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Switzerland formally reopens diplomatic office in North Korea after its closure in 2020.

Switzerland has formally reopened its diplomatic office in North Korea as Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis held talks in Pyongyang about normalising political relations between the two countries.

On Friday Cassis wrapped up a two-day visit to North Korea – the first by a Swiss government minister in more than two decades – in which he discussed “regularising political relations and reestablishing a political dialogue”, he wrote on X.

Cassis, who is also Switzerland’s vice president, met Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Jo Yong Won, a secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party.

“We also exchanged views on security on the Korean Peninsula and broader Eurasian security challenges,” he added on X.

After the formal reopening of the Swiss diplomatic office on Thursday, Cassis posted that he was “pleased” to mark a “new chapter” in his country’s presence in Pyongyang, hailing the office as a “concrete step towards strengthening direct dialogue” with North Korea.

The office, operational since October 19, will not have an ambassador. It reports to the Swiss embassy in Beijing, which handles diplomatic and consular relations with North Korea. The office had closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This office will help to strengthen direct contacts with the authorities of the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and support political dialogue with them,” the Swiss Foreign Ministry said.

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed Cassis’s arrival in the country on Thursday but gave no details on the purpose of the visit. It had not been known beforehand whether he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and there has been no report of a meeting.

Bern said it intended to maintain its commitment to the region amid heightened tensions and limited international contact with North Korea, having been one of the few Western countries to keep up a dialogue with Pyongyang.

The last Swiss Federal Council member to visit was then-Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, in 2003.

Cassis crossed into South Korea on Friday for the final leg of his regional trip.

According to the Swiss foreign ministry, his talks in Seoul will focus on security on the peninsula, prospects for easing regional tensions and bilateral ties.

Switzerland’s involvement on the Korean Peninsula dates back more than 70 years, including its role on the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.

Also in South Korea, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invoked his country’s reunification during a visit to the inter-Korean border. “Let us hope that Korea, too, will one day have the chance to regain its national unity,” he said.

Strikes hit a major bridge in the Ukrainian capital as leaders push for ‘direct discussions’ to end the war.

Russia has attacked transport infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital, targeting a major bridge, as the leaders of Finland and Norway held a rare call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a separate one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Officials in Kyiv said the South Bridge was hit in overnight attacks on the city ⁠⁠that included 16 ballistic missiles and more ⁠⁠than 280 drones. Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck again while emergency crews were still dealing with the aftermath of the initial strikes.

“This is a serious escalation in Russia’s campaign targeting our logistics,” he said.

Russian attacks also caused deaths and injuries in the cities of Kharkiv and Pavlohrad.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had targeted transport infrastructure in Kyiv and a logistics hub in the Kharkiv region, along with industrial sites and cargo vessels it said were serving military purposes.

Officials in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said a drone strike on a bus killed one person and injured 30 others.

One person was also killed and six others were wounded in a drone attack on the Russian city of Bryansk, near the Ukrainian border.

The attacks come as the warring sides prepare for talks. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow said they had agreed to hold United States-mediated technical meetings in Abu Dhabi in early November.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store called Putin from Helsinki on Tuesday to convey messages on future negotiations ahead of the Abu Dhabi meetings, according to a statement from both governments.

Zelenskyy, who spoke to the pair afterwards, said on X that they had told Putin real steps were needed to de-escalate attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities and infrastructure. He said they also discussed preparations for the November talks.

“There must be peace, de-escalation is needed, and Russia must stop dragging out the war,” he said.

In the Finnish-Norwegian statement, Stubb said the war’s outcome would directly affect the security of Finland and Norway, both of which border Russia, and of Europe more widely.

“Ending the war requires direct discussions,” he said.

Store said the two leaders had stressed the importance of de-escalation during the call.

Both leaders said they spoke for their own countries, not Europe, and that Finnish and Norwegian support for Ukraine would continue.

Most Western European leaders have avoided direct contact with Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The calls come amid a renewed US push to end the war. The two governments described Tuesday’s call, held in consultation with Ukraine, as a follow-up to talks in Oslo on October 20 with Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff met Putin in St Petersburg the next day, after which the Kremlin said it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Kyiv that stalled in February.

US President Donald Trump has also credited his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, with securing a localised ceasefire in the southern Kherson region, which took effect on Tuesday to allow aid into the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky.

Louis Walsh has revealed that before he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, his doctors were unable to identify the disease in his body

Louis Walsh has revealed that doctors initially ‘couldn’t find anything’ before he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. The TV star and music manager was diagnosed with Waldenström macroglobulinemia in 2024.

The former X Factor star. 74, publicly shared his diagnosis during an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, telling Love Island star Ekin-Su and Levi Roots that during lockdown, he was “sick” and nobody knew he had been secretly battling cancer. He later underwent treatment in Dublin.

Waldenström macroglobulinemia is a rare, slow-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that affects white blood cells in the bone marrow and lymphatic tissues. During an appearance on The Big Interview, Louis shared that medics initially couldn’t find the disease in his body.

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“I had a cancer called Waldenström,” he said. Louis went on to add: “And I didn’t know I had it. And at the end of the X Factor series, I was just feeling very weak, and I went to the doctors.

“They couldn’t find anything. And then, one of the doctors called me back, and he said, ‘I think it’s this rare one’ — it would be rare for me — ‘called Waldenström.’ But I’m told, if you’re going to get a cancer, this is the one to get!”

When asked if he underwent any treatment, he disclosed: “I had chemo for a week. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t bad at all – but I couldn’t sleep at night time, so the nurses gave me loads of tea. They were so nice, and I was smiling.”

Louis was later asked whether he was in remission and “100 per cent clear of cancer,” to which he responded: “I think so, oh totally, yeah.” Reflecting on his private health battle, he said in the Big Brother house: “I didn’t even know I had it until I went to the hospital. They checked me, and then they found it.”

He said that his diagnosis affected him mentally, saying: “It’s just up here; even when I go past a hospital, I almost get sick. It’s all gone, I’m fine. It was just the shock of being sick, and that word – nobody wants that word.

“I have it blocked out, a reality check. You see so many people sick, and it’s terrible. In my world, it was all about pop music and all that. I didn’t think of anybody getting sick or anything like that. And that was like, wow, reality check – you’re in the real world.”

During his time on the show, Louis was often seen sleeping. A source said at the time: “Louis is in remission currently but you can see how frail he is and that he has lost a lot of weight. It’s also the reason why he’s sleeping so much; it all took a lot out of him.

“The whole experience was the main driver behind signing up for the show. He’d been really ill and just wanted to enjoy life again and thought, ‘What the hell!'”

The Big Interview: Louis Walsh airs Tuesday, October 27, at 9pm on Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media One.

NORTH West trolled her mom, Kim Kardashian, in a hilarious post of the reality star sleeping on her birthday.

The 13-year-old gave her famous mom a shoutout for her 46th birthday, but it most likely wasn’t what Kim expected.

In the post, shared to North’s Instagram Stories on Wednesday, the teenager captured a selfie of the mother-daughter pair in what looked like a conference room.

North smiled widely alongside Kim, who had fallen asleep in her chair.

The up-close shot showed Kim with her head tilted back as she slept in full glam.

“Happy birthday @kimkardashian ily,” North wrote above the unflattering photo of the Skims founder.

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The post comes just hours after Kim shared numerous photos of her dramatic Halloween makeover, in which she transformed herself to look like her eldest daughter.

Kim looked identical to her first-born child, whom she shares with her ex, Kanye West, matching North’s style from head to toe.

The model was a carbon copy of North, wearing a vibrant blue wig, heavy eye makeup, long black nails, and multiple face and hand piercings.

She even copied the youngster’s signature gothic style of all-black attire and a massive skull necklace.

Fans have repeatedly raised concerns over North’s mature style, especially with her numerous body piercings.

Recently, North debuted her neck, cheek, and thigh piercings, which sparked an uproar on social media, with critics saying she is too young to have them.

However, North and Kim clarified on a livestream earlier this month that the teen’s body piercings were, in fact, fake.

Kim also assured that she’s fine with North expressing herself with piercings, as long as they are fake.

When North teased that she’s considering getting a real bridge piercing one day, Kim made it clear she isn’t on board.

“We can glue on for now,” the actress compromised.

Kim and Kanye are also parents of a daughter, Chicago, 8, and sons Saint, 10, and Psalm, 7.

While they split their time between both parents, who divorced in 2022 after nearly seven years of marriage, Kim has a team of nannies to help when she needs them.

According to her profile in The Times, published earlier this month, Kim employs five nannies, with one on duty at a time while the others rotate.

The magazine also notes that Kim describes herself as an “intermediate-strict parent,” as she does school drop-offs and pick-ups each day, and has dinner with them, despite a nanny always being nearby.

“I’m extremely patient and loving. I still have a kid sleep in my bed when they want. I read books with the kids every night,” she added.

A FedEx truck parked near the sprawling grading center of Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) in Santa Ana was robbed a week ago of trading cards worth nearly $1 million, the Santa Ana Police Department said.

PSA reported to police that two stolen pallets of about 100 packages of cards apiece had an approximate value of $963,000. About 50 packages from a third pallet were also stolen, and their value was still being calculated as of Tuesday morning.

The cards had been sent from all over the country to PSA to be graded, a necessary step for collectors in authenticating their wares. Items included primarily sports cards and Pokémon cards, as well as one-of-one pieces. The cards had been graded and were set to be returned to their owners when they were stolen.

The FedEx driver left the vehicle, which was parked near PSA’s shipping and receiving address at 1610 E. St. Andrew Place, for an hour to 90 minutes, police said. The truck lock was busted and packages stolen while he was away.

“It remains an open case,” Santa Ana police spokesperson Natalie Garcia told NBC News, “and we have not made any arrests or recovered any stolen goods.”

PSA said it was taking measures to prevent the stolen cards from circulating through the usual venues and marketplaces while also reimbursing card owners for at least a portion of their losses. Trading cards and other collectibles are verified and assigned condition grades by PSA, which establishes their value and protects them by assigning serial numbers and certification information. PSA said it has deactivated the certificates tied to the stolen items.

“We have deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items,” PSA said in a statement. “Our customer service team has contacted affected customers directly and is arranging compensation based on fair market value.”

PSA sent a letter to affected cards owners, detailing the steps taken to make the owners whole.

“After leaving our PSA facility in Southern California, a FedEx vehicle transporting PSA orders was burglarized, and items were stolen,” the letter read, continuing with a list of items titled “What we are doing.”

Among the items are deactivating the serial numbers on the affected items, notifying commerce partners across digital, auction and other selling platforms so they can look out for stolen items; aiding FedEx and law enforcement in their investigations; and studying what happened so a repeat can be avoided.

Nick Andrews, whose social media persona is the Boston Card Hunter, is keeping track of items reported stolen, a number that had exceeded 1,000 by Tuesday morning. He wrote on X that one victim had cards worth $500,000 stolen.

Card trader Sky-B said on a video that 104 of the cards he collected over the past two years are missing. They had been certified at PSA and were being returned to him in Michigan when he learned about the theft. He said he spent $8,000 on grading, and the cards carried insurance of up to $156,000, less than their market value.

“There were cards in that order that you can’t replace,” Sky-B said.

Longtime sports business reporter Darren Rovell, an avid trading card and memorabilia collector since childhood, said on social media that expensive collectibles are at risk any time they are shipped. Not only can shipping labels and declared insurance values reveal their potential contents, “the simple name PSA or Collectors in the address box is the threat,” Rovell wrote.

MARTIN Freeman looked happier than ever as he made a rare red carpet appearance alongside his girlfriend Rachel Benaissa.

The Sherlock actor, 55, was joined by the French actress, 31, at the premiere of his new film A Long Winter during the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday evening.

The couple, who have been dating since 2020, shared a giggle as they posed together for photographers at the glamorous event.

Martin looked dapper in a dark suit with a patterned shirt and white T-shirt underneath, while Rachel opted for a blue striped shirt tucked into high-waisted black trousers and chunky heels.

The pair stood close together on the red carpet, with Rachel showing off her voluminous curly hair as they smiled for the cameras.

Martin stars alongside Outlander actress Caitríona Balfe and Fred Hechinger in A Long Winter, which follows a family preparing for the harsh winter months in the American mountains.

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The actor previously spent 16 years with his former partner Amanda Abbington, with whom he shares two children, Grace, 21, and Joe, 18, before their split in 2016.

Rachel, who has appeared in Normal People, This Way Up and Netflix film Irish Wish, has since become a familiar presence in Martin’s family life.

The actress previously appeared in a TikTok video shared by his daughter Grace, dancing alongside the family to a song from Martin’s festive film Nativity.

Martin has also offered a rare insight into their relationship, revealing on Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners podcast that the couple enjoy cooking together.

Speaking about Rachel’s love of food, he said: “She’s not a Cordon Bleu… she’s a massive cheese and wine w****,” before adding: “That’s what she would say about herself.”

He continued: “She says that about herself, ‘I’m a cheese and wine w****’. It’s not all she is, but no, she loves all that stuff. We like cooking.”