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A number of companies are bidding to offer services under the Channel Tunnel, and one start-up is looking to offer direct services to a variety of European cities, as well as opening up a former Eurostar route

Since its launch in 1994, Eurostar has held a near-monopoly over the Channel Tunnel route as the only high-speed rail operator that could offer services from London to European cities.

But that is set to change, with a number of rival companies now planning to offer their own services connecting with Europe, and one provider could be offering a range of new direct routes from 2030.

Gemini Trains, a start-up operator, has planned a number of new routes that would run from the capital, which would see direct trains from the UK to Germany for the first time. Its plans also include convenient links from London to Paris, with introductory fares reportedly starting at £59.

Initial planned services would include London to Paris Nord, Disneyland Paris, and Charles de Gaulle Airport. It’s also reportedly considering offering links to Brussels-Midi and Cologne, and then expanding to Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

While Eurostar previously offered a direct route to Disneyland Paris, this was discontinued in 2023 due to the company focusing on its city destinations after the pandemic. Offering services direct to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport would mean travellers could also avoid having to take taxis or public transport from Gare du Nord for connections, which can take around half an hour and can be complicated during rush hour.

Gemini claims a London to Cologne route would take around four hours directly. Currently, it can take six hours with at least one change.

However, the trains would not run from St Pancras, due to pressures on capacity, and instead Gemini plans to create a hub at Stratford International, offering stops at Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International, which used to have Eurostar services. Kent locals have long campaigned for a return of its continental services since they were suspended in March 2020 due to Covid-19, only to never resume.

Gemini’s plans include leasing eight Siemens Velaro Novo trains, each one capable of carrying 550 passengers, and promising “comfortable seats, good wifi and mood lighting.” There will also be a business class available with privacy screens.

The start-up is not the only challenger to emerge against Eurostar. Virgin Trains has ordered 12 Alstom trains and secured access to Temple Mills, a depot in East London that’s the only site that can house cross-channel trains. Gemini did not manage to secure access to Temple Mills, but is looking at a potential depot in Ashford, or may base it in Belgium or Germany.

Trenitalia, the Italian rail operator, and a Spanish start-up called Evolyn, are said to be mulling over plans to offer cross-channel services.

Adrian Quine, CEO of Gemini Trains, said: “The forecast growth through the Channel Tunnel is enormous, yet only 50 per cent of the slots on the track are currently used. Eurostar, a monopoly operator, has become lackluster and very expensive. We will shake things up by offering new routes, new stations, new trains, new interiors, new cheaper fares and encouraging people to shift from plane to train.

“For too long, there has been no choice but Eurostar, which in 32 years has opened up virtually no new routes and in fact has cut some.”

However, Eurostar is reportedly fighting back against its new raft of rivals, investing £1.7 billion into 50 new double-decker trains, and plans to launch direct services to Geneva and Frankfurt, via Cologne, with an estimated start date of 2031.

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

Jazz star Jamie Cullum is one of the guest mentors on the new series of Channel 4’s The Piano

Jamie Cullum has been in the spotlight for decades.

The jazz star was just 20 when he reportedly produced his first album, Heard It All Before, in 1999 with just £480 and only 500 copies made.

Since then he’s enjoyed huge success as a singer and musician, releasing more albums, performing all over the world and amassing awards. The 46-year-old, who was born in Essex and grew up in Wiltshire, is also renowned for fronting The Jazz Show With Jamie Cullum on BBC Radio 2.

Fans will be able to catch Jamie on the new series of Channel 4’s The Piano, which returns on Sunday, July 12 for its fourth run. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Mika, the programmke searches for the UK’s best amateur piano players and Jamie will be one of the guest mentors along with Jools Holland and Hiromi.

Ahead of the show, we take a look at Jamie’s life away from the cameras, including his model wife, famous reation and his real height.

Supermodel wife and children

Jamie has been married to supermodel Sophie Dahl since 2010 and they have two daughters.

Sophie started her career as a teenage fashion model and was famously discovered by British Vogue. She was renowned for her curves and was sought after by the top designers.

She’s gone on to have a successful career as an author, journalist and TV presenter.

Speaking to Red in 2020, Jamie opened up about meeting his wife.

He said: “We just really hit it off. I thought, ‘Man, that is a cool woman,’ but I didn’t really entertain anything else. We were both in relationships and she wasn’t living in the UK, so we were just friends at first.

“Then, a couple of years later, she moved back here and that’s when our friendship became something else.

“We had a very immediate connection. While we both worked in a public way, our lives were purposefully quite private.”

Links to famous author

Sophie is the granddaughter of the late great author Roald Dahl who is renowned for children’s classics like Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox and Matilda. Sophie was said to be the inspiration behind his work, The BFG.

He was born in Cardiff to Norwegian parents and served in the Royal Air Force. His first children’s book was The Gremlins, published in 1943, about mischievous little creatures that were part of Royal Air Force folklore

As well as his children’s books, he also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, which often blended humour and innocence with surprising plot twists.

Roald died in 1990, long before his granddaughter met and married Jamie.

Height

Seven years ago, Jamie released the album Taller, which some people saw as rather ironic as Jamie, himself, has described himself as “short”.

When chatting to The Mirror at the time, the star, who stands at around 5ft 4in, spoke about being “short” and how people seemed to notice it more after he tied the knot with the 6ft tall Sophie.

He said: “It is something I’ve been gently teased about my whole life, particularly when I married a taller woman.

“But I’ve taken something that could be my vulnerable spot and used it to say something.”

The Piano returns to Channel 4 on Sunday, July 12 at 9pm

Edwin Díaz insists he did nothing wrong.

After facing live batters for the first time Sunday since undergoing elbow surgery in April, the Dodgers’ reliever pushed back against allegations linking him to illegal cockfighting in Puerto Rico.

“I’ve been doing that before because, like the story said, that’s legal in Puerto Rico,” Díaz said.

USA Today published a story in May highlighting social media posts advertising cockfighting tournaments that picture Díaz in his Dodgers uniform. The story also referenced a story in El Nuevo Día, the largest circulating newspaper in Puerto Rico, quoting Díaz.

No one from Major League Baseball has reached out to Díaz about a possible suspension, he said.

“They didn’t reach out to me because I wasn’t doing anything illegal,” Díaz said.

In 2019, a federal law banning cockfighting took effect in Puerto Rico. Before the law, the blood sport had been made illegal in all 50 states, but not U.S. territories. Many Puerto Ricans saw the ban as an attack on their culture and vowed to defy the law.

Puerto Rico responded by passing a law saying that it’s legal to host cockfights as long as people don’t export or import the animals or any goods or services related to cockfighting. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 declined to hear a challenge to the federal law brought by a group that argued Congress exceeded its power by applying the ban to Puerto Rico.

Anyone found guilty of taking part in cockfighting faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Spectators could receive a one-year prison sentence.

Still, some Puerto Ricans such as Díaz view the topic as part of the island’s history, initially brought to the Caribbean by 16th-century Spaniards when the island was first colonized.

“It’s a pastime I’ve followed since I was a child,” Díaz told El Nuevo Día in March. “It’s legal in Puerto Rico, thank God. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

Diaz is on track to return to the Dodgers after the All-Star break, although his exact return date remains unclear. His fastball felt good, so locating his slider was the next step toward his return.

Times staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.

June 30 (Asia Today) — South Korea is seeking to connect the growth of its commercial space industry with stronger national security capabilities as emerging technologies blur the boundaries between the private and public sectors.

The expansion of security concerns into space, drones and artificial intelligence has increased the importance of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, which is responsible for developing the country’s aerospace industry.

The agency is working with the National Intelligence Service and other government organizations on satellite cybersecurity and broader aerospace security policies.

Hyunjoon Kwon, director general for aerospace policy at the agency, told Asia Today in an interview Friday that space is no longer solely a scientific field.

“Space has moved beyond science to become a domain that can affect both security and industry,” Kwon said. “We need a mutually reinforcing relationship between the market and the public sector.”

Asked how the global space security environment is changing, Kwon said competition is no longer limited to the number of satellites a country possesses.

“The key question is how reliably a country can use and protect satellite communications and satellite imagery,” he said.

Space-based services have been used directly in military operations and critical national infrastructure since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Kwon said.

Countries also face increasingly complex threats, including GPS jamming and spoofing, disruptions to satellite communications, cyberattacks and the collision or uncontrolled reentry of objects in space.

Kwon said the agency is developing a national space situational awareness system to strengthen South Korea’s ability to monitor and predict space-related risks.

It is also preparing a cybersecurity response framework to protect space-based services used by the private sector, government and military.

South Korea has rapidly accumulated capabilities in launch vehicles, satellite development and satellite data applications, Kwon said. Its military space capabilities have also expanded.

However, the country still needs to strengthen its domestic production of critical materials, components and software, he said.

Other areas requiring improvement include space situational awareness, satellite cybersecurity and the creation of a sustainable commercial market for space services.

“That is why the growth of private space companies and greater independence in core technologies are becoming even more important,” Kwon said.

Cooperation among the private sector, government and military has entered a stage of institutional development since the establishment of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, he said.

The cooperative channels include a future defense science and technology policy council with the Defense Ministry, an aerospace project memorandum with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and a satellite cybersecurity consultative body with the National Intelligence Service.

Kwon said the cooperation now extends beyond individual projects to include policy, technology and security.

The agency is seeking to create a structure in which private-sector technology is connected to government and national security requirements, while public and defense demand supports the growth of commercial companies.

Kwon also discussed the government’s recently announced strategy to foster innovative companies in emerging security industries.

“Aerospace is a strategic field that influences both security and industry, extending beyond the boundaries of science and technology,” he said.

Satellite communications, satellite data, unmanned aircraft and space materials and components have significant commercial growth potential while also meeting direct security needs, Kwon said.

The agency plans to focus on establishing a cycle in which the creation of new industries strengthens national security capabilities and security demand encourages further technological innovation.

The plans include developing core technologies for a space data center under the K-Moonshot initiative and building a national platform that will make satellite information available for broader use.

The agency also plans to develop artificial intelligence-powered unmanned aircraft and electric or hybrid vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260629010010198

Wales are preparing for head coach Craig Bellamy’s possible move to Burnley with a shortlist of potential successors which includes former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper.

Football Association of Wales (FAW) bosses held informal talks with Cooper before news emerged of Burnley’s renewed interest in Bellamy, while ex-Wolves manager Rob Edwards is also under consideration.

The Clarets have stepped up their pursuit of Bellamy as they search for a new manager after Scott Parker departed following their relegation from the Premier League last season.

Burnley have not yet reached an agreement with the FAW, which wants at least £1m in compensation.

If Bellamy rejoins the club where he worked as an assistant coach under now Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany, the FAW already has a list of possible replacements.

Former Forest and Swansea City boss Cooper is a leading candidate and would not require a compensation fee as he has been out of work since leaving Danish side Brondby earlier this year.

Like Cooper, Edwards would have been in a strong position to get the Wales job when Bellamy was appointed in 2024, had he not been at a Premier League club – Luton in Edwards’ case.

The FAW has also kept tabs on Eric Ramsay, the former Wales and Manchester United assistant coach who was briefly in charge of West Bromwich Albion during the 2025-26 season.