Romeo Beckham displayed his muscles as he enjoyed a solo jet ski ride during his family holiday to Ibiza on Thursday. 

The model, 23, is currently sporting bleach blond hair like his famous dad David, 51, did back in his footballing days. 

He appeared deep in thought as he cruised across the Mediterranean while the rest of his family including mum Victoria, 52, were nowhere to be seen.

Romeo was showing off his toned and tanned arms in the life jacket and wore bright green swimming shorts. 

Earlier this week he was joined by his bikini-clad girlfriend Kim Turnbull for another jet ski ride.

The 25-year-old model looked in good spirits as she enjoyed quality time with her boyfriend and his family, amid the Beckhams’ holiday in Formentera. 

While Kim flashed her jaw-dropping physique in a burgundy two-piece, Romeo wore Baywatch-inspired red swimming shorts.

The model, 23, is currently sporting bleach blond hair like his famous dad David, 51, did back in his footballing days

Romeo’s younger brother Cruz has not been with the family because he is currently touring with his band, The Breakers, around north America. 

The Beckham clan are currently visiting different parts of the Balearic Islands on their luxury £16million yacht, Seven. 

David and Victoria bought their 130ft boat in 2022, after previously buying a smaller vessel by the same name the year before.

It boasts five cabins, sleeping ten people and seven crew members.

Their boat features a spa bath on the upper deck, as well as a 65ft garage, plenty of water toys and a jet-ski to keep the family entertained.

Seven is named after David’s iconic football shirt number as well as their daughter Harper’s middle name.

Earlier in the week, Kim and Romeo put on an incredibly tactile display in a slew of Instagram posts.

Romeo looked handsome in his usual trendy garb as he cheekily grabbed his girlfriend’s bottom in a picture.

Her ‘Insta Dump’ comprised pictures from their jaunt to America to watch the World Cup, with her snaps showing the pair at one of the matches.

Kim shared a shot of a replica of the Jules Rimet Trophy inside her bag before posing in a black top with a keyhole and jeans.

Romeo was showing off his toned and tanned arms in the life jacket and wore bright green swimming shorts

During the World Cup trip the whole family were in attendance bar estranged brother Brooklyn, who has left his parents heartbroken by abandoning the Beckham ship.

Brooklyn has not acknowledged any of his parents’ birthdays or milestones publicly since their rift began, around the time of David’s 50th celebrations, and failed to share a post for Father’s Day this year.

Last month, it was reported that Brooklyn was ‘furious’ that his parents had included him in a Father’s Day post and wants them to ‘leave him alone’.

Shortly before Christmas last year, Brooklyn blocked his parents on Instagram, while his lawyers later wrote to the Beckhams’ team requesting all communication be conducted through legal representatives.

The Daily Mail contacted Brooklyn’s representatives for comment at the time.

Earlier this year, Brooklyn was accused of selling his family out for a big sum following the release of his two-part DoorDash commercial.

Five months after declaring that he and his wife Nicola want privacy, Brooklyn was savaged by fans, who branded him ‘classless’ after he collaborated with the food delivery firm for the sponsored video.

It was reported that Brooklyn was paid a hefty figure for the ad, with a source saying: ‘Anything that makes him money is good – it shows that his brand is there and flourishing.’

It’s thought that he was paid ‘at least $1million (£751,000)’ for the campaign.

However, the Beckham clan were reportedly less impressed with the advert, with an insider telling Page Six: ‘Brooklyn claims he wants peace and privacy and nothing to do with his family – now he’s trying to cash in on it all.’

The heartbroken family of a British woman who was found dead in a suitcase in Athens have paid tribute to the ‘beautiful’ and ‘loving’ 38-year-old.

Elisabeth Jane Ross, from Scotland, was found dead inside a suitcase by a homeless man in the Kypseli district of Athens on July 18. She is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was discovered.

The alarm was raised at around 1pm that day after he informed authorities he had spotted a suitcase with something coming out of it, which ‘looked like a human limb’.

Before her death, Ms Ross flew from the United States to Athens via Edinburgh – not Cyprus as previously reported – where she was said to be staying with friends on June 29, the Daily Mail understands.

Ms Ross had initially been staying with friends in the town of Keratsini, in the suburbs of Athens, before meeting American friends in Kypseli on July 15, local media reported.

Her aunt, Anne Bangham, has since paid tribute to her niece, describing her as ‘beautiful’ and ‘loving’, later adding that the family ‘can’t believe this has happened’.

‘It is horrific. We just can’t believe it. She was such a beautiful, loving and kind young lady,’ she wrote.

‘I wish I could get my hands on whoever did it. She had not long arrived there to work. It will take a while to sink in.’

It comes as a series of final texts sent from her phone said Ms Ross wanted to be alone in what police believe to be a cover up orchestrated by her killer.

People have paid tributes with flowers and pictures of the 38-year-old in the Kypseli district of Athens

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Greek police believe whoever killed her was using her phone to cover up her death by sending misleading messages in an attempt to buy time to flee.

One chilling message sent from Ms Ross’s phone after her death to a Greek friend said: ‘I need some time – I’m going to a Greek island,’ the Daily Mail previously revealed.

The text was sent to a Greek male friend she has known ‘for years’ and with whom she had been staying days before her body was found.

Texts sent to her family claimed that she ‘needed some time to herself’ and that she ‘wanted to be alone for a while’.

Investigators say the phone, which remains missing, was active in the Athens area until over 24 hours ago, when Ms Ross was formally identified.

The phone was ‘mysteriously’ turned off just as news of her death hit headlines across the globe.

Her father, a lawyer from Edinburgh, told officers he had been receiving messages from July 15 to 29. 

In the latest update, toxicology tests are currently being done to establish whether ‘foul play’ was involved in the 38-year-old’s death.

A Greek police spokesman confirmed toxicology tests are currently underway as authorities seek to establish if her death was a result of a ‘criminal act’.

Local outlets released a photo of the 38-year-old Ms Ross as investigations are ongoing to determine her cause of death

Images of an abandoned building in the district of Athens, where Ms Ross’s body was found in a suitcase

Pictured:  A woman pays tribute to Ms Ross in Athens.  Greek police believe whoever killed Ms ross was using her phone to cover up her death by sending misleading messages 

However, the tests will take ‘weeks’ because of the advanced state of decay of her body, the Daily Mail understands.

Police have said there was no evidence on either the body or the suitcase that would enable them to identify a third party.

‘The suitcase did not belong to the victim, as she did not have any large luggage with her,’ a police source previously told local media.

Officers are also said to be analysing CCTV footage from around the building where Ms Ross was found.

And, due to the weight of the suitcase containing her body, they believe the killers are likely to have been staying nearby.

Ms Ross had been staying with Greek friends for around two weeks in Athens until she left on July 15, according to reports.

She had travelled out to stay with her Greek male friend in Keratsini near the Port of Piraeus, her father said.

According to friends she was staying with in Keratsini, Ms Ross said she would be travelling to Kypseli to stay with her American friends, but gave no specific address, Greek state broadcaster ERT reported.

Police have interviewed three Greek friends, including the man she stayed with, as well as a friend from Edinburgh.

The mother of the local she was staying with is from Edinburgh and is flying out to Athens today to support the family.

It was previously reported that she told police that her son reported Ms Ross missing on July 15.

It comes amid claims the British woman’s phone was being used up until the point she was identified by the media.

One Greek officer said: ‘The phone was being used. Text messages were even sent, obviously with a view to making people believe she was still alive.

‘We are treating the building as a crime scene.’

Police are also still trying to trace where her phone had been in the days following her death, according to local media.

The initial examination of the body showed no obvious injuries or signs of struggle, while her identity could not be established at first as there were no signs of identification.

Greek police authorities later identified it after Interpol examined fingerprint data and matched it to records in the US, where Ms Ross had previously worked.

This then informed the Hellenic Police that the body belongs to a British woman with the initials ER, born in February 1988. Ms Ross is also understood to be from the Edinburgh area.

According to police, the victim was around 5ft 4in with reddish hair tied in a bun, wearing black shorts and a T-shirt.

Her shorts bore the name of a French university, prompting Interpol to be alerted.

Police have requested passenger information from the airline she travelled with to determine if she was with anyone, and are checking local accommodation registries for reservations under her name.

One Greek police officer revealed authorities were shocked at the discovery, describing the incident as ‘unprecedented’.

Her aunt, Anne Bangham, has paid tribute to her niece, describing her as a ‘beautiful’ and ‘loving’, later adding that the family ‘can’t believe this has happened’

The initial examination of the body showed no obvious injuries or signs of struggle, while her identity could not be established at first as there were no signs of identification

He told The Sun: ‘To find a foreign national dead in a suitcase here in the heart of Athens is a first. In the history of Greek-British relations, it is unprecedented.’

A spokesman for Greek police said: ‘No other evidence has emerged from the body or the suitcase that would allow us to identify another person.

‘We are awaiting the result of toxicology tests to determine the cause of death, and ascertain whether foul play was involved.

‘The investigation is ongoing.’

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: ‘Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time. We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.’

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece.

‘Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.’

A petition containing around 1,800 signatures calling for the service provided by the Cauwood Day Service, in Malton, to be protected was today presented to North Yorkshire Council’s Thirsk and Malton area committee.

Senior councillors will decide next week whether to close the centre.

Ahead of the decision, the area committee met to discuss concerns regarding the closure.

They heard from families and supporters of the centre who called for the service to remain open.

Stuart Moss, whose son Matty attends the centre, told the meeting: “For many disabled people, Cauwood is not simply a building. It is a place where they feel safe, where they are understood, where they have friends, purpose, routine, and dignity. It is where they laugh, learn, grow, and belong.

“If Cauwood closes, it is not just a service that disappears. It is a community. It is a vital lifeline.”

Lisa Keenan, from the Ryedale Special Families charity, raised concerns that Malton’s only Changing Places toilet would be lost if the centre was closed.

She added: “The toilet may be used once or twice a week, but it is essential for those disabled people who need that specialist facility.

“Just because it relates to the care of a few disabled people does not mean it is less important.”

In response, Abi Barron, the council’s corporate director for health and adult services, said the council was “passionate” not to lose the identity of Cauwood which she said was created by the staff, service users and their families.

She added: “Whilst the proposal to the executive is to close the existing building, it is not about closing the whole service, and our intention is to retain a refreshed Cauwood service and staff, who currently work within that service.

“This service will provide the flexibility required to meet the wide-ranging needs of the people who currently attend and hopefully others in the future.”

The officer said the council was aiming to secure “local building provision” in the Malton area to operate a new Cauwood service, adding: “There is no intention of us closing the building until those alternative service offers are in place and that people have completed their transition.”

The petition was presented to the committee by Malton councillor Keane Duncan.

He said the aim of the petition was to protect the services which were provided by Cauwood and he felt the report due to be presented to the executive next week showed the authority had changed its position on the centre.

He said: “The (original) report sought approval to close Cauwood from the autumn and to reprovide support through alternative community-based provision.

“At that time, there was, as far as we were aware, no commitment to another Cauwood, no commitment to another dedicated local building, and the report acknowledged that staff could be moved elsewhere and redundant to the seat if possible.”

He added: “I think we should welcome that the new executive report is substantially different from the position we faced in April.”

Other councillors raised concerns about the lack of information surrounding the council’s plans for the replacement service.

Councillor Steve Mason said: “It’s a bit like putting the cart before the horse. I just can’t understand why we have not arranged which building we go to first before we come to the proposal.”

The meeting voted unanimously for a motion calling on the executive to make it expressly clear that the Cauwood building remains open until the alternative site has the support of service users and their families.

Council chiefs have said that the current Cauwood service, in Old Malton Road, which supports adults with learning disabilities, autism and physical and sensory needs, is no longer sustainable.

They have highlighted a sharp fall in demand in recent years, rising costs and the poor condition of the building as reasons for the closure.

Dai Hilton served in Helmund in the Royal Signals. He lost his medals when his home in Pembrokeshire burned to the ground.

An Afghanistan war veteran is devastated after losing all his service medals when his home burned to the ground.

Dai Hilton, his two sons aged 12 and 16, and partner Danielle Greep escaped the early hours blaze at their chalet in Martletwy in Pembrokeshire last weekend, but lost everything.

Too shocked at the time to take it all in, Dai later realised that among things gone are his medals and his grandmother’s engagement ring. The sentimental possessions are irreplaceable, he said.

Dai, who joined the army aged 16 and was a lance corporal in the Royal Signals, did one tour in Afghanistan during his time in the army from 2004 until 2011.

He had kept his medals and other memorabilia from his time in the army in the 20m by 20m chalet he has lived in for the last 12 years.

“Everything is gone, absolutely everything, nothing is salvageable and my medals from the army, from Afghanistan, are gone,” he said as he sifted through the remains of his home five days after the fire on July 25.

“I have lost my Afghan NATO medal and my Afghan campaign medal and my Queen’s Jubilee medal. I served down in Helmund in Camp Bastion. It was quite harrowing. I have also lost all my army kit and photos too.

“It’s the unexpected other little things we can’t replace like the children’s old teddies and my nan’s engagment ring which she gave recently to my daughter. We have searched through everything and we can’t find the ring or my medals.”

Dai fears the treasured medals and ring may have melted like his car and house keys. While those things are irreplaceable, Dai is also unable to replace less sentimentally valuable but expensive household items as his home was uninsured.

Well-wishers have donated more than £9,000 to help him replace his home and possessions. As the huge clear up began after last weekend’s fire, Dai praised the help he has had from local friends and neighbours, including the owners of nearby business Wild Lakes.

“They came down on their day off with their digger to help clear up. It’s been overwhelming the number of people who have reached out to us and helped. I can’t thank people who have helped enough,” he said.

“We’ve had offers of help and loads of people in the community have been offering clothes and things. It’s been a crazy week and it’s not sunk in yet.”

Dai says he is just thankful that he and his sons and Danielle escaped unhurt. His 18-year-old daughter was away at the time and escaped the fire.

Danielle was the first to wake when the chalet’s smoke alarms went off at 3am and raised the alarm.

Running outside, they watched in horror as everything they owned in the static chalet was destroyed. All four were taken to Withybush Hospital by ambulance and treated for smoke inhalation but discharged.

It took fire crews from Narberth, Tenby, and Milford Haven fire stations more than two hours to stop the flames in the early hours of Saturday, July 25.

Dai, an engineer for Openreach broadband provider, said his work car keys have been melted as well as the side of his work van, which was parked near the chalet, showing how extreme the heat was.

A friend of Dai’s set up a fundraising page to help raise money to replace his home and possessions, which can be seen here.

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Some countries require passports to have a strict validity on them, meaning that anyone with a passport that has less than the country they’re travelling to requires could be denied entry.

New data reveals that more than 705,000 UK passports currently have less than three months’ validity remaining, while nearly 350,000 were issued more than a decade ago, meaning more than one million could fail entry requirements for some overseas destinations.

Compare the Market issues warning to Manchester Airport passengers

Compare the Market has issued a warning to holidaymakers flying from Manchester Airport, urging them to check their passports before travelling abroad, following analysis of HM Passport Office data.

Is your passport still valid if it has less than three months left on it?

The analysis was completed in June 2026 and shows that 705,904 British passports have less than three months remaining before they expire.

These passports are still valid, but some destinations ask visitors to adhere to additional validity requirements, so it’s crucial you know the rules before going away.

Which European destinations require at least three months on your passport?

Countries in the EU’s Schengen Area require UK travellers to have a passport that is valid for at least three months after their planned departure from the Schengen Area.

This includes popular holiday destinations such as:

• France
• Greece
• Italy
• Portugal
• Spain

Manchester Airport offers regular flights to these five destinations, so it’s important passengers make sure their passports are valid for travel before their trip.

What is the 10-year entry rule for passports?

Holidaymakers also need to make sure their passports were issued within the previous 10 years on the date of entry.

If your passport was issued before September 2018, the 10-year rule is particularly relevant for you.

Previously, up to nine months of unused validity could be carried over when renewing a passport, meaning some documents may appear in date but still be ineligible for entry.

What you need to apply for ETIAS

Therefore, some passports could still be in date but fail to meet the Schengen Area’s entry requirements.

The data shows that 347,268 British passports currently in circulation were issued more than 10 years ago, meaning some travellers could be caught out.

In addition, 2.37 million passports are set to expire in 2026, prompting further warnings for travellers to plan ahead.

Tim Knighton, travel insurance expert at Compare the Market, said: “Many travellers assume if they have a valid passport they can travel overseas without any issues, but that’s not always the case.

“Renewing a passport early could help avoid unnecessary stress and reduce the risk of holiday plans being disrupted.

You can check the entry requirements for the country you’re visiting via the government website.

It shares any travel warnings and updates travellers need to know, including how much time you must have left before your expiry date.

You can use the search function or go through the list of destinations to find the latest travel advice.

Have you had any passport issues when travelling? Tell us in the comments below.

Prime minister Andy Burnham announced on Wednesday his commitment to improving England’s social care system.

If the new prime minister has his way, England will legislate a new national care service within the next two years. Burnham will also seek to make social care more person-centred, ensure it’s better aligned with the NHS and remove firms who are profiteering on the backs of vulnerable people.

The majority of social care in England is run for-profit. The consequences of this go far beyond unfair profiteering. It actually worsens many of the core problems with England’s social care systems – making it less available, of worse quality and widening inequalities.

Any reforms which aim to make services work for people, not profit, must change who owns social care services.

Should we reform funding or ownership?

One option for improving social care would involve revising how care is funded. This could be done through some form of new taxation or social insurance.

This strategy would not only allow current systems of provision to be maintained, it would ensure more people can have their care paid for by the state, as well. This kind of reform might also help to remove some of the burden of individuals paying for care, and reduce the stark two-tier system that has emerged – where some people are able to pay for high quality care, while others receive free, but often worse quality, care.

But funding reform alone will not create a person-centred care system. It is key that the issues being caused by for-profit care homes are also addressed.

For-profit care homes deliver worse quality care than non-profit and council run care homes, even taking into account their funding sources. Meanwhile, even in systems where most people receive state-funded care like the NHS, for-profit providers tend to select the healthiest patients and operate in the richest areas – worsening inequalities in who is able to access care.

In studies looking at the delivery of high-quality, local care, ownership was a key determinant of care quality – with profit-motivated commercial enterprises being less responsive to a region’s care needs than non-commercial or publicly owned enterprises.

This is why it’s welcome to see both Baroness Louise Casey and the prime minister acknowledge that the way care is provided, and their commercial incentives, are a crucial part of the discussion. Both are opposed to “profiteering out of human misery and human life”. But they must not be confused about why profiteering and care ownership matter.

It is not simply a matter of principle. Profiteering matters because for-profit ownership has worsened care accessibility, quality and equality.

So even if we change how social care is funded, it will only have the greatest impact if there’s a reform to care provision, as well.

How do we change ownership of care services?

There are two options for creating a care service run not-for-profit.

The first is to re-balance the market. This would ensure that the commissioning of services prioritises ethical models of ownership. Ethical models of ownership may include those owned by councils, charities or co-operatives, or those which are run locally in partnership with commissioners and user groups.

This could involve legislating to ensure ethical care providers (those run not-for-profit) are automatically the first selected in procurement and placement decisions. Such a reform was actually once advocated by Burnham as a solution to creeping NHS privatisation, and was also legislated in Wales in 2014 for social care provision.

These preferred provider models don’t always ensure all care is delivered ethically. But in a system where good quality, non-profit care homes are going bust, it could redress a failing market dominated by for-profit providers.

A second option is to enforce the change by asking care companies to convert their company registration type to a form of social enterprise, community interest company or registered society – or be replaced by state-owned provision.

This was something the Welsh government did in relation to children’s social care, who legislated to ban for-profit provision in 2025.

Their approach has been careful and phased. Private providers have been allowed a four-year period to convert to a non-profit model. The government has also banned new for-profit providers from registering, stopped existing for-profit providers from expanding and will by default place children in non-profit care homes – except in exceptional circumstances.

Ultimately, this approach ends up in a similar place as the preferred provider model – enforcing non-profit provision, unless there is none available. But the difference here is the emphasis in the meantime, where support is provided so companies can convert and new private providers are banned from entering the market.

Either option will require a large amount of political capital in the face of lobbying – and already there are growing threats of market exit and disruption.

But the Labour government must focus instead on the dangerous consequences of inaction. For-profit care homes are putting residents’ safety at risk, creating care deserts where services aren’t profitable and evicting patients when they can’t afford fee increases.

Emmerdale fans were wondering if Billy Fletcher will die on the ITV soap, after the latest episode saw him attacked and left for dead with spoilers keeping coy about his fate

Billy could die in Emmerdale after a brutal attack during Thursday’s episode.

Fans of the ITV soap are no doubt wondering if he is leaving the show, after he was shown lifeless and surrounded by blood. As Dawn Fletcher made a call to her ex she couldn’t get through.

The camera panned to Billy who was lying unconscious on the floor. But who attacked Billy, and is Billy about to be killed off?

Spoilers are deliberately keeping quiet about Billy’s fate, as well as who is to blame. There are no spoilers for Friday’s episode, keeping his fate up in the air.

Then in next week’s episodes, spoilers reveal nothing. All they reveal is that Gabby Thomas finds out her recent flame Billy had kissed his ex Dawn before he was attacked.

As for his fate, new details will be revealed very, very soon. For now, we will just have to wait. That said, there has been no reports that actor Jay Kontzle is leaving the role after eight years.

Nothing before now has revealed an exit for Billy, while it could be a top secret plot. It wouldn’t be the first time a character was killed off without warning.

With Dawn actress Olivia Bromley leaving the show soon, could this be a hint that Billy is also making an exit? As for his attacker, we did not see them or the crime committed onscreen.

But the key suspect is likely to be Dawn’s new fiancé Joe Tate, Billy’s rival. Whether Joe has actually harmed Billy is not yet known, but the episode did see Joe find out about Billy kissing Dawn.

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Caleb Miligan wasted no time in telling his enemy and nephew Joe about the moment, making it seem that Dawn was going to leave Joe for Billy. So has Joe taken brutal revenge, and has he attacked and maybe even killed Billy?

It comes as Emmerdale spoilers seem to heavily hint at a marriage split for Jimmy and Nicola King. Jimmy and his wife Nicola married in 2010. But 16 years on, reports of a shocking death hinted they would be torn apart.

Now, new spoilers have backed this theory but by a different means. New spoilers for next week confirm Nicola is worried about her marriage to Jimmy, having lost the excitement in their relationship.

Jimmy does his best to win her over but it doesn’t go to plan and instead, Nicola ends up suspecting Jimmy is cheating on her in a socking betrayal. So will one of the soap’s longest surviving couples come to the end of the road?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Greek fishermen joined a dramatic mission to rescue dozens of tourists trapped on Crete’s coastline as wildfires continue to rage across multiple holiday islands.

Footage captured the moment rescue boats battled huge waves from winds of up to 100mph and thick smoke to reach 29 people stranded on a beach in the Agios Pavlos area and haul them to safety.

The group, including children and elderly people, had fled to the shoreline after their hotel caught fire.

According to the Greek Coast Guard, 17 people were rescued in an initial operation before a further 12 were brought to safety in a second mission, taking the total to 29.

The rescue came as firefighters battled major blazes across Greece, with thousands forced to flee homes and hotels on Crete, while wildfires also continued to burn across parts of Spain, Portugal and France after weeks of extreme heat. 

Fishing boats also joined the complex rescue effort in Agios Pavlos, with terrifying footage showing the vessels crashing through huge waves to save those stranded.

Captain Nikos Matthaiakis, one of the fishermen involved, described the chaotic rescue to MEGA.

He said fire had surrounded the area, engulfing a tavern and tourist accommodation, while reed beds burned and sparks reached the rescue boats.

Exploding gas cylinders added to the chaos as stormy seas battered the vessels and around 30 people were stranded on the beach with no escape route.

‘It was stifling in terms of fire and smoke, but the winds were hurricane-force. Imagine that they recorded wind gusts of up to 160 kilometres per hour,’ he said.

• A wildfire broke out on Thursday morning in Germany’s Chiemgau Alps mountain range. 200 firefighters and emergency personnel are on the scene. 
•  In Spain, 207,000 hectares (511,000 acres) of land have burned nationwide as firefighters are tackling a huge wildfire in Avila outside Madrid. A construction worker has been accused of starting the blaze by using an illegal excavator.
• In France, some 92,000 hectares have burned after a devastating fire swept through Bordeaux. New fires have now erupted between the cities of Marseille and Nice and in the Burgundy region.
• Turkish firefighters on Wednesday battled wildfires near the country’s southern tourist beaches that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people.
•  Firefighters in France have warned embers could fuel ‘zombie fires’ for several months, mobilizing rescue efforts until winter.

Fishing boats also joined the complex rescue effort in Agios Pavlos, with terrifying footage showing the vessels crashing through huge waves to reach those stranded on the beach

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Smoke filled the sky as rescue boats battled stormy seas to rescue the people trapped

According to the Greek Coast Guard, 17 people were rescued in an initial operation before a further 12 were brought to safety in a second mission, taking the total to 29

Flames and embers rise as a wildfire burns next to the village of Krya Vrysi, Crete

Matthaiakis said the overnight operation was carried out in treacherous conditions, with strong winds and heavy smoke making it almost impossible to reach the beach.

‘The conditions were very difficult. The Port Authority called me at 4am and told me to be on standby. We headed towards Agios Pavlos with the Coast Guard boats and rescued 25 people trapped by the fire,’ he said.

‘We couldn’t even get close to Agios Pavlos because the winds were over Force 10 and the coastline is rocky. The situation was shocking. I picked up the last of them while the hotel was burning and gas bottles were exploding.’

Those rescued were transferred to Coast Guard vessels before being taken safely to the port of Kokkinos Pyrgos after the nearby Agia Galini area was also evacuated.

Gale-force winds are fueling deadly wildfires across the Greek islands of Crete and Lesbos, forcing the urgent evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.

‘We evacuated (some) 8,000 people’ from the resort village of Agia Galini, Maria Lioni, deputy governor of the Rethymno area, told state TV ERT.

The evacuations were decided as the fire, which broke out Wednesday and had earlier killed two firefighters, got to within a kilometre of the village before changing direction in the evening.

The fire is believed to have burned down homes, agricultural facilities and farm animals, but the toll is unclear as the fire is ongoing, Lioni said, calling it a ‘dark day.’

Two firefighters were trapped on a mountain road near the village of Krya Vrysi and died as the winds kept changing direction.

A third firefighter collapsed and died during efforts to put out a separate fire near Gytheio in the Peloponnese peninsula.

It comes as Europe is battling some of the worst wildfires in living memory across multiple popular holiday destinations including France, Spain and Turkey.

The Crete fire department had dedicated a force of over 200 firefighters and 53 fire engines in the Rethymno area in southwestern Crete, but winds of up to 102 kilometres (63 miles) an hour was preventing most aircraft from taking on seawater. 

The fire front in Rethymno is over 15 kilometres long according to local civil protection official Giorgos Tsapakos.

But inhabited areas are ‘not under immediate threat’ as the fire is mainly burning forest and agricultural land, Tsapakos told Skai TV.

The rescue came as firefighters battled major blazes across Greece, with thousands forced to flee homes and hotels on Crete, while wildfires also continued to burn across parts of Spain, Portugal and France after weeks of extreme heat

Pictured: Smoke restricted visibility and made the rescue mission more difficult 

Moment dozens are rescued by boat after fleeing to beaches on wildfire-hit Crete

Pictured: People sit in a boat after being rescued from the wildfires in Crete

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Smoke rises during a wildfire, south of Rethymno in the Greek island of Crete on July 30, 2026

A firefighter operates on a wildfire burning near the beach of Triopetra on the island of Crete, Greece, July 30, 2026

People walk on a beach as smoke rises from a wildfire burning next to the village of Plomari, Lesvos

Firefighters work to contain a major wildfire near Saumos, Gironde department, France, 29 July 2026

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A volunteer works to extinguish a fire in low-lying vegetation in Krya Vrysi, Rethymno, Crete

A volunteer uses a shovel as they battle a wildfire at Seydikemer district in Mugla, Turkey

A firefighter creates a controlled burn area to contain a fire near Lege-Cap-Ferret, during wildfires in southwestern France, Thursday, July 30

Firefighters and volunteers work to extinguish the flames engulfing bee hives during a wildfire at Seydikemer district in Mugla, Turkey on July 29, 2026

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A coastguard spokesman said there were four patrol boats at Agia Galini ready to help with additional evacuations, including one from EU border agency Frontex.

‘But conditions are extremely difficult, there are (violent) wind shears,’ he said.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid tribute to the fallen firefighters on Wednesday.

‘Our thoughts are with them, as well as with all the firefighters, volunteers and members of the security forces who are battling the fire fronts, in the midst of a new harsh reality that they are called upon to face every year,’ the prime minister said.

Nearly 100 firefighters were separately tackling a fire near the village of Plomari on the island of Lesbos.

The civil protection ministry placed several areas on near-maximum fire alert for Thursday, including Crete, the greater Athens area, the eastern Peloponnese and most of the Aegean islands.

The National Observatory’s weather website meteo.gr said wind shears in the Rethymno area had been recorded at up to 125 kilometres per hour, and wind intensity was expected to remain high on Thursday.

Greece faces destructive wildfires almost every summer as prolonged drought, high temperatures and strong winds create ideal conditions for blazes to spread rapidly.

A wildfire broke out on Thursday morning in Germany’s Chiemgau Alps mountain range, near the village of Unterwossen.

200 members of the fire departments, mountain rescue, emergency medical services, and the police are on the scene tackling the blaze.

‘People are being asked to keep their windows and doors closed, turn off their ventilation and air conditioning systems, and avoid the area around the incident site,’ said a spokesperson for the district fire department association. 

This aerial picture taken with a drone shows a herd of goats on the scorched ground of a farm damaged by a wildfire near Pelayos de la Presa, 65 kilometres west of Madrid, on July 30

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This picture shows burnt-out cars and properties ravaged by a wildfire in the Encinar del Alberche residential area in Villa del Prado, south-west of Madrid

A firefighter works to contain a major wildfire near Saumos, Gironde

An aerial view shows firefighting teams continue aerial and ground operations to contain a forest fire that spread due to strong winds in the Alanya district of Antalya

Tourists prepare to be transferred on a bus from the town of Moires as a wildfire burns on the island of Crete

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Meanwhile in Spain,  207,000 hectares (511,000 acres) of land have burned nationwide, among the largest areas in any January to July period on record according to the European Forest Fire Information System. 

Emergency services have been working since last Thursday to put out a blaze in the Madrid region, and another in the nearby province of Avila, which officials said is the worst in Spain’s recent history.

The blazes forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, many of whom have now been allowed to return home.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday that efforts to extinguish a major wildfire near Madrid were progressing ‘favourably’ and the coming hours would be ‘decisive’.

‘Today I believe we are closer to that final objective’ of ‘defeating the fire’, Sanchez told reporters in televised comments at a command centre in the town of Navalcarnero near the fire zone.

‘Things are progressing favourably, with the greatest of caution,’ he added.

‘I believe the next 12 hours will be very important – they will be decisive for consolidating the work that has been done’ by firefighters.

A new wildfire broke out on Wednesday near Spain’s border with Portugal, forcing the evacuation of more than 600 people, emergency services said.

A total of 11 areas were evacuated, and residents of two others were ordered to shelter in place, the services said.

Authorities did not say the area burned in the fire in Fermosselle region, but several roads have been closed.

Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) was deployed to the Level 2 fire – a classification that triggers extra support from the central government.

Two other Level 2 fires – at Val de la Loba and San Cipriano del Condado – are active in the same Zamora province, in the Castile and Leon region which has already been hit by the largest fire in Spanish history since record-keeping began.

In France, some 92,000 hectares have burned between January and July – the largest area ever documented in records that date back two decades. 

A helicopter drops water to extinguish a fire in the mountain forest in the Chiemgau Alps, near the village of Unterwossen, Germany

A house and belongings destroyed by a wildfire are photographed as the fire continues to spread in Pelayos de la Presa, Madrid province

Firefighters battle the flames of a wildfire near Pinzio, Portugal, 28 July 2026

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Firefighters kneel on the ground as they discuss how to tackle a wildfire near Saumos, Gironde department, France

The Gironde region reported a second calm night and said the massive fire west of France’s wine-making capital of Bordeaux remained stable despite a spike in temperatures on Wednesday as the fourth heatwave of the summer roasted the area.

‘If the night goes well, we can reasonably be more optimistic for tomorrow and the days to come,’ Sophie Brocas, a senior regional official, said.

In the southeastern region of Var, however, more than 600 people were forced to flee after a fresh fire erupted in the region nestled along France’s Mediterranean coast between the cities of Marseille and Nice.

The new fire erupted less than a day after another blaze in the Var was brought under control.

Another forest fire erupted in the eastern region of Burgundy near the city of Dijon, sweeping across 125 hectares but without causing any casualties or damage to homes, local officials said.

And Turkish firefighters on Wednesday battled wildfires near the country’s southern tourist beaches that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, authorities said.

Hundreds of firefighters went up against the biggest fire in Mugla province, with more than 20 planes and helicopters bombing water on the flames, the agriculture ministry said.

Media reports said the main highway from the tourist city of Antalya to the beach resort of Fethiye had been closed because of the smoke.

NTV television said that access to the ancient ruins at Olympos in Antalya province had been closed.

In Mugla province, the wildfire started on agricultural land and spread to a forest, the provincial governor’s office said. It added that 202 residents and some patients from a hospital had been evacuated.

Another major fire burned in the Balikesir region on the Aegean coast along the road connecting Izmir, the country’s third-largest city, to the Dardanelles region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Wednesday that some 90 fires had broken out on Wednesday in the country, with 81 brought under control.

More than 3,000 firefighters are working to contain the remaining fires, he said.

Turkey has sent two firefighting planes to Spain to help with its wildfires and two others to France, which has also been battling forest fires.

A firefighter walks next to flames during controlled burning operations in Le Porge, Gironde department, amid drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, July 30

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Damage at a burnt house at Pelayos de la Presa in Madrid, Spain, 30 July 2026

Firefighters attempt to extinguish flames in Saumos, Gironde department, France

A firefighter uses a metal drip torch to ignite controlled fires in a forest in Le Porge, north of the Arcachon Basin, on July 30

On Wednesday, nine villages were evacuated on the Greek holiday island of Paros.

Footage shared on social media shows bright orange flames rising above the mountains as dark clouds of smoke engulf the island.

 Local media has reported that residents are fleeing to the beaches on the instructions of emergency services.

According to Greek news outlet ProtoThema, emergency crews have been battling the blaze non-stop since Tuesday afternoon. 

The response team in Paros includes 66 firefighters, specialised forest firefighting units from Athens, five helicopters, and two water-bombing planes. 

One resident who fled to the neighbouring island of Antiparos told Swiss outlet Blick: ‘This is turning into a real catastrophe! The fire spread further south with the wind in just three hours.’

Early on Wednesday, residents in Trypiti, Glyfa, Pyrgaki and Aspro Chorio were ordered to evacuate towards Dryos, after an earlier alert told people in Agkairia to flee to Aliki beach. 

The orders followed Tuesday’s evacuations from Agios Charalambos, Kambi, Bougados, Aneratza and Kamari as the blaze continued to spread.

Deputy Mayor Haris Giourtzidis said authorities did not yet have ‘a clear picture of the extent of the damage’, adding: ‘So far, we know that two barns have burned down.’

He said strong, persistent winds were hampering firefighting efforts and revealed emergency crews had been forced to remove some residents from their homes after they refused to leave their animals behind.

The Mayor leads Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which was formed in 2011 by the ten councils that make up Greater Manchester: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Each council has one seat on the GMCA, usually held by the council leader. The mayor is the eleventh member and the chair of the GMCA.

The role of Greater Manchester mayor has one of the broadest regional remits across the UK, with the person in power also holding the post of police and crime commissioner (PCC) for the area.

This means that the mayor is “the public’s voice on policing matters” and has a statutory duty to hold the Chief Constable and GMP to account for their performance, according to GMCA. Other duties as the PCC include setting the policing budget and agreeing priorities through the Police and Crime Plan.

Other powers held by the mayor include responsibility for the fire and rescue service. The mayor sets the budget and strategic priorities for the service, while the Chief Fire Officer is responsible for operational matters.

They also oversee a wide range of policy areas that affect people’s everyday lives, which includes transport, such as how money is spent on infrastructure like new tram lines or roads, as well as planning and housing.

The Mayor also works with businesses to promote economic growth and oversees budgets devolved from central Government, including a £630 million integrated settlement.

Grandiose, gripping and glorious flick full of wonderful performances.

To call The Odyssey Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece would really be saying something given this is the man behind Inception , Oppenheimer , Interstellar and The Dark Knight .

But I think this epic, old-school filmmaking take on Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his dangerous voyage back to Ithaca just might be the crowning glory in his colossal CV.

This a blockbuster in the truest sense of the word – and should be seen on as big a screen as possible – which encompasses many different genres that all fit given the ancient world of magic, monsters and gods Nolan welcomes us into.

As a horror fan, it was particularly pleasing to see the director hint at how special his move into that genre could be with a standout sequence that sees Cyclops chomp down on soldiers, and the unforgettable image of a dead army chasing our heroes in Hades .

There’s also a scene involving Sirens which does more with what it doesn’t show, amid the pulsating, immersive sound design found throughout the movie, than any amount of special effects could’ve achieved.

The cast is as wonderful as it is fittingly gigantic, with no weak links to be found.

Damon is in career-best form as a fierce soldier whose loyalty is tested and mind and body are taken to several extremes as he longs for a return home.

There are far too many amazing turns to mention but Tom Holland ( Telemachus ) visibly grows into a leader before our eyes, Robert Pattinson’s Antinous is an odious, conniving coward, Anne Hathaway ( Penelope ) commands respect and a desperate will to be reunited with Odysseus , and John Leguizamo’s loyal Eumaeus is enchantingly endearing.

And Samantha Morton chills like never before as Circe , using wacky and weird witchcraft-like torture on unsuspecting soldiers.

Everything about The Odyssey , from the writing and action to the personal relationships, is grandiose, gripping and glorious, right up until the crowd-pleasing climax.

This is god-tier filmmaking.

● What are your favourite Christopher Nolan films?

Pop me an email at ian.bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments – and any movie or TV show recommendations you have – to your fellow readers.

●The Odyssey is showing in cinemas now.

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