launch

OASIS have launched a countdown to a major announcement with a drone display above their beloved Manchester City’s home ground.

Over the past few weeks, Liam, 53 and Noel Gallagher, 59, have dropped a string of cryptic clues about their next world tour, and last night they continued to hype up the buzz.

Oasis reformed two years ago, after the long-feuding brothers caused the band to split-up in 2009.

Now after their successful run of gigs last year, they have appeared to confirm they will be making another tour announcement on Monday (September 14).

Oasis teased the news with a huge drone display flying above the Etihad Stadium last night.

The display saw the band’s iconic black and white logo light up the sky at 11pm.

I DREAM OF VIEW

Where to watch the Oasis documentary: Cinema and Disney+ release dates

call back

Oasis teaser video ‘confirms’ tour location with cheeky nod group’s history

The incredible light show, which was 120m-long, then revealed a date which read “14.9.26”.

Onlookers got to watch the drone display in the sky for ten minutes before it disappeared.

Oasis have been dropping clues left, right and centre.

Yesterday, they appeared to confirm the tour locations with a new video which left viewers scrambling to decode where the gigs will take place.

And on Tuesday, Liam and Noel teased another upcoming tour location with a subtle nod to a moment around the time the group split.

Meanwhile, The Sun exclusively revealed that Oasis will be returning to the stage next year.

They will perform a record-breaking run of six concerts at Knebworth and a 12-date residency at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

A EUROPEAN airline you’ve probably never heard of is launching its first flights from the UK.

Discover Airlines is set to launch flights from the UK to two German cities in summer 2027.

The flights include routes between Bristol and Frankfurt; Glasgow and Frankfurt; Glasgow and Munich and Inverness and Frankfurt.

The route between Glasgow and Frankfurt will take off from March 29, 2027 and will take place six times a week.

Then the Glasgow to Munich route will begin on May 16, 2027, and fly two times a week.

The Bristol to Frankfurt route will begin on May 17, 2027, and take place twice a week.

Read more on travel inspo

CHEAP BREAKS

UK’s best 100 cheap stays – our pick of the top hotels, holiday parks and pubs

SEA IT

All 25 of the English Riviera beaches ranked from best to worst – by a Devon local

And finally, the Inverness to Frankfurt route will start on June 19, 2027, and will have one flight a week.

Discover Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group and it will become the only airline to offer non-stop flights from Frankfurt to Inverness, Bristol and Glasgow.

The Munich to Glasgow route will take over the route which was previously operated by Lufthansa.

Marco Götz, Chief Commercial Officer of Discover Airlines: “We’re always on the lookout for attractive destinations to offer travelers even more choice and, above all, new travel experiences.

“We see a clear trend toward nature, outdoor activities, and trips that combine culture and scenery – our three new destinations fit this trend perfectly.

“They open up a wide variety of ways to discover Great Britain.

“We are all the more pleased that our guests will be able to reach these destinations this summer more easily than ever via our two hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.”

Aug. 25 (UPI) — In its 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year, SpaceX marked a record-setting 37 missions for the rocket’s first-stage booster, a reuse milestone.

The rocket launched early Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying 29 Starlink internet satellites. There are already more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, making it the largest satellite constellation so far.

Falcon 9 rockets include extensive reuse of boosters, with nine of the company’s boosters making at least 30 flights. The one used Tuesday, B1067, entered service in June 2021. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean as the upper stage continued on to low Earth orbit.

Falcon 9 rockets flew 165 missions — all of them successful — in 2025. The reuse of the boosters makes the rockets cheaper and more efficient to use. While competitors have been working toward the same concept, SpaceX is so far the only one to manage it.

The next step for the company is the “megarocket” Starship, which is designed to be completely reusable multiple times a day. Only the Falcon 9 boosters are reusable.

Tuesday’s launch is expected to be the final one for Falcon 9 rockets in Florida. Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX vice president of launch operations, confirmed this in a social media post Tuesday.

“From here on, Starlink missions out of Florida will fly on Starship,” Dontchev wrote. “The West Coast team will continue regularly launching Starlink from Vandenberg.” This refers to Vandenberg Base in California.

SpaceX has not yet tested Starship in orbit. The next launch is expected in mid-September from Texas. If that one goes well, the next Starship launch will be from Florida.

“Once Starship is flying reliably several times a week, it makes sense to shift … production resources to Starship to get launch rate to several times per day,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post Saturday.

Falcon 9 rockets launched for the first time in 2010. There have been nearly 700 launches since.

Strictly Come Dancing is set to go through another huge shake up before it even begins, as 15 new celebs head to the dancefloor to compete for the Glitterball trophy

Strictly Come Dancing is about to undergo a huge shake-up as it returns to previously ditched format. The show, which has already faced several changes this year, is set to scrap the introductory video tapes it that it had been using to reveal the whom had been coupled with whom.

In recent years, the launch show had seen the Strictly celebs head to locations across the country to meet the pro dancer they would be partnered with for the rest of the competition. But the show has now decided to return to its pre-Covid format in which the partnerships would be announced live in the studio, with the dancers and celebs finding out at the same time as the audience.

The news was revealed on Radio Northampton when Graeme Hall, one of this year’s contestants, said: “This year, they’re doing it slightly differently. We don’t find out until the launch show. You have no say in it, the pros have no say in it.”

The launch show is set to air on 19 September. It is pre-recorded, so those watching at home will be finding out slightly later than the contestants, and it will air the week before the live shows begin.

This year’s contestants were announced over several weeks, starting in June. Over the summer, the names were slowly released to the public. The crop of celebs taking part this year are: Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Jaime Winstone, Will Best, Sean Wright-Phillips, Bethany Antonia, Graeme Hall, Lawrence Robb, John Nellis, Tabby Stoecker, Dame Sarah Storey and Melanie Walters.

Fans have previously expressed disappointment in the line-up, with some saying they were unimpressed with the calibre of celebrity taking part. Most critics took complaint with Kim Kardashian’s hairdresser Chris Appleton taking part, and dog trainer Graeme Hall, as they felt they were not famous enough.

Following Graeme’s announcement on 5 August, many asked who he was and one said the BBC were “scraping the bottom of the barrel”.

Another slammed the line-up as “boring”, saying: “Genuinely who even are half the people doing strictly this year, apart from like three people this is the most boring lineup ever”

A third said: “This has got to be one of weakest line ups”. Similar was said at the time of Chris Appleton’s announcement a fan joked: “Looking forward to Katie Price ’s cleaner joining the line up”.

Many pros from previous years are returning, but the show has also welcomed several new pro dancers, as Strictly said goodbye to Gorka Marquez, Karen Hauer, Michelle Tsiakkas, Luba Mushtuk and Nadiya Bychkova earlier this year. Former pro Johannes Radebe also won’t compete this year, as he is one of the new hosts.

In the middle of last year’s season, long time hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly announced they were quitting the show. As such, new hosts had to be found for this year, and the BBC decided to appoint three people to the role – Johannes, comedian Josh Widdicombe and presenter Emma Willis.

The change didn’t stop there, as former pro dancer turned It Takes Two host Janette Manrara and her co-presenter Fleur East have left the spin off show. They were replaced by Ellie Taylor, who has taken part in Strictly as a contestant.

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

A NEW train service has launched in Europe – with double-decker trains.

A double-deck train service between Finland and Sweden has launched and is now the longest route of its kind in the world.

It is the first rail connection between northern Finland and southern Europe in nearly 40 years.

The route used to run back in the 1980s to the 90s but was stopped due to low passenger numbers.

The route has two services each day and is operated by Finnish state railway VR.

The journey heads from Oulu in Finland to Haparanda in Sweden and takes about an hour and 40 minutes.

Read more on travel inspo

GO ON

All the little-known websites for cheap or FREE tickets to gigs, theatre & festivals

TRAVEL TIP

The £2.99 SIM hack that can save Brits HUNDREDS abroad

If you are heading to Sweden, you must switch trains at Haparanda Station.

As a result of the new connection, travellers can head from Lapland all the way to Portugal‘s Algarve along one route stretching 3,100 miles making it the longest train journey in the world.

On part of the track, you can head from Helsinki – the capital of Finland – to Stockholm – the capital of Sweden – in 24 hours.

Until now, travellers wanting to head between Finland and Sweden would need to rely on a bus or walking the 1.2mile walk gap between the two.

The new link between Tornio in Lapland, Finland and Haparanda, Sweden, now bridges that gap.

Tickets for the route start as little as €5.40 (£4.60).

Uber have launched stylish open-top convertible rides for newlyweds this August Bank Holiday after research claimed 72% of couples suffer from severe stress over their big day.

Travel giants Uber say many are ditching traditional country-estate weddings and instead fleeing to sleek, fast-track town hall ceremonies like pop star Dua Lipa had.

Research claims 72% of couples experience severe stress leading up to their big day and 42% have considered cancelling it completely.

Top drivers for the shift include slashing exorbitant costs (28%), keeping the vows quick and meaningful (24%), and paring down the guest list (23%).

Despite this, 72% of brides still demand an ‘iconic, internet-breaking photo moment’, while 46% worry a low-key wedding lacks that signature ‘wow’ factor.

Uber says it’s stepping in to give registry office couples the ultimate post-ceremony upgrade via rides in their open-top convertible ‘Hitch ‘n Ride’ service

Couples getting married during the August Bank Holiday are being promised a paparazzi-style entrance and exit from the registry office.

They’ll let couples step straight from their doorstep into a luxury convertible ride directly to their ceremony and onwards to their reception venue.

Uber say they’re working with ‘expert chauffeurs’ who will provide direct transport for the couple and two witnesses.

They add a chilled bottle of premium English sparkling wine will be provided for the drive between the registry and the reception.

Uber say the experience is available to couples getting hitched at registry offices in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Bristol, Sheffield and Leicester.

This news comes as registry office couples say cutting the traditional guest list saved them an average of £2,171 in venue and catering costs.

They say couples are opting to reallocate that budget where it actually counts, such as 28% putting it toward house deposits, while 22% are prioritising dream honeymoons.

Uber UK’s general manager, Andrew Brem, said “At Uber, we believe showing up for our riders matters, whether it’s for the everyday trip or one of life’s biggest moments.

“For couples saying ‘I do’ at their local town hall, ‘Hitch ‘n Ride makes getting to the celebration easier, while adding a little extra magic to the journey.”

‘Hitch ‘n Ride’ will run exclusively over the August Bank Holiday [August 28-31] across the UK.

Tickets will go live on www.hitchnride.co.uk at 10am on August 24 on a first-come-first-served basis.

Earlier today, Chinese firm LandSpace achieved the country’s first successful recovery of a reusable space launch rocket booster on land. This follows China’s first-ever recovery of a reusable space launch rocket booster last month, which state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) conducted at sea using a specially configured ship. Reusable boosters can lower costs and increase the tempo of launches dramatically, which would be extremely beneficial for China’s already massively expanding military and national security space enterprise. It could also go a long way to closing the gap on commercial launch costs with the U.S.

“On August 19, 2026, at 07:35 (UTC+8), the ZhuQue-3 (ZQ-3) Y2 reusable launch vehicle lifted off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone. Approximately 137 seconds after lift-off, the first and second stages separated. The second stage continued its flight and successfully delivered the Honghu 03 satellite, independently developed by Hongqing Technology, into its designated orbit,” according to a post from LandSpace’s official account on X. “At approximately 07:41, the first stage performed a successful soft touchdown at the LandSpace Landing Site#1 in Minqin County, Gansu Province, following the planned trajectory – marking the full success of the flight test mission.”

ZhuQue-3 first landing

“This mission marks China’s first-ever successful recovery attempt of the first stage of an orbital-class launch vehicle using landing legs, and China’s first successful booster recovery on land,” the company wrote in another post on X. “It is a pivotal flight test for ZhuQue-3 as it transitions from the technological demonstration and verification phase toward the engineering application phase of reusability. This mission further verified the design correctness and reliability of the ZhuQue-3 reusable launch vehicle system, validated its first-stage recovery capability and engineering maturity.”

This is only the second-ever launch involving the two-stage ZQ-3. The first launch came last December, and the upper stage successfully reached low Earth orbit (LEO). However, the attempted recovery of the first stage booster failed and it exploded on the pad. “Abnormal combustion occurred during the process, preventing a soft landing on the recovery site,” according to a machine translation of a subsequent report from Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua.

A complete ZQ-3 space launch rocket is around 216.5 feet (66 meters) long and close to 15 feet in diameter (4.5 meters). It can reportedly loft up to 14.2 metric tons of payload into LEO.

The design of the reusable ZQ-3 booster, including its fold-out landing legs at the base and stabilizing fins at the top, is very reminiscent of U.S. firm SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The ZQ-3 and Falcon 9 (229.6 feet/70 meters tall, 12 feet/3.7 meters diameter) are also similar in overall size, but the latter has a higher stated payload rating (maximum 22.8 metric tons to LEO). SpaceX pioneered reusable space-launch booster technology. The company is currently the top space launch provider globally, by far, with the U.S. government, and more specifically the U.S. military, being its chief customer.

LandSpace has not shied away from comparisons to the Falcon 9, and has reportedly said the primarily stainless steel construction of the ZQ-3 makes it cheaper to produce than its American competitor. It is also worth noting here that other companies in the United States, like Blue Origin, and elsewhere globally are pressing to enter the market place, as well.

The ZQ-3 also notably uses liquid methane as its main propellant. “A methane-liquid oxygen propellant mix offers advantages in performance and reduces issues of soot formation and coking for purposes of reusability,” according to a 2023 story from SpaceNews.

LandSpace has already claimed the title as the first anywhere in the world to get a liquid methane-fueled rocket into space and then into orbit with its earlier two-stage Zhuque-2 (ZQ-2) design. To date, the company has conducted eight ZQ-2 launches, six of which have been successful. The company’s original design was the three-stage ZQ-1, which it attempted to launch just once, without success, in 2018.

LandSpace’s official launch video of Zhuque-2 Y2 methane rocket

As noted, LandSpace’s achievement today follows CASC’s successful recovery of the reusable booster from a two-stage Long March 10B space launch rocket in July. The state-run aerospace firm used a net-like device installed on a ship to ‘catch’ the booster as it returned to Earth. This method of recovery means that the Long March 10B booster does not have, or necessarily need, landing legs, though it does have fins for stabilization at the top.

Long March-10B first landing

The Long March 10B is part of a family of space launch rockets with multiple stage and booster configurations. The first-ever launch of a Long March 10-series rocket, a 10A variant, only came in February. In that instance, the booster did return to Earth vertically, but set down in the sea rather than being recovered. CASC is also currently developing reusable versions of its Long March 12 design.

Long March-10 launch and landing

LandSpace’s ostensible focus is on commercial launch opportunities. CASC’s Long March 10 family is generally discussed in the context of China’s nominally civilian space program, including flights to the Tiangong space station and plans for a crewed mission to the lunar surface.

At the same time, it is hard not to see this continued push toward new reusable space launch capabilities having huge impacts on Chinese military and other national security activities outside the Earth’s atmosphere. A mature, reliable reusable space launch capability would drastically accelerate China’s access to space across the board while also lowering costs. This is especially vital for the deployment of new large distributed constellations.

This would also increase China’s ability to compete on price in the commercial space launch market globally. As noted, the United States currently enjoys a decided competitive advantage in this arena worldwide, thanks largely to SpaceX and its reusable launch options. The benefits of securing a greater share of this market could easily feed back into Chinese national security applications by helping further spread cost burdens and fueling accelerating development of this class of space launch systems.

In the meantime, the Chinese government has already been expanding its space-based intelligence gathering and other capabilities at a breakneck pace using non-reusable launch options.

“I think the ongoing greatest challenge is just the speed at which China is moving to rapidly improve their space capabilities and the breadth that that potentially poses,” U.S. Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, said at the annual Space & Missile Defense (SMD) Symposium last week, at which TWZ was in attendance. “China is moving breathtakingly fast.”

Whiting was responding to a question about what he felt were the greatest challenges facing his command over the next year to 18 months.

What “[China’s] President Xi [Jinping] has decided to do is build the second-best remote sensing architecture in the world from outer space, and that’s now what they have,” Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, head of the Space Force’s Combat Forces Command (CFC), also told TWZ and others at a roundtable at the Air & Space Forces Association’s (AFA) Warfare Symposium in February. “So when 2013 started, and he came to power, he had less than 100 satellites that were the total of what China had in outer space. They have about 1,900 today.”

“Over 500 of those satellites are remote sensing satellites, which are purposely designed and networked to track mobile forces such as U.S. carriers, destroyers, and cruisers in the Pacific, as well as aircraft that deploy around the Pacific. Those have been built with a purpose. The purpose is to cue their long-range fire weapons,” he added.

The U.S. military is now openly calling for new anti-satellite weapons to challenge China’s growing presence in orbit, further underscoring the scale of these developments.

With the new milestones just in the past two months, Chinese aerospace firms now look to be moving very fast in the realm of reusable space launch boosters, which only further fuel its many ambitions in orbit and beyond.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

HAYDEN Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has been spotted for the first time since her shocking death.

Brian, 37, looked solemn as he stepped out on Wednesday in a hat, sunglasses and hoodie in his native Greenville, South Carolina – close to where his on-off girlfriend Hayden died on Sunday at just 36.

Brian has been keeping a low profile in recent days, and has not made a public statement since her death.

Brian and his brother Zach were at the Greenville rental apartment when Hayden was discovered unresponsive in a “possible overdose” on Sunday afternoon.

In a police report obtained by The U.S. Sun, cops said Zach walked into the apartment after 1 pm to find Hayden unconscious on a chair in the living room.

Brian was apparently asleep in another room at the time of the horrific discovery.

One of the brothers called 911, and an emergency medical team rushed to the scene.

While police said Zach was extremely emotional as the first responders attempted to save her life, Brian apparently did not shed a tear until Hayden was officially declared dead an hour later.

Brian told cops Hayden regularly took a “bag of medication,” and a long list of redacted prescription names were included in the police report.

Now, the tragedy’s fall-out is unfolding for Brian and his family.

Police arrived to Brian’s grandmother’s home on Wednesday morning.

“Greenville Police officers responded to a call for a welfare check at a home belonging to Brian Hickerson’s family on Wednesday morning,” police told The U.S. Sun in a statement.

“The call is unrelated to the Hayden Panettiere death investigation and did not require an incident report.”

But TMZ reported earlier on Wednesday that a criminal investigation has been launched into the death.

According to the outlet, the investigation was triggered because Hayden’s death was “unexpected.”

Hayden and Brian have a long, tumultuous history since first meeting in 2018.

In May 2019, Brian was arrested for domestic violence.

According to the LAPD, cops were called to Hayden’s Los Angeles home after a heated altercation on May 2 at 2:30 am.

“Right off the bat, I noticed that she had bruising on her eyelids, a swollen face. She did have marks on her neck, the left side. When I continued to talk to her she removed the sweater that she had on. I saw bruising on both her arms,” the responding officer said.

The case was ultimately dismissed.

But on Valentine’s Day 2020, Brian was arrested again for domestic violence while the pair was vacationing in Wyoming.

Hayden told officers he threw her and then punched her in the face.

Soon after this arrest, Hayden released a statement to fans.

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said.

“I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

Brian ultimately was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Despite her harsh words, the couple was spotted back together again in 2021, with Hayden insisting she “forgave” him.

Three months before her death, Hayden said she was happy and healthy, and it was reported Brian was in her rear-view mirror.

A source told TMZ the pair was secretly together during this time.

Progressive cable news network MS NOW is launching its first direct-to-consumer product Sept. 9 that will give viewers the opportunity to watch Rachel Maddow and its other hosts without a pay-TV subscription.

The Versant-owned channel announced Wednesday that the service, called MS NOW Membership, will also provide an array of digital offerings in addition to a live stream of TV programming. The service is promising to give users the opportunity to interact with the network’s roster of contributors and analysts.

“Our mission has always been to inform, engage and empower our audience,” MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler, said in a statement. “Our Membership is the first step in a long-term strategy to deepen our relationship with audiences in ways that build on what they already value about MS NOW, while addressing what consumers told us was missing from the news experience.”

The MS NOW Membership will be available for $7.99 per month or $79.99 annually. The service will have an introductory rate of $39.99 a year through Sept. 30.

MS NOW is the second most-watched cable news channel, trailing Fox News, and has seen its audience grow in 2026. In July, the network averaged 1.3 million viewers in prime time, up 19% over last year.

But like all cable networks, MS NOW has to manage the loss of pay TV customers, which provide a major source of revenue. The network, formerly known as MSNBC, has never been available without a pay-TV subscription.

CNN has offered a streaming subscription of its channel since October, for $6.99 a month. Fox News is available to subscribers of Fox One, parent company Fox Corporation’s streaming platform which offers its broadcast network and cable channels for $19.99 a month.

MS NOW became part of Versant, a new company made up of NBCUniversal cable channels that were spun off by former owner Comcast. Versant is aiming to wean itself off of the pay-TV business due to the decline in subscribers who have migrated to streaming video.

Digital audiences that may not have cable already consume a significant amount of
MS NOW content. The network says it has 3.2 billion across YouTube and TikTok in 2026 and has had more than 80 million downloads of its podcasts. Comscore data says there is a less than 10% overlap between MS NOW’s TV and digital audiences.

A NEW budget airline has announced routes across Spain with flights from as little as €19 (£16.26).

Fly2Galicia will begin operating later this year with eight direct destinations across Europe.

The Spanish airline confirmed its will begin service from its new base at Santiago de Compostela’s Rosalía de Castro Airport in December.

It will have internal flights to Alicante, Zaragoza and Granada.

Other routes will be to Brussels, Munich, Milan-Malpensa, Prague and Venice.

There will be 17-weekly departures which are due to start from December 1 – the first flight will be from Santiago to Zaragoza.

HOL YES

Cheap holiday destinations with 86p beers, £15 flights & £129pp package breaks

CHEAP AS CHIPS

10 UK summer holidays that are CHEAPER than a takeaway – all £12pp or less

Flights from Milan and Brussels will start at €39, while those to Munich, Prague, and Venice will start at €49.

Even the lowest fare will include two pieces of hand luggage which will be an eight-kilo cabin bag and one personal item.

Fly2Galicia won’t actually operate these initial flights – it will instead be run by another European operator which hasn’t been named yet.

The initial schedule is planned to operate through October 24, 2027.

It’s expected the airline will use an Airbus A320 and according to reports, it’s considering adding a second aircraft for the summer 2027 season.

Sadly Brits will have to head to mainline Europe if they want to catch one of these flights as there are no plans to launch any to or from the UK yet.

DISNEY has confirmed all of the exciting new rides and cruises launching in the next few years.

The announcements were part of Disney’s huge annual D23 event, which talks all things Disney when it comes to films, TV shows and, of course, the theme parks.

The upcoming attraction openings include Disneyland Paris, Disney World and the Disney cruises.

From new dark rides and log flumes, to four new cruise ships and a UK-based stage show – here’s the rundown on all the top attraction announcements:

Disneyland Paris

A number of new announcements were made about Disneyland Paris and some of the park’s upcoming attractions.

Already in the works is a new Lion King-themed water attraction, with three drops including a 15.8metre plunge from Pride Rock.

Read more on travel inspo

SEA IT

All 25 of the English Riviera beaches ranked from best to worst – by a Devon local

SO FLY

Our fave beach hols under 5 hours from UK with Caribbean dupes & £2 bottles of wine

Along withDisney‘s first audio-animatronics figure of Scar, the ride will be at the centre of the first immersive world based on The Lion King.

The new land will sit next to the World of Frozen, transporting visitors to the African savanna.

Once completed, the zone will span 30,000sqm and have the log flume alongside a shop, restaurant and character experiences.

Next year, Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings will open, which will be the first attraction at Disneyland Paris inspired by the Up film.

The park will also retire the Star Wars themed Hyperspace Mountain and reimagine the attraction as Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune.

It first opened in 1995 based on Jules Verne’s novel “From the Earth to the Moon” before becoming Hyperspace Mountain in 2017.

The attraction is now set to revert back to its original theme, closing at the end of next year for a few months.

And last but not least, Disneyland Paris will also be getting a new daytime parade.

The parade will feature Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled and Coco and will launch in 2028.

It will be the first new parade at the park since 2017.

Disney World, Florida

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is set for several new attractions.

Excitingly, there will be a new Villains Land in Magic Kingdom, home to two major attractions including a Maleficent rollercoaster and a Magic Mirror dark ride.

The Maleficent rollercoaster will take visitors through an enchanted briar surrounding Maleficent’s mountaintop fortress, with yet-to-be-revealed “elements never attempted before.”

The other attraction – Magic Mirror – will be a dark ride with lots of Disney Villains.

Disney stated: “You’ll find the Magic Mirror where the Evil Queen keeps him in the catacombs beneath her pristine palace. After making your way to him, he’ll magically transport you into his mystical Mirror Realm to see things on the other side of the mirror. 

“There, in his ethereal realm, you’ll be transfixed by countless Disney Villains conjured in ways only the Magic Mirror can do. 

“A combination of special effects and physical set pieces will bring his Mirror Realm – and these iconic Villains – to life.”

Disney added: “ If you dare enter the forest of Villains Land, you may soon come across a Wishing Well that’s been torn asunder. 

“Under most circumstances, a Wishing Well would indicate pure and good energy at work, but something dark happened to this one.

“Once upon a time, someone made an evil wish here – a wish so evil it corrupted the stone and broke open the structure, spreading the Well’s poisoned magic throughout the forest.”

In addition to the two major attractions, there will be shops and restaurants.

Magic Kingdom will also be getting two Piston Peak rides in Frontierland, including Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along inspired by the “Diva of Demolition” from Cars 3.

The ride will feature a “huge school-bus-sized animatronic” who hosts a stampeding bash at her “wildest demolition derby yet”.

The other attraction will be Cars Ridge Run Rally, which will be a quest to find “the wildest racer in the wheelderness”.

The ride will go through scenes of America’s national parks, as well as a climb up Piston Peak itself before riders then plummet down toward a geyser field.

Over in the new land of Tropical Americas in Animal Kingdom, there will be a new Indiana Jones Ride with audio-animatronics figures and an original storyline where  guests are transported into the world of the ancient Maya.

Called Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent, riders will beneath under an  ancient temple ruin before heading off on their journey.

Also in Tropical Americas will be the new El Carrusel de los Animalitos - a carousel with 22 hand-carved animals inspired by Disney and Pixar stories.

Animal Kingdom will launch a new family-friendly Encanto Ride as well, called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto.

When visitors enter the house, they’ll board a ride vehicle which will resemble the different pieces of furniture assembled by the power of Casita.

Inside, the space has been transformed into a rainforest with more than 50 animals and guests will travel through different rooms to see them all.

A part of Monstropolis will also open at the theme park next year, while work continues to build a “door coaster”.

The new attraction will be a show at the Glob Theatre called “Welcome to Monstropolis”, with the monsters in the show introducing visitors to Monstropolis.

There will be a new restaurant, Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, too while next door, will be the Monsters University Alumni Club.

There will be Harryhausen’s Restaurant too, where visitors can see the spot that was a part of Mike and Celia’s most unforgettable dates.

There will even be the famous sushi chef brought to life with a new audio-animatronics figure.

Forbidden Mountain in Animal Kingdom will also be upgraded with a new Yeti audio-animatronic.

Over in EPCOT, Spaceship Earth is getting an update with the storyline of the ride reimagined.

Disney cruises

Disney Believe will be Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship but will also be the final ship in the Wish class.

It will launch in late 2027 and inside passengers with a Moana-inspired Grand Hall, Tinker Bell on its bow and Woody and Buzz Lightyear on the stern.

Attractions on board the ship will feature Disney Animation’s Encanto, Frozen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Moana and The Little Mermaid.

As for the stern, guests will spot Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story.

Disney has also announced three new ships that will begin launching in 2029 – this will increase the cruise line fleet to 13 ships in total.

After Disney Believe – part of the Wish Class – launches next year, there will Disney Cruise Line will move on to a new ship class.

As part of this new class, there will be three ships that will be bigger than the classic ships but smaller than the newer ships.

Little other details have been revealed about the ships but Disney commented that “there are amazing opportunities to visit new places and reach brand new audiences than ever before”.

New West End show

Disney also confirmed that The Greatest Showman stage musical will open at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane in spring 2027.

The show will replace Disney’s Hercules, which is due to end on September 5.

It will feature all the original film anthems including ‘This Is Me’, ‘Rewrite the Stars’ and ‘A Million Dreams’.

Aug. 14 (UPI) — About 200 young people representing 34 countries gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to launch an international network supporting peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula, hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea.

At the 2026 One Korea Youth Forum, South Koreans, North Korean defectors, ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union and young people from overseas formally launched Youth Solidarity for One Korea.

Youth groups including the Korean Dream Crew, the youth group of the Korean Association of Koryo-saram, MuiPansapan and Studec International read the One Korea Youth Declaration, pledging to build an international youth network for peace and reunification based on the Korean ideal of Hongik Ingan, broadly meaning benefiting all humanity, and the values of liberal democracy.

Namsik Yoo, director of youth programs at Alliance for Korea United USA, said young people respond more strongly to hope than cynicism and will organize, create and act when given a vision they can understand, believe in and lead.

Yoo said Korean reunification should not be viewed as something distant or impossible but as “a future young people can imagine and create themselves.”

Young-soon Jung, president of the Korean Association of Koryo-saram, said the division of the Korean Peninsula was not merely a political issue but “a family history that continues today.” She said One Korea could begin when young people from different backgrounds listen to and understand one another’s histories.

During a Peace Innovation Challenge, 20 youth teams proposed projects tied to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. The top award went to a plan to turn the Demilitarized Zone into a national park after reunification and seek UNESCO World Heritage status.

The forum was hosted by Global Peace Foundation Korea, a nonprofit foundation registered with South Korea’s Unification Ministry. It was jointly organized by GPY Korea, Korean Dream Crew, MuiPansapan, the youth group of the Korean Association of Koryo-saram, Alliance for Korea United USA and Studec International, with Global Goals Youth and Loglo participating as partner organizations.

The forum concluded with participants carrying flags from their countries alongside the South Korean flag and declaring, “We Stand for One Korea.”