“A Quiet Area is not one that is silent, but rather one that is undisturbed by unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities from any source”

Belfast City Council is supporting the designation of Lagan Meadows as a “quiet zone” as a consultation by Stormont on noise regulations comes to an end.

In response to the questions that the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has posed within their Lagan Meadows Quiet Area consultation document, namely “Do you agree that Lagan Meadows should be designated as a Quiet Area for the purpose of The Environmental Noise Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006?” City Hall has replied “yes.”

The council however is asking that the department speaks to Belfast City Airport, as its targets could pose a potential clash of interest with noise level regulations for the city.

Lagan Valley Regional Park, established in 1967, stretches from the Stranmillis area of Belfast City to Lisburn City. It is Northern Ireland’s first and only regional park and covers roughly 4,500 acres, stretching 11 miles along both banks of the River Lagan from Stranmillis to Union Locks in Lisburn. It is owned by Belfast City Council.

READ MORE: Belfast Council spends £250,000 on Fleadh street dressing

READ MORE: Five key moments from Belfast Council in July

A council report states: “A Quiet Area is not one that is silent, but rather one that is undisturbed by unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities from any source.”

In its response to the Stormont department, Siobhan Toland Director of City Services at City Hall states: “Belfast City Council notes that the Lagan Valley Regional Park is presently engaged in the implementation of a five year management plan, covering the period 2023 to 2028. Priority themes identified within the management plan include biodiversity, visitors, neighbouring communities, landscape, heritage and health and recreation.

“Belfast City Council therefore recommends that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs should engage directly with the Lagan Valley Regional Park to ensure that the designation of the Lagan Meadows as a quiet area is appropriately compatible with the park’s five year management plan and the Lagan Valley Regional Park’s stated priority theme of health and recreation.”

It adds: “Belfast City Council additionally notes that George Best Belfast City Airport has recently published a 2040 Masterplan entitled Our Vision for the Future. The airport has indicated that its vision is to deliver growth to seven million passengers per annum by 2040, in a sustainable and responsible way, and that to accommodate the projected growth in passenger numbers will require the number of annual air traffic movements to increase to approximately 61,000; an increase of some 13,000 in the current annual cap of 48,000.

“The Airport Masterplan document states that all growth to 2040 can be delivered within the existing noise contour area limit of 5.2 km2 . Notwithstanding, the George Best Belfast City Airport Annual Performance Report for 2024 highlights that the initial departure route over the city passes close to the Lagan Meadows before turning towards the southeast over Belvoir Park Forest.

“Accordingly, it is recommended that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs should engage with George Best Belfast City Airport concerning the Airport’s 2040 Masterplan in order to identify and understand any potential implications of the Airport’s air traffic movement and passenger growth proposals upon noise levels within the Lagan Meadows and the designation of the Lagan Meadows as a Quiet Area.”

The Environmental Noise Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 aim to put together EU and council provisions into Northern Ireland legislation. END requires periodic noise mapping, the last one in Northern Ireland was conducted 2021.

A council report states: “END additionally requires member states to “preserve environmental noise quality where it is good” through the identification and protection of Quiet Areas within agglomerations, recognising that Quiet Areas can make a beneficial contribution to public health, particularly for people living in noisy city areas.”

At the council committee meeting, SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite asked that the council engage with Aldegrove Belfast International Airport. He said: “It has been raised to me increasingly that late-night flights coming into Belfast International Airport are using a flight plan that brings them in over the city, and they tend to be ones that go outside the usual hours of operation. This has become a more increasing occurrence over the summer months.” The committee agreed to his proposal.

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

This simple recipe keeps salmon moist and juicy while cooking

Salmon makes for a stunning centrepiece at the dinner table, owing to its wonderfully rich and distinctive flavour. It complements a wide range of accompaniments, from rice and noodles through to new potatoes.

Throughout her illustrious career, Mary Berry has shared a wealth of salmon recipes, including this straightforward dish finished with a velvety cream sauce.

The recipe notes on BBC Food stated: “Mary Berry elevates simple salmon fillets by adding a topping of herby cream cheese and roasted red peppers. Serve with new potatoes and salad leaves or steamed greens.”

The recipe serves six and can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance if covered and refrigerated.

Mary Berry’s cream cheese salmon recipe

Ingredients:

• 280g full-fat cream cheese
• 30g finely grated Parmesan cheese
• One garlic clove, crushed
• Two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh chives
• Six 125g salmon fillets, skinned
• One lemon, juice and zest
• One small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 150g roasted red peppers from a jar, drained and very thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Combine the cream cheese in a bowl with the Parmesan, garlic, chives and seasoning, then mix thoroughly.

Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper before spreading the cream cheese mixture evenly over each fillet.

Cream cheese plays a vital role in keeping salmon moist during baking, forming a rich, protective layer that seals in the natural juices.

Its high fat content helps the fish retain moisture while lending a smooth, tangy depth of flavour to every mouthful.

Combine the lemon zest and parsley, then scatter the mixture over each fillet, pressing down gently.

Arrange the fillets close together on the prepared baking tray and lay the peppers across the top in an attractive pattern.

Positioning the salmon fillets close together on the baking tray also helps prevent them from drying out during cooking.

Roast in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the salmon is fully cooked. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve hot with new potatoes and dressed salad leaves.

US President Donald Trump has signed an order that calls for fewer childhood vaccines and also recommends splitting the mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) shots.

“Decades ago, children received only a small fraction of the vaccines required today,” Trump said. “In those times, people were much healthier and of course the high rates of autism now observed did not exist.”

The president has long cast doubt on the safety of MMR vaccines, but multiple studies have found no connection between the shots and autism.

The order also recommends that the number of childhood vaccines drop to 11 from the existing 18 recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The federal government does not have the authority to implement the new recommendations. Shots that are required for school attendance are set at the state level.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said that his administration “is recognising gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations for only 11 core vaccinations against the most serious and dangerous diseases”.

The immunisations recommended for all children under the order are for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, and varicella or chicken pox.

“We’re reducing them,” Trump said. “It’s not only that you’re doing fewer vaccines, or jabs, as they say, but you’re doing them in a series of visits to the doctor.”

The president suggested the MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal” if given at once. He compared it to pouring a bottle of soda into a child’s body.

When a reporter asked for evidence of the “lethal” claim, Trump said: “What I’ve heard is that there are some people that say it is that way.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), external, the MMR vaccine carries a very small risk of febrile seizures for young children. Those with health issues, including severe allegeric reactions or weakened immune systems, are advised to consult with healthcare providers before taking the shots.

The agency says “most people who get MMR vaccine do not have any serious problems with it”, and that getting the vaccine “is much safer than getting measles, mumps, or rubella”.

According to the CDC, there is “no published scientific evidence that shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots”.

Experts say that allowing time between jabs means children are more likely to contract diseases in the interim or that they are more likely to miss appointments if there are multiple shots.

Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F Kennedy Jr said the proposed changes were meant to give parents choice, not prohibit access to childhood vaccines.

Since taking office in 2025, Kennedy has sought to change and loosen vaccine regulations. During a tense 20-minute interview on CNN last week, Kennedy insisted he had “never questioned the efficacy of the MMR vaccine”.

Trump administration officials have said the order means children in the US would receive much less than the 72 shots recommended under the previous vaccine schedule, a figure that assumes annual flu and Covid-19 doses.

Dr Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Trump’s executive order was “dangerous” and not based on “gold-standard science”.

“Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school,” Racine said.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who was the deciding vote in the Senate to confirm Kennedy as health secretary, also admonished Trump’s executive order on Monday, labelling it “wrong”.

“The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” Cassidy, a physician, wrote on X. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.”

Experts fear that if parents refrain from getting their children vaccinated as a result of the discredited idea that childhood vaccines are linked to autism, it risks the re-emergence of diseases like measles.

Multiple studies have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. A recent high-quality study from Denmark in 2019 looked at 657,461 children and concluded that the data did not support the MMR vaccine causing or triggering autism.

On its website, the CDC recommends that two doses of the combined MMR vaccine be given to children, starting with the first dose at 12-15 months and the second between the ages of four and six.

How often and how many vaccines children in the US receive is based on the times when vaccines will work best with their immune systems and when they are most vulnerable to certain diseases, according to the AAP.

There is no medical reason to delay or skip recommended immunisations, the AAP says.

Trump’s order also calls for the development of alternatives to aluminium in vaccines, and to test if those alternatives are safer and more effective.

But the AAP, external says studies have found no significant health risks associated with the tiny amounts of aluminium salts in vaccines.

Small amounts of aluminium salts – which are found naturally in soil, water and foods – have been used in some vaccines for decades in order to boost the body’s immune response.

That means lesser quantities of the vaccine and fewer doses are needed, according to AAP.

A solar eclipse is a rare, visually striking phenomenon. The Moon
passes between Earth and the Sun, temporarily hiding our star – a geometrical alignment spanning millions of miles.

A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon doesn’t fully block the Sun, resulting in a gentle dimming of the sky. A total solar eclipse, however, dramatically plunges a daytime sky into blackness.

Everything has to be perfect for this to happen. An astonishing cosmic coincidence means that solar eclipses as viewed from Earth are spectacular – and unlike those anywhere else in the solar system.

For a given place on Earth, a total solar eclipse will only occur once in a few hundred years. The next total solar eclipse takes place on Wednesday, August 12 2026. The path of totality (the area where a full eclipse can be seen) will pass through parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Spain, and a small portion of Portugal.

In Britain and Ireland, between 90% and 97.5% of the Sun will be obscured by the Moon, depending on where a person is.

The eclipse starts at 6.08pm (BST) in Glasgow and Edinburgh, 6.12pm in Galway and Dublin, 6.13pm in Manchester and Liverpool, 6.15pm in Norwich and Birmingham, 6.17pm in London, Bristol and Cardiff and 6.18pm in Truro.

The UK Health Security Agency warned that looking directly at an eclipse can cause permanent eye damage. There are two safe ways to view an eclipse: specialist eclipse glasses (or handheld solar viewers) and indirect methods.

Eclipse glasses or solar viewers must be genuine and sold by a reputable retailer. They should have specially designed filters that meet the international safety standard ISO 12312-2:2015(E). Indirect methods include projecting the Sun’s image onto a sheet of paper using a simple pinhole projector.

A solar eclipse’s appearance is wrapped up in the geometry of the bodies involved; it depends on the apparent sizes. This apparent size depends on the sizes and distances involved. The total solar eclipse we see from Earth is particularly special.

The Sun is around 400 times wider than the Moon, but also about 400 times further away, hence they appear approximately the same size in our sky. During totality, the Moon fits over the Sun like a puzzle piece slotting into place.

People are incredibly fortunate to be able to fly around our planet chasing such events, allowing eclipse watchers to gather under the Moon’s shadow. So how would solar eclipses look if we were able to travel to other planets?

Mars has two moons; the larger is Phobos, at around 14 miles across, and the smaller, Deimos, is only about 7.5 miles in diameter. Both moons are rather lumpy and irregularly shaped.

Neither moon has an apparent size large enough to produce a total solar eclipse on Mars. Phobos, being closer and larger, produces an eclipse that lasts only around 30 seconds. It’s very different from what we’re used to. Phobos appears as an oddly shaped silhouette that can cover just over one-third of the Sun.

Deimos, being smaller, and further away from Mars, appears as a small dot crossing the Sun. The eclipses of Phobos and Deimos are events we’ve seen, thanks to Nasa’s
Perseverance and Curiosity rovers allowing us to see eclipses on another planet.

A view from Jupiter

Jupiter has 101 moons, which includes the four large Galilean satellites. These moons can completely obscure the Sun from Jupiter, casting vast shadows across its cloud tops.

Jupiter, unfortunately, doesn’t have a solid surface, hence an observer would need to float on top of its clouds. From there, the moons would appear much larger than the Sun.

Although dramatic, this lacks the satisfying alignment we see from Earth of the Moon and Sun almost matching each other in size. The Galilean moons orbit so fast around Jupiter that such eclipses happen almost every day.

Advertisement

Their shadows are visible from Earth through amateur telescopes as small, distinct black dots moving across the colour bands of Jupiter. The orbits of the moons can even sometimes align such that double, or even triple, solar eclipses are visible.

Saturn has even more moons, with 274 confirmed. Similar vast shadows are seen on
Saturn’s clouds during eclipses, with larger moons such as Titan causing the most dramatic displays. Saturn itself has seasons, similar to the Earth. Depending on the season, solar eclipses can happen daily on Saturn.

The limits of solar eclipses

There are parts of the solar system that will never, or very rarely, see a solar eclipse. Mercury and Venus have no moons, so unfortunately miss out on the spectacle entirely. As we go farther from the Sun, it appears smaller in the sky.

Comparatively small moons can therefore completely obscure it. From Pluto, the Sun would look like a very bright point in the sky. Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, would appear far larger and completely cover it up.

These would definitely class as total solar eclipses, but would be very different from the exquisitely balanced spectacle we see from Earth. Far out in the solar system, the moons don’t delicately fit over the Sun. Instead, they would utterly swallow it.

Throughout the solar system, solar eclipses are possible and, from some planets, frequent. From Earth, the occasional alignment of size, distance and time allows for total solar eclipses that make the Moon look as if it was made to fit perfectly over the Sun.

For a few transcendent moments, we are cast into a shadow that allows us to glimpse the solar corona peeking out from behind the Moon. There are many small, chance events that have made our planet habitable. This fleeting geometrical balance that produces our solar eclipses is a chance alignment that isn’t something functional. It’s just beautiful.

It came during his time on EastEnders when he played paedophile Tony King, and a viewer was appalled at his on-screen antics in 2008.

The actor, who now plays Kev Barton in Emmerdale, describes his character as “a sympathetic psychopath, if you will,” adding he is not concerned about being cast as a villain after playing Tony King.

Emmerdale’s Christopher Coghill recalls being hit over the head with a handbag by soap fan

He said: “You’ve got to give people a bit of credit.

“When I started in EastEnders, there were people who were like, ‘You know, there are people out there who really can’t tell the difference between what they see on telly and real life, and because of the character you’re playing, you’re going to get a lot of s***, and you might need police protection.’

“And then you go out, and people go, ‘Oh, you’re brilliant in EastEnders’, and that was kind of it.

“I did get hit over the head with a handbag in Selfridges, but apart from that…”

His Emmerdale co-star William Ash, who plays Caleb Miligan, said he has had a similar experience, adding: “People are genuinely generally really nice.

“You don’t get any grief, really.

“I did have one woman at the petrol station going ‘oh, you’re right horrible to Moira’.”

The saddest plots in Emmerdale

The pair, who have previously acted together in the 2003 drama Burn It and played brothers in both the 2006 one-off comedy Magnolia and a 2016 episode of Moving On, are currently caught up in an Emmerdale storyline involving an attack on Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) at the depot.

Kev is the guilty party, and Caleb has the assault on CCTV, but has been covering it up so he can frame his arch-nemesis, Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).

Coghill said of the footage: “I hold my hands up, it does look bad – I am bent over him with a crowbar and he’s in a pool of blood.”

However, it may not be the bargaining tool that Caleb thinks it is.

Ash said: “I think [Caleb and wife Ruby, played by Beth Cordingly] just don’t know how to handle him, like most people in the village.

“It’s like he’s such a loose cannon.

“You just don’t know what you’re going to get from him.”

Christopher Coghill hopes Kev Barton has no more singing scenes

Coghill is also adamant he doesn’t want his character to have any more singing scenes.

It comes after his character Kev serenaded his estranged husband Robert (Ryan Hawley) with If You’re Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield and then tried to express his feelings to long-lost son Lewis (Bradley Riches) with a version of Boyzone’s Father And Son.

Coghill said: “Do you know what, [producer] Laura Shaw did say to me the other week, do you want to do All I Want For Christmas Is You?

“And I said, if you keep me till Christmas 2029, I’ll do it then.

“That’s how my contract negotiations are going.

The most evil Emmerdale villains

“But no, it’s excruciating. Horrible.”

“If I could sing, I wouldn’t be an actor.

“If I could sing, I would have been in a band in the 1990s.”

Emmerdale is on at 8pm on weeknights on ITV1 and STV, or from 7am on ITVX, STV Player and YouTube.

Who is your favourite Emmerdale character? Tell us in the comments below.

Britain’s largest teaching union has become the latest institution to distance itself from an open letter supporting Jason Arday.

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), had originally signed the letter two weeks ago on the Good Law Project website.

It claimed there was a ‘smear campaign’ against the former Cambridge University academic and that allegations against him of plagiarism were ‘entirely false’.

However, the NEU has now clarified that he had signed it based on ‘the information provided to him at the time’ and now believed a new letter should be issued ‘appealing for a fair and transparent investigation’, given the events since.

The union said Mr Kebede believed Mr Arday should have a ‘right to due process’.

It came as one of Mr Arday’s former students claimed in an article for Unherd that he arrived late at lectures, delivered poor teaching and accused her of having ‘white privilege’ when she complained about her grade.

Cambridge launched an investigation last week after fellow academics accused Mr Arday of copying others’ work and inventing some previous academic posts.

He resigned from his post, saying the ‘personal cost’ of the furore had been ‘too great’, and cancelled a series of events to promote his upcoming memoir, Great and Unfortunate Things.

Daniel Kebede (pictured), General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), had originally signed the letter two weeks ago on the Good Law Project website. 

Three academics have already had their names removed from the open letter – Sonita Alleyne, the first woman to lead Jesus College, where Mr Arday worked, Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen, a professor of developmental psychopathology at Cambridge, and Ricardo Sabates Aysa, a professor of education and international development. 

Mr Kebede, who experienced racism as a child and has championed anti-racist activism within his union, is still featured on the list of signatories.

However, an NEU spokesman said: ‘As a trade unionist, Daniel Kebede fundamentally believes that where questions are raised about an individual’s professional conduct, that person has a right to due process.

‘Daniel Kebede signed the statement on the information provided to him at the time.

‘In light of the new information that has since emerged, he would have hoped that the authors of the statement would have presented a different statement. One appealing for a fair and transparent investigation.’

Meanwhile, one of Mr Arday’s former students at Roehampton University wrote an anonymous piece for the Unherd website saying he had ‘failed’ her when she was taught by him in 2018.

The woman, whose identity has been verified by Unherd, said Mr Arday ‘often arrived late and left early’ and once only taught one of the four hours he had been scheduled for.

She said he would ‘ramble’ about rapper Eminem during his ‘terrible’ teaching and gave ‘generalised views on racism without ever referring to any academic theories’.

However, the NEU has now clarified that he had signed it based on ‘the information provided to him at the time’ and now believed a new letter should be issued ‘appealing for a fair and transparent investigation’, given the events since (pictured: Mr Kebede on an anti-racism rally earlier this year)

Advertisement

The letter (pictured) claims there was a ‘smear campaign’ against the former Cambridge University academic and that allegations against him of plagiarism were ‘entirely false’

‘It gradually dawned on us that we were learning nothing of substance, and that much of his talk was nonsense,’ she wrote.

And she said that when she complained about a low mark in an essay, Mr Arday became ‘angry, but also scared’.

She wrote: ‘Arday implied that I was racist, and said that the only reason I wasn’t happy with 70 per cent was due to my “white privilege”.

‘He was clearly upset at being questioned.’

In another development yesterday, internet sleuths accused Mr Arday of copying the title of his book from the 2010 Spartacus TV series, aired on Sky1, which had an episode called Great and Unfortunate Things.

Professor Arday has been contacted for comment.

The Good Law Project declined to comment. However, its founder has previously said they merely ‘carried’ the letter and did not write it.

A Roehampton spokesman said: ‘Professor Jason Arday was employed by the University of Roehampton as a senior lecturer in the School of Education from September 2017 until February 2019.

‘The university has reviewed its student casework records and identified no complaints relating to Professor Arday during his period of employment.’

By MELISSA KOENIG, US REPORTER

Published: 03:25 BST, 11 August 2026 | Updated: 04:04 BST, 11 August 2026

President Donald Trump was reportedly smuggled off Air Force One in a catering cart last month as part of an elaborate ruse to foil potential Iranian assassination threats.

The commander-in-chief had traveled to Turkey for last month’s NATO summit onboard a 747-8 donated by Qatari officials, which the Trump administration has spent vast sums of money improving for security.

But as the summit concluded, Trump announced he would not take the newly-outfitted plane – and would instead take an older model for ‘old time’s sake.’ 

Trump was then seen boarding the older-model plane that was set to transport him to a United States military base in the UK as cameras rolled at an airport in Ankara.

Advertisement

Behind the scenes, though, Trump was taken by a food cart that had been fitted to the belly of the plane, a senior official familiar with the plot told The New York Times. 

He was then transported to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane via an airport catering truck that is typically used to load meals and other supplies to Air Force One ahead of the president’s flight, according to the Washington Post.

Trump then reportedly traveled onboard the smaller plane in secret to the UK due to a credible threat against the president and Air Force One from Iran. 

Advertisement

President Donald Trump was reportedly smuggled off Air Force One in a catering cart in a ruse due to the threat of an assassination from Iranian officials

A catering truck was visibly parked on the opposite side of Air Force One after Trump boarded the plane on July 8

Video of the escape obtained by the Washington Post showed a man in a suit entering the catering truck’s cab before a container was loaded into the bed of the vehicle, which then pulled away from Air Force One.

But the container had notably been lifted to the level of the plane for several minutes.

Advertisement

When the container was then lowered, a person in a suit stepped out of the truck’s cab, which remained at ground level, and ascended the stairs leading up to the nearby C-32A.

Moments later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was seen boarding the C-32A separately using external stairs as part of an attempt to make the flight appear typical. 

Meanwhile, as journalists boarded the plane they believed the president was on, White House staff directed them to close their window shades. 

The report comes weeks after White House Communications Director Steven Cheung first suggested administration officials engaged in subterfuge as Trump was departing the summit.

Advertisement

‘As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him and we use every tool at our disposal – including distraction and misdirection – to address those threats,’ Cheung previously told The Times. 

Trump was seen boarding an older-model plane that was set to transport him to a United States military base in the UK as cameras rolled at an airport in Ankara

Trump was reportedly smuggled off the plane using a container connected to a catering truck

The statement suggests administration officials viewed the Iranian threat as credible, taking extreme precautions to ensure the president’s safety amid renewed military strikes on Iran.

Advertisement

But the threats were not directed at the Qatari-donated jet itself, and Cheung has denied that the plane posed a security risk. 

‘The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,’ he said in a statement to the Washington Post.

The Daily Mail has also reached out to the White House for comment. 

 

Advertisement

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The Tuesday letters page tries to piece together the clues about GTA 6’s online mode, as a reader recommends indie hit Big Walk.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

10 years young
I don’t want to make anyone feel old but No Man’s Sky is 10 years old this week. I know, I was pretty shocked too. That takes me back a bit to that pre-Covid world where the games industry seemed to be on the right path and that even when things went wrong, like with No Man’s Sky’s launch, they got fixed.

Kudos to Hello Games for putting in the hard work and as a fan I will definitely say that it is worth playing and that it is 100 times better now than when it first came out. Plus, there’s a new free update they’ve just released, called Cosmos, just for the anniversary.

Sometimes you’ve got to have patience and although that doesn’t excuse the state it launched in, at this point they’ve made up for it and more. I think that’s a lot more than you can say for other publishers that have been dishonest with their customers. So happy birthday No Man’s Sky and here’s to another 10 years.
Canin

Long tail
Interesting words from the Take-Two boss about GTA 6’s multiplayer. He didn’t say what it’s going to be, but he did seem to confirm that it’s going to be separate to GTA Online, so the idea that they’re going to upgrade GTA Online but basically keep it as the multiplayer seems to not be the case.

Would they really run GTA Online and GTA Online 2 at the same time though? I’m not so sure, but there’s no way GTA 6 isn’t going to have a massive online mode of some sort. It’s actually quite hard to guess what they’re going to do, but I’m sure they’ve got a plan. I’m sure that everything to do with GTA 6 is actually designed around the online, not the story campaign.

No one seems to be in a hurry to reveal what’s going on though, so while GTA Online keeps churning over, bringing in the money, they seem to be taking it slow and are pushing GTA 6 as a single-player game, for this year at least. What you can say is that GTA 6 is not going to be a flash in the pan.
Zeiss

Big recommendation
I got to the credits of Big Walk with two friends last night. What a fantastic game. The end section in particular is an absolutely outstanding achievement in gaming. One of the all-time experiences.

We’ve still got a bunch more to do in game and we’ll definitely come back to finish it off.

I usually avoid voice chat in games, but I’m glad I gave this a go. We started just two of us playing, then added a third. I would like to see what the game’s like with larger groups, probably more chaotic but at least there’d be a better chance of someone having a light for those very dark nights.

I encourage everyone to try and find at least one other person who they can play with and give Big Walk a go.
Euclidian Boxes

Merry-go-round
Saw this video and thought people here would be interested in it. I’ve heard the theory that Silent Hill 2 is a sequel, not a remake, a few times before, but as much as I enjoyed the remake I didn’t really pick up on that as a possibility. I did notice that some things were different from the original, but I just thought that was artistic licence.

There’re spoilers in the video, so I won’t go into any detail, but if you’ve played the game before I think you’ll find it very interesting the way it all seems to add up. If you haven’t played the game, I would very much recommend it and if you watch the video I think you’ll be impressed by the amount of detail Bloober Team put into it.

I know they get a lot of stick for the quality of their other games but for me they did Silent Hill 2 proud. The best thing about this sequel theory is that it’s not even necessarily true. The video makes it seem that way but it’s all up to your interpretation and I hope Konami never gives an official answer as to what’s going.
Cobalt84

Dutch uncle
I don’t really know what to say about 1666: Amsterdam, other than I’ve never heard of it before, it sounds pretty weird, and also pretty janky. I’m not really a fan of the idea of releasing a single-player game half-made into early access. You can’t argue with Baldur’s Gate 3 and Hades 2 though, so I’ll guess I’ll keep an eye on it.

I would’ve been much more interested if it skewed closer to Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time though, instead of Assassin’s Creed. If he made that I’m surprised the platforming side of the Amsterdam game seems so bad. Also, we don’t really need more Assassin’s Creed but we sure could do with more 3D platformers like Sands Of Time.
Murphy2

Drone attack
I love that that id Software dev really ripped into Microsoft and publishers in general. Of course they don’t understand art. These people are just robots… corporate drones. They don’t seem to understand any kind of human emotion or the concept that not everyone is as rich as them.

The only time I ever heard anyone at Microsoft saying they were upset about laying off thousands of people is when one of them said we should feel bad for Phil Spencer, for having to do it. These people can only think about their own well-being, not their employees, not their customers, and definitely not the games industry as a whole.

It’s not just Microsoft either, it’s all of them. They’ll see the whole of gaming go the way of the dodo if it meant they could just make a bit more money this year, because who cares about what happens afterwards?

There’s nothing we can do about this either. You could try and play nothing but indie and retro games but even using a PC you’re probably using Microsoft products. There’s Linux and SteamOS but only the super hardcore are going to do that, so we’re just stuck giving money to these awful companies, that treat us like dirt.

How many of us buy and play EA Sports FC and look at what EA has become now. I don’t want to give them a penny of my money, but will I really have the strength not to?
Walker

Busy day
Good morning readers! Please can we give a bit of pre-emptive love for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy.

The trailer looked amazing, the last two games were outstanding, and the next is out in two weeks! Cannot wait! What’s that?! GTA6 trailer preview out that day too?! Pffft to that!
Sid Spector

GC: That’s also the same day Star Wars Zero Company is out.

First questions
I’m hoping any day now we get an annoucement for a Zelda Direct, although I realise it could easily not be until next month I can’t believe it will be any longer than that, unless it’s been delayed into next year.

I have so many questions about the game, but first of all whether it’s a 1:1 remake with the original, like Star Fox, or if it’s something that will mess with the design a bit. I wonder, for example, whether they will try and give a bigger role for Zelda. She seems to have joint top billing in the movie and Ocarina Of Time technically has a more active role for her (do I need to hide spoilers in such an old game?) but I think it would be quite easy to make those bits playable, when they weren’t before.

The other question is how are they going to handle the fact that the game world is tiny, by modern standards? Is Hyrule Field going to be more or less the same size as it was before or will it be a massive Breath Of The Wild style area? I guess that would be the best idea but it’s going to be a bit of a change – although maybe not as I think those of us that played it at the time remember it as being massive even if it wasn’t really.

If the two seconds of footage they’ve shown is accurate then the art style seems to be mostly realistic, with just a hint of cartoonish, but I’m curious to see how far they’ll go with some of the stranger things. And will that style carry over to the next mainline game? There’s so many questions to ask and Nintendo seems in no rush to answer them.
Gaston

Inbox also-rans
All I ever hear about PC versions of console games is poor performance and bugs. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is just the latest in a very long list. Ther’s no way I’d buy a PC when all this is so common.
Prince

Never mind the cyberattack, I’m just shocked there was anyone in the UK that actually ordered a Steam Machine. I don’t think anyone from the Inbox has owned up to ordering one, have they?
Christon

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Final Fantasy 7 still the most popular JRPG?

MORE: Games Inbox: What will be in the GTA 6 extended look on Netflix?

MORE: Games Inbox: Why are Call Of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 so popular?

Powley, 34, who will play Petunia Dursley in the upcoming HBO Max television adaptation of the Harry Potter series, said she “strongly disagrees” with Ms Rowling’s beliefs.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Ms Powley said: “The trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance.”

“I strongly disagree with JK Rowling’s views on gender,” says Bel Powley, who will be playing Petunia Dursley (Harry Potter’s Muggle aunt) in HBO’s forthcoming TV adaptation of the Harry Potter books.

“I think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and… pic.twitter.com/NzHWpjiM90

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 10, 2026

Advertisement

Ms Rowling has faced ongoing criticism for her statements on biological sex, which she believes is real and immutable.

She has denied being transphobic, saying she respects “every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them.”

Despite her disagreement with the author’s views, Ms Powley described herself as a huge fan of the book series.

She said: “I love Harry Potter.

“I grew up with the books.

“I am from that first generation of readers and, again, I love magic and spookiness.”

Bel Powley plays Petunia Dursley in the new HBO Max Harry Potter series. (Image: Aidan Monaghan/HBO Max/PA Wire)

Other cast members from the original film series have also publicly disagreed with Ms Rowling’s views, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.

Mr Radcliffe has said “trans women are women,” while Ms Watson has called for respect and acceptance for transgender people.

Some, however, have spoken out in support of the author, including Ralph Fiennes, who said the abuse directed at her is “disgusting” and “appalling.”

When does the new Harry Potter TV series start?

The new HBO Max television adaptation of Harry Potter will premiere on December 25.

Along with Powley, the cast of the new TV series will include:

• Harry Potter  – Dominic McLaughlin
• Ron Weasley  – Alastair Stout
• Hermione Granger  – Arabella Stanton
• Albus Dumbledore  – John Lithgow
• Severus Snape  – Paapa Essiedu
• Minerva McGonagall  – Janet McTeer
• Rubeus Hagrid  – Nick Frost
• Draco Malfoy  – Lox Pratt
• Dudley Dursley  – Amos Kitson
• Vernon Dursley  – Daniel Rigby
• Garrick Ollivander  – Anton Lesser
• Argus Filch  – Paul Whitehouse
• Quirinus Quirrell  – Luke Thallon
• Molly Weasley  – Katherine Parkinson
• Cornelius Fudge — Bertie Carvel
• Neville Longbottom — Rory Wilmot
• Ginny Weasley — Gracie Cochrane
• Fred Weasley — Tristan Harland
• George Weasley — Gabriel Harland
• Percy Weasley — Ruari Spooner
• Filius Flitwick — Warwick Davis
• Pomona Sprout — Sirine Saba

Will you be watching the new Harry Potter TV series? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.

Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on Monday said he’ll sue to force the Trump administration to restore his security clearance, which it revoked Friday after claiming he had disclosed sensitive information about the Qatari-gifted jet now serving as Air Force One.

Kendall, a West Point graduate who served as President Joe Biden’s head of the Air Force, said on CNN Monday that he’ll sue the administration, noting it has a history of retaliating against critics by stripping their clearances. “As my mother taught me years ago, you stand up to bullies,” said Kendall, who has denied disclosing classified information.

Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney who sued the administration after his own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, confirmed in a post on X that Kendall had hired him. “More to come,”” Zaid wrote.

Zaid specializes in helping a variety of military and civilian clients maintain security clearances in the face of investigations.

Last year he became a target of the Trump administration’s efforts to strip security clearances from people they perceived to be enemies when he was named among 14 other people in an executive order signed by Trump. In a March 2025 executive order, Trump named former President Joe Biden and members of his family, Biden-era Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and New York state Attorney General Letitia James as being unsuitable to retain their clearances because it was “no longer in the national interest.”

In August 2025, Trump revoked the security clearances of 37 more current and former national security officials, some of whom worked on matters that have long infuriated Trump, like the intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election on his behalf.

Trump has tried to squelch reports of problems with the jet that Qatar gifted him last year, which he intends to use as Air Force One for the remainder of his term. His Justice Department last month subpoenaed New York Times reporters who wrote about security concerns with the jet, which lacks the advanced anti-missile technology of its predecessor. After being criticized by a federal judge for sloppy legal work, the government grudgingly withdrew the subpoenas.