FANS of Michael Jackson will be looking at the competition and hoping to beat it when his latest memorabilia goes under the hammer.
The late King of Pop’s original Thriller jacket and Motown 25 glove are being put up for Auction in Abu Dhabi.
On December 7, the iconic garments will headline Julien’s Auctions’ Fashion Legacy Evening Sale.
Created by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, the red leather jacket was one of two created for Michael’s 1983 video – with the other shredded for the zombie scenes and now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Estimates for the jacket up for auction are only available upon request by interested bidders. It last sold in 2011 for almost £1.4million.
Michael wore the white rhinestone glove, tipped to fetch £700,000, the same year at the taping of Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.
READ MORE ON MICHAEL JACKSON
In 2022, a massive collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia was being auctioned with an estimated value of £2.5million.
The 32,000 items linked with the King of Pop were being sold as a single lot in a private online auction on behalf of an anonymous owner.
The collection was originally intended for a museum in Los Angeles, but plans fell through and it was auctioned through House of Consultants.
The owner said: “This is a rare opportunity to buy cultural heritage from the most influential artist of the century.”
FactoryTh/iStock via Getty Images
Workers at Antofagasta’s (ANFGF) Centinela copper and gold mine in Chile are poised to begin a strike Wednesday after government-mediated negotiations failed to produce an agreement.
The Minera Esperanza and Distrito Centinela unions said the key sticking point is a discrepancy
On the set of CBS’ legacy soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” at the Sunset Las Palmas Studios in Hollywood, two actors were caught in a fiery exchange.
“Do you want to know where Jack was last night?” actor Skyla Lynne asked with a sly grin. “He was with me.”
From behind a monitor displaying a vertically oriented feed, the director interjected: “Could you pause a bit more in between those lines? We might want to do an episode break there.”
The scene wasn’t for an episode of the famous soap opera. It was part of the 40-episode second season of “Hollywood Starlet,” a new microdrama series from “The Bold and the Beautiful” head writer Bradley Bell and his son Oliver.
“I’ve been doing soap operas my whole life, and it felt like there’s been a buzz about microdramas, and it really felt like a natural extension to the stories that we do,” Bradley Bell said. “[On soap operas] we build two cliffhangers usually on Fridays to keep the viewers over the weekend. Here, you do it every couple of minutes. It’s like speeding up the dance routine, but it’s really right in our lane of soap operas.”
Microdramas are the scrollable, cliffhanger-heavy stories built for phone screens. They are giving audiences a new way into the kind of stories that once belonged to traditional soap operas and telenovelas. The so-called vertical format originated in China a few years ago and has drawn a growing global audience thanks to its short, addictive nature. Hollywood names, including Issa Rae and Kevin Hart, are joining in.
Now, Bell is moving into the space. The 16-time Emmy winner and his son Oliver recently launched a production company called Red Flair Entertainment to capitalize on the format.
“Hollywood Starlet,” their first production, premiered Sept. 3 on aTwist, a new vertical series app founded by industry veterans Jana Winograde, former president of Showtime; Susan Rovner, former president of Warner Bros. Television; and Lloyd Braun, former chairman of WME.
Oliver Bell, founder of Red Flair Entertainment, is producing the micro series, “Hollywood Starlet,” being filmed at Sunset Las Palmas Studios in Los Angeles.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Bradley Bell says it was Oliver who hatched the idea.
“I saw this unique format and was fascinated by it,” Oliver Bell said. “I noticed some areas that we could quite easily improve on.”
Microdramas first came across Oliver’s social media feed around a year and a half ago when he was still in college. The 24-year-old said he quickly “fell down a rabbit hole” and became so obsessed with the format that he wrote his dissertation at the University of St Andrews in Scotland on soap operas and microdramas.
After he graduated in December, he and his father founded Red Flair Entertainment and started to develop “Hollywood Starlet,” with Oliver serving as an executive producer and his father as a producer.
The series — which costs about $175,000 to $220,000 a season to produce — is being financed by aTwist. Red Flair has a backend deal, allowing it to share in subscription revenue the show generates for the platform.
After filming two seasons of “Hollywood Starlet,” Red Flair plans several more vertical series across many different genres, like horror and romance, the Bells said.
Oliver grew up visiting sets and eavesdropping on writing meetings from under his father’s desk. The family’s storytelling line runs back to his grandparents, William Bell and Lee Phillip Bell, who created “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Oliver says he’s carrying on that legacy in a very Gen Z way.
“In a way, microdramas are just the natural evolution of the soap opera,” Oliver Bell said. “You could kind of trace the legacy through that and the modernization of serialized TV.”
His father, who was working on episode 9,911 of “The Bold and the Beautiful” while speaking with The Times, said the short-form stories can reach younger viewers who might be daunted by the soap’s decades of history.
“It’s like cracking open a book, and it’s hard for people to get into it to learn the history,” he said. “So having smaller, bite-sized pieces is appealing to us.”
“The Bold and the Beautiful” has aired continuously for 39 years, but it’s now one of American TV’s last soap operas. Until the 1980s, 10 to 12 soaps typically aired at once, said Elana Levine, a media professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who studies the genre. Today, five remain: four on broadcast TV and one, “Days of Our Lives,” is on streaming only.
“It makes sense to take this storytelling form that has been super popular and enduring in the U.S. and find a way to translate that into the mobile devices that we carry around us all of the time,” Levine said.
While soap operas historically targeted a mostly female audience, microdramas reach a much broader audience, said Michael Berry, director of UCLA’s Center for Chinese Studies, who has studied the rise of vertical series.
“It gives us essentially the main beats that we would get from a soap opera format, but it’s happening in a much more compact and addictive way,” he added.
Cameramen prepare for a scene on the set of the micro series, “Hollywood Starlet,” being filmed at Sunset Las Palmas Studios in Los Angeles.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Lou Trabbie, the soap’s production designer, had never heard of a microdrama before working on “Hollywood Starlet.”
“It’s all going in a different direction. You just adapt and move forward, and that’s what we see here,” Trabbie, who’s worked in the industry for 38 years, explained. “It’s really great to see how these are done with smaller crews. I feel like this is where the business is going.”
“Hollywood Starlet” shoots on the same Sunset Las Palmas soundstage as “The Bold and the Beautiful,” filming during the soap’s monthly dark week.
The first season, 45 short episodes, was shot in six days at the start of summer with a non-union cast and crew of 45. Less than a week after its release, much of the same crew was back to start working on season two.
Oliver Bell said the series used non-union crew due to “budgetary restrictions.”
At a time when major film and TV shoots are leaving the state, microdramas are one of the few areas of production that are growing locally.
Excluding China, vertical video is expected to generate $150 billion globally in revenue this year, according to consulting firm Owl & Co. Most of that comes from TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
Sunset Las Palmas Studios, where “La La Land” and the first two seasons of “I Love Lucy” were filmed, dedicated an entire sound stage in June to standing sets for vertical series. The sets include a courtroom, a bar/restaurant, an apartment, an office and a hospital.
Paxton Fuller, left, executive producer of “Hollywood Starlet,” walks with Sean Griffin, Vice President of Sales and Business Development, for Las Palmas Studios, through a courtroom set on the stage meant specifically for microdramas.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Still, the Bells don’t think microdramas will replace soap operas. The two formats, they argue, can “coexist.”
“Coming into someone’s living room or bedroom, soap operas were almost like an extension of their family that they can count on for years and decades with the same actors. The same families that have watched since day one,” Bradley Bell said. “It’s a different type of viewer for microdramas.”
Oliver Bell added: “We’re trying to grab the scroller’s attention, not necessarily ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ viewer … Microdramas are unavoidable through social media. [It’s] conditioning our brains and how we process media.”
LAS VEGAS, NV. — Metallica had a tender moment at Sphere on Thursday, just after a wretched sea monster mangled the Las Vegas skyline.
On the opening night of its “Life Burns Faster” stand, Metallica had a 16k-resolution arsenal to match the bombast of its music. While the quartet — the first metal band to perform at Sphere — tore through the instrumental deep cut “The Call of Ktulu,” that drippy leviathan swatted at life-sized fighter jets on the screen.
When the leathery beast slunk off, singer James Hetfield dedicated the track to the band’s founding bassist, who died in a tour bus crash in 1986. “In honor of our fallen brother, Mr. Clifford Lee Burton,” Hetfield said, to a bellowing crowd. “We love you, and we miss you, brother.”
Metallica, the biggest band in metal, thrives in that tension between the genre’s outrageous grandeur, grimy nihilism and outlaw camaraderie. At “Life Burns Faster,” a series of two-night engagements that stretches into March next year, they stayed fleshy and ferocious as a band beneath the digital carnage.
Metal, even when siloed off from broader music culture, has always been a commercial powerhouse. Metallica remains its flagship live act. In 2023 alone, they closed out the all-star Power Trip festival at the Empire Polo Grounds, and still played two in-the-round nights at SoFi Stadium.
They’ve been enormous for generations, and made no bones about their ambitions. The band’s ongoing “M72” tour is hovering around the 10 highest grossing tours ever. So it was only a matter of time before the band – Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich – got curious about the rare venue that could go toe-to-toe with them for sheer firepower. (Onstage and at the box office – Metallica knows counterculture can be both sincere and extremely lucrative).
“We’re grateful you’ve taken the time, energy and the cash” to attend opening weekend, Hetfield said onstage on Saturday. Nice of him to acknowledge the table stakes.
By day, there was much charm in seeing nearly 20,000 metal fans swarming the Vegas strip in Metallica gear, flying in with buddies, spouses, kids and grandkids no matter the four-figure tickets and obligatory crates of merch. (The old adage that metal fans are nice people pretending to be mean held up). On Sphere’s escalators, grey-bearded lifers hugged in shredded battle jackets; tween girls in “Master of Puppets” hoodies drummed along to every fill; accents came from eastern Europe, Latin America and all the world over. My cab driver effusively recounted sneaking in to see Metallica at Ruthie’s Inn in Berkeley in 1983.
Classic rock and jam bands like the Eagles and Dead & Co. largely use Sphere’s A/V capabilities as a psychedelic background to stately tunes. Metallica is larger-than-life as is — they need little more than a Hetfield snarl or Hammett solo to feel tectonic. On Thursday and Saturday nights, they were nasty and resonant as a live band, even beneath 160,000 square feet of LED mayhem.
Metallica has one of the deepest catalogs and intensely-attached fandoms in rock. Sequencing the first Sphere shows would be a global statement, and the band played stellar ones on Thursday and Saturday. From the howitzer of opener “Battery” through the white-knuckle turns of “Creeping Death,” they knew they were still playing to the faithful, albeit in a whole new sort of arena.
As with all Sphere acts, that visual wattage can absolutely grip you, or it can feel using a flamethrower to grill. (I texted some “Ktulu” footage to a serious metalhead friend, who replied “Lol,” then “Sick,” which seemed apt).
Some backdrops were creepy set dressing, while others had tactile brutality — Sphere often had the rumble-seat effect blaring. Metallica locked into the martial imagery around “The Shortest Straw,” “Sad But True” and the MTV-era hit “The Memory Remains.” “Wherever I May Roam” used gulp-inducing hairpin turns, and fans flinched when the statue from “…And Justice For All” collapsed in pieces (an apropos image, these days!)
While the band surely didn’t intend this coincidence, for anyone watching the Christa Pike saga, it was surreal to hear Hetfield scream ”Death in the air, strapped in the electric chair / This can’t be happening to me” on “Ride The Lighting” inside a gigantic execution chamber.
The set snaked through freewheeling Hammett and Trujillo jams, the recent single “Lux Æterna” and the ballad “Nothing Else Matters” (Metallica writes aching melodies and forlon guitar lines, too). They closed Thursday with “Seek & Destroy,” a roiling cut from their 1983 debut “Kill ‘Em All,” and “Master of Puppets,” given new life as a major plot point in the horror-thriller series “Stranger Things.”
On Saturday, the band reprised its recent two-nights/no-repeats gambit with a completely different setlist. Equally rangy, if perhaps more ruminative.
Peeling out of the gate with “Blackened,” framed as massive silhouettes on a white field, they roared through “Fuel” and lurched into “Leper Messiah” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium),” each great, grinding cuts from “Puppets.” “Devil’s Dance” and the reicide-themed visuals of “King Nothing” framed their controversial “Load”/”Reload” period as a core transition. Newer cuts “72 Seasons” and “Hardwired” channeled the old viciousness.
They played a lovely “The Unforgiven” and dedicated an exploratory take on “Orion” to Cliff Burton again, followed by Thin Lizzy’s “Whiskey In The Jar,” a major influence on their riffing. But the set came into its full power with a duel of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “One,” framed around WWI-era bombing footage and parades of mangled skeleton soldiers. Metallica’s always been more existential than topical, but haven’t we all scrolled our feeds recently and muttered – “Darkness imprisoning me / All that I see, absolute horror.”
They closed on “Enter Sandman,” the only real choice for their inaugural Vegas weekend. Two perfectly-tuned sets, retrofitted for this decadent monolith.
Is it a little weird that metal is now welcome as an elite Las Vegas entertainment commodity? Perhaps. But the genre’s been a cunning spectacle since Ozzy’s first crucifix (or Venom getting in league with Satan). Metallica’s generations of disaffected dirtbags — this writer among them — were primed for this gig. Metal’s always been escapist, even at its grittiest. Now it’s a five-star vacation destination too.
Reigning world champion Wu Yize won six consecutive frames to beat Judd Trump 6-1 in the Shenzhen Open semi-finals.
Yize, who will leapfrog Trump in the rankings and move second in the world after the final, bounced back in dramatic fashion after losing the opening frame to set up an all-Chinese final against Yuan Sijun at the Bao’an Sports Centre on Sunday.
Yuan, 26, endured a much more difficult route to his maiden ranking final, battling through 6-5 against Englishman Jimmy Robertson.
World number two Trump, who won the Shanghai Masters in August, had gone into the Shenzhen semi-final in fine form after beating Mark Selby 5-0 in the last eight.
But after clinching the opening frame with a break of 77, the 2019 world champion handed the initiative to his opponent with a string of errors.
Wu, 22, capitalised to avenge a defeat by Trump at the last-four stage in Shanghai earlier this year, making three breaks of 50 or more in a scrappy encounter before clinching victory with a break of 110.
“When I was preparing for the evening match, I saw that Yuan had shed some tears,” Wu told World Snooker Tour.
“I believe it is his first ranking final. Hopefully, we can put on a great match for everyone. Of course, I hope I can take the trophy home, but we will both give it everything we have.”
An emotional Yuan found it much more difficult to get over the winning line, with the lead continually changing hands throughout the best-of-11 encounter before his opponent forced a deciding frame that took 50 minutes to complete and saw a total of 177 points scored.
Robertson put Yuan in a difficult snooker on the final red and clawed back 41 penalty points before himself being put in a snooker, with Yuan finally clearing to the pink to earn his place in the final of the inaugural event.
“I feel that my first ranking final has come a little bit late,” said Yuan, who started the tournament as the world number 33 but will move to the cusp of the top 16 with victory on Sunday.
“Since the pandemic in 2020, the years in between have been quite difficult, and I feel it hasn’t been easy. So after all these years, I just hope I can give myself something to show for it.”
OUR Spotlight On column shines a light on the best things to see and do in popular holiday destinations, and some spots that are relatively under the radar.
This week we head to the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic and the coastal town of Miches.
Often said to be one of the cheapest islands in the Caribbean, it is also 30C in winter and beers are under £1.80.
eurochange has predicted where Brits will be jetting off to in 2026 thanks to recent money transactions – and it’s the Dominican Republic.
Laura Evans Fisk, Head of Digital & Engagement at eurochange said: “As we’ve seen transactions for the Dominican peso surge this year ahead of any other currency, we can definitely expect to see the Dominican Republic at the top of travel bucket lists for UK tourists in 2026.”
Direct flights make it easy to get to as well, taking around nine hours from London (both British Airways and TUI fly there) so here are some of our top tips.
Playa Esmeralda is Miches’ showstopper. This vast ribbon of golden-white sand on the Dominican Republic’s northeastern coast stretches for miles, backed by coconut palms.
The water shifts from turquoise to deep emerald blue, giving the beach its name.
Unlike busier Caribbean resorts, it’s entirely possible to walk for half an hour here without seeing more than a handful of people – no fight for the sun loungers here!
Nature lovers shouldn’t miss Laguna Limón. This peaceful freshwater lagoon surrounded by tropical vegetation is home to dozens of bird species.
Boat tours glide through the wetlands while guides point out herons, pelicans and other wildlife.
Nearby, the crystal-clear pools of Caño Hondo offer a refreshing alternative to the beach, with natural pools cascading through lush forest.
The town itself and surrounding coastline – a place where emerald mountains tumble into palm-fringed beaches, humpback whales cruise offshore in winter, and brand new luxury hotels sit alongside sleepy fishing villages.
Unlike many Caribbean destinations, Miches still feels wonderfully undiscovered.
You can spend the morning hiking to panoramic viewpoints, the afternoon kayaking through mangroves and the evening watching the sun disappear over miles of virtually empty sand.
In recent years new resorts have arrived, but developers have taken a more low-key approach than elsewhere in the Dominican Republic, keeping much of the coastline untouched and embracing the natural surroundings.
But the Instagram-worthy swings of Montaña Redonda have become one of the Dominican Republic’s most recognisable photo spots.
Perched hundreds of metres above sea level, the hill offers spectacular 360-degree views over lagoons, rainforest and the Atlantic Ocean.
Take a seat on the swing that stands at the end of the viewpoint and push out over the incredible green landscape.
Away from the resorts, Miches town offers a glimpse of local life. Small family-run restaurants serve freshly grilled fish, lobster, coconut rice and sancocho, the Dominican Republic’s famous hearty stew.
Try out Rajanoris in town, it’s an unassuming spot not often visited by tourists but it’s a good bet for meeting the locals and tasting mofongo, a savoury pork and plantain dish with lots of garlic!
Rancho Lounge Miches has a casual atmosphere and lively music and serves up ice cold beer and of course, lots of rum!
The Zemi Miches All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton is set on it’s own 800-metre stretch of sand, with nothing but palm trees and mountains for company.
Even though it’s secluded, there’s a wealth of things to do.
There are four different pools, including a kids pool, 11 bars and restaurants, and a swish spa for some pampering.
As for activities, there’s everything from a bowling alley to a padel court! See hilton.com.
Seven nights’ all-inclusive is from £1,569pp including flights from Manchester on November 17, 20kg luggage and transfers. See tui.co.uk.
PARENTS will no longer be stung with rip-off fees just to sit next to their children on flights.
Airlines will be forced to seat under 14s beside a mum, dad or an accompanying adult for free.
It could save families up to £104 on a return trip.
Passengers will also be able to fix simple spelling mistakes on bookings without being hit with charges of up to £40.
PM Andy Burnham said: “People are fed up with these little charges that add up.
“So I’m putting a stop to them.”
“This is what our everyday fixes are all about.
“Giving people room to breathe by tackling the small irritations that catch people out.
“They waste their time and cost them money.”
Ministers are also drawing up a system to help airlines identify repeat troublemakers.
It comes after more than 1,000 serious disruptive incidents were logged last year.
It could make it easier to extend bans on passengers who repeatedly cause issues.
GLASTONBURY punters have fumed over the ‘s*** show’ website chaos after the first set of 2027 tickets went on sale tonight.
Those who have managed to get their hands on them will travel to Worthy Farm in Somerset and dance away to their favourite tunes between Wednesday 23 June to Sunday 27 June next year.
Festival-goers logged online just before 6:00pm this evening (Thursday 1 October) to try and get their hands on ticket + coach passes for the five day music event.
They were told to enter the website at 5:50pm, and those who were on the page were given a place in the queue.
This was followed by a progress bar which showed how close you were to purchasing.
It comes as no surprise that they sold out within 30 minutes – meaning that loads of people have sadly gone without.
Those took to X, formerly known to Twitter, to complain about the system which made them miss out.
One fan fumed on the social media app: “Shit show.”
Another wrote: “Think I would have preferred to be stuck on two bars than get right to the end as they sold out.”
A third chimed in: “These 2 bars are going to give me nightmares for the rest of my life I fear.”
A fourth asked: “Anyone even get past 2 bars? On to Sunday.”
“TRAPPED at the abysmal two green bars…,” a fifth tweeted.
Hopefuls will be able to log back on this Sunday to try and purchase general admission tickets at 9:00am.
In 2008, Drogheda went into examinership, Ireland’s equivalent of administration, and were deducted 10 points in the league.
Trabzonspor fans heard of their plight and sent letters to the club with cash inside.
Two years later, their relationship was made official when they became sister clubs and there were plans for a ceremonial friendly in Dublin in 2013.
“They travelled over here to play and there was a freak deluge of rain that fell within an hour of kick-off,” explains Wogan.
“We had our staff in the turnstiles waiting to scan tickets in, but the game was deemed unplayable and Trabzonspor went home without playing the fixture.”
So Thursday’s match has been a long time coming.
When Drogheda announced the friendly on social media on 2 September, Trabzonspor fans reacted in their droves. The post on X has been seen well over half a million times.
About 30% of Drogheda’s social media following is from Turkey. More than their share of followers from Ireland.
And it is not just online where the crossover of fans is being seen.
Trabzonspor shirts and flags are commonly spotted at Drogheda matches and Turkish fans sometimes visit the club during the week just to see the stadium.
One Trabzonspor fan, Cafer Bektas, lives a couple of miles outside Drogheda and attends every game.
When he first moved to the area, wearing a Trabzonspor jersey caught the attention of locals and got him discounts in shops.
Fishlock, who has said this will be her last year playing club football, will be on duty with Reign when Wales go to Albania on Friday, 9 October and then again in the return leg in Llanelli four days later.
Should Wales overcome a side who are 36 places in the Fifa rankings – and one they beat twice in the group phase of World Cup qualifying – they will play either Norway or Romania in a two-legged play-off final in December.
Wilkinson has revealed that another recently retired former player, Kayleigh Barton, will be part of her staff for the Albania ties and then Fishlock will have a role should Wales reach the final.
Fishlock previously worked as a technical assistant for Wales’ opening game of this qualifying campaign, against the Czech Republic in March.
Wilkinson explained that Fishlock had been in touch before she named her semi-final squad on Tuesday, adding: “I didn’t appreciate her saying ‘call me up coach, I’m ready’, which I thought was mean, but [she was] a wonderful player and a great leader for us.
“If we are able to get past Albania, she’ll be coming in as a coach for us for the next round.”
By Matthew Lee and Farnoush Amiri
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration was set to issue a last-minute reprieve Tuesday over the planned closure of a camp in Qatar that houses more than 1,000 Afghans who assisted America’s war effort or are the relatives of U.S. service members.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to sign off on a diplomatic note to Qatar extending for nine months the life of Camp As Sayliyah, which had been due to close Wednesday at the end of the U.S. budget year, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The officials spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to offer details before the public announcement.
The decision comes months after Rubio told Congress that the U.S. was still in discussions with several third-party countries to take the 1,039 Afghans who worked as interpreters or in other roles helping the American war effort as well as relatives of U.S. service members who have been stranded in Qatar for more than a year.
Rubio’s testimony in June came after the AP and other outlets reported that war-torn Congo was among the countries where the Trump administration was considering resettlement.
The State Department would not immediately comment on Rubio’s extension for the camp but said it “continues to work toward a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people.”
The department also repeated its claim that the camp is a legacy of an attempt by President Biden’s administration “to move as many Afghans to America as possible without properly vetting them” — an assertion that has been denied by former officials and refugee advocates.
The group of Afghans in Camp As Sayliyah includes those who fought or worked alongside the U.S. military between 2001 and 2021, with more than 70% of the camp’s residents being women and children, according to statistics from #AfghanEvac. The group has spent the last five years advocating for Washington to make good on its promise to resettle those whose service has put them at risk since the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s reassertion of control.
“This is a victory for those people, and they’re going to have some semblance of knowing that they’re safe there because they’ve been worried that at any moment somebody’s going to come and rip them out of there,” Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who heads #AfghanEvac, told the AP.
But he added that there needs to be a permanent solution to this years-long crisis.
Despite the camp’s reprieve, which protects those housed there from possible forcible removal to Afghanistan, residents have little hope of being allowed to enter the United States.
Upon entering his second term, Trump, a Republican, paused his Democratic predecessor’s Afghan resettlement program as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration, including dramatically altering refugee admissions to focus on white South Africans. Only five Afghans have been admitted to the U.S. since October 2025, #AfghanEvac says.
The refugee changes left thousands of people who fled war and persecution — and had gone through a sometimes years-long vetting process to start new lives in America — stranded at places worldwide, including the base in Qatar.
Advocates have warned that if there is no alternative, the only other option for the group of residents would be to go back to Afghanistan, where they face likely reprisal from the Taliban.
In the coming nine months, the State Department said it would “continue to work to identify options for voluntary resettlement of all Camp As-Sayliyah residents.” It gave no additional details.
Lee and Amiri write for the Associated Press. Amiri reported from New York.
IF you want to be ahead of the curve, there’s a country three hours from the UK with beautiful coastal resorts, high summer temperatures and cheap beer.
Not only that, but there are more flights from the UK and with new hotels opening – so it’s set to be the must-visit destination of summer 2027.
Bulgaria has it all from vibrant cities like Sofia to coastal resorts like Sunny Beach, Golden Sands and Albena.
In the summer, Bulgaria has highs of 30C – and in June, return flights to Sofia as little as £62.
It’s affordable too, according to Wise, as beer in Bulgaria can be as little as 90p with an inexpensive meal at a restaurant costing around £6.
TUI has a number of hotels in Bulgaria already, but is expanding in time for next summer.
One of those is the TUI BLUE Arabella in Golden Sands near Varna, which is currently undergoing renovation and is set to reopen in summer 2027.
When open, guests will be able to paddle in its four swimming pools, one main pool, a children’s pool, one for relaxation and the indoor one too.
There will be on-site restaurants and bars, wellness area with a sauna, gym and tennis court.
On-site are 290 rooms which will range from suites to double and family rooms with sea views and balconies.
Guests will also have access to the waterpark at nearby GRIFID Bolero hotel.
Another is in the SUNEO collection which is budget-friendly stays with 3- and 4-star beach getaways.
Called the TUI SUNEO Compass 4*, the pretty hotel is set within peaceful gardens and is also set to open next summer.
Already existing hotels include the TUI SUNEO Serenity Bay in Tsarevo and TUI SUNEO Perla in Sunny Beach.
An all-inclusive stay at TUI SUNEO Perla in May starts from £591.33pp – or £84.47pppn.
This includes a stay for seven-nights in a Deluxe Double Room with a balcony or terrace and return flights – it also has an outdoor swimming pool and restaurant.
Another of the existing TUI hotels includes the TUI BLUE Nevis in Sunny Beach which offers all-inclusive family holidays.
It has a huge swimming complex with swimming pools, splash zone and waterslides as well as kids’ clubs and a buffet restaurant.
There are plenty of flights from the UK too – TUI has flights to two destinations in Bulgaria, Sofia and Bourgas from 21 UK and Ireland airports.
TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel said: “Bulgaria has enormous potential as a tourism destination. The country combines attractive beach holidays on the Black Sea with culture, nature, hospitality and very good value for money.”
Jet2 also flies regularly to Bulgaria with flights from 11 UK airports to Bourgas.
These include London Stansted, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Newcastle, London Gatwick, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, and Manchester.
From Bourgas, it’s easy to get to Sunny Beach, Nessebar, and St Vlas.
Adding to its popularity for next year, Bulgaria will be the host country for the Eurovision Song Contest after winning this year.
It will take place on May 11, 13, and 15 at the Arena Burgas – and in time for the event, Jet2 will add new flights from the UK to Bourgas.
Otherwise want a mega cheap holiday? Loveholidays has four-night all-inclusives from £219pp.
Hundreds of protesters have set up tent encampments in central Madrid to demand government action on soaring housing costs and evictions, as demonstrations spread to Barcelona. Spain currently faces a deficit of 750,000 homes, with the central bank warning the shortage could exceed one million by 2028.
Published On 28 Sep 202628 Sep 2026
Share
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday is expected to approve a bipartisan bill that would give the NCAA and its member conferences the authority to enforce uniform national rules on college athletics.
If the bill is passed by the Senate, it would move to the House and, if approved, on to President Trump for his signature to become law.
Under the Protect College Sports Act — co-authored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) — the NCAA would be granted a limited antitrust exemption that would allow the organization to create standardized rules around athlete eligibility, limit conference realignment and prevent the creation of a super league — a private-equity model for college sports that would replace NCAA subdivisions.
The bill is also an attempt to codify the $2.8-billion antitrust settlement reached last year in House vs. NCAA, which allowed Division 1 schools to share revenue with their current players and compensate past players. The new bill would increase the revenue sharing cap to around $50 million per school from $21.5 million, albeit with a more strict and enforceable model.
Under Name, Image and Likeness deals, wealthier schools were able to circumvent the “soft” $21.5-million cap by lining up lucrative corporate sponsorships and endorsements for prospective athletes. The bill would allow the NCAA to crack down on attempts to bypass the limit by incorporating booster or affiliated-entity money into total revenue sharing calculations, while also giving schools an additional $27 million in the funding cap to retain current athletes.
A potential consequence of the bill could be that big-name programs lose their ability to draw the best college athletes with promises of massive compensation, allowing smaller programs to compete under NCAA regulations.
The NCAA and its affiliates have spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying for congressional intervention on its rule-making power over the last seven years. Supporters of the bill, including Cruz, have said the bill would bring order and consistent regulation to college sports.
“If we’re going to be having a national competition … it is only Congress that can establish a clear and enforceable legal rule book,” Cruz said on the Senate floor last week.
Influential figures in college sports, including former Alabama head football coach Nick Saban and ESPN analyst Pat McAfee, have publicly called on Congress to pass the measure. It has also drawn support from 24 of the NCAA’s athletic conferences.
“Congress does need to fix the mess in the courts and create a national framework so the people inside college sports can enforce fair rules,” Saban said during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing in June. “Without that legal certainty, every rule becomes another lawsuit, every standard becomes another risk, and the system keeps drifting toward a professional model.”
The legislation is not without its opponents. Some players, labor organizations and members of Congress argue that the bill would prevent highly sought-after college athletes from participating in their own negotiation process.
“What this bill does, at its core, is protect a system of exploitation,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an AFL-CIO trade union press release. “This bill protects the billions of dollars that coaches and executives are making by suppressing compensation for some of the most highly valued athletes in the world.”
The Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP have also brought forward concerns that the bill does not allow Black athletes — who make up a majority of players in the football and basketball programs — into the collective bargaining process.
The NCAA plans to enforce a five-year eligibility rule, cap agent fees at 5%, put penalties on second transfers and codify student-athlete protections, such as 10-year degree completion assistance and post-eligibility healthcare. If the bill passes, all challenges to these rules would have to be handled in federal court.
Some senior Republican officials in the House, including Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), have expressed some hesitance in passing the legislation without clarity as to whether student-athletes will be considered employees and if further limits should be placed on international student-athletes. If changes are made in the House, the bill would be returned to the Senate for another vote.
Trump, on the other hand, has expressed strong support for the bill.
“THE PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT is a great Bill, and the Senate will hopefully stay in D.C. until it passes,” he wrote on Truth Social last month. “Without this Bill, millions of young Athletes will be hurt, programs will be canceled … the fans will be robbed, and Universities will go broke”
WITH ancient ruins like the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus, Athens has long been considered one of the oldest cities in the world – but it’s about to get much more modern.
A new billion-pound seafront regeneration project with a towering skyscraper and luxury shopping has resulted in the city being dubbed the ‘new Dubai‘.
Major changes are happening in Athens especially on the riviera where an enormous development is underway.
A regeneration project called The Ellinikon an estimated €8billion (£6billion) is set to completely transform the area to become its first ‘smart city’.
At its core is an enormous skyscraper called Riviera Tower – once transformed it will be the tallest building in Greece at over 650 feet high.
Inside will be around 170 luxury apartments including penthouses and each one will have panoramic views over the coastline.
It will also have private infinity pools, spa and gym as well as shared wellness spaces and greenery and plant filled terraces around the building.
The skyscraper was formerly part of Ellinikon International Airport which served the city until 2001.
The Ellinikon will also have new additions including ‘Little Athens’, a new neighbourhood right next to the beach with apartments as well as small shops and cafés.
The Riviera Galleria will be a new complex for luxury shopping with 80 new shops covering 10,000 square metres.
At the galleria will also be upscale restaurants, artisan ice-cream parlours, beauty salons and organic markets.
The upscale and luxury aspect mirrors what visitors expect when heading to the seafront neighbourhoods of Dubai.
In order to entice expats into Greece, the country is also offering tax breaks – much like Dubai which is a playground for the wealthy.
Since its debt crisis in around 2009, Greece has made a ‘remarkable economic recovery’, according to the IMF.
Part of this is thanks to tax breaks aimed at families, young workers and expats.
Under new rules this year, investment professionals who relocate to Greece can pay five per cent on “carried interest” – this is a fraction of the rate in the UK.
Talking to The Times, Henley & Partners, which organises residence and citizenship planning for the rich says interest in moving to Greece has surged.
It’s now the second-most popular destination after St Kitts & Nevis for relocation.
Mario Rafael, a managing director at the firm. said: “Greece is increasingly competing for the attention of the same internationally mobile families considering places such as Milan and Dubai.”
If it does turn into a Dubai-alternative, for Brits it’ll be much easier to get to as the flight is around four hours less.
While it might not be the winter hotspot like the city in the UAE, Athens still has scorching summers too.
14:13, 28 Sep 2026Updated 14:13, 28 Sep 2026
Jesse Tyler Ferguson says not everyone involved in Modern Family got on(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson says the Modern Family set could be an awkward place after admitting a show feud made things difficult.
The long-running hit show starred the likes of Ed O’Neil, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, Ariel Winter and Nolan Gould, before ending in 2020 after 11 years. The much-loved programme featured three different but interconnected branches of the same large family living in suburban Los Angeles.
But it seems the feel-good ABC sitcom was hiding a secret – its two creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan didn’t get on at all following a huge fall-out, and it caused uncomfortableness behind the scenes.
Things became so strained that the writers’ room was divided in two, with duties alternating on an episode-by-episode basis between the two brains behind the comedy. Jesse, who played Mitchell Pritchett for more than a decade, says the stars learned to deal with the new direction.
“Basically, we had divorced parents leading the show,” the actor said in an interview with the Independent. “Our creators just decided to go separate ways. I thought it was a big secret that no one really knew about.
“It was like we had a week with this parent, and then a week with that parent. And we all just learnt that that’s how it works.
“It gave the show a really interesting balance that I think a lot of people didn’t even notice was happening – I still can’t believe after 11 seasons that the show was as successful as it was, with that sort of division of power, really.”
The comedy ran for an impressive 250 episodes, and many of its actors have gone on to enjoy a lot of success.
Jesse enjoyed a successful theatre career before joining the cast of Modern Family, where he earned several Emmy nominations alongside his on-screen husband Cameron Tucker.
Aside from the ABC show, he has appeared as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance from 2011 to 2013 and hosted Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in 2020. He has also landed roles in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and 2023 disaster film Cocaine Bear.
The star also won his first Tony for his performance in the Broadway revival of Take Me Out in 2022.
His on-screen love Cameron Tucker , played by Eric Stonestreet, tied the knot with fiancée Lindsay Schweitzer on his birthday last year.
The longtime couple announced the incredible news in a series of photos shared on Instagram.
Before the shoe Eric was known for his role as Ronnie Litre on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He has also appeared in films like 2011’s Bad Teacher and 2013’s Identity Thief.
Since the show, Stonestreet has portrayed Magnus Antas on Disney+’s The Santa Clauses and also took up a hosting role on the Fox competition series Domino Masters.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
ANDY Burnham is set to nationalise Avanti West Coast next year as Labour pledges to start “delivering for passengers”.
The Government will take control of the private operator from March 7 as the PM said passengers had been failed “time and time again”.
An extra £10million is set to be invested in power and signalling maintenance in addition to £840million earmarked for infrastructure on the West Coast Main Line, reports ITV.
The government hopes timetable changes will also improve services for passengers as well as boosted WiFi connectivity.
It was also announced that Euston station in London will receive a £50million upgrade.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander said: “For years, we’ve heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough.
“That is why we will bring Avanti into public ownership at the earliest opportunity, in March next year.
“This Labour Government is committed to putting essential services back in public hands, connecting people to opportunity and delivering growth in every postcode and this move reflects that commitment.
“We will also introduce a comprehensive improvement plan, focused on delivering for passengers, not shareholders.”
Avanti West Coast’s contract is due to come to an end on March 7, 2027.
That will leave East Midlands Railway and Cross Country as the only train operators yet to be nationalised.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham blasted Avanti, saying they had failed passengers “time and time again”.
In a post on X he said: “We’re putting essential services back in public hands and building a railway that actually works for the people who use it.”
It comes as Avanti West Coast recorded the highest number of cancellations in the UK this summer, according to analysis by The Times.
That is double the national average as they made 1.4million delay repay claims in the year to March – around a million more than in 2019, according to the outlet.
Andy Mellors, managing director at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re proud of what we’ve achieved over the last six years – from refurbishing our Pendolino fleet and introducing our new Evero trains to running more services than ever before.
“Together, these improvements have given customers greater choice, more capacity and better connectivity, while we’ve continued to innovate to shape the future of the West Coast and wider rail industry.
“Over the coming months, we’ll work closely with the government to ensure a seamless transition into public ownership while remaining focused on delivering for our customers and communities.”
The Sun reported earlier this month how Avanti had cut back hundreds of its journeys in the run-up to Christmas.
A reduced timetable will also continue between Christmas and the new year due to engineering works, with the scheduled change aiming to “save taxpayers money“.
VENEZUELA FURY may have crashed out of the running in I’m A Celebrity . . . The Wild Frontier, but boxing champ TYSON’s teen daughter is still sitting pretty.
I can reveal the young entrepreneur aims to launch her own make-up and skincare line.
Plans are afoot for a firm called No Tomorrow, and Venezuela hopes to unveil the range next year as she makes the most of her growing profile.
She also has brilliant inspiration in her corner – her aunt Molly-Mae Hague.
Molly, who is engaged to Venezuela’s uncle Tommy, is now worth an estimated £20million thanks to years of hard graft in the fashion and beauty industries.
A source said: “Venezuela has just turned 17 so it’s a huge achievement to be launching her own business and she’s so excited.
“She has a top team behind her but the ideas are all hers.
“She wants to make her family proud.
“Having Molly-Mae and obviously her mum Paris as inspiration is a huge boost too.”
While details are still being worked out, it is likely that the No Tomorrow x Venezuela Fury range will include everything from make-up and skincare to fake tan and false eyelashes.
Venezuela celebrated her birthday yesterday while on holiday with husband Noah Price.
She earned the break after having a rough time filming Ant & Dec’s I’m A Celeb spin-off in the Canadian wilderness.
Venezuela and Noah, who married in May, quit just 72 hours into filming after she became unwell and started vomiting.
Viewers will be able to tune in to the new reality show when it airs next spring.
But we’ll be hearing a whole lot more from Venezuela before then, I’m sure.
THE enormous new Eden Project being built in the seaside town of Morecambe is officially underway.
Work started last month on the £100million project and the public will be able to visit part of it as soon as next year with a full opening expected in 2028.
The first part to open will be the Bring Me Sunshine Garden, it will have tall Austrian pine trees, a natural flower meadow and a solar-powered, shell-shaped outdoor pavilion and classroom that harvests rainwater.
The garden was shown off at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show and will open as a permanent part of the Eden Project in Morecambe in spring 2027 – it will be completely free to visit.
The rest of the Eden Project Morecambe is scheduled to fully open in winter 2028.
The biggest part that has been unveiled so far is called ‘The Elder Tree‘ – it will be 65 feet tall and will guide visitors on a journey from its roots to the trunk hollows.
It is set to show people how to “reconnect” with and “restore nature”.
There will be two very different experiences called The Realm of the Sun and The Realm of the Moon.
The Realm of the Sun has been described as “a bright, lush landscape of the near future — a place where humanity has rediscovered how to repair and re-engage with the broken rhythms of the natural world”.
The Realm of the Moon is as an immersive but “darker” space with a hyper-real rockpool which will have sped-up cycles of tides.
The two realms, will be linked by an area called Metronome, where visitors will buy their entry tickets.
It was revealed today that the Pears Foundation has gifted the attraction £2.5million towards the Eden Project’s habitations zone.
This area of the attraction has been described as Eden Project Morecambe’s “signature experience”.
Inside will be four theatrical spaces, named High Street, Market, Farm and Town Square with immersive activities in each.
Eden Project Morecambe said the activities will “reflect people’s daily lives, sharing how local place-based adaptation and world-wide innovation can collide to help us adopt approaches that can positively impact our planet”.
There will be a 750-capacity Tidal Theatre, a 300-capacity restaurant and a shop at the attraction as well.
Other details that have been previously mentioned include hanging plants, mini gardens, a multi-sensory area, and a waterfall.
There’s plenty to around Morecambe too like the Happy Mount Park, the Eric Morecambe Statue and The Smugglers Den pub all rated highly on TripAdvisor.
Morecambe has a pretty five-mile English beach too which in 2024 was named one of UK’s most beautiful in a list of 37 by Time Out.
For any TV fans, you might recognise Morecambe as the backdrop of ITV drama, The Bay.
Filming locations include Sunderland Point, a village of 30 houses at the end of a tidal causeway and the Stone Jetty which is all that remains of the original Victorian harbour.
THE Wanted singer Nathan Sykes is set to become a dad for the first time!
Taking to Instagram, the musician revealed his wife Charlotte is pregnant with their first child with a sweet photobooth video.
Nathan and Charlotte shared a video of themselves in a photobooth with an ultrasound strip to reveal the pregnancy news.
Charlotte captioned: “We’ve been keeping a little secret…Baby Sykes is officially on the way 🤍”.
The video – which saw Nathan cradle his wife’s bump and the pair pose for various snaps – confirmed baby Sykes is due in April next year.
Numerous fans and friends took to the comment section to congratulate the pair.
Nathan and Charlotte tied the knot in 2025 after several years together.
They wed in an intimate North Yorkshire ceremony at St Mary’s Church, Birdsall, with just 61 guests in attendance.
The pair were first seen together in public photos in November 2018 and announced their engagement in December 2022.
Nathan rose to fame in the The Wanted along with the rest of the boys in 2009 and stayed until the band went on “hiatus” in 2014.
The star once briefly dated Ariana Grande and they have a song together, Almost Is Never Enough, which he recorded after going solo.
While he has been with Charlotte, who is a HR Manager, for near a decade now – with the exact story of how they met not shared publicly.
Scrum-half Seren Lockwood has been ruled out of Wales’ second WXV Global Series fixture, against USA in Cardiff on Saturday, after failing a head injury assessment.
Lockwood was taken off during the first half of Wales’ eight-try victory over South Africa and is now going through World Rugby’s return to play protocols.
It is a blow for Wales with Lockwood and Keira Bevan proving a promising half-back partnership in a new-look backline.
Her absence paves the way for Lleucu George to return at 10, with Bevan reverting to her usual position of nine at Cardiff Arms Park.
“It’s always sad to see an individual coming off, but the HIA is great to have on board, we’re looking after her,” said Wales head coach Sean Lynn.
“She’s not going to be available this weekend, but I’m super excited to see the half-back combination that we’ve got this week.”
Did Justin Bieber perform at problem-plagued MacArthur Park? Never say never.
An impersonator may have tricked a Las Vegas nightclub last year, but those at the park Tuesday appeared convinced of their brush with Bieber. L.A. County’s district attorney was too.
According to social media posts, the singer and a few band members set up on a grass lawn near a Central American fried chicken shop on 6th Street. He reportedly performed several songs, including the 2025 hit “Yukon.”
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman on Tuesday night pointed to the “Yukon” clip as proof that park conditions were improving.
L.A. D.A. Nathan Hochman, center left, walks with First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli on June 4 as L.A. police and federal agents conduct an operation targeting narcotics use at MacArthur Park.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Bieber’s performance, he said in a post on X, was a “testament to the progress we are achieving to take back the park from drug dealers and enliven it for families.”
“[He’s] definitely on the invite list for next year’s Labor Day weekend picnic!” Hochman said.
The Times reached out to Bieber’s representatives to confirm the pop singer’s appearance but did not immediately hear back.
The pop star has been leaning in to more intimate performances, notably appearing on the Grammys for a stripped-down rendition of “Yukon” (while wearing boxers and black socks).
In April, he made his Coachella headlining debut, playing a nearly 90-minute set. For a large portion of the set, he took Beliebers — as his fans are known — down memory lane, sitting behind a laptop and singing along to his old music videos.
