The ‘Thursday Murder Club’ writer will take centre stage at the popular event in September.
Acclaimed author and broadcaster Richard Osman will share centre stage at a prestigious literary festival in Stirling in September.
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Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival today reveals that the star of pointless and author of the best-selling Thursday Murder Club novels is the final early release headliner for the 2026 event.
He first visited the Stirling festival when as an unpublished author and his crime novels are now a regular fixture on bestseller lists around the world.
He said: “Can’t wait to come back to Stirling and the incredible ‘Bloody Scotland’ festival. I can 100 per cent guarantee this event will contain mirth, merriment, murder and mayhem, though not necessarily in that order. See you there!’
Other big names released so far include Lee Child (who sold out within 24 hours), S A Cosby, Tana French and Lucy Foley all of whom will be interviewed on stage by guest programmer, Denise Mina.
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Richard Osman will be interviewed by long time friend and fellow crime writer, Mark Billingham. Tickets are on sale at www.bloodyscotland.com
The rest of the Bloody Scotland 2026 programme will be revealed at The Golden Lion in Stirling at noon on Thursday, June 4, followed by an event at 1.30pm with J D Kirk.
Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, providing a showcase for the best crime writing from Scotland and the world, unique in that it was set up by a group of Scottish crime writers in 2012. Full information at bloodyscotland.com
All of the authors shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize have been invited to attend the programme launch. The long-list for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed later in the month.
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The 2026 festival begins on Friday, September 18 and concludes on Sunday, September 20.
The festival takes place in various venues (including The Albert Halls, Made in Stirling and the social hub of the festival, The Golden Lion Hotel) in the historic city of Stirling.
The Bloody Scotland board is made up of crime writers Lin Anderson, Craig Robertson, Gordon Brown, Abir Mukherjee plus Muriel Robertson and Catriona Reynolds.
Bloody Scotland receives vital funding from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland and Stirling Council. They are also grateful to their many sponsors and supporters including The Glencairn Glass, H W Fisher, Waterstones, The Open University in Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates, Lumo, Arnold Clark and Go Forth Stirling along with a wide range of publishers.
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Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com.
The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan is about an institution tasked with the job of housing strangers – Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel. Through this hotel, which sits high on a hill, and the people within it, seasoned BBC journalist and current foreign affairs editor, Lyse Doucet, attempts tell an immersive history of the sweeping changes that have faced Afghanistan since it opened in 1969.
The book has won the third ever Women’s prize in non-fiction. As an scholar of the region, I can tell you that the hotel is a useful lens through which to tell the recent history of Afghanistan.
The modern state of Afghanistan occupies an integral position in the Silk Road region. It was home to an expansive and historic civilisation in which commerce and hospitality had long been entwined with one another.
Inns, better known as caravanseries in the region, played a central role in the provision of security, the exchange of information, and the formation of identity for traders.
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Beyond caravanserais, caring for strangers occupied a critical place in the local moral universe of people in the region. In some contexts this took place in communal gathering places; in others, in villages or the guesthouses of the wealthy and powerful. Across the region, though, social institutions designed to receive, respect, and protect outsiders, from near and far, were a prominent feature of everyday life. While a very different sort of resting place, The Kabul Intercontinental sits within this rich history.
As with other bold architectural buildings of the 1960s, whose history is also tied up to a flow of western capital, the hotel stood for a vision of Afghanistan’s future – of modernity, development and international prestige. As the years passed, the reality ebbed and waned.
Its initial guests included Pan American Airlines flight crews and Afghan socialite and fashion designer Safia Tarzi, a scion of the country’s ruling royal family. People staying in its plush rooms enjoyed local delicacies like drinks from the Afghan-Clemd factory (a state-owned distillery) whose products included the rare taste of alcohol imported from Mongolia and others flavoured with the finest Afghan red raisins.
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This luxury, however, would change as the final decade of the cold war ripped Afghanistan and its families to shreds. This is when Doucet’s relationship with the hotel began as she first checked in on Christmas eve 1988.
In its walls she experienced the Soviet evacuation. She saw armed mujahideen commanders from the hills, internationally renowned terrorists, and Taliban leaders tear out the hotel’s bars and smash the bottles of brandy they discovered within. Gone was the glamour, along with the music and mixed-gendered dancing in the hotel’s ballroom.
After the events of 9/11, the international jetset did return. However, these guests were uniformed Nato officials, local elites, international journalists and the employees of aid organisations. They flocked to the hotel, but often pursued by Taliban fighters who tracked them down with ruthless and bloody efficiency.
So Kabul’s “finest hotel” became to be associated with the cloistered and security-cordoned lives of Afghan and international elites and their acolytes. But as Doucet emphasises throughout, it was ordinary people who kept the institution afloat. Responding to changes of personnel and ideological direction, they navigated the changing, violent and deeply unpredictable world around them with deftness and skill. Many losing their lives in the course of doing so.
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Around the world, similar hotels were built to demonstrate prestige and signal prosperous futures. However, while the Intercontinental’s doors never closed, others have either fallen into disrepair or come to be used for purposes quite different from those for which they were designed.
Take the Sevastopol Hotel in Moscow, which was built in 1979 to accommodate visitors for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In the 1990s, it was transformed by Afghan merchants. Rooms built to house guests visiting for Olympics were transformed into commercial offices and retail shops; the hotel’s underground levels becoming warehouses packed full of Chinese-made toys, hardware items, and suitcases.
Doucet’s book is one of the few conventional journalistic accounts of Afghanistan that depicts the country’s ordinary people as rounded individuals seeking to lead respectable lives amid violence and unpredictability. It is a welcome corrective work and a worthy winner.
This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.
Construction workers have discovered the bodies of 29 unborn babies while digging at a family home in Lutory
20:22, 12 Jun 2026Updated 20:50, 12 Jun 2026
A total of 29 unborn babies have been discovered buried beneath a family home in Poland.
Construction workers made the horrifying discovery while they were digging through a driveway on private land when they discovered the bodies, which led to the arrest of a 52-year-old woman.
The suspect is now being investigated for desecration of a corpse and illegal disposal of hazardous waste, according to Polish news agency PAP. The offence could result in a jail sentence of between two and 12 years, The Mirror reports.
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According to the prosecutor’s office, “a significant amount of medical waste, mainly paraffin blocks and microscope slides,” were also found on the property, local media reported.
The current owners of the five acre plot, who were in the middle of renovations, alerted police to the discovery, local reports said.
It sparked a large emergency response, with police still digging the area and searches expected to last until next week.
Polish media outlet Interia Wydarzenia said “according to a statement from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Rzeszów, the first information about ‘the discovery of significant amounts of medical waste on the premises of one of the properties in Lutory’ was received by investigators on June 10.”
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It added: “The discovered waste also included a human fetus and other remains that could have been human fetuses in the early stages of development or their fragments.”
Medical experts were sent to the scene and “confirmed that the secured remains were those of human fetuses,” the report said.
The excavator used to dig up the remains is now being tested for DNA samples, while a specialist waterworks truck was also deployed, sparking fears that nearby drains and sewer systems could hold further evidence.
Local residents described the former owner of the property as unsettling and reclusive. She is believed to have bought the house two years ago before selling it to a young couple, who currently reside there, six months ago.
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“I don’t even know what this woman does. I knew her by sight,” one villager said.
Another said the woman, who had red hair, was “a bit strange.”
However, one man told local media a different story. “I remember that woman, but she hasn’t been here for about five years,” he said.. She supposedly performed some autopsy here, but I don’t know for sure.”
Get Daily Record Premium for just £1 per month in exclusive offer to celebrate the world cup. Click HERE.
By taking over Warner Bros, Paramount will become one of the most powerful forces in Hollywood, adding news network CNN, TV networks HBO, TBS, TNT, TCM, as well as studios DC Studios and New Line Cinema to its current stable of assets. Those include Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime and Nickelodeon.
Rugby league great Kevin Sinfield, actress Dame Helen Mirren and six of the European Championship-winning Lionesses lead the celebrities and famous faces featured in the King’s Birthday Honours.
King Charles III is again honouring those who have made a difference in many different areas of the country, with those getting the nods being revealed on Friday night (June 12) ahead of the monarch’s official birthday on Saturday (June 13).
As well as the ordinary people honoured for their services to the country, the list – which is released twice a year, at New Year and in June on the King’s official birthday – also recognises a whole host of famous faces and celebrities who have done the same – including actors, politicians, musicians and sportspeople.
Nearly 1,200 people from across the UK received honours in the latest list. Honours, including MBEs, OBEs, and CBEs, will be handed out to everyone from local community heroes and fundraising champions to stars of the stage, screen, and sporting field.
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Among the celebrities being recognised this year are, as already mentioned, Oldham rugby star Kevin Sinfield, who has been knighted, and iconic actress Dame Helen Mirren. Sir Kevin has completed six running challenges, having been inspired by former Leeds Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow, who died in 2024 after living with motor neurone disease (MND) for four-and-a-half years.
The former England rugby league captain, who has so far raised more than £10 million for MND charities, received a knighthood for his services to the MND community, as well as for services to league and union rugby. He is taking on his seventh and final endurance challenge – all of which have been based around the number seven as it was the number Burrow wore in his playing days – in September.
Dame Helen, meanwhile, was made a Companion of Honour for services to drama. There are only 65 Companions of Honour at any one time.
They are joined byBlack Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, who became an MBE for his services to music and charity, and Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley, who received the same honour for her services to drama and her charity work.
Tony said: “What an unbelievable honour to receive an MBE. It’s been a privilege doing something I love and then to see that music connects with so many over the years.” Bury-born Lisa, who turns 50 in July, commented: “Wow, if this is not my best 50th birthday present, being awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list, I don’t know what is. To say I am humbled is an absolute understatement. Thank you so much, my heart is the warmest it could ever be.”
Broadcaster and musician Cerys Matthews became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to music. The Catatonia singer, who fronts a weekly show on BBC Radio 6 Music, was made an MBE in 2014.
DJ Judge Jules, who became an MBE, said the honour feels like “a reward for my industry” while TV presenter Anneka Rice was made an MBE for her services to charity and broadcasting. She took on various tasks in her show Challenge Anneka, which aired from 1989 to 1995 and was briefly revived in 2023, often to raise money for charity.
The Gruffalo writer Julia Donaldson and Noughts and Crosses author Malorie Blackman both received damehoods for their services to literature.
Dame Julia was the UK’s best-selling author last year, overtaking Harry Potter creator JK Rowling amid the Gruffalo’s continued popularity and the success of more recent characters like Zog the dragon.
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Businessman Dave Fishwick, who inspired Netflix’s Bank of Dave film, was made an OBE for services to finance, business and charity. He said that being made an OBE was “wonderful” and “unbelievable”.
Beauty entrepreneur and make-up artist to the stars, Charlotte Tilbury, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). The 53-year-old founded her eponymous beauty brand in 2013 after working as a celebrity make-up artist for more than 20 years, having created looks for the likes of Kate Moss and Kim Kardashian.
In football, Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning penalty in last summer’s nail-biting Euros final, was one of the players to be made an MBE. At 20 years old, rising star forward Michelle Agyemang is the youngest recipient on the list. Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, forwards Alessia Russo and Lauren James, and defender Jess Carter were also honoured.
This charming Welsh market town has indie shops, proper pubs and access to hiking trails.
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I’ll admit it, I’ve got to an age where I love a jaunt to a lovely market town for coffee and cake, boutique shops and picturesque walks. Sundays used to be for raging hangovers and existential dread, but now, I rise early and plan days out where there are ‘nice tea shops’. Nineteen-year-old me is judging so hard.
Thankfully, we have so many market towns to choose from in Wales, each with its own unique character and features, that you can fill many weekends with market town mini breaks. Marvellous.
One of my favourites has bagged several accolades over the years, including being named one of the UK’s best towns by the consumer watchdog Which? and previously named the ‘Best Place to Live’ in Wales by The Sunday Times.
Crickhowell is a charming market town in the Usk Valley, lying south of the Black Mountains and near the eastern range of Bannau Brycheiniog. It’s known for its indie shops, proper pubs and access to hiking trails.
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It’s not just the locals who adore it; even the celebs can’t resist. Carol Vorderman herself recently popped into the dog-friendly Coaching Inn, The Bear, after a hike and couldn’t resist telling the world about it on Instagram.
Naturally, if it’s good enough for Vorders, it’s good enough for me, so I started plotting my own adventure. Luckily, my hiking group (yes, I’m that person now) had a trip planned to this charming corner of Wales, so I leapt at the chance to stretch my legs and explore one of the best market towns in the UK.
While there are plenty of shops and cafes these days, Crickhowell’s roots go way back, all the way to the Iron Age, when settlers built a hillfort atop Crug Hywel (better known as Table Mountain, thanks to its satisfyingly flat top). Later, the Normans rolled in and added a motte-and-bailey castle, the remains of which still keep watch over the small town.
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Want to make a weekend of it? There are also plenty of cosy pubs in and around the town and the Black Mountains, like the Bear Hotel and the Dragon Inn. For a self-catering stay, Holiday Cottages has a whole host of lovely places to bunk down for the night.
With over 100 hand-picked holiday cottages, you can pick the perfect spot for your trip. They have a brilliant range of places, like a cosy hideaway for two, a family-friendly home, or a grand mansion that sleeps up to 19 for a big group getaway.
For hikers, one of the main draws of Crickhowell is that it’s an ideal base for countless walks into the surrounding hills and mountains.
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From here, you can head up Table Mountain, amble along the Brecon and Monmouth Canal, explore the Llangattock escarpment, or follow the River Usk through the Glanusk Estate.
Nearby peaks like Sugar Loaf, Allt yr Esgair, and Tor y Foel are all within easy reach and if you’re feeling ambitious, Pen y Fan, the highest summit in southern Britain, is just a short drive away.
The town’s Walkers are Welcome team has helpfully compiled a collection of routes from gentle strolls to heart-pounding hikes, all packaged into handy booklets available at the information centre or online.
Luckily for me, I had come with the competent We Hike Wales crew, and so we assembled to tackle one of the most accessible routes from the town centre – (Crug Hywel) Table Mountain.
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You can park in town, follow your hiking leaders or a trail on the AllTrails app, and strut through glorious countryside to reach the flat-topped summit, which features an ancient Iron Age hill fort and panoramic views.
From down in Crickhowell, Table Mountain looks like it’s had one too many at the pub, leaning ever so slightly, but still wildly photogenic.
There are several hiking routes from Crickhowell to Table Mountain, ranging from direct paths to longer circular routes that incorporate other peaks. Some routes offer a straightforward ascent, while others include longer walks along the ridges of the Black Mountains.
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After a lot of car parking faff and several pre-emptive dashes to the nearest loo, our hiking group finally set off on what Visit Brecon Beacons charmingly calls a “grade 4” walk – i.e., narrow paths, steep climbs, and enough mud and loose stones to remind you why you own hiking boots.
We followed a leafy path beside Cumbeth Brook until the trees gave way to an open hillside, and we were ambling along at a pleasant pace.
Soon we were skirting along the mountain wall toward the back of the ancient hillfort that crowns the top of Crug Hywel, or “Hywel’s fort,” which, fun fact, gave Crickhowell its name. Up here, you can still see the traces of the Iron Age defences, and there are plenty of spots to get a decent #MountainQueen selfie.
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Below stretches the wide Usk Valley, rolling towards Mynydd Llangatwg and, beyond that, the South Wales valleys. It’s an incredible view and worth pausing for a brew.
After a big hike, it was time to explore the cutesy town and sample some coffee and cake. In 2018, Crickhowell’s High Street was crowned the Best High Street in the UK, and it’s easy to see why. It’s full of indie boutiques, historic-looking pubs, and an outdoor shop, Crickhowell Adventure, for all your hiking needs.
Webbs of Crickhowell has been part of the town’s story for nearly a century; it first opened its doors back in 1936! This family-owned department store has truly stood the test of time.
Pop in, and you’ll find everything from stylish clothing to handy household goods, all with a delightful touch of local history woven in.
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Food-wise, you’ll be spoiled for choice with a range of indie ventures like Court Room Cafe in the market hall and Latte Da. This shabby-chic vintage-style cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and traditional afternoon tea.
There’s something heartwarming about seeing such a variety of indie businesses all in one place, from an old furniture shop to a bakery and the cafe-bookshop of my dreams.
With the motto ‘Books, conversation, and more’, Book-ish was founded in 2010 by Emma & Drew Corfield-Walters and began as a small venture, driven by a love of books. It’s also an award-winning literary haven, having bagged the Independent Bookshop of the Year in Wales several times.
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The competition celebrates bookshops that have really become part of the community. In November 2021, the Crickhowell community proved just how beloved the shop is by raising more than £25,000 in a week to help save it, with a big donation from Welsh icon Michael Sheen.
Owner, Emma Corfield-Walters, spoke to WalesOnline at that time: “It has been really heartening for my team and me to know that there is so much love for us,” she said. “To have had that acknowledgement and so many messages.
We’ve always tried to make sure Book.ish is at the centre of this community. I think this is confirmation for us that people know what we’re trying to achieve in the community and in the shop, and it’s great to know they don’t want that to go anywhere.”
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The store has a children’s reading room, the Snug, an in-house event venue, the Loft, and a cafe that sells local produce from the Beacons. Firmly part of the community, Book-ish holds book clubs, game nights, and quizzes and co-runs the Crickhowell literary festival.
The moment I stepped inside, I knew I’d found reading heaven. This indie shop had it all, shelves bursting with curated books, handwritten staff picks that read like love notes to literature, a selection of gifts and charming cards. There was even an events program that made me want to move in and never leave.
The on-site cafe is spread over two floors and features a light, airy loft, perfect for a brew and a book. The focus is on local produce here, with Welsh cakes and Bara Brith supplied by Baked by Natalie, and a rotating selection of cakes provided by Cake Head.
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I ordered a flat white and managed to snag the last caramel and chocolate brownie, which was utterly divine. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here
Coffee comes from Black Mountain Roast in Hay-on-Wye, an award-winning local roaster. All food is prepared fresh, and many of the meats are from Cashells, a family-run butcher in Crickhowell, and Black Mountain Smokery supplies smoked salmon.
For a cosy pint, head to the Bear. This 15th-century hotel in Powys has attracted stars such as Carol Vorderman, Robbie Williams, and Johnny Depp, and was named Inn of the Year in The Good Pub Guide.
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The Bear is right up there among the cosiest, most welcoming pubs in the country. A former coaching inn that has been welcoming guests for 500 years, it offers a choice of dining in the historic bar, with its oak beams, wooden floors, and roaring open fires, or in the restaurant.
Either way, you’ll be happy. The bar menu has a range of tasty dishes, including Potato gnocchi with butternut squash, slow-braised Welsh beef short rib, vegan burgers, and homemade lasagne.
The Historic Dragon Inn is another top spot for a proper pub visit. This family-run, Visit Wales 4-star inn sits right on Crickhowell’s charming High Street. Expect a warm Welsh welcome, lovely food, and a fantastic selection of beers, wines, and spirits.
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Microbrewery and taproom Antur Brew Co is worth a visit for its quality craft beers, ranging from hoppy pours to German ales and lagers.
Antur also hosts buzzing taproom pop-ups every weekend, featuring a rotating lineup of food trucks, including Malaysian street-style curries and BBQ eats.
Festival-goers can already start planning which acts they want to see.
TRNSMT festival is once again coming back to Glasgow Green for another high energy weekend of music. With a variety of stages and acts lined up for this year’s event, revellers will be wanting to lay out a plan of how to best get through the three-day festival.
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Taking place at a slightly earlier time this year, TRNSMT is set to begin on Friday, June 19, with the grand finale taking place on Sunday, June 21. This year’s line-up features a variety of popular artists, including Richard Ashcroft, Kasabian, Lewis Capaldi, Wolf Alice, Amy Macdonald and CMAT.
With thousands of Scottish fans set to travel to Glasgow next week for the festival, many people will want to go in with a game plan. Whether you have bagged tickets for all three days or have just chosen one for your favourite artists, many people will want to make the most of their ticket.
If fans have a couple of artists they want to see during the event but aren’t sure if they will clash, this stress can now be lessened as the full weekend stage times have been revealed. This means fans now have a week to figure out which stages they want to head to and when.
In order to make this task even easier, festival-goers are being encouraged to download this year’s TRNSMT app. Providing access to all of the full stage times across the weekend, the app also comes with a handy notification feature.
If there are a couple of artists that revellers want to make sure they see during the event, they can ‘like’ the stars in the app. They will then receive an alert 15 minutes before that artist is set to go on stage, which will ensure that they don’t miss out on the most anticipated acts of the weekend.
This means that if fans heading to TRNSMT on Friday, June 19, are wanting to see acts such as Wolf Alice, Becky Hill, and BBC Introducing group Soapbox, app users can ‘like’ each of these acts and then be notified in time to leg it to their stage before the set begins.
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Festival director Geoff Ellis said: “We’re counting down the days until another huge weekend at Glasgow Green. We have an incredible lineup of artists across four stages, and we can’t wait to welcome fans for what promises to be an unforgettable festival experience.
“To make the most of their weekend, we’d advise everyone to download the TRNSMT app. It has everything you need, from full stage times, the ability to build your own personal schedule, site map, food options and much more.”
On top of this, festival-goers can also use the TRNSMT app to explore the variety of food and drink options available at the event.
Over 40 stalls and vendors have been confirmed for the three-day event, which have been broken down into a variety of categories such as festival favourites, sweet treats, Chinese, fast food, Mexican, BBQ and pizza.
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As well as a £10 or less option for those on a budget this year, some vendors will also be selling veggie, vegan, gluten-free, and halal foods, which can be highlighted by adding dietary requirements into the app’s search filter.
All of the stalls can be found on the TRNSMT 2026 map, however revellers should note that TRNSMT is a cashless event, so you will need to pay with their card.
Additionally, TRNSMT has been granted a temporary public entertainment licence for June 19 so fans can watch the Scotland vs Morocco game which starts at 11pm GMT.
While some community councils objected to the festival screening the match, the curfew for the event has now been extended to 1am for the Friday night only.
England are set to touch down in Kansas City later today but staff are now scrambling to find equipment
02:28, 13 Jun 2026Updated 03:25, 13 Jun 2026
England have reportedly been targeted by a daring World Cup heist ahead of their opener againstCroatia next week, with players’ boots and key training equipment ‘stolen in transit.’ The Three Lions have moved their training camp from West Palm Beach in Florida to England’s Swope Soccer Village base in Missouri, where the theft allegedly took place.
The Daily Mailclaims official tournament footballs and key training equipment have been stolen, leaving staff scrambling to find replacements. England will call the Swope Soccer Village home for the next three weeks as they look to advance from the group stage.
Thomas Tuchel’s men are set to train in Kansas City for the first time later today, Saturday, June 13, but an investigation is underway to determine what has been stolen. Mirror Sport understands two arrests have been made and a police investigation is ongoing. The FA have also been appraoched for comment.
The report claims only one football was left behind in the heist, while there are unconfirmed reports thatHarry Kane,Jude Bellingham, and others’ boots have been stolen.
It’s a major blow for England in their preparations for the tournament, having enjoyed a good pre-tournament camp in Miami.
An inquest is underway to determine what equipment they have left, and the report claims the FA is working with local police to recover the stolen goods.
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The report claims England staff packed the important equipment ahead of the relocation to Missouri, including analysis equipment, Tuchel’s whiteboards, and massage tables, and were shocked when they did not arrive in Kansas City.
Staff are now in a race against time to replace the equipment before Tuchel’s squad takes to the training pitch later today.
Tuchel had been pleased with England’s preparations in Miami having beaten Costa Rica 3-0, and then Miami FC 6-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
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“We get some minutes into the legs – game minutes, not training minutes – for the three players who didn’t play, for the guys who came for just 22 minutes plus extra time,” the England boss said.
“We can manage that. We can manage the game time. It will very likely be not more than two x 30 minutes or something like this.
“Then the players get one and a half days off, not only physically but also mentally to switch off. Well deserved.
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“Then we start the next chunk of the tournament, which is the group stage, and we change location, which I’m looking forward to – not because we didn’t like it here (in Florida), it was excellent here and at the highest level.
“But it is nice to change scenery and give it a new frame for the next period of the tournament, which is then full focus on the group stage.”
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’
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Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.
The minister and priest jointly hosted the visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh which marked the first time the British monarch stepped inside a Catholic church on the island of Ireland
A Co Fermanagh Church of Ireland minister and Catholic priest whose churches Queen Elizabeth took an historic walk between in 2012 have been recognised by the King.
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Dean of Enniskillen Rev Kenneth Hall and Father Peter O’Reilly jointly hosted the visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh which marked the first time the British monarch stepped inside a Catholic church on the island of Ireland.
The clerics have built on the historic moment, hosting joint services between St Macartin’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church in Enniskillen in contrast to Northern Ireland’s long battle with sectarian division.
Now, they are both being made OBE for services to reconciliation and peace-building, but insist the honour belongs to more than them.
They also visited Buckingham Palace together in October 2012 and Windsor Castle in 2014, for the first state reception for an Irish president in England since Irish independence in 1921.
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The clerics continue to facilitate shared services between their churches, with the congregation being invited to cross the street to conclude the service in the other location.
In a joint statement, they said while their names appear in the King’s Birthday Honours citation, they regard the recognition as “belonging to many people across our community who, over many years, have chosen friendship over suspicion, encounter over separation and hope over fear”.
“One of the enduring images of our shared journey has been the simple act of crossing the street between St Macartin’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church,” they said.
“For us, that has come to symbolise something important: recognising what connects us as well as what distinguishes us.
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“We are grateful for the privilege of serving this community and we thank all those who have walked that journey with us and before us.”
Rev Hall and Fr O’Reilly said their immediate reaction to the news of the honour from the King was “gratitude”.
But they reiterated the honour belongs to more than them, describing peace as “never the work of two individuals alone”.
“It is always the work of a community,” they said.
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They said they have been privileged to share in many significant occasions together, including the visit of the Queen in 2012, and that of former Irish president Michael D Higgins to Enniskillen in 2015 when he also went into both churches.
The clerics said while those visits attracted international attention, others were smaller and quieter.
“Yet often it is the smaller things that matter most: shared services, community gatherings, remembrance events, youth initiatives and ordinary acts of neighbourliness,” they said.
“One image has come to symbolise much of our shared journey. St Macartin’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church stand on either side of the main street in Enniskillen.
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“People sometimes describe them as being on opposite sides of the street. We have rarely thought of them that way.
“For us, the street is not simply what separates; it is also what connects. It is where people meet, build relationships and share community life.
“That understanding has shaped much of our thinking. We have often said that unity does not have to mean uniformity.
“Reconciliation does not require people to surrender their identity. Together, it invites us to respect one another, honour our differences and work together for the common good.”
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Looking back over their journey, Rev Hall and Fr O’Reilly said much of their work has not been about creating a new reality but about “recognising one that already exists”.
“The people of Enniskillen and County Fermanagh already share the same place, the same concerns and, ultimately, the same future,” they said.
“Our role has simply been to encourage and give visibility to the goodwill, neighbourliness and friendship that already exist within this community.”
They added: “Peace does not happen accidentally. It grows through relationships, trust and countless ordinary acts of kindness that rarely attract public attention.
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“If this honour means anything, we hope it serves as recognition of all those people across Enniskillen and County Fermanagh who have quietly built bridges, sustained friendships and strengthened community life over many years.
“Whatever contribution we may have made has only been possible because so many others have shared that same commitment.”
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher, Rev Ian Ellis, expressed delight at the recognition for Rev Hall and Fr O’Reilly.
“Together they have worked tirelessly and courageously for better community and church relationships in Enniskillen and more widely in Co Fermanagh,” he said.
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“These honours are richly deserved in acknowledgement of the consistent witness both have given to the gospel of reconciliation.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that a “swift and lethal kinetic” U.S. strike has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, whom he called “the infamous leader” of the Tren de Aragua gang.
Tren de Aragua has been labeled by the United States as a terrorist organization. Guerrero Flores was charged in a New York federal court with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including lending support to terrorists in crimes that stretched more than a decade, authorities announced in December.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the strike occurred earlier in the week on a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at the time that the gang is responsible for countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafficking in North America, South America and Europe. Trump nominated Clayton on Thursday to be director of national intelligence.
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The U.S. State Department had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to Guerrero Flores’ arrest
In a post on his social media site, Trump wrote, “Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong.” Trump’s post referred to Guerrero Flores by his alias, “Niño Guerrero.”
The post also included unclassified video, shot from above, of a small building with a green roof exploding.
Hegseth said, “The operation underscores the shared U.S. and Venezuelan commitment to take the fight to narco-terrorists and deny them any safe haven in our hemisphere.”
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Venezuela’s ministry of communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the operation.
Trump has taken a series of extraordinary actions against the gang, including a series of strikes on small boats his administration has accused of smuggling drugs to America. At least 207 people have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.
Trump and administration officials have consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some U.S. cities. The president spent months repeating the claim — contradicted by a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment — that Tren de Aragua had operated under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s control. The U.S. whisked Maduro out of Venezuela to face U.S. drug charges in January.
Tren de Aragua originated more than a decade ago at an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals in Venezuela’s central state of Aragua. The gang has expanded in recent years as millions of Venezuelans migrated to other Latin American countries or the U.S. in search of better living conditions.
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Guerrero Flores returned to the prison in Aragua for murder and other convictions in 2013, when Venezuela’s crisis began as corruption, mismanagement and a drop in crude prices wrecked the oil-dependent economy. Guerrero Flores and a few other inmates saw a profitable opportunity as the government neglected prisons.
They assumed control and administration of the prison, establishing a system that controlled the entire inmate population through force and extortion. Over time, they transformed the facility into a sort of city that included a zoo, baseball field, casino and restaurants. Guerrero Flores had his own lavish suite.
The size of the gang is unclear. Countries with large populations of Venezuelan migrants, including Peru and Colombia, have accused the group of being behind a spree of violence in the region. Still, unlike other criminal organizations from Colombia, Central America and Brazil, Tren de Aragua has no large-scale involvement in smuggling cocaine across international borders, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that tracks crime across Latin America.
In Venezuela, gang leaders have long been known to participate in various illegal activities, including gold mining.
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Trump campaigned for a second term promising to crack down on immigration and crime. While polls show his favorability ratings have sagged on his handling of the economy, immigration remains Trump’s strongest issue, according to the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
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Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed.
Both domestic and international travellers were affected after hubs, including London Heathrow, experienced higher passenger volumes into the summer season, operational constraints and airline scheduling pressures
Passengers were left stranded across Europe after flight disruptions were recorded across major travel hubs.
Disruptions affected both domestic and international travellers after hubs experienced higher passenger volumes into the summer season, operational constraints and airline scheduling pressures.
Airlines, including EasyJet, Ryanair and British Airways reported minor delays, but the volume of flights created bottlenecks, Travel and Tour World reported.
The following airports faced a high number of flight disruptions:
1. Amsterdam Schiphol – 25 cancellations and 277 delays
Travellers are told to arrive early, monitor airline notifications and prepare for longer wait times.
2. London Heathrow – 11 cancellations and 386 delays
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Passengers have been advised confirm their flight status and expect longer security and boarding lines.
3. Paris Charles de Gaulle – 13 cancellations and 292 delays
Travellers are warned to expect increased transit times and consider rebooking or refund options if their scheduled flight is disrupted.
4. Copenhagen – 12 cancellations and 173 delays
Travellers are being told to arrive early for security clearance and to be flexible with travel plans due to summer congestion.
5. Oslo Gardermoen – 12 cancellations and 97 delays
Passengers are being advised to be prepared for schedule changes on both domestic and international routes.
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The knock-on effect of a single delayed or cancelled flight can ripple across multiple routes, given how interconnected the aviation network is.
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