Andrii Sybiha, Kyiv’s acting minister of foreign affairs, wrote on social media that he congratulated Mr Miliband on his new role “and thanked the United Kingdom for its steadfast support for Ukraine since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, including military, energy, humanitarian, economic and sanctions assistance”.

A woman said she was harassed on the flight and claimed two people were having sex in the toilet ‘to cheers’ from other passengers

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A Ryanair flight bound for Ibiza transcended into a nightmare, according to one passenger, who said there were two groups who became ‘inebriated’ and disruptive, with some even allegedly having sex in the toilet.

A woman who has travelled to the Spanish holiday hotspot for 45 years said she has been on some rowdy flights before – but none like this one.

She recalled the horrifying journey all started before the plane had even taken off, as she noted two groups of people “making a lot of noise” and who “appeared to be inebriated” at the departure gates at Dublin Airport last week.

As she boarded the plane, she said she raised her concerns, but felt they were not taken seriously by staff, reports Dublin Live. By the time the plane was in the air, things took a dramatic turn involving two groups of people.

“It really started at the departure gate,” she told the outlet. “We arrived at the departure gate, and there were two groups of people that I was concerned about.

“They were making an awful lot of noise. They appeared to be inebriated and, given what Michael O’Leary had stated about not tolerating inebriated passengers on their flights, as I was about to board the plane, I brought the attention of a female member of the ground crew.

“She didn’t feel happy that I was concerned about this.” A further complication at the gate almost prevented her husband from boarding the plane.

But, once on board, the situation deteriorated rapidly. She described two distinct groups causing chaos on the flight: one group of young men, and another slightly older, mixed-gender group.

The younger group, she said, “were all, I would say, 22 to 24, they were all male”. She said the stewards on board the flight continued to serve people in both groups alcohol, despite warning them about their behaviour.

Other passengers were getting visibly distressed, according to the passenger. “The younger group was warned by the steward about the consequences of misbehaviour, but they continued to play music and drink,” she told Newstalk on Monday.

“There was a young girl who was shaking from head to toe, and there was another lady who was just very agitated because the noise was just overwhelming.”

A shirtless man and a young woman allegedly went into a bathroom together, and remained inside for about ten minutes.

Upon their exit to cheers from the two groups, a male flight steward inspected the room – and then returned with supplies to clean up what had been left behind. She told host Andrea Gilligan: “There was a young girl saying that she could organise hookups with people on the flight, if they wanted.

“And at one point, a shirtless young guy, just in a pair of shorts, and a girl went into the toilet, and they came out about 10 minutes later. The steward opened the toilet door after they exited it.

“And whatever he saw, he then went and got a large bag of wet wipes.” The woman then said a young man in a seat in front of her, who was verbally propositioning passengers, pointed at her and shouted: ‘I want her’.

She said: “He got up out of his seat and he pointed at me and he said, ‘I want her’. At which point, my new friend Paul [a man sitting beside her on the flight] intervened.

“And I said to him: ‘You need to be very, very careful, that man on the other side of the aisle is my husband’. My husband had both earplugs and headphones on, and his eyes closed.

“I said to him: ‘You need to remove yourself from this, because my husband is getting very worked up by the noise and shouting and people jumping over seats and all the rest of it’. And it was only at that point that the young man realised that I wasn’t a middle-aged woman on my own.

“Thank God my husband didn’t hear it, because it could have been an unpleasant situation if my husband had heard, basically, a young man on a Ryanair flight sexually harassing me.”

On arrival at Ibiza Airport, the aircraft was met by emergency services. Paramedics boarded the plane and removed at least one passenger who appeared unwell, while members of the problematic groups were interviewed by police.

She said: “When the flight landed, the steward said: ‘Everyone, stay in your seats. The paramedics and the police are coming to the flight’.

“The young guy who had been shirtless, who was in the toilet with the girl, he was carried off the flight by paramedics. Two people from the group further down the flight were asked to go with the police.” And in the aftermath, an elderly woman’s bag was misplaced – which then lead to further distress on their hot bus transfer.

The woman continued: “There was an elderly woman whose bag was misplaced. Now, it turned out that the stewards had put it in with their bags, or at least that’s what was said to us on the bus.

“People were asked by any chance had they taken her bag. One of the people who had been interviewed by the police decided that it was being implied he’d stolen her bag, but when her bag was found and he had boarded the bus, we were all already on the bus again.

“It was stinking hot, you know. You’re talking 30, 33 degrees, and people are tired and stressed and upset. And a man starts hurling abuse at this elderly woman that she was accusing of stealing his bag, which she wasn’t.

“She just wanted to get her bag back. At which point, a very big Spanish police officer boarded the bus, prodded him in the chest, and shouted at him: ‘No trouble in Spain’.

“At that point, he got off the bus. The door was closed, and finally, we got to the terminal, and we got out of there as quickly as we could.”

She said her husband was “furious” when she told him she’d been “propositioned by somebody who was certainly young enough to be my son.”

A statement from Ryanair to Newstalk said that two passengers on the flight were refused bar service on board, but continued to drink their own pre-bought alcohol, despite warnings from the crew. They said: “Crew on this flight from Dublin to Ibiza called ahead for police assistance after two passengers became disruptive inflight.

“Due to their misbehaviour, crew refrained from serving these passengers alcohol from the bar, however, despite several warnings from crew, they continued to drink their own alcohol purchased pre-flight. Police met the aircraft upon landing at Ibiza Airport and these two disruptive passengers were removed.

“Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a respectful and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption.”

By CHRISTINE RENDÓN, US SENIOR REPORTER

Published: 15:37 BST, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 16:50 BST, 21 July 2026

Kaylee Hottle, who starred in two Godzilla films, has died age 18. 

The actress was killed in a car crash Tuesday morning in Maryland, her father Joshua Hottle revealed to TMZ. 

Kaylee, who was deaf, played a young girl who could communicate with Godzilla using sign language in the 2021 film Godzilla vs Kong and its 2024 sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Before this, she did commercials for products used by the deaf and hard of hearing community. 

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Kaylee’s father broke the news with followers in a livestream titled ‘I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,’ in which he described in American Sign Language having to travel from Texas to claim his daughter’s body, according to TMZ.

Joshua said he received a phone call from officials telling him his daughter’s heart had stopped on the way to the hospital not long after he learned about the accident. 

Kaylee Hottle, the actress who played ‘Jia’ in Godzilla vs Kong, has died at age 18 following a car crash

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She starred in the 2021 film Godzilla vs Kong and it’s sequel, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.

Kaylee played Jia in the two Godzilla films and had the script translated into ASL with the help of her parents and another individual. 

‘I was fine with memorizing the script and signing my lines, but the tough part was signing out the “spoken” parts because we had to change it, and sometimes they’d tell us it was wrong but they didn’t understand that ASL changes almost everything,’ she said during a 2021 interview with The Daily Moth. 

‘Because the interpreter said what I said. The producer and director would sometimes say “Don’t say that” and want me to follow the script, but the signs for that sentence would be different in ASL.

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‘There was one instance where there was a misunderstanding between us related to the ASL translation, which caused a delay, but they later understood.’

Kaylee also taught her castmates how to sign: ‘Teaching the cast how to sign. They had never interacted with a deaf person before. I had to explain how to sign and use facial expressions. That was the hard part, but when they picked up on it, it was fine. I didn’t really have challenges, they were very accommodating. Some of the workers learned how to sign.’

Kaylee’s character was able to communicate with Kong using sign language, a connection she described as ‘special.’ 

‘Because Kong and my character had a special bond. We signed with each other. Not with Godzilla, it was different. Then later we met,’ she said. 

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Kaylee’s character Jia communicated with Kong using sign language 

Rebecca Hall played Jia’s adopted mother, Dr. Ilene Andrews 

The film also starred Alexander Skarsgård, who previously said Kaylee ‘steals the movie’. 

He even learned American Sign Language for his co-star. 

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‘It’s her first movie,’ he told Junkee in 2021.  ‘It’s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam [Wingard]. 

‘He’ll explain something and she’ll be like ‘got it, got it’ then she’ll just do it and everyone’s like ‘the f— … how did she?’ She’s so professional and just incredibly … there’s so much going on on her face, her expression and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch.’

In addition to her role in the Godzilla films, she appeared on an episode of Magnum P.I. and did commercials for products which helped deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

She did a public service announcement for the video chat messenger Glide and a commercial for Convo Relay. 

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Kaylee was also featured in 10 Deaf Children: One Powerful Message. 

The Beatles fans got far more than they bargained for after paying for a themed tour around Liverpool on Tuesday – spotting two of the iconic band’s members.

The Magical Mystery Tour – named after one of the Beatles’ best loved albums – visits sites associated with band members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, including where they grew up, met, and formed the band.

But the fans on this particular tour were treated to far more than a trip down memory lane, after pulling up beside Paul while stopped at a red traffic light.

Incredibly, Paul, 84, was FaceTiming his bandmate Ringo, showing the fans his phone while waving to them from an open window in the car.

Paul looked just as delighted to spot a bus load of his fans, waving and smiling as he passed them and flashed a peace sign.

Neil Morton, who has driven the bus for two years, told the BBC: ‘It was surreal. I had pulled up at the traffic lights on Hope Street when who should I see – Sir Paul with Ringo on Facetime. He waved to us and everybody took photos.

‘The passengers could not believe it.’

The Magical Mystery Tour – named after one of the Beatles’ best loved albums – visits sites associated with band members Paul McCartney , John Lennon , George Harrison and Ringo Starr , including where they grew up, met, and formed the band

Paul was in Liverpool to present actor Stephen Graham with an award from the performing arts school he founded, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) was co-founded by Paul, who presented a companionship honour to fellow Liverpudlian Stephen. 

Beatles legend Ringo was last seen in person with his wife Barbara Bach as he celebrated his 86th birthday with his Peace and Love celebration.

The music star beamed as he posed for snaps at the event with his wife of 45 years, after he turned 86 earlier this month.

Barbara, 79, a former Bond Girl who starred in The Spy Who Loved Me, opted for a stylish cream blazer over an all-black look as she and Ringo posed for snaps together.

The couple married in 1981 after meeting on the set of Caveman the year before, and divide their time between homes in London, Los Angeles and Monte Carlo.

Barbara had already found fame as KGB agent Anya Amasova – not too subtly referred to as Agent Triple X – in the tenth James Bond movie which centered on a plan by a megalomaniac to destroy the world and create a new one under the sea.

Before that she was one of the most sought-after faces in the modeling scene, posing for fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle.

Paul looked just as delighted to spot a bus load of his fans, waving and smiling as he passed them and flashed a peace sign

Beatles legend Ringo was last seen in person with his wife Barbara Bach as he celebrated his 86th birthday with his Peace and Love celebration 

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While The Beatles haven’t performed together for half a century, the band is set to take centre stage in a series of biopics in 2028, directed by Sam Mendes (left to right) Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, and Joseph Quinn as George Harriso

One of her most iconic shoots was in a Playboy spread in 1981, a year after she caught the eye of one of rock’s greatest legends.

The couple endured their share of turmoil in the early years, from a near-fatal car crash to battles with addiction, before checking into rehab together and turning their lives around – trading their rock n’ roll lifestyle for outreach work and a commitment to vegetarianism.

Though they never had children together, both came into the marriage with families of their own. 

Bach shares two children, daughter Francesca, 47, and son Gianni, 44, with her ex-husband, Italian industrialist Augusto Gregorini, whom she divorced in 1978 after a decade of marriage. 

Ringo was previously married to hairdresser Maureen Cox, and the couple had three children together, Zak, 60, Jason, 58, and Lee, 55.

He and Maureen split in 1975 after the singer faced accusations of infidelity during their marriage, and she died in 1994 after a battle with leukaemia. 

While The Beatles haven’t performed together for half a century, the band is set to take centre stage in a series of biopics in 2028, directed by Sam Mendes.

The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event will see Barry Keoghan take on the role of Ringo, with the films set to document the iconic group’s journey to stardom.

Paul and Ringo did reunite last month, when the drummer made an appearance on the singer’s new album in the song Home to Us.

Sir Paul said: ‘Ringo’s never done a duet with one of the Beatles.’

Ringo also confirmed he had made a song with Sir Paul on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

He said: ‘It started two years ago with the drums, it was like in reverse, the drums went on first. It’s amusing and very real because that is where we come from.’

It is based on where they grew up in Liverpool, which Sir Paul has described as being ‘a little rough, but home to us’.

Of the policy areas where Andy Burnham might claim a mayoral record worth nationalising, the digital and technology economy is among the strongest. It is also one that has drawn surprisingly little scrutiny.

Over the past decade, Greater Manchester has become the fastest-growing digital economy in Europe, home to a tech ecosystem valued at around US$4.2 billion and the largest artificial intelligence (AI) sector by headcount anywhere in the UK outside London and the south east.

The northern English city of Manchester has played a critical role in the development of Andy Burnham’s political and social outlook. This series considers what some have dubbed Manchesterism and what it might mean for the future of the UK.

Inward investment into the city region’s tech firms rose by more than 1,000% between 2017 and 2022, according to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The digital, cyber and AI cluster, anchored in Manchester city centre, now sits alongside advanced manufacturing, life sciences, the creative industries and low-carbon. This makes it one of the five frontier sectors around which GMCA has built its (re)industrialisation strategy.

Not just growth

What makes this “Manchesterism” rather than simply growth is the machinery bolted around it. The cluster is coupled to a £1 billion Good Growth Fund, to the Good Employment and Good Landlord charters. It’s also linked to the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, a skills route designed to give young people a direct line into the jobs these sectors create.

The planned relocation of nearly 9,000 civil servants into a new Manchester digital campus will deepen this cluster further. The idea, according to Burnham, is that the proceeds of growth should be recycled into communities rather than syphoned out of them.

He also maintains that digital connectivity and the ability to participate digitally is a basic human right driving positive economic change. Burnham sees closing the digital divide as a key driver for a new model of economic growth that is citizen-led and inclusive.

But does any of this survive the journey from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston? Parts of it travel quite well. Linking growth to place, concentrating on a region’s strengths, planning education and skills around employers, and linking public investment to employment standards are all moves that a national government serious about significant economic devolution could replicate.

The Whitehall-driven Manchester digital campus is national policy already. And it is a key example of playing to a place’s strengths.

Other parts travel badly. Clustering is stubbornly place-specific, and no prime minister can promise every region the largest AI sector outside London, because there is only one of those to allocate.

The digital growth story also omits some harder economics. Research on the places exposed to the AI sector across Greater Manchester shows that the job benefits fall very unevenly between boroughs and occupations. So a cluster that lifts the city centre can have no effect on surrounding towns, rather than enriching places equally.

AI jobs can leave a borough exposed to risks – those jobs, the investment and infrastructure built around them can disappear if the AI bubble bursts. The public sector, increasingly a significant buyer of AI products, carries a pricing and procurement risk that a mayoralty has never had to resolve at a national scale.

Wet Wet Wet are taking their debut album Popped In Souled Out on the road to celebrate 40 years since its release and play York Barbican in Paragon Street on Tuesday, October 26 next year.

The tour includes more than 40 shows across the UK to mark the release of the album that introduced them to a global audience.

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Two new venues have been added – Frome Cheese and Grain, and Northampton Derngate.

The band first found fame with their 1987 debut, which featured hits including Wishing I Was Lucky, Sweet Little Mystery, Angel Eyes, and Temptation.

Wet Wet Wet are one of the most recognisable names of the 1980s UK pop scene (Image: Supplied)

The album reached number one on the UK album chart and spent more than 70 weeks in the rundown, and went multi-platinum, establishing the band as one of the key British acts of the late 1980s.

Graeme Clark, Wet Wet Wet’s founding member, said: “When we made Popped In Souled Out, I was just a young guy.

“Forty years later, those songs have taken on a life of their own, and this tour is about celebrating where it all began without forgetting what followed.

“It’ll feel like stepping back into those original shoes – only now with a lifetime of experience and with an audience who’ve been with us through every twist and turn.”

The 2027 tour will also feature long-standing guitarist Graeme Duffin and lead vocalist Kevin Simm.

Fans can expect songs from Popped In Souled Out alongside other hits from their extensive back catalogue, including With A Little Help From My Friends, Goodnight Girl, and their iconic cover of The Troggs’ Love Is All Around.

Kevin Simm said: “I’m really excited to be going back out on tour in 2027 and celebrating 40 years of Popped In Souled Out.

“It’s an absolute honour and a privilege as always to sing these iconic and timeless songs, and to perform them in so many venues across the UK to so many fans of the band is really a dream come true.”

The band will be joined by special guests across selected dates, including Roachford, Nick Heyward, Rebecca Ferguson, Heather Small, Johnny Hates Jazz, The Christians and The South.

Wet Wet Wet completed their first European headline tour in over 25 years in May 2026, immediately followed by a run of intimate acoustic shows in the UK.

They have sold more than 15 million singles and albums worldwide and hold the record for the most appearances by a Scottish act on Top of the Pops, with 56 appearances.

Tickets went on sale for the new venues on Friday, July 17, via Ticketmaster.

A total of 368 residents have signed a petition calling to save the Post Office counter service and Morrisons Daily, in Moorcroft Road, Woodthorpe, according to organisers the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrat ward councillor Stephen Fenton said he had met with Post Office representatives and there were hopeful signs that services could be maintained.

A Post Office spokesperson said they had received interest from operators but the counter was still scheduled to close next week along with the Morrisons Daily store.

A Morrisons spokesperson said the store was among those set to close in the coming months after underperforming since they were acquired from McColl’s in 2022.

It comes as the counter is currently due to shut on Saturday, August 1.

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Liberal Democrats said many residents in the area were concerned the closure could leave them cut off from vital services.

Dringhouses and Woodthorpe’s Cllr Fenton said he was grateful to those who supported the party’s petition.

He added he still hoped the Post Office counter could be saved.

The Liberal Democrat said: “I met with Post Office representatives last month and have contacted local retailers.

“There are hopeful signs that an announcement may be imminent that a new retailer has agreed to maintain Post Office services.

“That’s welcome news and I stand ready to work with the new operator.”

A Post Office spokesperson said they were looking at those who had expressed interest in a replacement branch (file photo) (Image: North Somerset Times)

A Post Office spokesperson said they had advertised the vacancy to run a replacement branch and they were currently looking closely at those who had expressed interest.

The spokesperson said: “Our retail partner has reviewed their Morrisons Daily store operations and has decided to close their store at Woodthorpe.

“Consequently, the store and Post Office is to close on Saturday August, 1.

“We fully recognise the inconvenience this will cause our customers and small businesses who rely on our banking and parcel services in particular, so we want to open a replacement branch as soon as possible.”

Morrisons’ spokesperson said they had taken the tough but necessary decision to close a number of stores over the next few months.

The spokesperson said: “The combination of the proposed closure of loss-making stores and the continued addition of attractive new franchise openings will enable us to concentrate on those stores which work best for customers, improving the quality of our convenience estate and making it stronger overall.”

Alternative Post Office services are available locally in Dringhouses, about a mile away from the Moorcroft Road site.

Post Offices also operate around two miles away in York Road, Acomb and Sim Balk Lane, Bishopthorpe.

There is also a Post Office Banking Hub in York Road.

Ann Widdecombe died after she was hit on the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Devon, prosecutors have told Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

The former MP and MEP died on July 8 at her house in Haytor on Dartmoor after having sustained serious injuries.

Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, today, July 21, appeared in court charged with the murder of Widdecombe.

Kerry was arrested on suspicion of murder on July 11, two days after Widdecombe was found dead.

Ann Widdecombe’s cause of death was revealed today (July 21) (Image: Oscar Rihil/PA Wire)

Man in court over hammer murder of Ann Widdecombe

Kerry was also arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, but he has not been charged with this offence.

Kashif Malik, prosecuting, said that on July 8, Widdecombe did not attend a pre-arranged online interview at just before 1 pm, which would have been aired live on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show.

The show’s production team tried to contact Widdecombe through her personal assistant, who then asked the family gardener to check on her, the court heard.

Prosecutors said he found the politician lying face down on her kitchen floor with a serious head injury the next day, July 9.

Malik said that on July 8, Widdecombe had been eating lunch when Kerry allegedly pulled up outside the front of her house in a red Vauxhall Corsa and entered through the front door.

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Kerry then allegedly used a hammer to hit Widdecombe on the top of her head 21 times, the court heard.

He is accused of tipping her from her chair and taking a wallet out of her handbag before leaving and driving off, having only been in the house for two minutes, the court heard.

A provisional cause of death was given as a blunt force injury to the head, the court heard.

A bearded Kerry, who appeared in the dock wearing a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and Byrley Road address.

Longtime ESPN broadcaster Karl Ravech is expected to be among the latest layoffs at the network, sources told The Athletic Tuesday.

The cuts follow ESPN’s decision Monday to part ways with NFL analyst Ryan Clark, with additional layoffs expected to hit behind-the-scenes staff. Most of the reductions are reportedly coming at NFL Network, including Tom Pelissero, one of the network’s top insiders, per The Athletic.

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The woman thought homeless Nathan George McGowan was a “good” person, funny and kind, when she allowed him to stay with her in January this year, said prosecution barrister Esther Bukoye.

But the victim soon realised he was a “Jekyll and Hyde” person, whose behaviour would change suddenly without warning and without cause. After he assaulted her, she hid anything he could use as a weapon against her and moved her beloved dog out of her house.

On January 23, he attacked her, “kicking her with so much force she fell back against a wall”, said the barrister. With blood pouring from a cut on her head, she went to accident and emergency and her dog, who was still living with her then, panicked and started having fits.

In a personal statement, the woman said: “Nobody deserves to be treated in this way, no matter how handsome you are, no matter how many crocodile tears you shed.”

She said: “You never knew which version of him you were going to see.”

On the day he was due to stand trial, McGowan, 32, of Harrogate, pleaded guilty to causing the woman actual bodily harm. Charges alleging other forms of violence were left on file, meaning they will appear on his record but not as criminal convictions.

His long criminal history includes 101 previous convictions and in 2019 he was jailed for six years and nine months for wounding a person with intent.

Judge Simon Hickey said the woman had given McGowan a home out of simple “Christian decency” and he had attacked her. McGowan was jailed for 13 months.

He was also banned from going near the woman’s home, contacting her in any way or through a third person, going to her place of work and posting anything about her on social media, or getting someone else to post about her, under a 10-year restraining order.

Defence barrister Chloe Hudson said McGowan had been trying to get help while remanded in custody but was finding it very difficult. He had mental health issues including anxiety.

He had no wish to resume the relationship with the woman and wanted to improve his life and move on.