An Israeli ‘kamikaze’ drone blew up a vehicle on a busy street in Gaza City on Saturday, the latest test of the fragile ceasefire. It was just one of several Israeli attacks that killed at least 22 people across the enclave.
Published On 22 Nov 202522 Nov 2025
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TRAIN passengers hoping to travel across Britain as Christmas closes in are facing uncertainty after a trade union announced strike action on four consecutive Saturdays.
Workers at rail operator CrossCountry will stage a slew of strikes in December in a dispute over pay.
Rail, Maritime and Transport union [RMT] members will walk out on December 6, 13, 20 and 27 – sparking chaos for Brits.
The move is likely affect thousands of Brits who are heading home to family and relatives for Christmas and New Year.
Engineering works on the West Coast Main Line on December 27 mean some passengers would have been hoping to use CrossCountry trains as an alternative.
CrossCountry operates a nationwide network centred on Birmingham New Street, running long-distance services that link Scotland, the North East and North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands, Wales, the South West, the South Coast and the East of England – including through-services such as the Cardiff–Edinburgh “Three Nations” route.
“We are disappointed for our customers that the RMT has announced further industrial action,” Shiona Rolfe, Managing Director at CrossCountry told The Sun.
“We’ve worked hard to make a fair and reasonable offer that addresses the key points raised in this dispute, and we’ve made meaningful progress in negotiations.
“Our priority remains reaching an agreement that avoids disruption for passengers in the busy Christmas period, and we are ready to continue talks at any time.”
CrossCountry has not yet confirmed how the strike will impact services, but it is likely that most will be cancelled and they will only operate a limited timetable at best.
Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the RMT – Britain’s biggest rail workers’ union – said today: “CrossCountry has not dealt with the core issues in this dispute and has come back with a proposal that is worse than what was already on the table.
“Our members are still facing unresolved staffing shortages, unfair pay outcomes and broken commitments. RMT members have been left with no choice but to take strike action.
“The company must return with a serious offer that meets the commitments it has already made and treats our members with the fairness and respect they deserve.”
The Sun Online has reached out to CrossCountry for comment.
It comes as Network Rail warned passengers to expect delays around Christmas and the New Year ahead of major £130 million works.
The disruption is set to last for a total of a month over Christmas, while crucial work is carried out.
Announcing a raft of festive network upgrades, Network Rail boss Helen Hamlin said: “The period between Christmas and New Year is the quietest on the railway and it’s the best time for us to do the major projects that will take longer than a night or a weekend to complete.
“That’s especially the case this year as we have some very big plans for improving the railway that will mean people may have to travel home on different routes after Christmas than the way they travelled out.
“Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding and for planning ahead.”
THE best way to keep kids busy is to head to an indoor waterpark for the day.
So we’ve rounded up some of the biggest and best in Europe where is is always warm, with some as hot as 32C.
Having opened in 2020, Suntago Water World is now Europe’s biggest indoor waterpark.
Remaining around 32C, the 75,000sqm attraction has three zones – Jamango, Relax Suntago and Saunaria
Inside are 18 swimming pools, including a wave pools, thermal pools and baby pools.
And guests have a choice of 35 slides, ranging from big dual-riders to more gentle ones for smaller guests.
Relax Suntago is for adults only, with thermal pools and hot tubs, while Saunaria is the spa area with steam rooms and saunas.
New this year was Crocodile Island, part of the Jamango area, which has climbing areas and games inside.
The rest of Jamango is great for smaller guests, with lazy rivers and baby pools.
Next year it will also be opening a new four-star hotel
Until then, guests can stay at the onsite ‘village’ with 92 bungalows sleeping up to eight people.
The best way to get to Suntago Water World is to fly to Warsaw, with the attraction around an hour by car.
Tropical Islands was the largest indoor waterpark in Europe until Suntago opened.
Built inside a former aircraft hangar, it still has a number of record-breaking attractions.
This includes the world’s biggest indoor beach, and the world’s biggest indoor tropical rainforest.
The 10,000sqm waterpark has four sections – Water Worlds, Tropical Rainforest, Tropical Village and Amazonia.
Water Worlds is the main area with the large beach, sunglounger and palm trees as well as a swimming pool, water lagoon and water playground.
Tropical Rainforest has everything from 50,000 plants to flamingos and turtles while Tropical Village is the food, drink and souvenir area.
Themed by destination, it includes Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Bali as well as the new Hawaiian themed Ohana Town last year, with overnight lodges, bowling and karaoke.
Amazonia is the huge outdoor area, although most of this closes during the winter.
While there are lots of overnight lodges and camping areas for guests to stay in, there are plans for a new hotel although an opening date is yet to be confirmed.
The best way to get to Tropical Islands is to fly to Berlin, with the attraction around an hour away by car.
Rulantica is the waterpark of the Europa-Park theme park in Germany and opened back in 2019.
Spread across 32,600sqm, there are 14 themed zones a well as 50 slides and attractions.
It is always 32C so you can grab one of the 1,700 sunloungers to warm up.
For kids there are playgrounds, ‘water carousels’ and wave pools, with enough for both older children and toddlers.
Otherwise it has everything for adults too with swim up bars, steam rooms and saunas.
New last year was a huge outdoor water attraction although this is closed for the season.
The best way to get to Rulantica is to fly to Basel Airport with the waterpark around an hour away.
When it comes to the UK, you need to head to Blackpool for the biggest indoor waterpark.
Sandcastle Waterpark opened in 1986 and sits at 29C all year round.
It is home to the UK’s longest indoor rollercoaster waterslide, Master Blaster, as well as a number of other slides.
Otherwise there are treehouses, lazy rivers, wave pools and even the biggest water cannon in the UK.
There are also treehouses and forts for kids to play on, as well as a wave pool and lazy river and the UK’s biggest water cannon.
You can even hire Tiki Cabanas where you have a hot tub and drinks, or just visit the Waterfall Cafe for snacks.
Cuba’s top epidemiologist warned nearly a third of the population has been impacted and swaths of workforce sickened.
Published On 14 Nov 202514 Nov 2025
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Cuba is battling a wave of mosquito-borne illnesses, with the country’s top epidemiologist warning that nearly one-third of the population has been impacted, with large numbers of workers taken ill.
On Thursday, fumigators armed with fogging machines probed alleys and crowded buildings in parts of the capital Havana, among the hardest hit by mosquito-borne viruses including dengue and chikungunya, authorities said.
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It comes after Francisco Duran, the national director of epidemiology at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, described the situation in the Caribbean island nation as “acute”.
“We are working intensely, as we did with COVID-19,” Duran said, referring to ongoing research projects to find medications and vaccines to help tame the virus’s impacts.
Dengue fever has long plagued Cuba, but has grown worse as the government’s ability to fumigate, clean roadside rubbish and patch leaky pipes has been hampered by an ongoing economic crisis.
The once-rare chikungunya virus – which causes severe headache, rashes and joint pain which can linger months after infection, causing long-term disability – has also spread quickly in recent months.
Chikungunya, which is spread primarily by the Aedes mosquito species that also carries dengue and Zika, has no specific treatment.
Duran said Cuban health authorities are conducting two clinical trials to test the efficacy of Jusviza, an injectable drug used to control hyperinflammation, in treating chikungunya.
He continued that another trial is under way to evaluate rectal ozone therapy as a treatment for patients with joint pain following chikungunya’s acute phase. This form of treatment involves administering ozone gas through the rectum.
Outbreaks of chikungunya have infected almost 340,000 people globally so far in 2025, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), resulting in 145 deaths in at least 16 countries. In July, the World Health Organization issued an urgent call for action to prevent another epidemic of the virus.
Cuba’s healthcare system, once among the best in Latin America, has suffered under a decades-long economic embargo orchestrated by the United States, seeking to pressure Havana’s nominally communist government into making political and economic reforms.
Citizens in the impoverished island nation routinely suffer from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine, while the poorest are often unable to purchase insect repellent.
The issue is exacerbated by frequent power outages, which leave Cubans with little choice but to open their windows and doors to ease the heat, inviting mosquitoes in and facilitating the spread of the disease.
“The blockade is a policy of collective punishment,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in late October, as the United Nations General Assembly again overwhelmingly called for an end to Washington’s embargo for a 33rd year.
“It flagrantly, massively and systematically violates the human rights of Cubans. It makes no distinction between social sectors or economic actors,” he said.
It’s a badge of honor to be called a surfer dude. There are plenty on the Laguna Beach High football team, led by their 6-foot-4 junior quarterback Jack Hurst.
Surfer dudes are fearless, agile and stay calm under pressure when there’s an approaching wave. They have good timing, great instincts and enjoy moments of serenity while gliding on a board waiting to test themselves against a wave.
Hurst has to avoid tacklers, so when a wave suddenly appears it’s good practice making quick decisions just like he does in football.
“I do surf a little bit. Don’t know about good. Being on the water is time to be calm for me,” he said.
Hurst has put together a breakthrough junior season after being a two-year understudy to Jackson Kollock, who is now at Minnesota. Hurst has passed for 2,560 yards and 41 touchdowns with four interceptions this season.
“I was sitting behind Jackson and waiting for my moment and my chance,” Hurst said. “We helped each other. It was great walking that journey with him.”
He’d get mop-up duty and learn from Kollock. Both have strong arms but Hurst is more of a drop-back passer.
“Jack’s improvement has been astounding,” coach John Shanahan said. “He turns 17 later this month. How quickly he processes coverages is great. He’s got lot of savvy in him.”
Laguna Beach is a true neighborhood team at 26 players strong, having gone 9-1. The Breakers have drawn Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a Southern Section Division 3 playoff opener on Friday at Notre Dame.
Hurst is one of the first players to have joined Laguna Beach when it started a seventh-grade team trying to keep local players from leaving. There’s one middle school in the district. The same coaches and same players have followed Hurst through, so the camaraderie and chemistry is an important advantage for overcoming lack of depth.
“It’s been the same kids and same coaches since we were young,” Hurst said. “We’re all very close and play as a team.”
His top target, junior Brady Stringham, has caught 17 touchdown passes. “He’s in the right spot at the right time,” Hurst said.
Notre Dame coach Evan Yabu said of Hurst, “He’s accurate. He’s as sharp as a tack.”
There are few coaching staffs more impressive than the one put together by Shanahan. John Selbe (Cypress), Scott McKnight (JSerra), Mike Milner (El Toro, Fountain Valley) and Mark Flippin (El Toro) are former head coaches. Mike Walcott was defensive coordinator at JSerra. David Ricci coached at Tesoro and Capistrano Valley.
“Once you hear the resume, it’s wow,” Hurst said. “They know some football.”
This is what good qbs do. Make mistake and forget. Jack Hurst was intercepted. Comes back for 69-yard TD pass to Will Regal. 14-7 Laguna Beach. pic.twitter.com/3YUxVa4lIN
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) October 25, 2025
It’s a reunion of sorts for Laguna Beach. Last season, the Breakers faced Notre Dame quarterback Wyatt Brown when he was playing for Santa Monica. Laguna Beach won 21-9. Brown has passed for 1,504 yards and 13 touchdowns and run for 912 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Laguna Beach and Hurst will need a collective effort on Friday night from his best football buddies.
“I really like that everyone is competing, whether in surfing or skateboading,” Hurst said.
If someone is using surfer lingo after the game — stoked! — you’ll know it was a good night for the Breakers.
