“I think I’m going to go with the Scottish, they’re our Celtic brothers, you know, I’m going to stick with them.”

Former One Direction star Niall Horan has said he will be supporting Scotland at this year’s World Cup.

The 32-year-old Irish singer who has just released his fourth studio album Dinner Party, was speaking ahead of his performance at Capital’s Summertime Ball on Saturday – during which he performed his old boyband’s song Steal My Girl.

When asked who he would support ahead of the start of the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada on Thursday, Horan told the Press Association: “I think I’m going to go with the Scottish, they’re our Celtic brothers, you know, I’m going to stick with them.”

In recent years, Horan has formed a close friendship with West Lothian superstar Lewis Capaldi. The pair bonded over social media when Niall reached out to Lewis in 2017 via a direct message to show his love for the song ‘Lost On You’.

Capaldi would go on to open for Niall during his 2018 tour before going on to co-star alongside his boy band pal in the 2022 documentary Niall Horan’s Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar, which followed them on a road trip across Ireland.

In 2024, during his show in Aberdeen’s P&J Live Arena, Horan was captured on camera waving around the Saltire flag.

One Direction formed in 2010, when they were put together by Simon Cowell on ITV talent show The X Factor.

One of the group’s members, Liam Payne, died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina in 2024, and the boyband’s surviving members, Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, reunited at his funeral with former manager, Cowell, in November that year.

They had four UK number one singles and four UK number one albums, and are best known for songs such as Story Of My Life, What Makes You Beautiful and Best Song Ever. Horan’s solo career was launched after he and his fellow One Direction band members went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Malik left the group.

He released his debut solo album, Flicker, in 2017, and the albums Heartbreak Weather in 2020 and The Show in 2023.

Speaking about this weekend’s Capital’s Summertime Ball, he described the day festival, which takes place annually at Wembley Stadium, as “a big part of my career for the last 15 years”.

Horan added: “Any opportunity I get to play at Jingle Bell Balls or Summertime Balls, it’s always amazing, and there’s not many companies that can pull off a gig of this size with the line-up that we have, so it’s a pleasure to be here.”

Get Daily Record Premium for just £1 per month in exclusive offer to celebrate the world cup. Click HERE.

The Captain Cook Inn, on Staithes Lane in the seaside village of Staithes, is being marketed for £899,000 by Christie & Co.

The nine-bedroom inn sits in the picturesque harbour, which is popular among day-trippers and holiday-makers for its location within the North York Moors National Park and on the coast.

The Captain Cook Inn, in Staithes, has been put up for sale. Photo: Christie & Co/ Rightmove (Image: Christie& Co/ Rightmove)

Staithes, once home to Captain James Cook, is famed for its narrow cobbled streets, shops and cafés, and its dramatic but sheltered position between cliffs and overlooking the North Sea.

This historic fishing village, about ten miles from Whitby, is also one of only a handful of places where the sun is said to both rise and set over the sea.

Recommended reads:

Thousands watch Rick Astley open record Scarborough Open Air Theatre season

The tiny North Yorkshire village where visitors trip over the name

The York pub where something extraordinary is hidden beneath your pint

The business includes a bar, restaurant and dining room capable of serving about 100 diners, supported by a bar servery and a large catering kitchen with a five-star hygiene rating.

The property also benefits from gardens, a beer garden with views towards Boulby Cliffs and the remains of the old viaduct that once spanned the ravine, and 13 parking spaces – a rare asset in the village.

Staithes is a tourist hotspot, popular among day trippers and holiday-makers. Photo: Christie& Co/ Rightmove (Image: Christie& Co/ Rightmove)

Accommodation comprises nine en-suite letting rooms, six of which are doubles plus three family rooms, and many have views across the sea or moors. All rooms are equipped with flat-screen TVs and tea and coffee facilities.

To the rear, the sale includes a three-bedroom owner’s house featuring a kitchen, lounge, office, laundry, bathroom and shower room, along with a large garage or storage space with potential for conversion to create extra accommodation. A static caravan currently used for rental, as well as additional garden space, is also included.

The inn is described as “very popular with excellent reviews”, holding a 4.5 out of 5 rating across platforms including Facebook and TripAdvisor. Its restaurant is ranked number one out of seven in Staithes on TripAdvisor and has received a Travellers’ Choice Award.

Agents say the sale presents an opportunity for a hospitality buyer to acquire an established and popular pub and hotel in one of Yorkshire’s most sought-after coastal locations.

Sea arrivals into mainland Europe peaked in 2015, when the UN said more than a million people crossed the Mediterranean. Between April 2025 and March 2026, there were a combined 169,341 sea arrivals to the UK, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus. Crossings to the UK accounted for about 23% of the total.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which once operated more than 1,100 cafés worldwide, has spent the past decade shrinking its presence across the United States amid changing consumer habits, rising costs and the fallout from the Covid pandemic

A leading coffee chain that significantly reduced its presence following years of closures is planning a resurgence as it seeks to rival competitors, including Starbucks.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which previously ran over 1,100 cafés globally, has spent the last decade contracting its footprint throughout the United States amid shifting consumer preferences, escalating expenses and the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

Despite the contraction, the firm is now forging ahead with strategies to expand the brand through fresh outlets, menu developments and customer reward programmes.

Established in Southern California in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf developed into one of the planet’s biggest coffee and tea chains, establishing a footprint across the US, Asia and the Middle East.

Nevertheless, the business has consistently scaled back its domestic operations in recent years, reports the Express.

The chain withdrew from Manhattan in 2016 when all 12 of its New York branches shut down, while scores more shops vanished during and following the pandemic.

Currently, the firm runs 192 outlets across 12 US states, with the majority of surviving cafés based in California.

Yet while its conventional high street presence has diminished, the company is backing a distinct approach for future expansion.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf anticipates roughly 80% of its future sites will function in non-traditional environments such as airports, hospitals and university campuses. The firm has also introduced a redesigned loyalty scheme and broadened its retail range, including coffee capsules that work with Nespresso machines.

Most recently, it launched a new collection of premium espresso beverages under its “Perfect Americano” menu, while introducing a series of promotional deals designed to appeal to budget-minded customers.

The recovery push arrives as rivalry intensifies throughout the coffee industry, with chains competing for customers amid increasing living expenses and evolving consumer preferences.

Despite difficulties in the US market, parent firm Jollibee Food Corporation reported The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf achieved 10.7% year-on-year systemwide sales growth during the first quarter of 2026.

The brand is also continuing to grow internationally, with most new sites opening across Asia.

The difference underlines the chain’s shifting approach: fewer conventional cafés, but a fresh drive for expansion through new formats, new products and growth in key markets.

Following years of closures and market withdrawals, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is now gambling that its transformation can enable it to compete once more with coffee giants such as Starbucks.

Texas Attorney General and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton claimed on Friday he secured a “major victory” in a lawsuit from the state over an LGBTQ+ pool party — even though the suit has been dropped without any apparent changes on the ground.

Last Thursday, Texas sued the city of Denton, located outside of Dallas-Fort Worth, over the planned rental of its Civic Center Pool for a private “Big Gay Swim Day” event. Paxton’s office alleged that city officials hadn’t done enough to ensure event organizers complied with state law barring gender-neutral changing rooms.

By the following week, however, the city and state had agreed to dismiss the suit, with Denton saying it hadn’t made any changes because it was already following the law in regards to sex-segregated spaces. Paxton nonetheless framed this outcome as a significant win.

“This is a major victory for the privacy and safety of women and children,” Paxton said in a statement on Friday. “The City of Denton has now agreed to follow the law and ensure that men are not allowed in women’s and girl’s changing areas. I will continue to ensure that every government entity in Texas complies with our laws protecting women and children.”

The city of Denton, as well as the groups organizing the event, PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton, said they were already complying with state bathroom rules before Paxton got involved.

“The City of Denton has consistently maintained compliance with state law regarding the upcoming private rental of the Civic Center Pool by PRIDENTON,” Denton’s interim director of marketing and communications, Kayla Herrod, wrote in a statement on Friday. “Because the conditions sought by the Texas Office of the Attorney General reflected measures the City had proactively implemented before the lawsuit, the Denton City Council agreed to terms that were already in place to secure the dismissal of the lawsuit and avoid the unnecessary use of taxpayer resources on continued legal action.”

An exhibit in the lawsuit, dated May 21, noted that city rental policy already required keep all existing bathroom signage in place, and Herrod said city officials also met with the event planners to “communicate Denton’s requirements prohibiting both the covering or alteration of existing signs and the creation of gender-neutral changing areas.”

The Independent has contacted Paxton’s office, PRIDENTON and OUTreach Denton for comment.

The groups previously condemned the suit, writing in a joint statement on Monday that it was a “frivolous” attack and “waste of taxpayers’ time and money.”

The groups said they were informed by city officials on May 21 that they were not permitted to have all-gender bathrooms as a result of Texas’s SB8 law. As a result, they struck any language about such facilities from posts and advertisements about the event, the groups said.

The organizers nonetheless argued the law is vague and “gives license to harass and surveil any person who does not present or conform within the narrow limitations of an oppressive gender binary.”

Denton‘s Big Gay Swim Day has taken place since 2022, and organizers wrote on social media that the party is “a beautiful event where invited community members can swim, dance, and exist without fear of judgement or harassment.”

Seven-year-old Lena, daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall, was captured entertaining royal guests by playing with her unicorn umbrealla outside of Kemble’s All Saints Church following the private ceremony

Lena Tindall retained her title of most playful royal at Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s royal wedding, as she joyfully played in the rain.

Harriet Sperling, a 45-year-old paediatric nurse specialist for the NHS, tied the knot with Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne, in a stunning Emilia Wickstead bridal gown today.

Nearly all senior royals descended on the small village of Kemble, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, for the private nuptials, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the King and Queen. Also there were Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. It is the first time they have been included in a large Royal Family gathering since the arrest of their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not attend.

Seven-year-old Lena, daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall, was captured entertaining royal guests by playing with her unicorn umbrealla outside of Kemble’s All Saints Church following the private ceremony. Dressed in a floral white dress with pink shoes and a coloured ribbon in her hair, Lena was seen holding her umbrella above Mike’s head, the young royal erupted into a fit of laughter before pictures later showed Mike carrying the item instead.

Meanwhile, Lena’s older sister Mia, 12, watched on with a rather bemused facial expression. Clutching an umbrella to protect her from the rain, the glamorous young royal opted for a chic look that showcased her fashion taste.

Queen Elizabeth II’s great-granddaughter Mia showcased her sense of style in a sophisticated blue floral dress with a beige headband. However, the real star of the show were her glistening metallic heels.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror: “This was a much needed joyful day for the family, and a chance to show that they – or at least most of them – remain united in spite of all the damaging headlines of recent times.”

The disgraved ex-prince Andrew’s two daughters attended the wedding with the husbands after keeping a low public profile for months. Jennie Bond, the former BBC royal correspondent, told the Mirror this public outing by the sisters was “quite brave”.

Bond said: “I thought it was quite brave of Beatrice and Eugenie to show up… knowing that the cameras would be on them. They’ve had a lot of highly critical press lately and it can’t have been easy for them to face the media. But they did seem to keep quite a low profile, particularly as the bridal party left the church.

“I’m sure they were determined not to draw any of the limelight from the bride and groom, who looked incredibly happy and relaxed together.”

Follow our live blog for all the latest royal wedding updates by clicking here.

The ‘tiny community’ was crawling with emergency services amid a major response to a ‘suspicious’ package

Advertisement

Army bomb disposal units descended on a ‘peaceful’ Fallowfield neighbourhood as residents were evacuated from their homes on the residential close.

A large cordon was put in place surrounding Abram Close on Saturday evening (June 6) with emergency services responding to a ‘suspicious’ item.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers were called to a ‘suspicious item in a front garden’ shortly after 6.05pm. They confirmed 20 surrounding properties had been advised to evacuate.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

One eye witness told the Manchester Evening News: “I was going to my sister’s and they were telling everyone to evacuate out of the streets. They would not let us through and they started to put a cordon up.

Advertisement

“Everybody was told to go back. They pushed everyone back. There are loads of fire crews and ambulances here.”

Another resident described how he saw the army bomb disposal unit send a robot into the property concerned.

He added: “I’m a bit nervous about what’s going on right now. This is quite a peaceful neighbourhood. This community is really tiny.”

Advertisement

Pictures from the scene showed the area swarming with emergency response vehicles and personnel, with CSI and specialist incident response units later arriving on the scene. Other images showed army bomb disposal experts working in the garden of a property.

Residents told the M.E.N they were allowed back into the homes at around 11pm. A cordon remains in place with emergency services still on the scene into the early hours of Sunday, June 7.

Despite numerous myths, including the widely believed “10% plus 2mph” rule, experts have clarified that there is no legal margin for exceeding speed limits.

Drivers can be fined for travelling just 1mph over the posted limit.

Recommended reads:
York drivers warned of delays as water works set to begin at six locations

Part-time actor’s early‑morning York paper round leads to unexpected success

They last played York in 1974 – now they’re making a long-awaited comeback

Experts from BigWantsYourCar.com said: “The idea that you’re safe doing 35mph in a 30 zone is one of the biggest myths we hear.

“Technically, you’re liable for a fine the moment you go even 1mph over the limit.”

Speeding can result in a £100 fine and points on your licence, with more severe offences leading to higher penalties or court action.

While the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) does recommend a “10% plus 2” allowance for officer discretion, this is not part of UK law and can vary between enforcement areas.

Guidance from the RAC states: “The law states that you are liable for a speeding fine as soon as you exceed the limit, so if you’re doing 31mph in a 30 limit or 71mph on a motorway, you’re breaking the law and could receive a fine.

“It is well worth remembering this is totally dependent on the officer who catches the speeder, and it is up to that officer whether to fine the offender or not.

“The best advice is to not speed full stop.”

How do speed cameras work?

Speed cameras work using radar or road markings to monitor a vehicle’s speed and capture evidence of any offence.

While older cameras used film, most modern devices are fully digital and can even track your average speed over many miles.

These digital systems record:

• Vehicle speed
• Time and location of the offence
• Vehicle registration
• Road speed limit

In some cases, they even capture a clear image of the driver and passenger.

Common speed camera myths

Here are some other common speed camera myths :

Is it true that speed vans have to be visible at all times?

No. There are no laws about visibility, so nothing is stopping an officer from operating in the dark. But they don’t often choose to do this and maintain that being visible acts as a deterrent in its own right.

Go Safe Casualty Reduction Officer, Gareth Thomas said: “Legally, we don’t have to be visible. I could camouflage myself if I wanted to – but it’s all about being fair, education and preventing an accident. Even if I parked my van and went for a walk somewhere, it would deter people from speeding right away.”

Is it illegal to flash your headlights to alert motorists of a GoSafe speed van?

If drivers choose to flash to warn others about a speed van, they could be in breach of the law. Under section 89 of the Police Act 1997 it is an offence to “wilfully obstruct a constable in the execution of his/her duty”.

However, Gareth says while it is an offence, it is very difficult to prove. He said: “It doesn’t bother me that people flash to warn them of the speed van – I just want to educate people and the van to act as a speed deterrent.”

What happens if I am caught speeding?

It all comes down to the circumstances within which you were caught speeding, and how much you were more than the limit. The minimum penalty for being caught speeding on the UK’s roads is a £100 fine.

But Gareth explained in some circumstances, police can offer the option of attending a speed awareness course – an alternative to a fine and penalty points. Gareth, said: “An accredited course is far more likely to improve driver behaviour and consequently make our roads safer.

“Courses are available to drivers who respond quickly to the ‘notices’ and who were driving at no more than 10 per cent, plus 9 mph above the posted speed limit.”

So for example, anyone travelling over 86mph on a motorway would not be offered the awareness course. Those who don’t have a clean licence at the time of the office, or if you have been on the course in the last three years, it is unlikely you will be offered the awareness course as an option.

Frustrated airline lounge members are increasingly seeing new grab-and-go lounge options at airports, designed for travelers who want a quick snack or drink – but with limited places to sit and no dedicated Wifi.

Once seen as a premium perk, airport lounges are facing growing criticism from travelers over overcrowding, as airlines tighten access by limiting guest passes, raising prices, and imposing stricter rules on entry times and length of stay, according to outlets like The New York Times and personal finance company NerdWallet.

Now, a number of airlines and credit card companies with travel perks, including United, Delta, American and American Express, are rolling out smaller premium outposts focused on convenience rather than comfort. These locations offer prepackaged food, drinks and quick service so travelers can grab items and head straight to their gates. Many lack traditional lounge amenities such as restrooms, ample seating and workspaces.

United was the first U.S. airline to launch this concept with its 2022 opening of United Club Fly at Denver International Airport. The idea came after the airline found that more than half of its loyalty members preferred taking food and drinks to go rather than staying inside a lounge, according to a news release at the time.

United expanded the concept in February 2025 with a second Club Fly location at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Rather than a traditional sit-down lounge, Club Fly is designed for speed, offering ready-to-go items like salads, fruit and vegetable cups, wraps, and sandwiches packaged for travelers on the move. Some items can also be heated on request.

The focus extends to drinks as well. Baristas make specialty coffee beverages such as matcha lattes, and a machine dispenses freshly squeezed orange juice. What you won’t find, however, is much space to sit and linger as the concept is built almost entirely around grab-and-go convenience.

American was another early adopter, opening Provisions by Admirals Club at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in August 2025. The mini-lounge features refrigerators stocked with ready-to-go sandwiches, salads, snacks and drinks. Travelers can also receive assistance with flight changes, but the space does not offer many traditional amenities like hot meals, alcohol or extensive seating.

Delta has taken a slightly different approach at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Rather than creating a separate space, the airline incorporated a grab-and-go section inside one of its Sky Club lounges. Travelers can pick up a prepackaged sandwich or salad, a snack, a nonalcoholic drink and a dessert before heading to their flight or entering the full lounge experience.

Air Canada has expanded its Air Canada Café concept to several airports, including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. These locations combine grab-and-go food and beverages with conveniences such as charging stations and high-speed Wi-Fi. Some locations even include full-service bars for travelers who have extra time before departure.

Meanwhile, American Express debuted Sidecar at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport in March. Located near American Express’ often-packed Centurion Lounge, Sidecar offers travelers a faster alternative without sacrificing the premium feel, combining quick service with an upscale, cocktail-bar atmosphere.

Travelers can order specialty cocktails and elevated menu items through a QR-code system while enjoying a smaller, more intimate setting. A second Sidecar location is planned for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in 2027.