In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s military test-launched a long-range ballistic missile Monday from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific, drawing protest and concerns from countries in the region.

The missile was launched at 12:01 p.m. and carried a dummy warhead, according to an announcement by the official Xinhua News Agency. China last conducted a missile test in the Pacific two years ago, then firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead.

The launch was part of routine annual training, complied with international law and practice, and was not directed against any country or target, according to the statement from Xinhua, which was reposted by the Ministry of Defense.

Australia and New Zealand criticized the launch.

The New Zealand government said it was informed of the planned launch hours beforehand and noted that the missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone.

The nuclear-free zone was established by the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits nuclear weapons throughout the region. China in 1987 ratified the protocols pledging not to test nuclear weapons within the zone, or to threaten to use them against signatories with territory in the region.

“It appears that despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters told The Associated Press in a statement.

The launch took place the same day Australia and Fiji signed a new mutual defense treaty that is meant to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.

“Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilizing to the region,” Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Fiji, in response to the test.

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Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.

In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

The England WAGs gave the team a hero’s welcome as they celebrated in the stands after soaring to a 3-2 victory in their crunch World Cup tie against Mexico. 

Harry Kane, who scored a penalty after the half-time break to bring England’s goal count to three, shared a sweet kiss with his proud wife Kate, leading the post-match PDA for the players.

Megan Pickford, wife of the team’s superstar goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, couldn’t hide her smile as they celebrated with their son Arlo, six. 

Megan, who is usually clad head to toe in a designer look didn’t even let her rain poncho ruin the mood, beaming as she hugged and kissed her husband.  

Earlier, a jubilant Megan was seen throwing her arms in the air in the first half of the match as Jude Bellingham netted two goals in two minutes to put England comfortably in front. 

However, the WAGs looked tense and held their hands over their mouths as the Three Lions tried to close out the match while down to ten men. 

Megan Pickford, wife of the team’s superstar goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, couldn’t hide her smile as they celebrated with their son Arlo, six

It came after defender Jarell Quansah was sent off for a ‘nasty’ challenge in the 54th minute and the mood dipped once more when Mexico reduced the deficit to 3-2 with another penalty. 

Earlier, Kate showed her support for England by posting pictures to her Instagram of a white custom corset-like football shirt embossed with the ‘Kane’ surname in red. 

She stunned in the sleeveless top, which has been designed by Hugo Boss. The WAG captain also wore a navy bomber jacket which proudly displayed the Three Lions. 

Kate had her dazzling wedding ring on display as she smiled into the camera for the photo op. 

Meanwhile, Megan donned a poncho as she braved the rainy conditions that forced the kick-off time to be pushed back one hour.  

Megan has taken on a ‘mother hen’ role to her fellow partners, with sources saying she’s thrilled to take on her title a la the wives and girlfriends of years past.

‘In a time when the WAGs are lawyers, or nurses or even an engineer, there’s Megan. Some joke, in a kind way, that she’s a bit of a throwback to the old times but it’s just so refreshing,’ one insider told The Daily Mail.

‘She loves it all – the outfits, the glamour and the prestigious role and column inches being a WAG brings. She is so proud of Jordan and so the least she can do is look the part to cheer him on.

Harry Kane, who scored a penalty after the half-time break to bring England’s goal count to three, shared a sweet kiss with his proud wife Kate, leading the post-match PDA for the players

Declan Rice took photos with his family and friends as the celebrations continued in the stands

Proud Kate gazed up at her husband after watching him net yet another goal for England 

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‘But in all seriousness, along with Kate Kane – wife of captain Harry – she is the longest-serving partner of the squad. This is her moment to shine, and she will.’

Megan was aged ten at the time of the 2006 World Cup. But she’s clearly been doing her research because nothing screamed WAG like the outfit she wore to cheer on England during their win against Croatia.

In keeping with the match’s Dallas location, Megan wore a cowboy hat with a number one on the front – the same as her husband’s goalkeeper shirt – a white vest and a pair of designer jeans which showed off her enviable midriff.

She finished her look with a pair of Gucci sunglasses, a necklace spelling out her daughter Ostara’s name and a tiny £2,500 White Lady Dior handbag in keeping with the strict stadium rules on bag measurements.

England’s match against Mexico is nothing short of a challenging task, with much of the nation set to stay up into the early hours for the last 16 clash.

England’s camp go wild as they celebrate a goal from Bellingham in the first half 

Megan donned a poncho as she braved the raining conditions that forced the kick-off time to be pushed back one hour

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Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan waves from the stands while wearing a poncho to keep dry from the rain after the match was delayed due to a thunderstorm

Despite the weather, she seems in high spirits ahead of the crunch match against England’s last-16 opponents

Kate stunned in a white custom halter neck football shirt embossed with her husband Harry’s surname in red lettering 

While she hasn’t been sharing promotional content as such, Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan has determined to earn the title of Queen Of The WAGs 

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England’s WAGs have been cheering on their partners to World Cup glory, but they’ve also been boosting their bank balances with big money brand deals (Ashlyn Castro pictured)

Ashlyn also shared a gallery of snaps clad in a sexy white crop top and tiny denim hot pants to promote the drinks brand SPRINTER, which promotes on-the-go hydration powders

Much of the nation is tipped to ‘pull a sickie’ and sleep in after staying up to watch the match, and even England manager Thomas Tuchel has urged kids to have a late start at school so they can cheer them on. 

The Three Lions came close to an early exit when they went 1-0 down to the DR Congo in the Round of 32, before two sensational goals by Harry Kane helped them to land the win. 

England will also face the impact of playing at high altitude when they take to the field in Mexico. 

Playing at the iconic Azteca Stadium, the Mexican squad boasts an undefeated record across 10 World Cup matches. 

The build-up to England’s Round of 16 clash with Mexico was hit by confusion around its kick-off time on Friday, when FIFA considered bringing the match forward by six hours to try and avoid predicted thunderstorms delaying play. 

It was proposed that the game would kick off at midday local time, or 7pm UK time. 

Official contact was made with both the FA and the Mexican Football Association on Friday, both of whom are believed to have reacted negatively to the proposals.

The earlier kick-off time would have had a significant impact on players’ preparations for the game, which are typically organised down to the most minute detail.

Ollie Watkins’ wife Ellie has also found time to add to her roster of promotional posts, having documented her US adventure supporting the England team

Earlier this week, Ellie shared a TikTok video promoting the makeup brand Iconic London, and showed off her flawless complexion as she applied the products

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The threat of adverse weather – which was initially thought to be the main factor in the talks – was also a consideration, with thunderstorms forecast for kick-off, which is 6pm local time, although they are currently due to pass by 8pm. Flash flooding, in particular, was a concern.

At one point on Friday evening, it seemed likely the game would be played at the rescheduled time, forcing Brazil’s game with Norway in New Jersey to be pushed back by half an hour to 4.30pm to avoid any clashes.

In the end, FIFA’s attempt to bring England’s kick-off forward was halted by a series of barriers – including a reluctance from officials in New York and New Jersey to shift their own fixture.

The Daily Mail understands a decision to move the game was ‘all but done’ according to those with knowledge of the situation.

The proposals – which the FA was stunned to learn of via Mexican media – were met with an angry response from both England and Mexico, whose coach publicly lambasted the prospect.

Officials in Mexico City are now bracing themselves for what may be an incredibly challenging day, with more than a million people expected on the streets.

England will face a tough test against Mexico at the Azteca, with the co-hosts boasting a formidable record at the stadium.

Thomas Tuchel has admitted his side are at a disadvantage due to having little time to prepare for the altitude in Mexico City.

The match could yet face delays due to thunderstorms being forecast, which could lead to delays due to rules dictating a match be suspended if lightning strikes anywhere within an eight-mile radius of the stadium.

Victory would take the Three Lions through to a quarter-final against either Brazil or Norway.

England have played six times at the Azteca, twice against Mexico, and the results were a draw in 1969 and a loss in 1985.

Mexico is guaranteed to have a fanatical backing while England’s support will be limited to just 4,000.

The Private Hire Vehicle Support Fund, expected to cost nearly £2M, will be available to drivers in Bolton and Greater Manchester to help them replace older cars with new cleaner ones.

This comes after the Greater Manchester Combined Authority decided towards the end of June to replace the previous loan model with an entirely grants-based system.

Bolton South and Walkden MP Yasmin Qureshi said: “After the last Tory government tried to impose a charging Clean Air Zone on Greater Manchester, the GMCA with Andy Burnham as Mayor found another way, by showing an investment led approach focused on lowering emissions with a publicly controlled bus network and supporting our local taxi drivers could achieve better results.

Bolton South and Walkden MP Yasmin Qureshi has welcomed the move (Image: Office of Yasmin Qureshi MP)

“With more zero emission buses now on the road thanks to the Bee Network, the GMCA has approved a grant scheme for private hire drivers registered in Greater Manchester to apply for £2,500 to upgrade their vehicles.

“This supports local drivers and ensures that more drivers are licensed here in Bolton and other local towns where we have stricter oversight.

“This is good for drivers and good for passengers, whilst also showing that investing in our future is a better way of working rather than taxing hard working people for driving as part of their job.”

A report put before the GMCA said that the recommended grant-only scheme would come to an estimated maximum cost of £1.98M across the city region.

This was only slightly more than the previously considered loan and grant scheme, which would have come to an estimated maximum cost of £1.85M.

This was because of the expected cost of revenue-funded administration, bad debt write-off, and other issues.

The report said: “Having considered the risks associated with the loan component, it is recommended that the previously agreed Private Hire Vehicle Support Fund is revised by removing the loan element and moving to a grant-only model, while providing a £2,500 grant per eligible vehicle, being half the previously proposed loan amount.

“The revised grant-only scheme is estimated to cost up to a maximum of £1.98M in total.

“Subject to approval, the updated financial position will be reflected through the relevant budget monitoring reports to the GMCA, alongside updates on scheme take-up and delivery.”

The fund is expected to be officially launched in September this year.

BALLOUNEH, Lebanon (AP) — Before becoming one of the Middle East’s most acclaimed cooks and food writers, Anissa Helou had no intention of either path. She entered the world of cooking and writing almost by accident when she was in her late 30s.

Now 74, Helou has a wide following in the region and elsewhere and has released nearly a dozen books since the 1990s about food in the Middle East and beyond. Last month she received Britain’s prestigious Guild of Food Writers Lifetime Achievement Award.

The daughter of a Lebanese mother and a Syrian father, Helou was born into a Christian family and grew up watching her mother, grandmother and paternal aunt cooking. It opened her eyes to the food traditions of the two countries, both widely known in the region for their varied and flavorful cuisine.

“I was always fascinated by the kitchen, by their movements (and) by how they put things together, by the chopping,” Helou said about her mentors. “I love being in the kitchen with them and of course I loved eating.”

Helou’s latest book, “Lebanon: Cooking the Foods of My Homeland,” was officially released in late June in Beirut in a ceremony at Lebanon’s Tourism Ministry attended by scores of people including food critics and restaurant owners.

An homage to the cuisine of Lebanon’s war-battered south

The book, which comes as the country has been battered by two wars in the past three years between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, includes a section about food in some of the southern Lebanese villages that have suffered the worst destruction.

During her repeated visits there, most recently in October 2023, she found residents had their own regional variations of traditional cuisine. They include mujadara, a dish mainly consisting of lentils that is often cooked with rice, but in southern Lebanon is more likely to be made with bulgur.

“I discovered more, like, variations and added dishes, rather than something that was a complete revelation,” Helou said.

She has picked walnuts from a tree growing along the giant wall separating southern Lebanon from northern Israel and met residents who have lost their homes and businesses in the Hezbollah-Israel conflict.

Helou recalled Moussa Ibrahim from the southern village of Dibbine, which has been the site of intense clashes between Israel troops and Hezbollah fighters. Fighting there in 2024 caused Ibrahim to lose his business producing mouneh: vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy preserved with traditional Lebanese techniques including sun-drying, salting, pickling or submerging in olive oil.

Representing the Middle East and Muslims through recipes

Helou, who has traveled the world to sample food, said she loves Korean and Japanese in addition to Middle Eastern cuisine.

“Lebanese, Iranian and Moroccan are among the greatest cuisines,” Helou said earlier this month in her late mother’s apartment in the Mount Lebanon town of Ballouneh.

“Lebanese cuisine is kind of a little bit more sophisticated, a lot fresher, more vibrant” compared with some other Middle East food, Helou said as she prepared a traditional Lebanese lamb confit called awarma.

Famed for its centuries-old covered market, which was badly damaged during Syria’s civil war beginning in March 2011, Aleppo is known for varied and elaborate cuisine with influences from Persia, North Africa and Armenia.

“I think that Aleppo is undoubtedly the gastronomic capital of the Middle East, regardless of me being Syrian,” she said.

Global anti-Islamic sentiments rose dramatically after the Islamic State group took large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014, launching deadly attacks in the region and the world.

Helou responded with a book of about 300 recipes of dishes from Muslim countries.

“I was thinking, one way of presenting Islam and Muslim people positively could be through their foods,” she said.

Starting late in the world of cooking

Helou, who left Lebanon at the age of 21, holds citizenship in Lebanon, Syria and the United Kingdom and has spent much of her time in Britain and Italy. She still regularly visits Lebanon, cooking and asking people how they make specific dishes.

Helou refused to cook for years while she was a young woman and told her partner at the time not to expect her to make meals.

“I didn’t want to be domesticated. I was like a feminist and so I didn’t cook for a very long time,” she said.

One day a friend prepared a meal at their home and Helou saw the happiness it gave her partner, prompting her to think she should start cooking.

Her decision to become a food writer came in 1992 when a discussion with a group of Lebanese living abroad gave Helou the idea of filling a gap in Lebanese cookbooks with a collection of her mother’s recipes. As it happened, there was a publisher looking for someone to write such a book.

“That’s how I started, by sheer coincidence,” Helou said.

The plans were submitted to the council in June 2026

Plans could see an office building in a Cambridgeshire city converted into apartments, if approved. A proposal has been submitted to Peterborough City Council requesting permission to convert Blenheim Court in Peppercorn Close, Peterborough.

The plans would see the building become 20 apartments made up of 10 studios and 10 one-bedroom apartments. The change of use application, if approved, would turn the building from commercial use to residential use.

The proposal was submitted by applicant Shaz Nawaz last month. The application states: “The project is the change of use from commercial office space to residential dwelling houses (apartments). The site comprises of two office units, 05 & 06 Blenheim Court.

“Each unit will have 10 individual self contained apartments (5 studios and 5 one bed apartments), total 20 apartments across both office units.”

The site offers vehicle access and 20 parking spaces split evenly between the two sites, which the applicant said is “enough to cover the proposed 20 residential units”. The site lies within flood zone one, the lowest level and so has no known flood risks, the applicant claims.

The site is located nearby to amenities such as Maskew Retail Park and Boulevard Retail Park and a range of restaurants including Subway and The Lounge. Queensgate Shopping Centre is also just a short drive away.

The city council will now consider whether the plans can be approved.

Need to know

England booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a victory over Mexico

Everything you need to know about England’s potential World Cup schedule

1. Round of 16 result against Mexico: England booked their place in the quarter-finals after claiming a dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico in the round of 16. Jude Bellingham grabbed a quickfire brace, and Harry Kane converted a vital penalty to ensure the side defeated the host nation within normal time, despite Jarell Quansah receiving a red card in the second half.
2. Upcoming Norway fixture: The Three Lions are now gearing up to take on an Erling Haaland-led Norway in their pivotal quarter-final encounter. The Manchester City forward bagged a brace to guide Norway past five-time champions Brazil 2-1 and secure their hard-earned place in the last eight.
3. Quarter-final schedule: This eagerly awaited quarter-final against Norway is set for Saturday, July 11. In the UK, the match will be a 10pm kick-off, taking place at the spectacular Miami Stadium in Florida.
4. Semi-final schedule: Should England overcome their quarter-final challenge, they will contest their semi-final fixture on Wednesday, July 15. The match will begin at 8pm and require the squad to head back to the Atlanta Stadium.
5. Potential semi-final opponents: A triumph over Norway would arrange a challenging semi-final against another side in the knockout bracket. Their possible rivals at this point include Argentina, Egypt, Switzerland or Colombia.
6. Final schedule: If England reach the final, the match will be played on Sunday, July 19. The showpiece occasion will kick off at 8pm at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
7. Potential final opponents: Making it to the final would mean facing a formidable side that has battled through the other half of the knockout bracket. Among the possible opponents standing in the way of the ultimate prize are France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, the USA or Belgium.

READ MORE: Where can I watch England vs Mexico World Cup highlights this morning?

England’s 2026 World Cup kits

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