Plans to give mayors in England the power to introduce a levy on tourists are expected to be outlined on Thursday.
Under the proposals, a fee would be charged to people staying overnight and local leaders would decide how the revenue raised should be reinvested.
The idea – dubbed the tourist tax – was first raised by Sir Keir Starmer’s government in November and is similar to a scheme running in Scotland.
The levy will be charged as a percentage of the cost of accommodation, rather than as a flat fee – a move the government argues will protect budget holidays.
Advertisement
In theory, there will be no upper limit – though ministers are said to believe mayors are unlikely to make it too expensive.
The government will announce more details after the Housing Secretary Angela Rayner meets mayors on Thursday.
A government source said “it will be up to local leaders and local voters” in England “to decide what is right for their area”.
The Overnight Visitor Levy, which was outlined in the King’s Speech in May, means a holiday in England could become more expensive if local leaders decide to implement the tax.
Advertisement
Sir Keir had planned to bring forward legislation to introduce the levy before he was replaced as prime minister by Andy Burnham but the bill has not been brought forward yet.
The prime minister has framed the policy as part of his wider devolution agenda, and No 10 previously said local leaders would be “able to set out plans for how revenues will be invested by March 2028”.
Burnham was mayor of Manchester when the city introduced the City Visitor Charge in April 2023 – a £1 per room, per night fee – to pay for measures aimed at attracting more visitors.
Regional mayors say the levy is needed to raise more income to invest in local priorities and support economic growth.
Advertisement
These taxes are common in Europe and the rest of the world, with New York, Amsterdam and Rome applying overnight charges to accommodation stays to fund local services.
In Scotland local authorities can introduce a visitor levy on overnight accommodation set as a percentage rate.
Edinburgh became the first city there to introduce the tax in July, with those staying overnight in hotels, bed and breakfasts and self-catering accommodation charged an additional 5% on top of their original booking cost. However, the charge is capped at five nights.
Elsewhere in Scotland, a 5% levy in Glasgow is due to come into force from January 2027.
Advertisement
In Wales, a capped levy of £1.30 per person per night is set to be introduced in April next year.
As the new Telegraph Fantasy Football season approaches, the fantasy football experts at Fantasy Football Hub will continue to bring you the very best in fantasy football knowledge, tips and tools to help you rise up the ranks and win your mini-leagues.
To join the Hub and get access to all their great resources and expert tips you can take advantage of its 50% pre-season discount here.
Telegraph Fantasy Football managers need to make compromises to fit in fantasy heavyweights like Erling Haaland (£8.3m) and Bruno Fernandes (6.5m). Picking some set-and-forget budget enablers who have either high point ceiling potential or will return a steady stream of points, is key to freeing up those funds.
Advertisement
Below are five players the Fantasy Football Hub experts have highlighted for consideration.
Brian Brobbey (£3.3m)
The Sunderland forward had a steady Premier League debut season, netting seven times and helping the Black Cats qualify for the Europa League. The Dutch international netted three times at the World Cup, improving his stock further, and will be looking to get off to a goal-scoring start against Ipswich and Fulham in GWs 1 and 2.
Enzo Le Fee (£3.3m)
Advertisement
Depending on the formation TFF managers are using, Brobbey’s midfield teammate at the same price may be the preferred route to target those opening fixtures. The 26-year-old accrued 12 attacking returns last season, and bumped up his overall score with an impressive 93 tackles.
Harry Wilson (£3.2m)
The midfielder swapped London for Yorkshire in the summer, as he looks to expand on a whopping 17 attacking returns from last season. Feeding the rejuvenated Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£3.9m), and adding goals from midfield for Leeds will be two primary objectives for the Welsh international, who could make a mockery of his mere marginal price increase.
James Trafford (£3.0m)
Advertisement
Another Leeds United summer acquisition, Daniel Farke fought off rival Premier League suitors to land the ex-Manchester City shot-stopper. Leeds United have a mixed bag in terms of opening fixture difficulty, but do have three home league games in the first five before the international break, and the new no.1 has an outside chance of getting the nod in the Carabao Cup games too, so there are points available should the Whites be able to shut out the opposition.
James Hill (£2.6m)
If looking to fit in more big-hitters, a sub £3m player can be extremely useful for team balance, and the Bournemouth defender looks assured of starting having played a pivotal role in getting the Cherries into Europe this season.
Neal Flanagan, right, a research scientist at Duke University, uses a tool to take a soil sample from a peatland as Curt Richardson, an ecology professor at Duke, observes Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Belhaven, N.C. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
2026-09-09T13:00:22Z
NEW YORK (AP) — A major American aid group is promising to deliver more medicines in high-need areas around the world after receiving its largest ever donation.
Americares, a nonprofit that supports thousands of health centers globally, announced a $50 million gift Wednesday from an unidentified Connecticut family. The contribution represents an unusual expansion at a time when the United States’ sudden aid cuts have hamstrung programs ranging from maternal and child health to HIV treatment and prevention.
Advertisement
“They definitely understood the moment and wanted to do more to respond to that,” Christine Squires, the president and CEO of Americares, said of the donor.
freestar.queue.push(function () {
window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0;
let customChannel=”/dynamic_” + fsAdCount;
let adList = document.querySelectorAll(“.fs-feed-ad”)
let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount];
let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2);
thisAd.id = randId;
let thisPlacement = “apnews_story_feed_dynamic”;
freestar.newAdSlots({
placementName: thisPlacement,
slotId: randId
}, customChannel);
});
Global health of all USAID’s targets has received much of the attention from big donors, according to Susan Appe, a University at Albany associate professor of public administration and policy who has researched how nonprofits deal with the changing whims of donor countries. That’s reasonable, she said, considering “lives are on the line.” Jeff Bezos’ parents, for example, committed up to $500 million last March for UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund.
Advertisement
Experts agree that high-net-worth donors could never save every program lost by the billions of dollars cut from U.S. spending on global health. But there was an expectation that more philanthropists would step up to support the causes advanced by USAID.
“I think that a lot of philanthropy scholars like myself have been a bit disappointed with the lag of response,” Appe said. “It’s kind of, to some degree, business as usual.”
(function () {
var APRM_EMBED_ID = “ap-readmore-embed”;
var APRM_MOBILE_MQ = “(max-width: 767px)”;
function APRM_onReady(fn) {
if (document.readyState === “loading”) {
document.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”, fn);
} else {
fn();
}
}
APRM_onReady(function () {
var APRM_embedEl = document.getElementById(APRM_EMBED_ID);
if (!APRM_embedEl) return;
Advertisement
// 🚨 DESKTOP: remove entire module wrapper and bail early
if (!window.matchMedia(APRM_MOBILE_MQ).matches) {
var APRM_rootModule =
APRM_embedEl.closest(“.HTMLModuleEnhancement”) ||
APRM_embedEl.closest(“.HtmlModule”);
if (APRM_rootModule && APRM_rootModule.parentNode) {
APRM_rootModule.parentNode.removeChild(APRM_rootModule);
} else if (APRM_embedEl.parentNode) {
APRM_embedEl.parentNode.removeChild(APRM_embedEl);
}
return; // stop the rest of the script from running
}
});
})();
(function () {
var EMBED_ID = “ap-readmore-embed”;
var BTN_ID = “apReadMoreBtn”;
var FADE_ID = “apReadMoreFade”;
var STOP_SELECTOR = “.Page-below”;
var SIGN_IN_GATE_SELECTOR = “.sign-in-gate-content”;
var HIDDEN_ATTR = “data-ap-readmore-hidden”;
var MOBILE_MQ = “(max-width: 767px)”;
Advertisement
function ready(fn) {
if (document.readyState === “loading”) {
document.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”, fn);
} else {
fn();
}
}
function isElementNode(n) {
return n && n.nodeType === 1;
}
function cancelEvent(e) {
if (!e) return;
if (typeof e.preventDefault === “function”) e.preventDefault();
if (typeof e.stopPropagation === “function”) e.stopPropagation();
if (typeof e.stopImmediatePropagation === “function”) e.stopImmediatePropagation();
e.cancelBubble = true;
e.returnValue = false;
}
function collapseDesktopEmbed(embed) {
if (!embed) return true;
Advertisement
if (!window.matchMedia(MOBILE_MQ).matches) {
var maybeWrappers = [
embed.parentElement,
embed.closest(“.html-embed”),
embed.closest(“[data-type=”htmlembed”]”),
embed.closest(“[class*=’embed’]”),
embed.closest(“[class*=’Embed’]”)
].filter(Boolean);
if (embed.parentNode) {
embed.parentNode.removeChild(embed);
}
Advertisement
return true;
}
return false;
}
ready(function () {
var embed = document.getElementById(EMBED_ID);
var btn = document.getElementById(BTN_ID);
var fade = document.getElementById(FADE_ID);
if (!embed || !btn) return;
if (collapseDesktopEmbed(embed)) return;
Advertisement
var signInGate = document.querySelector(SIGN_IN_GATE_SELECTOR);
if (signInGate) {
embed.innerHTML = “”;
return;
}
// — Analytics: impression when embed enters viewport —
if (“IntersectionObserver” in window) {
var io = new IntersectionObserver(function (entries, observer) {
if (entries[0].isIntersecting) {
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
window.dataLayer.push({ event: “ap_readmore_impression” });
observer.disconnect();
}
}, { threshold: 0 });
io.observe(btn);
}
var stopEl = document.querySelector(STOP_SELECTOR);
if (!stopEl) return;
var rootCandidates = [
embed.closest(“.Page”),
embed.closest(“article”),
embed.closest(“main”),
document.body
].filter(Boolean);
var all = root.getElementsByTagName(“*”);
var hidden = [];
for (var i = 0; i < all.length; i++) {
var el = all[i];
if (embed.contains(el)) continue;
if (el === stopEl || stopEl.contains(el)) continue;
Advertisement
var tag = el.tagName ? el.tagName.toLowerCase() : "";
if (tag === "script" || tag === "style" || tag === "link" || tag === "meta") continue;
if (!(embed.compareDocumentPosition(el) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_FOLLOWING)) continue;
if (!(el.compareDocumentPosition(stopEl) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_FOLLOWING)) continue;
if (el.contains(embed) || el.contains(stopEl)) continue;
Americares, which Squires said had received about 10% of its funding from the U.S. government before the aid cuts, certainly felt the impact. Among their efforts that lost support last year was a maternal care project in Tanzania. Colombian medical clinics serving Venezuelan migrants closed after private funders kept them afloat for several months. A planned five-year collaboration to build a more robust medical supply chain across Gaza had to be scrapped.
freestar.queue.push(function () {
window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0;
let customChannel=”/dynamic_” + fsAdCount;
let adList = document.querySelectorAll(“.fs-feed-ad”)
let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount];
let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2);
thisAd.id = randId;
let thisPlacement = “apnews_story_feed_dynamic”;
freestar.newAdSlots({
placementName: thisPlacement,
slotId: randId
}, customChannel);
});
Squires considers the group fortunate to have a robust-enough network that it now receives all of its funding from a mix of individual donors, corporations and private foundations. That’s important as the group responds to more than 20 emergencies including the Nepal floods and the Congo’s Ebola outbreak.
Advertisement
Sign up for Morning Wire:
Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.
/*
UTM params to append to the page URL used as the request referrer.
This does NOT modify the subscription payload.
*/
referrerUtmParams: {
utm_source: ’embed’
},
messages: {
invalidEmail: ‘Please use a valid email address.’,
disclaimerRequired: ‘Please check disclaimer before proceeding.’,
invalidBoth: ‘Please provide a valid email address, and check disclaimer.’,
genericError: ‘Something went wrong. Please try again later.’,
botBlocked: ‘Please try again.’,
recaptchaLoadFail: ‘Failed to load reCAPTCHA. Please refresh the page and try again.’,
recaptchaRequired: ‘reCAPTCHA verification is required. Please ensure reCAPTCHA is loaded on this page.’,
recaptchaFailed: ‘reCAPTCHA verification failed. Please refresh the page and try again.’,
verificationFailed: ‘Verification failed. Please try again.’
}
};
In this particular case, Squires said the donor’s family has been involved with Americares for 30 years. They’re “very savvy” in their understanding of global health, she said.
Half of the new gift will power its goal to help 100 million people access quality healthcare by 2030 “in a time when that need is increasing,” according to Squires. That work involves providing additional medical supplies to their network of more than 4,000 health centers. They will focus especially on countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Latin America that lack funding and awareness. Americares also plans to increase support for U.S. health centers in states where they expect to see more residents without health insurance.
Advertisement
The other half will go toward Americares’ endowment, Squires said. She hopes the news of its record donation will inspire others. Investments of that size show “there are people who trust,” she said, in both Americares and the humanitarian sector overall.
freestar.queue.push(function () {
window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0;
let customChannel=”/dynamic_” + fsAdCount;
let adList = document.querySelectorAll(“.fs-feed-ad”)
let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount];
let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2);
thisAd.id = randId;
let thisPlacement = “apnews_story_feed_dynamic”;
freestar.newAdSlots({
placementName: thisPlacement,
slotId: randId
}, customChannel);
});
“It’s not only up to individuals,” she said. “However, individuals who have the means, who have the passion and can invest like this, will help to bring others along. So, I’m excited and hopeful that this will spark more giving across the board.”
___
Advertisement
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Pollard covers philanthropy for The Associated Press with a focus on Gen Z’s giving habits and technology’s uses in charitable work. He is based in New York.
The Samaritans charity, which offers support to people who are struggling, said earlier this week it wanted to let people know that suicidal thoughts “can be interrupted” by other people – and that rather than being concerned with saying “the perfect thing”, it is better just ask if someone is okay.
Arsenal are focused on achieving their season aims but have been called out for a decision made during the transfer window
Arsenal have assembled a strong squad but the effects of the summer transfer window are still being felt long after deadline day. Manager Mikel Arteta has a formidable array of players at his disposal as the club aim to retain the Premier League title and take the final leap in the Champions League.
Advertisement
New signings Ezri Konsa, Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis prove that the Gunners were recruiting from a position of strength, with the trio bolstering the spine of the team. However, Arteta was also forced to make several difficult calls in the transfer market.
These decisions included selling Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli to Besiktas and Al-Hilal, respectively. In a further change to the club’s forward line, Gabriel Jesus signed for Barcelona and has since discussed the end of his time at Arsenal.
Meanwhile, top prospect Ethan Nwaneri was loaned out to Borussia Dortmund and the teenager has faced an unusual situation shortly after joining the German side. Here, Mirror Football looks at some of the biggest stories surrounding the Gunners.
Gabriel Jesus punished by Mikel Arteta
Former Arsenal striker Jesus has revealed that he was made to train alone before completing his move to Barcelona. After leaving the 29-year-old out of the Community Shield last month, Arteta had insisted that Jesus was an important part of his squad. However, this stance quickly changed as the Brazilian was seemingly punished when he appeared to be moving away from the club.
Advertisement
“So, the truth is, I was training, I did all the pre-season with Arsenal as normal. Obviously, I knew already that probably I would not play there or get many opportunities, but nobody told me nothing,” Jesus told SportyTV. “Well, I am a professional. Obviously, I was training with the group.
“Then, from nothing, they put me to train away from the group. Well, I was training, I was doing my maximum to be ready if I have a chance to play at a high level again. Then, obviously, in the last week, it was very quick.
“The work with Deco, the president of the club, and my agent was amazing. In one day, it was sure that I would have the opportunity to come (to Barcelona). I said yes, straight away, no matter what, and I am so happy to be here.”
Once Jesus had joined Barcelona, Arteta spoke glowingly about the striker: “Gabi’s gone to Barcelona, which I take the opportunity as well to give him a huge thank you. He was a massive contributor for us to change the dynamic and the energy in and around this club. I think when Gabi came in he brought this energy, this belief within, this aura, that’s really helped achieve what happened next.”
However, Kovac dismissed any suggestion that his potentially embarrassing call was a reflection on Nwaneri’s performance, having helped Dortmund to a 3-2 win over Villarreal on Tuesday. “He gave everything. If he had started the game, he probably would have come off around the 60th minute,” Kovac explained.
Advertisement
Asked if the substitution was tied to Nwaneri’s display, the Dortmund manager added: “Quite the opposite, he was really good. It was great that he was able to have an impact on the team in such a short time.”
The Arsenal teenager played 55 minutes in total after coming on for Karetsas in the first half before being replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka with a few minutes to go. He recently registered an assist in his Bundesliga debut and will hope to continue having a positive impact during his loan spell.
Join our WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose ofMirrorFootball content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read ourPrivacy Notice.
Essential 26/27 Sky Sports Bundle
Advertisement
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky’s Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season, with more than 1,500 games from the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts.
This introductory offer saves £384 compared to the standard price, with every package also providing 100 regular channels alongside free Netflix and discovery+ subscriptions.
Princess Andre jokes she was ‘really living up to her name’ after stunning appearance at the NTAs as she leaves Katie Price out of latest Instagram after her mum ‘hijacked’ her big night
Princess Andre joked she was ‘really living up to her name’ as she shared an array of snaps from her stunning appearance at the National Television Awards on Tuesday.
The TV star, 19, took to Instagram to celebrate the evening as she showed off her glitzy blue ball gown and shared a snap with her brother Junior.
However Princess left Katie out of the collection of pics, after it was revealed her mum ‘hijacked’ her big red carpet moment by surprising the teenager who was ‘forced’ to pose with her mother.
Taking to her social media, Princess shared a transformation video as she went from her casual comfy clothes to the sparkly dress.
Advertisement
She captioned the snap: ‘Really was living up to my name at the NTAs last night.’
Meanwhile in a post later in the day she shared a professional solo shot and one with her brother, 21, but none with Katie.
Princess Andre joked she was ‘really living up to her name’ as she shared an array of snaps from her stunning appearance at the National Television Awards on Tuesday
Advertisement
However Princess left Katie out of the collection of pics, after it was revealed her mum ‘hijacked’ the moment by surprising the teenager who was ‘forced’ to pose with her mother
Meanwhile in a post later in the day she shared a professional solo shot and one with her brother, 21, but none with Katie
Elsewhere over on Katie’s Instagram she dedicated a post to her children as she shared a snap of the pair and penned: ‘NTAs with Junior & Princess.’
It comes after the Daily Mail revealed the reality star, 48, unexpectedly rocked up to the TV awards at London’s O2 Arena in what was her first public appearance since her split from Lee Andrews.
Advertisement
It is understood she was a guest in the box of a tabloid newspaper rather than a television network.
Princess, who was walking the carpet with her elder brother Junior to promote the upcoming series of her hit reality show The Princess Diaries on ITVX, was not due to attend with Katie.
A source close to Princess, 19, said: ‘She and Junior had no choice. Katie walked straight on to the red carpet to stand with her and hijacked her big moment.’
Princess, who wore a light-blue ballgown, was ‘forced’ to pose next to her mother who sported a white shirt, a pair of lace mini shorts and tights.
Advertisement
One onlooker told the Daily Mail: ‘Katie turned up well after the kids to the O2 by herself. Princess and Junior had an escort up the carpet, it had all been organised, and they spent ages speaking to the Press individually.
‘It took them so long that they hadn’t made it far down the carpet when Katie pulled up wearing heavy make-up.
‘She skipped out all the Press and strode straight over to them and grabbed them for a picture.’
Junior and Princess, aged 21 and 19, are Katie’s children from her marriage to singer turned reality star Peter Andre. They are said to have struggled at times with their mother’s erratic behaviour.
Advertisement
A source close to Princess, 19, said: ‘She and Junior had no choice. Katie walked straight on to the red carpet to stand with her and hijacked her big moment’
They were understood to have been deeply worried about her relationship with conman Andrews, whom she claimed to have married in January but appears to now be a sham.
Katie shocked fans with a scary heavy makeup look as she turned heads at the event – after revealing earlier in the day that she had been left with a black eye after getting face filler and new breast implants just hours before.
Despite her latest cosmetic procedures, Katie was determined to still attend the glamorous awards show in her first public appearance since she reportedly dumped husband Lee over text.
Advertisement
Katie made sure to make an impact as she transformed her face with bold black eyeliner and highlight, before heavily lining her lips with brown gloss.
Covering up her new breast implants, she paired a long-sleeved white shirt with a very racy pair of nude and black lace shorts which she paired with black tights.
Completing the look with black heels, Katie gelled her hair back in a wet look and accessorised with large diamond Valentino earrings.
Katie didn’t appear in the first series of Princess’s ITV2 show, The Princess Diaries – her role was a mere WhatsApp voice note but she did join her daughter in her latest season of the programme.
Advertisement
However, Peter’s wife Emily was present in the episodes.
A source close to the siblings recently told the Daily Mail: ‘Junior and Princess love their mum, they always will, but they find the whole circus of her life hard sometimes.’
The 40-year-old twin actresses-turned-fashion moguls were seen on an uncommon casual outing together on Tuesday ahead of New York Fashion Week.
The two stars opted for comfort on the low-key outing as their billion-dollar fashion brand The Row is not set to have a showing during American fashion’s biggest week.
Mary-Kate opted for an all-black look, including a flowy top, relaxed-fit jeans and strappy leather sandals.
Advertisement
Ashley donned a white T-shirt with baggy black shorts and a sweater around her neck as she held onto a pair of blue jeans.
The twins both donned a pair of sunglasses as their brunette tresses were combed in a middle part.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were seen on a rare outing together weeks after their real relationship with their Full House co-stars was revealed
Advertisement
As mentioned earlier, their luxury fashion house will not be showing at NYFW, however, they are scheduled to present their Spring/Summer 2027 collection at Paris Fashion Week on September 30.
Having escaped the frenzied glare of the spotlight in the 2000s, the now 40-year-old sisters have forged a behind-the-scenes career as fashion moguls, heading up The Row.
Their withdrawal into privacy has allowed an aura of mystery to form around the subject of whether they remain friendly with their old Full House colleagues – a question Sweetin has now answered on the podcast Comics and Kicks.
The Daily Mail contacted a representative for the Olsen twins for comment at the time.
Advertisement
The 40-year-old twin actresses-turned-fashion moguls were seen on an uncommon casual outing together on Tuesday ahead of New York Fashion Week
The two stars opted for comfort on the low-key outing as their billion dollar fashion brand The Row is not set to have a showing during American fashion’s biggest week
‘Everyone’s on good terms with them, but they were eight years old when this show stopped,’ Sweetin noted. ‘Then they did all those movies and all that stuff that I don’t know that they loved doing all the time.’
When Full House ended, the Olsen twins launched headlong into a whirlwind career of TV movies produced by their company Dualstar, which was run by their manager Robert Thorne until they turned 18 and became co-presidents themselves.
Advertisement
Sweetin observed that the twins ‘walked away from all of us at eight years,’ while she herself was in the midst of her ‘formative years’ on Full House from the ages of five to 13.
However, at ‘eight and earlier, you don’t remember all that much, so it was like, they have a different relationship to being on set all the time,’ said Sweetin.
‘They might not remember being two years old and having us all carrying them around and doing all this stuff, but I do.’
With a cast including Lori Loughlin, John Stamos, Scott Weinger, Andrea Barber and Dave Coulier, Full House ran an impressive eight seasons from 1987 to 1995.
Advertisement
Sweetin also glancingly addressed the twins’ decision not to return for the Netflix reboot Fuller House, which lasted five seasons from 2016 to 2020.
‘They don’t want attention and I get it. They had so much and were so invaded and so for public consumption, I totally understand why they don’t wanna do that,’ she said.
The Olsen twins’ relationship with their Full House co-stars was revealed in July by their on-screen sister Jodie Sweetin. Above, the twins in 2019
The Olsen twins were infants when they began playing Michelle, one of the three children of Bob Saget’s widower character Danny Tanner, and were on the show to the age of eight
Advertisement
Lori Loughlin, John Stamos, Jodie Sweetin, Candace Cameron, Scott Weinger, one of the Olsen twins, Andrea Barber, Dave Coulier and Bob Saget on Full House
‘Everyone’s on good terms with them, but they were eight years old when this show stopped,’ noted Sweetin
Sweetin observed that the twins ‘walked away from all of us at eight years,’ while she herself was in the midst of her ‘formative years.’ Above, Sweetin on the show with Stamos
Stamos with Mary-Kate (right) and Ashley (left) on Full House. He has shared that the Olsen twins attended Bob Saget’s funeral in 2022
Advertisement
The twins’ globetrotting life shooting Dualstar movies – which whisked them between such locales as London, Paris, Rome and the Bahamas – was a tabloid fixture.
Then, just after they turned 18, news broke that Mary-Kate had checked into rehab for an unspecified health issue that was widely rumored to be anorexia.
Although Mary-Kate never herself confirmed she suffered an eating disorder, her dramatic weight loss had already fallen under blistering public scrutiny.
They began dating when she was 26 and he was 43 and remained romantically involved for eight years before their marriage imploded in 2020.
Advertisement
Having escaped the frenzied glare of the spotlight in the 2000s, the now 40-year-old sisters have forged a behind-the-scenes career as fashion moguls. Above, in 2004
In a sign of their lingering bond with their old Full House cast, the Olsen twins were present at Bob Saget’s funeral in 2022 after he was found dead at 65 in a hotel room, having suffered what the medical examiners determined was head trauma.
‘They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep,’ said his family’s statement.
Stamos spoke glowingly about the ‘beautiful’ reunion he enjoyed with the Olsen twins at Saget’s memorial service during an interview on The Howard Stern Show.
Advertisement
He shared that Mary-Kate and Ashley ‘got us all together and said: “We love you. We loved our childhood. We’re grateful for you guys. Thank you for making those eight years so beautiful for us. We have such fond memories. We love you.” And everybody just needed to hear that, and I think it was Bob doing it.’
The council has provided an update on collections following the incident
Firefighters were called to a bin lorry blaze in Trumpington on Wednesday morning (September 9). The fire on Clay Farm Drive involved one a Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service bin lorries after waste was collected in the Trumpington area of Cambridge this morning.
Advertisement
Crews from Cambridge were called at 8.19am and rushed to the scene of the fire. Firefighters arrived to find a fire in a bin lorry involving rubbish, a fire service spokesperson said.
The crews used hose reels to battle the fire and checked for hotspots. Photos taken by an onlooker showed heaps of rubbish put on the street during the incident.
A Cambridge City Council spokesperson confirmed all the crew are safe and there were no reported wider safety issues or road closures. The spokesperson said: “The crew followed safety protocols, stopping the truck and tipping the waste into a safe area. The fire service attended the scene and council teams attended to clean up the area.
Advertisement
“There is not expected to be any disruption to bin services as the crew have continued on their collection rounds after decanting the general waste.” A fire service spokesperson confirmed the cause of the fire was accidental.
A city council spokesperson continued: “While it’s too early for the cause of the fire to be identified, bin lorry fires are usually caused by batteries, particularly large rechargeables such as e-bike batteries, being incorrectly disposed of in wheelie bins. Vapes and gas canisters can also cause fires and should never be binned.
“Residents are reminded to never bin batteries. E-bike or scooter batteries can be taken to Household Recycling Centres such as those near Milton and Thriplow, or to Halfords or B&Q to be safely recycled.
“Small household batteries can be left on top of wheelie bin lids in a small bag to be collected separately by bin crews. If you live in a flat with communal bins please take batteries to local shops – all shops which sell batteries will have a collection point.”
Full disclosure: I have been a fan of Call My Agent! since 2015, when I saw the first two episodes at a small festival in Brides-les-bains, a spa town in the French Alps. The event was organised by agent-turned-producer Dominique Besnehard, who was showing the episodes ahead of their first airing on French TV.
Having spent eight years getting the project off the ground, Besnehard was anxious to know whether French audiences would like it. They did. The series ran for four seasons, was picked up by Netflix and critically well-received. It won several French TV awards and an International Emmy, with its formula later reproduced in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain among others. Now comes the movie.
In the series, written by talented showrunner Fanny Herrero who also wrote the film, we observe the workings of Parisian casting agency ASK (modelled on Artmedia, where Besnehard worked) in light comedy mode. Agents match “the talent” with film projects, while coping with actorly egos, affairs, meltdowns and tantrums. The series’ key trick was to mix the fictional agency staff with real-life celebrities making fun of themselves.
Many major stars were reluctant to join the first series. There was no Catherine Deneuve or Gérard Depardieu, possibly for the best in the latter’s case (in the new film, his name is met with stony silence). Fans had to wait for seasons two and three to see A-listers like Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert and Jean Dujardin, and season four for Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean Reno and American actress Sigourney Weaver (playing a diva version of herself). In turn, the success of the series brought fame to its actors, especially Camille Cottin (Andréa) and Laure Calamy (Noémie).
Advertisement
There is evidence that great series do not automatically produce brilliant movies – see The Avengers (1998), Miami Vice (2006) and Sex and the City (2008). So could Call My Agent! pull off a movie version?
The one star problem
Season four of the series ended on the break-up of ASK. Five years on, the film picks up with Andréa about to direct her first full-length feature film and Noémie producing a TV series. Both work in the same company as their former boss, Mathias (Thibault de Montalembert), who is also Noémie’s partner. Predictably, things go awry.
Andréa’s star, Laurent Lafitte, drops out and she sacks her producer. After Noémie (who steps in as producer) wrecks the possibility of casting George Clooney by making a series of cringeworthy remarks that incense the Hollywood star, they recruit Vincent Macaigne, who plays a reputed, but fragile version of himself.
Advertisement
Things go from bad to worse when they all move to the south of France for the shoot, with lead actors punching each other, an unruly wild boar and a storm that destroys the equipment.
For fans of the series, there is fun to be had in the familiar banter among the team of former agents reunited for Andréa’s shoot. Each plays up to their established identity: Mathias continues to be a cad; Andréa bullies everyone while fighting with her lesbian ex-partner over their daughter; Noémie’s chaotic energy hides her professional skills; straight Gabriel (Grégory Montel) and gay Hervé (Nicolas Maury) channel their vulnerable masculinity; and veteran Arlette (Liliane Rovère) reveals more of her improbably eventful past.
The problem, not just for Andréa’s film but also the second half of Call My Agent! The Movie, is the featured “star”.
The reason for the series’ success, beyond gossipy shenanigans at a casting agency, is its deep roots in French cinema history. Sustaining 24 episodes is a rich film culture, with stars ranging from internet celebrities (Norman) to international figures (Binoche), auteur cinema divas (Isabelle Adjani), TV stars (Muriel Robin), comics (Frank Dubosc), the old (Guy Marchand) and the young (Julien Doré).
Advertisement
Boiling this down to one star in one film was a challenge to which Macaigne is not the solution. The film, which showcases Macaigne’s trademark depressive persona, never gives him an opportunity to display his craft – he is upstaged by both the wild boar and the storm.
Meanwhile, the input of his co-lead, former model Laetitia Casta, amounts to being punched on the nose. The “joke” that the policemen who arrest the couple at a demonstration do not recognise them may be a little close the bone.
To attain major stardom in France actors must straddle the rarefied world of auteur cinema and popular genres – as is the case, indeed, for Lafitte who would have been ideal star but unfortunately drops out of Andréa’s film. (In real life Laffite is an alumni of the prestigious Comédie Française theatre who stars in both art movies and popular comedies.)
Advertisement
As a result, despite glamorous cameos by Clooney and Eva Longoria, the film is unlikely to attract new viewers. Fans of Call My Agent! will continue to long for another season, but in the meantime they will have to be content with this watchable, but ultimately disappointing film.
The incident happened on Swinside Road in Breightmet, Bolton, at around 6pm on Wednesday, September 9, prompting a large emergency response and a police cordon at the scene.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) confirmed that four fire engines were sent to the scene from Bolton North, Bolton Central, Farnworth, and Whitefield stations.
(Image: NQ)
A spokesperson for GMFRS said: “Just after 6pm on Wednesday 9 September, fire crews were called to reports of a fire at a home on Swinside Road, Bolton.
“Four fire engines from Bolton North, Bolton Central, Farnworth and Whitefield stations were quickly mobilised to the incident, which involved a fire in the kitchen of a ground-floor flat.
Advertisement
“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reels to extinguish the fire. A man was rescued from the property and has been taken to hospital by North West Ambulance Service.
“Fire crews were in attendance for about two hours.”
Dr Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at Copernicus, described August as “a remarkable month in the global climate record”, and its impacts had been “increasingly being felt by communities, economies and ecosystems across the world”.
The combination of record air temperatures, record ocean heat and Europe’s exceptional summer showed how climate change was now driving extremes across “both the atmosphere and the oceans”, she said.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the record clearly showed humanity’s impact on the climate.
“The evidence is irrefutable: this is the spiralling price of humanity’s fossil fuel addiction, and the global climate crisis it is fuelling,” he said.
Advertisement
On top of the ongoing impact of the use of fossil fuels, the rise of a powerful El Niño is making matters worse, the researchers have said.
El Niño is a natural climate pattern in which a band of the eastern Pacific turns unusually warm, releasing vast amounts of stored ocean heat into the atmosphere and nudging global temperatures upwards for around a year.
The one currently being experienced is still strengthening and could become one of the most powerful on record, according to the Copernicus team.
The biggest impact of this natural phenomenon on global temperatures is expected to hit over the coming year, meaning the current run of records may have further to go.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login