As Israel faces a surge in violence on almost every front, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reversed his decision to fire defence minister Yoav Gallant for warning that his judicial overhaul was harming the military.
In a televised speech late on Monday, Netanyahu said Gallant would stay in his position, two weeks after he dismissed the minister.
“I decided to put the differences we had behind us,” he said. “Gallant remains in his position and we will continue to work together for the security of the citizens of Israel.”
Gallant welcomed Netanyahu’s move, posting on social media a picture of him with the premier and the message: “We continue together with full power for Israel.”
Gallant’s removal triggered an unprecedented surge of protest against the already unpopular plan to disempower the judiciary as many Israelis reached the conclusion that even their security could be sacrificed for Netanyahu’s personal interests.
But Gallant, seen abroad as a key interlocutor in a government where extremists wield considerable power, never received either a formal dismissal letter, remaining in office amid a surge of violence triggered by Israeli police raids on Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque.
WION
Global News
ReutersE though the full 2,000-strong guest list for King Charles' Coronation on May 6 is yet to be confirmed, a number of details about the service have already been revealed.
These include which Crown The Queen Consort will wear, what the invitations look like, which role Prince George will play and which route the procession will follow between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
Another key detail to emerge is that the King's ceremony will be hugely streamlined in comparison to his late mother's three-hour Coronation in 1953.
In a bid to achieve this, a handful of moments are understood to have been written out - one of these being when the Royal Dukes pay homage to the sovereign.
Owing to his recent upgrade to the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward would have been one of six senior male members of the Royal Family to kneel before the King, make a pledge, touch the crown and kiss him on the cheek.
However, The Sunday Times previously revealed that only The Prince of Wales will carry out this role.
Referring to the fact that the Duke of Sussex also won't take on the job, the source told the paper: "Prince Harry has been written out of the script for the Coronation, with no official role in the service if he attends. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A high school along Florida's Atlantic Coast has removed a graphic novel based on the diary of Anne Frank after a leader of a conservative advocacy group challenged it, claiming it minimized the Holocaust.
“Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” was removed from a library at Vero Beach High School after a leader of Moms for Liberty in Indian River County raised an objection. The school’s principal agreed with the objection, and the book was removed last month.
The book at one point shows the protagonist walking in a park, enchanted by female nude statues, and later proposing to a friend that they show each other their breasts.
Under the school district's policy, the principal makes the decision on a challenged book. If someone disagrees with a decision to keep the disputed book on the shelves, it can be appealed to a districtwide committee. The Anne Frank graphic novel had been checked out twice before it was removed, Cristen Maddux, a spokeswoman for the School District of Indian River County, said Monday.
Vero Beach is located 105 miles (169 kilometers) southeast of Orlando.
Other books about Anne Frank and copies of the published diary she wrote chronicling her time hiding from the Nazis with her family and other Jews in German-occupied Amsterdam remain in the school systems' libraries. The Jewish teenager's diary was published in 1947, several years after she died in a concentration camp, and it has become a classic read by tens of millions of people around the world.
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Bloomberg
By law, Florida schools are required to teach about the Holocaust, and nothing has changed in that respect, Maddux said.
“The feedback that the Holocaust is being removed from the curriculum and students aren’t knowledgeable about what happened, that is not the case at all,” Maddux said. “It’s just a challenged book and the principal removed it.”
In the last week, citizens of the country have been rattled by rocket fire from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, a roadside shooting that killed three British Israelis in the West Bank and a car ramming in Tel Aviv that killed an Italian tourist and wounded seven other people.
The security crisis has further shaken Netanyahu’s popularity with a poll taken Sunday showing that only 27% of respondents “rely on the government to handle the wave of terror”.
In his televised address, Netanyahu tried to dispel doubts about his leadership, saying the Israeli air force had struck back hard and that troops would “reach and settle accounts with all the terrorists”.
“I am working with determination and responsibility,” he said. “We will repel the dangers and prevail over our enemies.”
The premier said he was “restoring deterrence” that had allegedly been weakened by the previous government. His father is one of the most well-known action men in the world and has had an incredible career spanning four-and-a-half decades.
His dad has not only starred in one of the biggest action franchises of all-time but has also had his fair share of incredible dramatic performances even earning himself an Oscar nomination.
Meanwhile his mother was a very successful actress in her own right starring in several successful films throughout her over 20 year career.
She also happened to be the part of a British acting dynasty and the product of a showbiz power couple.
Now their son is following in their footsteps as a leading man in an upcoming drama. Can you guess who he is?
It's Micheál Richardson!
The 27-year-old Irish actor stars in the upcoming film On Our Way which dropped a dramatic and dark trailer on Monday morning.
His father is Taken franchise star Liam Neeson.
His mother is the talented late actress Natasha Richardson who is acting royalty as the daughter of acting icon Vanessa Redgrave and Academy Award winning director Tony Richardson.
Natasha is also the granddaughter of English stage and film actor, director, manager and author Michael Redgrave and English actress Rachel Kempson.
Unfortunately Natasha died after sustaining ahead injury while taking a ski lesson in Canada back in March 2009.
Liam and Natasha - who also have a 26-year-old son named Daniel together - married in 1994.
Micheál was christened Micheál Neeson but changed his surname in 2018 to honor his late mother with father Liam's blessing.
Referring to the growing number of army and airforce reservists who had joined the protest movement, Netanyahu implied they too were responsible for emboldening Israel’s foes. “Our enemies interpreted the calls to refuse service as weakness,” he said. In fact the reservists had made clear they would still take active combat roles when needed.
At 6pm tonight is Richard Osman’s House of Games, where each week, four famous faces go toe to toe in testing their general knowledge skills. Tonight (Monday, April 10) will see Kaye Adams, Mark Chapman, Philip Glenister and Thanyia Moore test their general knowledge skills in a variety of trivia-based games.
Philip Glenister, 60, is a seasoned actor, who you may recognise from his role as DCI Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes as well as playing the Reverend Anderson in Outcast. But his older brother, Robert, has also appeared on-screen.
He has featured in programmes such as The Bill to Spooks and Only Fools and Horses. And he didn’t get into acting until he started school with the help of his dad, John, a TV director. He initially got into theatre before making the move to on-screen, where he secured roles such as playing MP Nicholas Blake in the BBC Drama, Spooks.
He also made an appearance in Only Fools and Horses back in 1992. It was the special Christmas Day episode. However he’s recently been seen in hit films including Villain in 2020 and 2019 Amazon original film, The Aeronauts.
While he clearly has a love for acting, he also has a passion for something else - red wine!
“I love cooking and to my mind there is nothing quite like sitting down to a really good meal with a lovely glass of red wine”, he said in an interview with the Express. “Unfortunately I am not much of a wine connoisseur but I do love a bottle of spicy Australian shiraz as it has such a powerful punch.”
Philip Glenister, meanwhile, has been married to actress Beth Goddard since 2006. You may recognise her from her role as Suze Littlewood in the BBC comedy series Gimme Gimme Gimme.
They met on the set of TV drama Life on Mars. They have two daughters Millie and Charlotte, born in 2002 and 2005.
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Pretty Woman The Musical is one of London's younger musicals and is of coursed based on the beloved 1990 movie. The smash-hit show only has a few months left on the West End.
Pretty Woman first opened at London's Savoy Theatre in 2020 and ran for just a few weeks before theatres were closed due to the Covid lockdowns. It eventually reopened in 2021 and tells the popular story of the Hollywood romance on the West End.
With dazzling choreography and costumes, performances of Pretty Woman The Musical are running until mid June with tickets available on Ticketmaster. You can book tickets for many theatre shows across London via ATG Tickets.
READ MORE: 'I went to the London theatre show set in pub where audience get free pints on stage'
What is Pretty Woman The Musical?
The musical of course tells the story from the beloved 1990 film, of unlikely soulmates Vivian and Edward. The Hollywood prostitute is hired by the wealthy businessman to be his escort but the pair soon develop an incredible romance. Overcoming all odds to be together, the stage show adds song and dance to the fabulous tale and brings it to life on the West End stage.
Directed and choreographed by Hairspray and Legally Blonde's Jerry Mitchell, it features music from Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and the book is by the original film's very own director Garry Marshall and screenwriter J.F. Lawton. Aimie Atkinson currently plays the lead role of Vivian with Danny Mac as Edward and Courtney Bowman as Kit De Luca. & Juliet's Oliver Thompsett is set to take over Danny's role on April 4, 2023.
How to get tickets
Performances of Pretty Woman The Musical run with evening performances Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30pm. Matinee performances are also available on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2:30pm. You can purchase tickets on Ticketmaster and ATG Tickets. The West End production is set to have its final performance on Sunday June 18, 2023.
What do audiences say?
Visitors to Pretty Woman The Musical at The Savoy Theatre write on Google reviews: "I was absolutely blown away by the incredible acting. The actors brought the characters to life with their amazing performances and made me feel like I was part of the story. The chemistry between the actors was palpable and made the romantic scenes even more special. It’s a show that will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired!" Another puts: "If you loved the film you’ll enjoy it. It’s nearly word for word to the original. But the staging is a bit budget like a regional production. She also tries a little too hard to be exactly like Julia Roberts."
Arifa Akbar wrote for The Guardian: "Can the story still win us over? Not exactly. This feels like a shallow and at times tasteless show but, within the rules of a romcom, it works in its central, schmaltzy storyline of love despite the odds."
Emma Clarendon wrote for Love London Love Culture: "There is no denying that Pretty Woman is simply a entertaining night out whether it is for a girls night out or a romantic date – you will leave the theatre with a smile on your face."
How to get there
Pretty Woman The Musical is found at The Savoy Theatre, Savoy Ct, Strand, London WC2R 0ET. It's a short walk from Charing Cross Station offering National Rail services and London Underground services on the Northern and Bakerloo lines. The theatre is also close to Temple Station on the Circle and District lines.
For a moment the internet was fooled. An image of Pope Francis in a gleaming white, papal puffer jacket spread like wildfire across the web.
Yet the likeness of the unusually dapper 86-year-old head of the Vatican was a fake. The phoney picture had been created as a joke using artificial intelligence technology, but was realistic enough to trick the untrained eye.
AI fakes are quickly spreading across social media as the popularity of machine-learning tools surges. As well as invented images, chatbot-based AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing have been accused of creating a new avenue for misinformation and fake news.
These bots, trained on billions of pages of articles and millions of books, can provide convincing-sounding, human-like responses, but often make up facts - a phenomenon known in the industry as hallucinating. Some AI models have even been taught to code, unleashing the possibility they could be used for cyber attacks.
On top of fears about false news and “deep fake” images, a growing number of future gazers are concerned that AI is turning into an existential threat to humanity.
Scientists at Microsoft last month went so far as to claim one algorithm, ChatGPT-4, had “sparks of… human-level intelligence”. Sam Altman, the creator of OpenAI, the US start-up behind the ChatGPT technology, admitted in a recent interview: “We are a little bit scared of this”.
Now, a backlash against so-called “generative AI” is brewing as Silicon Valley heavyweights clash over the risks, and potentially infinite rewards, of this new technological wave.
A fortnight ago, more than 3,000 researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs including Elon Musk penned an open letter demanding a six month “pause” on development of OpenAI’s most advanced chatbot tool, a so-called “large language model”, or LLM.
“We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4,” the scientists wrote. “If such a pause cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium.”
Musk and others fear the destructive potential of AI, that an all-powerful “artificial general intelligence” could have profound dangers for humanity.
But their demand for a six-month ban on developing more advanced AI models has been met with scepticism. Yann LeCun, the top AI expert at Facebook-parent company Meta, compared the attempt to the Catholic church trying to ban the printing press.
“Imagine what could happen if the commoners get access to books,” he said on Twitter.
WTVR Richmond, VA
"They could read the Bible for themselves and society would be destroyed.”
Others have pointed out that several of the letter's signatories have their own agenda. Musk, who has openly clashed with OpenAI, is looking to develop his own rival project. At least two signatories were researchers from DeepMind, which is owned by Google and working on its own AI bots. AI sceptics have warned the letter buys into the hype around the latest technology, with statements such as “should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us?”
Many of the AI tools currently in development are effectively black boxes, with little public information on how they actually work. Despite this, they are already being incorporated into hundreds of businesses. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for instance, is being harnessed by the payments company Stripe, Morgan Stanley bank and buy-now-pay-later company Klarna.
Richard Robinson, founder of legal start-up RobinAI, which is working with $4bn AI company Anthropic, another OpenAI rival, says even the builders of large language models don’t fully understand how they work. However, he adds: "I also think that there’s a real risk regulators will overreact to these developments.”
Government watchdogs are already limbering up for a fight with AI companies over privacy and data worries. In Europe, Italy has threatened to ban ChatGPT over claims it has scraped information from across the web with little regard for consumers' rights.
Italy’s privacy watchdog said the bot had “no age verification system” to stop access by under 18s. Under European data rules, the regulator can impose fines of up to €20m (£18m), or 4pc of OpenAI’s turnover, unless it changes its data practices.
The iconic singer was found to have had COVID at the time of his death at 81, after many health struggles throughout his life.
David Crosby was revealed to have died from COVID-19 by his former bandmate Graham Nash in a new podcast interview, three months after his passing. The legendary musician died at 81 on January 18. He was with his wife Jan Dance and son Django when he passed away. Graham revealed his former Crosby Stills Nash bandmate’s cause of death on the Kyle Meredith With podcast on Friday, April 7.
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When speaking about his former bandmate, Graham revealed that David had been preparing for a concert when he started to feel sick from COVID and passed away in his sleep. “He was rehearsing for a show to do in Los Angeles with a full band,” he said. “After three days of rehearsals, he felt a little sick. And he’d already had COVID and he had COVID again. And so he went home and decided that he would take a nap, and he never woke up. But he died in his bed and that is fantastic.”
The Wall Street Journal
CNN
RidiculousRidesIn the statement announcing his passing, David’s wife noted that he had been sick for some time when he died, but she did not specify at the time. “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away,” she said in a statement to Variety.
Throughout his life, David had many health issues and had struggled with drug abuse, which may have led to some of his health issues. He had been diagnosed with hepatitis C as well as type 2 diabetes, per The New York Times. He had also undergone liver transplant surgery in 1994 and canceled a 2014 tour to undergo cardiac catheterization and angiogram.
Before his death, David performed his final live performance in 2019. He joined fellow singer-songwriter Michelle Willis for a performance at her live album recording in Toronto, Canada. He joined her for the songs “Janet”, “Trigger”, “Glory” and a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” per Setlist.fm. His last recording released was a concert album Live At The Capitol Theatre, released in November 2022.
David was one of the most beloved musicians in the classic rock world, with his music from The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash (later Crosby, Stills, Nash, And Young) being widely regarded as essential listening. Tons of musicians paid tribute to the singer after his passing, including his former CSNY bandmates Graham Nash and Neil Young. Graham, 80, acknowledged how the two had a tumultuous relationship but focused on the music they got to make together. “What has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years,” he wrote.
Neil, 77, called his former bandmate the “the soul of CSNY” and said that his music would be missed. “David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in, and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together,” he wrote. “We had so many great times, especially in the early years. Crosby was a very supportive friend in my early life, as we bit off big pieces of our experience together. David was the catalyst of many things.”
David Crosby: Photos
The late David Crosby is seen posing for a portrait to promote his documentary film “David Crosby: Remember My Name” at the Salesforce Music Lodge during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah.
David Van Cortlandt Crosby was born on August 14, 1941. He was best known was a singer and songwriter who was successful in his own right as a solo artist, but also founded both Byrds as well as Crosby, Stills & Nash with Stephen Stills (of Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash of the Hollies. The latter group were crically acclaimed and won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1969 after their first album. Neil Young also frequently joined the trio for live performances in the 70s.
His incredibly successful career spawned over 35 million in sales, and he was also inducted not once, but twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The initial induction came for his work with Byrds, and the second for CSN.
David wed wife Jan Dance in 1987 and the two share one song, Django. He is also father to five other children, including being the bioligical dad of Melissa Etheridge’s two children with ex partner Julie Cypher: the late Beckett, who died in 2020 at age 21, and daughter Bailey. Crosby reunited with a song James who was given up for adoption in 1962 again in 1995, and he is also father to Erika Crosby and Donovan Crosby.
David sadly passed away on January 19, 2023 at the age of 81 — look back at photos of his life here.
Bayern Munich and Man Utd target Randal Kolo Muani reportedly ‘wants to leave’
Eintracht Frankfurt this summer.
Frankfurt signed the French striker from FC Nantes on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract last June.
Less than a year on, Kolo Muani is being valued at around £100million with several top clubs interested in buying him this summer. That must be a very bitter pill to swallow for Nantes.
The 24-year-old has been performing very well this season, providing 14 assists and scoring 19 goals in 38 matches across all competitions.
Rumours of a transfer have picked up in recent weeks with Frankfurt going through a dire spell in the Bundesliga.
There are concerns they will not be able to offer Kolo Muani Champions League football with a run of six games without a win slipping Frankfurt down to seventh in the league, seven points off the top four.
Dailymotion
English Football Channel
Even if Frankfurt fail to qualify for the Champions League, they are not expected to be any more willing to offload their star man.
READ MORE: Four Man Utd targets mentioned as it’s revealed Tuchel ‘definitely’ has €100m for ‘new striker’
Kolo Muani is appreciated by Bayern Munich and transfer expert Florian Plettenberg has claimed the player is ‘keen to leave Frankfurt in the summer’.
If he is to be sold, Frankfurt will ask for ‘at least €100m’ after informing Bayern ‘€70-80m definitely won’t be enough’.
Previous Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann was apparently not interested in signing the 24-year-old, but with Thomas Tuchel now at the helm the ‘situation has changed’.
Kolo Muani does not have a release clause, but Frankfurt are in a strong position given the fact he is under contract until 2027.
Even if they miss out on Champions League football, the Europa League holders will want to keep hold of the former Nantes striker and sporting director Markus Krosche is expected to be a ‘tough negotiator’.
It is noted that he has a ‘low salary’ which could further impact Kolo Muani’s desire to leave.
Bayern are expected to sign a new striker in the summer and have also been linked with Tottenham’s Harry Kane, though Plettenberg says Kolo Muani is ‘more realistic’ and the England captain is ‘not a hot topic’ in Munich at this moment in time.
There have been lots of reports that Man Utd are willing to pay £105m to land Kolo Muani this summer.
In response, OpenAI said it had stopped offering ChatGPT in Italy. “We believe we offer ChatGPT in compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws,” the company said.
France, Ireland and Germany are all examining similar regulatory crackdowns. In Britain, the Information Commissioner’s Office said: “There really can be no excuse for getting the privacy implications of generative AI wrong.”
However, while the privacy watchdog has raised red flags, so far the UK has not gone as far as to threaten to ban ChatGPT. In an AI regulation white paper published earlier this month, the Government decided against a formal AI regulator. Edward Machin, a lawyer at the firm Ropes & Gray, says: “The UK is striking its own path, it is taking a much lighter approach.”
Several AI experts told The Telegraph that the real concerns about ChatGPT, Bard and others were less about the long-term consequences of some kind of killer, all-powerful AI, but the damage it could do in the here and now.
The following contains spoilers for James Mangold’s magnificent Logan. If you haven’t yet seen that movie, back out now… and go watch Logan!
Later this summer, director James Mangold will continue, and we assume conclude, the ongoing Indiana Jones saga with the fifth feature, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. We know a great deal about the upcoming sequel already, and a new trailer dropped that you can find online. But there’s another series that Mangold concluded that was top of mind when we got the opportunity to speak with him at Star Wars Celebration 2023, and that’s Logan. That 2017 movie was meant to be Hugh Jackman’s final go as the razor-handed mutant. Yet, now we know that Jackman will return to the role to star opposite close friend Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 3. What did Mangold tell Jackman when he heard the news? We asked him:
Pep Guardiola was talking about goals at the Etihad Stadium and, for once, he was not referring to Erling Haaland. The strikes he referenced came before the Norwegian joined. They were not ones Manchester City celebrated.
Not when Monaco, Tottenham and Real Madrid all scored three times away in Manchester. Each led to a Champions League exit for City: in the last 16 in 2017, the quarter-finals in 2019, the semi-finals in 2022.
Over two legs, Monaco scored six times, Tottenham four, Real a further six. Haaland had said, after he equalled a Champions League record by finding the net five times in the 7-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig, that he was brought to City to win the competition. And yet, Guardiola argued, it was not a lack of firepower that led to City’s frustrating exits.
“Against Monaco we scored six goals [over two legs] and were out,” he said. “Against Tottenham we scored four goals and were out. We scored four goals at Madrid and were out. I always had the feeling that we scored [whether] with a false nine, Sergio [Aguero], Gabriel [Jesus], with Erling, with David Silva, Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan], Kevin [de Bruyne], Leroy [Sane], Riyad [Mahrez], Jack [Grealish]. We have always scored goals. That was not the problem.”
So perhaps his reunion with Bayern Munich will not be determined by Haaland, despite his 44 goals, despite his return of 10 in his last three outings, despite his status as the Champions League’s top scorer. A tie could be decided at the other end of the pitch.
Frugality can come more naturally on such stages to Thomas Tuchel, whose Chelsea side only conceded two goals in seven knockout games as they won the competition in 2021. Their 1-0 win in the final is the lone time City have exited the Champions League in the Guardiola era without scoring in the decisive tie. Instead, they tend to prove too porous. History has tended to repeat itself for his City: they have also gone out 5-1 on aggregate to Liverpool and 3-1 in a one-off tie against Lyon.
He is aiming for a failsafe formula. “Attack better, defend what you have to defend,” he rationalised. “The fact that we conceded the goals doesn’t mean it will happen [on Tuesday]. The goals I think was not a big, big problem: we score goals but of course we have to defend well, here and in Germany. They have a lot of weapons and threats: the speed and quality they have, the mentality. It is a good test for us.”
That speed is particularly pronounced on the flanks with Sadio Mane, a scorer against City for Liverpool in the 2018 quarter-finals and a man who delivered a crucial brace in an FA Cup semi-final against them last year, and Sane, the sprinter who starred in City’s 100-point and treble seasons, two options on the left flank.
A few days after Guardiola said Kyle Walker cannot play in his current system, when the right-back has to double up as a holding midfielder, the are grounds to recall the roadrunner who seems a specialist for such tasks. “Well, maybe,” said a non-committal Guardiola.
The FBI is flagging a handful of terms online that could indicate that someone is an incel.
France 24
BuzzVideos
SWNS - RawAn incel, meaning "involuntary celibate", is an online subculture of young men who deem themselves unattractive and unable to attract the opposite sex. They often hold hostile views towards women and sexually active men.
In a glossary of terms obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, the FBI shared words and phrases that could be linked to inciting "violent extremism" online.
"Docs we obtained show how @FBI equates protected online speech to violence," the watchdog wrote on Twitter. "According to @FBI using the terms ‘based’ or ‘red pilled’ are signs of 'Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism.'"
Words such as "Chad," Stacey," "red pill" and "looksmaxxing" can allegedly get you on an FBI list for "Involuntary Celibate Violent Extremism."
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Last year, A Channel 4 documentary, The Secret World of Incels, delved into the dark community.
It is a safer assumption that Ruben Dias will start. The Portuguese responded to the mentions of Bayern’s phalanx of gifted and speedy attackers by listing City’s defenders: Walker, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, himself, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones. “We have some names as well,” he retorted. It is a curiosity that all bar Walker are centre-backs by trade, and perhaps not ideal when facing a squad packed with wingers. City loaned Joao Cancelo, perhaps their most idiosyncratic full-back, to Bayern. Dias and Bernardo Silva are particularly close to their compatriot and now they face him. “It will be strange,” he said.
Champions League knockout games have had some chastening moments for City but Dias argued they relish them. “All of us have a special feeling, a special taste when it comes to this stage,” he said. But they can come down to narrow margins as City, knocked out on away goals by both Monaco and Spurs, know better than most.
“Details will make the difference,” said Dias. Guardiola, often the master of micro-management, has got some major calls wrong amid his odder selections on such stages. “It is how we behave,” he said. “In these games we compete against ourselves.”
In contrast, Tuchel seemed to get every detail right in Chelsea’s 2021 charge to glory. The fifth of their seven clean sheets came against City. “Like a very wise man said to me, we didn’t lose the final, we just got one step closer,” Dias reflected.
He did not divulge who the wise man is. But part of the received wisdom from American sports is that “defense wins championships”. If true, it explains why City still have not won the Champions League.
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Revenge may be a dish best served cold. But in the case of singer Taylor Swift, it's even sweeter when served up as the subject of one of her many smash hits.
Over the weekend news broke that Taylor's longest relationship to date, with British actor Joe Alwyn, has ended after six years. The split has left Swifties (as her devoted fans are known) wondering two things.
First, what could have gone wrong? And second, if it is all over, how long before Alwyn finds himself the subject of one of Taylor's break-up songs, where she reveals personal, and often unflattering, details of their time together?
Swift, 33, refuses to discuss her private life in interviews, but why drop their name in an interview when she can make them the subject of hit songs on her 12 studio albums — which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, netting her a £460 million fortune?
So prolific are her digs in songs that spotting them and matching them to the victim has become a favourite pastime of Swifties.
unbranded - Sport
SNTV
© GettyShe and 32-year-old Alwyn, best known for his roles in The Favourite and Mary Queen Of Scots, met at the 2016 Met Gala and even went on to write songs together.
Credited under the pseudonym of William Bowery, Alwyn contributed to several tracks on Taylor's 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore, including Champagne Problems about a woman who rejects a marriage proposal from her beau.
Swifties are now speculating that the song was written by the couple about their own relationship.
Taylor added fuel to the fire after she added Champagne Problems to her set list at a concert in Arizona last month and appeared to become tearful during the performance.
The lyrics include: 'Your mom's ring in your pocket / My picture in your wallet / Your heart was glass, I dropped it / Champagne problems'.
Singer Joe Jonas was the first boyfriend to feel the wrath of her lyrics. In songs including Forever And Always and Mr Perfectly Fine, believed to be about the Jonas Brothers star, she details her former lover's broken promises and accuses him of leaving her broken-hearted. Cardi B has responded to a video in which the Dalai Lama asked a child to suck his tongue.
The Up rapper took to Twitter on Monday with her reaction to a viral video showing the Dalai Lama kissing a young boy and asking him to suck his tongue.
“This world is full of predators,” Cardi tweeted in response to the clip. “They prey on the innocent. The ones who are most unknowing, our children.”
She continued, “Predators could be our neighbours, our school teachers, even people (with) money, power & our churches.”
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The rapper advised parents to “constantly talk with your kids about boundaries and what they shouldn’t allow people to do to them”, and not to allow sleepovers.
After Cardi posted her comments, some users mentioned her admitted past of drugging and robbing men when she worked as a dancer.
“I put the tweet up, and now people wanna come at me like, ‘Oh b***h, you’re the wrong messenger, didn’t you rob and drug men?’” she replied. “Listen: y’all not gonna keep doing this. Because when it comes to weird a** predators, and rapists, and paedophiles and s**t, I’m really- I don’t play that s**t.”
She argued that her previous wrongdoings were not comparable to child molestation.
“I’m the right messenger, because I’m a f*****g mom. And I’m a f*****g woman,” she insisted. “And I’m a girl that, as a teenager, my body got abused.”
Cardi continued, “I’m getting dragged up and down because I’m telling parents to be careful (of) people that prey on children… It’s craziness.
“All this support I’m getting at the same time is beautiful. It was deep in my heart to talk about this (because) me & my friend (were talking) last night & then the Dalai Lama thing (happened) this morning.”
Jonas fared better than singer John Mayer, who was so upset about the song Taylor wrote about him, Dear John, that he accused her of abusing her talent.
For her part, Taylor has rebuffed criticism of her habit of slating past loves. 'I think that's a very sexist angle to take,' she said. 'No one says that about Ed Sheeran or Bruno Mars — they're all writing songs about their exes, . . . and no one raises a red flag.'
So, although sources say Taylor and Joe's split is amicable, he may be nervous about what's in store. After all, every other ex of Taylor's has incurred Swift revenge . . .
Joe Jonas
July 2008 - October 2008
She may have dated boy band member Joe Jonas for only three months but teenage Taylor was furious when, as she revealed on The Ellen Show, the cad dumped her by phone.
Song: Forever And Always.
Lyrics: Oh, I stare at the phone, he still hasn't called / And then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all / And you flashback to when we said forever and always.
Was I out of line? / Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide / Like a scared little boy.
She didn't stop there either. Mr Perfectly Fine is also said to be about Joe: 'Hello Mr Casually Cruel, Mr Everything revolves around you.'
Revenge Rating: 4/5
Taylor Lautner
Autumn 2009 - December 2009
Taylor enjoyed another brief teenage relationship after she met Twilight star and heart-throb Taylor Lautner when they played high school sweethearts in the film Valentine's Day.
She ended the relationship in December 2009, and the song Back To December is widely thought to be about Lautner.
This time, unusually, Taylor seems to be accepting the blame for the break-up. Asked in a 2016 interview what he thought about the song, Lautner shrugged and said: 'That's what she does.'
Song: Back To December.
Lyrics: You gave me roses and I left them there to die / So this is me swallowin' my pride / Standin' in front of you sayin' I'm sorry for that night / And I go back to December all the time.
Revenge Rating: 1/5
John Mayer
December 2009 - February 2010
After ending his relationship with Jennifer Aniston, singer John Mayer had a rebound fling with a teenage Taylor — something he would bitterly regret after she wrote Dear John, one of her angriest songs to date.
Referring to herself throughout as 'the girl in the dress', Taylor accuses him of making her cry, misleading her and playing mind games.
He is best known for his courage behind enemy lines which saw him pinpoint Scud missile sites before being captured by Saddam Hussein's henchmen. But becoming a father has softened SAS legend Andy McNab, and these days he's more likely to be tending to drystone walls than storming embassies.
It is 30 years since the former soldier, whose actions in the first Gulf War made him a hero, left the army.
While he still bears the scars, with nerve damage to his hands and shoulder problems, his daughter Kate is his salvation.
Opening up about his life at home in Cornwall with Kate and his fifth wife Jenny, the former SAS star, confesses: "My daughter is the love of my life and I wouldn't want it any other way. I adore her and feel very fortunate to be a parent.
"Despite my life's beginning, I wanted nothing more than to become a dad."
Abandoned as a newborn baby, McNab was found on the steps of a London hospital in a Harrods carrier bag.
He was fostered and later adopted by his foster family. Growing up on a south London council estate he fell into petty crime, landing him in juvenile detention.
On release he joined the Army, where he received an education and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal. In 2017, he was made a CBE, but being a dad is the thing of which he is most proud.
He said: "I love being a dad and having more children would have been wonderful.
"I met Jenny when Kate was 10 or 11, but I was older. I was in my early 40s, and so was Jenny. We got married late in life.
"My lifestyle in LA at the time wasn't conducive to having a baby."
Jenny was working in publishing when they met and they have now been married for 23 years. She has no children from her previous relationships and considers Kate her daughter. Ukraine’s military could fall “well short” of Kyiv’s goals for a spring counteroffensive as a result of difficulties massing troops, ammunition and equipment, a leaked US intelligence assessment has said.
The “top secret” file from early February, first reported by the Washington Post, warned that such an operation would only result in “modest territorial gains” and “force regeneration and sustainment shortfalls”.
Publicly, US president Joe Biden has spoken with confidence and optimism about the force of Ukraine’s military, saying in Poland in late February: “Ukraine is steeled for the fight ahead, and the United States, our allies and partners continue to have Ukraine’s back as it defends itself.”
The document indicated that the strategy from Kyiv revolves around reclaiming contested areas in the east while also pushing south in a bid to sever the land bridge between Russia and Crimea.
The strength of Russian defences coupled with “enduring Ukrainian deficiencies in training and munitions supplies probably will strain progress and exacerbate casualties during the offensive,” the file reads.
The Defense Department refused to address the contents of the leaked document.
10:55 AM
In pictures: Chasiv Yar, the town close to the Bakhmut front line
10:40 AM
Hungarian foreign minister visits Moscow for energy talks
Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has arrived in Moscow to discuss "cooperation with Russia in the field of energy", Russian media site TASS reports.
Citing a post from Mr Szijjártó on Facebook, a site currently banned in Russia, the website reported that the foreign minister plans to meet with Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak and Alexei Likhachev, the head of state nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Mr Szijjártó wrote: "The security of Hungary's energy supply requires uninterrupted transportation of gas, oil and nuclear fuel."
He added: "To fulfill these three conditions, Hungarian-Russian energy cooperation must be uninterrupted. It's not about political taste, it's about physics." Taiwanese are rushing to buy patches being worn by their air force pilots that depict a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh - representing China's President Xi Jinping - as a defiant symbol of the island's resistance to Chinese war games.
China began three days of military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen, returned from a brief visit to the United States, where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy despite Beijing's warnings.
Chinese censors have long targeted representations of Winnie the Pooh - created by British author A.A. Milne - over internet memes that compare the fictional bear to China's president.
Alec Hsu, who designed the patch, has been selling it at his shop since last year, but he saw a spike in orders after Taiwan's military news agency on Saturday published a photo of the patch on the arm of a pilot inspecting a fighter jet.
“I wanted to boost the morale of our troops through designing this patch,” said Hsu, who owns Wings Fan Goods Shop.
Hsu said he has ordered more patches to meet the increased demand. Customers have included military officers and civilians.
The Washington Post
The patch shows an angry Formosan black bear holding Taiwan's flag and punching Winnie the Pooh, with the slogan “Scramble!” - referring to what the island's pilots have had to do with increased frequency over the past three years as China sends more aircraft into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.
The endangered Formosan black bear is seen as a symbol of Taiwanese identity. Taiwan was previously better known internationally as Formosa.
“Where can we get a patch like that! Guaranteed to be best sellers!” Taiwan's de facto embassy in the United States wrote in a tweet on Monday.
Taiwan's air force told Reuters that while it does not “particularly encourage” its members to wear the patch, which is not a part of their uniform, it “will maintain an open attitude” to anything that raises morale.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out taking the island by force. Tsai's government rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
While the Winnie the Pooh patch cannot be found on Chinese social media, Beijing has also been promoting videos and commentary about its drills around Taiwan.
The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command, the Chinese unit that would be at the frontline of any military action against Taiwan, released a video on Monday showing scenes from the drill, set against upbeat music.
The video targeted a Taiwanese audience by using traditional Chinese characters, which are still used in Taiwan but no longer in mainland China.
10:10 AM
Latest MoD update
09:54 AM
'I had no choice … and I feel ashamed': the Ukrainians conscripted into Russia's army
It was on February 23 last year that Yevhen was mobilised to fight in Putin’s “special military operation”.
In the weeks before, he received a letter summoning him to sign up for duty, and if he declined, Moscow’s penalty was cruel: imprisonment.
The 45-year-old Ukrainian was living in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in the eastern region of Donbas, an area under the control of Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.
CNBC
Despite never handling a weapon before, he signed a document from the Russian authorities that sent him to the trenches ill-equipped and ill-prepared.
"The two have been through the school runs, teenage years, and boyfriend problems together and have a really close relationship," Andy reveals.
In 1993, McNab released Bravo Two Zero, the account of how he led an eight-man patrol behind enemy lines in Iraq on a mission that went horribly wrong.
While three of the eight soldiers on the patrol perished, one fled and four - including McNab - were taken prisoner and tortured.
Famously, he writes under a pen name and keeps his identity anonymous. "Andy McNab fitted on the cover of Bravo Two Zero, which is the reason I chose that name," he reveals. "I thought it would just be one book, but it's become a brand."
Undercover work with the SAS in Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles - to get intelligence on provisional IRA members - made him a highly valued target.
"I have had threats from the IRA, but I don't need 24-hour protection," he insists. "I just have to be very careful about what I do and commit to.
"In Cornwall, the locals think I am a drug dealer. I'm just hanging around a lot of the time. But I surf and do dry stone walling - but I couldn't sign up for a reality show. The safest thing for me is radio interviews and voiceovers to avoid showing my face.
"However, it doesn't bother me because that's all I've ever really known."
- The Ultimate Survival Handbook by Andy McNab (Welbeck), priced £12.99. Available now.
Chris Hemsworth is set to take a break from acting after a recent health diagnosis. The actor recently found out he has a rare gene which increases his chance of developing Alzheimer’s.
He was given his diagnosis back in November last year during his time filming National Geographic’s Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. During the process he underwent genetic testing.
The actor was told by a doctor he possesses two copies of the APOE4 gene, meaning he’s eight to twelve times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than the average person. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are three common forms of the APOE gene (APOE e2, APOE e4, and APOE e3) which could contribute to the development of the disease later in life.
READ MORE: Pedro Pascal and Jon Favreau casually turn up at East London restaurant and fans are gagged
The most common is APOE e3, which doesn’t affect the risk of Alzheimer’s. APOE e2, the least common, reduces the risk of Alzheimer's. Whereas APOE e4, which is a little more common, increases the risk of Alzheimer's and is associated with getting the disease at an earlier age. Approximately 15 per cent to 25 per cent of the general population carries an APOE e4 allele.
As you inherit one APOE gene from your mother and another from your father, you have two copies of the APOE gene. Having at least one APOE e4 gene increases your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease two- to threefold. If you have two APOE e4 genes, your risk is even higher, approximately eight- to twelvefold. However, not everyone who has one or even two APOE e4 genes develops Alzheimer's disease.
During filming, the actor revealed it wasn’t a shock as his grandfather suffered from the disease Page 6 reported the actor would be taking a ‘slight’ break from his career. However it’s believed he will still continue with his current commitments.
Chris is due to star in a Hulk Hogan biopic, as well as reprising his role as Thor in Avengers: Secret Wars. The latter film isn’t due to be released until 2026.
His film Extraction 2 is set to be released later this year, and Firiosa, where he stars alongside Tom Hardy, Anya Taylor-Joy, and BBC Strike’s Tom Burke, a post-apocalyptic action film, will be in cinemas next year. Both of the movies are in their post-production phase.
Is there a story you think we should be covering? If so, please email tvandshowbiz@mylondon.news
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Gordon Ramsay is returning to BBC One on Thursday evening (March 30) with a new series of Future Food Stars. The Apprentice-style show will see 12 contestants battle it out for a major £150,000 investment from the celeb chef who is on the search for a new business partner.
Each week, viewers will see the budding hopefuls whisked around the UK to stunning locations where they will take on a series of challenges. The first episode is filmed at the regal Glenapp Castle, with contestants set for a challenge to create a banquet celebrating the very best of Ramsay's homeland and the freshest of Scottish produce.
So in anticipation of Ramsay's exciting new series let's take a look at the life of the adored TV star away from the camera.
READ MORE: Sir David Jason's wife shares 'shock' at surprise daughter and embraces her into family
Who is Gordon Ramsay?
Gordon, 56, is married to his beloved wife Tana Ramsay who also enjoys her time in the spotlight, since swapping teaching for showbiz.
The 48-year-old was born Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson in Croydon, South London, and pursued a career as a Montessori-trained schoolteacher.
However, she has gone on to become a bestselling author with six cookbooks geared toward families looking for simple and delicious meals and is also a TV presenter.
In 2010, she took part in Dancing On Ice and was paired with pro skater Stuart Widdall - they were voted out in week four.
There's no end to Tana's talents as she is also a businesswoman owning a beauty salon in London called All About the Girl.
She is also very active on social media and has a whopping 278k followers on Instagram.
Gordon and Tana have been married for 26 years after tying the knot on December 21, 1996, in Chelsea. The couple tends to split their time between LA and London where they live in Wandsworth Common.
Who are Gordon Ramsay’s kids?
Gordon and Tana share five children including Megan, 24, 23-year-old twins Jack and Holly, 21-year-old Tilly, who famously starred in Strictly 2021, and little Oscar, three.
Doting dad Gordon became a father again at the age of 52 to Oscar who looks a spitting image of him. In January 2023, Gordon talked about how Tana would love another child.
Speaking to Heart Radio about his children, he said: "Last time I looked there were five, there could be one more on the way. Tanya’s jeans aren’t fitting her, she would love one more baby and I’m like no, no, no.”
James Bond’s casting director has claimed suggestions for Daniel Craig’s replacement make her “die laughing”. Debbie McWilliams also rejected claims that casting for the new 007 was underway.
Ms McWilliams, who has worked on casting for every Bond film since For Your Eyes Only (1981), was quizzed on the latest rumours circulating about the title role’s vacancy. A number of names have been linked with the position, including Coalville’s Umbrella Academy star Tom Hopper, but Debbie dismissed the suggestions.
She told the Radio Times: “I don't listen to any of it. It makes me die laughing, actually, most of the time. When I hear about who the bookies' favourites are, and who's number 15 and all this kind of thing... I mean, it's just hilarious.”
Latest odds suggest Kick-Ass and Avengers star Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the current number one to get the licence to kill with bookmakers putting him as the 2-1 favourite. He remains just ahead of other stars including former Superman Henry Cavill, Happy Valley’s James Norton and long-time favourite and former Bridgerton man Rege-Jean Page.
Coalville’s Tom, who stars as Luther Hargreeves in Netflix’s Umbrella Academy and has had roles in Game of Thrones and Doctor Who, has fallen away in recent weeks in the odds. Last year, he was at one stage the 3-1 favourite for the role, but latest odds put him as a 25-1 bet - the same odds as Fifty Shades of Grey’s Jamie Dornan and Outlander’s Sam Heughan.
Cover Media
CinemaBlend
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has lifted the lid on bringing Daisy Ridley back into the Star Wars universe. At the main Star Wars Celebration panel, it was confirmed that Ridley will be reprising the role of Rey in a feature film set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.
Speaking to IGN, Kennedy explained how the movie connects to the Skywalker Saga. "Well we're 15 years out from Rise of Skywalker, so we're post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray," she said. "There's a lot of discussion around, 'Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What's the state of the galaxy?' She's attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that's where we're going."
Kennedy added about whether Luke will be involved in the story: "I don't know if we'll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant."
Entertainment WeeklyKennedy also spoke to Variety about how they managed to secure Ridley's reveal for the Star Wars Celebration special panel. She said: "It was a pretty straightforward phone call. I started out by just saying, 'Hey, I think we’re getting near being ready.' We’ve been talking a lot about what we’re doing in the movie space and I said, 'I think we’re getting close to being ready. How would you like to go to Celebration?' That was really the beginning of it. She was out of her mind excited."
Total Film was at the announcement and the crowd went wild when the upcoming movie's director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy announced Ridley would be playing a Jedi Master in the movie. The actor didn't have much to say after walking on stage other than admitting that her "heart was pounding".
Ridley's return was announced as part of Lucasfilm's return to the big screen. They also confirmed a movie is in the making from James Mangold about the first Jedi and the beginnings of the Force. Then there's Dave Filoni's upcoming movie which will bring together some of the major characters from the Disney Plus shows for an epic battle.
You can keep up to date with the galaxy far, far away with our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. However, Ms McWilliams said the continued speculation was a “curious” obsession with fans and the media. She said: “The fact that people are remotely interested is even funnier I think. It's become a bigger deal through modern press and social media and all that business, and the fact that there now seems to be these kind of fanbases that I didn't even know existed. It's a curious phenomenon, is all I can say.”
Russell Crowe has opened up about Gladiator 2, and shared the sequel idea he considered returning as Maximus for.
The Kiwi actor played the character in the 2000 historical epic, which was directed by Ridley Scott.
Scott will next direct a sequel to the film, which will not feature Crowe, 59. Instead, the film will focus on Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla and the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who will reportedly being played by Paul Mescal.
While promoting his new film The Pope’s Exorcist, Crowe has repeatedly told reporters he will not be in the new film – but did admit to Collider: “I mean, look, the only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know?”
Explaining why, he added: “Because I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life. It’s something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living.”
He continued: “I’ve been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible. Here it is, it’s 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV.”
Lehren
Bang Showbiz VideosThe actor said that the film “holds a special place in my heart” because “you don’t always get that kind of longevity with every film you do”.
Elsewhere, speaking on the Empire Magazine podcast, Crowe opened up about an “interesting” idea for a sequel that he once considered returning for.
“There was, I thought, a really interesting idea about finding Maximus not in heaven or in hell, but in limbo,” he said, adding: “That was interesting and one we pursued for a while.”
Also rumoured to star in Gladiator 2 is Barry Keoghan and Denzel Washington. The film will be released in 2024.
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Rumours have long suggested that casting for Daniel Craig’s successor has been underway for some time, but Ms McWilliams dismissed that claim, saying Bond’s producers, including Barbara Broccoli, have been busy.
She said: “There's no conversation being had at the moment. Barbara has been heavily involved in other projects. You know, it's not unusual for there to be quite a big gap between different Bonds, it has been known to have a five-year gap. So, no, nothing.”
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When the Royal Family attended church on Easter Sunday, it looked like Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were alone as they entered Windsor Castle. The older generation of royals were ahead of them, which included King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, whereas Eugenie's generation of royals stayed behind.
Bang Showbiz
This included her sister Princess Beatrice and her cousins Zara Tindall and Prince William.
As a result, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank looked quite isolated as they walked into St George's Chapel alone.
Judi James, a professional body language expert, spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk to explain why Eugenie and Jack might have decided to do this.
She claimed: "Eugenie did seem to be struggling during her arrival at the Easter service yesterday, but was it her baby bump that was causing problems or something much more intricate in terms of family politics?
READ MORE: Kate and William broke rule at Easter and late Queen looked confused
John Wayne suffered years of ill health during his final couple of decades. The heavy-drinking and smoking star had a lung and some ribs removed in 1964 due to a cancer diagnosis. During his last years, Duke struggled through his more physically challenging roles, secretly relying on an oxygen mask and even being hospitalised on his last movie The Shootist. Yet by early 1979, he was dying from stomach cancer and wore a wetsuit under his tuxedo at the Oscars in his last public appearance. Just weeks before his death on June 11, 1979, fellow Hollywood legends banded together - including those opposed to his conservative political views - in a striking showing of amazing kindness.
On Wayne's 72nd birthday on May 26, 1979, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal after Hollywood stars, both Republicans and Democrats, supported the award with statements praising Duke as an American icon and patriot. This was especially touching given the clashes the dying star had had with some of the actors over the years on movie sets. Although the wiser among them like Kirk Douglas knew never to speak politics with Wayne.
Those who shared statements in support of the award included the latter, Frank Sinatra, Maureen O'Hara, Elizabeth Taylor and James Arness. And here are some of the sweet tributes they made to Wayne.
Douglas wrote: "I strongly believe that John Wayne should receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is an authentic chunk of Americana. His personal and artistic life represent the best qualities of America admired by people around the world. He has always been a strong force for the American way of life. He has personified that force privately and artistically for many, many years. The world would applaud -the action of bestowing this medal on a great American."
Sinatra stated: "For over half a century, Mr Wayne has served honorably as America's symbol to the world of the highest morals and prudent standard of our society. No man's lifetime of work has better expressed the land of the free and the home of the brave. No man's lifetime of work has given more proof to the world that our flag is still there. John Wayne is in truth a star-spangled man whom so proudly we hail." Meanwhile, two US Presidents also sent statements of their support.
READ MORE: John Wayne condemned Kirk Douglas' Spartacus upon its release
Former President Gerald Ford wrote: "John Wayne's contribution to this Nation has reached far beyond the entertainment industry where he is deeply respected and admired. His untiring efforts to improve conditions within our country and relations with other countries have made him a legend in his own life time. Striking a gold medal in his honor is a well-deserved and appropriate tribute. I urge the House to concur with the Senate and pass the special bill to authorize this medal." Vellani revealed that she actually only found out about her role in The Marvels just before it was announced, during a night shoot the day before.
The title could just refer to Carol and Kamala as the two Captain Marvels, but the events of WandaVision saw Monica gain superpowers. In the comics, Monica became Captain Marvel before Carol, so there could be another Captain Marvel in town.
Talking of WandaVision, the show also confirmed the sad news that Maria Rambeau died during the five years that Monica had been dusted by the Snap. That seemingly rules out a return for Lashana Lynch in the sequel.
However, Lynch isn't totally ruling out a surprise return in the sequel. "Weirder things have happened in the franchise. I had a wonderful time on the first one and it would be great to have a wonderful time on another one," she said in August 2021.
Lynch has since popped up again in the MCU as Earth-838's Maria Rambeau who is (or was) Captain Marvel in that universe in Doctor Strange 2. Here's hoping that paves the way for her to return in some form in the sequel.
It's clear that Monica and Carol have some issues to work through though (potentially about her not being there for her mum), so maybe they'll be explored in flashbacks which could see Lynch reprise her role.
The main villain will be played by Zawe Ashton, but it's unclear who she's playing at the moment. With potentially three Captain Marvels to take on, she better be powerful or she won't last long.
Parasite's Park Seo-joon is also making his MCU debut in the sequel, while a deleted Instagram post revealed that Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff and Mohan Kapur will be back as Kamala's brother Aamir, mother Muneeba and father Yusuf, respectively.
The first movie passed without any major casualties beyond Starforce member Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan), so she's about the only character we can say for sure that won't be back.
Samuel L Jackson appeared to confirm his return as Nick Fury in August 2021 and hopefully we get to see him reunite with Goose, with the trailer confirming that everybody's favourite Flerken is back.
The Marvels plot: What will Captain Marvel 2 be about?
Along with the first trailer, we got the official plot synopsis for The Marvels.
"Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilised universe," it reads.
"When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now SABER astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau.
"Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as The Marvels."
WandaVision hinted that not all is well in the relationship between Carol and Monica, so that friction could form part of the sequel's storyline. We don't think it'd go as far as Monica being a villain of any kind, but it might not all be smooth sailing.
The post-credit scene of Ms Marvel saw Captain Marvel unexpectedly swap places with Kamala Khan, a teaser for what's in store in the sequel as the trailer shows them changing places every time one of them uses their powers.
If you're hoping to get some plot details from the cast, you're out of luck as they're staying tight-lipped. Larson did say that when she read the "bonkers" script, she "couldn't believe what I was reading".
"It's the thing that I love about Marvel, is that they continue to reinvent. They continue to do the thing that you just would never think would be possible in these films. And they're not afraid to go there," she added.
And all Parris will tell us is that the sequel is "gonna be pretty epic", which is good enough for us.
The Marvels is released in cinemas on November 10, 2023. Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel and WandaVision are available to watch on Disney+.
Kate and Prince William took their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to Windsor Castle for an Easter Sunday service this past weekend.
It was Louis's first time attending the religious ceremony, and his big sister Charlotte appeared to be checking if he was alright as they walked up to St George's Chapel.
One expert suggested Charlotte shows "dominant behaviour" - find out why HERE.
"Eugenie was close to the late Queen and her height, shape, styling and body language have often made her look similar to the younger Elizabeth, especially with her naturally regal bearing.
"The Princess has also always shown the strongest of bonds of loyalty to her closest family members, especially her sister, who she often seemed inseparable from, even after their marriages and motherhood.
"But Eugenie is also close to Harry and Meghan, to the point where there are rumours she and Jack were thinking of de-camping to the US, like her cousin and his wife."
The body language expert implied this could be causing a separation between Eugenie and the rest of her family at the moment, due to the ongoing struggles the royals are having with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Judi opined: "With King Charles's 'slimmed down' Firm, with Beatrice and Eugenie even expected to be missing from the royal balcony appearance at the Coronation, it's possible there are some natural divisions occurring, based on rank as well as emotions."
According to the expert, Easter Sunday saw "two key groups" emerge in the royal walkabout.
Judi explained: "This outing saw the Firm divide into two key groups: at the front were Charles, Camilla, Anne, Edward and Eugenie's father Andrew, while behind were the more relaxed and jolly-looking group of the Tindalls, Eugenie's sister, her husband and the Waleses.
Albanian gangsters are attempting to smuggle weapons into the UK through an Adriatic port where the British Government has been forced to beef up security.
Police found eight mint-condition Glock pistols with ammunition hidden in a food hamper in a van in the port of Durres on the Albanian coast on Monday night.
The weapons were detected by Albanian police using a scanner before the Mercedes Benz van was due to embark on a ferry to Ancona in Italy. The van had UK plates and, according to police, was on its way to Luton, Bedfordshire.
The driver has been arrested and is being questioned by police but claims no knowledge of the guns. He is said to have told police he was merely told to deliver the food hamper to the British relatives of an Albanian man whom he had never met before.
Durres, a port undergoing a major expansion, was identified as a potential source of smuggling by the UK and Albania in 2022, according to leaked police emails.
They revealed Border Force planned to deploy officers to Albania to help “scope” plans for the port’s expansion and to advise on security measures that could be taken to combat illegal immigration and the import of cocaine into Europe by organised crime gangs.
The force’s role would focus on the Albanian ports of Durres and Porto Romano to “assess the container traffic, Ro/Ro, passengers, port and law enforcement IT systems, and the current operational capabilities that exist within the port”.
Police said Albanian gangsters had been running large parts of the cocaine market in the UK for the past two decades but, in recent years. They had also supplanted the Vietnamese as the biggest suppliers of UK-grown cannabis through “farms” hidden in houses and industrial estates.
In autumn 2022 the National Crime Agency warned a “significant number” of Albanians in the UK had entered illegally to work in the “grey” market or for organised criminal drug gangs and were sending “hundreds of millions of pounds” of cash a year back home.
Albanians accounted for about a third of the 45,000 migrants who crossed the Channel in small boats in 2022.
Police sources named the van driver as a 34-year-old from Tirana. His vehicle and phone were impounded. Officers were alerted by the scanner before a search of the vehicle revealed the eight Glock pistols.
A local crime reporter said the driver had told police “a person not known to me [came] with a box saying he needed it to be delivered to a relative in the UK.
“He said that inside the box was some food for the family of his relatives in the UK. On the top of that box are written two mobile numbers of the person to whom the box will be delivered.”
NCIS star David McCallum was introduced to showbiz at an early age. Born into a musical family, his mother, Dorothy Dorman was a talented cellist, while his father, David McCallum Sr was a famed violinist. Renowned as the Scottish leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Scottish National Orchestra, David Sr's prestigious career even extended to Hollywood. Keep reading for all the details…
Who is NCIS star David McCallum's famous father David McCallum Sr?
Born in Stirlingshire, after attending the Glasgow Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, David Sr met his future wife, Dorothy, while playing in the cinema trio at a local silent cinema. They welcomed two sons, David Jr and Iain McCallum.
MORE: NCIS star David McCallum's famous son revealed
READ: Everything NCIS star David McCallum has said about his wife Katherine Carpenter
Appointed leader of the Scottish Orchestra in Glasgow from 1932 to 1936, David Sr was later asked to lead the London Philharmonic Orchestra as a successor to Paul Beard, who had joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Throughout World War II, David Sr performed with the London Studio Players and the BBC's Overseas Music Unit before being appointed as the leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. His work would also take him to Hollywood as he landed small roles in The Magic Bow (1946) and Last Holiday (1950), starring Alec Guinness.
In 1946, David Sr was one of 40 musicians assembled to perform on The Beatles' track 'A Day in the Life' which was featured on their album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In a later documentary, Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page would also credit David Sr for giving him the idea of playing his guitar with a violin bow.
From 1961 to 1971, David Sr worked as the leader of Annunzio Mantovani's orchestra, while his young son, David McCallum Jr., skyrocketed to fame with his acting career. Having passed on his love of music to David Jr, the father-son duo decided to work together on music for Capitol Records in 1966.
David Sr sadly passed away at the age of 74, on 21 March 1972. His son, David Jr continues to remember him fondly. In a 2010 interview with The Scotsman, he said:
"Father was unique in that his hands were really the centre of his life, and keeping his hands safe and in perfect condition was paramount. I've never said that to anyone before, but that is the way that I remember him. He would practise his violin incessantly, so we had the sound of the music throughout the house all the time."
David added: "As a child, I would go with him down to the studios where Jascha Heifetz was recording Brahms. I remember Heifetz's G string broke while playing a cadenza, and he handed it to me. And conductor Thomas Beecham, when he was recording The Damnation of Faust, which has that wonderful opening, ending in a huge crescendo. He stopped the whole orchestra and turned to me in the front row, all alone in this huge place, and whispered: 'Let's do it again!'"
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Albanian police sources said: “It’s crucial we find the other people involved in this. At this stage, from our interviewing, the driver denied having knowledge of the guns inside his vehicle.”
The country's state police said: “It’s an ongoing investigation involving several law enforcement agencies. Due to high concerns of this crime, this case in Durres will now be transferred from local prosecutors to be investigated from the special prosecutors of SPAK in Tirana.”
A plot to smuggle three AK-47 assault rifles into Britain in a courier box was foiled by Albanian authorities in 2017. Security staff found the weapons at the cargo section of Tirana airport moments before loading. They were wrapped in towels and cellophane inside a DHL box which contained clothes and letters.
Afamily has spoken out against the hate they receive after a dad was accused of marrying a woman who looks like his daughter. The step mum and stepdaughter have a seven-year age gap between them.
Savana is a 28-year-old woman from Arizona who has faced backlash for her age gap relationship after she explained that her stepdaughter is 21 years old.
There is a 16-year age gap between Savana and her husband Chris age 44, who she met while working for him as a hairstylist.
The couple has faced backlash on Savana's TikTok after she made dancing videos with Chris' daughter Tizzi, age 21.
In the TikTok comment section, users have accused Christ of being in a relationship with a woman who looks "exactly like his daughter".
Both Savana and Chris have recently spoken out about the judgement they have faced both online and from people in their lives on the YouTube channel Love Don't Judge, which showcases people in unconventional relationships.
READ MORE: Musk has weird diet quirk and fans wonder how he's still alive
In the video, Chris has it caused a "huge controversy" when the couple first began dating, and Savana said: "People say our age gap is creepy."
The couple has been together for four years, and Savana said: "We met when I came to his salon and I became a stylist and wasn't interested in having any kind of relationship because I just left one."
Chris said he was also not interested in a relationship at the time as he was filing for a divorce and said his life "was kinda in a tail-spin."
After he was divorced and some time had past, Chris said he felt something "super special" about Savana as they began spending more time together, and the couple began dating.
However, the couple hid their relationship at first as they were "nervous" to tell people and faced backlash at work once coworkers knew of they were dating.
Rumble
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BVIRALSavana said: "I think our biggest controversy was in the salon, you're not meant to date your boss."
She added: "There was a big controversy between if I was a homewrecker or if [Chris] cheated"
Savana and Chris have three children together but six children in total, as three other children are from Chris's previous relationship. Euroscepticism has been an especially strong undercurrent in European politics over the past decade, with several parties putting the question of continued membership forward in elections across the bloc since the UK's departure. Whether it be Brussels' laws, immigration quotas, or the scandals rocking the heart of the institution itself, countries have plenty of reasons to eye another path. Check Express.co.uk's interactive map below to see who's most likely to exit next.
By 2016, years of Government frustration with Brussels and the creeping popularity of Eurosceptic parties among the public led then-Prime Minister David Cameron to hold the Brexit referendum on June 23.
The 52 percent Leave vote saw the UK become the first country in history to formally quit the bloc just over three years ago on January 31, 2020. While no other country has followed suit, Brexit did throw the door open, and nations across the continent have been peering through.
Anti-EU sentiment has been growing in recent years for many of the same reasons that led to the UK's departure: economic crises, loss of legislative control, and immigration. Add to that allegations of widespread corruption in Brussels' halls of power - like the Qatargate scandal - and the cracks are becoming ever more visible.
Just last week, the European left suffered another blow as Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party got knocked back to third place in the Finnish elections, with a right-leaning coalition taking over control. Although the swing is likely to alarm the bureaucrats in Belgium, Finland is far from the country most likely to hold a membership referendum of its own.
READ MORE: Finland election result hailed as a 'clear rejection of EU'
French President Emmanuel Macron has received a stern warning from protestors against his pension reform who have said demonstrations will not stop until he caves to demands to backtrack on the plans.
The French President was branded a "madman" by Boris Vallaud, leader of the PS deputies in the National Assembly, who claimed Macron is insisting on a "political coup de force".
According to online bookie comparison site OddsChecker, that title goes to Italy. In their running tally of "Next Country to Leave the EU", the odds of the Mediterranean country giving the EU the boot are 3/1 or 33 percent.
In the September election, the government of Mario Draghi - a former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) - was swept aside by the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy party. Giorgia Meloni, Italy's new prime minister, has in the past deplored Brussels as hostile and called out its efforts to "humiliate the British people who have freely chosen Brexit."
Greece - the country whose sovereign debt crisis in the wake of the Great Recession led to rumours of a possible "Grexit" all the way back in 2012 - was found to be the second-most likely leaver, with odds of 6/1 or 16.7 percent.
The age couple's youngest child is only ten weeks old, while the oldest is Chris's 21-year-old daughter Tizzi.
Tizzi worked at Chris's hair salon and was Savana's coworker, and Savana has said Tizzi was "thrown off" about the couple's relationship.
In an interview with Love Don't Judge, Tizzi said: "Mum moved out. Everything was super fast. I was working at the salon when they filed for divorce. Anytime I walked into the back I felt like everybody was talking about it."
During the interview, Savana said to Tizzi: "I know that if I was your age, and my daddy came home with a girl that was closer than age to me than my dad, I probably would have whooped her ass" which makes Tizzi laugh.
Savana has said her relationship with Tizzi is "awesome" and the pair first began making TikTok videos together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Chris has said both he and Savana have been "destroyed" in online comments and Savana has said the backlash has been a "big massive tornado of negative comments."
People on social media have judged the couple's age gap, as well as claimed both Savana and Tizzi looked similar to each other.
ITV soap Emmerdale is known for its explosive weddings, with previous twists including kidnaps and deadly storms. So it comes as no surprise that Charity Dingle and Mackenzie Boyd’s nuptials will be anything but smooth sailing.
To celebrate the upcoming wedding, OK! was lucky enough to travel to the Yorkshire Dales to learn everything about the dramatic will-they-won't-they ceremony, as well as have a sneak peek at filming.
And when we arrive, the set is buzzing as cast and crew get stuck in for a busy few days of filming at St Mary’s Church. Expecting to see glamorous outfits and a bridal gown, it is a surprise to be confronted by The A Team’s "Howling Mad" Murdock, Templeton "Face" Peck and John "Hannibal" Smith costumes.
But before worrying we'd stumbled onto the wrong set, we soon remember that The A-Team play a huge part on the big day with bride-to-be Charity dressed as Hannibal and groom Mackenzie as Face.
And Charity's bridal look, which even has a cropped white wig and cigar, came as a shock for her co-stars as Emma Atkins admits they had to do a “double take”.
Describing Charity's bridal outfit as the "weirdest, strangest and most eccentric" yet, Emma, 48, tells OK! and other press that even Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle Dingle, didn't recognise her.
She says: "Eden didn’t realise it was me. She looked at me and thought 'Oh, there’s someone new there' and then she went 'Oh my God, it’s you!'"
But despite the unrecognisable look, Emma insists that her wig is "really comfy" and jokes: "To be fair, I’m so used to being shoved in wigs now, I just expect it now, I just turn up and go: 'Ok, what are we doing today?' And it does make it fun."
She adds: "You’ve got to embrace these episodes or it’s just not going to be great, so every one of us was like ‘Do you know what, this is going to be so much fun’ and we have had loads of fun with it."
The upcoming scenes see Moira Dingle help Charity surprise superfan Mack with a replica A-Team van as a gift but as the couple (complete in fancy dress) decide to get steamy in the vehicle, they’re soon arrested by PC Swirling as the van’s been involved in a robbery!
Spending the night in cells, the couple are unsure if the wedding can go ahead but they’re soon released as reluctant vicar, Charles Anderson, agrees to marry them in their costumes.
But in true soap style, pregnant Chloe Harris, who Mackenzie had a one-night stand with last year, goes into labour just before the wedding and when Mackenzie learns the news, he leaves the church on a mission while Charity fears she’s been jilted!
Fans will recall that Charity already has a string of weddings under her belt but even this one came as a surprise for seasoned soap wedding pro Emma.
She says: "I think it’s always very dramatic these days, there’s always things going wrong, and I think they’ve just got a lot in with this particular episode, will-they-won’t-they is definitely the big thing, will Mackenzie stop the wedding to say ‘I owe you the truth now’ and I think that’s what we’re all waiting for.
"So it’s probably one of the most dramatic weddings I’ve been involved in - in that sense, because the lie that has been building and building and building is such an enormous change to their lives once the truth comes out, it’s not like someone’s just slept with someone, there’s something at the end of it, this baby, it’s monumentally devastating isn’t it?"
Having had a sneak peek of the dramatic wedding, we can’t wait to see if there’s a happy ever after!
For all the latest cast updates and juicy Emmerdale spoilers, sign up to our daily OK! Newsletter . Emmerdale continues weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV.
Are you an Emmerdale superfan? Join in the fun on our dedicated Facebook group, click here.
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Geordie Shore’s Marnie Simpson’s wedding- 7 dresses, celeb guests and wild party
Maisie Smith baffles fans with 'pregnancy' announcement with Max George on holiday
Hollyoaks' Ali Bastian at home with new baby - name, theatrical birth and first pictures
Phillip Schofield breaks silence as brother is found guilty of sexually abusing teenage boy
This Morning star Phillip Schofield has released a statement after his brother Timothy Schofield was found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy over a period of three years.
The presenter, 61, shared a statement following the verdict on his Instagram stories.
It read: "My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family.
"I hope that their privacy will now be respected.
"If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my sibling, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
"These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."
Timothy Schofield, 54, was charged with 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019.
A jury at Exeter Crown Court found him guilty of all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
He denied the charges but was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.
Schofield has been remanded in custody by Judge Mrs Justice Cutts ahead of sentencing at Bristol Crown Court on May 19.
Jurors at the Crown Court heard previously the defendant told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.
The boy, who alleged the offending started when he was 13, told the jury he felt “emotionally blackmailed” by Schofield and “forced” to participate in sexual activity.
He said: “I felt that emotionally there was no escape from what we had to do and I felt that there was a tremendous amount of pressure and expectation for me to fulfil what was being asked and wanted.”
Phillip also told the court in a written statement how his brother had phoned him in an agitated and upset state, and Mr Schofield had invited him to drive to his home in London.
The court heard they spent several hours talking, including eating a meal, before he went to do the washing-up.
He told how his brother said “You are going to hate me for what I am about to say”, with him assuring him there was nothing he could say that would do that.
Mr Schofield said in the statement: “Then he said that he and (the boy) had time together and that last year they had watched porn … and (masturbated)”.
“I turned and said, ‘What did you just say?’ He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again. He then started to tell me about (the boy’s) body.
“I said, ‘F***, stop’. I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didn’t want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off. I said, ‘I don’t want you to tell me any more’. I said, ‘You’ve got to stop, just never do it again. Regardless how that happened, it must never happen again’.”
Giving evidence during the trial, the defendant told the jury he had been gay his “entire life” but had kept it “completely secret and hidden from everybody”.
He described this as “incredibly difficult” and told the court he had struggled with mental health problems for years.
The defendant wept as he was asked about phoning his famous brother before driving to his home in London.
Peter Binder, representing Schofield, asked: “You told him you were on the verge of killing yourself?”
Schofield wept as he said: “That’s correct. I was so alone," and claimed the teenager was “old enough” to choose to watch pornography with him.
Stephen King is a beloved, immensely successful writer. His works have been adapted to film as much as any author. King is also extremely prolific, and when you write as much as he does, not everything is going to be a home run. Plus, he only has so much say, if any, over adaptations. A director could take an iffy King story and turn it into a solid movie, or flub it with strong source material. There are beloved King adaptations, and epic flops. These are the best and worst movies adapted from King’s works.
“It” (2017)
More must-reads:
- Popular books that were made into terrible movies
- 51 women in entertainment who shattered the glass ceiling
A road has been left so badly damaged by a landslide it’s now at a 45° angle – and is still moving one year later.
The section of the B4069 in Wiltshire was written off after a storm hit the town in February 2022, leaving it looking like it was hit by an earthquake.
Only skateboarders and intrepid walkers could use the oddly shaped road.
But even they have deserted the road.
Now, over a year on from the landslide, Wiltshire Council has updated residents on the road’s progress.
Zee News
KOCO Oklahoma City
But bad news – the landslide is still moving and crushing the road.
A Russian volcano has started spewing ash over several hundred thousand square kilometres in one of the country's largest eruptions in decades. The Shiveluch volcano, one of the most active in the Kamchatka Peninsula, which sits on Russia's east coast, blew its top early in the morning on Tuesday, April 11. In the hours since the initial explosion, the mountain has created a dust cloud more than 12 miles high and 310 square miles across, forcing authorities to act.
The cloud's height has led officials to close the nearby airspace, with Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team issuing an aviation red notice, warning that the "ongoing activity" could "affect international and low-flying aircraft".
Some schools have closed on the ground in areas within the dust radius, with people advised not to leave their homes "unless absolutely necessary".
Residents of Klyuchi, a village 30 miles to the southwest of Shiveluch, posted videos showing near-apocalyptic scenes.
Footage showed the dust cloud blocking out the sun above them, with inches of dust accumulating on the ground.
READ MORE: In pictures - Hawaii issues volcano warning after eruption resumes
cbc.caRegional administrators have warned that while there are no plans for widespread evacuations, some residents may need to leave the area.
Vladimir Solodov, the Governor of Kamchatka, said some locals with health issues may require temporary evacuation.
In a post on the Russian social media platform VK, Solodov said people were experiencing trouble with local water supplies.
He added that regional health authorities have started inspecting residents.
A chemical weapons expert has issued an urgent warning that Russian forces may be using a bomb capable of a blast that is "one short of a nuclear explosion". Today, the Ministry of Defence tweeted a thread in which they said Russian media had reported that Putin's airborne troops had received "thermobaric multiple launch rocket systems", which Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told Express.co.uk has the power to "bring down tower blocks without any problems at all".
The MoD twitter thread read: "As of 03 April 2023, Russian media reported the transfer of TOS-1A thermobaric multiple launch rocket systems to Russian airborne forces (VDV).
"The highly destructive TOS-1A, which Russia designates as a 'heavy flamethrower', is typically operated by Russia's specialist Chemical, Biological and Radiological Protection Troops in Ukraine, and has not previously been formally associated with the VDV.
"The transfer likely indicates a future role for the VDV in offensive operations in Ukraine. It is likely part of efforts to reconstitute the VDV after it suffered heavy casualties in the first nine months of the war."
Thermobaric weapons suck oxygen out of space as they burst into a screaming fireball.
TOS-1A missiles are thermobaric and are capable of destroying infrastructure with supersonic blast waves.
The 59-year-old chemical weapons expert warned that Putin has a track record of targeting civilians, and that to do so using thermobaric weaponry "would be horrific".
He said such weapons "are basically just massive explosions using a lot of, for want of a better word, fuel [or] petrol."
He added: "If it looks like they're going to use them against civilians then that is a war crime and that would be horrific. These things would bring down tower blocks without any problems at all.
"The Russians have attacked civilians, I saw it very closely in Syria over the last ten years, but we know in Ukraine they've attacked hospitals and schools.
"So if you dropped one of these bombs on a school it would be absolutely devastating."
The colonel noted that similar military tools are used by Western powers but not on human targets.
He said: "We in the West use them for clearing minefields and I assume that the Ukrainian military will use them to clear the minefields when they start their advance.
"But these are particularly horrific weapons. They're not illegal if used in a military context, but if the Russians use them in civilian areas it's one short of a nuclear explosion - it's that sort of level of intensity in size."
Chair of Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood also condemned the reported move by the Kremlin.
He told Express.co.uk that Russia's use of thermobaric artillery indicates Putin's increasing concern with how the war is faring.
The MP for Bournemouth East said: "It's a sign of desperation in his failed attempt to take Ukraine that Putin now resorts to deploying thermobaric weapons.
He continued to say that this latest move from the 70-year-old Russian leader is him once more laying down the gauntlet to Western leaders.
He added: "But this is also a test for the West as Putin tries once again to stretch the limits of accepted international behaviour - knowing the West will be hesitant to retaliate."
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-POLITICS
Solodov wrote: "I also instructed the Ministry of Health that the doctors make a round of the residents - they went into every house and apartment.Councillor Caroline Thomas said: ‘Solving this huge problem and rebuilding the road is a major undertaking of significant scale, and it is presenting several engineering challenges.
‘In particular, because the ground has continued to move, it has been difficult to get both people and machinery to work on the site safely.’
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