Kate, who signed her personal message with a “C”, also wrote of the benefit of holistic therapies, adding: “We have an opportunity to reshape what the future of holistic cancer care looks like, enabling more people, nationwide, to access the kind of personalised support that can help make a meaningful difference during and after medical treatment.”

Flashy dealer Easdon, a rival of Paul Easdon, a rival of, boasted of making £4m-a-month from selling cocaine alone.

A notorious drug kingpin’s foot soldier was caged earlier this week for his role in a multi-million cocaine plot. Declan Price, 29, was snared by police in August 2024 after working with 38-year-old dealer Paul Easdon.

Price was pulled over in a Renault Clio in the Sandyhills areas of Glasgow in August 2024. He was clutching two carrier bags – each packed with blocks of taped cocaine worth £300,000.

The drugs were linked to Easdon, a former plant hire worker from Strathaven, after police found his DNA on the packages.

Flashy dealer Easdon is a rival of gangster Jamie ‘the Iceman’ Stevenson. It is understood Stevenson ordered firebomb attacks on a hair salon in Hamilton run by Easdon’s wife.

Price was sentenced to 40 months in jail this week. Easdon is already serving six years behind bars after he was caught boasting how the cartel was making £4m-a-month from selling cocaine alone.

The pair were caught out after law authorities smashed the EncroChat phone network favoured by criminals.

Easdon began operating in organised crime in April 2018 and enjoyed swanky holidays and flash cars as he built up a cocaine ring.

Easdon used the nickname “glasgowceltic” to run his criminal enterprise, in a network that included ex-Mr Scotland bodybuilder John Barry McDuff and another criminal who used the name “mrr-Rangers”.

Discussions between the two included purchasing cocaine which was stated as being worth £40,000 per kilogram. There was also chat of “mrr-Rangers” paying Easdon £320,000 as well as £100,000 which was to be collected in Johnstone.

Another person Easdon was in contact with received a message from him remarking how he was “spinning 100+ bro”.

Easdon chatted with contacts about different types of cocaine which included ‘Chanel’ and ‘CR7’. In some messages, he also gave advice to associates.

This included how to avoid detection by the authorities as well as the purchasing of a hydraulic press to help prepare and package drugs.

Prosecutors said that the EncroChat network helped Easdon and his associates sell in excess of 100 kilograms per month of cocaine at a price of at least £40,000 per kilogram.

Associate John Barry McDuff, who used the name Reverselily”, discussed with Easdon about the purchase of heroin and cannabis.

Negotiations on the encrypted platform saw the pair agree prices of £45,000 per kilo for cocaine and £18,000 each for heroin.

McDuff was jailed for seven years in September 2024 after he pled guilty to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime.

Easdon’s network became so large he came into competition with international drug trafficker Jamie ‘the Iceman’ Stevenson – a man who was one of the UK’s most wanted fugitives before his downfall.

Such was the rivalry between the two organisations, Stevenson is understood to have ordered to burn down Easdon’s wife hair salon.

Authorities across Europe managed to shut down EncroChat and have since used the mountain of evidence recorded in the encrypted chats to make thousands of arrests and criminal charges.

Stevenson was one of those brought down thanks to evidence from EncroChat after he masterminded a plot to smuggle almost a tonne of cocaine worth around £100 million in a box of bananas from Ecuador.

Easdon is now just another name on the list of criminals brought down after using EncroChat.

Just days after McDuff was sentenced, Easdon pled guilty to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime in September 2024.

The following month, Easdon was sentenced to six years imprisonment for his part in the huge drug trafficking operation.

Earlier this week, his foot soldier Declan Price, 29, received a sentence of 40 months for his part after he pled guilty to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Easdon also pled guilty to a charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and will return to court next month for sentencing.

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Extra trains will be running after the concert but they are still expected to be busy due to the amount of people travelling out of Cardiff. Extra trains will operate from Cardiff Central to Swansea, Newport, Bristol and Swindon.

A queueing system will be in place outside the station to help people board trains safely after the concert.

A full queuing system will be in place with passengers travelling to the Valleys or the Vale of Glamorgan directed to Cardiff Queen Street station after the event. All other queues including Ebbw Vale and Maesteg will be at Cardiff Central station.

Queuing will start from 9:45pm at both stations with the accessibility queue available at Cardiff Central.

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Efforts by local and international rescue teams to pull survivors from the rubble grew increasingly desperate in Venezuela on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira.

The government reported more than 1,400 dead from the quakes Saturday as it faced growing criticism from Venezuelans that its response was inadequate and was overshadowed by civilian-led efforts to search for loved ones buried under collapsed buildings. Virtual databases used by families to report and find loved ones say thousands are still missing.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that 33 people had been rescued the day before, although she did not provide an updated death toll.

A U.S. rescue team from Virginia pulled a man and his son from the ruins Sunday morning and carried them carefully on a black tarp into an ambulance. Masses of people gathered to watch the rescue as the survivors — covered in dust — were hydrated through an IV.

Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water. More than 2,200 rescue workers from across the world had arrived by Saturday, the U.N. said, and more were still arriving.

As messages of solidarity with Venezuelans flooded in from across the world, Pope Leo offered prayers for “the eternal rest of the deceased.”

“Likewise, I express my gratitude and encouragement to all those who are generously working in the search and rescue efforts,” he said.

Tension mounts during rescue efforts

Rodríguez said on state television Saturday that more than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the La Guaira state, where access is now blocked and special permits are required to enter. But many in disaster zones said they had seen little of their government.

The disaster poses a huge challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the U.S. capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.

Some people climbed the remnants of buildings and cried out names, hoping for any proof of life. Dust coated coastal communities. In punishing heat, more people wore masks as the stench of decomposition spread. In other parts of La Guaira, teams loaded stacks of bodies – some in white bags, other naked – onto white trucks from the ground of a dirt hospital parking lot, where they were being identified.

On Saturday, Mexican rescue teams climbed over collapsed buildings and pushed their heads into holes in the pancaked concrete to search for signs of life, occasionally hearing movement.

“We’re rescuers from the Mexican military, if there’s anyone down there still alive, make noise or scream. Now!” one man shouted.

A glimmer of hope

For many, the images of international aid teams arriving and climbing through the rubble alongside them offered a glimmer of hope. Yonahí Regalado has been calling out the names of her sister and 1-year-old nephew and godson since 1 a.m. the day after the earthquakes until aid workers began to arrive.

“It doesn’t matter who it is, whoever, whether it’s family or somebody else. If there is anyone alive, let’s get them out,” she said, as helicopters circled overhead.

Small moments of humanity mixed with grief and terror.

One video showed a Venezuelan rescuer comforting an elderly woman trapped beneath the rubble, scared that the structure would cave in if she moved.

“The roof won’t cave in. If it falls, I’ll be here with you,” he said.

Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves Caracas, was badly damaged. One runway was operational as U.S. teams worked to repair the crucial throughway, Jeremy Lewin, a senior State Department official in charge of foreign assistance, told reporters.

Lewin said a U.S. Navy transport ship was docked off the coast, ready to receive airlifted survivors in need of medical attention. Lewin said it is a “race against the clock” to find people injured in the quakes.

___

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalist Matías Delacroix, Clara Preve and Ali Swenson contributed to this report.

Police were called to the popular family attraction before lunchtime on Sunday, June 28.

A young driver has been arrested and charged after allegedly crashing a car into barriers at Blair Drummond Safari Park.

Police raced to the attraction on the A84 in Stirling after receiving the alarm at 11.45am on Sunday, June 28.

The youth and another man were arrested and charged at the scene.

There were no reported injuries.

A Police Scotland spokesperson told the BBC: “A report will be submitted to the relevant authorities and the procurator fiscal.”

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For hours, men and women hauled wagons loaded with scenery and props through the city centre, preceded by musicians playing mediaeval music.

Hauling a wagon at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

They paused at four “stations” where the wagon became a stage so that the accompanying actors, dancers and in two plays, puppets, could perform one of York’s mediaeval mystery plays, some of which date back to the 14th century.

Crowds awaited them in the grounds of York Minster Refectory, Kings Square and St Sampson’s Square for free performances, and Deans Park where a grandstand had been built for a ticket-paying audience.

Angels in the all-female production of The Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

Director of the Shepherds Play, Pip Cook said: “It’s been a very joyous collaborative experience, and I am grateful to everyone for going along with my crazy ideas.

“From sheep puppets to a pop-up angel, everyone just took it in their stride!”

Very untuneful shepherds at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

The entire day was the first of four performances with the next two being on Tuesday and Wednesday in the evening in Shambles and the last one again at the four stations on Sunday July 5.

“It’s great fun, it’s almost unique to York,” said Jane Reed, who was part of the 2012 static production of the Mystery Plays in Museums Gardens.

Visitors and local residents alike were delighted by the 2026 version.

“It’s entertaining”, “it’s interesting”, “it’s nice to be able to drop in and out of the plays” were some of the verdicts among spectators at the refectory.

The journey to Calvary at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

The girlfriend of Jesus (Oscar Langford) in The Journey to Calvary said the weather was excellent and thankful this week’s heatwave had broken.

Members of the audience not in the grandstand varied from staying put at one station, or moving between stations to see the plays out of order.

An Ukrainian emigrant theatre group based in York joined other organisations from the city and Yorkshire in preparing and staging the plays.

Adam and Eve and God, all female, at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

The Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve had an all-female cast – including a female Adam – and one play, The Journey to Calvary, didn’t have a wagon as the performers had to walk around the station.

The modern version of the wagon-borne Mystery Plays has been staged once every four years for many decades.

God on the move at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

In mediaeval times, the entire cycle of about 50 short plays was performed annual with wagons on the move from dawn to dusk.   

The modern version is shorter, with organisers choosing which plays to do every time it is staged.

Musicians at York Mystery Plays 2026 (Image: Newsquest)

This year, the plays are the

• War in Heaven (performed by the Gild of Freemen of York and HIDden Theatre),
• The Creation (The Guild of Building),
• The Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve (The Lords of Misrule and The Company of Merchant Taylors),
• Noah and the Flood (The Parish Church of St Luke the Evangelist),
• The Shepherds (The Guild of Cordwainers),
• The Massacre of the Innocents (DSpace Ukrainian Theatre and the Guild of Scriveners) ,
• The Journey to Calvary (York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust),
• The Crucifixion (York Settlement Community Players and York Butchers Gild)
• The Resurrection, the Quem Quaeritis (Lions and Dragons Theatre Co) and
• Doomsday and the Coronation of Mary (Company of Merchant Adventurers and the Northern Militia with Ravens Morris and Haigha).

Reality TV star Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, best known for appearing on Big Brother, was rushed to hospital after being bitten by an XL Bully.

The media personality, who has an extensive history in reality television and has featured on Loose Women and Good Morning Britain, issued a warning to her followers after the incident.

Revealing that she is now ‘in agony’, the 47-year-old shared a photo of her injury, bandaged up on the shoulder and in clear discomfort as she awaited treatment.

‘I’ve been bitten by an XL BULLY!!!!!’, she stated, adding that ‘you can see [her] bone’.

In a second, she posed next to the dog, taken a few minutes before he attacked her.

‘Everyone knows I’m a dog mummy. I love dogs. This dog loved me, then for a split second for no reason he didn’t…,’ she wrote.

‘Please please please understand how to raise and how these babies can switch.’

In a later post, she said she’s ‘thankful’ the bite wasn’t on her face or neck and ‘glad’ the victim wasn’t a child.

‘Sad I’m scarred for life,’ she added. ‘Glad it wasn’t a child and it was me… So conflicted.

‘Dogs are pact animals they need you to be their leader. It makes them feel safe to know you are in control.

‘If you let them do mad behaviour they will eventually execute that.

‘Big dogs are so powerful… protect your kids it ain’t a joke [sic]’.

Upon returning home to her own dogs, Aisleyne thanked her 900,000+ followers for their supportive messages, replying to one who shared that their friend’s daughter was killed in a dog attack, leaving the BB housemate feeling ‘lucky in this instance’.

As of February 2024, it is a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless you have a valid Certificate of Exemption. The rules came into force later in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The ban was enforced under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 following a series of attacks, which police said had put a ‘huge burden’ on forces.

As the largest kind of American Bully dog, the XL Bully is described as having ‘a muscular body and blocky head, suggesting great strength and power’. Their coat is glossy and smooth, and adults are around 19-20 inches in height.

Between 2023 and 2024, NHS England recorded almost 11,000 hospital admissions for dog bites in England. In Wales, there were 600 hospitalisations from dog bites and over 1,100 in Scotland.

The government declared that the dog breed had been ‘disproportionately involved’ in deaths recorded since 2021.

And since the ban was brought in, fatalities involving the dogs have fallen – there were 10 in the UK in 2024, and four in 2025, yet attacks still happen.

Several cases have seen owners and children killed.

Police now have the authority to seize unregistered prohibited dogs, and owners face up to six months in jail and/or an unlimited fine.

The public response to the ban has been mixed, though, with celebrities like Tom Hardy previously branding it ‘extreme’.

As a previous XL Bully owner, the Venom actor, 48, said his dog, Cass, had been a ‘deeply kind and loving companion’.

Taking to Instagram, he said that many pets ‘pose no threat whatsoever’, but he was still ‘deeply concerned by the rise in the number of dog attacks’.

‘We must ensure that dogs do not pose a risk to people and that measures in place to protect the public are effective,’ he added. ‘But a blanket ban on bully’s is extreme and avoids blame where it lies at the detriment to many pets that pose no threat whatsoever. We can do better. My dog Cass was an XL Bully and she was great [sic]’.

Others who spoke out included Love Island’s Faye Winter, who said she felt that dog owners were being ‘discriminated against’ and called for the government (helmed by Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives at the time) to see the ‘positive side’ of the breed.

Meanwhile, Gemma Atkinson called the attacks on people ‘horrendous’ but believed that dogs are a ‘product of [their] environment’.

So far this year, reports of attacks and convictions have included a man being found guilty after his XL Bully savaged an 84-year-old man on a driveway. The seven-stone dog was shot 10 times by officers; the incident proved fatal, as pensioner John McColl died five weeks later.

On the same day that Sean Garner was convicted and told he would receive a ‘substantial prison sentence’, another man, Ashley Warren, was jailed for more than 10 years after his XL Bully dog mauled his ex-partner’s mother, Esther Martin, to death.

MORE: Dog in Knicks jersey shot dead by police after neighbour thought owner’s cheering was screaming

The actress who left the Channel 4 soap in 2021 has spent months campaigning to be on the BBC series

A Hollyoaks legend has shared their disappointment after being snubbed by Strictly Come Dancing.

Despite not premiering until September, the BBC dancing competition has already begun sharing which stars will be taking to the dancefloor. Last year’s series was won by former footballer Karen Carney, who was taught the art of dance by Carlos Gu.

It’s going to be a year of change for Strictly, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on presenting duties. Additionally, five pro dancers, including Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez, will not be returning.

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The first of the stars announced as part of the class of 2026 was Lacey Turner. The EastEnders legend is best known for playing the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap for over two decades.

Several days later, Love Island’s Dani Dyer was revealed to be returning to the series. Dani was replaced by Amber Davies, who reached the final with Nikita Kuzmin, following the 2025 launch show after she picked up an injury.

The only other stars announced for the next season of Strictly is global superstar Delta Goodrem, who recently represented her native country Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest, and hair stylist Chris Appleton. With more stars being teased by the day, one actress has taken to social media to reveal they haven’t been picked.

Leigh native Sarah Jayne Dunn is best known for playing Mandy Richardson on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 1996 until 2021. Despite entertaining viewers for 25 years, Mandy’s exit occurred offscreen.

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Sarah Jayne spent months campaigning to be picked to compete on Strictly. Taking to Instagram on Sunday (June 28), she revealed that her mission didn’t come to fruition this time around.

She wrote: “Well, this chapter didn’t end the way I’d hoped. Of course I’m disappointed. I wanted this more than I can put into words. But if this journey has taught me anything, it’s that saying your dreams out loud isn’t something to be embarrassed about.

“It’s brave. It’s vulnerable. And whether you get the outcome you’re hoping for or not, there’s something really powerful about backing yourself. Over the last few months I’ve been overwhelmed by your support.

“From every message, comment and share, to seeing my name mentioned on TV and radio… this journey has already given me more than I ever expected. So no, I won’t be stepping onto the dancefloor this year.”

Sarah Jayne continued: “But I also won’t be quietly talking myself out of the possibility that one day I will. Dreams don’t always arrive on our timeline. That doesn’t mean they’re over.

“Thank you for coming on this journey with me. Here’s to whatever comes next… and to always asking, ‘Why not me?’ Manifesting continues… just with a different date.”

The 45-year-old actress was dropped from Hollyoaks after refusing to remove photos from the adult subscription site OnlyFans. A Channel 4 spokesperson said at the time: “Hollyoaks is a youth-facing drama with many young viewers, who follow our cast very closely, both in the soap and outside of it.

“We take our responsibility to our young audience very seriously and therefore the show does not allow any Hollyoaks cast members to be active on certain 18+ websites. We had hoped we could reach a resolution with Sarah that would allow her to remain in her role as Mandy, but we respect her choice to continue to produce content on OnlyFans.

“In the past four years since her return to the show her legacy character has been an integral part of some our most important storylines and we will be very sad to see her go.”

Sarah Jayne said at the time that setting up the OnlyFans page was ‘about taking back control’. She noted: “I’ve done men’s mag upon men’s mag and calendar upon calendar, I’ve enjoyed every shoot but never felt like I had much say in them.

“I’ve been pitted against other girls and felt deflated if not chosen for a shoot or for a cover, I’ve been airbrushed, retouched and ‘enhanced’ without consent and without necessity and I’ve not always been given photo or copy (the wording of an interview) approval, leaving both my image and words distorted.

“The older I get the more cathartic it is to take back control, to put healthy boundaries in place and to know my worth and my value.”

Canada squad: Dayne St Clair, Maxime Crepeau, Owen Goodman, Alistair Johnston, Derek Cornelius, Richie Laryea, Niko Sigur, Joel Waterman, Luc de Fougerolles, Moise Bombito, Alphonso Davies, Alfie Jones, Stephen Eustaquio, Ismael Kone, Tajon Buchanan, Mathieu Choiniere, Ali Ahmed, Nathan Saliba, Liam Millar, Marcelo Flores, Jacob Shaffelburg, Jonathan Osorio, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Tani Oluwaseyi, Promise David

England will need to replace Ben Stokes’ persona as well as one of their “greatest” players as they move forward, says former captain Michael Vaughan.

The announcement of Stokes’ surprise retirement came during the fourth day of the third and deciding Test against New Zealand, which will be his last.

Stokes, 35, missed the second Test after an incident in a London nightclub, with England suffering a heavy defeat at The Oval, which Vaughan says gave a glimpse into the “hole” the all-rounder will be leaving in the side.

“England have got to move forward now – it’s hard to say that when it’s only just happened,” Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

“But they have got to look at how they build a team without Ben Stokes, and it’s not just the player – it’s the persona.

“He’s got the winning mentality, and I have him as one of England’s greatest when the pressure’s on.”

Stokes was cleared to return as captain for the third Test at Trent Bridge, where he told his team-mates of his decision to retire before the start of play on day four.

After the news was made public at 15:25 BST, Stokes took a wicket with the next ball he bowled – Zak Foulkes caught at second slip as England attempted to fight back with New Zealand moving into an even more dominant position after lunch.

Vaughan said that moment showed the challenge the England face in replacing the talismanic all-rounder and leader.

“That was an immediate reminder of what England are going to miss,” added Vaughan.

“That’s exactly why he is an England great. I didn’t see it coming [his retirement], but I did see the wicket coming because he has done that throughout his entire career.

“Whenever England need something, he has always delivered.”