Obituaries

Reality star Loana Petrucciani, who shot to fame after having sex in the pool while appearing on the French edition of Big Brother, has been found dead at her home

A TV star who became known for having sex in the Big Brother pool has been found dead. Loana Petrucciani, who won the first series of Loft Story France 1, was just 48-years-old.

It’s reported that the reality star, simply known as Loana, was found dead at her home in Nice. Prosecutor Damien Martinelli stated that an investigation has since been opened to “find the causes of death”, before stating the TV star had been dead for “several days”.

Loana gained fame in 2001 when she entered the Loft Story house, living with strangers for ten weeks under constant surveillance from cameras, mirroring the Big Brother format. In the wake of her death, TV network M6 said: “An iconic figure of the first season of ‘Loft Story’, she will forever remain a personality who profoundly marked an entire generation of viewers,” before praising her for “her pontaneity, sensitivity and authenticity.”

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Alexia Laroche-Joubert, CEO of Loft Story’s production company Banijay France, said: “It is with immense emotion that I learned of Loana’s passing. Our paths crossed 25 years ago, and I am honoured to have shared so many memories with her. I witnessed her successes and her struggles.

“My thoughts are, of course, with her mother, Violette, her daughter, her brother, and the other housemates who were part of this adventure. Let us never forget that behind her public image was a sensitive and extremely intelligent woman.” Benjamin Castaldi, presenter of Loft Story said: “There are some faces we never forget. And hers, Loana’s, is part of our collective history.

“Thought we would watch a show. In fact, we were witnessing a revolution. The first one. The truth. The one that changed television forever… and maybe also our view on humans. Loana was not a character. She was a woman. A real one. With its cracks, its sweetness, its fragility in the open sky. And that’s precisely why we loved it.

“But that’s also why we dropped her. We applauded his light… not protecting his shadow. His authenticity has been consumed… without measuring the price she would pay. We’ve watched her live, love, fall… without ever really wondering who would pick her up after. The truth is, we’re all a little responsible. Because we all watched. Cuz we all commented Because we’ve all, at one point, looked away when it got too hard.

“She embodied raw innocence in a world that didn’t forgive anything. And we couldn’t match what she gave us. Today, there’s only a television memory. There’s still an emotion. Embarrassment. A regret. The one of not being human enough to someone who deeply was. So yeah… We lived a revolution together. But maybe we forgot, along the way, the important thing: Behind the phenomenon… There was a woman.”

It was on Lost Story that Loana became known for sleeping with co-star Jean-Edouard Lipa, sparking outrage across the country. Despite the scandal, she walked out of the house as the champion and was welcomed as she paraded down the Champs-Élysées.

With her newfound fame came magazine deals, gracing the cover of Elle, photographed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and her deeply personal memoir several months later.

In her memoir, the Cannes-born star opened up about the highs and lows of her career in the spotlight, as well as previous suicide attempts. Speaking about entering Loft Story, she said previously: “I went there feeling very insecure. I was worried. The casting director said to me, ‘Aren’t you ashamed to come dressed like that?’ I took it very badly, especially since he was asking everyone that question.”

She added: “He asked me to flirt with the camera: I don’t know how to do that, it’s impossible. I blushed, I stammered. Then they asked me to dance and sing. I left and thought to myself, ‘I didn’t show them anything.'” She said of her fame: “There are two women inside me. The public loved both. Before, we saw a lot of the extroverted Loana who danced on the catwalks, but we didn’t see the other side, because she was too shy to express herself. But, in Loft Story, we saw that there was another side to her.”

In the early 2010s, Loana attempted to take her own life, which left her in a coma. Her family and friends later discovered that she had made several attempts on her life prior to this.

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If you have been affected by this story, Cruse Bereavement Support offers free help to make sense of how you are feeling. Click here for their website or call 0808 808 1677.

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Chuck Norris, a former martial arts champion and 1980s action-film hero, has died at the age of 86, according to his family.

In a statement posted to Instagram on Friday, his family described Norris’s death as sudden.

“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” the Norris family wrote.

“While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”

According to the publication Variety, Norris had been hospitalised in Hawaii since Thursday, though details were not disclosed.

Norris was the six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate Champion from 1968 to 1974. But he rose to wider fame in a series of action films, including 1985’s Code of Silence, 1984’s Missing in Action and 1986’s The Delta Force.

He further cemented his status as a household name when he starred from 1993 to 2001 in the popular TV series Walker, Texas Ranger, playing a principled lawman.

Norris’s tough-guy image made him an internet meme in his later years, though he received pushback for his far-right political views and embrace of conspiracy theories.

His family expressed gratitude to fans for their prayers during his hospitalisation.

“He lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved,” the post read. “Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.”

‘The ultimate tough guy’

Norris starred in more than two dozen films, often portraying stoic loners, soldiers, lawmen and all-American heroes who captured criminals and rescued hostages.

He made his film debut in 1973’s The Way of the Dragon, where he famously faced martial arts icon Bruce Lee in Rome’s Colosseum.

In 1985, Time magazine dubbed him “the ultimate tough guy” and “the undisputed superstar” of the B-movie action genre.

On screen, Norris was known for his signature roundhouse kicks, shrugging off gunfire and dispatching opponents with ease. His tough-guy persona made him a box-office draw and a television staple.

Decades later, he joined fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis in 2012’s The Expendables 2, helping defeat a villain played by Belgian fighter Jean-Claude Van Damme.

He also became an unlikely internet phenomenon. In 2005, “Chuck Norris Facts”, a series of satirical jokes about his strength and masculinity, went viral and inspired several books.

The “Facts” included jokes like “Chuck Norris has a mug of nails instead of coffee in the morning” and “Chuck Norris doesn’t do push-ups; he pushes the Earth down.”

‘Texas has lost a legend’

Carlos Ray Norris was born on March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma, the oldest of three brothers. The family moved to California after his parents divorced.

He described himself as extremely quiet and introverted as a young man, which he attributed to his father’s alcoholism and the family’s poverty.

“In school I was shy and inhibited,” Norris wrote in his 2004 memoir, Against All Odds: My Story. “If the teacher asked me to recite something aloud in front ‌of the ⁠class, I would just shake my head no.”

According to Norris, he was also not a natural athlete growing up, and he credited his martial arts career to intense training.

After graduating from school, he enlisted in the US Air Force in 1958. While stationed in South Korea, he learned Tang Soo Do, a form of karate, and other martial arts.

The future film star started teaching martial arts in California after his discharge. Actor Steve McQueen, who was one of Norris’s students, eventually encouraged him to try acting.

Tributes poured in following news of his death, including from political figures who shared Norris’s far-right leanings.

“Texas ‌has lost a legend,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote on X, referencing Norris’s work on Walker, Texas Ranger.

“He electrified generations of conservatives. Giving them a passion and voice to fight for the principles that make America the greatest nation on earth.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also paid tribute, calling Norris “a great friend of Israel and a close personal friend”.

High-profile stars and artists also mourned Norris’s passing, including several of Norris’s colleagues.

Stallone, for instance, wrote in a statement, “I had a great time working with Chuck. He was All American in every way. Great man and my condolences to his wonderful family.”

Author Stephen King, meanwhile, shared a memory of being thrilled — and scared — by Norris’s performance in the action-horror film Silent Rage.

“I thought he was great,” King said.

The Palestinian presenter delivered the network’s first-ever bulletin when it went on air in 1996.

Al Jazeera Arabic presenter Jamal Rayyan, the first face ever seen on the channel when it launched nearly three decades ago, has died at the age of 73.

Rayyan passed away on Sunday after a broadcasting career spanning more than five decades, during which he covered major global and regional events for the channel – from the United States wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the Arab Spring.

He had been with Al Jazeera since its first day on air on November 1, 1996, when he presented the channel’s opening bulletin at the start of what would become a major broadcaster in the Arab world.

Born in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank in 1953, the Palestinian presenter began his career at Jordanian Radio and Television in 1974 before working with several broadcasters in the region and beyond, including Emirati television, South Korean public broadcasting, and BBC Arabic.

Rayyan later recalled being sworn to secrecy after being quietly selected for the historic role.

“The vice chairman of the board came and said to me, ‘You have been chosen to be the first face on Al Jazeera, but we want one thing from you: do not tell anyone,’” he told Al Jazeera’s In-Depth Studies, a collection of testimonies from the channel’s founders and early staff.

Measured delivery, distinctive voice

The announcement that Rayyan was presenting the first bulletin was made public half an hour before airtime. He entered the studio deliberately on an empty stomach, he recalled, to ensure he could breathe well and deliver.

“As the broadcast started, my heart began beating rapidly. However, after I appeared on the screen and said, ‘Welcome to the first broadcast of Al Jazeera channel,’ I returned to my natural state and finished the broadcast. As soon as I finished and exited the studio, the entire room erupted in applause,” Rayyan said.

He spent nearly three decades as one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable presenters, building a following of 2.3 million on X.

Over the years, Rayyan became a familiar presence in homes across the Arab world, his measured delivery and distinctive voice closely associated with Al Jazeera’s news bulletins.

In the Arab world and beyond, his broadcasts and the channel’s editorial approach reached wide audiences and helped shape regional news coverage in the years that followed.

A Maronite Catholic priest has been killed by Israeli tank fire after it targeted a home in southern Lebanon. Father Pierre al-Rahi was reportedly killed when an Israeli tank fired on the home of a local couple a second time after several people had rushed there to try to help.