Justin Evans, 24, from New Zealand, was reported missing over the weekend and has not been seen since late on Saturday night.

Coastal searches are being carried out across Orkney for a missing monk feared dead by his local diocese. Justin Evans was reported missing from the private island of Papa Stronsay on Sunday, April 12.

The 24-year-old from New Zealand was last seen within Golgotha Monastery shortly before midnight the previous night. Police have been carrying out searches on Papa Stronsay and the nearby island of Stronsay in an attempt to find him.

Hugh Gilbert, Bishop of Aberdeen, previously said he had learned with “deep sadness” that Justin, also known as Brother Ignatius, was “presumed dead”. He also suggested both police and the coastguard had “called off” searches for him.

However, Police Scotland has now confirmed searches will continue and will focus on costal areas of other nearby islands. The force added there was “nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances or criminality”.

Inspector David Hall said: “Our thoughts are very much with Justin’s family at what is a very difficult time. Extensive and detailed searches using local police resources and partner agencies have been carried out on the islands of Papa Stronsay and Stronsay, including along the shorelines.

“Coastal areas on other nearby islands will continue to be searched by local and specialist police resources and partners. Any further relevant information reported to police about Justin and the circumstances leading up to him going missing will be acted upon.

“At this time there is nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances or criminality.” Reports from New Zealand say Justin was from Christchurch and he had lived at the Golgotha Monastery for around two years.

Papa Stronsay, one of the smallest islands in Orkney, is a private island owned by the Catholic order Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer and is only accessed by a boat run by the monastery. In the 2022 census, Papa Stronsay had a population of just nine.

Founded in 1988, the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer are headquartered at the Golgotha Monastery on Papa Stronsay – an island they purchased in 1999. They were also based in New Zealand until July 2024 when the Bishop of Christchurch disallowed the order from ministering in the diocese following allegations of unlicensed exorcisms.

In his previous statement, Bishop Gilbert said: “The Diocese has learned with deep sadness of the disappearance and presumed death of Justin Evans, also known as Brother Ignatius, aged 24, a member of the Redemptorist Community on the island of Papa Stronsay. It is believed that he came to harm in conditions involving the sea.

“The local police and coastguard services have now called off their searches. Brother Ignatius was known for his humility and charity, and our prayers are with his community and family at this difficult time.“

Justin is described as around 6ft tall, with short hair and a dark beard. When last seen, he was wearing a white robe.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Enquiries to trace Justin Evans, reported missing from Papa Stronsay, Orkney, remain ongoing. The 24-year-old was last seen within Golgotha Monastery on the island shortly before midnight on Saturday, April 11.

“Searches of the island and nearby islands have been carried out and will continue into next week. Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident 1573 of Sunday, April 12.“

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Lauren Hawker-Jones from travel tips firm Jack’s Flight Club has gone viral on TikTok for showing how customers can swerve the dreaded middle seats during free online check-in.

Footage viewed more than 200,000 times shows the 29-year-old getting ready to check in 24 hours before her flight’s due to take off, identifying the available seats you don’t want.

In a separate tab she loads up Ryanair again and opens up a new booking for the flight.

Travel guru claims Ryanair hack can help you guarantee aisle or window seat for free (Image: Kennedy News/Jack’s Flight Club)

The savvy travel worker can then be seen adding three new passengers to allocate them the unwanted middle spaces.

She claims Ryanair then reserves them as the system thinks they’re being bought, leaving only seats you’re happy with being available for ‘random allocation’.

Lauren, who lives in Barcelona, Spain, has hailed her hack as a ‘small-but-satisfying win for the average budget-conscious traveller’.

Lauren, from Birmingham, said: “As a budget traveller I’m always looking out for small ways to make the journey more comfortable in a cost-effective way.

“Since testing this out a few months ago I’ve tried it on every flight since and I’ve always landed a window or aisle seat.

“I think with all the increasing luggage restrictions and tighter seating becoming the norm, it feels like a small-but-satisfying win for the average budget-conscious traveller.

“I doubt it’s going to sink Ryanair anytime soon so if it helps even a few people avoid the dreaded middle seat without forking out even more cash I think it’s worth sharing.”

Katy Maclure, Head of Community and Content at Jack’s Flight Club, says the hack is a way to ‘get back at Ryanair who have no shame in charging extra for more breathing room’.

Katy said: “Lauren discovered it when she was travelling back to the UK to visit family and she’s managed to replicate it since.

“Our mission is to make sure people can travel without spending over the odds and if we can find ways without having to pay these inflated fees then we want to share them.

“It’s normal there’s going to be a hold on that seat so presuming there are enough seats left to buy there’s an opportunity to jump in on a bargain.

“It only works closer to the end of the check-in time when most of the seats are allocated so you have to have the time and the willpower but it works.

“Hating the middle seat is about personal space because if you’re not willing to spend that bit extra you’re jumped in between people you don’t know.

“It’s like a punishment and it doesn’t feel fair so this is a good way to claim that personal space and get one back over the airline who have no shame in charging extra for more breathing room.”

The post, captioned ‘desperate to avoid the middle seat?’, has been liked more than 2,400 times and has more than 75 comments.

One commented: “Love it, travel alone and hate the lottery of the seat picking.”

A second said: “Lol love it for real. The tech guys will hate it.”

A third added: “I’ve done it with up to 20 seats.”

However, one said: “Not a hack. It’s a cheapskate trying to dodge seat costs.”

Another agreed and said: “Just pay the premium.”

Ryanair have been contacted for comment.

According to leaked documents, measures are being considered to address potential disruption to supplies of key goods, including carbon dioxide (CO2), which could affect the storage of packaged meats, salads, and drinks production should fighting continue into the summer.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the public should know that contingency planning is underway but emphasised that there is currently no immediate cause for concern.

Mr Kyle told Times Radio: “It is difficult for me, because, of course, these leaks are very unhelpful.

“But when people do read it, they need to be reassured that we are doing this kind of planning, and we are doing this kind of scenario planning.

“Bear in mind that back in Covid, Boris Johnson missed five Cobra meetings in the lead up to it.

“I can tell you, because I’m in these meetings, the Prime Minister has been there since the very start, and he is going through personally and driving deep dives into lots of areas of resilience throughout our economy.”

The Government has said that the Iran conflict is not expected to lead to critical shortages, though there may be a reduced choice of goods on supermarket shelves in a “reasonable worst-case scenario” should fighting continue unabated.

Mr Kyle said carbon dioxide supplies are “not a concern” for the UK at this stage.

He told Sky News: “If any of these things change, I will be up front with the public about it in advance so that we can prepare.

“But right now, people should go on as they are, enjoying beer, enjoying their meats, enjoying all the salads.

“But also there are critical uses for CO2: MRI scanning, for example, water purification; it’s involved in our nuclear industry, our civil nuclear power industry, some defensive uses for it as well.

“There’s lots of needs for CO2, so these are the reasons why I took it so seriously way back to six months ago, not just in the last few weeks.”

Mr Kyle said he had mothballed a CO2-producing plant in Teesside shortly after becoming Business Secretary in order to prevent it shutting down completely.

Following the outbreak of war, the Government provided funding to restart the Ensus bioethanol plant, which produces CO2 as a by-product, to boost supplies.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said the supermarket was in “constant contact” with the Government about supply chain risks.

He told reporters: “We are in constant contact with the Government for their scenario planning and we completely support their efforts.

“At this time, we haven’t seen any issues and are in very strong shape.

“We constantly talk to our suppliers and none of our suppliers have raised any issues.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting also addressed concerns about essential supplies, telling LBC he was “confident” that NHS supplies would remain resilient.

However, he said contingency plans were in place to prioritise ambulances should diesel shortages materialise.

A Government spokesperson said: “Reasonable worst-case scenarios are a planning tool used by experts and are not a prediction of future events.”

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has expanded plans to cut electricity bills for thousands of UK manufacturing firms.

An existing scheme to cut electricity bills by up to 25 per cent for more than 7,000 businesses is being expanded to help 10,000 firms.

However, the GMB union said members in gas-intensive industries, the ceramics sector and other manufacturing companies were “sickened at the lack of support” after being “shamefully ignored by the Government in this announcement”.

Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho criticised the policy, saying: “just 0.2% of businesses will benefit from this”.

Video game movies are certainly more authentic nowadays, but are films like the new Street Fighter too obsessed with looking like their source material?

After debuting at last year’s The Game Awards with a teaser trailer, the upcoming Street Fighter movie has just received a full trailer, ahead of its October 16 release.

It offers a little more insight into the actual plot, with the focus being on series mascots Ryu and Ken (both looking a lot worse for wear than usual) as they’re recruited by Chun-Li to partake in a fighting tournament.

The movie looks to be the most faithful and authentic adaptation of the Street Fighter games so far, but we’re still left unsure about its quality as an actual movie.

For what it’s worth, this new Street Fighter movie can’t be any worse than past attempts. The original 1994 film was a mess that only half-resembled the source material, but it’s fondly remembered for its campy charm, unlike the 2009 The Legend Of Chun-Li, which was a boring slog with even less ties to the games.

This new effort, directed by Eric André collaborator Kitao Sakurai, is explicitly billed as an action comedy and isn’t afraid of leaning into the more fantastical elements of Street Fighter, with the trailer proudly showing off Ryu throwing a fireball, even if it does joke about how ridiculous it is.

Early glimpses of the action also look very impressive, and the movie clearly isn’t too concerned with keeping things realistic. Fireballs aside, you have yoga master Dhalsim stretching his limbs à la Mr Fantastic and Zangief defying physics to suplex Ken.

What’s more, not only is the film focusing on the street fighting part of Street Fighter, Ryu and Ken, who’ve been the main faces of the games since the beginning, finally get to be the stars.

Combined with the costume design – with every character from the games being instantly recognisable – there’s no denying that the new movie looks very authentic, which has increasingly been the case with video game movies of the last few years.

However, we’re getting the sense that this desire for authenticity has become too much of a priority; that video game movies are trying too hard to please diehard gamers, that they forget to be actual movies.

This was an issue we brought up with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Street Fighter, at this early stage, looks to be making similar mistakes. The trailer doesn’t offer that much insight into the general plot, focusing on highlighting key set pieces and how many fan favourite characters are appearing.

You’ve also got the car destruction mini-game, a gag line about Chun-Li’s thighs, the use of sound bites from the old games; it’s a lot of style over substance made for fans to point at in recognition, as opposed to telling a cohesive story. Especially with the stacked cast threatening to make things feel overcrowded.

It almost seems like it’s overcompensating for the early days of video game movies, which were embarrassed of their source material and typically earned fan ire for deviating so much. We’re glad to be long past those days, but perhaps we’ve swung too far the other way, with newer movies unwilling to take any real risks to avoid upsetting fans.

None of this may matter, though, as authenticity appears to be the winning formula. The Super Mario and Minecraft movies were slated by critics but are the highest grossing video game movies ever made, because they so closely resemble their source material; they feel like the games brought to life on the big screen.

As such, this new Street Fighter movie stands to go the same way. The trailer has had a mostly positive reception among fans, with 63,000 likes on YouTube at time of writing.

Even fans who don’t expect the movie to be any good are looking forward to it, if some of these Reddit comments are anything to go by.

‘This looks both amazing and awful. I’m in,’ says MurDoct.

‘It has a ‘so bad it’s good’ kinda vibe,’ says Rakyand.

‘This looks like the dumbest most mindless nonsense I have ever seen in a while. I will be sat for opening night,’ says UrienOptics.

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Perhaps the bigger question is whether the Street Fighter community alone will be enough to ensure the movie turns a profit or if this adherence to authenticity will move general audiences. Street Fighter’s one of Capcom’s biggest franchises but it lacks the same widespread appeal of something like Super Mario.

This isn’t even the only Capcom related movie out this year, as there are plans for yet another live action Resident Evil in September. Simply titled Resident Evil, it’s directed by Zach Cregger of Weapons fame, although it aims to tell an original story.

A new trailer was shown recently behind closed doors and though it sounds like it’ll lack any familiar characters from the games, descriptions of the trailer say it’s suitably gory and full of zombies. So, it’s not going to divert too much from the source material.

Cregger is hot stuff in Hollywood at the moment, which may have earned him more leeway to make his film however he wants, but with less famous directors it seems the instruction now is authenticity at all costs.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge who halted construction of President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom clarified on Thursday that the administration can proceed with below-ground construction of a bunker and other “national security facilities” at the site.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington issued his latest ruling in a lawsuit over the ballroom project several days after an appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction.

Government lawyers had argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards.

Leon had barred work from proceeding without congressional approval, but he suspended enforcement of that order for two weeks. The appeals court extended that stay until Friday.

Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, said he is ordering a stop only to above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, apart from any work needed to cover or secure that part of the project. Otherwise, the Trump administration is free to proceed with construction of any excavations, bunkers, military installations, and medical facilities below the ballroom.

“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated,” the judge wrote. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”

The Prime Minister is facing renewed calls for his resignation over the scandal.

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of misleading MPs over the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, after it was reported the peer failed his security vetting but was still handed the Washington job.

Security officials initially denied Lord Mandelson clearance, but the Prime Minister had already named him as Britain’s top diplomat in the US, and the Foreign Office took the rare step of overruling the recommendation, according to The Guardian.

Sir Keir has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Lord Mandelson had lied about the extent of his links with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Labour leader has also said the vetting carried out independently by the security services “gave him clearance for the role”.

But the peer was not granted approval following the secretive process by the Cabinet Office’s UK Security Vetting (UKSV) last January, the newspaper reported.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said on X: “Last September, Keir Starmer told Parliament three times that ‘full due process’ was followed over the appointment of Lord Mandelson.

“We now know the Prime Minister misled the House.

“The Prime Minister must take responsibility.”

OPINION

Paul Hutcheon

OPINION

Paul Hutcheon

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Keir Starmer had already made a catastrophic error of judgment. Now it looks as though he has also misled Parliament and lied to the British public. If that is the case, he must go.

“Labour came into government on a promise to clean up politics. Instead we’re seeing the same old sleaze, scandal and cover-ups as we did under the Conservatives.”

The Green Party also called for Sir Keir to resign.

Lord Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington role last September when more details emerged about his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019.

Sir Keir has been under fire over the decision to give Lord Mandelson the job despite it being known that his dealings with Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences.

Questions over his judgment intensified after the first batch of documents showed he was warned before announcing Lord Mandelson’s ambassadorship of a “general reputational risk” over the Epstein ties.

That warning stemmed from the first part of the checks, carried out by the Cabinet Office, which was based on information in the public domain at the time.

The second was the highly confidential background vetting by security officials, which followed the announcement but before Lord Mandelson took up his role in February 2025.

Information unearthed in this process – including any concerns – is never shared with ministers, and the result is binary, either clearing the candidate or barring them.

Foreign Office officials deployed a rarely used authority to override the decision to deny Lord Mandelson clearance, and he was told days later that he had passed, according to The Guardian.

More documents are yet to be released at the behest of MPs.

The Guardian reported that senior Government officials have been weighing whether to withhold documents from Parliament that would show Lord Mandelson failed the security vetting.

Some material is expected not to be published either because it relates to a police investigation into Lord Mandelson, or because Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee believes it could jeopardise national security or diplomatic relations.

But keeping documents from the committee could amount to a breach of the Conservative motion to release “all papers relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment”.

Sir Keir said in February that Lord Mandelson was cleared by security vetting, which he criticised for failing to disprove the former Labour grandee’s lies.

He said: “There was a due diligence exercise that culminated in questions being asked because I wanted to know the answer to certain issues.

“That’s why those questions were asked. The answers to those questions were not truthful.

“There was then, I should add, security vetting carried out independently by the security services, which is an intensive exercise that gave him clearance for the role, and you have to go through that before you take up the post.

“Clearly, both the due diligence and the security vetting need to be looked at again.

“I’ve already strengthened the due process. I think we need to look at the security vetting because it now transpires that what was being said was not true. And had I known then what I know now, I’d never have appointed him in the first place.”

Taking questions from journalists following a press conference on 5 February in Hastings, Sir Keir said that “security vetting carried out independently by the security services, which is an intensive exercise that gave [Lord Mandelson] clearance for the role, and you have to go through that before you take up the post”.

The cage, which stars Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, was partly shot in the picturesque village of Tockholes as part of a wider production across the North West and is set to air April 26.

It was also filmed in Le Mans Crescent, the go to location for many producers of hit television dramas.

The five-part series, written by BAFTA-nominated Tony Schumacher, follows casino cashier Leanne, played by Smith, who turns to stealing from her workplace to save her family home.

Her actions put her on a collision course with her boss Matty, played by Socha, who is hiding secrets of his own.

The Cage (Image: BBC)

Filming in Tockholes saw road closures in place last year, with Tockholes Road shut between the Royal Arms and Belmont Road during evening and overnight shoots.

(Image: Henry Lisowski)

Production crews were based in the area for two days, using locations including a pub car park for equipment.

Residents were warned to expect disruption, including changes to their usual routines, while scenes featuring actors in police uniform and vehicles with flashing blue lights were also recorded.

Filming in Le Mans Crescent (Image: NQ)

The drama has also been filmed in and around Liverpool and Merseyside, with Element Pictures producing the series.

The BBC has released the trailer for the high-stakes drama, which will air on BBC One at 9pm, with all episodes also available on BBC iPlayer.

The Cage features a wider cast including Barry Sloane, Geraldine James and Sue Jenkins, and promises a tense story of crime, loyalty and survival.

All five hour-long episodes will be released at once on BBC iPlayer, alongside weekly broadcasts on BBC One.

Coronation Street have been filming storylines in the old Bolton Magistrates Court all week.

Paul Merson has revealed his prediction for the crucial Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United and urged Michael Carrick to bench striker Benjamin Sesko.

Chelsea welcome Man United to Stamford Bridge on Saturday night hoping to boost their Champions League hopes following a difficult run.

Liam Rosenior’s side have won just one of their last six games in all competitions, slipping to sixth in the Premier League and crashing out of the Champions League.

Manchester United, in contrast, have climbed to third in the table since Michael Carrick was appointed caretaker manager in replace of Ruben Amorim.

The Red Devils have dropped points in each of their last two games, however, drawing 2-2 at Bournemouth before the international break before suffering a shock defeat at home to Leeds United on Monday night.

Merson believes United’s winless run to continue at Stamford Bridge, backing Chelsea to clinch a crucial 2-1 win to boost their hopes of Champions League qualification.

The Arsenal legend expects Enzo Fernandez to come back into the Chelsea team following his recent absence but says Sesko should be dropped and allowed to ‘make an impact from the bench’ as he has does effectively in the second-half of the season.

‘Chelsea were atrocious of the highest level in the second half against Manchester City,’ Merson told Sportskeeda.

‘Luckily for them, they now face Manchester United, who were also terrible in the loss to Leeds!

‘This is a must-not-lose game for United and a must-win game for Chelsea. After this, Chelsea face Brighton away, Nottingham Forest at home, Liverpool away, Spurs at home and Sunderland away.

‘If they lose this game, I don’t see them playing Champions League football next season.

‘As long as Manchester United avoid defeat, they are at an advantage for Champions League qualification because Chelsea will play Liverpool.

‘I would be shocked if Enzo Fernandez is not back in the line-up for this game.

‘I still can’t get my head around the fact that Chelsea banned him for two matches! They were crying out for someone like him to get on the ball and pass to break lines during the defeat to City.

‘Manchester United were poor against Leeds and have a few injuries to deal with.

‘I don’t know why Bryan Mbeumo did not start that game though. And Casemiro is nowhere near the same player without Kobbie Mainoo next to him!

‘I would probably leave Benjamin Sesko out of the line-up against Chelsea. He’s someone who they can bring on to make an impact off the bench.

‘The other day against Leeds, they had no one who could do that as a substitute because Sesko was in the starting XI.

‘Chelsea could be ninth in the league by the end of the week, if they don’t win this game. But I actually think they can trouble United. I’m backing Chelsea to get a 2-1 win.’

Manchester United beat ten-man Chelsea 2-1 the last time these two sides met back in September, taking advantage of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s early red card.

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The actress, who is originally from York, said the proposal would mean replacing a “living, growing woodland created through patience, care and public spirit” with industrial development.

A final decision on Harrogate Spring Water’s (HSW) plans- which has received more than 1,000 objections – will be made by North Yorkshire Council on Friday.

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The scheme would require the removal of hundreds of trees from Rotary Wood, a community woodland planted 20 years ago by children and volunteers.

In a letter addressed to councillors and officers, Dame Judi said: “I am sorry not to be with you in person, but I wanted my support for Rotary Wood and for the local community defending it to be heard clearly at this planning meeting.

“Rotary Wood is not an empty plot waiting for a better use. It is a living, growing woodland created through patience, care and public spirit.”

Other public figures who have voiced opposition include Sam West, and environmentalist Sir Jonathon Porritt, and Dame Joanna Lumley – who called the decision to potentially cut down the trees ‘dreadful in so many ways’.

Dame Judi added: “Local families, volunteers, schoolchildren and community supporters helped plant it and watch it take root. Over the years it has become part of Harrogate’s natural fabric and part of the area’s shared sense of place.”

“At a time when the country is talking so urgently about biodiversity loss, climate pressure and the need to protect nature close to where people live, it is deeply troubling that a healthy community woodland could be treated as disposable.”

“I respectfully urge the committee to recognise Rotary Wood for what it is: a meaningful community woodland, a haven for wildlife and a symbol of what local people can achieve when they invest in nature. It deserves protection, not destruction.”

North Yorkshire Planning officers have recommended that the scheme be approved.

Danone – the company behind HSW – said only 500 trees would be affected by the expansion, not the 1,000 claimed by campaigners, and has pledged to plant 491 new trees nearby and a further 3,000 across the district.

It said it had originally planned to plant around 1,500 trees in its new community woodland, next to Rotary Wood, but reduced this to 491 after advice from North Yorkshire Council’s arboriculturist.

A spokesman for HSW said: “Throughout the planning process, we have worked constructively with council officers and listened closely to community concerns.

“These plans are consistent with Danone’s commitments globally to sustainable, responsible development, including its Renewed Forest Policy.

“Ultimately our goal remains to balance sustainable development and economic growth with care for the local environment and community.”