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The family holiday has been left in doubt after she discovered her daughter’s passport did not meet strict travel rules

A singer has issued a plea for help after discovering at the last minute that her daughter’s passport could fail strict travel rules. Rules mean there must be a set amount of time available on a passport or the holder will not be allowed to travel.

Under rules following Brexit people travelling to EU countries, except Ireland, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City must have at least three months left on their passports after the day they plan to leave, warns ABTA. The passport must also have been issued less than 10 years before the date of arrival at the country.

Musician and singer Philippa Hanna turned to Facebook to seek advice after her family holiday to Portugal appeared to be in jeopardy. The Christian music star who has toured with mainstream artists including Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Anastacia and Wet Wet Wet, told how she had just discovered that her daughter, Ozma’s, passport would not meet these rules.

She said: “GUYS!! We need help. Do I know ANYONE who works for or is connected to the passport office or something even close? We need emergency advice ahead of our family holiday tomorrow?”

She later went on to explain: “I just found out Ozma has 5 weeks less than needed on her passport for flying to Portugal.” She then added: “We’re only going for 5 days so the week fast track wont work. I’m just wondering if there’s any way of getting an extension or a special permission or something.”

One follower suggested she contact her MP who might be able to speed up getting a new passport. Gayle Hunter, who said she was a former duty manager at an airline, said: “They’re normally strict at least 3 months after the last day you’re leaving on passport. An MP can get you a new one in three hours under parliamentary privilege.”

However this was disputed by another poster who said he worked in the airline industry and travelled extensively. John Dinsdale said he had been stung by the rule himself, and insisted an MP would be unlikely to help. He said: “There is a parliamentary/MP escalation route, but it only applies for compassionate reasons (family death, serious illness) not for holiday travel, so it won’t help here.

“You could try contacting the airline to ask if they’ll allow “OK to board,” but I doubt that’s your best option. Even if they agreed, Schengen countries require a minimum of 90 days’ passport validity, so Portugal border control could still refuse entry on arrival.

“For an airline to allow to board they would need authorisation from the Portuguese immigration department first. If you’re refused entry, the airline will face a fine (amounts vary by country), and you’d likely be liable for the cost of the return flight, airlines won’t board anyone without valid travel documents in the first place.

“I’ve actually been on the receiving end of this myself, I can’t get an ESTA for the US because of my travel history, apparently America don’t like Iraqi stamps in passports, so I know firsthand how strict airlines are about not boarding anyone without the right documents. It’s not something they’ll bend on.

“Realistically, a new passport won’t be issued in time even by fast track. I’d contact your travel insurer now to ask about cancellation/rebooking cover, I know this is not what you want to hear, but it’s the most likely outcome.”

What the government says

So what are the rules? According to the government there are steps you can take – but it usually still takes some time.

It advises: “You can pay to get a passport urgently if you think the standard service will take too long.” It explains there are 2 ways to apply for an urgent passport.

1 day premium

According to the government website the earliest you can get an appointment is 2 days after you apply. It says: “You’ll need to hand in your old passport at your appointment. Your new passport will be ready to collect from the passport office 4 hours after your appointment.

“You can only use this service to renew an adult passport. It costs £239.50 (or £253.50 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport).”

1 week fast track

With this one the earliest you can get an appointment is the next day after you apply. It advises: “Your new passport will be delivered to you by courier 1 week after your appointment.”

You can use this service to:

• renew a passport
• change personal details on your passport (for example your name, place of birth or gender)
• replace a lost, stolen or damaged passport
• get a child passport

It costs £192 for an adult passport (or £206 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport). A child passport is £156.50 (or £170.50 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport).

Is there anything any faster?

It advises: “If you need to travel urgently for medical treatment, on government business, or because a friend or family member is seriously ill or has died, call the Passport Adviceline instead.”

Police are looking for a man who they believe can assist them with an investigation after a man died following violent disorder in Pontypool.

A murder investigation was launched in the days following the incident as a man, named as Anthony “Tony” Jones, 56, died from injuries sustained in the violence. Mr Jones was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries alongside two other men after the incident, which is alleged to have occurred at around 7pm in Mill Street, Pontnewynydd.

Ten men, aged 31, 33, 34, 39, 40, 40, 45, 59, 61 and 73, were arrested in connection with the disorder. Three men – aged 39, 45 and 61 – have since been released on bail. The other seven men remain in police custody. Read on

The storm had caused major disruption on Greenwood Avenue, with specialist teams tasked with removing the debris alongside clearing vegetation before it was re-opened last week.

Vital work aimed at fully re-opening a key road and paths in Stirling city centre has been completed.

And residents have been thanked for their patience and understanding during the essential repairs.

Stirling Council have announced the completion of works to clear rockfall and fully re-open a key road and paths in the centre following a storm last year.

Large rocks had fallen onto Greenwood Avenue in the wake of Storm Eowyn, necessitating closures to the road and pathway network due to safety concerns.

Specialist works to remove fallen rocks and debris in addition to clearing vegetation and loose rocks from the nearby slopes were carried out in March by Stirling Council engineers, working alongside SG Access and Fairhurst. Stirling Council’s Roads Team subsequently resurfaced the affected area of road at Greenwood Avenue.

Greenwood Avenue and the Back Walk Low Path between Clarendon Road and Victoria Road have since reopened to traffic and pedestrians. Work remains ongoing to assess further issues on the nearby slopes and at the Back Walk beneath Stirling Castle which currently remains closed.

Environment, Transport and Net Zero Convener, Cllr Alasdair Tollemache said: “I’d like to thank residents for their understanding and patience while works took place to address a significant safety risk posed by loose rock and fallen trees on the slopes at the Back Walk.

“Recent extreme weather events have elevated the risk to public safety in this area and further works will ensure that we will be able to fully reopen the Back Walk to pedestrians in due course.”

The Met Office has issued amber heat health alerts for most of England as temperatures are forecast to soar into the mid-30Cs again this week

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Cambridgeshire is bracing for yet another blast of scorching weather, with amber heat alerts slapped across most of England as temperatures are set to rocket into the mid‐30Cs this week.

The fresh warnings come as even more parts of the country are on the brink of being plunged into drought during what has become an extreme, relentless summer.

Regions including the East Midlands, East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, London, the North West, South East, South West and West Midlands will be under amber alert from 9am Tuesday until 9pm Friday, while the North East has been hit with a yellow warning.

The Met Office says Monday’s cooler conditions won’t last, with the mercury expected to soar and hit its highest point on Thursday. An 18 year old died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands beach, East Sussex on Sunday, bringing the number of deaths in open-water incidents over the hot, dry summer to more than 40, according to Press Association estimates.

Although some rainfall is possible this weekend, including across the south – certain parts of which have gone weeks without any precipitation – forecasters caution that it will fall well short of compensating for the deficit accumulated over recent weeks and months.

The National Drought Group, comprising government and agency officials, water companies and farming leaders, is convening again on Monday, with additional areas of England widely anticipated to be formally declared in drought. Half of England and the entirety of Wales are already experiencing drought conditions, with 23 million customers subject to hosepipe bans as rivers and reservoirs reach critically low levels.

Farmers have warned of a “brutal harvest” for crops and a shortage of feed for livestock. Significant wildfires have broken out across areas including the Pennines, the Cairngorms in Scotland, Llanwonno in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, and Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, with firefighters battling hundreds of blazes across the country.

This summer’s exceptionally dry conditions have coincided with several heatwaves, including record-breaking temperatures for the time of year in May and June, which contributed to more than 2,800 excess deaths.

Britain is increasingly feeling the effects of ever more extreme weather events, such as drought, heatwaves and wildfires, driven by climate change, which is predominantly caused by the burning of fossil fuels in power stations, vehicles, and for domestic and industrial heating.

Certain parts of the UK are now bracing themselves for a fifth heatwave of the summer, though some areas, such as Exeter, have seen temperatures remain persistently above regional heatwave thresholds even between the peaks of intense heat.

As amber heat health alerts were issued, Polly Ashmore, acting consultant in public health at the UK Health Security Agency, urged members of the public to take straightforward precautions to stay safe and to check in on vulnerable friends and family members. She said: “Drinking plenty of water, avoiding the sun during the hottest part of the day and keeping indoor spaces cool are all things you can do to keep yourself and others safe.

“For vulnerable groups including older adults and those with existing health conditions, warmer weather can result in serious health outcomes.

“We urge health and social care services to ensure they are prepared and encourage people to check on vulnerable friends and family to make sure everyone is aware of the forecast, follows the necessary advice and stays safe in this period of hot weather.”

However, the Met Office indicated it did not expect to issue its rarely-seen amber or red alerts for dangerous heat, as conditions would remain dry rather than humid — elevated humidity being a further aggravating factor to human health — unlike late June, when a red alert was triggered over several consecutive days.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge noted that, following cooler conditions on Monday, “the heat really comes back in for a time, and will peak on Thursday. We’re expecting values to be in the mid 30Cs, and possibly highest in the East.”

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The scorching temperatures will contribute to an already record-breaking number of days in 2026 that have reached 35C or above.

Though brief in duration, the heat is expected to be widespread, with elevated temperatures stretching as far north as Scotland — a region that has endured persistent heavy rainfall in recent days. As the weekend approaches, temperatures will drop sharply, with an area of low pressure potentially bringing rainfall to the south, according to Mr Madge.

However, he cautioned that it would not be sufficient to “make a dent” in the deficit recorded so far.

“It will be welcome for gardeners and for others, but we’re not going to get a lot of rain and not enough to make up for the shortfall we’ve had over the summer.”

Provisional statistics reveal that England and Wales have experienced their driest July since records began in 1836, with 19 counties across England recording no rainfall whatsoever throughout the entire month.

Southern England also registered its hottest July on record, while Wales endured its joint hottest July on record. Meanwhile, Met Office figures confirm that both the UK and England recorded their second hottest July ever.

A former star of Rich House, Poor House, has given a huge insight into how the Channel 5 programme is filmed and revealed where the often huge budgets come from

A star of Rich House, Poor House has revealed who really pays for the huge budgets. The Channel 5 programme explores the major wealth divide between people across the nation.

Two families from opposite ends of the scale swap lives for seven days, with one family thrust into a world of luxury they had dreamt of, while a wealthier family finds themselves tackling life on the breadline.

Each family swaps budgets and houses, with their lives being completely transformed. The show follows one family that ranks among the top ten wealthiest households in Britain and another from the bottom ten per cent to find out whether money can actually buy happiness.

Now, series five, episode one star Terri-Ann Nunns has revealed what really happens when the family exchanges cash. Terri-Ann, from Doncaster, swapped her five-bedroom house for a council house on the other side of the town in South Yorkshire. But it wasn’t a far cry for the businesswoman, who revealed she had grown up in a council house and admitted that she at times struggled financially. Eventually, she turned her life around and had a weekly budget of £1,200 after promoting her diet and lifestyle business which helped her lose seven stone.

Speaking on Instagram, the businesswoman said: “When filming Rich House, Poor House, does our budgets come out of our own pocket, or does it come out of the film production company’s pocket? That’s a question I’ve just been asked, so I’m going to answer it.”

She went on to add: “We tell them our budget, we show them obviously all our banks, and bank statements, and everything of what we, we pay out, and what we do in things.

“Then the production company actually provide the money to the other family, and vice versa. So we don’t actually have to pay our own hard-earned money, and, obviously, vice versa, they don’t have to pay their hard-earned money.” Terri-Ann went on to explain that after swapping houses and lifestyles, both families still have access to their own internet banking and bank cards, should they need them.

“However, for me, it were like, ‘Why would I want to, use my own money?’ When I’m doing this for a reason?’ I’m doing it for an experiment for my children. I grew up on a council estate. I grew up with nothing.

“For me, it were a doddle, I’ve been a single mum in a two-bedroom flat with two children.” Terri-Ann revealed the reality of her life before she amassed her fortune, explaining that she found the show “easy” and wanted to take on the experience with her children, who had grown up in a life of luxury.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Terri-Ann said, adding: “My oldest daughter did because obviously she were with us when we were in a two-bedroom flat, when we had to live with my mum, when I had to go bankrupt. But the younger two, they’ve never, obviously, they’ve, they were born when my business was hugely successful.”

While Terri-Ann’s business raked in £500,000 each year, which even helped her purchase Kylie Minogue’s old Range Rover. However, years after appearing on the show, her world crumbled following the collapse of her business and her marriage to husband Michael.

But since then, Terri-Ann has documented rebuilding her career for her social media followers.

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

This is the moment a migrant paraglides into Europe from north Africa – a day after another died trying the same stunt.

Police were still searching for the sub-Saharan man today after he vanished shortly after landing at the Benzu viewpoint in Ceuta close to its land border with Morocco.

Spanish cops said today people smugglers charging migrants to make the risky air crossing were being given courses lasting just a few minutes instead of the 80 to 100 hours of training normally considered appropriate before risking their lives taking to the skies.

Diego Madraza, a spokesman for the AUGC Civil Guard union, said: ‘They have no flight training, sometimes they are given a course lasting barely a few minutes before taking off.

‘Recently in Morocco, a gang that trained migrants in this type of entry using paragliders was dismantled.

‘As soon as one door closes on them, another opens, so now detection can no longer be only be sea or land, but it can also be aerial.’

Footage of the new paraglider crossing on Saturday evening emerged a day after a man drowned in a failed attempt to reach Ceuta, and ahead of a feared new invasion of Spain’s North African enclave following the mass border breach late last month when an estimated 72,000 migrants reached EU soil.

The sub-Saharan man’s body was discovered in the Mediterranean shortly after the alarm was raised around 8am on Friday morning.

Police raced to the spot where he had been spotted plunging into the water in the hope of rescuing him alive but discovered him dead from a suspected drowning.

The Red Cross and the Sur Sur organisation distributing aid in Ceuta  after migrants stormed the border on August 3, 2026

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Two masked police officers stand guard as migrants queue for food and aid from the Red Cross

He had tried to reach Ceuta on a paraglider via the Benzu breakwater bordering Morocco.

Calling out Spain’s Interior Ministry, the AUGC said on X late yesterday alongside a video of the new paragliding crossing which this time worked: ‘We warned about it in January.

‘@interiorgob responded in writing to Congress that paraglider entries did not exist.

‘Last Friday a young man died after plunging into the sea near the Benzu breakwater while attempting to enter this way.

‘First documented death in Spain by this route.

‘And a few hours ago another flight over the border. The video speaks for itself.

‘They take off from “The dead woman”, the mountain that connects the Moroccan neighbourhood of Belyounech with the border perimeter near the Benzu breakwater.

‘Denying it does not make it disappear. It only prevents resources from being provided and surveillance measures from being adapted in time.’

Police in Ceuta are steeling themselves for the ‘real danger’ of a new mass border breach from Morocco on August 15, which has been heavily promoted on social media.

The Civil Guard has reportedly admitted in an internal report the risk of a second mass attempt to reach EU soil is real – and prepared for the possibility organisers could bring it forward now the August 15 date is out in public.

Although most of the migrants who made it to Ceuta have returned to Morocco, officials admit 2,500 irregular migrants remain including some 1000 children, although locals insist the figure is far higher.

Distressing pictures have emerged of dozens of young men, families and children sleeping on the pavement on makeshift beds made out of cardboard boxes at an industrial estate.

They have also erected makeshift camps made out of bamboo and reeds on a beach near a temporary migrant holding centre.

Several girls who were among the wave of migrants and remained in Ceuta have complained of being sexually assaulted after arriving and finding themselves obliged to sleep rough.

On Saturday a Moroccan migrant who broke into a stranger’s fifth-floor flat and crept into bed with her in his underpants was handed an expulsion order.

Beatriz Ferron, 62, started screaming after waking up to find the semi-naked intruder, one of the estimated migrants who swam into Ceuta in last month’s mass border breach, laying beside her.

The paragliders set off from the mountain Jebel Musa in order to fly over the 20ft Cueta border fence

Migrants walk on the Moroccan side of the border behind the 20-foot border fence between the two countries

Migrants try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Thursday, July 30, 2026

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Spanish army soldiers travel in military vehicles after being deployed to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Thursday, July 30, 2026

Terrifying footage showed scores of people seemingly breaking into homes across the city late at night

The intruder was arrested on Friday morning and hauled to court hours later in Spain’s North African enclave.

At the weekend it emerged he had pleaded guilty to a crime of breaking and entering and handed a 16-month prison sentence which was immediately substituted for deportation and a five-year ban on entering Spain.

Court sources also confirmed the unnamed individual already had a deportation order hanging over his head and had been convicted of three sex assaults in Spain.

Full details of his previous crimes have not been made public but the earlier removal order is said to have been issued by a court in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia.

Last November five people were arrested in Morocco after police smashed a gang accused of helping migrants reach EU soil using the daring method.

The suspects, said to come from different African countries, were rounded up nearly two months after a man was filmed flying over a heavily-fortified border fence into Ceuta which lies opposite Gibraltar.

All Spanish police found from a search of the spot where he landed was the abandoned multi-coloured paragliding gear in undergrowth he had used for his exploit.

The successful border breach was described at the time as the first of its kind ever – attempted or accomplished – between Morocco and Ceuta.

Another heatwave is set to hit Northern Ireland for a number of days this week

Another heatwave is set to hit Northern Ireland this week, with temperatures predicted to reach 28 degrees.

The Met Office forecast for the week beginning August 10 warns that temperatures are about to spike, rising from highs of 18 degrees on Monday to 28 degrees on Thursday, August 13.

The week will start off quite cool as the forecaster says Monday will start sunny before clouds develop in the evening. However, this is due to clear on Tuesday, August 11, when sunny skies are predicted throughout the day, and temperatures will reach 23 degrees in the afternoon.

This weather is predicted to continue on Wednesday, August 12, although the highest temperatures are set to be a few degrees higher at 25.

Thursday is forecast to be the warmest day of the week, with temperatures in the mid-20s for most of the day before reaching 28 degrees in places.

The Met Office has warned that while there will be lots of sunshine and warm weather, there is the potential for heavy showers in places during the heatwave.

Coming into the weekend, temperatures are set to drop again on Friday, August 14, with highs of 21 degrees predicted, dropping further on Saturday, August 15, when temperatures will be in the high teens.

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

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is freezing her eggs as she decides her next political moves ahead of the 2028 presidential election campaign.

“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez, 36, said on Instagram about her decision regarding her reproductive options.

The New York congresswoman, a leading figure of Democrats’ progressive left flank, did not say explicitly whether she plans to have children. She said in her social media posts that she was taking a “political risk” in talking so personally about her potential family plans.

She said later on ABC “This Week” on Sunday that she has not ruled out running for president or for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrats’ floor leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, in 2028. She explained that she wants to normalize conversations about what women face in their professional and personal lives, while also highlighting the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

“In this political environment, where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations,” she said.

Trump’s administration opposes abortion rights, and the Republican president’s first-term appointees to the Supreme Court provided the margins in the 2022 ruling that struck down the Roe v. Wade decision that had established a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.

Separately, however, Trump in 2025 signed an executive order designed to lower the costs of in vitro fertilization.

Ocasio-Cortez sponsored a Democratic bill in 2022, when the party controlled the House, to codify abortion rights into federal law after the Supreme Court’s abortion decision.

As part of her weekend announcement, Ocasio-Cortez noted that women — in politics and other fields — face different standards and scrutiny about their family status.

“Men run for office, or frankly they interview for jobs, and people don’t think in the back of their minds, ‘OK, this guy’s running for office, how old is he? Oh, well, is he going to want to start a family?’” she said.

House of the Dragon has aired its bloodsoaked season 3 finale and many characters did not survive past the Battle of Tumbleton.

The House of the Dragon season 3 finale is here – and fans have been left reeling as yet more characters meet a violent end.

As the long-awaited Battle of Tumbleton unfolds on the HBO show, several major players are lost, while away from the ill-fated town, huge revelations are made.

It follows the dramatic events of episode 7, where we see a brutal dance of dragons, learn of Lord Ormund’s daring Gambit and discover the fate of Aegon’s dragon Sunfyre.

But what happens in the nail-biting final episode of House of the Dragon season 3? And which characters finally meet their end?

*Warning: This article contains huge spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8.*

Who dies in House of the Dragon season 3 finale?

High Septon Eustace

In shocking scenes, Rhaenyra Targaryen finally decides to put High Septon Eustace to the sword.

It comes after his continued refusal to anoint her as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, which is critical for the stability of her rule, as many of her subjects follow the Faith of the Seven.

In the end, she instructs Ser Alyn of Hull to carry out the gruesome deed, and he obliges by driving a sword through the religious leader’s stomach in the King’s Landing Sept.

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Roderick Dustin

During the Battle of Tumbleton, Roderick Dustin dies by dragonfire when Ulf the White goes rogue, burning soldiers on both sides with the help of his dragon, Silverwing.

The leader of the Winter Wolves’ death doesn’t feel tragic, as he vows to survive just long enough to see Tumbleton’s main gate fall.

He also manages to strike down Lord Ormund Hightower in the process, meaning he more than lives up to the task.

Kat

After the battle is ended, we learn Hugh Hammer’s wife Kat has died amid the chaos.

Earlier in the episode, we hear Hugh calling for her during the struggle, but he does not find her.

When Hugh discovers her body in the ruined remains of Tumbleton, he lets out a cry of anguish.

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Ormund Hightower

Villainous Lord Ormund Hightower, who establishes himself as one of the most snobbish and prudish characters in the Game of Thrones universe, meets a fittingly vulgar end.

After forcing children to guard Tumbleton’s gates as human shields, he is set upon by Roderick Dustin, who drives a sword up his backside.

Moments later, both are engulfed by dragonfire, courtesy of a disillusioned and hungover Ulf.

Heleana Targaryen

Tragically, death finally befalls everyone’s favourite dreamer far away from the battlefield.

Following the forced departure of her mother Alicent, Helaena is no longer protected from the cruelty of the palace.

In the end, she decides she would rather die than remain imprisoned by Rhaenyra and throws herself out of the window very reminiscent of the one King Tommen Baratheon defenestrates himself from over 100 years later in Game of Thrones.

She leaves behind a curiously detailed tapestry, which could reveal her most telling prophecy to date.

House of the Dragon season 3 is available to watch on HBO Max UK & Ireland and Sky Atlantic.