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A BIG Brother star has been spotted working the door of a high-end restaurant in London, almost two decades after he rose to fame on the then-Channel 4 show.

The 44-year-old was seen on the door of upmarket restaurant Aki London on Wednesday as he helped Sharon and Kelly Osbourne leave the venue.

Ziggy Lichman, who appeared on Big Brother back in 2007, appears to have swapped showbusiness for a quieter life as a doorman.

The star was famously in an on/off relationship with housemate Chanelle Hayes.

Then 26 – he placed fourth in the show and enjoyed a short-lived relationship with model Chanelle, splitting shortly after.

He was also known for being part of the boyband Northern Line, which split up in 2000.

Despite success across TV and music, it appears Ziggy, real name Zac, has shunned fame as he was spotted working at gourmet Japanese restaurant Aki London.

And the new role doesn’t mean Ziggy is far from the spotlight, as he is still brushing shoulders with the A-list at the food hotspot.

On Wednesday evening, Ziggy was seen escorting Sharon and Kelly Osbourne out of Aki.

The outing was Sharon’s first public appearance since her husband, Ozzy Osbourne’s death in July.

The Osbourne’s are unlikely to be Ziggy’s only famous guests, with the likes of Romeo Beckham and actress Holly Valance spotted there previously.

Back in 2017, it was reported that Ziggy was working on the door of upmarket members club Paper Soho.

He is since thought to have opened two of his own bars across North London, The Shop NW10, a cocktail bar and café, and bar The Wealthy Beggar.

Ziggy is also still in touch with his ex-girlfriend Chanelle, following their joint rise to fame on Big Brother.

Despite being split up for 18 years, the duo remain friends and even appeared on Loose Women together in 2018.

“She’s absolutely smashed it. She’s held her own, had a family, gone through some tough times as you know.

“I still love her to bits, absolutely,” said Ziggy of Chanelle, who continued to pursue a career in the spotlight after the show.

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“We’ve already started working on that.” US President Donald Trump said his administration is searching for a possible resolution to the war in Sudan. He added that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had raised the conflict in a conversation with him.

Inside an office in Hollywood, not far from the Walk of Fame and the Sunset Bronson Studios, Netflix executive Alain Tascan revealed new content coming soon to the platform — but it’s not a TV show or a movie. It’s a new game where U.S. viewers compete to win thousands of dollars.

The game show, called “Best Guess Live,” will run on weekdays at 5 p.m. PT, where hosts Howie Mandel and Hunter March will unveil a set of five clues. Mobile game players tune in to make their best guesses. The earlier they can guess correctly with fewer clues, the higher the chances they can win more of the prize money. The show, filmed in Van Nuys, is Netflix’s attempt at appointment gaming for its audience of more than 700 million viewers.

“Can you imagine where you not only can go and play a game, but you could win a life-changing amount of money each and every day, and it takes no time, it’s easy, and you just have your phone?” said Mandel, widely known for his hosting turns on NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” and “America’s Got Talent.”

The goal is to make playing games on Netflix “as simple as streaming a movie on a Friday, using the same innovative mindset that led Netflix to transform itself from a company shipping DVDs to streaming movies, shows and now games,” Tascan said.

Netflix has been investing in its games vertical for the last four years, with mixed results. Last month, the streamer’s co-CEO Greg Peters gave the company’s gaming efforts a B- grade. Under Tascan’s leadership, the division has focused on some key areas, including narratives based on Netflix programs, games for children, social party games and mainstream titles like “Grand Theft Auto.”

The changes appear to be working. The number of downloads for Netflix games has increased 17% to 74.8 million from January to October of this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from app analytics firm Appfigures. The company is also releasing fewer games, adding 16 titles this year compared to 35 last year, Appfigures said.

Netflix declined to comment on the Appfigures data.

The company has also removed games in part due to low customer engagement. Netflix has released 142 games, with 78 of them still active as of October, according to Appfigures.

Its two most popular mobile games were released on Netflix in the last two years, including “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” which came on the platform in December 2023 and achieved 44 million downloads. The streamer released an original, the multiplayer party royale title “Squid Game: Unleashed,” last year with 21 million downloads. The game had tie-ins to the popular series’ second season where players could earn cash or wild tokens in the game if they watched a certain number of episodes.

Some analysts say there is still room for improvement.

“It still seems pretty experimental,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at research firm Emarketer. “I don’t get the impression that they are on gamers’ list of their go-to sources of entertainment.”

On Thursday, Netflix said its first slate of five games for the TV, including Tetris Time Warp, Boggle Party, Pictionary: Game Night and LEGO Party! are now available. Prior to the new slate, subscribers could only play Netflix games on their mobile devices.

When consumers load up the TV games, they will see a QR code they can scan on their devices and use them as controllers in the game. For example in Netflix’s version of Pictionary, users draw on their phones.

“A big switch in the strategy is really to make sure that we are eliminating any friction that somebody can encounter when they want to play,” Tascan said in an interview. “We believe that on TV, in particular, where people enjoy their different shows, is the best place to offer something very easily approachable.”

The TV games are the latest iteration in Netflix’s effort that began four years ago. The company had beefed up its staff after acquiring four gaming businesses — Glendale-based Night School, Boss Fight Entertainment out of Allen, Texas, Finland-based Next Games and Spry Fox based in Seattle.

Netflix shut down Boss Fight Entertainment last month.

The gaming division efforts were first led by Mike Verdu, a former Facebook and Electronic Arts executive. He later transitioned to a role focusing on transforming game development and player experiences with generative AI in November 2024 and left Netflix earlier this year. Tascan, a former executive at Epic Games, was named Netflix’s president of games in July 2024.

Games has been an attractive area of investment for some companies, as younger audiences spend a lot of time playing titles like Roblox, Fortnite and Call of Duty. Tascan estimates there are 3 billion gamers in the world and with Netflix having an audience of more than 700 million people, “the Venn diagram is pretty large.”

The streamer on Thursday also announced new mobile games for kids, including digital coloring book “Barbie Color Creations” and a hairstyling game, “Toca Boca Hair Salon 4.”

It can be challenging for companies to get into the space. For example, in 2023, Google shut down its gaming service Stadia after it failed to gain traction with users.

Tascan said Netflix is not competing against traditional gaming consoles but is looking to innovate and find new ways to reach its customers.

Tascan said he is encouraged by the reactions he has seen.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “But at the end, how many people are going to have the same reaction? We are a company driven by data, and our main data is, how many people are going to engage?”

Tascan said he thinks it will be a few short years before Netflix becomes the Netflix of games. He hopes the division can improve from Peters’ grade of a B- to a higher level.

“What I hope is, by the end of the year, we’ll upgrade to an A, hopefully A+,” Tascan said.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.

The exchanges have been the only progress of any note in negotiations between the two countries as the war rages on in its fourth year.

Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring 1,200 Ukrainians home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations.

“We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”

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Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday that he held consultations mediated by Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates on resuming prisoner of war exchanges, which the two sides have carried out successfully multiple times.

He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians.

The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners although the exchanges have been sporadic.

But the swaps have been the only progress of any note in talks between the two sides as the war rages on and another punishing winter approaches with oil and energy sites being targeted by both Moscow and Kyiv.

Authorities in Moscow did not immediately comment on the issue.

Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalise procedural and organisational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home – at the family table and next to their relatives”.

Finland says ‘sisu’ needed

Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told The Associated Press news agency that a ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before the spring and European allies need to keep up support despite a corruption scandal that has engulfed Kyiv.

Europe, meanwhile, will require “sisu”, a Finnish word meaning endurance, resilience and grit, to get through the winter, he said, as Russia continues its hybrid attacks and information war across the continent.

“I’m not very optimistic about achieving a ceasefire or the beginning of peace negotiations, at least this year,” Stubb said, commenting that it would be good to “get something going” by March.

In other developments, energy infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sunday in Ukraine’s Odesa region, the State Emergency Service said. A solar power plant was among the damaged sites.

Ukraine is desperately trying to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.

Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Russia launched 176 drones and fired one missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down or neutralised 139 drones.

Ukrainian forces struck a major oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region along with a warehouse storing drones for the elite Rubicon drone unit in partially Russian-occupied Donetsk, Ukraine’s general staff said on Sunday. Russian officials did not immediately confirm the attacks.

Months of long-range Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries are aimed at depriving Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that its forces shot down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.

It also said its troops had captured the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Rivnopillya in eastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region.

Nov. 14 (UPI) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration is giving certain Transportation Security Agency workers a $10,000 bonus for going “above and beyond” during the 43-day government shutdown.

She made the announcement Thursday during a news conference in Houston.

“I’m pleased to announce that under President [Donald] Trump, we are giving a $10,000 bonus to TSA officers across our nation who went above and beyond during the Democrats’ shutdown,” Noem said. “They guaranteed that America wouldn’t shut down — no matter how badly the Democrats wanted average Americans to feel the pain.

“Their unsung patriotism deserves recognition. President Trump and I are so grateful for these patriots.”

Noem praised TSA workers who showed up to work throughout the shutdown despite not receiving pay. A news release from the department highlighted two TSA agents who had perfect attendance during the shutdown — Reiko Walker and Ashley Richardson, who both worked at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

News outlet Semafor reported that back pay for Department of Homeland Security employees was expected to begin processing Wednesday.

Noem didn’t specify what metrics the Department of Homeland Security was using to determine who gets the bonus.

“We’re going to look at every individual that did exceptional service during this period of time when there were so many hardships,” she said during the news conference.

The Department of Homeland Security said it’s paying for the bonuses from leftover funds from fiscal year 2025.

Johnny J. Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees’ TSA Council 100, described the bonuses as “great for some.”

“It’s better to give everybody a little something, because they all suffered and they all endured hard times during the last 43 days,” he said, according to The Hill.

The government shutdown caused thousands of flight cancellations and delays at U.S. airports amid a shortage in air traffic controllers. This shortage prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to cut flights by up to 6% at 40 major airports.

On Monday, Trump showed frustration with air traffic controllers who declined to show up to work without pay. He threatened to dock the pay of those who called out during the shutdown.

“For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

A for sale sign is seen outside a home in Arlington, Virginia. On Monday, the Trump administration confirmed it is working on a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage to pull more buyers into the housing market. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 10 (UPI) — The Trump administration is working on a plan to introduce a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage with the goal of making homeownership more affordable for millions of Americans, as some analysts warn of hidden costs.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte confirmed the report, saying the proposed 50-year loan would lower monthly payments to bring more buyers into the housing market.

“Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50-year Mortgage — a complete game changer,” Pulte wrote Saturday in a post on X. Trump has compared the plan to the 30-year mortgage from President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s New Deal.

“We hear you. We are laser focused on ensuring the American Dream for young people and that can only happen on the economic level of home buying,” Pulte added. “A 50-year mortgage is simply a potential weapon in a wide arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now: stay tuned.”

The housing market has grown stagnate over the past three years as younger Americans are unable to afford the payments that come with a 30-year fixed rate at more than 6% interest. To add to that, inventory is depleted as homeowners are locked in to their houses with the lower interest rates of the COVID-19 economy.

Both Pulte and Trump have blamed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for hiking interest rates to curb inflation and then keeping rates “artificially high.”

While a 50-year mortgage would lower monthly payments, it would also prevent homeowners from building equity as quickly. Over the life of the loan, the amount of interest paid to lenders would be 40% higher, according to analysts who also warn about the need for congressional approval.

“Fannie and Freddie could establish a secondary market for 50-year mortgages in advance of policy changes. They even could buy mortgages for their retained portfolios,” Jaret Seiberg, a financial services and housing policy analyst at TD Cowen, wrote in a note to clients.

“Yet this would not alter the legal liability for lenders. It is why we believe lenders will not originate 50-year mortgages absent qualified mortgage policy changes,” Seiberg said, adding congressional approval could take up to a year to meet the definition of a qualified mortgage under the Dodd-Frank Act.