HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A television game show in Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos has an unforgiving rule: Speak English and you lose. For a U.S.-born millennial in the audience and a student of her parents’ mother tongue, the high-stakes setting is a perfect classroom.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old Canadian speaks to a teacher about 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) away in Zimbabwe, learning a language her parents feared she would never speak.

“Mhoroi,” Nyashadzashe Machingura says cheerfully with a pronounced Canadian accent while greeting in Zimbabwe’s vernacular Shona.

The scenes capture a new generation of interest and entrepreneurship around African languages once pushed to the margins by decades of colonialism. Often seen as secondary to English, French and Portuguese, they are enjoying a renaissance that is also creating business opportunities.

There are between 1,500 and 3,000 languages in Africa

Africa is home to over 1 billion people speaking roughly a third of the world’s languages, with between 1,500 and 3,000 across 54 countries, according to UNESCO.

Experts say the revival in some of them is driven partly by second- and third-generation Africans in the diaspora finding it easier to reconnect with their roots and communicate with older relatives, thanks to social media, online learning and entertainment.

“There were times I definitely felt left out because my family around me were all speaking Shona. And I just couldn’t understand them,” Nyashadzashe said after a lesson covering traditional greetings, proverbs and ancestral clan symbols. She said she had eaten the food and worn the traditional clothing but still felt left out.

But now her conversations with her grandparents in Zimbabwe are growing longer.

“Being able to connect with them on that level makes me really proud of my heritage,” she said.

African languages were never ‘modernized’

Her Zimbabwe-based tutor, Shungu Chidovi, left her banking career in January to focus full-time on ZimbOriginal, an online platform that teaches Shona through storytelling, book clubs and “buddy pairing” exchanges.

Now she teaches about two dozen learners in Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland and Scotland, charging $50 a month.

The business, part of a small but growing number of online initiatives teaching African languages, emerged almost by accident. Chidovi began writing a blog about Zimbabwean traditions in 2016. Readers began asking whether she taught Shona.

“I didn’t see it at the time that I was really writing about the Shona language,” Chidovi said.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Robert Jenrick tried to put Reform UK’s chaotic conference back on track on Saturday by pledging to cut taxes for millions of voters within the first 100 days of forming a government.

Mr Jenrick, who is expected to become Chancellor if Nigel Farage wins the next general election, said that he would raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 – taking 2.9 million people out of income tax altogether and ensuring the state pension remains out of reach of the Treasury.

Mr Jenrick – who promised to resign as Chancellor if he failed to deliver the tax cut within the promised timescale of 100 days – said it was his ‘mission’ to deliver the ‘biggest rise in the personal allowance in its history’. Reform said that for a typical family the move would save £1,000 a year.

The annual earnings at which income tax starts to be paid has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021 and is due to stay at that level until 2031, but that has been penalising ever-greater numbers of workers as rising inflation erodes the value of the allowance. 

And the increase to the state pension next year to £13,000 will push millions of pensioners above the threshold, meaning they will have to start paying income tax.

The move came as Reform tried to escape the controversy over undercover filming aired by Channel 4 on Thursday which led to the suspension of aides Dan Jukes and James Orr over alleged attempts to circumvent electoral law.

Reform says that its long-term aim is to raise the personal allowance to £20,000 a year. Mr Jenrick told the conference in Birmingham: ‘The task is mighty. But our cause is right and our country is worth it. They tried to knock us down. We’re still standing. Now let’s get Britain standing again.’

Mr Jenrick said the cost to the Treasury of raising the allowance would be £17.7billion in the first year, rising to £21billion in the fifth year of the next Parliament, and that it would be funded through £80billion of savings from cutting the welfare bill, Net Zero spending and the foreign aid budget.

Mr Jenrick has promised to resign as Chancellor if he failed to deliver the tax cut within the first weeks of a Reform government

He told delegates: ‘There has never, in our lifetimes, been a worse time to be a worker in Britain. Britain now has the highest tax burden since records began…higher than when we were paying for the war.’

He added: ‘Now, for the first time, the freeze means they’re going to be taxing the state pension. What a disgrace…no wonder so many of our most ambitious young people are seeking their futures abroad.’

Mr Jenrick challenged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to match his pledge, saying: ‘The hard choice for Burnham and for us is exactly the same. It’s either welfare waste, foreign aid and migrants – or the British worker. We choose the worker.’

Speaking to GB News after the announcement, Mr Farage said: ‘I have been arguing for raised allowances for 20 years,’ adding: ‘The next pension increase will take nearly ten million pensioners into paying tax. Just think of the cost and bureaucracy of all of that. So it actually helps simplify the tax system. It takes three million out of tax, but also it widens the gap between whether it’s worth going to work or not going to work.

‘And what Andy Burnham picked up on the door is what I’ve been picking up for ages. People say, “I get up at 5.30, I go to work, the traffic’s awful, the job is hard, and I’m almost no better off than the people next door who sit around and smoke dope all day”.

‘If we don’t get Britain working again, if we don’t increase our productivity, we are going bust. It’s just as simple as that.’

And Mr Farage also repeated his prediction on Saturday that Mr Burnham would call a general election in the spring.

A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘Robert Jenrick only seems to be interested in making people better off when Reform UK are trying to distract from the latest scandal engulfing their party.’

A Tory Party source on Saturday told the MoS: ‘Nigel said he would sack anyone if they can’t deliver on their 100-day plans. We all know Rob wants the top job, so I guess this is one way of getting rid of a leadership rival.’

– READ MORE: Nigel Farage says ‘bad period’ is over for Reform as family urges him to quit as he faces barrage of questions over donations to his party 

– READ MORE: It was meant to be the week Reform showed us they could govern… but even senior aides admit they’ve blown it: DAN HODGES

By GLEN OWEN and GABRIEL MILLARD-CLOTHIER, POLITICAL REPORTER

Published: 00:14 BST, 6 September 2026 | Updated: 03:11 BST, 6 September 2026

Nigel Farage revealed that his family urged him to quit politics in the face of a barrage of questions about the legitimacy of donations to his party.

The Reform UK leader admitted that recent months had been ‘difficult’, saying: ‘For the first time, really, in my political career, I haven’t got my family’s support. They would rather I packed it up and walked away.’

Mr Farage made his remarks after the start of his annual party conference in Birmingham was overshadowed by an undercover sting broadcast on Channel 4 which appeared to show senior aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr suggesting a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations – one of which would have totalled £500,000.

The aides have both stood down pending the outcome of an internal probe into the claims. Reform denies any wrongdoing and say the party has taken no illegal money.

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There is also an ongoing Commons standards investigation into a £5million donation to Reform from the crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Mr Farage told the BBC that despite his torrid few months, he had not been tempted to take the advice to resign, saying: ‘When you’ve got your family begging you to, it’s not easy. But I think we’re through that now. 

‘I believe we’re through that bad period. I think the general public do understand that I have got some unusual circumstances that others don’t have to deal with.’

He added that he ‘frankly wasn’t even listening’ when he met the fake donors in the undercover filming, saying: ‘I was just there to come and say hello.’

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage spoke at the Reform UK annual conference in Birmingham

Mr Farage’s partner Laure Ferrari is pictured watching his keynote speech at Reform’s conference on Friday

Farage spoke with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg at the Reform UK’s party conference  

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He criticised the suspended advisers, saying they ‘should have done basic checks…nobody, nobody should be brought to me, unless they’ve been vetted’. 

In a separate interview with GB News, Mr Farage said that the sting had been part of a co-ordinated attempt to target his party.

He said: ‘There has been a heavy, co-ordinated attempt by political parties, media outlets to try to sully the name of Reform. And I suspect it won’t go away. I asked the voters of Clacton a few weeks ago what they thought of all this, and they returned me with a massively increased majority.’

His comments came as the electoral watchdog faced calls to seize hard drives from Reform UK over the undercover filming, which was carried out by a group called Verbatim Investigations – founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting.

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If the police launch a criminal investigation over the footage the Electoral Commission (EC) would have the power to ‘obtain information’ from the party’s HQ, including the confiscation of equipment. The powers are contained in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000).

An offence under that law includes whether any money is transferred for the benefit of the party – which could be ‘any study or research organised on or behalf of the party’.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have reported Reform to the Metropolitan Police over the allegations. The force said on Thursday it would assess the matter and any information provided to it.

Tory MP Joe Robertson said: ‘It appears that Reform may have broken the criminal law in relation to foreign and hidden donations. The Electoral Commission and the police should launch an investigation without delay and take steps to preserve evidence by seizing hardware from Reform premises.’

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And Tory MP Charlie Dewhirst added: ‘There are clearly unanswered questions here – not least who are the other individuals Mr Jukes claims may have given potentially illegal donations to Reform UK?’

– READ MORE: Robert Jenrick vows to cut taxes for millions… and says he’ll quit if pledge isn’t met in the first 100 days

– READ MORE: It was meant to be the week Reform showed us they could govern… but even senior aides admit they’ve blown it: DAN HODGES

I never thought I would presume to say that I know how the Prince of Wales feels – but sadly I can now do so.  

Should he twist or stick, reach out to Harry on his return to England or shun him?

Should he act like a wiser big brother or decide that relations have deteriorated too far for that?

Every fibre in my body screams out, go for a reconciliation, see if it is possible. Isn’t that what family means? Doesn’t the New Testament tell him as a future Supreme Governor of the Church of England to turn the other cheek?

Certainly, the tale of the prodigal son has the message of welcoming a renegade member of the family back into the fold. The principle is the same towards a brother – life is warmer together and colder apart.

And yet my drive for a happy family reunion is brought to a screeching halt when I think of one of my own brothers. We have not spoken for eight years and have no intention of doing so. I don’t even know where he lives.

In fact, I am ashamed of admitting this as everything above indicates that we should meet and reconcile. But sometimes theory and reality clash, and they certainly do in our case.

The added sadness is that, like William and Harry, we were once very close. 

There is a 13-year gap between us, and my mother often said I was like a second father to him, changing his nappies as a baby, taking him in the pram to the local playground, spending time with him as he grew up.

It is hard to pinpoint the moments when the relationship soured and the bond snapped. I left home for university and saw much less of him. When I did return home, we squabbled. Somehow it turned to distrust and dislike.

When he was an adult, we also had very different views as to how to look after our ageing parents. 

One result was that when he lived in the family home, he limited access to my mother, initially at my expense and later my children’s. He would say that she was too unwell to see them, which I found unlikely as she adored her grandchildren.

It ended with a complete blackout of all news about her – including her decline, so much so that we were not informed of her death by him or even the funeral.

Hurtful, especially to my children who should not have suffered because of whatever went wrong between he and I.

Did I try to improve the relationship earlier? Yes, although looking back I cannot be sure if I tried as hard as I could have done.

I do take part of the blame for the fall-out, but definitely not all of it. I also know that we are not alone in our fraternal enmity.

Harry, Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet have recently returned to Britain – but relations between the brothers are complicated

It is surely significant that the very first example of brothers in the Bible – Cain and Abel – is not a story of lovey-dovey harmony with violins in the background.

Instead, it is a tale of a dysfunctional relationship, of jealousy and anger that gets so out of control that it results in one murdering the other. Biblical fratricide is at the extreme end of family feuds. 

Most, thankfully, only feature stubbornness, pride or a sense of betrayal – just ask the Gallagher brothers, who admirably completed their Oasis tour last year after a decade of bubbling animosity, or Brooklyn Beckham, who has severed ties with his family so publicly on social media.

‘Just pick up the phone and make up,’ I hear you cry in exasperation. It’s perfectly sensible advice, but it is not that easy.

For a start, there is a feeling that this is not my task but the other person’s. He offended me, so he should take the first step!

Yes, it might be healthy to reconcile, but pride means I will respond but not initiate. The trouble is that when both parties feel that way, the impasse continues.

Another obstacle is embarrassment. It is awkward to say, ‘Hello, it’s me’ after so long not speaking and plenty of blue air when we did. 

I know the best way would be to write down a couple of lines so as not to blurt out something mangled, but that still begs two questions about how the other person might respond.

The Waleses and the Sussexes are not thought to have communicated for some time

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What if he spurns the effort, repeats past insults and slams the phone down? Do I really want to expose myself to that rejection?

Alternatively, what if he accepts, and warmly welcomes the rapprochement? That is wonderful in many ways, but it does come at a cost of having to let go of my own resentments at past hurts and wipe the slate clean.

Maybe I’m just not ready. It is much cosier being wrapped in a blanket of anger and victimhood. It also saves me having to ask where I might have gone wrong.

This is why I do not advise Prince William to offer the hand of peace to his brother. Sometimes a wound is best left untouched.

Instead, he could turn away and let go of the relationship completely. 

There is at least an honesty in recognising that there are points of no return, nor does it trade a deeply held conviction for the thin reward of forced smiles and small talk at the next family occasion.

Therapists will argue that, despite the initial distress contact might cause, it could eventually lead to mutual understanding and a rich relationship. 

Maybe, but in my case, I would want to be convinced of the odds and there are no guarantees.

Giving up on one’s brother may be a painful situation, but at least it has been accepted, put in a box and stored away. It will be even more painful to reopen it.

Still, I am bothered by the fact that as a minister of religion I have frequently met with warring families and my usual response has been that they should err on the side of generosity.

But I also know that some hurts cannot be forgotten and some misdeeds cannot be undone: Prince William has endured the ignominy of his brother divulging their private quarrels to the world for a fast buck. My brother buried my mother without telling me.

This may not be as high a moral or religious a response to which I could aspire, but it is real. I regret it but won’t change it.

I truly hope that Prince William can do better than me, but he will know very well that much depends on the wounds already suffered and the likely response he might receive.

– Jonathan Romain is author of Confessions Of A Rabbi, published by Biteback.

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 01:26 BST, 6 September 2026 | Updated: 02:25 BST, 6 September 2026

At least 22 people have died after a fire erupted at a wedding party in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The fire started on Friday and continued into the early hours of Saturday at a building in Lingwala, a northern district in the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.  

Guests perished as they attempted to flee through the building’s narrow corridors.

Bodies of the injured and the dead were laid at the roadside by attendees who then rushed to help those who had survived.

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Pictures of the aftermath show the scorched exterior of the building spread across two floors.

The interior was also torched in the blaze with only burnt tables, chairs and decorations remaining.

The mayor of Lingwala, Norbert Mushinga, told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional death toll of the blaze was 22 but said it could rise further in the coming days.

The exact cause of the fire at the wedding party has yet to be confirmed, although an electrical issue or wedding decorations may be to blame.

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Scorched table clothes and chairs pictured inside the wedding venue in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city, Kinshasa

The destroyed exterior of the building which was damaged by the fire which spread across two floors

At least 22 people perished in the blaze but the death toll could rise further in the coming days

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Mr Mushinga added that attendees who were injured while fleeing the party were ‘transported to various hospital facilities’ in the surrounding area. 

Jacquemin Shabani, Congo’s deputy prime minister and interior minister, who visited the site on September 5 said: ‘It is a tragedy.’

Deadly fires are understood to be commonplace in the densely populated areas of Kinshasa.

Urban development in parts of the city without sufficient safety provisions such as fire services can lead to fires occurring.

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During the dry season, the likelihood of fires is significantly higher and several have broken out this year, according to Congolese media. 

Do YOU have a story? Email joshua.haining@dailymail.co.uk 

Roberto De Zerbi took aim at his attacking players after Tottenham’s goalless draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Spurs earned their first point of the new Premier League season following back-to-back defeats to Brentford and Newcastle United.

But De Zerbi was unhappy with the quality his side showed in attacking areas and highlighted an opportunity wasted by Spurs’ new summer signing Omar Marmoush.

De Zerbi also criticised Mathys Tel, who was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk in the second half, by claiming that the 21-year-old French winger ‘takes too many wrong decisions’.

Speaking after Spurs’ draw with Forest, De Zerbi said: ‘I think we played well but in the last third we have to improve.

‘We have to take the better decisions. We have to keep more calm when we are very close to doing something important in the last third.

‘I remember the chance when Marmoush shot at goal, the way we had Robertson overlapping. If we take the right decision and we play with Robertson then on the second post there is Kudus to score like this.

‘Or how many crosses went over the second post? From Mathys Tel, two times, Savio, one time. Savio I think it’s the last decision. The ball from Pedro Porro on Mateus Fernandes when he played with Kudus and then for the header of Solanke, Mateus was completely alone to go forward to score.

‘Anyway, I’m very happy for the spirit of the team, for the organisation, with and without the ball. We didn’t suffer nothing. Their style of play is very clear, long ball and second ball. But even this second ball, we won many, many duels. They have good players and taking points in this stadium is not so easy.

‘We are not happy because we didn’t win, but I think this is the right spirit and the right way to move on in this moment. Because we started just last Thursday to work together and to create, to build the team, to build the organisation. It’s not enough the paper, the transfer market.’

When asked about Mudryk’s debut, De Zerbi then took aim at Tel’s decision making.

‘He’s not ready yet,’ De Zerbi said of Mudryk.

‘He’s working to reach the best physical condition. He needs time, he needs work. In that position, we have Mathys Tel, big potential. But also Mathys takes too many wrong decisions, and Mudryk. So, two big players, two big potential players.

‘But anyway, if we want to score, I think Marmoush has 15 goals. Solanke, the chance header for Solanke, I consider a chance to score. It’s not a shot on goal. But how many shots did Nottingham have today? I think, anyway, it was a good game.’

Asked how he can improve on Spurs’ mistakes in attack, De Zerbi replied: ‘Meeting, watching, analysing together with the players. Also, I think, winning the games, because, you know, the confidence, the enthusiasm, it can be crucial to find the right decision.

‘But I love these players. I spoke now about Marmoush. But Marmoush, we have to analyse if he has, or not, 15, 12 goals. I think, yes, because he has all the qualities, enough to score that number of goals. He has to improve, of course.

‘Like Domi Solanke, I think if Domi is fit, is in the best physical condition, the chance he had was completely different.’

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has promised to protect military members who deliver religious greetings at New Mexico’s Kirtland Air Force Base.

Hegseth wrote on X Friday that the Pentagon will “never cave” to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation after the nonprofit intervened to stop the religious greetings. The nonprofit’s president, Mikey Weinstein, had a five-word response to the Pentagon chief in an interview with The Independent: “Tell it to the judge.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation announced Thursday that it put an end to a “weeks-long blitz” of religious greetings from guards at the front gate of Kirtland.

The press release included two emails that a member of the Air Force wrote to the nonprofit’s president, Mikey Weinstein. The initial email sent Wednesday morning read, in part, “I’m writing because something is happening at the front gate of my base that is absolutely unacceptable, and frankly I’m stunned it’s been allowed to continue.

“For multiple days over the last couple of weeks, the guards have been greeting me with ‘God bless you’ every single morning as I come through. Not once, not twice… repeatedly, consistently, as if it’s an officially sanctioned script.”

The unnamed Air Force member said they want this “blatant violation of the separation of church and state” stopped.

While the Air Force member who wrote the email disclosed that they are not Christian, the nonprofit said they were one of 34 people who wanted the religious greetings stopped and that 24 complaints came from Christians.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation also shared the “thank you” email that the Air Force member sent Wednesday afternoon, by which time the nonprofit said the issue was resolved.

“I have gone through the same gate a couple times without hearing the religious greeting. After dealing with it repeatedly for weeks, seeing that change happen within hours is honestly incredible,” the email read.

The nonprofit says it has helped nearly 100,000 individuals, including active-duty troops and veterans, with issues of religious freedom in the military — 95 percent of whom are Christians.

But the issue of religious greetings at Kirtland is far from over with Hegseth now interjecting.

“The MRFF is a radical anti-Christian, pro-atheist group that attacks any/all faith inside the @DeptofWar,” Hegseth, who is a Christian, said in his Friday X post.

“We will never cave to them. The @usairforce will confront this. God bless our Airmen.”

The Independent has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

Hegseth has been known to insert his religious beliefs into the military, whether it’s through monthly Christian worship services at the Pentagon or quoting scripture at a press briefing in March, telling reporters, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”

“Just tell it to the judge, little Petey,” Weinstein told The Independent in response to Hegseth’s X post.

Weinstein called Hegseth a “Christian nationalist” whose “favorite thing to do is to defecate all over the U.S. Constitution.”

The nonprofit pointed to a clause in Air Force Instruction, which states, “Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for free exercise of religion and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion.

“They must ensure their words and actions do not discriminate against any individual or group because of their faith, belief, or absence of belief, or extend preferential treatment for the same.”

Weinstein has threatened legal action against the federal government if the religious greetings continue, and against Hegseth himself, claiming libel over his X post calling the nonprofit “anti-Christian” and “pro-atheist.”

“Hegseth is spewing complete and total lies, and it’s reckless disregard of the truth. And why is that important? Because I’m a public figure. For public figures in America to win a libel suit, you can’t just show regular defamation. You have to show reckless disregard,” Weinstein said.

The unruly passenger was reportedly intoxicated and allegedly began shouting at a fellow traveller sitting next to him before the situation turned violent

A passenger had to be physically restrained and strapped to his seat with duct tape after chaos broke out on board an American Airlines flight.

The traveller, who was making his way from Dallas, Texas, to Newark, New Jersey, appeared to be under the influence when he began screaming at the passenger seated next to him.

Witnesses on board claimed the incident turned physical, with the man allegedly attacking a fellow passenger, destroying his laptop, and hurling both racial and homophobic abuse.

Matters reportedly deteriorated further when the man allegedly shoved a female passenger and attempted to bite two others.

Juan Mejia, a retired police officer who was travelling on the flight, recalled: “Just like a light switch, all of a sudden, it went from quiet to yelling and chaos.”

“I turned around to look, and the poor gentleman that was sitting next to him in the aisle seat, the individual had his hands around his neck and was, like, assaulting him.”

Mr Mejia and a fellow passenger intervened to subdue the disruptive traveller.

Cabin crew provided duct tape, which was used to bind his wrists and secure his head and torso firmly to his seat.

The plane was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, touching down approximately 15 minutes later.

Local police arrested the passenger upon landing, while the FBI is reportedly considering federal charges, according to TMZ. American Airlines confirmed the flight had been diverted owing to a “disruptive customer”.

Once the passenger had been removed, the aircraft continued on its way to Newark.

A spokesperson from American Airlines stated: “The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we do not tolerate violence.”

They further added: “We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”

Parents have been reminded when children should stay off school or nursery if they develop a range of common illnesses.

The Public Health Agency has published guidance setting out when children can return to school or nursery after developing conditions including chickenpox, diarrhoea and vomiting, measles, mumps and whooping cough.

The advice is intended to help parents reduce the spread of infections while also avoiding unnecessary time away from school.

Chickenpox

Children should stay off school for at least five days from the onset of the rash and until all spots have crusted over.

Conjunctivitis

There is no need to stay off school or nursery, although the school should be informed.

Diarrhoea and/or vomiting

Children should stay away for 48 hours after the last episode.

Respiratory illness, such as colds and flu

Children can return when they no longer have a high temperature and are well enough to attend.

Glandular fever

There is no need to stay off, but the school or nursery should be informed.

Hand, foot and mouth

Children do not need to stay off if they are well enough, but the school or nursery should be informed.

Impetigo

Children should stay off until lesions are crusted and healed, or for 48 hours after starting antibiotics.

Head lice

There is no need to stay off school, but the school or nursery should be informed.

Measles

Children should stay off for four days from the onset of the rash.

Mumps

Children should stay off for five days from the onset of swelling.

German measles (rubella)

Children should stay off for five days from the onset of the rash.

Scarlet fever

Children should stay off for 24 hours after starting antibiotics.

Scabies

Children should stay off until after their first treatment.

Slapped cheek

There is no need to stay off, but the school or nursery should be informed.

Threadworms

There is no need to stay off, although the school or nursery should be informed.

Tonsillitis

Children can return when they no longer have a temperature and are well enough to attend, with the school or nursery informed.

Whooping cough

Children should stay off for 48 hours after starting antibiotics.

The PHA’s guidance stresses that symptoms and severity of illness will vary from person to person. If your child is unwell and you have concerns about their symptoms, you should speak to your GP.

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Robert Pattinson has been celebrated in recent years for the breadth and daring of his films and acting – but even still, Primetime takes it to the next level.

Playing real-life paedophile hunter Chris Hansen, a former Dateline NBC correspondent who broke through into primetime schedules (hence the film’s name) from 2004 to 2007 with his To Catch a Predator show, Pattinson takes perhaps the most creative risks of his career so far, flipping between a performance grounded in remarkable voice work as he imitates Hansen – already a popular meme – and wilder, unpredictable swings.

He’s never been so free on screen, something you can’t help but admire, and in a sense it feels like Pattinson – surely soon to be an Oscar nominee, if voters can get behind such an uncategorisable turn – has been building to this kind of performance his whole career.

Rather than rush through a potted biography, Primetime drops the audience directly into the scenario Hansen became so famous for – preparing to confront a suspected online predator on camera as part of a sting organised by the organisation Perverted Justice, lured to the house by an adult posing as a minor.

It’s unsettling from the start as we hear Pattinson’s Hansen practising his line delivery of the suspected paedophile’s quotes: ‘I will undress you and you will undress me’, ‘For a virgin to have sex, it hurts.’

This first sting shows a veteran (Tony Revolori) being confronted as soon as he mentions condoms to decoy Del Harvey (singer Phoebe Bridgers in her debut acting role) by Hansen. Pattinson theatrically enters from behind a curtain and walks down the stairs, asking if his target has a ‘big night planned’? This flamboyance breaks the tension and gives the first big clue that Primetime perhaps isn’t what you expected.

The second is Hansen breaking his stern onscreen character for a moment to give an enthusiastic thumbs up back to his producer Andie (Merritt Weaver) after the predator is tackled by police outside.

While the film is dealing with the very dark material of the programme, it also gets stuck into exploring the showmanship of Hansen as he becomes more and more used to being an entertainment star, not just a broadcaster, and as the reputation of To Catch a Predator grows.

Writer Ajon Singh, director Lance Oppenheim and Pattinson (also producing) have fun with this – Hansen is pleased to tell his fellow plane passenger all about how he singlehandedly convinced the network to commission the show, while he also wakes up his young sons in the middle of the night to watch preview tapes.

We’re also treated to a wonderful Pattinson freakout moment when How to Catch a Predator is pitted against Lost as it moves to its coveted new slot, making Hansen giddy with excitement.

In fact it’s former CEO of NBCU TV Jeff Zucker playing himself in this scene, another move blurring the line between fiction and reality in Primetime, which operates in a space Oppenheim has dubbed ‘docufantasia’. The movie’s big tonal fluctuations  – including an unexpected journey into the supernatural which doesn’t quite land for me, also make it harder to pigeonhole.

The emotional heart of the film is introduced by Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo), a fictionalised decoy looking for his big break and not fully aware of what he’s signed up to until he’s thrust on set for a sting – and given a baptism of fire thanks to Crazyfrog73 (played by former child star Jonathan Lipnicki from Stuart Little), who drops his trousers to spray whipped cream on his genitals. Hansen is then dispatched by Andie to keep Dan in play after his emotional whiplash to how things unfolded.

However, with a great primetime slot comes great responsibility as the team start looking for a ‘whale’, someone considered part of the establishment, to sensationalise their coverage and attract higher viewing figures. But it drives more of a wedge between producer Andie and Xavier, founder of Perverted Justice.

Primetime raises questions over To Catch a Predator’s morality and grey areas, and leans into humour, some of it pitch dark, and far more than I anticipated given its topic. A lot of that can be credited to Pattinson’s highly charged performance, consistently dialled up to the maximum. The passion for his crusade turns Hansen a little delusional and slightly crazed as the pressure mounts; you can’t tear your eyes away from it.

I’m not sure it’s the most flattering portrayal of the journalist – who has already criticised the production – as he’s shown using his full onscreen credit when complaining about a broken vending machine. Meanwhile, a scene with his wife Mary (Anna Faris) may just hint, ever so slightly, at a foot fetish. The film also runs with the 2011 tabloid report of his alleged affair with a local TV journalist in Florida.

Having said this, the Primetime leaves you in no doubt just how much Hansen’s qualities – tenacity, drive and pizazz – all fed To Catch a Predator’s success.

Primetime premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, September 5. It releases in UK cinemas on October 30, 2026.

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