Slam

Four children and a woman were killed after heavy rain caused a sandbank to collapse on their tent.

Palestinian authorities have criticised global “indifference and inaction” after a landslide killed five displaced people sheltering in tents in the central Gaza Strip following heavy rains.

“This is a scene that should shame the conscience of humanity and reflects the extent of the complicity and abandonment to which our […] people are subjected,” the Gaza Government Media Office said in a statement on Monday.

Four children and a woman were killed and two people remain missing after a sandbank collapsed onto their tent in Deir el-Balah on Sunday. The landslide happened after heavy rains brought by the first winter storm of the year hit the besieged territory on Friday, causing widespread flooding.

Floodwaters have inundated displacement camps and weakened buildings already damaged by Israeli air raids.

Restrictions imposed by the Israeli military mean specialist search and rescue equipment is in short supply, and Gaza residents were forced to dig using their bare hands to try and reach survivors.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the victims were living in flimsy tents, on exposed ground, with no protection from the heavy rain.

“When the embankment collapsed, those people had no chance to escape or protect themselves, and this raises difficult conditions about what people on the ground are left to endure,” he said.

About 70,000 tents were flooded when the storm hit Gaza at the weekend. According to data from Save the Children, more than half a million children are living in “critical or catastrophic” shelter conditions.

In a statement, Save the Children said, “While the so-called ceasefire announced over a year ago stipulated the entry of caravans as a more durable alternative to tents, Israeli authorities have repeatedly blocked their entry into Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of children exposed to another winter of hardship.”

The Government Media Office held Israel, the United States and the international community “fully and directly responsible”, citing their “absolute silence regarding the occupation’s crimes and their complicity in preventing the entry of shelter supplies, construction materials, caravans, fuel, and spare parts required to operate municipal and Civil Defence machinery and equipment”.

“We strongly condemn and denounce the state of inaction and the complete absence of the Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, as though this catastrophe were of no concern to them. Their complete failure to act and their flagrant abdication of the responsibilities entrusted to them raise serious questions about the very purpose of these bodies, which remain passive observers in the face of the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

More than 74,600 people have been killed since Israel’s genocidal war began on October 7, 2023, in response to a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. Since a “ceasefire” took effect in October 2025, Israel has killed more than 1,600 Palestinians.

When it comes to Strictly Come Dancing this year, there has been no shortage of drama on the BBC show, and now fans have called a ‘wave of negativity’ that has been directed at one star on the show

There has been no shortage of drama on Strictly Come Dancing this year. Many fans of the BBC show haven’t particularly warmed to the new hosting line-up of Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe after the departure of presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly last year.

A lot of Strictly fans also haven’t been thrilled about some of the changes made to Strictly’s BBC 2 companion show, It Takes Two, either. However, some viewers have now spoken out against certain fans criticising another area of the show – one of the judges. One Strictly fan took to Reddit after last weekend’s Halloween shows to slam fellow viewers regarding their treatment of head judge Shirley Ballas.

Talking to the site, they wrote: “Can we chill it with the Shirley hate please?

“I’m seeing posts on here directing negativity, hatred and vitriol towards Shirley on the daily now and it’s getting tiring.

“Has she done anyone any physical harm? No. Has she ever been verbally abusive or nasty towards contestants? No. Has she ever had dancers publicly speak out against her? No. So why am I seeing constant piles on against her?”

They added: “She might be a flawed person, but oh my god everyone is. This is probably an unpopular opinion but she’s my favourite judge, I love her sass and I just think she seems really fun and lovely.

“It’s fine if you’re not enamoured by her but is it really necessary to critique every single thing she does?”

Shirley, 66, faced significant backlash from viewers following her Halloween week judging appearance on the show.

Viewers accused her of being excessively harsh and out of step with the other judges.

Fans on social media voiced frustration over what they perceived as double standards in her technical scrutiny, claiming she was far more forgiving of certain contestants while penalising others heavily for technical flaws.

Critics also argued that her technical reprimands—such as scolding contestants on footwork and posture—were disproportionate for the fun, production-heavy Halloween specials.

Ballas has defended herself from the critics, insisting she judges strictly on what she sees “without fear or favour” and does not do “fluff”.

She maintained that 4s and 5s are still respectable scores in technical ballroom judging and that higher marks must be earned as the competition progresses.

Many people agreed with the original Reddit poster, as one wrote: “I’m a Shirley Ballas fan. I have criticisms of all the judges, none of them are perfect or everybody’s cup of tea, but Shirley gets it worst. The same happened to Arlene Phillips when she was a judge. Craig is a far harsher critic than Shirley but is allowed to be the pantomime villain.”

While another echoed: “Why does Shirley get the brunt of it? If you look at the show’s history, Craig has said a lot of things and yet he avoids the heat.”

A third chimed in: “She can not do right for doing wrong. We are all critics at the end of the day but she has however many years of dance experience behind her to back up her comments.”

Not everyone agreed though, as one person wrote: “Not seeing this personally, I absolutely don’t condone extreme hate but there’s a lot to criticise about Shirley and as long as it’s said respectfully, I don’t see a problem with it.”

Another added: “I expect more from Shirley, she is the best and most experienced dancer and she sometimes goes so off piste.”

Strictly Come Dancing is next on TV on BBC One at 6:30pm on Saturday, 7 November 2026 for Week 7.

Ensure our latest DWP headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

Storms Boelo and Austen kill a man in Scotland and cut power to thousands of homes in the UK, France and Germany.

A pair of storms battering northern Europe have killed one man, cut power to more than 150,000 homes, and disrupted flights and phone networks.

More than 82,000 homes in the United Kingdom, nearly 60,000 in France, and at least 10,000 in Germany had no electricity on Sunday after storms Boelo and Austen passed through the region within 24 hours, according to authorities in the countries.

A falling tree killed a man, 60, in southwestern Scotland on Sunday, while another falling tree injured two women in central Scotland, the Press Association reported.

Winds of up to 135 km/h (84 mph) were recorded in the Argyll and Bute regions of western Scotland. Trees and power cables brought down by the storm blocked roads and rail lines across Scotland and northern England.

In Brighton, on England’s southern coast, Austen blew away an unused pier on Friday.

Authorities have warned of flood risk in regions of both Scotland and England.

The Met Office, the UK’s national forecaster, warned that Boelo would bring a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and said people should stay indoors as much as possible.

From France to Germany

Across the English Channel, Europe battled its first big storm of the autumn, with strong winds inflicting widespread power cuts.

French energy company Enedis said that at Austen’s peak on Saturday, some 288,000 homes had no electricity. Some 59,000 remained without power at midday Sunday, mainly in Normandy and Brittany.

A marathon runner in the midst of a race in northern France was lightly injured by a tree knocked over in strong winds.

In Germany, Austen cut power to 10,000 homes in and around the southwestern town of Freiburg-Breisgau on Sunday. The town’s main hospital said it had to limit service to emergency cases because of the blackout, which also cut the mobile phone network.

German police said two people were seriously hurt on Saturday by scaffolding blown away by Austen’s strong winds at a market in the town of Nastatten.

The storms also hit the Netherlands and Belgium, where falling trees injured four people in Brussels on Saturday.

In the Netherlands, north of the island of Schiermonnikoog, three crew members on board a freight ship were injured in the storms, according to the country’s coastguard. Two of them were winched off and taken by helicopter to a hospital on the mainland.

The storms caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled or diverted across northern Europe, including at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of the continent’s busiest hubs.

Experts have warned of more extreme weather events due to climate change.

Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley were on hand to detail the latest headlines to ITV viewers but one news segment sparked backlash

A Good Morning Britain star sparked concerns from viewers after reporting live from Cornwall during Storm Austen.

Fans of the ITV show have been left less than impressed with coverage of the first named storm of the season. During the programme, Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley handed over to Jonathan Swain to share more information about the storm.

However, it wasn’t long before people commented on Jonathan being sent outside in the strong conditions, with many saying the same thing. On X, one person said: “Tiz the season for TV reporters to be out in the wind and rain shouting at the camera. Every autumn it’s the same.”

Someone else wrote: “I think most of us have experienced rough weather before. I don’t think we need a ‘roving reporter’ sent to Cornwall to show us what it’s like. Stop the fear mongering!” Another added: “FFS, why does GMB send reporters to storm spots? Absolutely pathetic.”

One person commented: “It’s windy and raining ffs. Scaremongering #storm.” As another added: “What is the point of having poor old Jonathan Swain out in horrible weather just to tell us it’s windy and raining? Your viewers aren’t so thick that they need to see a man struggling to broadcast to understand what wind and rain is. Get him back into the studio!” ITV has been contacted by The Mirror for comment.

When the camera showed Jonathan, he was seen outside battling the strong gusts while it was raining. He told viewers: “It’s certainly not peaceful down here in Newquay this morning. There have been gusts reported of 82mph here in Jersey.

“We’ve just been speaking to some locals in the area who have woken up to window rattling, fences falling over, people posting messages saying they’re feeling quite scared.”

The ITV star told viewers that it’s been reported that 5,000 homes have no power in Cornwall and parts of Devon. He continued: “We understand some schools are likely to have staggered starts later on today.

“It is pretty dangerous just being out here on the roads this morning, so that’s quite a sensible option to ensure people can get to schools safely.”

Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

Speaking to one of the locals, he called the weather “horrendous” before revealing it’s the worst he’s ever seen in the county. Wrapping up his segment, Jonathan added: “This is the amber weather warning that’s down here in Cornwall. This is what it looks like, this is what it feels like. It’s going to be like this for certainly, most of the morning.”

According to Met weather, Storm Austen will move from west to east through Friday, with winds generally diminishing later in the day. However, on Saturday, Storm Boelo is expected to hit, as wet and windy weather is expected across the whole of the UK.

Good Morning Britain continues weekdays on ITV from 6am

Omar has come under fire this week with Big Brother fans after they previously hit out at uncomfortable scenes

A Big Brother housemate has been issued a warning after fans slammed their recent behaviour.

Omar has come under fire with fans lately regarding his negative comments and behaviour towards Rhianna. The two have been growing closer since the start of the show, also admitting their love for one another.

Big Brother previously issued a statement in response to recent calls from a number of fans who called for Omar to be removed from the house. It came after this week saw the two hitting rocky ground with Rihanna describing them like a ‘divorced couple’.

The pair seemed to break off their relationship but at one point Omar went over to her, lowered his head and told her to stop talking about him before leaving the room.

It comes after previous comments from Omar about him not teaching his co-star “how to respect a man”. But amidst the backlash, Big Brother issued Omar with a warning in tonight’s episode (October 21).

Being called to the Diary Room, Big Brother told Omar: “At times it feels you are dismissive about your housemates’ experiences.” They later added that Omar’s language used “on more than one occasion could cause offence to housemates or the fellow public.”

However, Omar hit out at the warning, adding: “I fully understand… I’ve never dismissed housemates feelings in all honesty.” He later said that he didn’t dismiss feelings but rather tell them the truth.

He replied: “Let’s be honest here we’re not talking about housemates, we’re talking about me and Rhianna.” He then continued to say he had done “nothing but look out for her and care for her” before going on to say: “Like I said, I’ve acknowledged my housemates feelings.”

Big Brother replied: “You must always be mindful of the impact your language and behaviour can have on others.”

Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Later, speaking to Rhianna, Omar said: “Have I ever controlled you in any way, or limited you in any way?” Rhianna said: “I am my own person, no-one can control me. I don’t feel controlled by you.”

Viewers at home expressed their frustrations as one person wrote on X: “Big Brother please boot Omar out, he’s not even giving a f*** about Rhianna’s feelings.”

Another fumed: “This is deeply uncomfortable to watch. Rhianna needs to get far away from Omar as soon as this show’s over.” A third added: “Omar tryna save himself lol, he’s finished.”

It comes after Women’s Aid issued a statement on Instagram, alleging the reality star of displaying controlling behaviour in the house. They wrote: “We’re seeing coercive and controlling behaviours being given a platform in popular media like Big Brother. We’ve been contacted by many viewers who have expressed concern. Not only does Big Brother risk minimising survivors’ experiences, it also risks presenting abuse as a form of entertainment.

“Producers should understand their responsibility to keep contestants emotionally and physically safe. The women in these programmes are real people and need real support. We continue to urge television companies such as ITV to engage with experts like Women’s Aid to understand the nature of abuse and how they can do better to protect contestants.”

However, Big Brother released a statement confirming all housemates “receive Respect and Inclusion training and an extensive briefing from the Big Brother Senior team to prepare them for living in the House and to set out Big Brother’s expectations for appropriate behaviour and language”.

Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

Big Brother fans have been unimpressed with one star who just days ago was favourite to win

The Big Brother star was in the running to win the show.

ITV Big Brother fans have admitted that one star has “fumbled” their potential win in a matter of minutes. Tensions continue to run high in the iconic house as the housemates live in this week’s House of Time.

Just last night (October 20), a game changing nominations twist saw four housemates up for eviction. This week will see Catrin, Twinks, Harry and Sam facing the public vote as viewers are being asked to choose who they wish to evict.

It comes after the housemates each took a turn in the Time Zone where they nominated as usual. But with four names in the zone, each housemate afterwards had the opportunity to swap two of those names – with the last person ultimately having the final say.

But amongst the drama, it was Yasmin who came under fire with fans after her nomination choices. As a result, she is now no longer favourite to win, according to latest betting odds.

According to Coral’s John Hill, despite being up for eviction, Twinks is actually the new favourite to win, with odds sitting at 5/4. Yasmin has drifted from 4/5 odds to now 7/4.

John Hill said: “Twinks is the safest of the four housemates, according to our odds. She is also the new favourite to win the show, with Yasmin’s odds drifting over the last couple of days.”

Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Viewers have shared their disappointment with the star as one person wrote on X: “Yasmin is fumbling this win those cheers got to her head.” Another said: “Yasmin literally took away the win in one episode last night”, as a third fumed that the star had gone “from the people’s princess”, adding: “That is crazy.”

A fourth added: “Even since Yasmin heard the cheers on Friday night she now thinks she is untouchable. Get rid of her.” A fifth raged: “Yasmin really plummeted her own stock, how embarrassing.”

However, one person defended: “Yasmin has one bad episode and people are acting like she murdered someone oh ok.”

Another said: “Yasmin does one thing you deem as wrong and you all turn on her and insult everything about her.”

Of course, betting odds are not guaranteed to happen, the power is still in the public’s hand as they have the power of the vote. But with hours to go until the next live eviction on Friday, one star has been dealt a brutal blow.

Currently, Sam is favourite to go with odds sitting at 4/5 compared to Frankie’s odds at 3/1. Twinks’ odds sit at 8/1. Coral’s John Hill added: “This is the toughest eviction to call so far in the series. Sam is the favourite to go, but Frankie and Catrin are both in danger, especially if Big Brother decides to throw in a double eviction.”

Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has called an early finish to what she described as “one of the most challenging” seasons of her career.

Poland’s Swiatek failed to qualify for the end-of-season WTA Finals – for the first time since 2019 – after pulling out of the Ningbo Open on Tuesday with a thigh injury.

Shortly afterwards, the 25-year-old announced she was bringing a largely barren season to a close, in order to recharge over a longer period of time before returning in 2027.

Former long-time world number one Swiatek – who has ended a season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2021 – has dropped to ninth in the rankings.

“The past few months, or actually the past couple of years, have been incredibly intense,” said Swiatek, who will have an opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.

“I feel I need to rest and recover my body fully, so that’s exactly what I will do – [for] a bit longer this time.”

Her most recent Grand Slam triumph came at Wimbledon last year.

Swiatek has managed one WTA title this season – the Canadian Open in August – and ends 2026 with a 42-16 win-loss record.

On Saturday, she lost to fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska in the Wuhan Open semi-finals, only her fourth defeat in 23 matches.

“I’m especially proud of the work we’ve done in the second half of the year and the progress that came with it,” said Swiatek, who needed treatment on her thigh but played on against Chwalinska.

“It gives me a lot of confidence in what’s ahead.”