Neighbours

The Cotswolds is a popular destination for UK visitors and locals seeking a magical weekend getaway, but there are still some hidden gems to be found in the area

The Cotswolds, a favourite spot for UK tourists and locals alike seeking a magical weekend escape, is home to many enchanting yet often overlooked locations.

For those yearning for the quieter side of Oxfordshire or Gloucestershire, the charming town of Nailsworth could be just the ticket, offering all the allure without the hustle and bustle.

Often seen as Stroud’s little sister, Nailsworth is currently undergoing a revival. The creative world has seeped into the area, turning it into a haven for food lovers with independent shops scattered throughout the town.

History buffs will relish the town’s rich history, visible in its significant medieval structures such as Beverston Castle and Owlpen Manor. Over the years, Nailsworth earned a reputation as a mill town and later a centre for brewing beer, which is served in several local pubs.

Creativity

Nailsworth is a hotbed of creativity, thanks to a robust community of artists who have nurtured a lively scene. The town is home to numerous galleries and studios, complementing its industrial heritage reflected in its historic mills, reports Gloucestershire Live.

Nailsworth, a town deeply rooted in textile history, continues to honour its heritage through various independent shops selling handmade clothing and other fabric items. Key historical buildings like The Nailsworth Stream, which powered the town’s mills in the 1600s, and the renowned Dunkirk Mills and Holcombe Mill, are vital parts of its local culture, according to the Express.

Food

Nailsworth, a quaint town nestled in the heart of the countryside, is a foodie’s paradise with an array of dining options ranging from fine dining establishments to traditional bakeries and pubs. The town is also home to the renowned William’s Food Hall, a favourite amongst locals and tourists alike, known for its fresh, locally sourced produce including mouth-watering seafood.

On the fourth Saturday of every month, Nailsworth buzzes with activity as it hosts its Farmers’ Market, showcasing the best of local cuisine. For those looking for a memorable meal, top-rated eateries according to TripAdvisor include Giuseppe’s Restaurant, Amalfi, The Olive Tree, Williams and The Britannia.

But Nailsworth’s allure extends beyond its culinary delights. The town offers stunning walking trails that start from the town centre or nearby Woodchester Park, providing picturesque views of woodlands and lakes.

It’s also conveniently located near natural attractions like the awe-inspiring Westonbirt Arboretum and the historic Painswick Rococo Garden, making it an ideal spot for a day of exploration.

For those seeking a touch of luxury during their weekend getaway, the area’s independent boutiques offer a unique shopping experience. A host of family-run businesses provide a variety of clothing, gifts, arts and crafts, and much more, all tucked away along the peaceful lanes of this charming town.

The Cotswolds is home to some of the UK’s most picturesque towns and villages

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Gloucestershire, there’s a village that’s often missed by visitors who head straight for its better-known neighbours – Chipping Campden, a beautifully preserved and historically important settlement dubbed the “jewel of the Cotswolds”.

Whilst crowds of holidaymakers descend upon Bourton-on-the-Water or Stow-on-the-Wold on their Cotswolds getaways, the delightful market town of Chipping Campden might prove a more satisfying choice.

Packed with heritage and character, its slightly weathered honey-toned limestone buildings flank the historic high street, which has mostly kept its original design since the 12th century.

The word “Chipping” derives from an ancient word meaning market, so it’s hardly surprising that Chipping Campden evolved into a thriving centre for Cotswold commerce.

Whilst the early traders concentrated on flogging cheese, butter, and poultry, the modern high street now features stylish homeware outlets and independent boutiques, reports Gloucestershire Live.

Throughout its golden era from the 13th to 16th centuries, the settlement prospered as a hub for the wool industry, with the sheep dotted throughout the Cotswolds countryside funding its magnificent buildings and churches.

This encompasses St James’s church in Chipping Campden, said to be amongst the most impressive “wool” churches in the region.

Standing proudly in the town centre is the Grade I-listed Market Hall, constructed in 1627 by Sir Baptist Hicks. Originally built as a refuge for traders, it has been magnificently maintained and was subsequently handed over to the National Trust for public enjoyment.

The town also boasts the Court Barn Museum, which chronicles the arts and crafts legacy throughout the area.

In 1902, C R Ashbee relocated the Guild of Handicraft to the Old Silk Mill in the town, though his venture eventually collapsed as numerous craftspeople returned to London.

His descendants continue to operate workshops at the mill to this day, sustaining the Cotswolds creative community thanks to his pioneering efforts.

The location is ideal for ramblers as well, with Chipping Campden marking the beginning of the 104-mile Cotswolds Way, which stretches all the way to Bath.

This announcement comes at an ideal moment for a Cotswolds getaway, as prominent travel guide Lonely Planet crowned the region Europe’s premier destination to visit in September.

They said: “This land of rolling hills, hiding historic towns and stone hamlets in their clefts and valleys, has long attracted urbanites seeking an English idyll.

“Visit in September not just to miss the heaviest onslaughts of coach tours, but to enjoy the countryside at its finest and to admire the leaves beginning to spark into their fiery autumn finery in the wonderful arboretums at Westonbirt and Batsford.”

The publication singled out Chipping Campden as the ideal starting or finishing point for the trail, praising this Cotswold town as a perfect base for a day of exploring its vast, rolling countryside.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Seated next to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a visit to the United Kingdom in September, United States President Donald Trump made clear he was eyeing a plot of land his country’s military once controlled nearly 8,000km (4,970 miles) away: Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.

“We gave it to [the Taliban] for nothing. We want that base back,” he said. Two days later, this time opting to express his views on social media, Trump wrote: “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram air base back to those that built it, the United States of America, bad things are going to happen!”

The Taliban, predictably, bristled at the demand and stressed that under “no circumstances” will Afghans hand over the base to any third country.

On Tuesday, the Taliban, who have ruled Afghanistan since their takeover of Kabul in August 2021, won a remarkable show of support for their opposition to any US military return to the country, from a broad swath of neighbours who otherwise rarely see eye-to-eye geopolitically.

At a meeting in Moscow, officials from Russia, India, Pakistan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan joined their Taliban counterparts in coming down hard on any attempt to set up foreign military bases in Afghanistan. They did not name the US, but the target was clear, say experts.

“They called unacceptable the attempts by countries to deploy their military infrastructure in Afghanistan and neighbouring states, since this does not serve the interests of regional peace and stability,” said the joint statement (PDF) published by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 7 at the conclusion of the seventh edition of what are known as the Moscow Format Consultations between Afghanistan’s neighbours.

Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran had opposed “the reestablishment of military bases” in a similar declaration last month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. But the Moscow communique brought together a much wider range of nations – some with competing interests – on a single page.

India and Pakistan have long vied for influence over Afghanistan. India also worries about China’s growing investments in that country. Iran has often viewed any Pakistani presence in Afghanistan with suspicion. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have long feared violence in Afghanistan spilling over into their territory. And in recent years, Pakistan has had tense relations with the Taliban – a group that it supported and sheltered for decades previously.

The confluence of these countries, despite these differences, into a unanimous position to keep the US out of the region reflects a shared regional view that Afghan affairs are a “regional responsibility”, not a matter to be externally managed, said Taimur Khan, a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).

“Despite their differences, regional countries share a common position that Afghanistan should not once again host a foreign military presence,” Khan told Al Jazeera.

That shared position, articulated in Moscow, also strengthens the Taliban’s hands as it seeks to push back against pressure from Trump over Bagram, while giving Afghanistan’s rulers regional legitimacy. Most of their neighbours are deepening engagements with them, even though Russia is the only country that has formally recognised them diplomatically as the Afghan government.

A symbolic, strategic prize

The groundwork for the Afghan Taliban’s return to power was laid in Doha in January 2020, under Trump’s first administration; they ultimately took over the country in August 2021, during the tenure of the administration of former President Joe Biden.

Yet in February this year, a month after taking the oath for his second term, Trump insisted: “We were going to keep Bagram. We were going to keep a small force on Bagram.”

Bagram, 44km (27 miles) north of Kabul, was originally built by the Soviet Union in the 1950s. The base has two concrete runways – one 3.6km long (2.2 miles), the other 3km (1.9 miles) – and is one of the few places in Afghanistan suitable for landing large military planes and weapons carriers.

It became a strategic base for the many powers that have occupied, controlled and fought over Afghanistan over the past half-century. Taken over by US-led NATO forces after the invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks, Bagram was a central facility in Washington’s so-called “war on terror”.

Afghanistan’s rugged, mountainous terrain means there are limited sites capable of serving as large military logistics hubs. That scarcity is why Bagram retains its strategic significance, four years after the US withdrew from the country.

Kamran Bokhari, senior director at the Washington, DC-based New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, said he was sceptical about the US seriously planning any redeployment of forces to Afghanistan, despite Trump’s comments.

“The new US geostrategy is about military retrenchment. There is no appetite in Washington for any such military commitment, which would be a major logistical undertaking,” Bokhari told Al Jazeera. “Even if the Taliban were to agree to allow the Americans to regain Bagram, the cost of maintaining such a facility far outstrips its utility.”

At the same time, Bokhari said that the Moscow meet worked as an opportunity for Russia to show that it retains influence in Central Asia, a region in which its footprint has been eroded by the war in Ukraine and by China’s rising geoeconomic presence.

But the concerns about any renewed US footprint in Afghanistan aren’t limited to Russia, or even China, America’s biggest long-term rival. Amid heightened tensions with the US and Israel, Iran will not want an American military presence in Afghanistan.

Other regional nations – India and Pakistan among them – are also eager to show that the neighbourhood can manage the vacuum created in Afghanistan by the withdrawal of US security forces, Bokhari said. Though a close partner of the US, India’s ties with Washington have frayed during Trump’s second term, with the American president imposing 50 percent tariffs on imports from India, in part because of New Delhi’s continued purchase of oil from Russia.

And then there are the Central Asian countries that share long, porous borders with Afghanistan – and fear their soil might be used by violent groups energised by any return of the US, militarily, to Bagram.

Central Asia’s security calculus

The four Central Asian countries that were part of the Moscow Format – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – together with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, form a bloc of six landlocked nations whose geography gives them a unique vantage point in regional politics, while also compelling them to seek access to warmer waters for trade.

Analysts argue an American presence in the region would be “undesirable” for many of these nations.

“This is not knee-jerk anti-Americanism,” Kuat Akizhanov, a Kazakh analyst and deputy director of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Institute (CAREC) said.

“A US base would put host states on the front line of US-Russia-China rivalry. Moscow and Beijing have both signalled opposition to any renewed US presence, and aligning with that consensus reduces coercive pressure and economic or security retaliation on our much smaller economies,” Akizhanov told Al Jazeera.

He added that regional actors now prefer regional groupings such as the Moscow Format, or even the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) led by Moscow and Beijing, for cooperation on security and the neighbourhood’s stability, to any US presence.

What do the Taliban and Afghanistan’s other neighbours fear?

Many of Afghanistan’s bigger neighbours have their own concerns.

“They fear that a revived US military presence could potentially reintroduce intelligence operations, fuel instability, and once again turn Afghanistan into a proxy battleground,” Khan from the Islamabad-based ISSI said.

“This is the lens from which regional countries now view Afghanistan: a space that must be stabilised through regional cooperation and economic integration, and not through renewed Western intervention or strategic containment efforts,” he added.

For the Taliban, meanwhile, Trump’s Bagram demands pose a dilemma, say experts.

Ibraheem Bahiss, a Kabul-based senior analyst for Crisis Group, said he believed that Trump’s Bagram demand was primarily driven by the US president’s “personal inclination” rather than any consensus within the US strategic establishment. “There might be a sense that Afghanistan remains an unfinished business for him,” the analyst told Al Jazeera.

For the Taliban, surrendering Bagram is unthinkable. “Kabul cannot offer Bagram as it would antagonise their own support base and might lead to resistance against their own government if [the] US comes here,” Bahiss said.

At the same time, Bokhari, of the New Lines Institute, said that the Taliban know international sanctions are a major obstacle to governance and economic recovery, and for that, they will need to engage the West, and especially the US.

“The Taliban are asking for sanctions relief, but the question is, what do they offer? Washington is more interested in Central Asia, to which it does not have easy access to. The region is otherwise blocked by Russia, China and Iran,” he said.

Trump has cited Bagram’s proximity to China and its missile factories as a reason for wanting to take back control of the base. Bagram is about 800km (about 500 miles) from the Chinese border, and about 2,400km (about 1,500 miles) from a missile facility in Xinjiang.

“It is not in the US interest in allowing China to monopolise the region,” Bokhari said.

Against that backdrop, the Bagram demand might be a signal from the US that it is eager to explore new ways to do business with the Taliban, Bokhari and Bahiss agreed.

Washington isn’t the only one reaching out to the group, which until a few years ago was largely a global pariah. In fact, the US is late – the Taliban have already been making major headways, diplomatically, in its neighbourhood.

Engagement, not recognition

Since taking control of a country of more than 40 million people in August 2021, the Taliban have faced international scepticism over their style of governance.

Afghanistan’s rulers have imposed a hardline interpretation of Islam and have placed several restrictions on women, including limits on working and education.

International sanctions have further weakened an already fragile economy, while the presence of multiple armed groups – including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) – continues to alarm neighbouring states. The Taliban insist that they do not support the use of Afghan soil to attack neighbours.

Pakistan, once seen as the primary benefactor of the Taliban, says it has grown increasingly frustrated over the past four years at what it sees as the Afghan government’s inability to clamp down on militants.

The year 2024 was one of the deadliest for Pakistan in nearly a decade, with more than 2,500 casualties from violence, many of which Islamabad attributes to groups that it says operate from Afghan soil, allegations rejected by Kabul.

On Wednesday, several soldiers were killed in an ambush by the TTP near the Afghan border in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Still, Pakistan upgraded diplomatic ties with the Taliban in May. That month, Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi hosted his counterpart from Pakistan, spoke on the phone with India’s foreign minister, and flew to Iran and China for summits.

Muttaqi was in Moscow for the recent regional consultations that produced the criticism of Trump’s Bagram plans, and on Thursday is due to arrive in New Delhi for a historic, weeklong visit to India, a country that viewed the Taliban as a Pakistan proxy – and an enemy – until a few years ago.

Bahiss said the compulsion for regional nations to deal with the Taliban is driven by shared, pragmatic goals, which include keeping borders calm, guaranteeing counterterrorism assurances, and securing trade routes.

Akizhanov, the CAREC analyst, meanwhile, said that the wider regional interaction with Afghan officials “normalise working channels [with the Taliban] and reinforces their narrative that regional futures will be decided locally, not by outside militaries”.

However, “legitimacy remains conditional in capitals of each country, hinging on counterterrorism guarantees, cross-border security, economic connectivity, and basic rights, especially for women and girls,” said the analyst, who is based in Urumqi, China.

ISSI’s Khan agreed.

“What we are witnessing is not formal recognition, but a functional understanding that Afghanistan’s isolation serves no one’s interests,” he said.

A WOMAN has been left totally lost for words after receiving a passive-aggressive letter from a neighbour she’s never spoken to.

So if you thought your neighbours were bad, you may want to think again.

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Not only was the typed-up letter extremely harsh, but it even accused the anonymous woman and her husband Joe of being ‘creepy’ and ‘strange.’

Stunned by the note and unsure on what to do next, the woman who lives in a flat with her hubby, took to social media to ask for advice.

Posting on Reddit on the r/BadNeighbors thread, the woman uploaded a snap of the direct letter and titled her post “At a complete loss.”

She then asked: “What would you do if you received this letter from a neighbour you’ve never spoken to?”

The long letter read: ‘Can you please stop with all of the noise. I live below you. I work from home full time and I am in school full time, online, at ECU for accounting. 

‘I am also having to take care of my 13 year old dog in-between those times. In case you haven’t noticed, I am always home. 

‘Your loud banging and stomping around is in all of my recorded WebEx meetings and proctored exams. 

‘Can you please, for the love of God, stop with all of the noise.

‘Every time you bang your dining room table chair on the floor, slam your kitchen drawers, and have a martial argument you are also causing my animals, and myself, to be in a constant state of hyper awareness and stress. It makes me jump and scares my animals.”

The neighbour then accused the woman of being ‘creepy,’ as the letter went on: ‘Why are you coming home 5 times a day in different cars and sometimes parking on the side of the building and creeping past my window? The other day you were staking my apartment out. Why? 

‘It’s creepy. I’m installing a camera to keep track of your strange activity because it is not normal. Please stop looking in my window while walking your dog and please stop parking your truck directly in front of my apartment window.’

The neighbour, who claimed to have been a property manager since 2016, continued: ‘I am not sure why it bothers you so much that I am home all the time. A lot of people work from home and do school remotely. 

What would you do if you received this letter from a neighbour you’ve never spoken to?

Reddit poster

‘I am at a loss as to why it bothers you so badly and makes you suspicious of me. I have family and friends in law enforcement. If l have to report you for noise complaints and suspicious activity I will. 

‘I have lived in this apartment for 5 years and you guys are the only neighbours that I’ve had that intentionally try to make my life a living hell. 

‘Per the NC lease agreement, it is my right to live in a safe quiet place. You are currently not respecting that law.’

As well as keeping a copy of the letter, the neighbour also stressed that they would be ‘keeping track of all activity to further support my case in the instance I need to show proof.’

The letter continued: ‘I really hope we can be done with the passive aggressiveness and become civil neighbours. You may be accustomed to living in a loud angry household, but I am not.’

Reddit users react 

But Reddit users were left gobsmacked by the letter and many eagerly raced to the comments to share their shock and advice. 

One person said: “So YOU have to change your life because THEY work odd hours? Umm no. 

“They are trying to threaten you…tell them to go ahead and call the police. 

Ignore it, but keep it if they try any other type of communication with you

Reddit user

“They can’t do anything about your living noises if they aren’t excessive. This person feels entitled.” 

Another added: “Talk to the landlord and inform them of your confusion and that these allegations are groundless.” 

A third commented: “Ignore it, but keep it if they try any other type of communication with you. They should be contacting property management if they have a noise issue with you.” 

Meanwhile, someone else penned: “My response would depend on what complaints were valid, if any.”

I had a two-year bin war with my next door neighbour

Gemma Smith and Sophie Wood were engaged in a weekly feud for a year over their wheelie bins.

When Gemma moved next door to Sophie, 34, who is unemployed, in November 2020 they were civil to one another.

Gemma, who is single and doesn’t work due to stress, says: “Sophie seemed nice and we’d stop and exchange pleasantries.

“But it all changed at the beginning of 2022, when Sophie’s bin was full and she put her rubbish bag in mine.

“I took it out and put it on top of her bin.

“It fell off, gulls pecked at it and there was rubbish everywhere.”

Both women refused to clear up the mess, claiming it was the other one’s fault.

Gemma says: “I felt so angry.

“There was cat litter spread all over my drive — it was absolutely disgusting and we ended up shouting at each other.

“We were both as bad as each other — we’d walk past each other and I’d tell her she was a lazy cow and to clean up after herself.

“We’d scream insults at each other.”

Within six months Sophie had set up a CCTV camera and threatened to report Gemma to the council.

In retaliation, Gemma set up the baby monitor — which can record video — to try to pin more wrongdoing on Sophie.

Then last July Sophie spotted Gemma in tears on her doorstep following a burglary at her home.

Gemma says: “Sophie came straight round and asked if there was anything she could do.

“We are now the best of friends and help each other out all the time.”

In response, the woman shared: “The complaints are not valid at all.” 

At the same time, one user suggested: “Perhaps talk to her, and explain the noise? If you do make noise, just shift things around and show an effort.”

To this, the frustrated woman wrote back and explained: “I was really upset and anxious about it.

“We joke about it now, whenever my husband farts (it can be LOUD) or I drop my phone, we roll our eyes and say the cops might be on the way.” 

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A HOMEOWNER has left people stunned after sharing a video of their disastrous attempt to get a garden shed in their new garden.

After moving in to their new house, they enlisted the help of two friends to try and get the shed over a gate frame and into the back garden.

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The three men decided on a daring attempt to lift the shed – holding it above their heads.

However, in scenes that were predicted by those watching the TikTok video in horror, the shed ended up going a bit too high.

And as it did so, it fell heavily over the fence and into next door’s garden, much to the horror of the men carrying it.

The trio realised in seconds what had happened, and tried to look through the fence to inspect the damage next door.

“Moving day carnage,” Rea captioned the video on her TikTok page.

The gate frame also took part of the brunt of the shed disaster, as a panel was seen slipping down as the structure crashed to the ground.

Commenting on the video, a woman called Leonie wrote: “My partner is the one who got out the car to help, I thought I recognised them!”

“That was never ending well,” another added in the comments section.

“The only 3 people that didn’t see that happening,” a third laughed.

“Great start with the neighbours,” someone else sighed.

“The 2 at the front is at fault, him at the back was doing it properly!” another insisted.

“What the hell? This was hard to watch,” someone else said.

While others imagined what the conversation would be between the homeowners and their new neighbours.

“Can you imagine saying my shed fell in your garden?” one gasped.

“Excuse me Mister, can we have our shed back please?” another joked.

“Knocks on door, ‘hey Mr. I accidentally threw my shed in your yard. Can I go back there and get it?'” a third laughed.

But there were some people in the comments section who wondered what would have happened if there was someone on the other side of the fence.

“Omg what would have happened if a child or elderly person was other side of the fence?” one wrote.

“I would dread to think!”

“Imagine it fell on the neighbours plants or the poor old neighbour sitting in their back garden,” another added.

“Or a baby!”

“What if there was a toddler running around other side?” someone else commented.

A Briton who moved from the UK to Barcelona in 2017, has said that locals are frustrated by the influx of foreigners and that things have gotten worse since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic

A British expat living in Barcelona has said that locals are becoming increasingly frustrated with the transformation of their neighbourhoods.

Gemma Askham relocated to the popular Spanish city in 2017 due to her half-Spanish husband’s work and has resided there ever since.

Whilst the first six years were relatively uneventful, a surge in expats, coupled with anti-tourism sentiment fuelled by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification (SET) movement, has altered the local area.

Due to the influx of foreigners and tourists to Barcelona, the economy has shifted to cater to their preferences and requirements, rather than vice versa. Gemma noted that this dynamic between expats and their adopted country intensified following the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an article for Grazia, she stated: “In 2023, a street pedestrianisation project aimed at improving community life was completed. But there are now eight English-named brunch cafes within two blocks.”

She also said that her 69-year-old neighbour, Toni Fontclara, is puzzled by people lining up at 11am for avocado on toast “a dish not from the region, served at an unheard-of eating hour for the Spanish, with a menu in a language he doesn’t speak”.

Gemma isn’t alone in noticing the changing face of Barcelona, which has seen a decrease in tourists following years of anti-tourism protests.

Another Briton, also residing in Barcelona, revealed that certain parts of the city had become significantly quieter, as visitors are being deterred from travelling there.

Laura, who has called the city home for two-and-a-half years, turned to social media to share footage of deserted streets earlier this month, capturing just how eerily silent they remained throughout the day.

She said: “Day one of recording how quiet Barcelona is now the tourists don’t feel welcome. The businesses must be feeling it The streets are so quiet now. These businesses last year used to wake me up in the morning. One has just recently been renovated.”

Laura’s footage shows just how successful some of the demonstrations have been, though opinion remains split on their intentions.

While some demonstrators have been demanding tourists leave, others maintain the protests stem from a wish to safeguard locals, rather than alienate visitors.

Professor Marina Novelli explained: “Places like Lisbon, Venice and Barcelona are increasingly reduced to lifestyle backdrops where locals feel like strangers. The SET movement is about cross-border solidarity. Ultimately, it’s not anti-tourist, it’s pro-resident.”

A WOMAN who moved from a council estate to a “posh” house has admitted she wasn’t prepared for her nightmare neighbour.

TerriAnn is famous for appearing on TV show Rich House, Poor House, and regularly shares behind the scenes tales from the show on her social media pages.

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In a recent TikTok, she decided to post a story time of “coming from a council estate and moving to a ‘POSH’ area”, as she recalled acclimatising to the new home, and an unfortunate situation with their neighbour.

Calling it her “dream home”, which came complete with a cinema room and bar, TerriAnn said the real problems began when she spent £40,000 building a home office in her garden.

“Then I had a new neighbour and he was a doctor and he wasn’t very nice,” she said.

“I think personally he could not stand the fact like I’m just me – I’m not posh, I’m just me, I’ll never change.

“I’ll always be from a council estate, always a bit rough and ready… and he just couldn’t stand us.”

While the house had a “massive drive” for all her staff to park on, they all arrived for work at different times, meaning that they ended up blocking each other in.

So they instead decided to park on the street.

And following one of her staff having an argument with the neighbour, the man ended up phoning the council to complain.

“Then when council got involved basically the reason I had to move out of the house is because they said I couldn’t run my business from there,” she said.

“So I’d spent £40,000 on this office being built in the back garden and the council turned around and said you’re using your property as a commercial property.

“There was a massive hoo-ha over it anyway and I thought, I’m not staying here and not being able to run my business.

“It’s just not worth it what we’ve invested.”

So they decided to sell the house – making a profit in the process – and then moved to another home, which was the one that featured in Rich House, Poor House.

Concluding the video, TerriAnn said it wasn’t the first time she’d been discriminated against for coming from a council estate – and it probably won’t be the last.

“I think they look down on people who have turned their life around, who are now living that lifestyle – who are doing it by genuine means, who are earning legitimate money.”

She was quickly praised in the comments section for her refreshing attitude, with one writing: “Love to see my own kind of people getting along in life good on you.

“Sounds like the doctor was very bitter and jealous of you!”

“You hit the nail on the head,” another agreed.

“As long as you’re happy now!” a third said.

“Love your story times, you’re so real,” someone else added.

NEIGHBOURS star Bonnie Anderson celebrated with friends and showed off her baby bump just days before she’s due to give birth.

The actress, who is best known for playing Bea Nilsson on the Aussie soap opera, is 39 weeks pregnant with her second child and revealed she’s “ready to pop.”

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Bonnie, 30, was treated to an extravagant lunch by some of her closest friends who all posed around the singer and actress as she showed off her bump.

“When the girls take you for a beautiful lunch before you pop,” Bonnie captioned a photo on Instagram.

She later danced with her group of friends as she lifted up her top to show her baby belly.

“Thanks for making me feel special ladies,” Bonnie captioned a photo of the group.

Bonnie has kept fans updated about her pregnancy journey and revealed in a post that while she “can’t see anything below me,” she can “see the finish line” of her second pregnancy.

The actress, who joined Neighbours in 2018, welcomed her first child with husband Samuel Morrison in December 2022.

They have a son called Bobby Ray.

The Sun revealed how the pair later wed in a lavish ceremony in November 2023.

Before joining Neighbours in 2018, Bonnie found fame when she won Australia’s Got Talent in 2007 at the age of 12.

She then went on to forge out a successful music career and toured with Olly Murs and worked with One Direction and Demi Lovato’s producers on a number of tracks.

In 2020, Bonnie was crowned the winner of The Masked Singer Australia.

Bonnie and Samuel revealed they were expecting their second child earlier this year with a sweet video.

In the clip, the 30-year-old was seen showing off her bump during a beach trip with her husband and their two-year-old son.

Neighbours stars who made it big

The long-running Aussie soap has launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Here are some of the Neighbours alums who went on to make it big after starring on the soap…

Kylie Minogue

• Before she hit the big time with her music career, Kylie shot to fame playing Charlene Mitchell on Neighbours. Shortly after her arrival, Kylie began an on and off-screen romance with co-star Jason Donovan, who played Scott Robinson, which gained the couple an army of adoring fans. 

Jason Donovan

• After his stint as Scott, singer and actor Jason became an international popstar and had his pick acting of roles. He moved to the U.K., married, had children and has since starred in over a dozen West End show, most notably Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Alan Dale

• New Zealand born actor Alan was one of Neighbours 12 original cast members having made his debut as Jim Robinson on the soap’s first episode on 18 March 1985. As the head of the Robinson clan, widower Jim lived at Number 26 Ramsay Street with his children Paul, Julie, Scott and Lucy, and was a real anchor in the community. He stayed with the show for eight years, before his character was killed off in dramatic scenes aired in 1993 but which still reverberate through the soap to this day.

Margot Robbie

• Way before she was Barbie or Harley Quinn, Margot was best known as Ramsay Street resident Donna Freedman. Her notable storylines included her marriage to Ringo Brown and becoming a young widow following his tragic death. After three years she bid farewell to the soap and Australia with a plan to make a name for herself in Hollywood which she did when she bagged the role of Naomi Lapaglia opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Jesse Spencer

• Jesse rocked up on Ramsay street in 1994 with the rest of the Kennedy clan. He stayed for five years, literally growing up in front of the camera, but in 2000 felt it was time to spread his wings and head for Hollywood. It was certainly a smart move as he went on to bag leading roles in popular shows like House and Chicago Fire.

Russell Crowe

• New Zealand-native Russell had a brief arc on Neighbours, appearing in four episodes of the soap 1987 as Kenny Larkin, the former cellmate of Street resident Henry Ramsay. The role obviously got him noticed though because he quickly went on to become a fully-fledged Hollywood A-lister, winning the Best Actor Oscar for his standout performance as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator. 

Bonnie wrote: “Bobby’s going to be a big brother. We are beyond grateful for the new adventure.”

She then added: “Thank you for capturing these moments of the four of us @chelsdarnell I dressed the bump in @dissh and couldn’t be more obsessed with this outfit.”

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Israel’s government seems able to act however it pleases with few consequences. But will short-term military gains outweigh regional and international isolation? Al Jazeera’s Abubakr Al-Shamahi explains.

In the last two years, as well as its war on Gaza and increasingly violent occupation of the West Bank, Israel has launched attacks on Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.

The most recent attacks on Syria were launched this week, going so far as to hit the country’s Ministry of Defence.

Of course, the Israelis point to their justifications for the attacks on Syria – principally, in Israel’s telling, to defend the Syrian Druze minority. A US-brokered ceasefire has taken effect, but whether it holds remains to be seen.

In Lebanon, Israel claimed it wanted to stop the threat posed by Hezbollah.

The attacks on Iran, it said, were to end that country’s attempt to build a nuclear bomb.

And in Yemen, Israel’s bombing was a response to attacks from the country’s Houthi rebels.

Explanations aside, the question becomes whether the Israelis can continue to act in a manner that has many around the world, and particularly in the Middle East, seeing them as the aggressor.

Impunity over relationship-building

The Israeli argument is that all these conflicts – and the more than 58,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza – are necessary because Israel faces an existential battle that it has no choice but to win.

The Israeli government, in its current far-right makeup, at least, does not seem to care if its neighbours do not like it. Rather, it seems to care that they fear it.

And as the most powerful military force in the region, with the backing of the most powerful military force in the world, the Israelis feel that they can largely do what they want.

Israel is taking advantage of a weakening international order and a moment of flux in the way the world is run, particularly with the United States under President Donald Trump openly moving towards a more transactional foreign policy.

Western countries had previously attempted to maintain the idea of a liberal international order, where institutions such as the United Nations ensure that international law is followed.

But Israel’s actions, over decades, have made it increasingly hard to maintain the pretence.

The world has been unable to stop Israel from continuing its occupation of Palestinian land, even though it is illegal under international law.

Settlements continue to be built and expanded in the West Bank, and settlers continue to kill unarmed Palestinians.

Human rights organisations and international bodies have found that Israel has repeatedly violated the rules of war in its conduct in Gaza, and have accused the country of committing genocide, but can do little more.

Taking advantage

No other power wants, or feels strong enough, to take on the mantle the US is arguably vacating.

And until the rules get rewritten, it increasingly feels like might equals right. Israel, the only nuclear power in the region, is taking advantage.

Supporters of Israel’s actions in the past two years would also argue that those predicting negative consequences for its attacks have been proven wrong.

The main perceived threat to Israel was the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance, and the argument was that these countries and groups would strike Israel severely if the latter went too far in its attacks.

Israel did escalate, and the reaction from Iran and its allies was, in many cases, to choose to stand down rather than risk the total devastation of their countries or organisations.

Iran did attack Israel in a way that the country had not experienced before, with Tel Aviv being directly hit on numerous occasions.

But some of the worst-case scenario predictions did not take place, and ultimately, the direct conflict between Israel and Iran lasted 12 days, without the outbreak of a wider regional war.

In Lebanon, Israel can be even happier with the result.

After an intensified bombing campaign and invasion last year, Hezbollah lost its iconic leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and much of its military capacity, as well as some of its power in Lebanon. It is now, at least in the short term, no longer much of a threat to Israel.

Israeli hubris?

Israel seems to believe weak neighbours are good for it.

Much as in the case of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the perception is that there is no real need to provide an endgame or next-day scenario.

Instead, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demonstrated, Israel can maintain chaos as far away as possible from its borders, as long as it maintains security inside.

But the current situation in Syria is an interesting example of what can go wrong, and when Israeli hubris may go too far.

Netanyahu has maintained that Syria south of Damascus must remain demilitarised.

His first argument was that this would ensure the safety of the Druze minority, thousands of whom also live in Israel and demanded that Israel protect their brethren following violence involving Bedouin fighters and government forces.

The second argument was that the new authorities in Syria cannot be trusted because of the new leadership’s past ties to groups such as al-Qaeda.

After Israel’s bombing and some US prodding, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa agreed to withdraw government security forces from the Druze-majority province of Suwayda on Thursday, warning that while Israel “may be capable of starting a war”, it would “not be easy to control its consequences”.

By Friday, it had become clear that thousands of Bedouin – and other tribal forces – were headed to support the Bedouins in Suwayda after reports of massacres against them.

Al-Sharaa, presumably with the acquiescence of Israel, announced that Syrian government forces would deploy in Suwayda to end the ongoing clashes there, and a new ceasefire was declared on Saturday.

As it happens, the presence of a strong state with control over its territory may be more effective than allowing anarchy to reign.

Blowback

If anything, Israel’s actions in Syria will increase its regional isolation and raise eyebrows among countries that could have been seen as potential allies.

Saudi Arabia has emphasised its support for the new Syrian government, and Israel’s behaviour will add to Riyadh’s feeling, post-Gaza, that any “Abraham Accords” normalising ties cannot happen in the short term.

For many countries in the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf, Israeli hegemony, especially with the rise of messianic far-right forces in its government, leads to war, expansionism, chaos, and security risks.

And Israel’s short-term military gains run the risk of blowback elsewhere.

Iran’s military capabilities may have been heavily damaged in its war with Israel, but Tehran will likely seek to shift tactics to undermine Israel in other ways in the years to come, while improving its defences and potentially focusing on achieving a nuclear weapon.

As mentioned, the opinions of regional countries may not be the highest priority to the current crop of Israeli leaders, as long as they continue to have US support.

But that does not mean that – in the long term – Israel will not increasingly face blowback for its actions, both diplomatically and in terms of its security.

Domestically, constant wars, even if beyond Israel’s borders, do not provide a sense of long-term security for any populace.

The percentage of military reservists answering call-ups has already reportedly been decreasing. In a country where the majority of the military personnel are reservists who have jobs, businesses and families to take care of, it is difficult to maintain a permanent military footing indefinitely.

That has contributed to an increasing divide in Israel between a dominant ultranationalist camp that wants to fight first and ask questions later, annex Palestinian land, and force regional acceptance through brute force, and a more centrist camp that – while perhaps not prioritising alleviating Palestinian suffering – is more sensitive to international isolation and sanctions, while attempting to hold on to a “liberal Zionist” image of Israel.

Should current trends continue, and the ultranationalist camp retain its dominance, Israel can continue to use its military power and US backing to yield short-term successes.

But by sowing chaos around its borders and flouting international norms, it is breeding resentment among its neighbours and losing support among its traditional allies – even in the US, where public support is slipping.

A more isolated Israel can do what it wants today, but without a long-term strategy for peace, stability and mutual respect with its neighbours – including the Palestinians – it may not be able to escape the consequences tomorrow.

It’s an end of an era as Neighbours cast members film their final scenes of the Australian soap opera as cast member break their silence on the show ending after four decades

Neighbours has officially wrapped with the cast filming their last day at at Nunawading studios.

This chapter of the iconic Australian soap opera will be brought to a close in December 2025, celebrating over 40 years of entertainment, heart, and history.

Amazon had previously saved the soap in 2022 with it returning the following year, but sadly the deal has now come to an end.

Cast members have been sharing their memories of the soap which recently turned 40, with Paul Robinson actor Stefan Dennis saying: “I never thought a single show would give me the greatest adventures of my career, spanning 40 years.

“Without Neighbours I would not have meet the people, been to the places and lived the experiences of a lifetime. Thank you all.”

Susan Kennedy actress Jackie Woodburne continued: “It’s impossible to measure the gratitude I feel for the gift of 30 years on Neighbours.

“To do so I would have to calculate the number of extraordinary cast and crew I have been privileged to work with, count the number of laughs I have shared with them, measure the pride I feel for the diverse, dramatic (and sometimes outrageous!) storytelling we have all been a part of.”

“We are the best version of ‘family’. It has been a wild ride into a happy life. Wouldn’t change it for quids!”

Alan Fletcher, who play Karl Kennedy, added: “Neighbours has been my happy place for over 30 years. I will always treasure the creative freedom and enthusiasm amongst the whole team that has allowed us to produce a brilliant show for so long.”

Candice Leask, who plays Wendy Rodwell, explained: “It took me 10 years and five auditions to land the role of Wendy Rodwell.

“The three years playing Wendy and being on Neighbours has changed my life, not only as an actor but also as a person. The people that I have gotten to know so closely from production to crew to cast have allowed me to see how amazing this industry can be.”

Executive Producer, Jason Herbison, said: “Neighbours is a special show and it’s been a privilege to make the recent seasons for our loyal viewers around the world. We have added 460 episodes to our legacy of over 9000 episodes, something we all feel proud of.

“Once again, we will be resting the residents of Ramsay Street on a hopeful note, with some tantalising possibilities for a future chapter.”

Neighbours is available to stream on Amazon Freevee

Neighbours cast member Annie Jones has taken to social media to document her final journey to Ramsay Street as she films scenes as Jane Harris for the last ever episdoe

Neighbours legend Annie Jones has taken to social media to post a selfie from her last journey to Ramsay Street.

The 58-year-old actress plays Jane Harris in the long-running Australian soap which is coming to an end for the second time.

Annie logged into her Instagram page to share a snap in the car which she captioned: “On our way to Ramsay. St for the LAST time.”

Unsurprisingly, her emotional update was inundated with supportive message from fans who are heartbroken that the show is ending.

One fan penned: “So sad it is ending again. Enjoy your last day of filming and I really hope it will be saved again and come back. I have watched it since the beginning and I’m 72 now and not ashamed to say I love it. So going to miss you all, I watch it at 5.30 like the old days. Hope you all find work again but still hope Neighbours will get saved.”

Another added: “That is so sad, sending best wishes to all of you wonderful cast and crew who have given us so much through our favourite show. This cannot be the end #saveneighbours.”

A third person agreed: “Let’s really really hope it is not goodbye forever,it is too good a show not to be saved, thank you and all the cast and crew over the years for giving us fans so much joy when watching.”

A fourth person wrote: “This is so sad. I’ve watched right from the beginning. Still hoping somewhere it will be picked up xx.”

It was announced earlier this year that Neighbours had been axed just two years after moving to Amazon Freevee.

The daytime TV staple was saved by the streaming platform in 2022 just months after its finale aired on Channel 5, who had axed it earlier that year.

In late 1985, original producers Seven Network dropped it after eight months due to poor ratings.

However, ival channel Network 10 saw potential and it returned two months later, with a huge publicity campaign and introduction of mega stars Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce as new teenage characters Charlene, Scott and Mike.

Kylie and Jason returned for the finale on Channel 5 in 2022 but they will not appear in the last episode of the Amazon Freevee era, it has been confirmed.

The last episode is set to air in December and shoe producer Jason Herbison has previously opened up about what to expect for the last instalment.

“I’ve already written it, and I would say that I definitely am not going to try and compete with that finale’, he told Back to the Bay, noting the 2022 episode.

“I haven’t picked up the phone to Jason [Donovan] and Kylie [Minogue] and Guy [Pierce] again. I’ve left them alone, but it will be very similar in tone.

“I think it’s a very warm, hopeful tone, but it’s also a little bit different. There are things about it that I think might remind people of the previous finale, but it’s also very different.

Neighbours is available to stream on Amazon Freevee

WHILE we all enjoy getting on with our neighbours, there’s nothing wrong with wanting some privacy.

And one woman has shared the easy and cheap buy to keep neighbours from looking into your garden.

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Taking to social media, Steph Varnie decided to fence off her outdoor space.

Her wooden panelled fence had large spaces in between them, which she wanted to cover up.

So, she decided to head to B&M to solve the problem.

Steph bought the Split Bamboo Screening for just £18 from the budget retailer.

She wrote: “Let’s get some screening up,” with the hashtag privacy screen.

In the clip, she showed herself putting it up along her fence to create more privacy.

It was clearly an easy DIY task to do as Steph was able to do it alone with a staple gun to secure it in place.

The bamboo screen was 2 metres in length, which meant Steph still had a small gap that went uncovered.

“Shame I was just out… Need to think what to do with that little section at the end,” she said.

She went on to ask others how to cover the gap and many suggested buying another screen to cover it and make it thicker for more privacy.

The clip was posted to her TikTok account @steph_varnie with over 162k views and 300 likes.

One person wrote: “Ours lasted years, we put one lot up and then added another on top for extra privacy.”

Another commented: “We’ve done the same. 3 rolls deep to block out the neighbours, made a beautiful border now we have a private garden.”

“You did an amazing job,” penned a third.

Meanwhile a fourth said: “Double it up for more privacy.”

“Should have started from that end more privacy from neighbours,” claimed a fifth.

Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: [email protected] and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line.

Their situation seemed desperate; their demeanour, portrayed in several videos published by news outlets, was sour.

On a recent weekday in March, men, women, and even children – all with their belongings heaped on their heads or strapped to their bodies – disembarked from the ferry they say they were forcibly hauled onto from the vast northwest African nation of Mauritania to the Senegalese town of Rosso, on the banks of the Senegal River.

Their offence? Being migrants from the region, they told reporters, regardless of whether they had legal residency papers.

“We suffered there,” one woman told France’s TV5 Monde, a baby perched on her hip. “It was really bad.”

The deportees are among hundreds of West Africans who have been rounded up by Mauritanian security forces, detained, and sent over the border to Senegal and Mali in recent months, human rights groups say.

According to one estimate from the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights (AMDH),1,200 people were pushed back in March alone, even though about 700 of them had residence permits.

Those pushed back told reporters about being randomly approached for questioning before being arrested, detained for days in tight prison cells with insufficient food and water, and tortured. Many people remained in prison in Mauritania, they said.

The largely desert country – which has signed expensive deals with the European Union to keep migrants from taking the risky boat journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Western shores – has called the pushbacks necessary to crack down on human smuggling networks.

However, its statements have done little to calm rare anger from its neighbours, Mali and Senegal, whose citizens make up a huge number of those sent back.

Mali’s government, in a statement in March, expressed “indignation” at the treatment of its nationals, adding that “the conditions of arrest are in flagrant violation of human rights and the rights of migrants in particular.”

In Senegal, a member of parliament called the pushbacks “xenophobic” and urged the government to launch an investigation.

“We’ve seen these kinds of pushbacks in the past but it is at an intensity we’ve never seen before in terms of the number of people deported and the violence used,” Hassan Ould Moctar, a migration researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, told Al Jazeera.

The blame, the researcher said, was largely to be put on the EU. On one hand, Mauritania was likely under pressure from Brussels, and on the other hand, it was also likely reacting to controversial rumours that migrants deported from Europe would be resettled in the country despite Nouakchott’s denial of such an agreement.

Is Mauritania the EU’s external border?

Mauritania, on the edge of the Atlantic, is one of the closest points from the continent to Spain’s Canary Islands. That makes it a popular departure point for migrants who crowd the coastal capital, Nouakchott, and the commercial northern city of Nouadhibou. Most are trying to reach the Canaries, a Spanish enclave closer to the African continent than to Europe, from where they can seek asylum.

Due to its role as a transit hub, the EU has befriended Nouakchott – as well as the major transit points of Morocco and Senegal – since the 2000s, pumping funds to enable security officials there to prevent irregular migrants from embarking on the crossing.

However, the EU honed in on Mauritania with renewed vigour last year after the number of people travelling from the country shot up to unusual levels, making it the number one departure point.

About 83 percent of the 7,270 people who arrived in the Canaries in January 2024 travelled from Mauritania, migrant advocacy group Caminando Fronteras (CF) noted in a report last year. That number represented a 1,184 percent increase compared with January 2023, when most people were leaving Senegal. Some 3,600 died on the Mauritania-Atlantic route between January and April 2024, CF noted.

Analysts, and the EU, link the surge to upheavals wracking the Sahel, from Mali to Niger, including coups and attacks by several armed groups looking to build caliphates. In Mali, attacks on local communities by armed groups and government forces suspicious of locals have forced hundreds over the border into Mauritania in recent weeks.

Ibrahim Drame of the Senegalese Red Cross in the border town of Rosso told Al Jazeera the migrant raids began in January after a new immigration law went into force, requiring a residence permit for any foreigner living on Mauritanian soil. However, he said most people have not had an opportunity to apply for those permits. Before this, nationals of countries like Senegal and Mali enjoyed free movement under bilateral agreements.

“Raids have been organised day and night, in large markets, around bus stations, and on the main streets,” Drame noted, adding that those affected are receiving dwindling shelter and food support from the Red Cross, and included migrants from Togo, Nigeria, Niger, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Benin.

“Hundreds of them were even hunted down in their homes or workplaces, without receiving the slightest explanation … mainly women, children, people with chronic illnesses in a situation of extreme vulnerability and stripped of all their belongings, even their mobile phones,” Drame said.

Last February, European Commission head, Ursula von der Leyen, visited President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani in Nouakchott to sign a 210 million euro ($235m) “migrant partnership agreement”. The EU said the agreement was meant to intensify “border security cooperation” with Frontex, the EU border agency, and dismantle smuggler networks. The bloc has promised an additional 4 million euros ($4.49m) this year to provide food, medical, and psychosocial support to migrants.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was also in Mauritania in August to sign a separate border security agreement.

Fear and pain from a dark past

Black Mauritanians in the country, meanwhile, say the pushback campaign has awakened feelings of exclusion and forced displacement carried by their communities. Some fear the deportations may be directed at them.

Activist Abdoulaye Sow, founder of the US-based Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the US (MNHRUS), told Al Jazeera that to understand why Black people in the country feel threatened, there’s a need to understand the country’s painful past.

Located at a confluence where the Arab world meets Sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritania has historically been racially segregated, with the Arab-Berber political elite dominating over the Black population, some of whom were previously, or are still, enslaved. It was only in 1981 that Mauritania passed a law abolishing slavery, but the practice still exists, according to rights groups.

Dark-skinned Black Mauritanians are composed of Haratines, an Arabic-speaking group descended from formerly enslaved peoples. There are also non-Arabic speaking groups like the Fulani and Wolof, who are predominantly from the Senegal border area in the country’s south.

Black Mauritanians, Sow said, were once similarly deported en masse in trucks from the country to Senegal. It dates back to April 1989, when simmering tensions between Mauritanian herders and Senegalese farmers in border communities erupted and led to the 1989-1991 Border War between the two countries. Both sides deployed their militaries in heavy gunfire battles. In Senegal, mobs attacked Mauritanian traders, and in Mauritania, security forces cracked down on Senegalese nationals.

Because a Black liberation movement was also growing at the time, and the Mauritanian military government was fearful of a coup, it cracked down on Black Mauritanians, too.

By 1991, there were refugees on either side in the thousands. However, after peace came about, the Mauritanian government expelled thousands of Black Mauritanians under the guise of repatriating Senegalese refugees. Some 60,000 people were forced into Senegal. Many lost important citizenship and property documents in the process.

“I was a victim too,” Sow said. “It wasn’t safe for Blacks who don’t speak Arabic. I witnessed armed people going house to house and asking people if they were Mauritanian, beating them, even killing them.”

Sow said it is why the deportation of sub-Saharan migrants is scaring the community. Although he has written open letters to the government warning of how Black people could be affected, he said there has been no response.

“When they started these recent deportations again, I knew where they were going, and we’ve already heard of a Black Mauritanian deported to Mali. We’ve been sounding the alarm for so long, but the government is not responsive.”

The Mauritanian government directed Al Jazeera to an earlier statement it released regarding the deportations, but did not address allegations of possible forced expulsions of Black Mauritanians.

In the statement, the government said it welcomed legal migrants from neighbouring countries, and that it was targeting irregular migrants and smuggling networks.

“Mauritania has made significant efforts to enable West African nationals to regularise their residence status by obtaining resident cards following simplified procedures,” the statement read.

Although Mauritania eventually agreed to take back its nationals between 2007 and 2012, many Afro-Mauritanians still do not have documents proving their citizenship as successive administrations implement fluctuating documentation and census laws. Tens of thousands are presently stateless, Sow said. At least 16,000 refugees chose to stay back in Senegal to avoid persecution in Mauritania.

Sow said the fear of another forced deportation comes on top of other issues, including national laws that require students in all schools to learn in Arabic, irrespective of their culture. Arabic is Mauritania’s lingua franca, but Afro-Mauritanians who speak languages like Wolof or Pula are against what they call “forced Arabisation”. Sow says it is “cultural genocide”.

Despite new residence permit laws in place, Sow added, migrants, as well as the Black Mauritanian population, should be protected.

“Whether they are migrants or not, they have their rights as people, as humans,” he said.

ITV viewers were completely stunned as a late soap legend was spotted on TV, eight months after she passed away.

The actress sadly died in her sleep at the age of 72 last year in her home city of Melbourne, Australia.

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Janet Andrewartha was best known for her role as Lyn Scully in the hit soap, Neighbours.

She first made her debut on the former Channel 5 serial drama back in 1999.

She had a number of on and off stints on Ramsay Street, before departing for the final time in 2019.

But less than three months after she received a cancer diagnosis, the star passed away in July of last year.

At the time, her friend – and Neighbours co-star – Jackie Woodburne paid a heartfelt tribute to her pal.

She said: “[Janet] was one of the finest actors of a generation. I will miss her every day.”

However, viewers were shocked to see her appear on-screen once again in the ITV drama, Fake.

The show focuses on a smart magazine writer named Birdie (Asher Keddie) who seems to have found her ideal match.

On a dating app, she meets a successful farmer, but she later discovers that all is not as it seems.

Viewers were pleasantly surprised to see that Janet popped up on screen in scenes that were filmed before her death.

She starred in the gritty series as, Kath Tovey, which is a supporting role.

Her Neighbours co-star Anne Charleston, 82, is known for playing the beloved Madge Bishop on the soap for decades from 1986.

She also appears in Fake in a supporting role as the character, Shirley Burt alongside Janet.

Anne recently made her return to Neighbours in a new role as part of Harold’s departure storyline.

This was after Ian Smith revealed that he was diagnosed with “a very aggressive non-fixable cancer.”

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