Joe Swash is set to appear in a St Albans pantomime over the festive season, a move that could see him and wife Stacey Solomon spending much of Christmas apart.The EastEnders alum will star in Beauty and the Beast at the Alban Arena from December 4 until January 3.Although he is not scheduled to work on Christmas Day, it is unclear whether he will commute to their Essex home during the...

British military units are poised to board and detain ships from Russia's so‑called shadow fleet after the prime minister authorised action against vessels operating near UK shores.The shadow fleet is accused of sailing without proper flags to sidestep sanctions and move oil that helps finance Moscow's war in Ukraine.Ministers say they identified a legal route in January under the Sanctions and...

Four Syrian nationals have been detained in Germany after coordinated raids aimed at a criminal network that supplies boats and equipment for crossings of the English Channel.Police in North Rhine‑Westphalia seized inflatable boats, an engine, petrol cans, life jackets and boxes of tyre inner tubes during Wednesday’s early‑morning searches.The action follows a joint probe led by the UK’s...

Matt Brittin, a former senior executive at Google, has been named the BBC's next director general.He succeeds Tim Davie, who stepped down following controversy over a Panorama edit that sparked widespread criticism.Brittin led Google's activities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa before leaving the company in 2025 after an 18-year tenure. BBC chairman Samir Shah argued the corporation...

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed claims he is set to take over at Real Madrid, calling the transfer whispers unfounded and saying there has been no contact from the Spanish club.Speaking in Munich at the Magenta TV World Cup team presentation, the former Liverpool manager said neither he nor his agent has been approached about the vacancy and that the rumours are misplaced.Klopp stepped away from...

Many families who once treated days out as a routine are tightening their belts as everyday leisure costs climb.Parents across the UK say meals, attractions and activities have become harder to justify on a middle-income budget, even when both adults are in work.Bianca and Paul Osborne, who live in Stockport and earn close to the national average household income, found a typical family outing...

A British couple imprisoned in Iran have warned their situation has become dangerous amid the region’s latest fighting and say they feel abandoned by the UK government.Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both 53 and from East Sussex, recorded a message relayed by their son Joe Bennett from Evin prison in Tehran.The pair were detained in January 2025 during a motorbike trip and later given 10-year...

A bitter disagreement over the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline has stalled a vital €90bn EU loan to Ukraine and laid bare how a single member state can disrupt bloc decisions.No crude has passed from Russia through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia since a Russian strike hit the Brody pumping station in western Ukraine on 27 January.Satellite imagery and on-the-ground reports show a massive storage...

Danish authorities reportedly prepared to disable key Greenland airstrips to stop a potential US seizure of the Arctic territory, the Danish broadcaster DR has reported.DR says its account is based on a dozen sources inside Denmark's government and military, plus officials in France and Germany, and the Financial Times later said two European diplomats corroborated parts of the story.According to...

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides has called for a frank review of the UK’s two sovereign military bases on the island, saying their presence is a legacy of colonial rule and needs to be discussed once tensions in the Middle East ease.The bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia were established under the 1960 treaty that granted Cyprus independence, with Britain retaining sovereignty over roughly...