MICHAEL VAN GERWEN has vowed to stay in darts for another decade.

The Dutchman, 36, recently took time away from the sport after announcing he is divorcing wife of 11 years Daphne.

PA

Michael van Gerwen returns to action this weekend in New York[/caption]

Instagram / @mvg180

The Green Machine recently confirmed he was getting a divorce from wife Daphne[/caption]

https://www.instagram.com/daphnevangerwen/?hl=en

Daphne and MVG have been married for 11 years[/caption]

Van Gerwen dropped out of the Dutch Darts Championship and has not played since the Premier League finals on May 22.

He said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Daphne and I have decided to end our relationship.

“As a result, I have withdrawn from the upcoming tournaments.”

MVG will return to action this weekend at the US Masters in New York.

It’s a tournament where the Green Machine has tasted recent success in 2017 and 2023.

Van Gerwen shares two children with Daphne.

And he has vowed to put them first – while aiming to rule the world again at the oche.

Van Gerwen said: “I love playing darts, but one thing I love more and that’s my kids.

BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK

“I want to live a bit healthier as well and I still want to do this in 10 years, so I think you need to make a sacrifice in life, it’s as simple as that.

“I will see how things go, but I’m living by the moment.

“I have had more success in [the US Masters] than anyone else ever.

“I need to make sure I’m going to maintain that by giving 100 per cent.”

Van Gerwen, 36, and Daphne began dating in 2008.

They tied the knot six years later.

MVG is a three-time world champion but has struggled with his form over the past year.

He has battled numerous health concerns, including an issue picked up during a holiday in Thailand in January.

The 2025 Formula One season will feature 24 races, the 11th of which will take place in Austria on Sunday, 29 June.

MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday that he intends to meet with Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo following a claim that the mastermind behind the missing “sabungeros” (cockfighting enthusiasts) has influence within the judiciary. The witness, “Alyas Totoy,” according to Remulla, is credible. Aside from his testimony, he possesses documents and

JESSIE Stapleton is driven by the moment that was the high — and low — of her career.

Euro 2025 kicks off next Wednesday but rather than preparing for the tournament in Switzerland, Ireland are in Denver ahead of tonight’s first of two meetings with the USA.

And the pain of missing out still lingers six months after Ireland’s qualification hopes were extinguished by a 2-1 second-leg play-off loss to Wales at the Aviva Stadium.

Stapleton admitted: “It was probably one of the worst games to experience, but it’s one of those pinnacle moments in my career.

“I look now and think, ‘I never want to feel like that again after a match’.

“I’ve knuckled down and tried to do everything I can to be in the best condition because I never want to feel like that again.”

The West Ham defender is unsure whether she will watch much of the tournament, but knows it will be hard to tune out given many of her pals will be in action.

She added: “You have a lot of friends who are going to be at the Euros.

“So it’s finding that balance between supporting your friend and the pain of watching it.”

But while the next few weeks might be tough viewing, the clashes with the USA tonight and on Sunday are about making sure Ireland are ready for the World Cup qualifiers.

Ireland’s route to the 2027 finals in Brazil is yet to be determined, but boss Carla Ward wanted these matches with the world No  1 side to see new leaders stand out following some big-name retirements.

At just 20 years old and with 15 caps, centre-half Stapleton admitted she needs to stand up and be counted.

The former Shelbourne defender said: “A lot of people say I’m way beyond my years. That’s a credit to the people around me. A lot of people have looked after me.

“Being in camp from 16 or whatever, you sort of grow up. I still have youth on my side, I’m still kiddish, I’m still childish but I’d say I’m quite mature.

“When I was younger I captained the underage teams, so I think that is part of my game.”

Stapleton has been lucky to have retired trio Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell and Niamh Fahey, along with Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan, to look up to.

The North Carolina Courage star O’Sullivan and Megan Campbell are ruled out for tonight through injury.

Dubliner Stapleton said: “I feel like from a young age I looked up to the leaders we lost, like Lou Quinn, Di, Niamh Fahey.

“I look up to Dinny, Katie . . . but the girls have different personality traits. I try to be a sponge and learn from them. If there’s a day where they’re not in the camp, I’d like to be able to step up.”

And she credited boss Ward for pushing her to be take a bigger role.
Stapleton said: “It’s the confidence she has in us. We can go and show our personalities on the pitch.

“People have different types of personalities and you get different things out of them. If leadership is one of mine, Carla’s doing a great job bringing it out by giving me that belief and confidence.”

THE Kardashians are leading the world’s A-listers flocking to Venice for Jeff Bezos and his bride Lauren Sanchez’s ultra-rich wedding of the century.

Private jets have been landing as some of the globe’s most famous faces fill grand hotels on the Italian city built on water – ready for the celebrations.

Splash

Khloe Kardashian is also on the guest list[/caption]

Kim Kardashian, sister Khloe and their momager Kris have already been seen boarding taxi boats to reach the city ahead of the anticipated wedding.

Kim is a good pal to bride Lauren, 55, and attended her mega hen do weekend in Paris alongside pop sensation Katy Perry in May – costing roughly £500,000.

Other extremely high-profile guests including Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka are to be pouring into the city of love for the occassion.

Oprah Winfrey has already been seen departing from Marco Polo Airport, with other famous faces believed to be checking into one of Venice’s most luxurious hotels include Bill Gates, Eva Longoria and Leonardo DiCaprio.

At least 95 private planes have requested permission to land at Venice’s Marco Polo airport, local media reports.

Tonight roughly 200 of the world’s wealthiest and most famous faces will gather at the 15th-century Madonna dell’Orto church in Venice for the wedding’s first day.

They will then head to the Venetian island of San Giovanni Evangelista for a sumptuous banquet.

And that is just a slice of what is to come.

The five-star Aman Venice, where Jeff and Lauren will be staying and where suites cost as much as £10,000 a night, has been fully booked out for the occasion, as have several other high-end hotels.

And they are not the only businesses profiting from the Bezos bonanza, with around 80 per cent of provisions for the wedding apparently being sourced locally.

Today may be the official start to proceedings, but celebrations have already been taking place 160 miles away, on board Jeff’s £370million superyacht Koru, which is anchored off the Croatian island of Cres.

The yacht was supposed to be a focal point for the three-day event in Venice, but thanks to heightened security measures, it is staying put in Croatia.

According to insiders, there had to be last-minute changes to some wedding plans following the US bombing raid on Iran and the threat of the war in the Middle East escalating.

Bezos, 61, who is worth £165billion, and his billionaire friends are potential American targets, making his over-exposed yacht too much of a risk.

The ceremony tomorrow promises to be a spectacular and sumptuous affair fit for the third richest man in the world.

Earlier this week, construction workers were seen building a white cover above the breathtaking amphitheatre at San Giorgio Maggiore, guaranteeing privacy from drones.

Once Mr and Mrs Bezos have made things official there, the party will dine out in style, with the requisite fireworks launched to seal the deal.

Closing the epic three-day event will be a grand ball on Saturday at the Arsenale, the city’s ancient shipyard.

The original plan was to end up at the city’s majestic Scuola Grande della Misericordia building in the centre, but the site has been deemed “logistically unfeasible” given the need for high security.

Splash

Oprah Winfrey has also arrived in the Italian city[/caption]

Getty

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s wedding is being held in Italy[/caption]

The Arsenale will see a performance by opera singer Matteo Bocelli, son of Andrea Bocelli.

As for the dress, it is widely believed that previously married mum-of-three Lauren will plump for Dolce & Gabbana for the ceremony itself.

She is close friends with the sartorial duo, who even featured her son Nikko, 24, in a fashion show last year.

She and Jeff were then spotted visiting their iconic store in Milan during March for an apparent dress fitting.

Nevertheless, multiple events call for multiple outfits and, according to insiders, designers Versace and Oscar de la Renta are also on the docket.

The latter was responsible for Lauren’s line of Blue Origin spacesuits that she and her all-female space-mates wore for their 11-minute rocket trip in May.

Lauren had intended that adventure to empower women by gathering a gaggle of girls, including singer Katy Perry and TV anchor Gayle King, and launching into space on a flight funded by Jeff’s space exploration firm.

But the journey was slammed for being just a self-congratulatory vanity project, not least because Katy Perry took the chance to announce her latest tour’s setlist while in zero gravity.

Needless to say, Lauren will this time be keen to strike that fine balance between ex- travagant and modest, proving that despite their love for rockets and superyachts, she and Jeff do have their feet firmly planted on the ground.

Still, the couple have survived rockier terrain. After all, news of their relationship came out in 2019 while they were both still married to other people.

Indeed, it was Lauren’s then husband, Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, who introduced the pair.

Both Jeff and Lauren say their respective marriages had secretly ended before they got together.

Instagram /elenasblair_photography

Several women who attended Sanchez’s bachelorette party are expected to show[/caption]

AFP

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are also said to be coming to the wedding[/caption]

They both then divorced their spouses, with Jeff’s ex-wife MacKenzie Scott — with whom he has four children — walking away with Amazon stock worth £36billion, making her one of the richest women in the world.

Since getting together with Lauren — and proposing to her with a 30-carat ring worth a reported £3.6million in 2023 — Jeff has transformed from a so-called nerd to a buffed-up tech guy.

He now seems happier hobnobbing with celebrities than he is chairing board meetings.

Lauren, for her part, has always lived a starry existence.

Her mega hen do weekend in Paris in May, which cost around £500,000 and gathered besties including Kim K and Eva Longoria, was a lesson in camera-ready luxury.

So, despite nerves surrounding security and an emphasis on discretion, it is only a matter of time before we see a gym-buffed Jeff and his designer-clad missus smiling broadly in their bridal best — either in the pages of Vanity Fair or Vogue.

In the meantime, it is safe to say that over the next few days they will be putting the more in amore.

AFP

Tourists enjoy a gondola ride on the Grand Canal in Venice lagoon ahead of the Bezos wedding[/caption]

AP

A boat loaded with supplies cruises in front of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy[/caption]

In a daring attempt to smuggle over 62,000kg of exotic foods into Australia, a woman has landed herself behind bars after her plan to flood the Sydney black market with illegal goods was thwarted by vigilant border agents. The woman, who tried to import a variety of goods from Thailand, used mislabelled polystyrene boxes to ship the products. Inside, agents found …

The story Woman caught smuggling exotic food from Thailand into Australia as seen on Thaiger News.

The United States Embassy in South Africa has required some citizens to change their privacy settings on social media.

RANDY Brits will be faced with new checks to verify their age when trying to access popular porn sites including PornHub starting next month.

More than a dozen top XXX user-generated platforms have said they will add “highly effective” age checks in a bid to protect children.

Getty

Sites that don’t comply could be fined – or blocked from the UK[/caption]

Getty

The deadline to implement changes is July 25[/caption]

Age assurance methods can include credit card checks, open banking or facial age estimation to verify or guess how old someone is.

It comes as strict new rules kick start on July 25, which apply to both dedicated adult sites and social media, search or gaming services, as part of the Online Safety Act which is monitored by regulator Ofcom.

Firms that fail to comply could be slapped with a fine or even blocked from the UK.

PornHub – the most visited XXX site in the UK – as well as YouPorn and RedTube are among the big names that have said they will implement changes.

The full list that have agreed to be named are:

• PornHub
• BoyfriendTV
• Cam4
• FrolicMe
• inxxx
• Jerkmate
• LiveHDCams
• MyDirtyHobby
• RedTube
• Streamate
• Stripchat
• Tube8
• YouPorn

“Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren’t suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling,” said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom Group Director of Online Safety.

“But for too long children have been only a click away from harmful pornography online.

“Now, change is happening. These age checks will bring pornography into line with how we treat adult services in the real world, without compromising access and privacy for over-18s.”

Online firms who publish their own pro porn movies are already required to protect children, and thousands of sites have already introduced tougher age checks.

Platforms must also make sure the measures do not compromise the privacy of adults or prevent them from accessing legal content.

Shockingly, eight per cent of children aged between eight and 14 in the UK visited an online porn site or app in a month, according to Ofcom research.

Around 3 per cent of those are aged just eight or nine years-old.

Getty

PornHub is the most visited porn site in the UK[/caption]

A MAN has been charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in Balbriggan that killed a man who has been remembered by loves ones as a “great character” and “gentle soul”.

Mircea Rostas, aged in his 30s, was on foot when he was struck by a BMW on Railway Street in Balbriggan, north Co Dublin on Monday.

Detectives suspect the victim was intentionally driven at.

The chief suspect in the incident was arrested by appointment yesterday evening.

In a statement this morning, gardai confirmed the man, who is aged in his 40s, has now been charged and will appear before the courts.

A garda spokesperson said: “The man, aged in his 40s, who was arrested in connection with this investigation has been charged.

“He is due to appear before Dublin District Court (Court No. 2) at the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning, Thursday 26th June 2025 at 10.30am.

“Investigations are ongoing.”

Friends and relatives have been paying tribute to Rostas, who was also known by the name of Saban, since his passing earlier this week.

His cousin said: “I’m speechless. Sleep in peace, gentle soul. You left too soon, leaving us all with a lot of pain.”

Another pal said: “I can’t believe that you left so early and innocent, such a good soul and a great character, my brother. God rest your soul.”

Gardai previously urged anyone who may have any information to come forward and assist in the investigation.

A spokesman said: “Investigating Gardai are appealing to the public for any witnesses to the incident to come forward.

“They are particularly interested in the movements of a black saloon car observed in the area at the time, which was later abandoned following a collision on Drogheda Street, Balbriggan with a second saloon car shortly after the fatal incident.

SOCIAL MEDIA APPEAL

“Gardai are appealing to any road users or pedestrians who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) from the Railway Street and Drogheda Street areas of Balbriggan between 8:30pm and 9:30pm to make it available to investigators.

“Anyone with information is urged to contact Balbriggan Garda Station on 01 666 4500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.”

The statement urged anyone with any footage or images of the incident to refrain from sharing or reposting it on social media.

The spokesman said: “An Garda Siochana is aware that images and video footage related to this incident are circulating on social media and messaging platforms.

“We are appealing to anyone who receives this content to refrain from sharing or reposting it further.”

COLLECT

A FOOTBALLER was caught on video appearing to hurl a chair at a Brit tourist during a pool brawl at an Ibiza hotel.

Oldham Athletic forward Kian Harratt, 23, has been identified as the yob who seemed to launch one of several chairs during the hotel clash.

Getty

Oldham Athletic striker Kian Harratt was filmed throwing the chair[/caption]

Instagram

Kian Harratt pictured recently in Ibiza with his pals[/caption]

Brit holidaymaker Kyle Crawford told The Sun Oldham Athletic forward Kian Harratt and three of his pals were “being horrible” to a group of women before the clash on June 21.

And two videos show the brawl, including one which appears to show thestriker – wearing black shorts & with his distinctive goatee – launch a chair at one of them.

The Sun has approached Oldham Athletic for comment but have not had a response as of publication.

Sunseeker Kyle, who was also on holiday with a group of mates in Ibiza, Spain, said: “There was four lads, we didn’t know who they were, being horrible to some women.”

Shocking footage shows the violent poolside brawl, with one female tourist being clobbered in the head by a flying chair – while another man is knocked into the pool.

Kyle didn’t recognise 23-year-old EFL star Harratt at the time of the altercation – but confirmed his identity after watching the footage back.

And a second source who was caught up in the brawl, told us: “It was Kian Harratt. He was bothering these girls.”

Kyle said Harratt and his friends were “throwing little rugby balls” at the female tourists inside the pool, one of which being the woman that was struck by a chair later on.

“They were just in the pool splashing them and throwing balls at them – being proper immature,” he explained.

Kyle said he and his mate stepped in to stand up for the women.

“Me and my mates stuck up for them and then in the end, they’d come to attack my mate,” he said.

Kyle alleged that there was an altercation and his mate was punched first during the ruckus.

He said Brandon hit back, and the whole confrontation “calmed down” for a bit.  

But shortly after, the player and his pals started hurling chairs towards Kyle and his mates, with one of the women who was initially being disturbed getting caught in the crossfire.

“They start throwing chairs – they threw a chair at a woman,” he said. 

Viral footage appeared to show Harratt – who made headlines just weeks ago after scoring the winning goal in the National League Play Off final – chucking the white chair and striking a woman in a black bikini.

And a second clip moments after the initial throw, shows another man hurling a second chair which knocking the other men into the pool.

“That’s when they threw the chair and it hits me, and I go into the pool.”

Kyle added that he asked the group: “What you doing? Why are you hitting women?” 

The Brit tourist explained: “We just stuck up for her, the lads were just being idiots, immature.

“This video doesn’t do us justice for actually being gentlemen and looking after these women.”

He detailed that after the altercation, the men “all got kicked out”, while Kyle says he and his mates were praised by staff for standing up to them.  

Instagram

Kian Harratt pictured on a pal’s Instagram[/caption]

Instagram

Kian Harratt is understood to have been on holiday with a group of friends[/caption]

Instagram/SanAntonioIbiza

Kyle Crawford, pictured before he received a chair to the head by one of Harratt’s friends[/caption]

Instagram/SanAntonioIbiza

The violent brawl erupted in, San Antonio, Ibiza[/caption]

“All the staff around the pool said thanks and what gentlemen we were,” he said.

“The women thought they were idiots, immature and stupid.”

Kyle also said that his mate Brandon allegedly required stitches from hotel staff following the chair attack. 

The player’s mum told MailOnline she was “aware” of the video – but declined to comment further.

Harratt is a 23-year-old striker, originally from Pontefract, who plays for League Two side Oldham.

He played for Huddersfield for most of his career after coming through at the academy, following spells with Leeds United and Barnsley as a teen.

The striker has also played at Fleetwood, Bradford and Port Vale.

In 2024, he was suspended for four months after placing 484 bets on football over a three year period.

He was handed a £3,200 fine for the rule breaches – which included betting on his own team.

The forward went on to admit that he had bet on his team to lose on multiple occasions, saying: “Of the 44 bets of this nature that I placed, 36 involved Huddersfield.

Harratt has played over 100 games in English football and managed to score 15 goals – including two in the Championship and one in the FA Cup

The Sun has also reached out to Harratt’s management for comment.

Getty

Kian Harratt played for Huddersfield Town for most of his career[/caption]