004. The pope reminded Bush of the Vatican’s opposition to the war in Iraq. Bush praised him as a “devoted servant of God.”

(Eric Vandeville/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Then came Trump, who is now being accused of openly mocking the Catholic faith and the 1st Amendment. He called Leo weak on crime and foreign policy, among other things. A self-described nondenominational Christian who says his favorite book is the Bible, Trump’s hasn’t shied from bashing the pontiff, nor has he hesitated to blur the line separating church and state.

Where Kennedy argued for an absolute separation, Trump has advanced a model of religious resurgence, promising “pews will be fuller, younger and more faithful than they have been in years.” Through initiatives including the “America Prays” program launched last year, the White House has sought to bring “bring back God” by inviting millions of Americans to prayer sessions. The webpage for the program focuses features only Christian Scripture.

“From the earliest days of the republic, faith in God has been the ultimate source of the nation’s strength,” Trump said at a National Prayer Breakfast in February.

President Trump, then-Vice President Mike Pence and faith leaders say a prayer during the signing of a proclamation in the Oval Office on Sept. 1, 2017. .

(Alex Wong / Getty Images)

In the United States, the Catholic Church historically has “loved the 1st Amendment” and its guarantee of religious liberty and, as a result, largely kept some distance from government, according to Tom Reese, a Jesuit priest and religious commentator. After its failures attempting to influence monarchs and politicians in Europe, the Catholic Church “didn’t want the government interfering with them and knew that it wasn’t their right to interfere with the government,” Reese said.

Kennedy loved the 1st Amendment too. He put it above his own religious beliefs, and said as much on his way to the White House.

“I would not look with favor upon a president working to subvert the 1st Amendment’s guarantees of religious liberty,” he said. “Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so.”

Pope Leo XIV meets with members of the community in Algiers at the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa on April 13, 2026.

(Vatican Pool via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Eric Swalwell’s downfall has raised the possibility of a broader reckoning on Capitol Hill as congressional staffers, reporters and opposition researchers race to verify long-standing rumors of a sordid underground culture among the city’s most powerful.

Former lawmakers across the political spectrum have warned for years of a hushed congressional bacchanal marked by inappropriate revelry and sexual misconduct. But a sense of growing momentum gripped Congress on Tuesday, as Democrats grappled with Swalwell’s resignation and Republicans called for other lawmakers to face scrutiny.

The 72-hour collapse of Swalwell’s political career has shifted attention not only to his closest associates in Congress, but also to a larger set of sitting lawmakers from both parties suspected of lurid sexual activity. Several members have claimed that Swalwell’s alleged behavior was an open secret amid a cacophony of rumors on social media of other potential offenders.

“I think that many people knew about this for a while,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, said in an interview with The Times.

Luna, who planned to lead the charge to expel Swalwell before he resigned, alleged that young staffers would talk among one another about Swalwell’s conduct. Lawmakers should have done more to approach him about the rumors, she said.

Multiple current and former female staffers who spoke with The Times described a broader culture of warning one another about lawmakers with reputations for inappropriate conduct.

But the warnings, passed privately among junior aides, have focused on “sleazy” activity and boundary-crossing behavior, said one former legislative aide, who asked to remain anonymous. Whispers about sleazy behavior generally do not meet the coverage threshold for traditional newsrooms, which are bound by strict ethical standards.

Another former aide said that quiet guidance shared among female staffers focused on behavior that is legal, but nevertheless viewed as unprofessional and unbecoming of members of Congress — a line that has prevented many from speaking out publicly.

Now, a race is on for leverage between two political parties facing comparable strategic risks — each with members facing growing questions over their alleged conduct — and for scoops among news outlets, seeking to break the story first.

The Monday resignations of Swalwell and Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who faced his own sex scandal, was also forcing lawmakers to address the issue publicly. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) — one of Swalwell’s closest friends in Congress — answered questions from reporters at length Tuesday, telling them he should have confronted Swalwell when he heard rumors about his behavior.

“You let your guard down. I let him into my circle. … I deeply regret it,” Gallego said.

He denied knowing about Swalwell’s alleged misconduct when asked about the behavior.

“Look, we socialized. We went out. But I never saw him engage in any of the predatory behavior, harassment, sexual assault,” Gallego said.

Notably quiet was President Trump, who has faced sexual assault accusations of his own and frequently parried with Swalwell throughout his presidency. Although Trump posted an article reporting Swalwell’s resignation on social media, he has not commented on the matter in his own words.

The unraveling scandal comes at a time when lawmakers have come together across party lines to push for transparency in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender and alleged sex trafficker whose network of powerful associates included Democrats and Republicans alike.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, details of the Swalwell scandal continued to unfold Tuesday, as a Beverly Hills woman accused him of drugging and raping her in 2018. The Times could not immediately reach his attorney; he previously denied allegations of rape and sexual misconduct made by multiple women in published accounts last week.

Sex scandals are not a new phenomenon on Capitol Hill, which has seen over a dozen members embroiled in controversy over the last decade, including Katie Hill of California, Cory Mills and Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Blake Farenthold of Texas, among others.

But several prominent former members — including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — have warned of a more widespread cultural problem.

“Every member in Congress knows not to let any young staffer get around Swalwell or Matt Gaetz. It’s not a secret there,” McCarthy said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Luna had pressed lawmakers to address alleged sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill. In February, she called on the “predatory freaks” in Congress to leave office as she complained about the process to get ethical complaints handled.

“It pisses me off because while some of us are actually working and busting our asses, these clowns are sexually harassing their own staff, doing illegal crap, insider trading etc,” Luna wrote at the time.

Luna said Monday that she was encouraged to see bipartisan support for expelling Swalwell and Gonzales.

A longtime staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tuesday that allegations against Swalwell have sparked conversations about how to do more to help staffers report sexual misconduct, such as reforming procedural rules that would allow staffers to report any of their concerns directly to ethics panels, and about the need for ethics investigations to move more quickly.

“Congress has a short-term memory, that is the difficulty here,” the staffer said. “After these guys leave their seats, there needs to be a concerted and consistent effort for reforms to be established and be made permanent.”

The airline has issued guidance online after a passenger shared their concerns

EasyJet Holidays has responded after passengers shared concerns online that they may miss their flights due to long queues at popular European airports. As the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) continues to roll out across the continent, passengers face long waits because it requires non-EU travellers to register biometric data, such as fingerprints and photos, on arrival, replacing passport stamps.

The new automated digital border system launched on October 12, 2025, and is expected to be fully operational in the Schengen Area by April 10, 2026. A statement on Gov.uk reads: “EES may take each passenger extra time to complete, so be prepared to wait longer than usual at the border.”

The countries in the Schengen area include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Many airports are reportedly facing long border check queues due to the new system.

The Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are not part of the Schengen area, so EES is not required when travelling to either country. Gov.uk adds: “You may also be asked to provide either your fingerprint or photo when you exit the Schengen area. The checks may take slightly longer than previously, so be prepared to wait during busy times.”

People have taken to social media to share their concerns about missing their flights due to long passport control queues, including EasyJet passengers. One woman, called Jenny, who goes by the username @MunchkinMumsie on X, posted about her worries of not getting through border control on time for her upcoming flight home.

She said: “Hi @EasyJetholidays, I’m returning home from Palma tomorrow, our coach transfer is picking us up at 12.30, our flight is at 15.40 and we are 90 minutes away from the airport. I’m worried this will not give us enough time to get through the airport with my child, will this be ok?”

A spokesperson replied: “Hello Jenny, thanks for reaching out. Our transport providers are the local experts and will use their knowledge of the destination and airport experience to calculate your transfer pick up time to ensure your journey to the airport is stress free and that you arrive with enough time to drop off your bags and clear security. Do let us know if you’d prefer to make your own way, and we’ll be happy to update our suppliers! – Alex.”

Jenny then asked: “If we catch your transfer and don’t get through in time, do you cover all our expenses and book our alternate flight home?” The spokesperson told her: “Yes – our dedicated On Holiday Support teams will be more than happy to assist with rescue flights if required – Alex.”

Jenny responded with: “Thank you, there are lots of posts on Mallorca travel forums of the children’s queue for border control at Palma being 2-3 hours long. It seems crazy you are not arranging transfers for families to get to the airport earlier.”

Updating Jenny with guidance, the spokesperson issued an alert about ‘missed flights’ and what happens. They told her: “If we are alerted to any flights being missed, we will work alongside our in destination teams to address the issue at hand. As it stands, our customers have not advised us of any major issues with flights being missed – Alex.”

In another post in the thread, the spokesperson added: “Please do let us know if you are looking to make your own way to the airport on this occasion, and we’ll be more than happy to update our suppliers. We are unable to assist with adjusting your pick-up time – Alex.”

A statement on Palma Airport’s website reads: “The EES is mainly designed to save time and improve border security. It automates passport checks, identifies travellers who overstay, and helps detect fraudulent documents. It also supports authorities in preventing and investigating terrorism and other serious crimes.”

When passengers find out they might be late to their boarding gate, they should tell their airline using their app, email, or phone. They can also ask airport staff for assistance, since some airports have electric cars or allow passengers with short connections or flights leaving soon to skip to the front of the line.

It is advised that passengers arrive at the airport early to handle any unexpected delays at security or passport control. A spokesperson for ABTA, the association of travel agents and tour operators, says: “We’re advising passengers to go straight to passport control as soon as you have gone through check-in and security; that way you get the EES checks out of the way as early as possible.

“We’re also advising passengers to follow their transport provider’s advice on when to arrive at airports/ports etc. If flying, the usual rule is to arrive at the airport for a flight from Europe at least two hours before, so we’d encourage people to apply that as a minimum, but to also check with their airline and airport.”

April 9 (UPI) — Oil prices were on the rise again on Thursday amid concerns a “fragile” cease-fire between the United States, Iran and Israel could unravel over continued fighting in Lebanon and few signs the Strait of Hormuz was about to reopen to shipping.

The Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate international benchmarks were both trading around 4% higher at $98.62 and $99.94 a barrel respectively in early afternoon trade on Thursday, after prices plunged Wednesday on the announcement of a two-week cessation of hostilities.

Share prices in Asia also fell overnight with the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo giving up some of the gains made on Wednesday with European stocks following suit when exchanges opened Thursday morning.

The market reacted to warnings from both sides that they were prepared to resume military action if the other did not adhere to truce terms neither party accepts are the same, with Tehran saying Israeli strikes on Lebanon were a “grave violation” and Washington saying Iran must comply with the “real” agreement.

There was also growing concern over the reopening of the Hormuz Strait, a key term of the agreement which must be implemented to ease the disruption to global oil supply that has sent prices soaring.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told BBC Radio on Thursday that Iran would “provide security for safe passage” through the sea lane via which around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is exported, but only “after the United States withdraws this aggression” — an apparent reference to the Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

He stressed that while the 21-mile wide strait had been “open for millennia” prior to the war, it was not international waters and that shipping only transited on the goodwill of Iran and Oman” — the sovereign countries on either side of the channel.

Khatibzadeh dodged questioning over how safe vessels would be and whether they would be required to pay tolls, saying Tehran wanted a “peaceful” arrangement, but that it would not permit “misuse” of the Gulf by warships.

However, London-headquartered shipping brokerage SSY Global said the Iranian navy had issued a warning to ships in the Persian Gulf that any vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without permission “will be targeted and destroyed.”

Announcing the cease-fire on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the deal hinged on the “complete, immediate, and safe opening” of the strait, a point pressed home on Wednesday by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who said while there were signs the process was starting Iran was required to fully open the strait.

“The president is very, very clear the deal is a cease-fire, a negotiation. That’s what we give, and what they give is that straits are going to be reopened. If we don’t see that happening, the president is not going to abide by our terms if the Iranians are not abiding by their terms.”

The White House announced Wednesday that Vance would lead the U.S. negotiating team at talks due to get underway in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday.

Khatibzadeh said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, would head up the Iranian side.

The talks will try to reconcile two very different visions of the way forward — a 15-point U.S. plan and a 10-point Iranian plan — with Iran’s nuclear program which the Americans want totally scrapped but Iran insists on retaining for civilian energy purposes — topping the agenda.

Gemma Collins and Craig Charles entered the I’m A Celeb All Stars show in dramatic fashion with one of the worst trials ever seen on ITV

Camp late entries Craig Charles and Gemma Collins took part in an epic eating trial called Gut Instincts that pushed them both to the limit. At one stage Craig was sick and during another course Gemma claimed she had to quit that course as she was “going to be hospitalised” if she finished the food.

Before the I’m A Celeb games began, 45-year-old Gemma pleaded with the group: “Just give me a chance guys, please. I’ve got a different mindset this time, don’t write me off.”

Hosts Ant and Dec told Craig and Gemma that their first task will be an eating trial, after which they will split to join separate camps. The main Camp selected Craig to join them, assigning Gemma to Savannah Scrub.

During the trial, Craig and Gemma had to privately decide how many servings of dishes to eat. The player who commits to the highest number of servings then had to eat them to win points, but if they failed their rival could try to eat their food to steal the points.

Dishes included Fish Eye Pie, Terror-rine with blended chicken intestine and Brain Freeze – which was made of Springbok brains. This final one caused Gemma a lot of problems.

Shocked by the sight of one of the dishes, Craig said: “Have you ramped this up because it doesn’t look that bad on the telly?” Dec replied: “This is the Legends.”

The pair made their way through the lengthy menu, and after six of the seven courses, Craig has 12 points and Gemma 10.

The trial will finish tonight(Wednesday) in a dramatic climax that left the campmates in disbelief, as both contestants vowed to consume 30 shots each of Bloody Moory Shots – blended bull’s heart and bull’s blood.

Gemma said: “I’m gonna bang the whole tray. I’m doing my best.”

Once they both decided to go for the maximum, Ant and Dec said it would be race to see who finishes them first and wins meals for their camp. But if either is sick they will forfeit the round.

Scarlett Moffat said: “This is amazing, this is unbelievable.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

The GB News presenter continued working in a pub even after landing his first TV role at 21

GB News host Eamonn Holmes has enjoyed a career in broadcasting for decades but the Irish TV host admits that he almost never gave up his first-ever job.

The TV veteran had such a fondness for his evening job that he continued it well into the early stages of his blossoming career, until his boss eventually urged him to concentrate solely on his television aspirations.

His first television appearance came in 1979 as a reporter and presenter for Ulster Television (UTV) in Northern Ireland, and his career has gone from strength to strength ever since.

Yet Eamonn was so anxious that his TV career might suddenly dry up that he was determined to keep pulling pints while he still could, and he was in absolutely no rush to abandon his bar job before he finally did relinquish the evening role to dedicate himself fully to his television career.

Speaking to the Express. at the Young Chef, Young Waiter, Young Mixologist awards where he was a judge, Eamonn looked back on his career and said: “Nobody in the UK had been given tea time programmes at 21, so when I did, it went in my favour.

“But I was working in a pub, and the head barman said to me, ‘what is this? You serve them up the news until seven o’clock and then you’re in here at 7.30pm’.”

He revealed that his response to his manager at the time was: “But does this TV business ever last?”

The barman boldly assured Eamonn it would, invited him for a drink, and encouraged him to chase his dreams, with Eamonn saying: “That was my last night in the bar.”

Eamonn credits his bar work with helping him break into television, claiming it drew out his personality and showed him how to connect with people.

He said: “It taught me to be more relaxed with a TV audience and how to talk to people in television, so that was amazing. It was a bitb strange, I didn’t know anybody who was in television or presenting, but that’s what happened.”

His breakthrough in Ireland was merely the beginning of his broadcasting journey, transitioning to the BBC in 1986 and subsequently GMTV in 1993, where he remained until 2005, taking on a host of other television roles along the way, including stints at Sky News, BBC show Jet Set, and periodic appearances on GMB.

Eamonn’s latest venture has seen him comfortably settled at GB News, where he fronts the breakfast show.

GB News’s Breakfast Show is on weekdays at 6am

WASHINGTON — Merely two weeks had passed since the Iran war began when Gen. Randy George, the Army’s highest-ranking officer, began sounding an alarm.

Touring a weapons depot in North Carolina, George warned lawmakers present that the conflict’s vast and ever-growing list of targets was straining U.S. capacity — “depleting our stockpiles faster than we can replace them,” as one congressman recalled. Since assuming Army leadership, George had made it his mission to strengthen the nation’s industrial base in anticipation of precisely this moment, when the United States would be engaged in a major war with a formidable adversary.

On Thursday, in a brief phone call, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired George. No reason was given, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told The Times.

The forced departure of George in the middle of a war created yet another blow to morale inside the Pentagon, where multiple officials expressed dismay over the state of the department’s leadership. Over the last year, Hegseth has fired five sitting members of the joint chiefs of staff, with only two holdovers remaining in their posts.

“Whenever you have a change in leadership, military or otherwise, there is bound to be some churn in information management,” one U.S. official said, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “So what you’re doing, in the middle of a war, as we are taking U.S. casualties, is you’re taking out the general in charge of making sure the right people and equipment are flowing into the Middle East.”

Inside the building, officials believe that Hegseth’s next target is Dan Driscoll, the Army secretary and an ally to President Trump. Driscoll has been seen by Hegseth’s aides as outshining the Defense secretary on prominent policy initiatives.

Gen. Randy George, U.S. Army chief of staff, speaks with soldiers during training exercises at Lightning Academy at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu on Nov. 10, 2025.

(Christopher Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It is a purge that Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill fear could have tangible, detrimental effects on the war effort. Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Joni Ernst of Iowa, all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have expressed private concerns over George’s firing, a second U.S. official said.

Forcing out Army leadership responsible for training and equipping its soldiers, and for ensuring weapons stockpiles continue to meet demand, risks bureaucratic chaos and despair in the ranks at a time when the Trump administration is openly considering a ground operation in Iran.

Others in the Pentagon have raised concern over the U.S. military stockpile, including Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who last month warned at a defense conference that munitions shortages were a concern even before the war began.

“It was something that we were concerned about even before the operation,” Meink said. “It has just been the fact that we couldn’t see the threat evolving and what we’re facing. So we definitely have to improve on that.”

Trump has denied that the United States faces weapons shortages, even after meeting with the nation’s top contractors last month in a push for them to increase — and on some products, quadruple — their output.

“What interceptors we have for Iran is because of Randy George,” the first U.S. official countered. “He continued to work that problem set up through [Thursday]. It’s a problem set he was working in real time.”

Jerry McGinn, director of the Center for the Industrial Base at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S. forces have reached a stage in the war where they can pivot away from standoff weapons systems. With Iran’s air defenses largely degraded, they can instead rely on weapons such as laser-guided bombs, helping ease pressure on stockpiles.

But Iran’s downing of two U.S. aircraft on Friday suggests that longer-range weapons may still be necessary.

“When the stockpile is stressed, as it was after Ukraine and then now with Iran, any surge in need leads to a backlog as they try to replenish,” McGinn said.

“The three things they’ve been using a whole lot of are Tomahawks, [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense] and Patriots, and those inventories were already somewhat depleted after Midnight Hammer last summer,” McGinn added. “You can’t crank those out very fast.”

Beyond his role tending to the nation’s “magazine depth” — making sure the military isn’t firing more weapons than it is able to replenish — George also led the Pentagon’s effort to set up a joint task force last year aimed at speeding up the U.S. military’s ability to counter small unmanned aircraft systems, or drones.

The program has proved critical in the war effort. Tehran now relies heavily on its Shahed drones, with its missile production and launch capacity severely diminished.

Acknowledging the Pentagon expulsions, Iran’s embassy in South Africa posted photos on social media Friday x-ing out portraits of several top U.S. military officials fired in recent months.

“Regime change happened successfully,” the Iranians wrote.

Europe’s Red Sea naval task force tells us it is prepared for the resumption of Houthi attacks on shipping in the region. The Iranian proxy group has already launched several ballistic missile strikes against Israel since joining the ongoing war in the Middle East over the weekend. Now there is growing concern that the Houthis could effectively shut down the Bab el-Mandeb (BAM) strait, a narrow stretch of water between Yemen and Djibouti. Doing so would choke off a flow of oil exports from Saudi Arabia, especially to east, exacerbating a huge spike in oil prices after Iran closed off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping. Having both straits closed at once is something of a ‘sum of all fears’ scenario for the global energy marketplace.

A new Houthi offensive would be a major cudgel for Iran, because it would open a new front in the war and draw in military resources at a time when they are heavily involved in Epic Fury. A potential activation of the Houthis is arguably Tehran’s biggest military card left to play, but just how much control Tehran retains over the Houthis is unclear.

Operation Aspides “maintains a high level of situational awareness and conducts daily assessments of potential risks to freedom of navigation, making necessary operational adjustments where required,” an Aspides official told The War Zone. “In the event of a resumption of Houthi attacks to merchant vessels – which remains a possibility – we are present and ready to implement our mandate.”

“At the moment the missile launches from Houthi against Israel mark the first step,” the official added. “Their statement is not as clear and not a direct threat to merchant vessels passing through the Red Sea. Of course as we’ve already mentioned, a resumption of Houthi attacks to merchant vessels still remains a possibility.”

Aspides was created in February 2024 during the Houthi’s 15-month campaign against warships and commercial vessels. It is a defensive operation to provide protection for ships transiting the Red Sea region and situational awareness about Houthi threats.

Operation Prosperity Guardian, a similar effort created months earlier by the U.S. Navy that we were the first to write about, was disbanded a year ago after the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire. Its responsibilities were subsumed by Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 50, the surface warfare task force under U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday declined to comment about what, if any, preparations DESRON 50 is making for the possible resumption of Houthi aggression in the Red Sea.

So far, the Houthis’ intentions for the Red Sea region remain publicly unknown. On Wednesday, the group’s spokesman, Yahya Saree, announced they struck southern Israel with ballistic missiles in coordination with Iran and Hezbollah. No mention was made about the Red Sea.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah’s help and reliance upon Allah, carried out the third military operation in the ‘Holy Jihad Battle,’ targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets…” Saree stated.

However, as we noted yesterday, Iran is pushing the rebels “to prepare for a renewed campaign against Red Sea shipping, contingent upon any further escalation by the US in its war on the Islamic Republic,” Bloomberg News reported, citing European officials familiar with the matter.

Houthi leaders “are weighing options for more aggressive action after launching ballistic missiles at Israel,” Bloomberg added. During their previous campaign launched in late 2023, the Houthis attacked so many vessels with missiles and aerial and surface drones that shipping companies avoided the waterway, creating a spike in the price of some goods because alternative routes were much longer, resulting in increased cost of fuel, insurance and wages for crews. 

At issue now are the increasing amount of oil exports flowing through the BAM in the wake of Iran’s Strait closure. 

“Over the first 28 days of March, the amount of crude oil transiting the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait jumped by 21% compared with February,” CNN noted, citing the Vortexa shipping data firm. 

In the past two weeks, Saudi Arabia has diverted nearly five million barrels a day of crude oil to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, the network added. While just a fraction of the 15 million barrels a day that have been cut off by the Strait closure, the Yanbu exports have helped reduce oil shortages and blunt price increases. Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, reached a high of more than $107 per barrel on March 30 but fell to just over $101 per barrel as of Wednesday morning Eastern Standard Time, according to the latest figures from OilPrices.com.

A disruption of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea transit option could cause oil prices to rise much higher and very quickly, creating a cascading wave of financial impacts across the globe. Even if the Strait of Hormuz were opened today, it will still take a while for the global economy to recover from the shock. Meanwhile, for Saudi Arabia, the simultaneous closure of both straits is a long-standing nightmare, a financial double-whammy that would also send energy prices around the globe skyrocketing.

Beyond the purely economic impact that a resumption of Houthi attacks would bring, defending against them could require military assets at a time when the U.S. is still building up its already heavy commitment for Operation Epic Fury. During the previous Houthi Red Sea campaign that stretched into early 2025, the U.S. and allies deployed many warships, including the Eisenhower and Truman Carrier Strike Groups (CGS) to both defend against Houthi attacks and strike targets in Yemen. These operations resulted in a large expenditure of air defense munitions already under tremendous strain as Iran rains down missiles and drones across the Middle East.

You can see video from some of those encounters below.

Strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi Targets by USS Gravely, USS Carney, and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

At the moment, the U.S. has only the Lincoln CSG in the Middle East after the departure of the USS Gerald R. Ford for repairs from a fire. While the USS George H.W. Bush is reportedly on the way to replace the Ford, that journey will take a while. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has pushed thousands of Marines and a contingent of the 82nd Airborne to the region in advance of what could be an attack on Iran’s Kharg Island, which would greatly escalate Epic Fury.

The future of the U.S. fight against Iran remains unclear. Monday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran wanted a ceasefire, which he would only consider after they reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Iran pushed back against that, which you can read more about in our story here. We might learn more tonight during Trump’s scheduled 9 p.m. speech about the war.

What role the Houthis may play in this conflict is not fully clear. They are the most independent of Iran’s proxy groups and often act on their own accord. A weakened Iran could further imperil any obedience they have to the regime in Tehran, though there is also the question of what would happen to Houthi weapon stocks should the Islamic Republic, a key supplier, fall. There is also a long history of fighting with Saudi Arabia to consider, as that could be rekindled.

Regardless, if the conflict continues, the Houthis opening a second front in the Red Sea would have wide-ranging military and economic effects and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

AT 36, Millie Mackintosh is navigating divorce for the second time in her life, after her seemingly fairytale marriage to Hugo Taylor collapsed earlier this year.

It’s the latest hurdle after a difficult few years, which has seen the star quit drinking and come to terms with an ADHD and anxiety diagnosis, which she had previously numbed with booze and prescription drugs. As she faces the pitfalls of divorce, insiders tell us why she has been left worrying about money and the lengths she’s gone to, to protect herself.

After seven years of marriage, Millie and Hugo, who are parents to Sienna, five, and Aurelia, four, filed for divorce earlier this month. The pair are yet to comment on the break-up but insiders suggested that Millie’s massive lifestyle overhaul played a part in the decision.

Suddenly, Millie, who is worth roughly £6million from her various business ventures over the years, went from a shared income with Hugo, who runs a luxury eyewear company, to fending for herself once again.

Hugo is thought to be worth around £4million – he launched luxury eyewear brand Taylor Morris off the back of his MIC fame, and it’s been a huge hit with the likes of everyone from David Gandy to the Beckhams.

An insider explained: “Millie has always made her own money; she didn’t rely on Hugo, but it is, of course, very different when there are two people instead of just one.

“Almost overnight, friends noticed a huge difference in her spending habits. Suddenly, she started to cut back and seemed to be really thinking about what she was buying.

“She’s worked so hard for what she’s created, and it’s terrifying not knowing what will happen. It’s causing her crippling anxiety.

“It’s very surprising to see someone like Millie fretting about money, but like any couple who has separated, it’s a shock to the system, and it will take time and effort working out how she will maintain her current lifestyle.”

Most people know Millie as one of the original cast members of Made In Chelsea – the reality show about some of London’s wealthiest 20-somethings.

She was billed as a chocolate heiress when she first burst onto the scene in 2011, but was determined to be known as more than that. 

Her great-great-grandfather, John, was a Victorian entrepreneur, known as the Toffee King, who created Mackintosh’s sweet company.

A generation later, her great-grandfather and his brother invented Quality Street, which Brits know and love today, but they sold it in 1988.

Millie insisted: “People severely overestimate how wealthy I am.

“I’m routinely referred to as the heir to the Quality Street fortune, as though I hit 21 and inherited millions. If only.

“It’s not as if I get a cut every time someone eats a toffee. My family sold the business years ago. I’m comfortable, but I don’t live a flash life.”

Millie, real name Camilla, definitely has a comfortable life – her parents, Nigel and Georgina, brought her up in a  £1.4million townhouse in Bath.

And as soon as she was old enough, Millie started working. She was a waitress at first and was working in Space NK when she was approached about her place on MIC when she was just 21. 

She famously dated Hugo on the show, but then met and fell in love with rapper Professor Green. They married in  2013 and split in 2016.

It was a rocky relationship, with Pro Green — real name Stephen Manderson — recently admitting that he had nearly “called off” their nuptials, but they had both felt “pressured” to go through with it.

A decade on from the split, Millie and Pro have reconnected and have bonded over both being diagnosed with ADHD in recent years.

Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast last October, Pro branded her “beautiful”, but added that the pair were toxic for one another at the time of their marriage, describing it as a “trauma bond”.

In another interview, he admitted their quickie divorce had been costly for him.

He told John Bishop: “You know what they say about divorce, it’s expensive, you know why? Because it’s worth it.

“I can’t stop working right now, my mortgage isn’t paid, I am not a house owner. The bank own my house, I own a percentage of it depending on where it sits in the market.”

The summer after their split, she rekindled things with Hugo, and it looked like they would last forever.

Second marriage split

News of their split came as a surprise, but insiders have suggested the writing had been on the wall for some time.

Millie had changed a lot in recent years – she has been open about her massive lifestyle overhaul after quitting drinking in 2022, then dealing with the ADHD and anxiety she had previously numbed with booze and prescription drugs.

What’s more, she revealed last year that, having grappled with her sexuality, she had finally admitted to herself and Hugo that she was also attracted to women.

The pair have now both appointed legal teams and have quietly started divorce proceedings.

A pal said: “Fans will be sad to hear that their relationship is really over, but the pair just want a clean break.

“Millie and Hugo are committed to co-parenting their two young children and keeping everything stable. They are still very amicable with each other and have a lot of respect for one another.

“They want the divorce to go through as painlessly as possible and are focusing on work in the meantime.”

They want the divorce to go through as painlessly as possible

Pal

Millie has always been a grafter – she swiftly turned her reality TV fame into an online following as an influencer, which paved the way for many after her.

She launched her own fashion brand in 2014, proudly saying at the time: “I invested my own money into setting it up.

“I own it, I model it, and they’re my designs. So I would say, yeah, I’ve kind of created my dream.”

But by 2018, the dream was over, and she lost £178,000 of her own money when the company became unsustainable.

It didn’t stop her, though, and she transformed into a lifestyle influencer, with brand deals popping up left, right and centre.

Our insider says: “Don’t be surprised if you see more and more collaborations on Millie’s social media. Her arms are very open to any opportunities that come her way.”

She even wrote a book – Bad Drunk – about her boozing issues.

She has been sober now for over three years and admitted that one of the ways she realised it was such a problem was the fact that it was “stealing her money”.

It hasn’t been an easy road to being financially secure, and the work/life juggle has proved tricky at times since she became a mum.

As a self-employed woman, Millie went back to work just three months after Sienna’s birth and, while it was difficult, she believes it was the best thing for her.

She says she gets up at the crack of dawn to get a head start on emails and tasks.

She explained: “Since becoming a mother, I really want to get the most out of work.

“Your time is your most valuable thing.

“I get up at 5am so I feel I can start my day early enough to get everything I need to do, done.”

She admits she got the “balance wrong” at first when it came to juggling work with kids.

“It weighed on me quite a lot,” she says.

“So I was actually doing some work around this in therapy, and I figured out that my weeks weren’t structured in a way that was beneficial for me and my mental health.

“I had to change the balance.

“And I now have blocked out time in my diary every week, and the kids know that I won’t be working in that time.”

The juggle has no doubt been even harder since her split from Hugo, and just a few days ago, she candidly spoke about her fears, saying: “I think recently I have found it really hard to know how to show up online because of things I’ve got going on in my personal life that I am not going to share online.

“But because I do usually share so much of my life, I felt like this gap, this resistance to posting and like letting you guys in.”

Millie certainly seems to be well aware that sharing her life with fans is helping to pay her bills at the moment, but just how much she will share is yet to be seen.

One thing is for certain, though, with her divorce looming, there is likely to be another very big bill on its way. 

Families heading off on the Easter holidays and days out face paying an average 150p a litre for petrol and as much as 180p for diesel – on top of the usual Bank Holiday misery of congested roads

Brits beginning the Easter getaway face price hikes and possible disruption.

The economic shockwaves from the Middle East war mean the millions taking the road are in for pain at the pumps when filling-up for long journeys. It came as petrol prices rose to close to 150p a litre and diesel nears the punishingly high 180p mark.

And there are warnings those planning to jet abroad face higher fares – if they have not booked ahead – and the risk of cancellations. That is all on top of the usual misery of queues on routes near holiday hotspots for those staying in the UK. The rush is expected to start from Friday as schools break up for the holidays, and will peak over the long Easter weekend.

READ MORE: Spain airport strikes update as three major UK tourist spots set for disruption – datesREAD MORE: Easter holidaymakers warned about mosquitos after surge in tropical virus in UK

The AA said more than 19 million people travelled on Good Friday last year, with 18.5 million on the Saturday and 18.2 million each on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Many will end up paying through the nose when they stop off to fill-up, given a sharp rise in fuel prices since the start of the Iran war at the end of March.

The nationwide average for unleaded has jumped to almost 150p a litre, up 17p since before the conflict erupted. Diesel drivers have been hit even harder, with diesel now averaging 176.66p per litre, a leap of 34p in recent weeks.

Motoring groups and ministers have urged drivers not panic buy fuel. Ministers insisted the UK was well stocked, despite Iran’s effective blockade of oil through the key Strait of Hormuz. A handful of forecourts have displayed signs saying they are out of fuel.

RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader Sean Kimberlin said: “Fuel prices may have risen sharply in recent weeks, but our research with drivers shows they are still determined to make the most of the Easter break. Despite diesel costing around £19 more per tank than last year and petrol about £8 more, only a small number of people are actually changing their plans. For many, Easter is the first real chance to get away since Christmas, so we’re urging drivers to use the myRAC app to find the cheapest forecourts near them.”

He added: “This year we’re expecting one of the busiest Easter getaways since 2022, with planned leisure trips rising again for the second year running.

“Traffic is likely to build from Thursday as schools break up, with the M5 towards Devon and Cornwall and the M25 set to be particularly congested. The worst delays are expected from around 10am, so getting on the road early is still the best way to avoid the queues.”

Predictions that Brits are in for a cracking Easter, with blue skies and temperatures climbing towards 20C, are expected to mean are even busier than normal.

National Highways said it was lifting around 1,500 miles of roadworks between next Thursday and Easter Monday, “meaning 98% of our motorways and major A-roads will be free of roadworks over the bank holiday,” it added.

Airports are also braced for a rush families taking advantage of the Easter break for a week in the sun. Yet it comes amid warnings of possible cancellations to some long haul destinations, partly due to fears of jet fuel shortages. The soaring cost of aviation fuel has also led to concerns that flight prices will rise.

Regulator the CAA says it expects over two million passengers through UK airports across the Easter break, including 1.6 million over the Easter weekend.

It is urging travellers to check the flight status with their airline and ensure they are up to date with the latest government foreign travel advice on any countries they are transiting through before you leave for the airport.

Anticipating possible disruption, it said: “If your flight is delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to meals, accommodation or alternative travel arrangements provided by your airline.” It went on: “Travel insurance can protect against missed flights, medical emergencies, and lost or stolen belongings. Carefully review the terms and conditions to understand your coverage.”

Selina Chadha, group director for consumers and markets at the CAA, said: “With many UK travellers planning to get away over the Easter holidays, it’s important that those planning to travel know their rights and plan ahead to make their journeys as smooth as possible.”

Gatwick Airport says its near 60 airlines have flights to more than 220 destinations over Easter. “Short-haul breaks are expected to lead over the Easter holidays with bookings for Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, Dublin and Geneva currently topping the most popular list,” a spokesperson said.

“Passengers are also preparing to travel further afield, with top long-haul options currently including Orlando, Shanghai and Cancun.” The airport’s busiest day over the holidays is set to be Easter Sunday.

Yields on government debt across European countries and the United States have been rising since the start of the Iran war.

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Investors are demanding higher yields as confidence in the global economy has cratered due to the severe negative impact of the conflict on energy markets, supply chains and Middle Eastern infrastructure.

The 2-year notes, sensitive to near-term rate expectations, have risen faster than their 10-year counterparts in a classic bear-flattening move, while longer-dated yields reflect worries over the economic drag caused by more expensive energy.

Speaking to Euronews, BCA Research’s Chief Fixed Income Strategist, Robert Timper, explained that “the aggressive bear flattening of yield curves reflects a hawkish monetary policy repricing in response to inflation fears stemming from the Iran war”.

“The front-end [2-year yields] is more sensitive to changes in monetary policy and has therefore risen more than the long-end [10-year yields] in response to investors’ anticipation of more hawkish central bank policy,” Timper added.

Historically, this specific curve behaviour often precedes an inverted yield curve, which is a well-recognised indicator of a potential economic recession.

European bonds bear the brunt of the sell-off

The repricing has been most pronounced in Europe, with the UK bond market feeling the biggest pressure.

Since the start of the conflict, the 10-year UK gilt yield has risen from 4.2% to a high of over 5% while the 2-year note yield jumped from 3.5% to a peak of 4.6%.

Timper explained to Euronews that past inflation experience has proved decisive, stating that “rate hikes in the UK are more likely than elsewhere because inflation has been more elevated than elsewhere, and the risk of inflation expectations unanchoring is therefore higher.”

On Wednesday, AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mould highlighted the UK-specific implications in a detailed press release, noting that the 10-year gilt yield is hovering near 5% for only the third time since 2008 while the 2-year gilt yield comfortably exceeds the Bank of England base rate.

Mould also explained that the gap between the 10-year gilt yield and the FTSE 100 dividend yield has widened to more than one-and-a-half percentage points, making UK equities relatively less attractive.

Elsewhere in Europe, bond yields experienced similar surges.

Germany’s 10-year bund yield increased from 2.65% to around 3%, nearing 15-year highs, while the 2-year note yield climbed from roughly 2% to 2.65%.

In France, the 10-year OAT yield jumped from 3.2% to above 3.7%, approaching 17-year peaks, while the 2-year note yield has risen from 2.1% to over 2.8%.

As for Italy, the 10-year BTP yield was at around 3.3% before the Iran war and has now surpassed 3.9%, approaching two-year highs, while the 2-year note yield has increased from roughly 2.15% to 3%.

In every single one of these bond markets, the yield on the 2-year notes has risen faster than their 10-year counterparts.

The 30 and 20-year bond yields are also all trading higher which denotes deteriorating confidence in the long-term growth prospect of the respective European economies.

US Treasuries face comparable headwinds

Across the Atlantic, US Treasuries have followed a similar trajectory, though the sell-off has been less severe than in the UK for example.

The 10-year note yield has risen from around 3.9% to a peak of 4.4%, reached on Monday, and is currently trading at 4.37%.

Meanwhile, the 2-year note yield increased from 3.35% to a high of over 4%, and it is hovering 3.9% at the time of writing.

The yields on both notes have hit an 8-month high.

Timper’s analysis places US bond performance close to that of the euro area, reflecting broadly comparable inflation histories and policy outlooks. There is scant evidence of investors fleeing European bonds for US Treasuries as a safe-haven trade.

Speaking to Euronews, Timper explained that such shifting flows would be more visible in currency markets as the US dollar benefits from being the predominant denominator for energy exports.

For now the message from bond markets on either side of the Atlantic is consistent, the Middle East conflict has rewritten the near-term outlook for inflation, monetary policy and borrowing costs.

This Morning star Sharon Marshall has spoken out for the first time, revealing she was taken to hospital in an ambulance after her severe hay fever saw her almost go into cardiac arrest

This Morning star Sharon Marshall has revealed for the first time her terrifying health ordeal, as she was carted off in an ambulance over fears she was in cardiac arrest – but she was actually suffering from hay fever.

Sharon, 54, spoke candidly about how her complex hay fever – which was misdiagnosed as adult asthma – once saw her collapse in the doctors office, which lead her to being rushed to hospital in an ambulance as paramedics feared she was going into cardiac arrest. The Queen of Soaps sat on the This Morning sofa today to reveal her complex health woes and how the ordeal unfolded.

Speaking to Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on the This Morning sofa, alongside Professor Adam Fox, Sharon revealed she got ill when she was training to run the marathon and initially ruled out symptoms as being unfit. She recalled waking up in the middle of the night not being able to breathe – which Sharon didn’t realise was an asthma attack at the time.

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Sharon explained that the ordeal happened in the middle of the night so she decided to wait until the morning to see the doctor. She recalled: “I remember sort of waiting until nine o’clock, ringing the doctor’s surgery and they were like, ‘oh God, come in immediately,’ going out the flat and luckily a black cab came past, got me in the back, took me in and he helped me to the door. And I don’t really remember much past that because I just collapsed in the doctor’s surgery and I came round in the back of an ambulance.”

She continued: “I said, ‘Oh what’s happening’ and they said, ‘we’re taking you to hospital’ and my first reaction was, ‘will I be going back’ and I they said, ‘No probably not’ and I said, ‘well can I just go by the house and feed my cat’. And this lovely guy who was just saying: ‘You’re going into cardiac arrest, we’re trying to take you into hospital to save your life no you can’t feed your cat’.”

Sharon stayed in hospital for a week but doctors struggled to get to the root cause. Sharon was then diagnosed with adult onset asthma. She explained: “So for years and years, I started taking asthma inhaler and then every year, not realising pollen season would come around and I would start getting asthmatic again. I was on the strongest asthma inhaler every single day. I was going through an asthma inhaler set in a week – horrible steHowever, Sharon revealed that every spring she would continue to get “really breathless and really ill”. Sharon continuned to go to the doctors in search for more answers and even struggled to wak up the stairs in the doctor’s surgery.

At one point, Sharon was even tested for lung cancer. She revealed: “So every year it was just this terrifying thing of, ‘I can’t breathe’ – stronger and stronger steroids and asthma inhalers.” Sharon revealed a visit to the This Morning studios changed her health for good.

Sharon had come into the studio and struggled to breathe while having her makeup done, which saw the crew call a medic as she was going into another asthma attack.

She added: “And, lukcily, in the studio, doing an item about allergies was our lovely professor here, who was able to work out, ‘Oh there’s a time of year that this seems to be happening’.”roids, Mysoline [an anticonvulsant medication] and all these things.”

However, Sharon revealed that every spring she would continue to get “really breathless and really ill”. Sharon continuned to go to the doctors in search for more answers and even struggled to wak up the stairs in the doctor’s surgery.

At one point, Sharon was even tested for lung cancer. She revealed: “So every year it was just this terrifying thing of, ‘I can’t breathe’ – stronger and stronger steroids and asthma inhalers.” Sharon revealed a visit to the This Morning studios changed her health for good.

Sharon had come into the studio and struggled to breathe while having her makeup done, which saw the crew call a medic as she was going into another asthma attack.

She added: “And, luckily, in the studio, doing an item about allergies was our lovely professor here, who was able to work out, ‘Oh there’s a time of year that this seems to be happening’.”

Professor Adam then explained Sharon has seasonal allergic asthma. Professor Adam then explained: “So the problem isn’t chronic all the time asthma, it’s just that when your hay fever is bad enough, if you imagine the lining of your nose is connected to the lining of your lungs. So if your upper airway because of the hayfever is really angry, can send really angry signals down to your lower airway, your lungs, and give you what listens will be an asthma attack. And of course, that can be very, very severe.”

Professor Adam then explained: “So the problem isn’t chronic all the time asthma, it’s just that when your hay fever is bad enough, if you imagine the lining of your nose is connected to the lining of your lungs. So if your upper airway because of the hayfever is really angry, can send really angry signals down to your lower airway, your lungs, and give you what listens will be an asthma attack. And of course, that can be very, very severe.”

Professor Adam then explained Sharon was then treated using ‘desensitisation’, which is a treatment that retrains to immune system to tolerate pollen. Sharon said of the new treatment: “It’s miraculous, it’s completely life changing.”

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Lebanon fears that Israel’s attack on Qasmiyeh Bridge, a key crossing linking the south to the rest of the country, could be a “prelude to a ground invasion”. The damage caused in the attack could cut off access for civilians, aid and supplies.

IMPERIAL — Whenever the weather changes suddenly, or the skyline becomes shrouded in a windy haze, Fernanda Camarillo braces herself for an asthma attack.

Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it’s still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze. It was one of her first thoughts when she heard about plans to develop a massive data center next to her home in Imperial County, a farming community near the border of Mexico that struggles with poor air quality.

“A lot of people in the county are asthmatic,” she said, explaining that she worries the new center would add more pollution. “I’ve been anxious — so many of us are voicing our concerns.”

Data centers have existed for decades but are rapidly changing and expanding due to the worldwide boom in artificial intelligence, or AI as it’s known. States and communities nationwide have started pushing back, citing concerns that the projects could strain power grids, increase utility bills and have negative health and environmental impacts.

In California, state legislators are debating how to protect residents and natural resources without creating so much red tape that developers go elsewhere, taking their jobs and taxable earnings with them.

No Data Center signs are posted in the front yard of a home that is right behind the proposed site.

“We can be supportive of innovation and a technology that is needed but also protect our communities and our health and our environment,” said state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). “We can do both at the same time.”

The California Legislature is considering bills to prohibit the projects from being exempted from the state’s stringent environmental law and to impose new tariffs on new major energy users that strain power supplies. Lawmakers also have proposed restrictions on new data centers, requiring companies to provide verifiable estimates on expected water and energy usage before they can be granted a business permit.

Imperial resident Fernanda Camarillo, who is an asthmatic, holds some of her medications.

Members of Congress also expressed concerns. Rep. Ro Khanna, speaking at a town hall about AI last month at Stanford University, said legislators must ensure data centers serve the communities that power them.

“We live in a new gilded age,” said Khanna (D-Fremont). “What kind of future are we going to build?”

::

Eric Masanet, a professor at UC Santa Barbara specializing in sustainability science for emerging technologies, described the facilities as the “brains” of the internet. The sprawling centers are filled with banks of specialized computers that process online shopping orders, stream movies, host websites, encode Zoom and other videoconferencing apps, store data and serve as switching stations for the digital world that’s now woven into daily life.

Data centers, particularly those that power AI, use significant amounts of water and energy. The facilities accounted for about 4.4% of the nation’s total electricity consumption in 2023, up from 1.9% in 2018, according to a report provided to Congress from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers projected that figure will reach 6.7% to 12% by 2028.

Many companies, including big tech giants like Meta, Google and Amazon, are making major investments in AI.

“We are building a lot more data centers faster than we ever did — and a new AI data center is 10 to 20, maybe 30 times, the size of the largest data centers we had before,” Masanet said.

The proposed site of the 950,00-square-foot data center is on a dusty parcel that is next to the Victoria Ranch housing community and adjacent to farmland in Imperial, Calif.

It’s unclear how many data centers are in the state. A California Energy Commission spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times it does not track this information. Data Center Map, a nongovernmental website that tracks data centers across the world, lists 289 facilities in California, with more than 4,000 nationwide.

The federal government has, so far, largely left it to states or localities to regulate data centers.

The facilities can generate significant revenue for local governments due to sales and property taxes.

But some new proposals are sparking a backlash. More than 200 community and environmental organizations, including a dozen from California, sent an open letter to Congress in December calling for a national moratorium on new data centers.

Robert Gould, a pathologist with San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, one of the organizations that signed the letter, explained data centers are causing a shift away from renewable energy and back toward fossil fuels because the facilities need a reliable and constant stream of power.

Cornell University researchers last year estimated that AI growth could add 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually by 2030, unless steps are taken to change course.

Gould said fossil fuel emissions are associated with various cancers, an increase in hospitalizations for older adults due to respiratory conditions, and asthma attacks or stunted lung growth in children. Particulate matter from fossil fuel emissions is also linked to cardiovascular events and negative effects on maternal fetal health.

Gould’s organization has noticed an alarming trend.

“These are generally placed in communities that are the least able to defend themselves,” he said.

Farmworkers toil in the noon heat to pick vegetables in Imperial. Agriculture is an important part of the Imperial Valley economy.

::

The debate over data centers is heating up in the Imperial Valley, a rural desert region in southeastern California where a proposed center faces fierce opposition from residents.

The county in 2025 granted the project an exemption for the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA. The landmark 56-year-old state law has been credited with helping to preserve California’s natural beauty and protecting communities from hazardous impacts of construction projects — but also blamed for stymieing construction.

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, a California-based limited liability company that started two years ago, plans to develop a 950,000-square-foot facility in the county that’s designed for advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning operations. The company says it will use reclaimed wastewater and EPA-certified natural gas generators, and create 2,500 to 3,500 construction jobs and 100 to 200 permanent positions.

“We are committed to Imperial County and to creating lasting economic opportunity,” the company website states. “The project will generate $28.75 million in annual property tax revenue for local schools, fire departments, libraries, and essential services.”

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors is moving toward finalizing the proposal.

Farmland spreads out in front of the Imperial Valley Fair near a proposed data center in Imperial.

Sebastian Rucci, an attorney and chief executive officer of Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, said he commissioned multiple studies assessing the proposed center’s potential effect on issues like traffic or the environment that found no or minimal harms. He threatened to pull his proposal if a CEQA review was required.

“CEQA leaves you in an unknown territory — some of the environmental groups have used it for extortion, they sue, they have no basis for the suit but they delay you, and then they can squeeze money out of you for settling the lawsuit,” said Rucci.

The exemption, however, has alarmed residents, who have spoken up at county board meetings and launched a community organization, Not in My Backyard Imperial, to protest the data center and demand a CEQA review.

“It feels like it’s us against the county,” said Camarillo, adding that many feel the board has dismissed their questions and concerns.

None of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors responded to requests for comment.

Resident Fernanda Camarillo’s home is right behind the proposed site of the data center in Imperial.

The center would be a neighbor to Camarillo’s house in Victoria Ranch, a family-friendly area with beige stucco homes topped with terracotta tile roofs. She worries about noise, pollution and spiking utility bills. Power companies that have to upgrade grids to meet data centers’ energy demands sometimes seek to recoup that cost by hiking up rates for all consumers.

Camarillo, a substitute teacher, is also scared for her students. The air quality in Imperial Valley is already so poor that schools use a system of color-coded flags to signal whether it’s safe for children to go outside during gym or recess, she said.

“I think they see [the valley] as easy pickings because we are a low-income community and we have such a large population of Latinos here,” Camarillo said.

A quick drive around the neighborhood shows others share her concerns. Signs protesting the data center pop up throughout the community, displayed on front lawns or nestled into rocky garden beds.

Victoria Ranch was quiet and peaceful on a sunny Sunday in late February. Francisco Leal, a resident and lead organizer for NIMBY Imperial, said that’s a major part of its appeal.

The colorful dusk sky hovers over a Little League baseball game at Freddie White Park in Imperial. The debate over data centers is heating up in the Imperial Valley, a rural desert region in southeastern California.

Leal wants answers about everything from potential health hazards and impacts on the local water supply to whether the fire department is equipped to handle a large-scale electrical blaze. But without a CEQA review, he says residents are left to trust assurances from the developer or privately hired consultants.

Leal plans to sell his property if the project goes forward, but the thought makes him emotional.

“It’s not just a house; it’s a home,” he said. “This is the only home my kids have ever known and all of our family memories are here.”

Gina Snow, another resident, isn’t necessarily against bringing a data center to the county. But she wants the proposal to undergo a CEQA review.

“Clearly we understand that there is economic development and the potential for that to be positive for the county, but at what cost?” she said.

Daniela Flores, executive director of Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, a nonprofit that works for social and environmental equality, stands on the site of the proposed data center.

::

Daniela Flores, executive director of Imperial Valley Equity and Justice, a nonprofit that works for social and environmental equality, said the community has good reason to be wary. Various industries have come into the region over the years and made grand promises that never panned out.

“We became a sacrifice zone,” she said, adding industries use the area’s resources while ultimately doing little to permanently improve the lives of most residents.

Flores said the community continues to struggle with a range of problems, including poor air quality, high poverty rates, weak worker protections and crumbling infrastructure. She believes a data center could add new and potentially dangerous challenges.

The valley has long, brutal summers with temperatures that swell to 120 degrees. If the data center strains the grid and causes a lengthy blackout, or low-income residents have their power shut off because they can’t afford the rising bills, Flores fears the situation could quickly turn deadly.

The city of Imperial also has concerns. The city has filed a lawsuit calling on the county to halt the project, arguing it should not have received a CEQA exemption.

The controversy has drawn attention from Padilla, whose district includes Imperial Valley. Padilla has echoed residents’ calls for more transparency from the county and introduced Senate Bill 887, which would ban data centers from receiving exemptions from CEQA.

“I am not anti-data center or anti-artificial intelligence,” Padilla said. But, he added, we need to “find a way to do this right and make sure there is adequate review and understanding.”

A dusty haze settles over the city of Imperial at dusk near the site of a proposed data center.

Another measure from Padilla, Senate Bill 886, would direct the Public Utilities Commission to create an electrical corporation tariff to cover the cost of data center-related grid upgrades.

Other related legislation this year includes Assembly Bill 2619 from Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) that would require data center owners to provide an estimate about expected water usage and sources before applying for a business license, and Assembly Bill 1577, by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), which would require data center owners to submit monthly information to a state commission about water and fuel consumption and energy efficiency.

While lawmakers weigh new policies at the statehouse, Camarillo said she hopes the priority will be protecting communities.

“Innovation is important, but innovation for the sake of innovation has never really been something that hasn’t had negative impacts,” she said. “Think about human lives.”

Asian stock markets saw major declines on Monday as gold futures dropped 8% and crude oil prices continued to climb amid heightened uncertainty in the Middle East.

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As the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to choke global supply, benchmark US crude rose above $100 a barrel on Monday morning in Europe.

Brent crude, the international standard, went up to more than $113 a barrel. The price of Brent crude has zigzagged lately from about $70 per barrel before the war began to as high as $119.50.

European stock indexes opened with losses, with the FTSE in London losing 1.5%, the CAC-40 in Paris being down by 1.6%, and the DAX in Frankfurt dropping by 2% at the opening.

Earlier on Monday, the International Energy Agency warned that the global economy faces a “major, major threat” because of the Iran war and that at least 40 energy assets across nine countries were damaged.

Meanwhile, the de-escalation of the conflict is nowhere near in sight.

Trump warned over the weekend that the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, prompting Tehran to say it would respond to any such strike with attacks on US and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets in the region.

“Trump’s ultimatum and Iran’s retaliatory warnings point to a widening conflict that keeps energy disruption and market volatility elevated, with no clear off-ramp in sight,” said Ng Jing Wen, analyst at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

In Europe, the benchmark natural gas futures were trading above €60 per MWh at the market open.

This follows last week’s gains as escalating threats to Middle Eastern energy facilities heightened fears of deeper supply disruptions.

In Asia, stock markets were also significantly impacted by the uncertainty around the Middle East crisis, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropping 3.5%. In Taiwan, the Taiex shed 2.5%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 6.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 3.8% and the Shanghai Composite declined 3.6%.

Higher oil prices, which also shook stock markets on Friday, dashed hopes for a possible upcoming cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, analysts said. Before the war, traders were betting that the Fed would cut rates at least twice this year. Central banks in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom also recently held their interest rates steady.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Friday to close its fourth straight losing week, its longest such streak in a year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 443 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2%.

On Wall Street, roughly three out of every four stocks in the S&P 500 fell on Friday.

Stocks of smaller companies, which can feel the pinch of higher interest rates more than their bigger rivals, led the way lower. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks fell a market-leading 2.3%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury finished last week with a jump to 4.38% Friday from 4.25% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war started.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed might do, rose to 3.88% from 3.79%.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 159.53 Japanese yen from 159.22 yen. The euro cost $1.1526, down from $1.1571.

PREGNANT Sophie Kasaei revealed every day feels like a living nightmare as boyfriend Jordan Brook battles viral meningitis.

The Towie star, 31, has been in hospital for two weeks and has swelling on the brain after falling ill with the serious condition.

Worried Sophie, 36, was only able to see Jordan for the first time two days ago following his admission and admits she’s never felt so much fear as he goes through treatment.

Alongside loved-up photos of them together, she wrote on Instagram: “Life can come at you really fast. Literally in the blink of an eye.

“One minute you’re dreaming about your future together… and the next, you’re sitting in a hospital room, holding onto hope with everything you have.

“Watching the person I love in pain and fear, something I can’t fight for them is the hardest thing I’ve ever known. And through all this I’m carrying the tiniest piece of us, a reminder that even in the darkest moments, life is still growing, still holding on.”

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Sophie continued: “I never imagined I’d feel this much fear and this much love all at once. Life really can change in the blink of an eye. Please don’t take a single moment, a single person, for granted.

“Everyday I fall in love with you more and more @jordanbrook11 this whole thing feels like I’m living in a nightmare waiting to be woke up by you next to me in bed but I’m just grateful your here and fighting for your family.

“Our little baby boy is what is keeping this family going. I love you @jordanbrook11.”

Jordan replied in the comments and vowed he would give everything to recover.

“My darling girl,” he wrote. “I can’t thank you enough for the strength to help me battle this. I will not give up on us.

“I love you more and more every single day.

“‘This too Shal pass’ – we will smile again with our special boy and family.”

The devastating diagnosis came months after the couple revealed they were expecting their first baby after two years of IVF treatment.

They were supported by friends and fans in the comments, who were moved by their situation.

Love Island‘s Shaughna Phillips said: “So beautifully written Soph, thinking of you both and wishing Jordan a super speedy recovery xxxx.”

Geordie Shore‘s Chloe Ferry left loveheart emojis, while Scarlett Moffatt said: “Sending love and strength.”

Jordan was rushed to hospital earlier this month after falling seriously ill with a mystery illness now known to be viral meningitis and encephalitis.

The conditions are potentially life threatening, causing inflammation of the brain and spinal cord lining.

In a video posted from his hospital bed, Jordan said: “This is the first time I’ve really been able to speak strong enough about what’s going on.

“I’ve been diagnosed with not one but two joining viruses that are attacking a similar part of my body. I have got viral meningitis and encephalitis together.

“That’s the inflammation of the brain and the lining around it. So this isn’t something small or minor.”

He has had CT scans, MRI lumbar scans, and lumbar punctures — the extraction of cerebrospinal fluid from the lower vertebrae — to find out what is wrong.

Jordan continued: “I’m on IV drips, everything antiviral, pain management, physio, seizure monitoring, to minimise seizure risk at the minute.”

The star added: “But unfortunately the swelling on my brain is getting worse. Really, really tough, even with the simple day-to-day activities and normal things that aren’t easy right now. 

“So this is what I’m dealing with day-today.”

JESSIE J has been rushed to hospital following a car injury which left her with fears she’d ‘broken her neck’.

The singer, 37, has undergone an MRI scan following the incident as she updated fans on her health scare.

Jessie is currently in China for her No Secrets Tour and suffered an unlikely injury after hitting her head on the roof of a car. 

Taking to Instagram, the Price Tag hitmaker shared a clip of her climbing into a black vehicle at her latest concert, whilst admitting she “didn’t mind squashing in the back”.

The video then cuts to Jessie in hospital undergoing an MRI scan after suffering the neck injury.

In an additional update, whilst backstage at one of her shows, Jessie goes on to relay the severity of her condition. 

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She said: “Yeah, I just can’t move my head. I’m alright. I’ll just have to take some painkillers and march right through it.”

“I thought I’d broken my neck, but I haven’t. But I have really hurt my neck and my back.”

Later, shots show the star trying on a stunning gold jumpsuit and embracing her young son Sky. 

Jessie didn’t let the injury stop her putting on a stellar performance as she’s filmed singing her iconic tracks on stage.

Fans flocked to the comments with messages of love and well wishes for the singer.

One user penned: “Take care of yourself (heart emoji)”

“And yet nobody noticed until you told us you hurt yourself!! POPSTARRRR mode was activated,” added another.

A third chimed: “Feel better soon girl you are such a vibe even if you are in pain such an awesome human being.”

“Sending you lots of love and light (heart emoji)” wrote a fourth.

The music star was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and shared news of her early-stage diagnosis publicly via social media in June 2025.

Jessie underwent two surgeries during her health battle, which included a mastectomy that same year.

In August, she was taken to hospital with an infection and fluid on her lungs six weeks post-surgery.

But the star now seems to be doing well and is back performing shows just under a year since her diagnosis.