The cause of death for Hulk Hogan, pro wrestling icon and reality TV star, has been unveiled a week after he died at age 71.
A medical document reviewed on Thursday by The Times reveals that Hogan (born Terry Bollea) died of acute myocardial infarction, a heart attack, in other words. This reaffirms details that Florida police shared in an announcement of Hogan’s death last week. In a statement on Facebook, the Clearwater Police Department said that on the morning of July 24, it responded to a call for cardiac arrest, adding that first responders took Hogan to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
At the time, a representative for the wrestler also confirmed his death to The Times: “We are heartbroken. He was such a great human being and friend.”
The medical report, which confirmed his death was natural, also revealed that Hogan had a history of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and lived with “leukemia CLL.” The Mayo Clinic describes CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) as “a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow.” Hogan was also approved for cremation, according to the document.
Hogan gained popularity as a pro wrestler in the 1980s but expanded his legacy with endeavors in film, TV and politics. He famously broke into the national spotlight in 1983 when he signed with the WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation. He was known for his blond hair, dark spray tan, red and yellow ensembles and his infectious energy in the ring. He also pursued acting, with credits including “The A-Team,” “Love Boat,” “Suddenly Susan,” “Walker, Texas Ranger” and the animated “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” that featured him and other WWF stars in live-action segments. His TV career also notably includes the family reality TV series “Hogan Knows Best,” which included children Brooke and Nick.
He became vocal in politics later in life. Hogan became a vocal supporter of President Trump, channeling his wrestling persona at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
“We lost a great friend today, the ‘Hulkster,’” President Trump wrote last week on Truth Social. “Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart. He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week. He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive. To his wife, Sky, and family, we give our warmest best wishes and love. Hulk Hogan will be greatly missed!”
Also paying tribute were WWE, Vice President JD Vance, and fellow former star wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Children Nick and Brooke each paid tribute to their famous father. Last week, Nick Hogan penned an emotional Instagram tribute to his “best friend” and “best dad in the world.”
Brooke broke her silence on her father’s death earlier this week on Instagram, reflecting on their bond, which she says “has never broken, not even in his final moments.”
“I know he’s at peace now, out of pain, and in a place as beautiful as he imagined. He used to speak about this moment with such wonder and hope,” she wrote. “Like meeting God was the greatest championship he’d ever have.”
Speaking to the MailOnline, he said: “Getting a ticket after parking in a private car park does not mean you have committed any offence.
“It won’t lead to a criminal conviction, whether or not you pay it.
“You can challenge a ticket that has been wrongly issued, and the challenge could take you to the county court, where the park operator would have to sue you for non-payment to have any hope of getting you to pay up.”
More than 140,000 children had been sent overseas by Seoul following the devastating 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea is set to end the decades-old practice of outsourcing adoptions to private agencies, after a damaging investigation concluded the country’s government-endorsed foreign adoption programme violated the fundamental human rights of adoptees.
On Saturday, South Korea will introduce a “newly restructured public adoption system, under which the state and local governments take full responsibility for the entire adoption process”, South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
South Korea sent more than 140,000 children overseas following the devastating 1950-53 Korean War, when intercountry adoption was encouraged as a solution.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigation concluded earlier this year that the international adoption process had been riddled with irregularities, including “fraudulent orphan registrations, identity tampering, and inadequate vetting of adoptive parents”.
The new change is a “significant step towards ensuring the safety and promoting the rights of adopted children”, the Health Ministry added.
Under the new system, key procedures – such as assessing prospective adoptive parents and matching them with children – will be deliberated by a ministry committee, under the principle of the “best interests of the child”.
Previously, this had been done by major adoption agencies with minimal oversight from the state. The commission blamed the government for the issues, particularly a failure to regulate adoption fees, which turned the industry into a profit-driven one.
“With this restructuring of the public adoption system, the state now takes full responsibility for ensuring the safety and rights of all adopted children,” said Kim Sang-hee, director of population and child policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
International adoption began after the Korean War as a way to remove mixed-race children, born to Korean mothers and American soldier fathers, from a country that emphasised ethnic homogeneity.
It became big business in the 1970s to 1980s, bringing international adoption agencies millions of dollars as the country overcame post-war poverty and faced rapid and aggressive economic development.
Activists say the new measure is only a starting point and warn it is far from sufficient.
“While I think it’s high time that Korea close down all private adoption agencies, I don’t believe … having the state handle new adoptions is enough,” said writer Lisa Wool-Rim Sjoblom, a Korean adoptee who grew up in Sweden.
The government should prioritise implementing the findings of the truth commission, issue an official apology, and work to help the tens of thousands of Koreans who were sent abroad for adoption, Sjoblom told the AFP news agency.
“The government urgently needs to acknowledge all the human rights violations it enabled, encouraged, and systematically participated in, and, as soon as possible, begin reparations.”
A Cotswold plane scrappage company has been the unlikely resting place of Saddam Hussein’s stolen private jet – which is now being used in TV shows and movies, in part due to its excellent 80s interior
If you’re on the hunt for Saddam Hussein’s private jet, you might not think to look in the Cotswolds.
Yet, it’s in this picturesque part of England where you’ll find the former Iraqi dictator’s personal aircraft. Air Salvage International, a plane scrappage firm based at Cotswold Airport, has been the custodian of the VIP-equipped Boeing 727 for nearly a decade.
While most of the company’s planes are dismantled and sold off, sometimes fetching up to £10 million per jet, managing director Mark Gregory can’t bring himself to part with this particular flying machine.It’s not just its connection to Saddam (whose Iraqi Airways nicked Kuwait Airways’ entire fleet during the 1990 invasion) that makes it special, but also its retro ’80s interior.
Originally owned by the Kuwaiti Royal family, the 189-seat jet was gutted of its standard uncomfortable airplane seats and decked out with an array of kitschy furniture that could fill a retirement home. Think plush velour seats with extendable footrests, state-of-the-art JVC TVs embedded into mahogany walls, and glass vases brimming with plastic roses, all sitting next to unopened bottles of champagne.
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Saddam’s forces stole the jet(Image: Getty Images, Getty Images)
Before the Iraqi forces swooped in and commandeered the Kuwaiti fleet, Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other wealthy royals used the opulent plane for their global travels. Where there is now a patch of carpet overrun by mould, the Emir once sat on a specially built throne, using radio equipment to issue orders to his staff from 30,000 feet above.
Following the Western invasion of Iraq and Saddam’s execution, the private jet changed ownership multiple times until it was sold to Air Salvage International by Jersey-based Strong Aviation on 29 June 2016. Now at 45 years old, the aircraft’s value is virtually nil and its flying days are over – despite Mark maintaining it in full working order and taking it for a spin on the runway every ten days.
These days, it sees most action as a film set for TV programmes and films, including McDonald and Dodds, Casualty, The Lazarus Project, Hijack with Idris Elba, Star Wars, Mission: Impossible, and Doctor Who. Next time you watch a dramatic plane crash or runway scene on screen, keep an eye out for some suspiciously Gloucestershire-like countryside in the background. Or even Mark’s arms.
Mark can’t bear to give the plane up
When he’s not making money from old planes or drumming away in his office by the runway, the ponytailed scrap tycoon can be partially seen on the big screen, “piloting” the Boeing 727 in its latest cinematic adventure.
Air Salvage International first began 30 years ago. Armed with redundancy money in the early ’90s, Mark bought his first plane and spent six months breaking it down into sellable bits. More than 1,400 aircraft later, the business is thriving and employs dozens of people to cope with the growing demand from the ever-expanding aviation industry.
And there are big bucks at stake. The equivalent of a commercial jet’s MOT costs around £1 million, which is why many plane owners decide to send their ageing aircraft to Mark instead. Sometimes as much as £12 million can be salvaged from them, either in reusable parts or recyclable materials.
Former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace announced over the weekend that he is now offering one-to-one coaching for fans who want to get ‘fitter’ and ‘stronger’
Former MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace is offering one-to-one coaching after he “transformed” himself by embracing a new healthy lifestyle. He promoted the venture, which he said is priced at £200 a month, just days before the news of his exit from the show.
It was announced last year that Gregg, 60, would be stepping away from the BBC show whilst its production company Banijay UK reviewed historical misconduct complaints, which were said to be from across a range of shows. As reported at the time, he said through a lawyer: “It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.”
Then, earlier today, it was reported that Gregg had been fired from MasterChef after a year-long investigation into the allegations, with 50 people making new claims. He issued a lengthy statement this afternoon in which he claimed that he has been exonerated of “all the serious allegations which made headlines last year” but apologised after saying that he was found “primarily guilty of inappropriate language”.
Just days before the latest developments, Gregg took to Instagram over the weekend to share with his followers that he is offering coaching for people who want to “get fitter and stronger”. He wrote over a video message on Sunday: “One to One Coaching £200 a month.”
Gregg Wallace announced over the weekend that he’s offering one-to-one coaching for £200 a month(Image: greggawallace/instagram)
Gregg, who lost five stone in his fifties, said in the video itself: “Are you feeling well? Are you feeling energised and healthy? Because if you’re like me and you’re over 50, the chances are you have put a huge amount of effort into your job and looking after your family, and very little focus has gone on you and your wellbeing.”
He continued: “And you could be thinking to yourself ‘I wanna feel healthier. I wanna feel fitter. I’d like to get rid of this belly and look better in my clothes.’ I transformed my life. I’m now fitter at 60 than I was at 30 and let me tell you it’s not about eating salads and it’s not about being in the gym all day.”
Gregg, who has promoted his coaching role previously too, concluded: “What you need is a guide. Somebody to show you. Someone who’s done it. I coach people one-to-one. I help them get fitter and stronger as we get older because it’s important we look after ourselves. If you’d like to talk to me about helping you, leave me a message here.”
The former Celebrity MasterChef host shared in the comments section of the post that his coaching is “not just for over 50s”. And when asked by someone how they could sign up, Gregg told them to direct message him on the platform.
Gregg’s post was uploaded just days before it was reported today that he won’t be returning to the BBC. And he issued a statement this afternoon about an investigation that was launched into allegations previously made against him.
He said that he has been cleared by the Silkin report of the “most serious and sensational accusations” made against him and accused the BBC of “peddling sensationalised gossip masquerading as properly corroborated stories”.
However, he apologised for the inappropriate language which the report found him “primarily guilty” of between 2005 and 2018. He went onto say: “I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges and all. For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.
“My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of Master Chef.
“Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over twenty years. That failure is now being quietly buried.”
The news came just days ahead of reports that he won’t be returning to MasterChef following an investigation into alleged misconduct(Image: BBC /Shine TV)
A BBC spokesperson told The Mirror: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”
The Mirror understands that Banijay will be releasing the report and that the BBC did not fire Gregg as the corporation does not employ him. He was instead employed by Banijay.
“Who can turn the world on with her smile?” It’s Mary Tyler Moore, of course, and you should know it.
To be precise, it’s Mary Richards, a person Moore played. But the smile was her own, and it worked magic across two situation comedies that described their time in a way that some might have regarded as ahead of their time. Although Moore proved herself as an actress of depth and range and peerless comic timing again and again, on the small and big screen and onstage, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” made her a star, and incidentally a cultural figurehead, and are the reason we have a splendid new documentary, “Being Mary Tyler Moore,” premiering Friday on HBO. Were it titled simply “Being Mary,” there’d be little doubt who was meant.
Moore was driven to perform from an early age, which she relates to wanting to impress her father — though that seems too simple. She trained as a dancer, and right out of high school played a pixie, Happy Hotpoint, in a series of appliance commercials. (A visible pregnancy ended that job.) She played a faceless switchboard operator on “Richard Diamond, Private Detective,” from which she was bounced when she asked for more money, and a typical assortment of starlet roles in television and movies. A failed audition to play the older daughter on “The Danny Thomas Show” led to her being called for “Van Dyke,” of which Thomas was an executive producer. Creator Carl Reiner remembers, “I read about 60 girls, and I read the whole script with them. She read three lines, three simple lines. There was such a ping in it, an excitement, a reality to it.” They soon discovered her gift for comedy.
“The Dick Van Dyke Show,” in which Moore played Laura Petrie to Van Dyke’s Rob, came into the world in the first year of the Kennedy administration, and there is something of that new White House, torch-passed-to-a-new-generation spirit in the Petries’ New Rochelle, N.Y., home. (Van Dyke was 35 when the show premiered — just old enough to be president himself — to Moore’s 24, but the two never seemed generationally distinct.) They were modern, with modern tastes. This was not the old-fashioned, small-town family comedy of “Father Knows Best” or “Leave It to Beaver.” If you lived in my household, you might have felt right at home with them.
Then again, “Dick Van Dyke” was not really a family comedy; some episodes might involve their son, Richie (Larry Mathews), but many more would not, and when child-rearing was the subject, it would more likely highlight the foolishness of the parents. The Petries were suburban in the sense of being connected to, not remote from, the city — sophisticated, fun, elegant. They threw parties, went out in formal wear, tried the latest dances. They were sexual. And they held the stage with equal strength and force.
If they were well on the safe side of bohemian, they were arty in their way, Rob a comedy writer, Laura, like Moore, a dancer — a former dancer in the show, which was not so ahead of its time to imagine a working mother. Still, the series found opportunities to let her dance. (“I will go to my grave thinking of myself as a failed dancer, not a successful actor,” Moore says in the documentary.)
Famously — and at once realistically and, for TV at that time, radically — she wore pants, tight ones; Moore is nearly synonymous with Capris. I turned on a random episode the other night (Season 4, Episode 1, “My Mother Can Beat Up My Father”), one I’d somehow never seen, in which a drunk at a restaurant bar begins to harass Laura. Rob tries to get him to back off, claiming he knows karate, and gets a punch in the nose — at which Laura, to her own surprise, flips the drunk with a judo move. (She’d learned self-defense when she was entertaining at Army bases.)
It winds up in a society column. Laura finds it funny. Rob, whose ego is as bruised as his proboscis, childishly lashes out.
Rob: “How come you never dress like a girl?”
Laura, incredulous: “What?
“Well, honey, I mean, shirts and slacks, shirts and slacks, that’s all I ever see when I come home.”
“You love me in shirts and slacks.”
“Yeah, well, but whatever happened to dresses?”
“Rob, you know, this is the stupidest conversation we’ve ever had.”
Mary Tyler Moore with Dr. Robert Levine, to whom she was married from 1983 until her death in 2017. Levine is an executive producer on “Being Mary Tyler Moore.”
(From Robert Levine / HBO)
“Dick Van Dyke” stories were divided equally between home and work, with the two worlds frequently intersecting. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” took that model and put Moore in the center of the action, amid a brilliant comic cast. Her move to Minneapolis, which begins the series and lands her in the newsroom at WJM, was not born from tragedy or pressure; she moves on her own initiative, recovering from nothing but the possibility of a life that won’t suit her.
That Mary was a single woman in no rush to be married was something new for television — but it could hardly be said that she lived alone; her apartment was subject to regular incursions from Rhoda (Valerie Harper) and Phyllis (Cloris Leachman), a company of women hashing out their different lives in a sort of dialectical comedy. (There were women in the writing room; Treva Silverman, whose comments are featured prominently in “Being Mary Tyler Moore,” was the first woman to win an Emmy with a solo credit.)
Whether this was or was not a feminist series is a question that still prompts think pieces. Gloria Steinem thought not, and Moore did not identify herself as such — though in the opening scene of the documentary, in a 1966 interview with a backward David Susskind, she does say, “I agree with Betty Friedan and her point of view in her book ‘Feminine Mystique’ that women are, or should be, human beings first, women second, wives and mothers third.”
For the record:
4:36 p.m. May 26, 2023The co-creator of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is James L. Brooks. He was misidentified as James Burrows in an earlier version of this story.
Unlike the Norman Lear comedies — “All in the Family,” also on CBS, premiered a few months after “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” — the MTM-produced comedies, which also included the “Moore” spinoffs “Rhoda” and “Phyllis,” were contemporary and “adult” without being issue-oriented. But because they were realistic about their characters, they couldn’t help but engage with their times and the culture. If the feminism of “Mary Tyler Moore,” which is in a sense just a function of its intelligence, is not explicit, it is in the bones of the show. And Mary, like the woman who played her, “inspired as many women as Eleanor Roosevelt,” in the words of series co-creator James L. Brooks.
If Moore never repeated the massive television success of her first two series, well, that would have been practically impossible. Some failed later shows, including the sitcom “Mary,” which found her working at a Chicago tabloid, and “The Mary Tyler Moore Hour,” which blended variety with a backstage sitcom, go unmentioned in the documentary, but are not without interest and may be found floating in cyberspace. Various dramatic roles, onscreen and onstage, demonstrated the subtlety and depth of her acting, though you could find that in most any episode of “Mary Tyler Moore” as well.
Her last great triumph — though not at all the end of her career — was her Oscar-nominated turn in Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People,” whose cold mother is deemed closer to her own character; she had a reputation, she says, for being “an ice princess.” Redford decided to cast her having once seen her walking on the beach, looking sad. (“He saw my dark side.”)
It is the point of nearly any show business biography that the person we know from their work is and is not the person who lived the life. Indeed, the very title “Being Mary Tyler Moore” suggests that “Mary Tyler Moore” was both a part she played and a person she was, similar in some respects and markedly different in others. Directed by James Adolphus, with Moore’s widower, Dr. Robert Levine, on board as an executive producer, the film has access to a wealth of family photos and home movies — including footage of her bridal shower, featuring a hilarious Betty White — and does a fine job of illuminating the private Moore, with testimony from (unseen) colleagues, friends and family.
It’s no secret that her life was marked by tragedy. (She was a private person, but she wrote books. And some things you can’t keep out of the papers.) She had a drinking problem. Her sister died from an overdose of alcohol and painkillers. Her son, Richard, accidentally shot himself. Diabetes led to numerous problems with her health. But “Being Mary Tyler Moore” is a happier story than one might expect, which in itself makes it a moving one. Moore and Levine were married from 1983 to her death in 2017, and they settled into a life filled with dogs and horses; there were good works too, on behalf of juvenile diabetes.
We can too easily measure the worth of a performer’s life by their professional success, as if there’s nothing more terrible than a canceled sitcom, a box office flop or the lack of good roles all but a few actors eventually face. “Being Mary Tyler Moore” reminds us not to make that mistake.
‘Being Mary Tyler Moore’
When: 8 p.m. Friday Where: HBO Streaming:Max Rating: TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children) __________
Some of Blake Lively‘s text messages with friend Taylor Swift could be disclosed in court, in a recent development of the actor’s winding legal battle against her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman on Wednesday filed an order denying the “Gossip Girl” alumna’s request to keep her messages with Swift out of litigation, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times. “Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively’s harassment and retaliation claims,” reads the order.
Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios filed a request for production connected to the Lively-Swift texts in February, asking for “‘all documents and communications related to or reflecting Lively’s communications with Taylor Swift” about their 2024 romantic drama and subsequent legal proceedings.
The “It Ends With Us” co-stars have engaged in a legal back-and-forth for months after Lively accused director Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film and accused his team of orchestrating a smear campaign against her in December. The allegations first surfaced in a report from the New York Times. She formally sued Baldoni in federal court on Dec. 31. Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs — including his crisis PR team and executives at Wayfarer Studios — hit back that same day with a $400-million countersuit against Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds, and a separate defamation complaint against the New York Times.
Liman dismissed Baldoni’s complaints, which failed to meet legal standards, earlier this month. The judge said in his Wednesday order that “Lively’s motion is rooted in the broader concern that the Wayfarer Parties are using demands for communications with Swift not ‘to obtain information relevant to claims and defenses in court, but to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court.’ ”
Wednesday’s order also denied Baldoni’s cross-motion to compel Lively to produce documents connected to the production.
Baldoni’s team subpoenaed Swift earlier this year but eventually withdrew it after the singer and her legal reps dismissed it as an “unwarranted fishing expedition,” according to Variety.
In a statement shared with multiple outlets, a representative for Lively reacted to this week’s order, claiming, “Baldoni’s desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024” and is an effort to influence the singer’s fan base. In the past, the devoted league of Swift supporters known as Swifites have banded together to criticize the singer’s high-profile exes and in recent years, rallied against Ticketmaster over allegations of fraud, price-fixing and antitrust violations.
“We will continue to call out Baldoni’s relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift’s popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing,” the spokesperson added, according to People.
Representatives for Swift and Baldoni did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
This Balkan country has been hailed as an ‘up-and-coming’ holiday destination, and it’s easy to see why
15:50, 16 Jun 2025Updated 15:51, 16 Jun 2025
‘Hidden gem’ country is perfect mix of private beaches and city breaks(Image: Feng Wei Photography via Getty Images)
Montenegro, a rather underappreciated jewel in the Balkans, should be on more Brits’ summer holiday shortlists. It’s an ideal spot for both beach holidays and city breaks, with direct flights from the UK to two of its cities – Tivat and Podgorica.
Touted as an ‘up and coming’ destination by Condé Nast Traveller, Montenegro caters to all sorts of holidaymakers, boasting wild beaches and hidden trails, as well as private beaches, beach clubs, and superyachts.
Plus, it’s a breathtakingly beautiful country, so you’ll have plenty of snaps to show off to your mates and social media followers.
The capital city, Podgorica, is just a direct flight away from London Gatwick, taking less than three hours.
Ideal for a city break, there’s loads to do in Podorica, from exploring the Ottoman-era neighbourhood of Stara Varoš, to taking a riverside stroll to Waterfall Niagara (not to be mixed up with the similarly named Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border).
Podgorica is the capital city of Montenegro(Image: Getty)
History enthusiasts can take pleasure in wandering through the city’s historic sites, including the stunning Saborni Hram Hristovog Vaskrsenja church, or the ancient Duklja Ruins, which hark back to the Roman era, and are just a few miles from the city centre, reports the Express.
For those seeking a tranquil beach holiday, Budva is the place to be. This stunning city boasts sandy expanses and pebbly coves, bustling tourist hotspots and secluded beaches favoured by locals.
Mogren Beach can be found in Budva(Image: Getty)
Slovenska Plaža, a popular beach near the old town, offers both public and private sections. For a more serene experience, the picturesque Mogren Beach or the somewhat secluded Ploce Beach are ideal choices.
Many of the city’s hotels and resorts also feature their own private beaches, meaning you won’t have to venture far for some sun-soaked relaxation if you’ve booked a stay in the city.
If a summer getaway isn’t your cup of tea, then consider a winter trip to the mountainous village of Kolašin for some thrilling skiing.
Visit Kolašin in the winter for some skiing(Image: Getty)
The Kolasin ski centre has received glowing reviews from visitors. One thrilled guest wrote: “It was amazing experience. We went there to snowboard, and it was awesome. Ski tracks were great! We will come again next year!”
Another visitor shared: “Will remember this place because my 5 and 7 y.o, kids learned to ski here. Great ski instructors Ksenija & Ivan – more than grateful for their patient approach and fun we had with them.”
A third reviewer enthused: ” What a great resort to go to. There was plenty of snow and many runs to go down. Exciting and some scary runs but didnt take long to get back into skiing after over 20 years of not doing it.”
And Paul has now revealed the two are already goading each other privately over social media – as all’s fair in love and war.
He said: “It was all nice, we’ve been cordial. He DMd me today like saying “LOL” to one of my training clips and then I sent him a “LOL” of of him getting knocked out.
“And so I guess like we’re kind of s*** talking, behind the scenes a bit. But I have a lot of love for Anthony Joshua.
“I think this type of stuff is funny and he’s a great guy and I think just a fight between us would be awesome and I do believe I can win.”
And Paul – who gorged on pasta, steaks and potatoes to bulk up – admitted the heavyweight jump was “brutal”.
Jake Paul reveals ‘hefty’ six-man hit-list of opponents for next fight including Anthony Joshua and world champ
The 28-year-old added: “It was just too much and my body wasn’t made for it and even when I got into the ring I just felt too fat.
“So cruiserweight is definitely the perfect weight for me.”
Paul will come down from 16st 2lb to the 200lb cruiserweight limit of 14st 4lb to face Chavez in California.
It followed after Canelo Alvarez, 34, pulled out of a shock deal to fight Paul in Las Vegas on May 3 – instead signing with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh.
Canelo – who beat Chavez on points in 2017 – regained his undisputed super-middleweight titles with victory over William Scull in May.
But he said: “Chavez and I have been going back and forth for a long time and he’s always been a great opponent on the list of someone that I wanted to fight.
“And now it made perfect sense to go up against him as a former world champion and just continuing to further my resume and get more time under the lights.”
Paul also revealed he is in talks to fight current cruiserweight champions Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, 33, and Badou Jack, 41.
And with Gervonta Davis, 30, also lined up for an exhibition bout – Paul says he is boxing’s most desired man.
He joked: I’m like like Megan Fox from Transformers movie like everyone wants me! So there’s not enough time to do it all and it could make sense. Look, it might.
“It might line up but at the end of the day, there’s 100 people that want to fight me. I got Canelo, Gervonta, Anthony Joshua, Badou, Zurdo, Tommy Fury, KSI, the list keeps on going.
“It’s just about what makes sense and we’ll see when the negotiations come but I would for sure entertain a fight with him.”
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Jake Paul faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr nextCredit: Reuters
ANGE POSTECOGLOU sent a heartwarming text message to Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma.
The Aussie boss wassacked on Friday – just 16 days after leading Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years as they beatManchester Unitedin theEuropa Leaguefinal.
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Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Tottenham on Friday
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Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma has revealed his private WhatsApp exchange with Postecoglou
Many of the Tottenham squad – including captainSon Heung-minandJames Maddison– were quick to post emotional messages of gratitude to Postecoglou.
And Bissouma has now revealed his own WhatsApp exchange with his former manager onSnapchat.
The conversation begins with Postecoglou writing: “Hi Biss. Sorry I missed your call. I am very proud of you.
“It was an honour to share a dressing room with you and appreciate how much you believed in what we were trying to achieve.
“I wish you only the best for the future. I will always be following. Much love from my family to yours.’
Bissouma replied just over an hour later with: “Thank you gaffer and thank you really much for everything on and off the pitch I’ll always be grateful.
“The way you believed me and trusted me was incredible. I’m gonna miss you but it’s football life.
“Got a lot to be said but I think you know what I’m thinking about you already so I’m just wishing you all the best for the future and may God protect you and your family. #bigboss love.”
The exchange ended with the 59-year-old responding: “Always by your side Biss 🙏.”
BBC star shares shock theory as to why Tottenham waited exactly 16 days after Europa League win to sack Ange Postecoglou
Bissouma was one of the best players on the pitch during Spurs’ Europa League final win 16 days before Postecoglou was axed, and has the former Celtic boss saved as ‘Big Ange’ in his phone.
Cruise lines have their own private islands for guests to enjoy – take a look at four seriously bucket list-worthy destinations you’ll want on your radar
06:00, 01 Jun 2025Updated 12:38, 01 Jun 2025
Some cruise lines have their own private islands (Image: David Roark, photographer)
The appeal of cruise holidays has traditionally focused on visiting a wide variety of places. But an increasing number of firms are choosing to drop anchor at exclusive destinations in idyllic locations.
Private island stops are becoming a highlight of itineraries, with big players investing heavily in castaway cays reserved for their guests. Holland America Line, part of the Carnival Group, recently revealed a revamp of their popular Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.
A new pier will allow more ships to dock at the destination – soon to be named RelaxAway island, hinting at the investment planned for more laid back leisure facilities.
Other lines have equally big ideas. Expanding beyond The Bahamas – where most island escapes have been based to date – Royal Caribbean is hoping to develop a new Perfect Day project in Mexico (due to open in 2027), while MSC has announced plans for an Abu Dhabi private island experience in the Middle East. And why not? – discovering a secret island is, after all, the stuff of childhood dreams.
Here are some of the fantasy islands where it’s already possible to set sail.
Great Stirrup Cay, The Bahamas
Great Stirrup Cay is a 268-acre oasis(Image: Alamy/PA)
In 1977, this was the first island to be bought by a company solely for their guests. Norwegian Cruise Line has built a resort with bars and restaurants over the years and there are still more developments to come in the 268-acre tropical oasis.
You can book guided snorkelling tours around a marine sanctuary, or rent equipment for parasailing, kayaking, paddleboarding and jet skiing. For families, there’s an aqua park with inflatable water obstacles.
Labadee, Haiti
Royal Caribbean has invested in a private patch of a peninsula on the northern coast of Cuba’s neighbour, Haiti. Set against plunging coastal cliffs, a choice of beaches ranges from the peaceful Columbus Cove to the livelier Adrenaline Beach.
For thrill-seekers, there’s a chance to jump on a roller coaster or try the world’s longest overwater zip line. Unlike many private locations, interactions with local communities are possible at an artisan market and a cultural programme highlighting Haitian history and traditions is in the works.
Despite its popularity, the edgy destination is marred by unrest. Recently, stops were temporarily suspended due to “an abundance of caution” although it’s hoped they will resume in the future.
Castaway Cay, The Bahamas
Disney’s Castaway Cay is a dream destination(Image: PR HANDOUT)
Around 30 miles north of NCL’s private paradise is Disney’s answer to a magical far-flung tropical kingdom. Although there are currently no Pirates of the Caribbean in this Atlantic cay, secluded coves were once used by the likes of Blackbeard in the 18th century.
During the US Prohibition, the island served as a smuggling base and in the 1970s its airstrips were used by drug runners. A £18.5million investment transformed it in the mid-1990s, including a channel allowing ships to dock. Expect themed environments and areas dedicated to different age groups, including the adults-only Serenity Bay.
Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
Carnival Corporation invested £63million to develop this site near Puerto Plata on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast. Princess Cruises and Holland America guests can visit, following in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus who landed here in 1492. Extending from a hillside, zip lines traverse the port complex and there’s a 25,000 square-foot pool area with a swim-up bar, water slides, and private cabanas. The island is part of the mainland, but the private area has a big advantage over island escapes when it comes to exploring and interacting with communities.
IT doesn’t get more exciting than sailing in style to a paradise Caribbean private island.
And even more cruise lines are now going all out to host passengers on their own islands.
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Splash out at Thrill Waterpark at Perfect DayCredit: Supplied
Royal Caribbean last week announced its second Perfect Day destination off Mexico, opening in 2027, which will include a waterpark with 30 slides, the longest lazy river in the world, adults-only beach clubs and a host of bars and restaurants.
Lisa Minot looks at existing private islands you can cruise to.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN
IT was Royal who upped the ante with the launch of its revamped Perfect Day at Coco Cay in 2019.
The £185million transformation of its Bahamas island included a new pier, thrill rides and chill zones.
There are seven beaches to laze beside the warm waters and six pools, including Oasis Lagoon, the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean with swim-up bar and in-water loungers.
The Thrill Waterpark has 14 slides including the tallest in North America while Splashaway Bay and Captain Jill’s Galleon are perfect places for the kids to play.
There’s complimentary food at four restaurants as well as a host of bars and shops.
The adult-only Hideaway Beach opened in January last year and, for an extra charge, over-18s can enjoy a private beach, two pools, seven bars and two restaurants.
Also available to book for an extra charge are overwater cabanas, a zipline and tethered hot air balloon as well as kayak tours and snorkelling excursions.
GO: A week full-board on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is from £1,064pp, sailing from Miami on November 8 and calling at St Maarten, St Thomas and Perfect Day at Coco Cay.
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WITH its signature stripey lighthouse and two miles of white sand beaches, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas is a regular port of call for MSC cruise ships.
They sail from their new private terminal in Miami as well as Port Canaveral in Florida and New York, including MSC World America, which made its debut in April.
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Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas is a regular port of call for MSC cruise shipsCredit: Supplied
The Italian cruise line has transformed a former sand excavation site in the last ten years, planting more than 75,000 trees and bringing back marine life and birds.
A newly-opened conservation centre on the island allows guests to discover their achievements and includes a land-based coral nursery and fully-equipped bio-lab.
But cruise guests will also appreciate the island’s laid-back vibe with food trucks and restaurants offering Bahamian specialities, barbecue classics, snacks and oodles of ice cream and beach bars serving tropical cocktails.
There’s a chance to explore the underwater wonders with snorkelling, kayak, paddle board and windsurfing excursions.
For a bit of luxury, you can relax in a cabana or take a sunset champagne cruise.
GO: Seven nights’ full-board on MSC World America is from £649pp.
Sailing from Miami on September 13, the cruise calls at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
ONE of the original private island pioneers, the Holland America line first started calling at RelaxAway at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas in 1997 and it has been expanding its presence there ever since.
In summer next year, a major upgrade will see a new beach club and lunch venue on its original facilities on the south of the island’s stunning two-mile crescent of powder-soft white sand as well as a new pier at the north end of the beach that will be used by both Holland America and its sister cruise line Carnival.
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The Holland America line first started calling at RelaxAway at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas in 1997Credit: Supplied
Thrill-seekers can enjoy horseback riding along the shore, snorkelling, jet skiing, and stingray encounters.
Families will love the Half Moon Lagoon Aqua Park, while nature enthusiasts can explore eco-tours and birdwatching.
Unique experiences include glass-bottom boat tours and a pirate ship-themed bar.
With beach sports, shopping and complimentary barbecue lunches, this is a high-end island escape for cruisers.
GO: A 14-night full-board Western & Eastern Caribbean cruise on Holland America’s Zuiderdam is from £1,379pp, departs Miami on November 8 and calls at Half Moon Cay, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Mexico, Miami, Bahamas, Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos.
MICKEY Mouse and pals now have two private islands to enjoy in the Bahamas.
Their original, Castaway Cay, opened in 1998 as part of the launch of the new cruise line.
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Mickey Mouse and pals now have two private islands to enjoy in the BahamasCredit: Disney Parks
And last year, they opened Lookout Cay.
As you would expect, there is a huge amount of fun activities for kids including kids’ clubs for three to 17-year-olds.
The family beach features plenty of umbrellas, chairs and hammocks plus tube and float rentals and an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet.
Water babies will love Pelican Plunge, a huge floating platform featuring water slides and cannons.
Spring-a-Leak is a water play area with freshwater jets.
Adults get their own Serenity Bay stretch of pristine sands as well as a restaurant and bar.
The island features a 12-acre snorkel trail dotted with sunken treasures including the submarine from the classic Disney attraction 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and there are miles of paths to explore on foot or bicycle.
Over at Lookout Cay, there’s more of a focus on nature and celebrating the island’s Bahamian location with a cultural centre where you can learn about traditions and crafts.
GO: A four-night full-board cruise on Disney Wish to the Bahamas, including calls at both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay is from £920pp, based on two adults and two children sharing.
MOLLY-MAE Hague is celebrating turning 26 in serious style – by jetting off to Disneyland Paris in a private plane.
The former Love Island star is pulling out all the stops for her big day, whisking herself away for a magical trip full of fairy-tale fun and first-class luxury.
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Molly-Mae Hague in a sweet moment with daughter Bambi as she jetted off to DisneylandCredit: mollymae/Instagram
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The star shared snaps of her Birthday celebrations with her loved onesCredit: mollymae/Instagram
Molly-Mae gave fans a glimpse into the lavish getaway – complete with champagne on board and a Mickey Mouse cake.
Wearing Minnie Mouse ears and a designer outfit, the star looked every inch the birthday princess as she soaked up the magic of Disney in VIP style.
The influencer shared snaps of the her and her daughter Bambi posing in the park, calling the trip “the most perfect birthday eve.”
In a YouTube video, Molly-Mae described the ordeal as a “weird bad dream” and how it was completely out of character for her to speak about it so candidly.
She also told how it came just hours after she’d been pictured rowing with fiancé Tommy, 26.
The former PrettyLittleThing creative director explained that after arriving back in the UK, she had very little movement for two days – first due to the long-haul flight, then sitting through a seven-hour hair appointment.
Along with dehydration and stress from travelling with her daughter Bambi, two, this led to severe pain in her left leg.
Molly-Mae said at the time: “Basically yesterday I thought I had a blood clot and half of today I thought I had a blood clot in my leg.
“Obviously flying home from Dubai I was on the plane for like nearly eight hours… I didn’t drink like hardly any water. You know when you’re in mum mode and you’re just not really thinking like you’re trying to tame your child.”
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She began to panic after feeling excruciating pain in the back of her knee that moved into her calf and foot.
After turning to ChatGPT to query the symptoms only made her more anxious, she then phoned 111.
From there, Molly-Mae was then told by a doctor to go straight to A&E.
She continued: “I was in so much pain, like it was in the back of my knee, so so strong. Like it didn’t feel like a dead leg, it was like a sharp stabbing pain…
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“Then it’s moving down into my calf, into my ankle, into my foot, like my whole calf is just in so much pain.”
The reality star described the hospital as “absolutely packed” and “such a sad environment”, saying she waited four hours before being told it would be another hour for a blood test – and then three more hours to get results.
Despite being advised by staff to stay, Molly decided to leave, worried about getting home in time to look after Bambi.
She said: “I need to leave. Like I can’t stay here any longer… We had like nothing with us this morning.”
Molly-Mae admitted upon waking up the the next day, the pain had mostly subsided, and she tried to carry on as normal – until she was hit with a wave of dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath later that afternoon.
She described: “I had this awful awful like dizzy spell where the room was spinning. I thought I was going to vomit… I had this really really funny time where I was like I couldn’t breathe properly… almost like a bit of a panic attack but like it was just horrible.”
The star went back to hospital and underwent a full round of tests, where, thankfully, everything came back clear.
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Molly-Mae posted a sweet video of her and Bambi on a rideCredit: Instagram
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The reality star shared snaps of the crepes on InstagramCredit: mollymae/Instagram
Wearing Minnie Mouse ears and a designer outfit, the star looked every inch the birthday princess as she soaked up the magic of Disney in VIP styleCredit: mollymae/Instagram
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She called it the “the most perfect birthday eve”Credit: mollymae/Instagram
May 13 (UPI) — South Korean prosecutors raided the country’s two rating agencies Monday to investigate suspicions surrounding the bond issuance of Home Plus, the troubled discount chain.
Home Plus is accused of selling a large volume of short-term bonds just before its credit ratings dropped on Feb. 28. The prosecution is checking whether Home Plus had prior knowledge of the credit downgrade.
If so, Home Plus, which filed for corporate rehabilitation on March 4, could face legal consequences, along with its owner MBK Partners, one of Asia’s largest private equity funds.
Since the financial obligations of Home Plus were frozen as of March 4, issuing bonds while planning the court-led rehabilitation filing could constitute fraud against investors, according to observers.
Home Plus has denied the allegations as its CEO Joh Ju-yeon stated during a parliamentary hearing in March.
“We only held an emergency meeting with executives (about the rehabilitation filing) after the credit rating cut,” he said.
However, Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Bok-hyun rejected this. The organization is the country’s financial regulator.
“We have secured concrete evidence that MBK Partners and Home Plus were aware of the downgrade in advance, and they had been planning to file for rehabilitation for quite some time,” he told a press conference late last month. “The case has been formally referred to prosecutors.”
Days after Lee’s statement, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office carried out a search and seizure at the head office of Home Plus in western Seoul.
Adding to MBK’s troubles, the National Tax Service (NTS) started a tax audit of the corporation in early March. MBK claims that it’s a routine audit conducted every five years. But a non-regular inspection unit is reportedly in charge of the case.
In late March, the Fair Trade Commission reportedly launched an investigation into MBK, Home Plus and Lotte Card over alleged unfair internal transactions.
Lotte Card is suspected of providing preferential corporate card terms and credit limits to Home Plus. MBK is also the largest shareholder of the credit card company.
Asia’s top-tier private equity fund
Founded in 2005 by Chairman Michael Byungju Kim, who worked at Goldman Sachs and the Carlyle Group, MBK Partners quickly became a powerhouse in Northeast Asia.
The company has dealt with many landmark transactions such as Universal Studios Japan in 2009, ING’s South Korean unit in 2013 and Godiva Chocolatier’s Asia-Pacific operations in 2019.
MBK has succeeded with control-oriented buyouts in stable and defensive sectors. It currently manages up to $30 billion in assets to rank among the top players in Asia.
As the firm grew, so did Chairman Kim’s personal fortune. In the 2025 Forbes billionaire list, he was top among South Koreans with $9.5 billion in wealth, surpassing Samsung tycoon Lee Jae-yong with $8.2 billion.
Riding the momentum, MBK made a big bet on Home Plus in 2015 by spending around $5.1 billion to purchase the supermarket chain from Tesco.
MBK financed the deal with $1.6 billion in equity and the remaining $3.5 billion in loans, which marked the largest leveraged buyout in Asia. At the time, Home Plus was South Korea’s No. 2 discount chain with around 140 hypermarkets and 700 smaller stores nationwide.
However, rising online competition and the Corona virus pandemic dealt a blow to the business. Home Plus posted four consecutive years of losses since 2021, with its debt ratio nearing 500% this January.
Critics argue that MBK Partners relied excessively on debt and focused on short-term returns over long-term value.
“MBK has been under fire for lacking management expertise,” Lee Phil-sang, an adviser at Aju Research Institute of Corporate Management, told UPI.
“Private equity funds in other countries also follow similar practices. We cannot legally ban them. However, they should be more cautious because their large-scale failures like this can hurt the broader economy,” said Lee, who previously worked as an economics professor at Seoul National University.
The Home Plus crisis is expected to negatively affect MBK’s multi-billion-dollar attempt to snap up Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelter. MBK is pursuing the takeover in partnership with Korea Zinc’s top shareholder Young Poong.
“While MBK has suffered from setbacks in other merger and acquisition deals, none were as large as Home Plus,” Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun said in a phone interview.
“This crisis is highly likely to damage MBK’s reputation and hinder its bid for Korea Zinc,” he projected.
