By OLLIE LEWIS, DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR

Published: 15:24 BST, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 15:31 BST, 20 July 2026

Kevin Keegan has died at the age of 75 after a short battle with illness.

The England and Newcastle legend was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer in January, having been admitted to hospital with abdominal problems.  

Keegan made his name at Liverpool in a glittering playing career. He won 63 England caps and also managed Fulham and Manchester City.

He guided Newcastle to the Premier League during the first of two stints at St James’ Park and came close to lifting the title, only to be pipped by Manchester United.

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In a statement, his family said: ‘It is with immense sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75. The former England player and manager had been battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments.

‘Kevin, a double Ballon D’or winner, was a much loved husband, father and grandfather. The family would like to thank Kevin’s incredible medical team for all their support.

‘This is a hugely difficult time and they are requesting space and privacy.’

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After starting his career at Scunthorpe, Keegan headed to Anfield where he won the First Division three times, the European Cup once and the UEFA Cup twice.

He enjoyed a stint in Germany with Hamburg before spells at Southampton and Newcastle.

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In 1999 Keegan succeeded Glenn Hoddle as England boss but resigned in 2000 following a disappointing European Championship and a loss to Germany in the final match at the old Wembley.

He would go on to oversee promotions to the top flight for both Fulham and City.

Steve Furnell and Karen Oxley have been waking up the region for more than 20 years, previously on Galaxy, then Metroradio and TFM before it was renamed Hits Radio.

The pair built up a loyal following with their breakfast show before it was axed as part of a wider shake-up of regional programming last year, and they moved to Hits Radio 90s.

From Monday (July 20) the duo are simultaneously hosting breakfast on both Hits Radio 90s and Hits Radio 00s.

It means listeners on both stations can enjoy the Geordie duo’s show, but choose which decade of music they prefer.

Hits Radio Content Director, Paul Gerrard, said: “Steve and Karen are brilliant broadcasters with an incredible connection with audiences.

“It’s the best of both worlds – fantastic presenters and the right soundtrack for each audience.”

Joel Ross previously presented the Hits Radio 00s breakfast show.

The armed man who had tights and a helmet over his face is now behind bars.

Simon Brooks, 32, of Toronto Street, Bolton, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to four years in jail, after previously pleading guilty to the offence of robbery.

Brooks entered the shop with a motorcycle helmet to cover his face (Image: GMP)

The robbery took place on November 26 at 5.44am when Brooks entered a convenience store on Bury Road in the Breightmet.

He was wearing a motorcycle helmet and tights over his head in an attempt to conceal his identity.

During the incident, Brooks produced a knife and pointed it at the shopworker, demanding that they open the till.

When the worker initially refused, Brooks lunged toward them and waved the knife, before taking cash from the till and fleeing the scene.

Despite his attempts to hide his identity, Brooks was quickly identified by officers from the North Bolton Neighbourhood Team.

Brooks then brandished a knife to intimidate the shop owner (Image: GMP)

He was arrested within two hours of the offence.

A search of his property led to the recovery of the clothing worn during the robbery.

Brooks was also captured on CCTV discarding the tights he had worn on his head.

The knife used in the robbery was also recovered as part of the investigation.

He was later interviewed and charged with the robbery offences.

In addition to his prison sentence, Brooks was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

Sergeant Rebecca Strong, from Greater Manchester Police’s Bolton Neighbourhood Team, said:

“This will have undoubtedly been a terrifying experience for the worker who was the victim of this robbery, and I am glad that officers acted quickly and decisively to get Brooks arrested.

“His actions were utterly disgusting and I am glad that this incident didn’t result in more serious consequences.

“Knife crime has no place on the streets of Bolton – or Greater Manchester – and I am glad Brooks is now behind bars with time to think about his crime.”

Brooks then took money from the register (Image: GMP)

Greater Manchester Police said the force remains committed to reducing robbery.

Officers continue to gather intelligence and pursue all lines of enquiry to secure arrests and charges.

Police data shows that robbery is down 16.7 per cent compared to the previous year, equating to more than 600 fewer offences.

Knife crime in the region has also fallen by around 28 per cent.

The official Avengers: Doomsday trailer has dropped – and boy are we in for a hell of a ride.

The movie, which is coming out in December this year, is being touted as the biggest superhero team-up blockbuster since Infinity War and Doomsday.

Not only will it see several of the biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe characters coming together – including the Fantastic Four, Shuri’s Black Panther, and the Thunderbolts – but it will also see OG Avengers Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr reunite.

Some Marvel fans claim that the MCU has gone downhill since Endgame, and refuse to jump back on board. Others believe this new two-and-a-half minute trailer has parts that look like ‘AI slop’. Some say that there’ll just never be as hyped about Marvel films as they were seven years ago when Endgame came out.

And yet, within half an hour, the Doomsday trailer has already banked a million views on YouTube. Make of that what you will, naysayers.

As someone who’s remained a staunch Marvel fan my entire life, and has had faith that Doomsday will bring the goods, the trailer sent chills running up and down my spine.

We have the X-Men, officially in the MCU, including a tormented Professor X (SIr Patrick Stewart), a long-haired Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen), and Mystique (Rebecca Romijin), boasting a brand new look.

Robert has returned, but not as a resurrected Tony Stark – this time, he’s here as the dreaded Doctor Doom, the longtime foe of the Fantastic Four. Whether this means that this Doctor Doom hails from a parallel universe remains to be seen.

Even in this short snippet, Doctor Doom’s power seems unprecedented. He’s able to stop Thor’s hammer mid-flight with just two fingers, seemingly with even more ease than Hela (Cate Blanchett) was able to in Thor: Ragnarok, when she caught the weapon in the palm of her hand before exploding it to smithereens.

But another aspect of Robert’s performance has fans wagging their tongues – the actor’s peculiar accent.

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‘That Victor Von Doom accent from Robert Downey Jr. is driving me insane. What an unbelievable actor, man 🔥,’ ZeMo wrote on X.

‘I will say, I genuinely like Robert Downey Jr’s accent for Doctor Doom,’ ConnorBehrens remarked, while SalenmaganStark said: ‘The accent btw 🙌 Robert ate this 🔥.’

One fan called Shadowthehooded admitted that they initially couldn’t even tell that it was Robert speaking.

However, we’re still yet to see his face underneath Doctor Doom’s metal mask, which he wears in the comics to conceal his severely scarred face.

The trailer boasts several jaw-dropping moments, including Channing Tatum’s Gambit going up against Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, not to mention Thor’s long-awaited reunion with Steve Rogers.

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After Thor says that they need a ‘miracle’ to battle their new nemesis, a voice gently says to him: ‘Hey pal.’

‘It’s not possible,’ Thor responds, before holding his hammer, Mjolnir.

As fans will remember (as who could possibly forget?), in Avengers: Endgame in the fight against Thanos, Captain America was able to summon and wield Mjolnir, which only those who are ‘worthy’ are able to do.

In the Doomsday trailer, Steve catches it once again – seemingly proving that he is very much real and his true self. And the trailer ends there, with Cap’s mysterious return.

Is he the real Steve Rogers? Is he from a parallel universe… or could he an evil version of the character we all adore? There are only four months left until we find out.

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MORE: Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls open beta start time and character roster

MORE: Christopher Nolan’s most underrated movie is much better than Inception

MORE: Matt Damon shares one ‘non-negotiable’ rule he and his wife have never broken

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Need to know

The new rules mean that more people could be refused credit though Buy Now, Pay Later.

Everything you need to know:

• New rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are now in effect to protect millions of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) users. These regulations aim to reduce the risk of shoppers accumulating unmanageable debt.
• The entire BNPL sector is officially under FCA regulation as of today. Firms offering these agreements now have a six-month window to apply for full authorisation from the regulator.
• Providers must now conduct proportionate credit and affordability checks before approving every single purchase. This means some shoppers might be denied credit if lenders fear they cannot afford the repayments.
• Customers will receive clear, upfront information regarding their payment schedules and the consequences of missed instalments. While usually interest-free, missed payments can still incur late fees and negatively impact credit scores.
• Lenders are now required to offer greater support to individuals who find themselves facing financial difficulty. This mandatory assistance includes directing struggling borrowers toward free, independent debt advice services.
• Shoppers who feel they have been treated unfairly can now escalate their complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. However, this new avenue for dispute resolution only applies to agreements made from today onward, not past purchases.
• Consumers will also newly benefit from Section 75 protection for purchases ranging between £100 and £30,000. This legally makes the BNPL lender jointly responsible with the retailer if an item is faulty or never arrives.
• Major providers like Klarna and Clearpay have publicly welcomed these stricter operating standards. Both the firms and the FCA agree that this framework will protect vulnerable consumers while allowing the credit sector to grow safely.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The comments come amid criticism of senior Labour figure Ed Miliband, with briefings including warnings he would be a “threat to Britain” in No 11.

Mr Burnham said: “They haven’t come from my team and I’m appalled at those briefings.

“I’m appalled at any colleague being on the receiving end of an anonymous briefing.

“And coming back to Westminster I kind of see that having gone to another level and it really does demean our politics.

“For me, that is what I’m coming in to change – to get some respect back, some teamwork going.”

He called for a “wider cultural change” in politics, where criticism of colleagues is replaced with cooperation and accountability.

He told broadcasters: “I’m talking about a different type of politics.

“You know what I feel very strongly?

“I don’t believe politicians get the right to stand on someone’s doorstep and point fingers at everyone else when all politics has not been working for people.

“All parties have failed in one way or another.

“You don’t get the right to point fingers when you’ve not been good enough yourselves and that’s what I’m coming in, with that honesty, and myself included, my generation of politicians hasn’t been good enough.”

He said: “Things have been in flux for a long time now.

“We all have to be better and that’s my message.

“We have to change the way we do politics, turn the country around.

“Now, nobody can be happy with the fact that we’re seeing all of this turbulence and I’m conscious that I’m the sixth person to walk up Downing Street in the last decade, that isn’t good enough. We need to be better. We will be better.”

The government said the first steps will involve helping those sleeping rough for a long period of time to move into secure housing, and includes the “acquisition of suitable homes”.

Burnham, in a statement after his first speech in Downing Street, said: “On my first day as prime minister, I’m announcing this government’s commitment to finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK at the earliest opportunity.

“We’ll get to work immediately, bringing together national and local government with the investment needed to get it done.”

The latest annual national statistics, published by the government in February this year, estimated there were 4,793 people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025 in England.

This was a new record high and the fourth annual increase in a row.

The number of people seen sleeping rough on a single night in Greater Manchester was recorded as 268 in 2017, 149 in 2023 and 154 in autumn 2024.

The Manchester Mill reported, external that the figure had increased to 197 in 2025.

Burnham visited homelessness charity The Passage in Victoria, London, hours before he made his first speech in Downing Street.

Challenged about his record, Burnham said the “problem was down significantly” from when he first became mayor of Greater Manchester.

He told broadcasters: “We ran a scheme every night, 600 beds, called ‘A Bed Every Night’ and we funded it through various different ways. But we were the only place that was doing it.

“And you won’t be able to get the numbers down if you’re the only place and other cities, people are coming to Manchester.

“So it taught me that the only way is to do this together.”

Burnham referenced the Everyone In scheme during the Covid-19 pandemic, when thousands of rough sleepers across England were helped with housing.

He said: “Everybody pulling in the same direction, everyone in, as we did in the pandemic, because we did bring people inside in the pandemic.

“And that’s what I’m saying as I go into government today. We did it then, we can do it now, get the basics right, put a care for people at the heart of everything that we do and just get this country working as it should again.”

Burnham’s pledge echoes one made by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who committed to providing 8,000 homes “immediately” to house people with a history of rough sleeping in the event of the party winning power.

Nick Cave’s son Earl has shared how his life devastatingly changed after losing his twin brother Arthur in a clifftop accident over 10 years ago

Nick Cave’s son Earl has opened up about the devastating impact of losing his twin brother Arthur.

Eleven years ago, his brother Arthur sadly died when he fell off a cliff in Brighton after taking LSD for the first time. Following his brother’s death, Earl, 26, found solace in religion and believes the trauma partly led to him calling himself a Christian.

Earl didn’t go to church as a child but says that he became drawn to the idea of religion as he’s gotten older. He started attending every Sunday and began to like the message “more and more.”

“I like the idea that this isn’t it. I wonder whether that’s something intrinsically connected to my trauma. The idea is definitely something that I need to have. It’s comforting,” he said.

He told The Sunday Times: “Life doesn’t feel like an endless vacuum of nothing. Faith keeps me and my morals in check. I manifest and pray for people. It makes me happy.”

Nick and his wife Susie have both used different mechanisms to cope with the death of their son. Nick uses his music to process his grief, with his song Skeleton Tree in 2016 discussing grief in its rawest form.

Susie, meanwhile, channelled her grief into The Vampire’s Wife, a fashion line which she has now closed. Sadly, there has been a lot of grief in the family as Nick’s son, Jethro, 31, died in 2022.

Jethro had schizophrenia and battled with drug addictions, and he died in Melbourne two days after he had been released from jail two months after he violently assaulted his own mother.

Speaking about the deaths of two of his children, he told The Guardian: “‘I think it’s something that people who lose children feel regardless of the situation, simply because the one thing you’re supposed to do is not let your children die. Forget that. The one thing you’re supposed to do is protect your children.”

Asked if he feels culpable because drugs were involved in the death of Arthur, he added: “There could be some element of that, yep. Look, these things are in our DNA, they’re inherited.

“I don’t want to make any assumptions about Arthur, who was just a young boy. It’s not like he was into drugs. On a fundamental level, it’s against nature to be burying your children. And there can’t help but be feelings of culpability.”

Because of the public nature of the death, Nick felt he had to grieve publicly too.

“That was helpful, weirdly enough. It stopped me completely shutting the windows and bolting the doors and just living in this dark world,” he shared following Arthur’s death.

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