Iran has taunted the US with chilling billboards that have fueled conspiracy theories about Senator Lindsey Graham‘s death and hinted at a possible assassination plot against President Donald Trump. 

A red billboard popped up in Valiasr Square in Tehran this week with an eerie message reading: ‘Who is D nexT one? #lindseygraham.’ 

It appeared to hint that Trump, 80, is Tehran’s next target as it capitalized his initials in the billboard’s question. 

Another billboard featuring the US president lying in a coffin was also seen. It reportedly reads in Persian: ‘We will kill Trump.’  

These aren’t the first billboards to be seen in the country, as earlier this week a different display showed Trump and his family behind US flag-draped coffins in Palestine Square in Iran, which appeared after American missiles struck Iranian bridges, railways, and water facilities.  

The newest billboards have also fueled conspiracy theories that the Middle Eastern country may have been involved in Graham’s mysterious death at the age of 71 last weekend, as the politician was in Ukraine just days before, leading people to speculate Tehran may have orchestrated it. 

There has been no confirmation or evidence suggesting Iran killed Graham.  

Prior to his death, the South Carolina senator had visited Kyiv and spoke with Trump the night before. 

A red billboard in Valiasr Square in Tehran read: ‘Who is D nexT one? #lindseygraham.’ It highlights Trump’s initials

A different billboard showed Trump in a coffin. It Persian, the billboard reportedly reads: ‘We will kill Trump’ 

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An unidentified person who spoke with Graham in the moments after told Axios he complained that he was feeling unwell.

When the individual urged Graham to seek medical attention immediately, the senator said he would do so on Sunday morning after his scheduled appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.

He then joked: ‘I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russian sanctions, get Iran sorted out, and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,’ according to the outlet.

But just a few hours after making the quip on July 11, the senator was seen lying on a gurney as first responders attempted life-saving measures in pictures obtained by TMZ.

He appeared to be intubated as EMTs pushed the gurney into a nearby ambulance that was headed for George Washington University Hospital.

Authorities first received a 911 call about a ‘cardiac arrest’ at Graham’s home at around 8.30pm that night, according to multiple reports. Hordes of first responders were then seen descending on the street outside Graham’s house.

Just about 25 minutes after the call, first responders had started CPR as the senator suffered from cardiac arrest, according to police scanner audio obtained by The Washington Post.

Then, early on July 12, Graham’s office announced he had ‘passed away from a brief and sudden illness.’

The new billboards has fueled conspiracy theories that Iran was involved with Graham’s death as he was calling for sanctions against the country and was in Ukraine days before passing 

On Sunday, Trump called for Iran to added to the Russian Sanctions Bill in Graham’s honor 

His cause of death has since been revealed to be ‘aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.’

The Mayo Clinic defines an aortic dissection as a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s main artery. It can be fatal if blood rushes through the tear. In Graham’s case, plaque buildup on his heart weakened the aortic walls, causing a tear. 

After the shocking new advertisements and Graham’s death, Trump took to Truth Social early Sunday morning to call for additional measures to be taken against Iran in the senator’s name. 

‘Republicans should add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill. That’s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen. IMPORTANT!!!’ he wrote. 

It is unclear who is behind the Iranian billboards. The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment. 

Iranian officials are also now urging people to stay away from US military bases in the Middle East. 

‘In response to US acts of aggression and threats from terrorist groups, Iran has launched missile strikes targeting Sulaymaniyah (Iraq) and Bahrain,’ the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said on X. 

‘People should stay away from US bases.’ 

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Iran’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said he would seek vengeance against the US and said America would face ‘unforgettable lessons’ 

Iran’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, also took to X to call out Trump, writing: ‘Now that the American enemy seeks to ignite war and endure heavier costs, it should know that the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons in store for it.’ 

Khamenei also called Trump the ‘Great Satan.’ 

‘Today, the Great Satan has once again revealed its true, unmasked face, so that this dark episode of criminality and broken promises serves as yet another indisputable testament to the US’s dishonesty, irrationality, unreliability, and malicious nature,’ the leader wrote on X. 

‘Coercion, totalitarianism, and brutality are inseparable components of the US creed and doctrine.

‘The repeated breaches of the agreement by the Great Satan [the US] regarding the MOU signed by the Presidents of Iran and the US have once again laid bare a fundamental truth: the signature of the US President is utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.’ 

Speaking to Iranians, Khamenei said the government would seek to avenge citizens and that ‘vengeance is what our nation is demanding, and this must definitely be done.’  

On football pitches across the UK, thousands of people in their 50s, 60s and 70s are proving that the beautiful game does not have to end with age. Walking football is a variation of running football (or soccer) mostly targeted at older people.

But what’s it like to play football later in life? According to the walking footballers I interviewed for my latest research, the sport has become a way for them to push back against common ideas of ageing as a period defined by illness, decline and dependence.

Created in 2011, walking football provides an opportunity for people to be physically and socially active as they get older. It is estimated that around 100,000 people in England alone played walking football last year.

While there is some research on the physiological and psychological benefits of walking football, data has been limited in scale and substance.

For my study, I interviewed 53 men and 12 women who played walking football. I wanted to find out what participation in walking football meant to them. I asked them about why they initially became involved in walking football, what its major benefits and drawbacks are and how it feels to play the game.

Body positivity

Players spoke positively about their bodies in three main ways. First, they highlighted the physical benefits of playing. For some, walking football was a way to stay fit. For others, it helped them lose weight or maintain their health.

As Theodore, 68, told me, the game gives him a chance to “get out and participate, mix, and get your body in a state whereby you’re a lot physically and psychologically healthier”. Good health and physical fitness were often a source of pride. But players were also keen to challenge the idea that walking football is easy. Many described it as physically demanding and highly competitive. Larry, 67, called it “hard” and “skilful”. Patrick, 51, said it was “a lot more intense than I actually thought it was going to be”.

Second, players spoke about the simple pleasure of playing football again. For many, especially those who had played the traditional game when they were younger, there was joy in rediscovering skills they thought they had lost.

Finn, 65, described the experience this way: “You think you’re never going to kick a ball again or do anything. And all of a sudden, all that twisting and turning, it’s still there. I hit some goals in last night. It was like going back to when I was twenty”.

Stories like this suggest that walking football is about more than exercise. It can reconnect people with an important part of their identity and remind them of what their bodies are still capable of doing.

Third, players acknowledged that aches, pains and injuries are part of the game. But many did not see this as a reason to stop playing. Some even wore their discomfort as a “badge of honour”, as Jasper, 70, put it.

This runs against common assumptions that older people will avoid activities that carry a risk of pain or injury. Many participants described experiencing everything from sore muscles to broken bones, yet still felt the benefits outweighed the costs. As Vincent, 65, told me: “The pain is worth the pleasure”.

At the same time, players stressed the importance of looking after one another. They described matches being stopped when someone was injured and adaptations being made so that people with dementia or limited mobility could take part.

These examples reveal something important. Walking football is not simply about competition or fitness. It is also about care, inclusion and recognising the vulnerabilities that can come with growing older.

Taken together, these experiences suggest that sport provides a way for older people to talk positively about their bodies. Older people are recognised and celebrated because of their strength, skill and vitality.

À lire aussi :
The Untold Stories of Women Football Fans: celebrating memories, calling out prejudice

Of course, not everyone experiences ageing in the same way. Some people face physical barriers that make exercise difficult or impossible. Others may not see ageing as a positive experience.

As the sociologist Kass Gibson has argued, celebrating exercise without recognising wider social factors can be misleading. Health is shaped by much more than individual activity levels. Poverty, inequality and access to support all matter. As Gibson puts it, “you cannot jog your way out of poverty, nor press-up depression away”.

Those caveats are important. But for the people in my study, walking football was about far more than keeping fit. It offered a way to tell a different story about ageing – one centred on enjoyment, connection and possibility. Their experiences deserve to be taken seriously.

The man needed hospital treatment for his injuries

A delivery driver in Newtownards was attacked by a group of males who cut his face with a knife before robbing him.

Police are investigating the incident which took place at around 1am on Sunday, July 19, in the Landsdowne Road area of the town. It is alleged that a delivery driver stopped his car on the road before three males attacked him.

He later required hospital treatment for the cut to his face.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police in Newtownards are investigating the report of a robbery in the Landsdowne Road area of the town in the early hours of Sunday 19 ^th July.

“It was reported that at around 1am a male delivery driver stopped his car in Landsdowne Road and was attacked by three males who cut the man’s face with a knife and stole a sum of money from his car before making off on foot. The man required hospital treatment for the cut to his face.

“Officers would ask anyone who witnessed this incident, or who may have captured dash-cam or CCTV footage from the area which could help with their investigation, to call them at Newtownards on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 119 18/07/26. A report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

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The plans, submitted to Bolton Council, propose replacing the conservatory on Chorley New Road in Lostock with a part single-storey and part two-storey side extension.

The works include extending the existing garage, making roof alterations, and creating first-floor storage space above the garage.

Two new roof lights are also proposed as part of the development.

According to the planning application, all external materials would be chosen to match the existing house, including brickwork, roof tiles and white uPVC window and door frames.

The proposals would not impact parking arrangements, nor would they require access changes from the public highway.

No trees or hedges would need to be removed or pruned to carry out the proposed works.

The extension would not be subject to the 10 per cent biodiversity net gain requirement under current planning rules, as it qualifies as a householder application.

Bolton Council has consulted neighbours at nearby properties on Chorley New Road and Lostock Park Drive, with public comments invited until early August.

No objections or public comments have been recorded on the application so far.

A decision from the council is expected in the coming weeks.

This article contains spoilers for the first two books in the Harlem Trilogy

Cool Machine is the last book in Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy. Across three decades, the series has followed the furniture dealer and family man Ray Carney as he navigates the changing cultural and political landscapes of New York City.

We meet Carney in Harlem Shuffle, which is set in the late 50s and early 60s. At this point, Carney is trying to stay straight in a world that turned many of his family members into criminals. However, try as he might, he can’t avoid getting dragged into the criminal underworld. In Crook Manifesto, set in the 70s, Carney is embroiled in crime as a secret fence (someone who sells on stolen goods) and living a double life.

Cool Machine picks up the story in the 1980s, when Carney is winding down his side criminal side hustle. Like Carney, New York is a city in transition. Fuelled by President Ronald Reagan’s neoliberal economy, the city is “spectacularly alive” to the sound of “jackhammering and rasp of steel beams across concrete” as new skyscrapers transform the cityscape.

In counterpoint to the promise of prosperity heralded by Reagan’s tax cuts – manifest in the advent of yuppies and gentrification – the “primitive language” of graffiti on the subway walls points to an alternative grammar of crime and poverty, mirroring Carney’s dual roles as an award-winning furniture dealer and experienced criminal. “He’d always blamed other people for dragging him into their messes,” Whitehead explains, “but all bullshit aside he chose the chaos himself. Deep down he loved the chaos as much as the next crooked soul.”

As with Harlem Shuffle and Crook Manifesto, Cool Machine unfolds across three interlocking stories spanning different years. The first instalment takes place in 1981, shortly after Carney has been awarded Sterling Furniture’s Dealer of the Month, the first African American to do so.

When his wife, Elizabeth, is refused a loan to expand her travel business company, Carney embarks on a final heist with the legendary gangster Uncle Rich, staging a daring raid at the Waldorf Astoria. The caper involves stealing a gold medal that belonged to the famed African American Olympian Jesse Owens. “You can be the fastest man in the world,” Uncle Rich points out, “but you can’t outrun the white man.”

Part two, the most engaging section of the novel, shifts to 1983. It follows Carney’s friend, Pepper, an ageing thief with an agitated gut, who is working as a bodyguard for a nervous art dealer in possession of an invaluable African mask. Pepper is 64 but does not look his age: the “gray hair and wrinkles had made only tentative inroads, as if further trespass might piss him off”.

When the mask goes missing, Pepper attempts to track it down, crossing paths with “The Melancholy Hitman”, hired by a wealthy Dutch collector to retrieve the artefact. Here and elsewhere, Whitehead draws attention to the plundering of African works of art that circulate in western auction houses. “Those white people had pulled the biggest heist of all time,” he writes, “and there was always going to be another mask or statue or what-have-you to save.”

The novel concludes with a story set in 1986, focusing on Carney’s attempts to save his deceased cousin’s son, Robert, who is being framed for the murder of a corrupt lawyer. Teaming up with Pepper (now on a strict macrobiotic diet), Carney draws on his criminal underworld connections, including hordes of homeless people living in tunnels beneath the city, to save Robert.

While the theme of a con seeking to relinquish criminal life is well established, Whitehead’s hard-boiled language, satire and humour drive the novel forward. In one scene, an African American character observes how Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) was released during the civil rights movement. He notes: “You’d have to be a dunce not to take [the birds’] anxious squawking as desegregation fears, for upset over black nationalism.”

In novels such as the Pulitzer prize-winning The Underground Railroad (2016), Whitehead established himself as a master of historical fiction. In Cool Machine, which is indebted to Chester Himes’s Harlem Detective series – including A Rage in Harlem (1957) – Whitehead extends the genre in a language that is marked by economy, witty dialogue and sharp observations of Black/white relations in 1980s New York City. “Up in the lobby, they had both kinds of white people,” Whitehead describes the guests at the Waldorf Astoria, “the ones who flinch when they see you and the ones who look right through you.”

While the plot and pace are uneven across the three parts of Cool Machine, Whitehead’s evident enjoyment of the form carries this fitting conclusion to his trilogy, which is a superlative contemporary New York novel.

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The Crown Prosecution Service has requested the extradition of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan after the siblings were arrested in the United States. 

The Tates were taken into custody by US Marshals outside of the James L Knight Center in Miami on Saturday afternoon, just moments before Andrew was due to host a bareknuckle boxing event.

Controversial influencer Andrew, 39, is being charged with seven further counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

His 38-year-old brother Tristan’s charges include one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the 38 additional charges, in addition to 21 existing charges, relate to alleged offences between July 2010 and August 2017. 

Andrew faces a total of 42 charges, and Tristan faces 17. The brothers have strongly denied any wrongdoing. 

The Tates’ lawyer Joseph McBride said the decision to seek the brothers’ extradition to the UK was done by Sir Keir Starmer as one of his last acts before he resigns as Prime Minister on Monday.

Mr McBride said Donald Trump would support the brothers as the US President ‘hates political persecution and communism’. 

The Tate brothers, pictured in Romania in January 2025, were taken into custody by US Marshals outside of the James L Knight Center in Miami on Saturday afternoon

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the special crime division at the CPS, said: ‘We have decided to prosecute Andrew and Tristan Tate for further offences, including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and offences relating to indecent images of a child.

‘These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven.

‘The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and that these defendants have the right to a fair trial.

‘It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

‘The CPS has requested the extradition of the Tates from the US. They have been arrested and await extradition proceedings to the UK.’

Bedfordshire Police said the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit had been continuing to investigate a number of other offences reported to both them and Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Bedfordshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Karena Thomas said: ‘Officers from our Major Crime Unit have been working closely alongside the Crown Prosecution Service and both national and international law enforcement agencies as part of this complex investigation.

‘We understand the interest that this case will generate, but we would urge the public not to speculate and to allow the legal process to be carried out correctly.

‘There is no place for male violence against women and girls, and we will continue to work tirelessly to support victims and investigate all reports made to us.’

Mr McBride described the new charges as ‘filth and slander’ designed to counter defamation charges filed by the Tates in the US.

He told the Associated Press: ‘They’re pulling out all the stops to make sure these guys never get their day in court.

‘We are confident that, once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work.’

The brothers are facing legal proceedings in Romania, where they currently live, and were facing extradition to the UK upon their completion after Bedfordshire Police secured European arrest warrants for the pair in 2024.

The brothers have ‘unequivocally’ denied wrongdoing, with Andrew describing himself and his brother as ‘very innocent men’.

Andrew Tate speaks to the media in Romania in August 2023. The Tates have previously ‘unequivocally’ denied wrongdoing

In June, their bid to bring a legal challenge against the CPS, after it did not disclose the names of their alleged victims in UK criminal proceedings, was thrown out by a High Court judge.

Lawyer Matt Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners who represent four alleged British victims, said: ‘Andrew Tate is now facing the real prospect of extradition to the UK after years of public campaigning by the four British women I represent.

‘They have spent years fighting for action to be taken, and I now urge the authorities to ensure this case proceeds as quickly as possible.

‘Andrew and Tristan Tate are accused of some of the most serious offences, including multiple counts of rape and human trafficking. It is time they face justice.’

The new ad features Alan Carr, Peter Capaldi, Sara Cox, Graham Norton and Vernon Kay

Claudia Winkleman has featured in a new BBC campaign just days after announcing that she has quit her talk show.

It’s been a frantic period for Claudia, who presents The Traitors and spin-off The Celebrity Traitors for the BBC, with her stepping down from presenting Strictly Come Dancing after 15 years last December, alongside co-host Tess Daly. The duo were seen bowing out of their roles back in December.

Earlier in the year, viewers saw her interview celebrity guests in front of a studio audience for the first time on The Claudia Winkleman Show. The Friday night show featured the likes of Jennifer Saunders, Dan Levy and Jeff Goldblum as guests.

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Of the chat show’s future, Claudia said last week: “I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for giving me the opportunity, to the guests who agreed to come and chat to me, and the production team who were simply excellent.

“Sometimes you have to try something to see how it fits, and I realised I was just too nervous to enjoy it. Maybe one day I will give it another try, but for now I already have the best jobs in the world and absolutely love the shows I’m doing.”

On Sunday (July 19), Claudia was one of early 100 stars taking part in a new campaign to promote the BBC. Fronted by comedian Romesh Ranganathan, the three-minute film brings together 90 household names from across the BBC.

The ad celebrates the BBC’s ‘extraordinary cultural footprint to answer one simple question: What has the BBC ever done for me?’. Romesh is seen traveling through a string of the best-known BBC programmes, sets and studios, encountering familiar faces that each help him answer the question in their own way.

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Kicking off in EastEnders’ famous Queen Vic pub, Romesh reads the front page of a paper that asks ‘Is the BBC really worth it?’. He then tells barmaid Tracey, played by Jane Slaughter: “It’s a good question. You have got to ask – what has the BBC ever done for me?”

A man playing the piano with his back turned to the camera is then revealed to be Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, before a string of stars are rolled out, including Claudia. She is seen standing beside two of the Traitors’ hooded figures as she pulls a pint of ‘Traitors Ale’.

Stepping out into the street, Romesh tells viewers that the BBC has responsible for ‘introducing the nation to Adele’, verifies news ‘thoroughly’, and also offers Mary Berry, Glastonbury and ‘celebs on the telly’.

The campaign then highlights how the BBC delivers coverage of Wimbledon, ‘a love of nature’ through shows including Springwatch, and even avoids having advertisements. Walking through the set of Call The Midwife, Romesh says the BBC ‘does a lot for British storytelling’.

Pushing back against critics of the national broadcaster, he declares ‘stuff your Apprentice and Match Of The Day’ before Louis Theroux appears in a studio with his hand hovering over a switch and warning that ‘none of this exists if we don’t want it to’.

Handed a folder, Romesh then reads out statistics that state that the money the public pays to the BBC creates more than six and half billion pounds for the economy, which he adds sounds ‘pretty good’.

The ad concludes with him being pushed onto a stage which turns out to be the Strictly dancefloor, he asks viewers one final time, ‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’, before judge Anton Du Beke appears and holds up a score paddle showing a 10 but is told to ‘bog off’.

Wrapping up the ad, text on screen reads: “There’s a BBC for each of us. Funded by all of us.”

The campaign film also features Alan Carr, Peter Capaldi, Sara Cox, Graham Norton, Vernon Kay, Greg James and Ruth Jones. On top of this Cate Blanchett, Daisy Ridley, Chris McCausland, Clive Myrie and Stacey Solomon, as well as Pudsey Bear and a number of Daleks also appear.

Inspired by the 1986 BBC campaign featuring John Cleese, the new film reimagines the question for a generation 40 years later. It was directed by Paddington In Peru’s Dougal Wilson and features music from Ben Foster, Ben Bailey Smith and Andy Burrows, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers.

In a blog to accompany the campaign, the BBC chief customer officer Kerris Bright wrote that the aim of the campaign was to ‘ensure the BBC gets credit for the fundamental impact it has on society, as well as the things it makes’.

She added the campaign came at an ‘important moment’ahead of the Government beginning the process of renewing the BBC’s Royal Charter and how the organisation should be funded.