“Heading to Europe? We’ve got you.” That was the initial response when I asked Trainline about a journey from Leicester to Paris on 1 June.
Logistically, the trip is simple. A one-hour East Midlands Railway nonstop to London St Pancras International. On arrival, through the ticket gates, down the escalator and straight into the Eurostar check-in area. So, Trainline, what timings and fares can you offer?
Not so fast, says the normally cooperative app. “You have to split your booking into two parts.”
The Trainline instructions are:
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Buy your ticket from London St Pancras to Paris first
Buy your ticket from Leicester to London
Yes: in the year 2026, Europe’s leading rail retailer cannot sell tickets from British cities outside London to Paris. Not only that, but the prospective passenger must work counter-intuitively. They are supposed to commit to a Eurostar train for the second half of the journey before organising the first leg – with no coherent picture of costs and connections from their starting point.
Until three decades ago, life was much easier for the international rail passenger starting in the UK. So says “The Man in Seat 61”: international rail guru, Mark Smith.
“For almost the whole of the 20th century, right up until the 1990s, you had a kilometric tariff – a very simple mileage, kilometre-based tariff in every country.
“Every national rail operator gave every other national rail operator two things: a table of distances between all their border points and stations, and a set of tariffs for how much dosh they wanted for 100, 200, 300 kilometres.
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“Using this, every national rail operator, including British Rail, could compile a set of through fares from, in our case, London, to any major cities they liked: Rome, Seville, Moscow, Helsinki, Stockholm.”
The fare was simply calculated by adding together the legs of the journey: the British Rail price for the boat train to Dover, the Sealink ferry crossing to Calais, the fare across France to the Swiss border, and so on.
Tickets were valid for two months, and fully flexible. You could break your journey anywhere during the ticket’s validity.
“If you wanted a reservation, that was separate – you had to call on the French or German computer based in British Rail at Victoria,” recalls Mark – who, in a previous life, actually ran that London terminus for BR.
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There was just one price – which was fine while airlines were charging ridiculous prices, such as £200 one way from London to Nice.
But then along came easyJet and dynamic pricing, with fares as low as £39 from Luton to the French RIviera. (Today the same journey can be made for £1 less if you are flexible about departure dates.) By controlling costs and adjusting prices according to demand, the airline could make a profit and entice passengers away from trains to planes.
“Those fully flexible fixed-price tickets were dinosaurs,” says Mark. “The railways had to adopt their own yield-managed dynamic pricing. So you need to book each train in that train company’s ticketing system to find whatever the price is for that train.”
“That’s how we’ve got the fragmentation today. There are no through tickets from London to Rome. It’s a Eurostar ticket to Paris, an Italian or French ticket from Paris to Milan, then a Trenitalia ticket or Italo ticket from Milan to Rome.
“One journey, one ticket, full rights”, is the headline from Brussels. “To create a smoother travel experience for passengers and advance the EU’s climate objectives, the Commission proposes measures enabling single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators.
“In the event of missed connections during multi-operator rail journeys, passengers with a single ticket will benefit from new, full passenger rights protection, including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement and compensation.”
In other words: if you buy multiple tickets together in a single transaction – for example through Trainline – you would be considered from a passenger rights’ point of view to have a through ticket. Were you miss to a connection because of delays earlier in the journey, you could switch without penalty to the next available service.
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The Man in Seat 61 cautions: “Before we get a bit carried away and thinking there’s someone who is going to set a through ticket and through price from Stockholm to Barcelona, that’s not going to happen.
“A journey from Stockholm to Barcelona will still be composed of the price from Stockholm to Copenhagen, the price from Copenhagen to, Cologne, the price from Cologne to Paris, and the price from Paris to Barcelona. But the idea is twofold. First of all, there will be a better exchange of information allowing you to book this series of tickets seamlessly.
“Secondly, it’ll be a sort-of-virtual through ticket. At the moment, if you buy three tickets to get from A to B to C to D, you are protected for a missed connection and a delay within each ticket, but not where tickets change over – which is, of course, precisely where you need the protection.”
Mark has concerns that these virtual through tickets will be primarily sold through independent rail retailers such as Trainline and Rail Europe, which may not be able to include all the options the operators offer – such as reserving a space for a dog or a bike, or choosing a specific seat. But he deems the concept “undoubtedly a good thing”.
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Due to our bold decision to leave the European Union, the new rules will not apply to journeys starting in the UK. So, back to that Leicester to Paris ticket.
I carried on to see what the fares would be. The good news: one Eurostar train from London to Paris is available for £114. The bad news: it’s the final departure, arriving in the French capital barely half an hour before midnight. Want to arrive in Paris before 9pm? Cheapest ticket, £180. Yes, one way, and that’s without the ticket from Leicester.
At this point a rational traveller from the “City of Kings” to the “City of Light” will probably opt to hop off a southbound stopping train at Luton Airport Parkway and fly instead. EasyJet has a choice of two flights Paris under £50: one at lunchtime, one early evening.
Airlines must be constantly grateful to face such lacklustre competition from European rail operators.
A last-minute meeting took place in America just before Iran’s World Cup opener vs New Zealand.
19:56, 15 Jun 2026Updated 19:57, 15 Jun 2026
FIFA’s ban on pre-revolutionary Iran flags during the World Cup tournament will remain following a late meeting just before the nation’s tournament opener. Iran take on New Zealand at 2am BST on Tuesday morning.
It seems that the flag in question will not allowed to be seen. It was banned by FIFA, but was the subject of a lawsuit filed by an Iran fan intending to attend the game.
The flag is similar to the official flag but also features a lion and sun motif in the middle. It’s associated with the previous regime which was overthrown in 1979.
Marc Cucurella completed a move to Real Madrid from Chelsea on Monday with the Spain defender returning to La Liga in a £51.7million transfer
Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso is anticipated to explore the transfer market for a Marc Cucurella replacement. The defender has completed a £51.7 million move to Real Madrid.
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The 27-year-old had been widely tipped to depart Stamford Bridge after four years with the Blues, though the swift nature of his exit caught many off guard. Cucurella disclosed just last week that he had been “filled with confidence” following discussions with Alonso while away with Spain on international duty.
Yet interest from La Liga swayed his thinking, with the prospect of Champions League football ultimately proving irresistible. Cucurella’s exit was formally confirmed on Monday morning, with the Spaniard penning a six-year deal with LaLiga heavyweights Real Madrid.
Cucurella established himself as one of the squad’s most vital players under both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior last term. His departure leaves Alonso with a significant void to fill on the left flank of his backline, with only Jorrel Hato arguably viewed as a natural successor from their existing squad.
Hato’s recent emergence was a key factor in sanctioning the Spain international’s exit. But Chelsea are said to be weighing up their options in the transfer market and may choose to recruit a replacement to prevent Alonso being left undermanned.
Here, MirrorFootballexamines five potential targets for the west London outfit to pursue this summer.
Valentin Barco
If reports emerging from France are to be believed, Barco is already a Chelsea player in all but name – with only a formal announcement still to come. The Argentina international posted a farewell message on his Instagram page in May without disclosing his next destination, yet every indication points to a short hop through the Channel Tunnel from the French Riviera to London.
The 23-year-old features in the Albicelesti’s World Cup squad, and his international commitments may be holding up proceedings. Nevertheless, rumours persist that Chelsea have struggled to agree a fee – despite the curious fact that their parent company, BlueCo, also owns the Ligue 1 outfit.
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Should Barco make the move, he is well-acquainted with the wing-back role favoured by Alonso, though more recently he has been deployed as a central midfielder.
Lewis Hall
More than two years after departing the club under unusual circumstances, Hall could be set for a surprise return to Stamford Bridge. The left-back completed a permanent £28 million switch to Newcastle following an impressive loan stint at St. James’ Park.
Even so, Hall is a product of Chelsea’s academy, having come through the ranks at Cobham, and remains highly thought of by both the club’s hierarchy and its supporters. Hall is thought to be firmly on Manchester United’s radar as they hunt for a long-term successor to Luke Shaw, and should Chelsea intensify their pursuit, it could trigger a bidding war for the 21- year-old.
Newcastle may find themselves with little choice but to cash in after failing to qualify for European football next season, with reports indicating a fee of around £50 million could be sufficient to seal the deal.
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Fran Garcia
Garcia looks set to be the casualty of Cucurella’s switch to Real Madrid after falling out of favour during the previous campaign. Madrid are already well-stocked at left-back ahead of signing Cucurella, with Ferland Mendy and Alvaro Carreras also vying for a starting berth, and at least one is expected to be moved on by incoming boss Jose Mourinho.
Garcia featured under Alonso at Real Madrid with mixed fortunes, though he ultimately edged out Carreras, who spent lengthy spells warming the bench.
The Spaniard flourished as a left wing-back under Alonso, a role he could slot back into should the manager implement his favoured 3-4-2-1 system at Stamford Bridge. The 26-year-old could be made available on loan if Chelsea wish to channel their transfer funds elsewhere, and the two clubs’ cordial relationship could prove influential should they register an interest in Garcia.
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Maxi Araujo
Chelsea scouts may well have had their attention drawn to loanee Geovany Quenda during Sporting CP’s Champions League clash with Arsenal last season. Yet few would be shocked if those same scouts returned with glowing reports about Araujo, who shone brightest for the Portuguese outfit across their 1-0 aggregate exit.
Portuguese publication Record recently claimed Chelsea had been keeping close tabs on his situation at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
The Uruguayan has a £69.1 million release clause written into his contract, though the Lisbon club may be willing to accept a lower figure. They have shown a willingness to do business with the Premier League side previously, having sold Quenda and Dario Essugo in a double deal last summer.
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Araujo, 25, is representing his country at the World Cup this summer, and Chelsea may feel a sense of urgency to get a deal over the line swiftly should the wing-back continue to catch the eye.
Alejandro Grimaldo
Experienced, creative and well-versed in the system. There can be few more obvious candidates for Alonso to bring in as a replacement for Cucurella than Grimaldo, who flourished under his management at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Spaniard enjoyed the finest spell of his career working alongside his compatriot, playing a pivotal role in Leverkusen’s remarkable title triumph in 2023/24, when they went the entire 34-game league season unbeaten. Despite operating as an attacking wing-back, the Spain international racked up 10 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga.
Even with his form tailing off last term, he still managed 26 goal contributions across all competitions for the German outfit. Yet recent reports indicate the 30 year old is edging closer to a switch to Atletico, potentially denying Alonso the chance to reunite with the seasoned former Benfica player.
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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.
Britain’s Francesca Jones missed two match points in a narrow defeat by Talia Gibson in the Nottingham Open first round.
Jones battled back from a set and a break down – and a medical timeout – to force a deciding set against Australia’s Gibson.
After being an early break down in the third, Jones hit back and held two match points as she served for victory at 5-3.
However, world number 66 Gibson broke back and held firm in the resulting tie-break to win 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7-4) after a gruelling three hours and six minutes.
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Jones showed good fight in what was the longest match of her career, hitting 15 aces and landing 75% of her first serves.
She also twice appeared in discomfort, particularly after being broken to start the second set when she sat with her head under a towel, breathing deeply.
The doctor was called to court to check her blood pressure and vitals and Jones continued, breaking Gibson back before eventually taking a tight second set.
The 25-year-old took another medical timeout at 5-5 in the third set after appearing to struggle with a nasal problem.
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Earlier at Nottingham, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen battled back to beat Maria Sakkari 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.
Queen’s finalist Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter both withdrew from the tournament on Monday.
La Roja have teenage superstar Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams back available for their first game, as well as Victor Munoz, though both start on the bench after recovering from respective hamstring injuries. Cape Verde’s 26-man squad are based entirely overseas, with the bulk of them in Europe – including ex-Nottingham Forest duo Ryan Mendes and Nuno da Costa.
Princess of Wales wowed the crowds at the Trooping of the Colour event at the weekend – and needs an energy-packed diet to stay healthy
The Princess of Wales is renowned for immersing herself wholeheartedly in a wide variety of activities during her royal engagements. Whenever Kate attends an event involving children or sport, she is well known for joining in — whether that be sprinting, gardening, playing hockey or practising taekwondo.
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She consistently makes a striking impression at public appearances as well. At the Trooping of the Colour, Kate wore a light blue tailored coat dress with white piping around the lapel, and she completed the look with a matching Philip Treacy hat. She accessorized with Cassandra Goad pearl earrings and an Irish Guards brooch. The princess holds the title of Colonel of the Irish Guards
Naturally, maintaining such an active lifestyle while remaining impeccably dressed means Kate must ensure her diet provides ample energy. She is well known for following a Mediterranean diet, which places emphasis on plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
It also incorporates moderate portions of lean protein from fish and poultry, low-fat dairy, and healthy fats such as olive oil, while limiting red meat and sweet treats.
She is also said to “love” preparing a roast chicken for her family and has a fondness for spicy vegetable curries. Kate is understood to favour high-intensity weight training sessions, exercises daily without a personal trainer, and requires adequate protein intake for optimal results.
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Nikkita Hope-Brown, a qualified PT and owner of Found, a women-only strength training studio in London, told HELLO!: “You cannot build muscle without the building blocks, which is protein.
“To give a metaphor, proteins are the bricks that make up the wall, and strength training is the actual bricklaying. You cannot build a house without the actual bricks or someone doing the work of laying the bricks – you need to have both. How much protein we need depends on our goals and body, for muscle growth, typically 1.5 – 2g of protein for every kilogram we weigh.”
Kate Rowe-Ham, fitness coach and founder of Owning Your Menopause, echoes this perspective: “You can’t out-train a poor diet. Muscles are built in the gym but need to recover and transform in the kitchen. To support muscle growth and recovery, it is essential to consume a high-protein diet, especially after a workout.”
Kate said: “Include whole foods rich in fibre, healthy fats, and complex carbs to fuel your workouts and stabilise hormones.”
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The royal is believed to favour a green smoothie to kick-start her morning, much like her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, made with spinach, kale, blueberries and matcha. She is also understood to regularly begin her day with a bowl of slow-burning energy oats, also known as rolled oats, which she frequently prepares with milk or yoghurt and tops with fruits, nuts, cinnamon, and nut butter.
Lunchtime typically features salads and fruit bowls, with an emphasis on foods that encourage glowing skin, such as watermelon salads and gazpacho. She also likes berries mixed with almond milk as an afternoon treat and tends to prefer lighter meals throughout the day.
According to the Daily Mail, Kate also has a penchant for raw dishes like watermelon salads, gazpacho, goji berries, tabbouleh and ceviche for their skin-enhancing properties. She also has an appreciation for heartier, traditional English evening meals such as substantial roasts and curries.
Kate’s day in food.
Breakfast: A green smoothie is a regular choice, combining kale, spinach, spirulina, matcha, romaine lettuce, coriander, and blueberries. Alternatively a bowl of slow-burn energy oats.
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Lunch: Salads and fruit bowls are preferred options, with particular focus on foods that support skin health, like watermelon salads, gazpacho, and tabbouleh. She also likes ceviche.
Dinner: While she prefers lighter meals during daytime hours, Kate enjoys traditional English dishes or carbohydrate-rich choices for tea like roast dinners and curries.
Snacks: Olives and popcorn are reported to be her preferred snacks. Drinks: She enjoys smoothies, and is also known to drink ginger tea.
After Cape Verde stunned European Champions Spain on their World Cup debut, Lee Dixon admitted it all nearly got a bit too much for him
19:07, 15 Jun 2026Updated 19:11, 15 Jun 2026
Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon has said he was almost in tears when Cape Verde drew with Spain on their World Cup debut. There were emotional scenes amongst the players from the tiny African island.
They arrived into the USA as one of the minnows of the tournament, having qualified for the competition for the first time in their nation’s history. Against Spain, who are many people’s favourites for the competition, they were the underdogs, in the same way Curacao were against Germany.
However, all of their players put in the game of their lives, particularly 40-year-old shot-stopper Vozinha, who made save after save from the Spanish.
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After seeing many of the players weeping in joy, Dixon said: “I have to say, you might hear it in my voice, I am a bit emotional. It’s absolutely fantastic, a brilliant, brilliant performance.
“They deserve that point more than anything and Spain almost don’t deserve a point. They will walk off disappointed but this night is Cape Verde’s.
“What a performance, every single one of them. The centre-halves, the full-backs. That man there (Vozinha), crying, I am nearly crying myself.”
Teenagers from Haughton Academy, who recently took their concerns about social media to Parliament, said it helps them stay connected with friends and express themselves. But they agree it can also be harmful to young people who do not fully understand the risks.
Sir Keir Starmer announced today that under-16s will be banned from using platforms, including Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram and X, amid concerns that social media is unsafe and could cause lasting damage to young people’s mental health. He said: “Social media is making children unhappy.”
The ban is part of the Online Safety Act, a new set of laws that intends to protect children and adults online.
Reacting to the news, Year 10 students in Darlington, Katie Cameron and Ela Wardle said they were unsure if the ban will do more good than bad.
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Schoolchildren from Darlington visited Parliament with the town’s MP, Lola McEvoy, to discuss the challenges they face online (Image: LOLA MCEVOY)
Ela, 15, said: “There are two sides to it because I use it to communicate with a lot of my friends and to express myself.
“I’ve made friends with people at this school that I’ve never spoken to, but they look at my Tik Toks.
“But then I also feel like the ban is a good thing because it’s very damaging to young people and some people don’t know the danger of social media.”
In May, Katie, Ela and their peers visited Parliament with Darlington MP, Lola McEvoy, to meet with the Secretary of State for Digital, Science, Information and Technology, Liz Kendall, to discuss the challenges they face online.
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Ela said: “It was really good, I want to study politics for women’s rights, so it’s been really inspirational.”
Darlington MP Lola McEvoy at an online safety event at Longfield School (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Ms McEvoy, who created the Darlington Online Safety Forum, a local initiative for young people to come together and discuss the impact of social media, said: “They were so brilliant, grown-up and confident. They were able to articulate on behalf of their peers some of the challenges that they’re facing and I was really shocked.
“I found it to be much worse than I’d imagined because what we as adults see online is not the same as what children are seeing.”
Started by Ms McEvoy in late 2024, the forum was established to use the voices of schoolchildren in Darlington to shape government policy on social media.
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Ela added: “Random people message you, because they can – it’s easy to do. On TikTok, you’ve got a message part where you can accept it, but you can still see the messages and it’s really weird.”
Katie said: “There are some restrictions. I’ve seen there’s something on Tik Tok where you can only view certain pages if you’re over the age of 18, but people get round it.”
Ms McEvoy said she fully supported the Government’s stance, adding: “I’m absolutely delighted that the government is taking action to protect children online.
“Before I was elected, across the town, parents and grandparents were raising this as an issue. They were worried about their children’s future and the undue influence of these massive companies and the content that children were seeing.”
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Katie and Ela’s principal at Haughton Academy, Jane Darbyshire, said: “Safeguarding the children is the most important thing, and from a school’s perspective, it will still be really important for us to educate our young people to know how to keep themselves safe online.”
Ms Darbyshire has introduced a ban on phones during school hours.
She said: “With technology, there are a lot of challenges and one of the challenges young people have had is not being able to go on their phone. To be fair to them, the vast majority of students have been on board with it.”
The government plans to use the same model for the social media ban as Australia, which would capture platforms whose purpose is to enable social interaction, allows users to post material and uses algorithms.
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Apps such as WhatsApp and Signal will not be included in the ban.
The officers will be deployed in communities across County Durham and Darlington as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen frontline policing.
They will be joined by 14 new PCSOs, who began training in May.
Rachel Bacon, chief constable of Durham Constabulary, said: “Visible policing makes a real difference to whether people feel safe where they live.
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“Confidence in policing is built on knowing your own local officers, knowing they are looking out for you and knowing you can feel safe in your own home.
“These extra officers are already making a difference and we’re seeing reported crime fall across the force and are doing an amazing job in places like Horden: arresting people, bringing offenders to justice and making people feel safer in their own home.
“There is more to do, but we’re going in the right direction.”
The announcement was made at the start of Neighbourhood Policing Week while Ms Bacon was on patrol with officers in Horden, an area that has seen significant reductions in crime and antisocial behaviour.
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This follows the first phase of Durham Constabulary’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which saw an additional 26 officers join neighbourhood teams and every resident given a named contact officer.
Across the force area, reported crime has declined, aided by Operation Pave, which delivered an extra 14,000 hours of high-visibility patrols in town centre hotspots.
Further expansion of neighbourhood teams is now underway, with the 19 new officers and 14 PCSOs expected to be on patrol by the end of the financial year.
In Horden, Operation Pave has led to a 35 per cent reduction in reported antisocial behaviour, while broader efforts have reduced recorded crime by 10 per cent over three years.
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Durham Constabulary is also investing in new digital tools to improve officer visibility and patrol management across the force area.
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