The budget airline has announced a shake-up affecting new bookings from today, with some families now having to wait until check-in to find out where they will be sitting.

While Ryanair says children will still be seated beside a parent or accompanying adult free of charge, families who do not pay to reserve seats are likely to be allocated places towards the rear of the aircraft.

The move comes after scrutiny of airline seating policies and criticism from consumer group Which?.

What is changing for Ryanair seating policy?

Under the revised policy, families who choose not to pay for seat reservations will receive their seat allocations after checking in.

Previously, Ryanair’s family seating policy provided greater certainty earlier in the booking process.

Parents who want to choose where they sit, including securing seats near the front of the aircraft, can still pay a reservation fee.

Ryanair says children will continue to sit next to an accompanying adult free of charge.

Why has Ryanair changed the rules?

The airline says the move aligns its family seating policy with industry standards used by many European carriers.

However, consumer group Which? claims the changes only came after pressure from regulators.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “It was never fair to charge parents to sit next to children as young as three.”

Families may end up at the back of the plane

Ryanair has warned that passengers using the free seating allocation are more likely to be placed in rows towards the rear of the aircraft.

That’s because seats at the front are often reserved by passengers willing to pay extra.

Families wanting specific seats or premium locations will still need to purchase seat reservations.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary criticised regulators and suggested the airline was being forced to abandon what he described as a more consumer-friendly system.

He argued that Ryanair’s family seating policy had been popular with customers and gave families greater certainty than some rival airlines.

But he confirmed the airline would make the changes rather than continue its dispute with regulators.

Recommended reading:

What does it mean for holidaymakers?

For most parents, children should still be seated next to them at no additional cost.

However, families who do not pay to choose seats may now have to wait until check-in to find out exactly where they will be sitting.

The changes apply to bookings made from today, June 25, onwards and come just as millions of Britons prepare for summer holidays.

Consumer groups say they will be closely watching how the policy works in practice to ensure families are not separated or pressured into paying extra charges.

The UK is bracing for further hot weather on Friday, following a week of record-breaking temperatures across all parts of the country.

Highs of 36.7C (98F) were provisionally recorded in Merryfield, Somerset on Thursday, while it was also the hottest day of the year so far in Wales (35.9C), Scotland (31.2C) and Northern Ireland (30.8C).

A red weather warning for extreme heat will be in force on Friday, covering areas including London, Oxford, Sussex and Kent.

Bare-knuckle boxer Callum Kerr was handcuffed by police on board the Jet2 flight, but died a short time after.

An airline has released a statement after a boxer died after he was restrained by passengers on board a chaotic flight.

Father-of-three Callum Kerr and his girlfriend had boarded the Jet2 flight from Larnaca in Cyprus to Manchester, England on June 21.

Witnesses told how he became ‘disruptive’ during the flight after reportedly drinking alcohol beforehand.

Police said officers were called to Manchester Airport at 2.25am on Monday, June 22, after reports of a man ‘behaving aggressively towards passengers and crew’.

It was reported he had been restrained by others passengers before police boarded the aircraft.

Police boarded the flight to find Mr Kerr ‘being restrained by passengers and aircrew at the rear of the plane’, reports the M.E.N..

Advertisement

The force said officers used handcuffs to detain him, but ‘quickly identified he was unresponsive, through the provision of first aid’.

CPR was commenced and he was taken to hospital, where he died on Tuesday afternoon (June 23).

Mr Kerr, from Warrington, was 35 and a father-of-three.

In an update issued on Thursday, Greater Manchester Police said it had made a mandatory referral to police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

In a statement, the force said two reports of an assault – on a passenger and a member of cabin crew – were made.

Jet2 has now issued a new statement following the incident.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware that a customer has sadly passed away, having been taken to hospital earlier this week.

“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the customer’s friends and family. As investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”

READ MORE: Inside hellhole Spanish prison where crime boss Steven Lyons will await fate

READ MORE: Two charged after suspected ‘crossbow’ attack in Edinburgh

Mr Kerr has now been formally identified. In a statement issued through police, his family said: “Callum was a family man, father to three beautiful young children, a lover of sport and with a heart of gold.”

GMP said the IOPC was ‘investigating the actions of our officers’, while detectives from its Major Incident Team were investigating the circumstances on the flight.

Mr Kerr was not under arrest. No arrests have been made.

The police watchdog said its investigation would ‘look at the actions and decision-making of the officers involved to understand the events surrounding the man’s death’.

If approved, the development would create over 200 jobs

A Cambridgeshire village could get 80 new homes if plans go ahead, but locals have raised concerns. Martin Grant Land Limited proposes to build up to 80 homes on land at Pendrick Close in Coton, approximately two miles west of Cambridge.

The plans, submitted by Stantec, on behalf of Martin Grant Land Limited, also propose a new public open space as well as a play area. They want to build the homes to help “meet the needs of the residents which would also be of benefit to existing local residents”.

If approved, the development would create over 200 jobs, including apprenticeship opportunities. Local businesses are also expected to benefit from the development.

The application said: “Future residents would also contribute towards local spending to the benefit of business in Cambridge. The site would therefore contribute to expansion of the local economy.”

The proposals have been slammed by locals who said it would add “unsustainable pressure” to services. A number of objections have been lodged so far.

One local said the proposals would be an “absolute nightmare” for property owners and tenants in the area. They added: “Not only will we have to suffer the noise and dust that is inevitable but as a result of the building plans we will be denied the peace and tranquillity and also benefits for future generations.”

Other concerns were raised about the “strains” on the infrastructure of the village, “much of which is designed for a community smaller than the current one”, an objector stated.

The local added: “With the addition of yet more houses, this will be under greater strain.”

Meanwhile, another stated that the local primary school is “already operating close to full capacity” and an additional 80 homes would place “unsustainable pressure on the school and exceed its ability to accommodate further pupils”, the local said.

The objection added: “The GP surgeries serving Comberton and Eversden are already operating at or near capacity. This development would place further strain on essential healthcare services that are currently unable to meet existing demand.”

A resident described Coton as a “dead end village” with “narrow roads of which the narrowest is the roadway leading to the plot for which planning has been asked to build up to 80 houses”.

The ‘Reclaim Our Streets’ rally in Edinburgh is being held in response to alleged knife attacks, which the Prime Minister said appeared to have been motivated by “anti-Muslim hatred”.

Comedian Franklie Boyle and former First Minister Humza Yousaf are among the well-known faces backing a ‘Reclaim Our Streets’ rally following a series of alleged attacks in Edinburgh

A 36-year-old man appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday charged with five counts of attempted murder ‘aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection’.

Two men were injured in Sighthill area of the city, at about 8.50pm on Friday.

Police said three other men were then allegedly attacked in the Telford Road and Leith Walk areas of the capital.

Counter-terrorism officers were brought in to investigate what happened, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying that the incidents appeared to be motivated by “anti-Muslim hatred”.

A ‘Reclaim Our Streets’ rally is being held on Saturday afternoon at Montgomery Street Park and a number of famous faces have signed up to take part.

The event organised by Stand up to Racism Edinburgh, aims to show solidarity with minority communities.

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

A rare double earthquake ravaged Venezuela on Wednesday, killing at least 188 people and leaving more than 200 trapped. Many more are feared dead.

Thousands of people have been reported missing and about 1,500 people have been injured. Some of the heaviest damage and casualties were in La Guaira, a coastal region north of the capital, Caracas.

Here’s what to know about the earthquakes and the search for survivors:

Two earthquakes in less than one minute

The powerful 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck 39 seconds apart along the San Sebastian fault on Venezuela’s northern coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

They were among the strongest in the South American nation in more than a century.

The first earthquake, a 7.2-magnitude foreshock, hit west of Morón on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas, with a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles).

The second, a 7.5-magnitude mainshock, was centered 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles).

The back-to-back earthquakes — known as a doublet because of their similarities in magnitude, time and proximity — resulted from shallow strike-slip faulting near the complex plate boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Many people are dead, injured or missing

The death toll in Venezuela is likely to climb as rescue crews comb through buildings toppled by the earthquake.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said authorities have deployed rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, where dozens of buildings have collapsed.

The city, about 165 kilometers (103 miles) east of the 7.5-magnitude quake’s epicenter, is a “disaster zone,” she said.

Civilians and authorities pulled survivors out of concrete rubble, some of them covered in dust and blood. Families sobbed in front of destroyed homes.

Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for.

Significant damage in Caracas and beyond

The earthquake destroyed buildings in Caracas and led to evacuation as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) away.

In downtown Caracas, hundreds of people spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

Parts of the city lost power and cellphone service. Venezuela’s main airport in Caracas was damaged and closed, subway service was suspended and natural gas was shut off.

Classes will also be canceled for several days as schools are used as shelters and donation centers.

Rodríguez said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes.

Another challenge for Venezuela’s leader

The earthquakes are yet another crisis for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the U.S. captured former President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are jailed in New York City while awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges.

Rodríguez inherited a country that has been in economic turmoil for more than a decade.

Many Venezuelans reject the legitimacy of her political movement, while some loyalists have criticized her leadership and warming relationship with the U.S.

Venezuelans in the U.S. are rushing to organize donation drives. More than 770,000 Venezuelans live in the U.S., with large communities in Florida, Texas and Utah.

___

Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Science tells us that plastic lives forever. From oceans to urban streets, plastic pollution has become a defining geological marker of our time – entangled with nature, yet often hard to see.

While we often measure plastic pollution in tonnage of microplastics, those numbers can feel abstract. The reality is more immediate: plastic is everywhere – in our homes, on our streets, in our bodies and from soil to sea spray. Waste is designed to disappear, but the truth is that it doesn’t.

For the past 15 years, I have used art to connect the public to this issue through reuse workshops and interactive art installations made from single-use plastics. In these exhibitions, visitors don’t just look at plastic waste; they experience it as a vibrant material that is capable of sparking new environmental conversations and creative approaches to reuse.

This work comes out of my studio, KraalDesignedisposal, which I set up in 2010. KraalD began as a playful experiment: exploring the circularity of plastic waste, turning discarded objects into art and inviting audiences to rethink what we throw away.

One piece, the Xmass workshop sign, captures the feeling I get every December when recycling bins overflow and streets glitter with festive decorations. It’s whimsical, but it also carries a deeper message – my unease about excess wrapped in celebration.

A walk along the Kent coast after a storm inspired one of my early works. The shoreline was covered in seaweed, shells, jellyfish – and plastic. I picked up a sun-bleached blue toy and realised how quickly a small piece of rubbish becomes part of the ocean food chain.

Weathered and worn by the waves, plastic fragments break down into microplastics that marine animals ingest. That simple encounter on Whitstable beach and Medway river became the spark for Plastic Waste Ecologies, an exhibition I co-curated with artist Carina Brand.

Visitors to the Plastic Waste Ecologies exhibition encountered plastic clouds suspended from the ceiling. Standing beneath them, people instinctively looked up – checking the sky, noticing tiny details. I hope this inspired them to think about how plastic circulates through the air.

Sea PET mobiles – hanging sculptures made from repurposed plastic – imagine a 150-year future where ocean acidification changes marine life, jellyfish thrive, and the flow of natural cycles, or planetary metabolism, becomes visible. These installations are built from pieces collected over a decade, demonstrating that art can make environmental processes tangible and immediate.

Through workshops and co-designed installations, participants become part of the work. They helped shape another work, Beach Wrack, and contributed elements to the mobiles, taking part in a process that merges creativity, care and environmental reflection.

Conversations were had about waste and conservation while making – this highlighted the ubiquitous presence of plastic and the small gestures through which people can engage with waste differently.

The artworks that result are more than just aesthetic; they are conversation starters and prompts for reflection, showing that the challenge of mismanaged plastic waste is both systemic and personal.

I believe installation art can be a vital tool in environmental dialogue – one that transforms curiosity into awareness, and awareness into action.

The climate crisis has a communications problem. How do we tell stories that move people – not just to fear the future, but to imagine and build a better one? This article is part of Climate Storytelling, a series exploring how arts and science can join forces to spark understanding, hope and action.

Princess Andre has been praised for her latest photos as her followers are left stunned by how much she looks like her mum, Katie Price

Princess Andre’s latest uploads have stunned her fans who cannot unsee the uncanny resemblance to former glamour model Katie Price. The 18-year-old is often compare to her mum, and her new Instagram images have caused quite the stir.

Princess posed in a pale pink outfit as she sat at a dinner table, showing off her mane of curly locks. Her followers were quick to praise her appearance.

One user wrote: “Look like a young Kate on here stunning x,” with others firmly agreeing. Another user wrote: “Absolutely your mom’s double when she was younger.”

A social media user said: “OMG like looking at young @katieprice,” paired with three love hearts.

Advertisement

While Princess continues to forge her impressive career on her own, her mum is set to get answers from her man, Lee Andrews. The self-professed millionaire recently made a bizarre claim that he had adopted Katie’s kids, even though he has yet to meet them.

He had told one fan in a personalised Cameo clip that they had taken the huge step, and that he and Katie have plans to start their own family as they try for a baby. He said: “I haven’t got children, but we’re trying. I’ve adopted five of them. I love my wife and I love her children.”

But that was quickly shot down by Princess’ dad, Peter Andre. In a blistering response, Peter’s team released a statement to say that nothing could be further from the truth.

They denied Lee’s recent remarks and described them as “categorically untrue”. They labelled them “yet another lie” from the self-proclaimed millionaire, who was recently released from prison.

Clearing things up even further where Princess and Junior were concerned, the singer’s spokesperson added to Metro: “They haven’t even met him!”

Peter then took to Instagram and appeared to address the matter in his own words. He said: “When you get told you responded to something that you didn’t respond to and only found out that you allegedly responded by reading out it is quite something. Ah well, at least it’s summer.”

Advertisement

Closer previously reported that Katie was “genuinely shaken” by Lee’s claims about her kids. A source said: “Katie has been left genuinely shaken after realising some of the things Lee has been saying don’t quite add up, especially around the claims about meeting the kids.

“It’s made her stop and reassess everything, and for the first time she’s starting to see through what she now feels has been a lot of smoke and mirrors. There’s a sense of relief from those around Katie that certain inconsistencies are coming to light, in the hope it acts as a bit of a wake-up call.

“At the same time, it’s knocked her confidence massively, because she’s now questioning who and what she can actually believe. Katie is feeling very vulnerable and doesn’t know who to trust, which has led her to pull back from almost everyone.”

Lee is set to be grilled by Katie in front of the camera as she looks to find out the truth about his recent disappearance.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

“The scale and pace of implementation of the final strategy will depend on the level of resources available”

Implementation of proposed childcare reform plans will depend on the level of resources available and the capacity of the sector to deliver, says Education Minister Paul Givan.

On Thursday, the Minister published the results of the Early Learning and Childcare Strategy consultation, showing “strong public support” for ambitious plans to cut childcare costs and expand access to pre-school education.

The draft strategy sets out the Minister’s ambitions to make childcare more affordable for working parents, ensuring more children can access full-time pre-school education.

It aims to support early years programmes targeting children facing disadvantage, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It also commits to strengthening the early years workforce.

Education Minister Paul Givan said: “This consultation sends a clear and positive message as there is strong support for transforming early learning and childcare in Northern Ireland.

“Parents, providers and stakeholders want a system that is more affordable, more accessible and delivers high-quality outcomes for children.

“This strategy represents a significant opportunity to reshape how we support children and families, including reducing childcare costs, expanding access to pre-school education and strengthening the early years workforce. It is about making a real difference to parents, helping them to work and balance family life, while ensuring every child has the best possible start.”

The Department received 469 responses through an online survey and written submissions.

A series of public events, both online and in person, supported engagement across the sector. Agreement rates for the strategy’s objectives were high, ranging from 77% to 86%.

According to the Department, the consultation responses indicated strong support for the standardisation of the pre-school education programme, the proposed increase to the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme, and the focus on children facing disadvantage, including those with SEND.

Support for workforce measures was also strong, with respondents highlighting that a skilled, valued and well-supported workforce is essential to high-quality provision.

While the overall response was positive, respondents also called for faster progress and detail on implementation.

Paul Givan added: “I acknowledge some of the feedback in the consultation called for faster progress and a detailed implementation plan.

“However, the scale and pace of implementation of the final strategy will depend on the level of resources available and the capacity of the sector to deliver.

“I will continue to press for the continued support and transformation of early learning and childcare across Northern Ireland.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here