storm

Ritu Pant always made sure that her merchant navy officer husband told her two things before departing on an assignment.

“I always noted the details and the name of his ship and his emergency contact details in case of a crisis,” says Ritu, who is based in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

That’s what she did on April 25, when her husband Ajay left Paradip Port in the state of Odisha on board the MT Smyrtos, a crude oil tanker. Her husband had been a sailor for 18 years, and spent six or seven months a year at sea. But growing threats to seamen – amid the wars in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, and from pirates roaming the high seas – had increased her jitters in recent years.

Yet it was through a social media post that she learned in mid-June that the ship had been captured. Not by pirates, but by the British armed forces, because the MT Smyrtos is under Western sanctions for allegedly working as part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a network of vessels that help Moscow evade United States and European economic restrictions to continue to sell oil and gas, amid the war on Ukraine.

Now Ajay Pant faces charges of flouting United Kingdom sanctions against Russia by commandeering the ship. It’s the first known instance when a European nation has kept a ship captain under arrest on such grounds, and could set a worrying precedent, say lawyers and groups advocating for the rights of seafarers. “This is a unique case,” said Tony Patten, the UK representative at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), an organisation that works for the rights of seafarers.

Other European countries have also taken over ships that they accuse of violating sanctions against Russia, but while they’ve kept the vessels, they have so far let the sailors go. In March this year, a captain of a suspected Russian shadow fleet was prosecuted in absentia by a French court. In another case from Finland, a court dismissed charges against the captain of a Russian oil tanker accused of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea on account of lack of jurisdiction. In other cases, European nations have set commercial sailors free with fines.

By contrast, Ajay faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The case has also underlined a growing tension between maritime traffic through international waters – the Smyrtos was not in British territorial waters when it was captured – and the enforcement by countries of sanctions that are not approved by the United Nations.

‘Situation of the sea was very bad’

The open seas have always been dangerous, but the risks have mounted as wars and piracy have turned ships and their crew into active targets for militaries and mercenaries alike.

At least 24 seafarers have been killed in the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. More than 120 commercial ships and tankers have been attacked in this period in the waterway, which used to transport a fifth of the world’s energy supplies before the start of the war.

The death toll in the Black Sea is even grimmer: At least 40 sailors have been killed in more than 570 attacks on vessels there. Piracy off the coast of Somalia has resurged, too.

For Ritu Pant, all of that meant increased insecurity each time her husband went on a ship.“I was quite worried,” she said, describing her thoughts while Ajay was at sea. “When I talked to Ajay, I would tell him that you need to keep in touch always; you need to tell me that you’re fine and everything is safe around because the situation of the sea was very bad.”

But it was not uncommon for her to not hear from her husband for days, due to network disruptions at sea. So Ritu would track updates of her husband’s ship online, a practice that has become increasingly common among families of sailors at sea.

On June 14, the MT Smyrtos was chugging through the English Channel when the Royal Marines Commandos intercepted it, in what was a first-of-its-kind operation authorised by then British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

At the time, the ship was in international waters, outside the territorial jurisdiction of the UK. Yet Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters from the Maritime Air Group; a Royal Air Force P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft; a frigate; and a mine countermeasures ship participated in the military operation to take control of the vessel, according to the British Ministry of Defence.

The ship was carrying oil from Russia and was on track to pass through the Suez Canal on its way to India, its destination.

“This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” Starmer said in a post on X.

What followed was equally unprecedented; charges of allegedly breaching Russian sanctions were brought against Ajay, who has since been in detention in the UK. After an initial court hearing, his bail was denied.

‘Criminalisation of seafarers’

Enforcement of maritime sanctions brought against Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has been tenuous at best, which makes the Smyrtos case “very unique”, said David Hammond, a lawyer and founder of Human Rights At Sea, a nonprofit and UN-accredited organisation advocating for the rights of people living, working, transiting and operating at sea.

“It is unique in terms of the interception and the interdiction of a vessel that had been sanctioned, having passed through the English Channel as an international transit corridor. It’s, in my understanding, not happened before,” he said.

On the one hand, Hammond explained, the outcome of the case will determine how coastal states enforce sanctions against vessels. But, he said, it also underscores the risks of “criminalisation of seafarers”.

Hammond said Ajay Pant’s case was part of a broader pattern of “shipping crews finding themselves in a position where they are arrested for many crimes, such as trafficking or movement of drugs that they’re not even aware of having been put on board the ship”.

He cited the example of Ali Albokhari, a Finnish-Syrian chief mate on a cargo ship, who was detained by Turkish authorities in 2023 after 137kg (302lb) of cocaine was found on board.

Patten of the ITF echoed similar sentiments. “Our stance is that seafarers being penalised automatically when something like this happens isn’t fair. We would always uphold the right of the seafarer,” he said.

Hammond said Ajay’s case was especially without parallel. “In the case of the Smyrtos,  it could be argued that Captain Pant is being criminalised for simply doing his job,” he said, adding that the direction in which the British courts rule will set a new precedent for masters’ accountability over movement of sanctioned goods.

The case, Hammond added, “is a perfect storm in a global storm of impunity; who is accountable and who enforces accountability”.

“And the unintended consequences of which are yet to be seen,” he warned.

‘Horrible year at sea’

The case also raises wider concerns, Hammond said, about how shipping companies and the countries vessels traverse often treat seafarers. “Undeniably, seafarers are seen as disposable assets,” he said, “disposable because they can be easily replaced but concurrently, as assets for assuring continuous global movement of goods by sea.”

The killings in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea have underscored that sense among sailors and their families – that the lives of those who keep the global economy moving are seen as disposable by those in power.

In a statement shared with Al Jazeera, the International Maritime Organization confirmed at least 66 sailors were killed in various conflicts this year, and hundreds of others injured. Many sailors are also still missing and feared to be dead. “It has been a horrible year for people at sea,” Patten said. “Problems have always existed, but conflicts and geopolitical change have certainly heightened them.”

Ajay Pant’s case also shines new light on a growing number of instances where navies have gone outside their territorial waters to seize tankers that they claim are violating their domestic sanctions regimes.

Since February, when the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, US forces have intercepted and captured several cargo ships in the Indian Ocean. These vessels were seized not just far from US territorial waters but also far from the theatre of their war, on accusations that they were helping Iran evade US sanctions.

The US and the UK argue that they are acting within the bounds of international law.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea permits a warship to visit a cargo ship to verify its flag where there are reasonable grounds to suspect the vessel is without nationality. The British Defence Ministry, in its statement after the seizure of the Smyrtos, said that if a vessel is determined to be stateless, the UK can exercise criminal and maritime enforcement powers under its domestic Policing and Crime Act.

The Smyrtos, like many ships that are accused of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet”, has frequently changed its flag. The ship had once previously been registered in The Gambia, and then adopted a Cameroon flag in December 2025. When it departed from a Russian port, it had a Cameroonian flag, but Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that the ship had been removed from Cameroon’s register earlier, in June. It is owned by a Chinese company.

According to the British Defence Ministry, Russia sells about 75 percent of its oil using such shadow tankers.

But whether militaries have the right to enforce their domestic sanctions and laws in international waters against individuals and vessels that are not registered in their territory remains a contested question in international law.

The capture of such vessels raises “a much bigger issue” of “the freedom of navigation at sea”, said Hammond.

To Ajay’s family and those advocating for him, it also raises a more human question: If a cargo ship captain passing through international waters can be captured and tried by nations for allegedly violating their domestic laws, is any sailor safe?

Anchored with hope

That’s a question that Ritu has lived with in the past few months, forcing the former school principal into advocacy not just for her husband’s release, but for seafarer rights globally.

“Ajay’s case goes beyond just our family, and could be a landmark judgement for seafarers worldwide,” she said. “It raises the fundamental question of whether a master of a ship can be criminalised for decisions that are beyond his authority, knowledge or control.”

The journey has been a difficult one, she said.

“Ajay was the primary breadwinner of his family, and I have also been forced to give up my work to focus on this case,” the mother of an eight-year-old and a one-year-old said.

“He has also been a caregiver to his elderly parents,” she added, saying that for the first few days after the arrest, she kept the news from them, worried for their health. “I wouldn’t allow the daily newspaper in the house and stopped sending my older daughter to school, afraid that someone would say something hurtful to her.”

Eventually, Ritu informed the family and prepared them for the struggles ahead.

“The hardest part is having to do this across continents. We have only spoken to him over short calls, and he has had no personal visitors since I went to meet him in August,” she said. “I don’t want him to feel that he has been forgotten.”

But despite the hardships, she remains hopeful, as support has poured in from the global seafarers community. “When I started posting on social media, I received so many messages from families and wives of sailors,” she said. “Every seafarer’s family I’ve talked to relates to this. So many sailors are getting targeted right now in conflict at sea; they are being made scapegoats.”

Now, she’s preparing for Ajay’s upcoming trial. “I have to bring him back home,” she said. “For his family, but also because no seafarer should be treated in this way.”

Dozens of officers, some accompanied by police dogs, moved into Rossio Square in Lisbon early on Sunday.

Police have used shields and batons to disperse housing protesters who stormed a tent camp in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, a week after similar operations drew criticism from protesters and rights groups.

Dozens of officers, some accompanied by police dogs, moved into Rossio Square at about 4:30am (04:30 GMT) on Sunday, a day after thousands marched demanding the government withdraw a rental bill they say would deepen the country’s housing crisis.

Protesters had erected more than 50 tents following Saturday’s march through Lisbon. Police commander Iuri Rodrigues issued three warnings to remove the tents, saying they had been erected illegally and that anyone resisting their removal could face disobedience charges.

Hundreds of demonstrators shielding the camp were dispersed, while police also dismantled a smaller encampment in Porto’s Dom Joao I square.

Earlier, lawmaker Pedro Delgado Alves said Rossio Square was peaceful and that nothing justified “a police intervention involving force, physical violence or baton charges, the kind of scenes we witnessed last week”.

The intervention followed operations in the same squares the previous Sunday, when police arrested 25 people in Lisbon and six in Porto. Housing campaign group Casa para Viver said 60 people were injured across those operations, which police described as “proportionate”.

Rising housing costs

The protests reflect growing anger over housing costs across Europe, including demonstrations in Spain and opposition to government economic policies in France, Germany and Albania.

Portugal faces one of Europe’s severest housing affordability crises, with young people among the hardest hit. House prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents on new leases have almost doubled.

The Bank of Portugal estimates a nationwide shortage of 300,000 homes, equivalent to Lisbon’s entire housing stock.

Demonstrators want the minority centre-right government to scrap legislation that would make evictions easier and remove rent caps on new leases, saying it would worsen affordability and leave tenants more exposed.

A Jet2 passenger plane was filmed veering off the runway onto the grass at Birmingham Airport on Sunday, as Storm Boelo winds whipped across the Midlands travel hub

The terrifying moment a Jet2 passenger plane veered off the runway in strong Storm Boelo winds has been captured on video

In the clip, the passenger jet is seen approaching the runway. As it touches down on the tarmac, the plane bucks up a little, causing the aircraft to move around on its axis in the air. When the plane next touches down, its nose is directed off the runway.

The plane’s speed causes it to run off the tarmac and onto the grass, with dust and mud from the wheels billowing into the air. The plane’s pilots managed to correct its course, veering it back onto the tarmac and straightening it up.

No one was injured in the landing.

Were you on the flight? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

A spokesperson for Jet2 told the Mirror: “Flight LS1310 from Venice to Birmingham temporarily moved off the runway after landing at Birmingham Airport, due to exceptional weather conditions caused by Storm Boelo. The aircraft immediately returned to the runway and taxied to the stand. We can confirm that everyone disembarked as normal.”

The landing was one of the dicier moments on a weekend in which gusts reached 80 miles per hour in parts of the country, causing dozens of cancellations and lengthy delays. There were also fatalities caused by the storm.

A 60-year-old man died after being struck by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway during Storm Boelo. Police Scotland said the man was on a road at Mid Kelton, near Castle Douglas, when the tree fell on him at around 10.30am on Sunday.

A spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a 60-year-old man having been struck by a falling tree on a minor road at Mid Kelton near Castle Douglas around 10.30am on Sunday October 25 2026. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.”

The Met Office has warned of possible injuries and danger to life from flying debris, alongside the risk of damage to buildings, power cuts and travel disruption. An amber wind warning came into force at 9pm on Saturday and remained in place until 9pm on Sunday. Only Orkney remained under a yellow warning.

Network Rail said most train services were expected to return to normal on Monday, but advised passengers to check their journeys online before travelling. On Sunday, nine of the rail operators suffered from severe disruptions, with Scotrail forced to suspend journeys on entire sections of its network.

Teams have cleared fallen trees and debris from tracks and carried out repairs to overhead lines and flooding-related damage that disrupted the network.

Gary Hopkirk, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: “It’s been a really challenging weekend for Scotland’s railway and particularly for the teams who’ve been out in some very difficult conditions responding to whatever the weather has thrown at us. Our focus throughout has been on keeping people safe and trains moving wherever possible.

“Now the worst of the weather has passed, our attention is on getting the railway back to normal. We’ll be working as quickly as we can, but we won’t compromise on safety. We know disruption is frustrating and we really appreciate the patience people have shown this weekend while our teams do everything they can to get everyone moving again.”

Several roads and bridges across Scotland and Northern Ireland have been forced to close in the weather, while many of the ferry services between the Scottish mainland and the islands, as well as the island of Ireland and Britain, were cancelled.

Of CalMac’s 30 ferry services scheduled for Sunday, 27 were cancelled, with some suspensions expected to continue until Monday.

BBC Breakfast returned on Monday with Jon Kay and Sally Nugent and there was a sad update following Storm Boelo

BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay revealed two people have died as a result of Storm Boelo.

The presenter returned to our TV screens on Monday, October 26 alongside Sally Nugent when he shared that both men were fatally struck by falling trees while the storm persists in delivering dangerous conditions across the UK.

He said: “A man in his 20s was pronounced dead in North London after the car he was driving was hit by a falling tree, and hours earlier, a 60-year-old man died in Dumfries in Galloway.”

Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood, from the North West Command Unit, said: “This is a deeply tragic incident and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young man who lost his life.”

Jon disclosed that Storm Boelo has plunged 90,000 households into darkness. Providing additional information, Thomas Magill described how Storm Boelo was “sweeping people off their feet” in Blackpool, reports the Express. He continued: “Emergency services worked tirelessly as it battled the North West, toppling trees and flooding parts of Cumbria.”

Thomas explained that a pub in Bouth, a Lake District village, has transformed into a community centre, providing meals and refuge to vulnerable residents cut off from electricity. These locals found themselves without power and hot water, prompting them to seek assistance at the pub.

Thomas went on: “As the storm moved in across the Irish sea, coastal areas off the Isle of Man were battled by high tides and strong winds. In Scotland, it was a similar story.”

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

Footage captured the high street in Largs entirely submerged, with properties and shops left devastated. “Everything is absolutely swimming in sea water, sludge, leaves, debris, just mashed up confectionery. It’s awful,” a local said.

Travel has been severely disrupted across the region, with ScotRail urging passengers to check before setting off on their journeys. Thomas added: “Storm Boelo was also felt as far south as Kent, where emergency services worked continuously to clear blocked roads and secure areas. Today, thousands of homes still remain without power.”

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the Emergency Networks Association, said: “The difficult thing is, we can’t actually get people out there to replace poles and wires until the worst effects of the storm have gone through.

“The clear message is that the teams will be working as hard as they possibly can to get people back on power soon as they possibly can in the safest possible way.”

Thomas remarked: “The worst of the storms may be over, but it’s unclear when power will return to the thousands of homes affected, and how long the clean up will take.”

BBC Breakfast is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

The Metropolitan Police were called to Dollis Road in Finchley at around 12:40 GMT to reports a tree had fallen onto a moving car, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Inspector Guy Ellwood, from the North West Command Unit, said: “This is a deeply tragic incident and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the young man who lost his life.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said it sent incident response officers, paramedics from its hazardous area response team, and a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance to the scene.

Earlier, Police Scotland said a man died after being hit by a falling tree in southern near Castle Douglas.

During Storm Boelo and the earlier Storm Austen, which hit the UK on Friday, 838,700 properties across the country faced power cuts, according to the ENA.

Wind gusts peaked on Sunday morning at 85mph in Machrihanish, in Argyll and Bute, and 84mph in both Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, and Capel Curig in north Wales.

An amber wind warning issued by the Met Office was in place until 21:00 on Sunday across Scotland and parts of northern England.

A yellow warning that also covered other areas of the north of England, including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well as parts of the East and West Midlands and North Wales, also expired at 21:00.

The Met Office urged people to “stay indoors as much as possible”, adding: “If you do go out, try not to walk, or shelter, close to buildings and trees.”

The strongest gusts have continued to spread eastwards across the UK on Sunday.

Bath and Bristol
Dyrham Park
Avebury 

Birmingham and West Midlands
Wightwick Manor Gardens
Clent Hills
Coventry Charterhouse

Cambridgeshire
Peckover House and Garden – closed on Sunday 25th, reopens Monday 26th

Cornwall
Lanhyrdrock
Trelissick – also closed on Saturday 24th
Cotehele
Godolphin – also closed on Saturday 24th
Trerice – also closed on Saturday 24th
Trengwainton – also closed on Saturday 24th, Sunday 25th and Monday 26th
Glendurgan Garden – closed until Saturday 24th
Pentire – cafe and toilets are closed today

Devon
Killerton – The Parkland, Garden, Chapel and Chapel Grounds are closed today. The house, cafés and shop are open.
Arlington Court and the National Trust Carriage Museum – also closed on Saturday 24th
Castle Drogo 
Knightshayes
Coleton Fishacre
Saltram
Buckland Abbey – also closed on Saturday 24th
Greenway
Lydford Gorge
A la Ronde
Finch Foundry

Dorset
Kingston Lacy – The Woodland Walk is closed but the house, garden, shop and cafe are open. The Pikachu Art Adventure Trail will be affected by the woodland closure. 
Corfe Castle
Brownsea Island – also closed on Saturday 24th

Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Hatfield Forest
Paycocke’s House and Garden – also closed on Sunday 25th

Gloucestershire and the Cotswalds 
Hidcote
Woodchester Park – the Trust10 is also cancelled on Sunday 25th
Snowshill Manor and Garden

Hampshire
Mottisfont
The Vyne
Hinton Ampner
Sandham Memorial Chapel

Lake District
Hill Top and Hawkshead – closed on Sunday 25th
Aira Force and Gowbarrow Park – closed on Sunday 25th
Historic Steam Yacht Gondola- Sailing is cancelled on Saturday 24th

Leicestershire and Northamptonshire
Lyveden

Liverpool and Lancashire
Speke Hall – also closed on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th

London
Ham House and Garden
Osterley Park and House
Morden Hall Park – also closed on Saturday 24th, Sunday 25th and Monday 26th
Runnymede and Ankerwycke

North East
Wallington – closed until 11am on Monday 26th

Oxfordshire 
Stowe Gardens – the gardens are closed but New Inn, including the café and shop, are open. 
Hughenden
Basildon Park
Cliveden

The Peak District and Derbyshire
Kedleston Hall – closed from 3pm today. The hall is open 11am to 4pm daily with last entry at 3.15pm

Shropshire and Staffordshire – 
Attingham Park – The Mile Walk, Walled Garden, Field of Play and Deer Park are closed but the Mansion and Stables (cafe, shop, bookshop) are open
Ironbridge Gorge – The Miners walk, Canal Side and the Adventure Playground are closed and will reopen on Monday 26th. All other areas remain open as normal
Shugborough Estate
Wightwick Manor and Gardens
Dudmaston Estate Comer Woods – The Cafe In Comer and visitor facilities are closed

Somerset 
Montacute House
Dunster Castle and Watermill
Barrington Court
Lytes Cary Manor
Fyne Court – also closed on Saturday 24th
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Brean Down

Suffolk
Sutton Hoo – closing at 4pm on Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. Tales by Torchlight is cancelled on 23 and 24. Ticket holders have been contacted via email and will be automatically refunded. 
Flatford

Surrey
Polesden Lacey 
Hatchlands Park
Winkworth Arboretum
Box Hill
Claremont Landscape Garden
Runnymede and Ankerwycke

Sussex
Nymans
Sheffield Park and Garden
Petworth
Bodiam Castle
Standen House and Garden
Bateman’s
Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters – Café, Shop & toilets will be closed on Friday 23rd October
Alfriston Clergy House – closed from 3.30pm today
Monk’s House

Warwickshire 
Charlecote Park – some areas closed but The House, Wood Yard Cafe and Service Courtyard all remain open
Packwood House – The Mystical and Magical Woodland Trail is closed and other partial closures are in place across the site
Baddesley Clinton – some areas of the site are partially closed
Upton House and Gardens
Coventry Charterhouse – The garden is closed all day but the house and café remain open

Wiltshire
Stourhead
Mompesson House
The Courts Garden

Worcestshire and Herefordshire

Berrington Hall
Brockhampton
Croft Castle and Parkland
The Weir Garden
Croome
Hanbury Hall
Tyntesfield

Yorkshrie
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden – Fountains by Floodlight is cancelled on Saturday evening and the whole estate will be closed on Sunday 25th
Goddards – closed on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th
Treasurer’s House, York – the gardens at Treasurer’s House will be closed on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th. The house will remain open as usual, by guided tour only

ONE UK theme park has announced it will close early today as Storm Austen hits the country with winds up to 80mph.

Paultons Park which has been hosting late-night Halloween evenings will close early tonight.

On its website, it said: “Because of the forecast conditions from Storm Austen, we’ve cancelled tonight’s late night opening. The park will close at 4:30pm today.

“The safety of our guests and team always comes first, and we’re sorry for any disappointment.”

For those visiting today, tickets will be revalidated so you can come back another day.

Anyone who is booking to attend today but wants to change the day can do so free of charge.

HAPPY HOLLY-DAYS

The 8 UK holiday parks opening for Christmas this year with £6.62pp stays

STAY CHEAP

Bargains at Butlins & manor stays… incredible value UK hols from £2.50pp a night

Anyone on a short break will receive a return ticket and those with an annual pass can attend until 4.30pm.

At the Halloween Spooktacular visitors can go on the rides after dark, head to The Little Monsters Ball and go to the Spirit Squad Ghoul School.

For those who still want to go, the late-night events will still run on October 24, 27, 28 and 29.

Camel Creek Family Adventure Park in Wadebridge which is popular with younger families has also announced its closure due to “forecast of strong winds and heavy rain.”

The park will be in touch with those who have already booked a visit.

It hasn’t guaranteed that it will reopen on Saturday so has advised families to watch for updates on its social media and website for updates.

Meanwhile, Thorpe Park is open as is Alton Towers.

At Chessington World of Adventure, the Zufari appears closed on the app and there’s a temporary delay of the opening of Jungle Rangers.

A spokesperson for all three theme parks said that they are open and operating ‘in line with standard weather safety procedures’.

They added that ride availability can vary throughout the ‘day depending on operational and weather conditions, and any temporary closures are assessed by our expert technical teams on a case-by-case basis’.

Marwell Zoo has closed its doors for the day, it said: “The zoo will be closed due to strong winds and heavy rain forecast. We aim to reopen on Saturday 24^th Oct as normal.”

Chester Zoo also announced its closure in order to keep “visitors, animals and staff as safe.” Dartmoor Zoo is also closed.

Storm Austen which has hit the UK today has resulted in schools closed and flights cancelled with the Met Office issuing amber and yellow weather warnings.

A NUMBER of flights to and from a UK airport have been cancelled today as Storm Austen hits the UK.

The country is set to be battered with 80mph winds with the south of England and the Channel Islands set to be affected the most.

Southampton Airport has cancelled the majority of its flights this morning to destinations like the Channel Islands, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast.

Some of the flights that have been taken off the schedule including the 11.20am flight from Southampton to Alderney and the easyJet flight to
Glasgow this afternoon.

Guernsey-based airline Aurigny has cancelled all its services this morning due to the weather.

Departures have been cancelled until at least midday and arrivals until 2pm.

HAPPY HOLLY-DAYS

The 8 UK holiday parks opening for Christmas this year with £6.62pp stays

STAY CHEAP

Bargains at Butlins & manor stays… incredible value UK hols from £2.50pp a night

The Aurigny spokesperson said: “We recognise how frustrating and disappointing these cancellations will be over the holiday period.

“However, these decisions are never taken lightly, and safety must always come first.”

On its website, travel information explained that ‘all cancelled flights will be eligible for a full refund’ and affected customers will be contacted by the airline.

Some flights from Southampton remain on the schedule for this afternoon including the 12.35pm to Belfast with Aer Lingus and the 2.35pm Loganair flight to Newcastle.

On the Channel Island of Jersey, the airport has cancelled all flights this morning but should restart this afternoon.

Meanwhile, holidaymakers flying from Heathrow, Gatwick, or London City Airport have been advised to check the status of their flight today.

The area where Gatwick is located has a yellow wind warning today with predicted wind speeds of up to 60mph.

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

A POPULAR English Island will be closed to visitors for an entire day due to Storm Austen.

It comes as winds of up to 70mph are set to batter parts of the UK, on Thursday evening and Friday.

Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour will be closed on Friday, October 23 due to Storm Austen.

It is still unclear if the National Trust owned isle will open on Saturday.

A spokesperson for National Trust Brownsea Island also told Bournemouth Echo: “We apologise for any disappointment or inconvenience this may cause.

“The safety of our visitors, volunteers and staff is our top priority and this decision has been made to ensure everyone remains safe during the adverse weather conditions.”

TRAVEL ADVICE

Is it safe to go to Italy right now? Latest holiday advice ahead of strikes

NEXT STOP

The 25 best places to travel to in 2027 from islands to lesser-known UK spot

The Island, which can be reached via boat from Poole Harbour, was already due to close on November 1 and will not reopen to the public until mid-March 2027.

Typically, it costs £12 to visit but National Trust members can enter for free.

It comes as the Met Office has issued weather warnings for wind and rain across parts of the UK, with two named storms due to bring disruption.

Storm Austen is expected to affect south-west England on Friday – with an amber warning for wind issued in parts of the region.

Over the weekend, Storm Boelo will affect Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England with what the Met Office described as “impactful winds”.

As Puerto Rico continues to grapple with the long aftermath of Hurricane Maria — from an unreliable electrical grid to ongoing water shortages — the need for stories that see the island as more than a backdrop feels especially urgent.

That’s part of what makes “Hurricane Seasons,” an intimate new independent film about a Puerto Rican family returning home, feel so timely. The film, which screens Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival, stars comedian Aida Rodriguez as Glori, a Brooklyn-based artist and community-center worker. She returns to Puerto Rico to help her sister (Justina Machado) care for their terminally ill mother (Priscilla Lopez).

When their matriarch convinces the family to embark on a bucket-list road trip around the island, old family secrets surface as the 2019 protests following Hurricane Maria unfold around them. Directed by Nicole Gomez Fisher and written by Xavier Ortiz — with Rodriguez also serving as a producer — the film is both a story of a multigenerational family and a love letter to Puerto Rico.

For Rodriguez, who is best known as a stand-up comedian, “Hurricane Seasons” also marked a return to a part of her artistic identity that existed long before comedy — her love of acting. But she admits that stepping back into acting, especially as the film’s protagonist, wasn’t an easy transition.

Aida Rodriguez, left, and Priscilla Lopez in a scene from “Hurricane Seasons,” directed by Nicole Gomez-Fisher.

(Laura T Magruder)

“It was terrifying. It was very scary because as a stand-up comedian, I work very hard at trying to obtain my most authentic self so that I can share it with everybody — to be my truest self, my truest Aida,” she says. “And when you loan yourself to a character and the art form of acting, you’re loaning yourself to that character and bringing yourself to that character, of course, because that is why they choose you. But you are telling a story from the perspective of another person.”

Rodriguez had pursued acting before going into stand-up comedy. Upon moving to Los Angeles, she quickly booked acting work, signed with an agency and began taking classes.

But comedy eventually taught her to do almost the opposite of what acting required.

“When I started doing standup, the direction and the notes were always like: ‘Release any character you have in mind and just access yourself,’” she says. “So it was a battle for me. Coming back to becoming an actor and giving the character Glori what Glori deserved — and allowing Glori to live, and Aida to sit in the back — became something important for me to do.”

She adds that it took a lot of work with coaches and classes for her to relax into acting again, allowing Aida the comedian to rest while focusing on what this role required of her.

The film’s protagonist, Glori, is a Brooklyn-born-and-raised Puerto Rican woman whose connection to the island runs deep, despite her living stateside. This is something Rodriguez, who is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, born and raised in the States, also personally relates to.

That tension — between where you live, where your family comes from, and who gets to decide whether you are “Puerto Rican enough” — is one of the film’s central themes and one reason the script resonated with Rodriguez.

“My testimony through my art has always been finding unity, solidarity, power and connection with other people,” she says. “I think that the story of growing up in the States and connecting to the island is a universal story that most people, regardless of where they come from, experience. [There’s this] idea that you’re never American enough nor whatever you are — in this case Puerto Rican enough — because there’s always a judge and jury on both sides.”

Rodriguez sees those tensions as a consequence of a much larger and complex history. She believes so much of the judgment on both sides is a lingering effect of colonization.

“For me, that was one of the most attractive things about the script — [it] was being able to engage in a conversation about what being Puerto Rican really is,” she says. “Is it based on colonial standards? Or is it based on maintaining our cultural richness and our legacy, that is handed down to us regardless of where we are?”

That question takes on even more weight today as Puerto Rico sits in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which Rodriguez believes shifted the relationship between Puerto Ricans on the island and those living stateside.

“There was a shift, because there are wounds from both places,” she says. “There are wounds from the people on the island that stayed and stuck it out. [They want to ask] the ones who left, ‘why do you get to claim this, if you’re not here sticking it out with us?’ Then the people who leave feel like, ‘we had to do this, so that we can not only survive, but send money back to the island.”

Rodriguez explains that, in many ways, the aftermath of the hurricane sparked arguments on both sides that were necessary to begin healing the tension. She believes it highlighted issues that Puerto Ricans, as part of a diaspora, could no longer ignore; it also highlighted an island and a community that Americans outside of the Latine community paid little to no attention to.

“It took a hurricane for people to know what Puerto Ricans were,” she says. “I think there was a cultural shift and there was a conversation that needed to be had, about what happens on the island. And what that means to those of us who are not there.”

That conversation serves as the meat and bones of “Hurricane Seasons,” in which Puerto Rico isn’t simply a location. It’s an integral presence in the story. Rodriguez, Ortiz and Gomez Fisher all agreed that filming most of the movie on the island was essential, not only creatively but also economically and culturally.

“The other thing that was very important about taking the movie back to Puerto Rico was to invest in Puerto Rico and to stimulate some sort of revenues for the island and that the crew was a Puerto Rican crew,” she says. “The DP [director of photography] was a Puerto Rican DP — all people that live on the island.”

It was important to them that if they were going to tell a story about Puerto Rico that was also shot in Puerto Rico, that Puerto Ricans on the island actually benefited from the production.

“It’s not cool to go to Puerto Rico and shoot a movie and bring in your own people from the States, and the people in Puerto Rico have to be inconvenienced with their roads being blocked and things shut down and an influx of Americans that come there to be disrespectful and them not making anything out of it,” Rodriguez says.

This commitment shows in the protest scenes. Rather than using background actors, the film features real Puerto Rican residents, including a local activist and singer.

“It didn’t feel rehearsed. It didn’t feel fake,” she says. “I just think that the feelings and the passion and the rage and the sense of urgency is still there.”

Ortiz’s commitment to specificity extended to the family casting, intentionally matching the actors to the real-life relatives they are based on.

“It wasn’t performative. It was actually real because that’s what all of our families look like,” she says. “Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, we just have that diversity because of all the stuff that’s happened in the past.”

Glori’s character also represents a refreshing departure from the way Latina women are often portrayed onscreen. She is a mother, a daughter, a community center worker, an artist — and a woman with a complicated romantic and family history. She is beautiful and desirable, but her sexuality isn’t the defining characteristic of her existence — something we don’t see enough when it comes to Latina roles.

“For me, I didn’t have to step outside of myself for the role, which was really refreshing because every audition that I ever get, I do have to step out of myself because when people write Latinas in Hollywood, they tend to write them one way,” says Rodriguez. “They look a certain way, they talk a certain way, and that’s not the reality of what being Latino, especially in America, is like.”

Rodriguez could freely inhabit a Latina character without feeling as though she had to perform her Puerto Rican-ness for the audience.

“I didn’t feel like I had to perform my Latinidad. I could just exist in it,” she says.

Rodriguez adds she’s ready for a Hollywood that wants Latina actors to have the same range of characterization that white actors have long been afforded. She’s open to seeing Latinas being everything in TV and film, where can they exist in a world in which they can just be people who just happen to be Latinas.

“I really do look for a day when we can just be people and not just be the funny, spicy friend,” she adds. “Some Latinas are not spicy. Some Latinas are nerds, and some Latinas are quirky, and some of them are goofy and some of them are clumsy. And just like everybody gets to see the spectrum of whiteness with all the different kinds of characters, I would love to see that for our people. For all people of color, actually. I think it’s important to see us all as full human beings, and that means that we can be anything.”

The film’s multigenerational story touches on the cultural inheritance passed between mothers, daughters and grandmothers — whether through old traditions or ordinary rituals. It’s something audiences, regardless of background, can likely relate to.

“The most important message that I’ve kept from my [foremothers] was never to lose my sense of Puerto Rico; that, even if I don’t live in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico lives in me,” she says. So much of that inheritance lives in the little things she remembers about her Puerto Rican grandmother, she says, from the té de tilo she’d make for an upset stomach; the recao that grew on her grandmother’s balcony because she didn’t have a backyard; or the azabache she still wears to this day for spiritual protection. They are the same small traditions she has passed on to her kids.

“My daughter makes better arroz con gandules than all of us,” Rodriguez says. “And her recipe is true to what my grandmother’s recipe was. That will continue to live on, until we are able to go back to our island and live in peace.”

That freedom is one reason Rodriguez believes independent film is so important for stories like “Hurricane Seasons.” Without a studio machine making decisions based primarily on commercial expectations, filmmakers have more room to tell a story on their own terms.

“Once the studio gets involved, they start thinking about dollars, which they got to make money, but they prioritize the dollars,” Rodriguez says. “And I think that’s why a lot of these big projects that they spend a lot of money on have failed because they don’t honor the storytelling. They don’t honor the authenticity of the world, the authenticity of the stories.”

Her hope is that “Hurricane Seasons” encourages more people to tell their own stories — especially Puerto Ricans.

“Puerto Ricans are not a joke; we’re not a punchline. You don’t get to tell us we don’t speak correct Spanish and make fun of our songs. Then, years later, appropriate our culture and become big time doing what we do, using our terms and our colloquialisms because it brings you capital,” she says. “We are people. We’ve been doing this for a very long time, and our grandmothers and our tias and tios matter, and they’re not [a] costume that you can just put on [to] make money off of it.”

Before we wrapped up the call, Rodriguez paused for a moment when I asked her what Puerto Rico means to her. Then her eyes lit up, and her voice softened as she described why the island means so much to her — and why so many people, even outside of the diaspora, find themselves drawn to it.

“Puerto Rico is a very special place, which is why so many people want to kick us out, so they can move [in],” she says. “But they’ll never have the magic, because the magic is us.”

Simon caps a Pacific season of record-breaking intensity, as deadly storms wreak havoc from Hawaii to Mexico.

At least two people have died in Mexico after Hurricane Simon and former tropical storm Rachel brought torrential rain and catastrophic flooding to Pacific coast communities.

At a Monday news briefing, Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado confirmed that a 71-year-old man had died during Hurricane Simon after a retaining wall collapsed under the weight of intense precipitation.

According to the Guerrero-based news agency IRZA, the man, identified by his family as Albino Moreno Jimenez, had been feeding his animals on the western outskirts of Chilpancingo when a wall came crashing down on him.

A second death was announced later in the day in the state of Baja California along Mexico’s western coast. There, Governor Marina del Pilar said that a young girl had died from the effects of what was once Hurricane Rachel, which peaked in early October as a Category 3 storm.

At least 10 more people remain missing in Baja California, according to the governor. Eight were reported missing in the city of Ensenada, on the Pacific coast, and two in the fishing town of San Felipe on the Gulf of California.

The figures remain preliminary, with local newspaper La Jornada reporting a higher death toll of two in Baja California and 11 missing.

Death toll expected to rise

Rachel made landfall in the Mexican state as a post-tropical cyclone, and its remnants have travelled north through southern California in the southwestern United States.

Hurricane Simon, meanwhile, has churned off the coast of Mexico since the weekend. By late Monday morning, it had weakened from a powerful Category 4 storm to a Category 2.

Its maximum sustained winds had slowed slightly to around 155km/h (100mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center. Its centre was about 115km west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, a cape in the state of Jalisco, drifting west at 3km/h.

Forecasters predict Simon could make landfall on Thursday or Friday. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for western Mexico, which is vulnerable to landslides and deadly surf conditions as a result of the storm.

Experts warn the death toll from both storms could rise, and officials have called on residents to exercise caution amid the devastation wrought by downed trees, high winds and floodwaters.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported the death of a cliff diver, Juan Patines, who was killed in Mazatlan, the northwestern state of Sinaloa, after jumping into the sea on Saturday night.

According to Mexican media, the heavy surf hampered his efforts to return to shore amid dangerous coastal conditions associated with Hurricane Simon. Local authorities later halted cliff-diving at the site due to hazardous sea conditions.

Officials have yet to confirm whether his death was directly linked to Hurricane Simon.

A record Pacific storm season

Rachel and Simon have battered Mexico’s western coast as part of an extraordinary stretch of hurricane activity across the Pacific.

The northeastern and central Pacific Ocean has experienced a record storm season this year, fuelled in part by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which results in warming waters in parts of the region. Twenty-one named storms have been recorded in the Pacific so far.

On Sunday, Simon tipped the region to a historic high for accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), a metric of the combined strength and longevity of tropical storms. This year has already surpassed the previous high set in 2018.

The US island chain of Hawaii has been among the hardest-hit places. In August, Hurricane Lala unleashed ruinous flooding on Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 storm, killing a 93-year-old woman and destroying some 100 homes, according to state officials.

A few weeks later, Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, struck the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau, where powerful winds, storm surge and flooding overwhelmed towns and roads.

Roughly 90 percent of Kauai’s power customers were plunged into darkness as a result of electricity outages. At least two deaths were linked to Lowell.

In late September, Hurricane Nolo brought another round of flooding and landslides to the Hawaiian islands, though it did not make landfall.