BIG BROTHER housemate Cameron revealed the surprising REAL reason he entered the house.
The 22-year-old farmer, from Somerset, got candid with fellow housemate Zelah, and opened up about his true intentions for coming onto the show.
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Cameron revealed that losing weight was one of the main reasons why he decided to step into the Big Brother house, as he and Zelah discussed body image issuesCredit: ITV2/ITVX
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The pair’s frank and honest conversation won the hearts of fans on social media, with many counting Cameron among their favouritesCredit: ITV2/ITVX
Cameron, who introduced himself as an introvert, told his co-star that he had entered the house on a mission to lose weight, as the pair openly discussed issues around body image.
As the pair had a conversation Cameron admitted that he had come into the house to “lose a bit of weight”.
Zelah, who works a professional trainer, asked if Cameron had any goals when it came to food.
Cameron responded: “Just like not eat so much crap all the time, like don’t binge as much.“
He went on to ask Zelah: “Did you used to be big?”
The personal trainer responded: “I used to be bigger, I used to be overweight.”
Zelah continued: “During my teen years, I developed an eating disorder.”
He opened up about his battle with bulimia, telling Cameron he struggled with “eating and then throwing up”.
Zelah admitted: “It stayed with me for a long time.”
Cameron responded: “At boarding school, we were made to run all the time and I was made to do rugby which I never really liked.”
Big Brother’s second evicted housemate revealed as another star gets the boot
He added: “I never really enjoyed, especially doing it with other people, I never really enjoyed doing all that.
“I felt embarrassed doing all that actually.”
Viewers praised Cameron for opening up about his body image struggles, particularly after he shared his fears over housemates liking him in an emotional diary room confession after entering the house.
Fans on social media admitted that the farmer has started to grow on them.
One viewer wrote on X: “Farmer O.G Cameron is really growing on me. Seems like such a nice guy. Love the way he emotionally checks in with people so effortlessly.”
Another fan said: “Farmer Cameron is a great addition to the cast i shouldnt have judged him prematurely”.
It comes as Gani became the second housemate to be given the boot from Big Brother house – after facing the first public vote of the series.
Poor weather conditions meant ITV bosses had to pull the plug on using their outdoor set forcing this week’s evictee to leave via the back door.
Both Gani and Zelah found themselves facing the public vote after being given an evil eye by the four newest housemates – Richard, Feyisola, Cameron B and George.
Upon his departure being confirmed, he was met by Will Best, who walked him over to the Late and Live studio amid the shake-up.
When asked how he was feeling, Gani looked heartbroken as he confessed: “I seriously don’t know what to even say right now.”
During his exit interview with AJ and Will, Gani admitted he wanted to share more of himself whilst on the show.
Big Brother 2025 housemates
The initial housemates who entered the house were:
Gani, 39, a pizza shop manager from South London.
Cameron, 22, a farmer from Taunton.
Nancy, 22, a graduate from Glasgow.
Caroline, 56, a PR specialist from Canvey Island.
Zelah, 25, a personal trainer from South London.
Teja, 18, a cleaner from Bristol.
Emily, 25, a political events manager from Northampton (evicted).
Marcus, 22, a mechanical engineer from Manchester.
Tate, 27, a business owner from Falkirk.
Elsa, 21, a content creator from Essex.
Sam, 27, a zumba instructor from Skipton.
Jenny, 20, a make-up artist from Derry.
Four new housemates were announced to enter the house as late arrivals:
Cameron B, 25, a personal trainer from Bolton.
Feyisola, 33, a financial investigator from London.
Coronation Street character Lou Michaelis (Farrel Hefarty) left the programme during Wedneday night’s episode of the ITV soap in emotional scenes that played out behind bars
20:55, 23 Jul 2025Updated 20:55, 23 Jul 2025
A Coronation Street character had to say goodbye to her children in heartbreaking scenes
Lou Michaelis bowed out of Coronation Street on Wednesday as she tearfully said goodbye to her children from behind bars – amid calls from fans to bring her back.
The character, played by Farrel Hegarty, has only been on the ITV soap for a matter of months but has had an explosive time of it, with many viewers not wanting her to go. She arrived alongside her husband Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton), who made an enemy of various Weatherfield residents, and in May, he was jailed for the murder of PC Craig Tinker ( Colson Smith ).
Shortly after the couple’s debut, viewers were introduced to their daughters Joanie (Savanna Pennigton) and Shanice (Molly Kilduff), and things reached a climax when Mick broke out of prison in an attempt to take back his eldest. A rooftop tussle with Kit ended in a near-fatal stabbing for the police officer whilst Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor) tried to shield Joanie from danger before Mick went back to jail.
Lou Michaelis (Farrel Hegarty) decided to say goodbye to her daughters as she began a lengthy prison sentence
What’s more, another flashback episode had revealed that Lou had put Gary Windass (Mikey North) in a coma when she hit him over the head amid a failed blackmail attempt, and she too was put behind bars. Mick’s final scenes aired last week, and on Wednesday’s edition of soap, Lou had accepted the fact that she was also going to be inside for a long time after Sally refused to loan her the money she would need for top lawyers.
She told the Underworld machinist: “I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m gonna do a decent stretch and I don’t want you bringing the kids to see me anymore. Not regularly, any road. I don’t want them to get used to seeing me in here. In this place.” Through tears, she insisted to Sally: “I just think it’s best I say goodbye to them for now. For all our sakes.”
“It’s gonna be all right though, in a long time. You will get through this,”, Sally tried to reassure her as the pair of them shared a heartfelt parting themselves. Sally vowed to take care of the girls while Lou is behind bars, and the schoolchildren enjoyed one last hug with their mum before they said goodbye. Just after the emotional farewell, Brody also promised his mum that he would be there for his half-sisters.
Lou has entrusted Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor) with the care of her young daughters while she is in jail
This is not the first time Sally has been responsible for two girls, as she and ex-husband Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) have Rosie (Helen Flanagan) and Sophie (Brooke Vincent) together. Whilst her own daughters are no longer residing in Weatherfield, some of the storylines included Sally trying to push Rosie into stage school in the years before she started up an affair with her teacher John Stape (Graeme Hawley), and learning to accept her youngest as a lesbian.
Meanwhile, Sally’s second husband Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) is also the father of former regular Faye Windass (Ellie Leach), and even though she was adopted by Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) as a child, he became a constant presence for her throughout her tumultuous teenage years, which saw her at the centre of a violet bullying storyline as well as a secret pregnancy.
At the time of Lou’s debut on Coronation Street, she and her on-screen husband were dubbed as the new versions of Les and Janice Battersby, but only a short while after playing the hairdresser, Farrel vaguely discussed the exit for the first time to The Mirror and other press. She teased what was ahead, while also confirming the fact that she did know from the start she would be leaving after a matter of months, with an exit always on the cards despite some reports.
She explained of why she took on the short-term role, knowing she would only be there for a specific amount of time: “I just think she really appealed to me because she’s the sort of person who’s never had it easy.
“She’s built up a lot of coping mechanisms, where she’s presenting a hard and feisty character with her walls up, and all she’s ever known is these fiery relationships. And probably fiery relationships with a lot of people in her life, which is what makes a character like that so interesting.
“Because she’s a force and irrational. I read scripts and I go, ‘Oh God! What’s she doing now? What’s she saying now?’ Because it’s not a way that I would behave, and because of that, it’s so much fun to play. It’s that desperation to protect that inner circle and because of that, she makes a mess of things. But a character like that is so fun to play, because there’s never a dull moment.”
He said: “It’s hard to let it go because it is something I enjoy. When I am around boxing it makes me miss it more. I try to only train three times a week now but it’s hard . . . very hard.
“And when people see me at the shows they assume I am coming back anyway, so it’s hard to walk away.
“I have had ground-breaking offers and everyone knows that I do not work for cheap pay.
“My eldest lad just did his first six-mile run with me and I am very proud of him because, before that, he couldn’t manage only two miles. So he is coming on well.”
Usyk and the 27-year-old Londoner Dubois managed to sell out the home of football, but even their two-bout rivalry would be dwarfed by the fantasy fight between Fury and 35-year-old AJ.
Fury’s larger-than-life persona — be it hosting daily workouts on Instagram during lockdown or starring in the WWE — has made him the sort of crossover star that boxing needs.
And he reckons there is still a desperate lack of superheroes left in the sport who can offer fight fans a 12-round escape from reality.
Tyson Fury spotted running after Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois as he posts X-rated message to rival
Fury explained: “It’s not just a problem in heavyweight boxing, it’s a problem for all of boxing.
“I don’t want to insult anyone but boxing is entertainment and it is also showbusiness. People come home from working hard at their 9-5 job — which they don’t even like — and they want to put their feet up on a Saturday.
“They want to have a couple of beers, invite a few of their friends around and be entertained.
“But when you turn the TV on and see two boring characters who just stand there and don’t say s**t, they will think, ‘What am I watching?’
“If I went to an event and it was total s**t, I would never go back again or switch it on again.
“But if something is good, I’ll book and go again. And it is the same in boxing.
Dream match imminent?
“There’s always a lack of charisma and characters. Every era has a couple of great characters and there are always a few great fighters who nobody remembers because they weren’t colourful enough characters.”
When the Fury and Joshua fight finally happens, Britain will stand still and everyone will pick a side.
The media events and face-to- face interviews will be worth the pay- per-view fee alone, even before a punch is thrown.
With the Saudis backing both men, it would generate hundreds of millions of pounds and would probably be a double header at Wembley and Riyadh.
And — following years of failed negotiations and rows over pulling power and value — Fury says they will be able to thrash out a fair deal.
He joked: “I would accept 90 per cent of the purse considering he’s coming back off a devastating knockout loss and I am coming off of two s**t losses!
Support from Paris
“But, honestly, the business side is irrelevant. If we do the fight it will be a level playing field of 50-50. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of him.”
And what about Fury’s long-suffering wife Paris, who tragically lost a baby boy six months into her pregnancy in the week building up to the first Usyk loss last year?
The Gypsy King revealed: “I have spoken to Paris in depth about it and she has said that she will support me with whatever I want to do.
“But that might just be because she is sick of me and wants me out of the way!
“Or it’s because we have been the real Bonnie and Clyde since 2005 and she will support me with whatever I want to do. She’s my ride or die.
“If we die, we die. And if we live, we live — that’s our sort of behaviour.”
Kyiv, Ukraine – Former Ukrainian serviceman Andriy Hetman says he has stopped paying attention to United States President Donald Trump’s decisions to halt and resume military aid to Ukraine.
“This time, [Trump] realised he’ll look bad, weak, he’ll look like he’s on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s side,” the 29-year-old, who was demobilised after being wounded in the eastern Donbas region in March, told Al Jazeera.
Trump said on Monday that he reversed the White House’s decision days earlier on July 1 to “pause” arms supplies to Kyiv, including crucially important air defence interceptors and precision-guided bombs and missiles.
In February, he froze aid after a falling out with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – but resumed the supplies weeks later.
Monday’s resumption followed Russia’s intensified attacks. In recent weeks, Ukrainians have endured hours-long overnight drone and missile assaults on key cities that have killed and wounded civilians – and kept millions awake.
“We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to [so that Ukrainians] have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump told a news conference in Washington, DC.
Residents take shelter in the basement of their apartment building in Kharkiv [Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters]
On Tuesday, Trump went further. He hinted that the Russian leader has flattered him for months but kept coming up with lists of impossible demands and ignoring calls for a ceasefire.
“We get a lot of bullsh-t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told a news conference on Tuesday. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Putin’s demands include the “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine that is allegedly ruled, according to the Kremlin, by a “neo-Nazi junta”.
Moscow also wants the West to lift multi-layered sanctions that are beginning to hobble Russia’s economy, and the return of assets frozen in Western banks. On Tuesday, Trump said he is considering additional sanctions on Russia.
Boosting air defence
The US weapons Kyiv needs the most are air defence missiles.
In June, Russia launched a record 5,438 drones, a quarter more than in March, according to the Ukrainian air force.
More than half of the drones are laden with explosives, while the rest are decoys Ukrainians waste their missiles on, or reconnaissance drones that track down locations of air defence teams and Western-supplied Patriot systems.
The Russian drones – and the cruise or ballistic missiles that follow them – hit civilian areas, causing more casualties every month.
After multiple tactical adjustments, Russian drones can now fly several kilometres above ground, making them unreachable to air defence teams with machineguns – and making Kyiv even more dependent on US-made air defence weaponry.
“The dependence rose dramatically in comparison with 2022, because at the time Ukrainian forces had many Soviet-era [air defence] systems and missiles that were depleted by the end of 2023,” Nikolay Mitrokhin, a researcher with Germany’s Bremen University, told Al Jazeera.
“Yes, US supplies are of paramount importance so that Russia doesn’t blow all of Ukraine’s rear areas with its drones,” he said.
Another backbone of Ukrainian forces is US-made HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) multiple rocket launchers that have been lethally effective in destroying Russian command posts and arms depots.
“There have been no analogues to HIMARS,” Mitrokhin said.
‘Trumpian hills’
Trump’s U-turns regarding the aid resumptions are both personal and administrative.
They stem from his own “mood swings” and the lack of systemic, coordinated efforts of his administration, according to Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta think tank.
“I’d call them ‘Trumpian hills’,” he said.
The decision on Monday to resume aid is a response to Putin’s apparent reluctance to resume peace talks while adding pressure on Moscow’s forces at the front line.
The main reason for the war’s escalation is that the Kremlin has concluded that the US will no longer help Ukraine, giving Russia a clear chance to win the war, Fesenko said.
The Republican Party had also urged Trump to end the aid freeze that made Washington look “morally dissonant”, he added.
However, arms supplies may become “systemic” and long-term if Western nations led by the United Kingdom and France agree to foot the bill, he said.
Later this week, a 31-nation-strong “Coalition of the Willing” that includes most of Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, will convene in Rome for a conference on peace settlement and recovery in Ukraine.
‘Not a serious politician’
Meanwhile, Trump’s U-turn did not catch Moscow by surprise.
The Kremlin is used to Trump’s mood swings and “don’t think anything new” about him, a former Russian diplomat said.
“Trump is not a serious politician, he contradicts himself,” Boris Bondarev, who quit his Foreign Ministry job in protest against Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, told Al Jazeera.
“That’s why [the Kremlin] needs to follow his actions and try not to anger him too much, meanwhile continuing its own course – to advance on the front line and to force Ukraine and the West to accept [Moscow’s] conditions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian forces keep pushing in the northern Ukrainian region of Sumy, where their earlier advance stalled in June.
They have also occupied several hundred square kilometres in the southeast and south, but failed to regain a Ukrainian toehold in the western Russian region of Kursk.
Top Russian officials have refrained from commenting on the aid resumption, while minor figures offered a tried-and-tested explanation – the West’s alleged centuries-old enmity towards Russia.
“The trick is old and ineffective, but the West hasn’t come up with other ways of influencing Russia in the past 1,000 years – or maybe they didn’t want to,” Dmitry Belik, a Russian politician in the Russia-annexed Crimean city of Sevastopol, told the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday.
Vladimir Rogov, a top official on the “integration” of Russia-occupied Ukrainian regions, told Russian media, “Trump wants Russia to do the impossible – give up its national interests and stop pursuing the [war] without any clear guarantees of [Moscow’s] security.”
Spending decisions have been made “harder” by the government’s U-turn on welfare changes, the education secretary has said, as she did not commit to scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
Bridget Phillipson told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that ministers were “looking at every lever” to lift children out of poverty.
But she said removing the cap would “come at a cost” and insisted the government was supporting families with the cost of living in other ways.
It comes after a rebellion of Labour MPs forced the government to significantly water down a package of welfare reforms that would have saved £5bn a year by 2030.
The climbdown means the savings will now be delayed or lost entirely, which puts pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the autumn Budget.
Before its retreat on benefits, the Labour government was considering lifting the two-child benefit cap, a policy that restricts means-tested benefits to a maximum of two children per family for those born after April 2017.
When asked if the chances of getting rid of the cap had diminished, Phillipson said: “The decisions that have been taken in the last week do make decisions, future decisions harder.
“But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty.”
Harrison and Toni seemed to rekindle things in tonight’s episode, but some fans aren’t convinced as they suspect they’ve worked out the ‘real reason’ they got back together
Love Island fans ‘work out real reason’ Harrison got back with Toni (Image: ITV)
After last night’s dramatic Love Island dumping, the Islanders realised their time in the villa was limited, as they expressed their true feelings.
In a shock villa U-Turn, Harrison, who was getting to know Helena, told Toni he wanted to give things another go, despite them breaking up just yesterday. Harrison’s reunion with Toni came just as Harry expressed he still had feelings for Helena.
Early on in the episode, Harrison informed Toni that he wanted to give things another go and wasn’t ready to throw away what they had. Helena later spotted them kissing on the Terrace, as Harrison told Helena he wanted to shift his focus back to Toni.
Harrison and Toni rekindled – but some fans weren’t convinced (Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
It didn’t seem like Helena was too bothered, however, as she informed Meg that Harry told her they’d be getting back together.
However, fans weren’t convinced with Harrison’s speech to Toni, as they suspect he only did it because he suspected Helena and Harry would be getting back together sometime soon.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said: “Harrison has clocked that Helena will always pick Harry. He is just securing his spot. I hope Toni is doing the same until someone she likes moves in.”
Another penned: “The sudden SWITCH UP from Harrison is crazy like for the past few days you were saying how you wanted Helena and now all of a sudden it’s Toni??”
Harrison and Toni got together on his first day in the villa (Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
“Harrison has obviously gone back to Toni cuz he knows Helena is obsessed with Harry & knew there’s no competition where Harry is concerned cuz he’d ‘win,'” said a third.
Despite this, the next morning, Harrison and Harry were seen preparing breakfast for Toni and Shakira – but will Harry and Helena find their way back together? Dejon thinks so…
Earlier, Dejon and Harry were seen having a heart-to-heart by the fire pit as they reflected on the shocking events. Harry is currently coupled up with Shakira, but it seems neither he or Helena can get rid of their spark.
“The way you are with Helena, that’s the H I know, but when you two [with Shakira] are together…” Dejon said, as Harry revealed it wasn’t the same.
It looks like the feelings are mutual with Helena, as she later told Meg and Dejon that she wanted to go to the Hideaway with Harry, as they later went to speak alone in the Snug.
Speaking about his connection with Shakira to Helena, Harry said: “I do like her, but obviously there’s always going to be you at the back of my mind. I know I’m going to have to make a decision at some point, but it isn’t today… just give me like a day.”
Love Island 2025 airs every night at 9PM on ITV2 and ITVX.
Bangkok, Thailand – Even at the Nana intersection, a pulsating mecca of this megacity’s seamy nightlife scene, the Wonderland cannabis shop is hard to miss.
Its sprawling, ruby-pink signboard screams across the busy crossroads, broadcasting the wares inside with the help of neon lights twisted into luminescent marijuana leaves.
It is Saturday afternoon, and business should be good. But it is not.
Just days earlier, Thailand’s government imposed new rules sharply curbing the sale of cannabis, only three years after decriminalising the plant with much fanfare and unleashing a billion-dollar business in the process.
All sales of cannabis buds must now be accompanied by a doctor’s prescription – a stipulation aimed at choking off the recreational market, the mainstay of most of the thousands of dispensaries that now dot the country.
Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin has also announced his intention to place the plant back on the country’s controlled narcotics list within 45 days, putting it in the company of cocaine, heroin and meth.
Nanuephat Kittichaibawan, an assistant manager at Wonderland, said his shop used to serve 10 or more customers an hour most afternoons.
Now, even with an in-house doctor to write prescriptions on the spot, “it is just one or two”, he told Al Jazeera.
“It is more complicated than it used to be, and for some people it will be too much,” he added.
Like many in the business, he worries the new rules may even force him to shut down, putting him out of work.
“If we follow the rules, we could [have to] close,” he said. “I do worry about that. A lot of people have this as their main job, and they need it to survive.”
A bar displays a sign prohibiting marijuana smoking in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 27, 2025 [Zsombor Peter/Al Jazeera]
Faris Pitsuwan, who owns five dispensaries on some of Thailand’s most popular tourist islands, including Ko Phi Phi Don and Phuket, is worried, too.
“Yesterday, I could not sell anything,” he told Al Jazeera. “I hope my business will survive, but too soon to say.”
While announcing the policy U-turn last week, Somsak said the new rules would help contain Thailand’s cannabis industry to the medical market, as intended when a previous administration, and a different health minister, decriminalised the plant in 2022.
“The policy must return to its original goal of controlling cannabis for medical use only,” government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said.
Since a new administration took over in 2023, the government has blamed decriminalisation for a wave of problems, including a spike in overdoses among children and adolescents and increased smuggling to countries where cannabis is still illegal.
A survey by the government’s National Institute of Development Administration last year found that three in four Thais strongly or moderately agreed with putting cannabis back on the narcotics list.
Smith Srisont, president of Thailand’s Association of Forensic Physicians, has been urging the government to relist cannabis from the beginning, mostly because of the health risks.
Smith notes that more than one study has found a fivefold to sixfold spike in cannabis-related health problems among children and adolescents since legalisation.
Although shops have been forbidden from selling to anyone below the age of 20, Smith says it has been too hard to enforce because the job falls mostly on health officers, rather than police, and Thailand does not have enough.
“So, they can’t … look at every shop,” he told Al Jazeera, but “if cannabis is [treated more] like methamphetamine … it will be … better because the police can [then get] involved” right away.
Many farmers and shop owners, though, say the blowback from legalising cannabis has been exaggerated, and scapegoated by the leading Pheu Thai Party to punish the Bhumjaithai Party, which abandoned the ruling coalition two weeks ago over Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s alleged bungling of a border dispute with Cambodia.
Somsak has denied the claim.
Bhumjaithai had led the push to decriminalise cannabis and was tussling with Pheu Thai for control of the powerful Ministry of the Interior in the weeks leading up to its split from the coalition.
A woman walks past the Chopaka dispensary in Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2022 [Zsombor Peter/Al Jazeera]
“As soon as one party steps down from the coalition, this happens. The timing just could not be any more perfect,” Chokwan Chopaka, who opened a dispensary along Bangkok’s bustling Sukhumvit Boulevard soon after Thailand legalised cannabis, told Al Jazeera.
“I understand that cannabis does create issues,” she said, “[but] I feel that those issues could have been at least mitigated if the government were actually enforcing the rules that [did] exist in the first place.”
Chokwan said she had to shutter her shop a few months ago because she could no longer both follow those rules and compete with other dispensaries in the neighbourhood that were getting away with breaking them.
She expects that most dispensaries will end up closing if the new rules are enforced diligently, many of them before recouping the investments they made to get up and running.
“A lot of people are very stressed out. We’re talking about people that are borrowing money into this. This is their last breath, their last lot of savings, because our economy hasn’t been well,” Chokwan said.
The Thai government said in May that the national economy may grow by as little as 1.3 percent this year, dragged down in part by slumping tourist arrivals.
The government has blamed the freewheeling cannabis scene of the past three years for putting some tourists off Thailand – another reason, it argues, to tighten the reins.
Shah, on his second trip to Thailand from India in the past year, said the new rules could do more harm than good by pushing tourists like him and his friend away.
“One of the reasons that we do come here is so that we can smoke good weed,” Shah, who asked to be referred to by his last name only, told Al Jazeera.
Having landed in Bangkok only hours earlier, Shah and his friend were leaving a Nana neighbourhood dispensary with their purchase.
A self-avowed recreational user, Shah said the shop wrote him a prescription with few questions and no fuss.
But if the government does get serious about enforcing the new rules, he added, “maybe I’ll think twice next time and go somewhere else.”
An employee at the Four Twenty dispensary prepares a marijuana cigarette for a customer in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 2022 [Zsombor Peter/Al Jazeera]
Cannabis farmers are fretting about the new rules, too.
To keep selling their buds to local shops, every farm will soon need a Good Agriculture and Collection Practice (GACP) certificate from the government.
It certifies that the farm has met certain quality control standards.
Chokwan, who also leads the Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network, a cannabis advocacy group, said only about 100 cannabis farms across the country currently have GACP certification.
Getting farms ready and tested can be expensive, she said, while forcing it on all farmers will weed out thousands of “little guys”, leaving the largest farms and the corporations backing them to dominate the market.
Coming in at less than 300 square metres (360 square yards), under banks of LED lights inside an unassuming beige building on the outskirts of Bangkok, the Thai Kush cannabis farm easily qualifies as one of the little guys.
Owner Vara Thongsiri said the farm has been supplying shops across the country since 2022. His main gripe with the new rules is how suddenly they came down.
“When you announce it and your announcement is effective immediately, how does a farm adapt that quickly? It is impossible. They didn’t even give us a chance,” he told Al Jazeera.
Vara said he would apply for the certificate nonetheless and was confident the quality of his buds would help his farm survive even in a smaller, medical-cannabis-only marketplace, depending on how long the application takes.
“My farm is a working farm. We harvest every month … If the process takes three months to six months, how am I going to last if I can’t sell the product I have?” he said.
“Because a farm can’t last if it can’t sell.”
Chokwan Chopaka, in glasses, hands out cannabis buds at a protest, urging the government not to re-criminalise cannabis in Bangkok, Thailand, in November 2022 [Zsombor Peter/Al Jazeera]
Rattapon Sanrak, a cannabis farmer and shop owner, is crunching the numbers on the new regulations as well.
His small farm in the country’s fertile northeast supplies his two Highland Cafe dispensaries in Bangkok, including one in the heart of the city’s Khao San quarter, a warren of bars, clubs and budget accommodations catering to backpackers.
“I could stay open, but as [per] my calculation, it may not [be] worth the business. It’s not feasible any more due to the regulations, the rental and other costs,” he told Al Jazeera.
“It’s not worth the money to invest.”
Rattapon and others believe the government could have avoided the latest policy whiplash by passing a comprehensive cannabis control bill either before decriminalisation or soon after.
Like others critical of the government’s approach, he blames political brinkmanship between Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai for failing to do so.
Proponents of such a bill say it could have set different rules for farms based on their size, helping smaller growers stay in business, and better regulations to help head off the problems the government is complaining about now.
Although a bill has been drafted, Somsak has said he has no intention of pushing it forward, insisting that placing the plant back on the narcotics list was the best way to control it.
The Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network plans to hold a protest in front of the Ministry of Public Health on Monday in hopes of changing the minister’s mind.
Rattapon said he and hundreds of other farmers and shop owners also plan on filing a class action lawsuit against the government over the new rules.
Medical cannabis products are displayed at the Bangkok Integrative Medicine Clinic in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 2022 [Zsombor Peter/Al Jazeera]
In the meantime, Rattapon and others warn, the government’s attempt at confining cannabis to the medical market will not simply make the recreational supply chain vanish.
Rattapon said many producers, having poured in millions of dollars and put thousands of people to work, will go underground, where they will be even harder to control.
“Imagine you have a company, you hire 10 people, you invest 2 million baht [$61,630] for that, you’re operating your business, and then one day they say that you cannot sell it any more. And in the pipeline, you have 100 kilograms coming. What would you do?” he said.
“They will go underground.”
Faris, the dispensary owner, agreed.
He said many of the shops and farms that rely on the recreational market will close under the new rules.
“But as time goes by,” he added, “people will find a way.”
The British government has announced a national inquiry into organised child sexual abuse following the release of a damning report by Baroness Louise Casey that criticised decades of institutional failure to protect children from so-called “grooming gangs”.
It marks a remarkable U-turn by the Labour Party government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which had resisted months of calls for an inquiry, stating that it was focusing on recommendations already made in an earlier seven-year probe.
But what exactly is the Casey Report, and what drove Labour’s abrupt change of course?
What is the Casey Report?
Commissioned earlier this year by Starmer, the Casey Report is a review of how United Kingdom institutions have tackled child sexual exploitation.
The review focused on “grooming gangs” – groups of men who targeted vulnerable girls for sexual abuse, often over extended periods of time.
What does the report say?
The report identified an institutional failure to protect children and teenage girls from rape, exploitation and serious violence.
Among its recommendations, the Casey Report suggested a change in the law so adults in England and Wales face mandatory rape charges if they intentionally penetrate a child under age 16.
In her report, Casey concluded that too many grooming cases have been dropped or downgraded from rape to lesser charges because a 13- to 15-year-old is perceived to have been “in love with” or have “consented to” sex with the perpetrator.
Her review also highlighted reluctance by the authorities to “examine the ethnicity of the offenders”, saying it was not racist to do so.
In the local data that the audit examined from three police forces, they identified clear evidence of “over-representation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani-heritage men”.
However, the review also criticised the ongoing failure to collect ethnicity at a national level, with it not recorded for two-thirds of perpetrators, making it impossible “to provide any accurate assessment from the nationally collected data”.
Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper answers questions on the Casey Report in the House of Commons in London on June 16, 2025 [Handout UK Parliament via AFP]
Were the recommendations accepted?
Yes.
The UK’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the government would accept all 12 recommendations in the Casey Report.
This means the police will launch a new national criminal operation targeting grooming gangs, overseen by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
This operation would be overseen by an independent commission with powers to compel witnesses to provide evidence.
It would also go ahead with a national inquiry, with Starmer stating that he had read “every single word” of the report and would accept Casey’s recommendation for an investigation.
What led to Labour’s U-turn?
Richard Scorer, the head of Abuse Law and Public Inquiries at Slater and Gordon, a law firm, told Al Jazeera that the sheer size of the scandal and the fact that it had affected thousands of children made it “inevitable” that there would need to be a public inquiry about it at some point.
US billionaire Elon Musk’s online references to the grooming scandal that emerged a decade ago in several towns and cities in northern England had also pushed the “issue up the political agenda”, he said.
In June 2022, an independent review found that the police and local council had failed to prevent sexual exploitation of young girls by gangs in Oldham, a town in Greater Manchester in England.
Two years later, political leaders in Oldham Council called for the government to investigate further, but then-Home Office Minister Jess Phillips rejected the council’s request, saying it should lead an investigation itself.
In January this year, Musk threw his weight behind far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson and had been outspoken on the issue.
He called for Robinson, a controversial political figure, then serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, to be freed, writing on his own social media platform X, “Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth?”
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London on April 22, 2024 [Adrian Dennis/AFP]
Musk also accused Starmer of failing to prosecute child rapists when he was director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.
He also took aim at Minister for Safeguarding Jess Phillips, calling her “a rape genocide apologist”.
Starmer responded at the time, without mentioning Musk by name. “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims, they are interested in themselves,” the PM said.
Will this report bring about change?
Experts say it’s certainly a positive step.
William Tantam, a senior lecturer in anthropology at the University of Bristol, who has worked on a previous independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, said that from a researcher’s perspective, the main positive was that there would be more consistency and clarity in data.
He said that another positive is that inquiry panel will have the authority to compel agencies to participate.
Scorer noted that bringing in the NCA to investigate cases that haven’t progressed in the past is also a very welcome outcome of the report.
He said in the UK, different police forces have not always succeeded in coordinating their efforts to tackle grooming gangs, so a more centralised overview from the NCA might secure “a better coordination of police activity”.
Cooper told Parliament on Monday that more than 800 cases have now been identified for formal review, and she expects that figure to rise above 1,000 in the coming weeks.
But Scorer warned that the government would need to assign an additional budget for the implementation of the changes recommended by Casey.
“If you are asking the NCA to reopen and investigate, potentially up to 1000 cases, that’s going to require a huge amount of resources,” he said. “Who’s going to pay for that? That’s one of the questions that the government is going to need to answer.”
Rita Simons has joined the cast of Hollyoaks in an explosive new role. But upon her arrival, Alex Fletcher admits she was awestruck by her co-star – and even a little jealous.
Alex Fletcher has made a huge confession about one of her Hollyoaks co-stars
Alex Fletcher admits that Rita Simons’ arrival in Hollyoaks left her feeling envious – but she can’t wait to film more scenes with the former EastEnders star.
Diane Hutchinson has had the sort of 12 months you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. She’s faced divorce, relapsed into alcoholism, learned that her teenager Ro wishes to transition and dated a bent copper who turned out to be running a child exploitation ring on the side.
So it’s no wonder Hollyoaks actress Alex Fletcher has blocked it all out. “She’s had a traumatic year,” laughs Alex, who is celebrating her 15th year on the soap.
“I genuinely put it to bed as soon as I walk out of the studio because it would send me under. I just try and bury it. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
This week sees Diane and Tony (Nick Pickard) grow closer after the stress of Ro’s court case dissipates. However, Marie (Rita Simons) is not giving up on her future with Tony without putting up a fight.
“Diane and Tony and the family have kind of pulled together as a unit again, which is a bit of a feather in Diane’s cap because she still loves him to bits,” explains Alex. “Her loyalties and her heart lie with Tony and it would be nice to work with Nick again because I’ve hardly seen him.”
After shooting to fame as Brookside’s feisty Jacqui Dixon, Alex Fletcher is making waves as Diane Hutchinson in Hollyoaks – a role she’s embodied since 2010
Fans will enjoy scenes where both Marie and Diane turn up in the same dress to celebrate after Ro avoids being sent to a juvenile detention centre. “That brings the family closer together again, so they celebrate and Marie and Diane turn up in the same dress,” laughs Alex.
“And Diane is like, ‘Well, I ain’t going home and getting changed love, you can go home!’ All the dynamics and blended families have been so good to explore. I think there’s going to be a lot more of that.”
Not only is Alex looking forward to being reunited with work husband Nick, she also wants more scenes with EastEnders icon Rita. “She’s brilliant,” says Alex, 48.
“Not going to lie, I was a bit jealous of her when she started. She’s so good, it’s nice to just be working in and around women of our age. Strong women. It’s fabulous.”
However, there is fresh trouble brewing for Diane: Clare Devine, played by Gemma Bissix, is coming for her. Unknown to Diane, Clare was married to DI Alistair Banks, the corrupt copper Diane had a fling with. Now he’s dead, Clare believes Diane is sitting on cash that belongs to her.
“Diane’s seemingly in a good place, though I don’t think she’s realised the backlash from DI Banks,” explains Alex. “Diane should be fearing for her life. And then, obviously, she’s also being accused of having all this cash that’s gone missing…”
Alex has now teased more troubled times ahead for her character, particularly with former EastEnders actress Rita Simons’ arrival(Image: WireImage)
Clare has been away from Hollyoaks for 12 years, but Alex is thrilled to have her back. “She’s just a great girl,” she says. “She’s a good energy – she really cares about the show and she 110% gets it.”
Before playing Diane on Hollyoaks , Alex made her name as Brookside ’s mouthy Jacqui Dixon, who married to become Jacqui Farnham. Alex loves acting but she’d also relish a stint on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! after cheering on Nick back in 2023.
She even wants to try a witchetty grub or two. “ It’s one of my favourite shows,” says Alex. “I am at an age where I don’t really care what people think about me anymore.
I’d have a good go. I’d be scared of the water – the water things would freak me out. But I could eat the stuff and I’d be good in a team.”
However, Strictly Come Dancing is where Alex’s heart lies. The star was in the audience of the show last year to support her pal Shayne Ward and loved watching the dancers close up.
“If I had to choose, it would be Strictly all day,” she says. “I danced as a kid and I had the privilege to go and see it last year and I buzzed off seeing the dancers. I just think it’s a skill. Not that I’ve danced in 35 to 40 years.”
Alex even knows who she’d like to dance with – Aljaž Škorjanec. “I love my fitness, I would just love it, 100%. I love Aljaž Škorjanec and I met him after the show and he was just dead friendly and brilliant,” she says. “He’d be brilliant.”
