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GRIGOR DIMITROV is an injury doubt for the US Open after undergoing surgery following his “painful” Wimbledon exit.

The Bulgarian, 34, led by two sets against world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the fourth round but had to quit when he appeared to injure his pec muscle while serving an ace.

Instagram @grigordimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov has undergone surgery after he was forced to retire against Sinner[/caption]

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The world No.21 injured his pec muscle[/caption]

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He was two sets in front against the world No.1 when he was forced to quit[/caption]

It was the FIFTH successive Slam from which he had had to retire mid-match.

Lying in a hospital bed, the world No.21 said the “recovery starts now” but it is unclear if he will be fit for Flushing Meadows, which starts on August 24.

Writing on Instagram, Dimitrov said: “Sometimes the heart wants to keep going. But the universe has a different plan for us.

“Having to withdraw from this match at Wimbledon was one of the most painful moments of my career.

“Thank you for the overwhelming wave of love – from family, friends, fans, colleagues, to the entire tennis community.

“Your messages have genuinely lifted me through these hard times. Thank you all. Truly.

“Recovery starts now. I’ll see you all soon.”

Dimitrov’s loss has been Sinner’s gain as he beat Ben Shelton before steamrolling Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon final.

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He now has a chance to avenge his French Open final defeat when he takes on Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

Alcaraz beat America’s Taylor Fritz in Friday’s other semi-final and is on a 20-match win streak at SW19.

LAST night on Love Island, the show erupted into a vicious row.

A group of girls were confronting an alleged ‘mean girl’ on Movie Night, with a boy forced to step in.

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Meg was seen arguing with Shakira and Toni about a comment she made that was shown during Movie Night.

In the video that caused an issue between the women, Meg was seen chatting to Helena when she mocked how Toni and Shakira walked.

Billykiss defended Shakira when she said: “It’s the way you was coming at Shakira, like you’ve never said anything bad. That’s the problem.”

Meg then said: “This wasn’t even about Shakira, it was about how Toni and her walk.”

“What I’m saying is, you were sat on your high horse like you’ve never said anything in your life,” Shakira snapped back.

Meg fumed: “I’m not jumping on my high horse Shakira, I say it to your face.”

Shakira said that Meg doesn’t say anything to her face, to which Meg said “I am now”.

But Toni wasn’t convinced and slammed: “Only because it’s out.”

Meg then made a comment about how maybe she should have said to the pair: “Oh what are you two doing, walking like idiots?” which left tempers flaring even more.

“So now you think we’re idiots?” Toni asked.

“Walking like that,” Meg said, mocking how she and Shakira “strutted”.

“You’ve never said anything about [how we walk],” Toni and Shakira told Meg.

“I don’t give a f**k how you walk,” Meg then slammed.

After more arguing and back forth, one of the boys got involved.

Meg’s love interest Dejon attempted to break things up when he intervened.

“Alright girls, I think that’s enough now,” he said.

Toni snapped back: “Okay referee.”

Dejon then added: “There’s like four of you on Meg.”

Meg then told Dejon, who she wasn’t impressed with after his movie had been shown, that she could stick up for herself and didn’t need help.

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ONE in three adults have tried to end their “addiction” to their phones through a digital detox with methods including keeping it in a different room, setting a digital curfew, and deleting social media apps.

A poll of 2,000 adults found 41 per cent look at their mobiles “too much” – with 54 per cent doing so for three hours or more every day.

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One method Brits are trying is taking on ‘quiet hobbies’[/caption]

But 19 per cent feel this is an unfulfilling use of time.

As a result, 35 per cent have reduced, or are attempting to reduce, screentime or end it completely.

Other methods to digitally detox and cut back on phone use include practising “quiet hobbies”, with the most popular screen-free activities including reading (41 per cent), walking (35 per cent), socialising with friends (24 per cent) and gardening (21 per cent).

Some have even turned to playing board games to fill their time instead.

Kellie Wyles from DFS, which commissioned the research, said: “There is certainly more to life than our phones and being more present in the moment is key for improving mental health.

“We live in an era where FOMO is a common part of society, so people are keen to get news and updates as and when they happen – but this can cause them to miss out on valuable downtime.”

The study also found 14 per cent of those who feel they spend excessive time on their phone have done so for more than 11 years.

But since reducing their screen time, 71 per cent have noticed their mental health improve.

Better sleep (47 per cent), feeling more present (45 per cent), and calmer (42 per cent) are some of the benefits Brits have noticed since putting their phone down.

While 18 per cent have even found they have made less errors since reducing their screentime.

Despite this, 30 per cent admitted they would feel most panicked about losing their phone, over a wallet/purse (23 per cent) and house keys (18 per cent).

With worries about banking apps (65 per cent) representing the biggest concern.

It also emerged that 46 per cent of Brits feel life was better before smartphones.

To tackle their phone addictions, 13 per cent have introduced digital-free zones in their homes, with another 39 per cent claiming they haven’t yet but would consider introducing one in the future.

Creating a calming environment is also a priority, with over half (54 per cent) opting for comfortable furniture, 35 per cent choosing calming neutral tones, 29 per cent incorporating more houseplants, and 28 per cent enhancing their spaces with mood lighting.

Meanwhile, one in four of those polled, via OnePoll, have a dedicated space for “quiet hobbies”, with the most common being a reading nook (48 per cent), closely followed by meditation areas (37 per cent) and a table for board games or puzzles (34 per cent).

DFS took to the streets of London with presenter Lisa Snowdon who invited Brits to take a seat on her sofa and share how they’re switching off from screens.

The video interviews revealed a growing trend of people actively taking steps to digitally detox, from leaving their phones in another room to creating digital-free zones in their homes.

Echoing the research, Lisa discovered that many are embracing simple, grounding activities like walking, cooking and spending quality time with loved ones – all in a bid to reconnect with the present moment and reduce screen time.

Kellie Wyles added: “Quiet hobbies are what keeps us grounded in the moment and appreciating the simple things in life.

“We can often get carried away with what is going on elsewhere and neglect the beauty of simply taking time out.

“These moments of calm are often best enjoyed in the comfort of our homes so it’s worth investing in creating a space that encourages relaxation, creativity and connection.”

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Some are even deleting social media apps[/caption]

HEARING ‘Britain’s most evil woman’ cheerfully singing along to the radio, convicted killer Linda Calvey felt something snap inside.

Seconds later Linda – dubbed ‘The Black Widow’ – slapped child killer Myra Hindley so hard she left a handprint mark on her face, leaving the child killer recoiling in horror and pain. 

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PA:Press Association

She labelled Rose West ‘not very intelligent, drab and dull’[/caption]

“It all happened in a split-second,” Linda tells us. “I yelled, ‘How dare you sing when you murdered all of those children!’ I slapped her without thinking.”

This was her first of many encounters with the Moors Murderer, who butchered five kids aged 10 to 17 alongside partner Ian Brady in the Sixties, in three different prisons. 

Linda, jailed for multiple robbery offences and murder, would, reluctantly, get to know Myra better than anyone behind bars and now reveals all for The Sun’s Meeting a Monster series. 

She tells us how Hindley duped prison staff to feed her interest in the occult and hid her secret fling with another notorious inmate.

Recalling her attack on Myra, Linda tells us: “I walked into the washing room and couldn’t believe she was singing along to the radio. 

“The next second I snapped, before I knew it, without even thinking, I slapped her. I thought, ‘Oh God, what have I done?’ but I’m still glad to this day that I did it.

“I remember she looked at me, rubbed her face and there was a handprint. She yelled, ‘I could get you shipped off to [HMP] Holloway’.

“I said ‘Holloway holds no fears for me’ and walked out. The mad thing is she never reported me but I think part of it was that she had been attacked so many times before.

“Prior to that an inmate had broken her nose and there were various other issues, I think she feared officers would force her to give up her job washing inmates’ clothes.

“That wouldn’t have benefitted her, she would have been locked in her cell all day with nothing to do.”

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Moors Murderer Myra and Ian Brady committed abhorrent killings during the Sixties[/caption]

Hulton Archive - Getty

Evil Ian Brady died at the age of 79[/caption]

It would take four more encounters before Myra spoke again to Linda – who next week releases gangland crime fiction Hope, loosely influenced by her experiences in prison and London’s East End underworld.

By this time, Hindley no longer sported her trademark blonde hair, instead dying it red. But she had the same “harsh features and look about her” that made many lags feel uncomfortable.

“You wouldn’t look at her twice on the street. She looked more like an everyday housewife than a monster but there was this evil, horrible feeling around her,” Linda recalls. 

“There was no warmth or niceness. She had this unpleasant aura and was very aloof but highly, highly intelligent.” 

Evil obsession

Linda worked in the prison library and Myra would often come in to order books – permitted for inmates – but the monster had a dark motive behind it.

While she requested romantic books under her own name, she secretly used the identity of other inmates to pursue her real passion.

“She would say, ‘Can you order a book under this name?’ and choose totally different books. They were about Adolf Hitler, black magic and obscure things,” Linda says. 

“I told one of the staff, ‘This is ridiculous. Is she allowed to do this?’ 

“They told me to just order the books. Myra bucked the system and it proved her true feelings and desires. This was long into her sentence too.”

The serial killer considered herself “far superior” to her fellow inmates who she considered “stupid and thick” according to Linda. 

It was right for her to suffer so intensely at the end of her life after all the harm she caused. I remember I used to look at her and think, ‘You deserve this’

Linda on Myra Hindley

Myra mainly kept to herself and few prisoners wanted to talk to her. One who did was fellow monster Rose West, who tortured and killed 10 young women with her husband Fred.

Linda noted that they “became thick as thieves”, spending every meal time and any spare moments together, as well as often disappearing into each other’s cells, in HMP Durham.

“Everybody knew they were having a fling, it was like they were stuck together. It’s just beyond belief to think about,” Linda says. 

“These were the two worst women in Britain, two mass murderers, and they were getting involved with each other, having an affair.

“They used to go to each other’s cells all of the time and while you couldn’t lock the door you could close it. Everybody knew what was going on. 

“I remember one prison officer, who came over from the men’s wing, being horrified when he saw them together and said, ‘If I had a camera I could retire tomorrow.’”

Their fling lasted seven weeks before it “suddenly stopped” according to Linda, which she found “very bizarre” due to how cosy they had been.

She suspects the lawyer representing Rose, who was then awaiting trial, may have advised her against spending time with Myra because it was “not a good idea and didn’t look good”.

‘Poetic justice’

The final time Linda met Myra was in HMP Highpoint, where the villain was kept isolated living in two cells between the hospital wing and cell block.

SWNS:South West News Service

Myra Hindley and Ian Brady murdered five kids[/caption]

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West lost her temper and flew into furious rages in front of Linda[/caption]

Linda says: “It was called ‘no man’s land’ and they decided she had to live there. Her life was totally solitary. She lived in one cell and she had a job repairing books in the other.

“She was a really ill woman then. She did suffer a lot. She had such brittle bones that they were always snapping and chronic COPD but remained a chain smoker. 

“Normally you’d feel sympathy for someone like that – ‘that poor person’ – but for her it felt like poetic justice.

“It was right for her to suffer so intensely at the end of her life after all the harm she caused. I remember I used to look at her and think, ‘You deserve this.’” 

Knowing she trained as a hairdresser and that they had met before, Linda was the unfortunate soul picked to style Myra hair – a task she couldn’t refuse, fearing it would impact her chance of parole. 

She would dye it red once a month and wash it twice a week and noted that the murderer was “very particular” as her hair was the “only thing left she could control”.

During their time together, Myra asked about life on the prison wing and spoke about her longing to go to the gym – which she was unable to do.

In a bizarre moment, after several weeks styling her hair, Linda was forced to speak to Myra’s mum on the phone and was told she was the beast’s ‘only pal’.

“With a really elderly voice, her mum said ‘Hello’ and ‘I’m so pleased my Myra’s finally got a friend’,” Linda tells us. 

She was hysterical, absolutely enraged and yelled, ‘He should be hanged! That poor cyclist’. While yes, it was terrible, that was coming from a mass murderer

Linda on Rose West

“I thought, ‘I am not her friend’, but didn’t say it. I thought about all her poor mum must have suffered having her for a daughter. She must have taken a lot of stick.” 

Myra was so desperate for attention that she gave Linda a bevvy of gifts including a cardigan “to keep me warm, which looked awful” and an empty chocolate box, because it was velvet and she thought it “looked lovely” .

The monster, who died from respiratory failure in 2002, had a miserable time rotting in prison before she passed.

Linda says: “Myra was really lonely and the longer into the sentence she got the worse it was for her. In HMP Highpoint she couldn’t mix with anyone and had a very lonely existence in the final two years before she died.” 

‘Foaming with rage’

Another famous lag Linda shared her stint with was Rose West – but unlike Myra, the former was a woman of “quite low intelligence”.

One moment that highlighted it to her, was the night her husband Fred took his own life in 1995 while the House of Horrors killers were awaiting trial. 

“We could hear the men from the male prison wing singing ‘Fred West, has gone and hung himself’ to the tune of The Village People song Go West,” Linda says. 

“We all heard it but Rose never associated what they were singing with Fred having killed himself and that it was about her husband. She wasn’t intelligent.

“When she found out about his suicide, she wasn’t happy at all. She wasn’t upset, she was angry and absolutely raving about what he had done.

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West was ‘absolutely raving’ when she discovered husband Fred killed himself[/caption]

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Linda credits third husband George Ceasar, who died from cancer in 2015, with encouraging her to write[/caption]

“I think she felt that way because until that point she thought she was going to walk away and Fred would take the rap for their crimes.”

Besides being “rather thick”, Linda thought Rose was “very drab, dry and very old fashioned” and the only positive thing about her was that she was a very talented seamstress. 

And while she gave off a meek persona, claiming to have been bent to evil under duress from Fred, there were a few times where the monster’s mask slipped.

Once was during a prison session with a university lecturer, who encouraged inmates to debate stories in the newspaper.

The one they chose was about a drunk driver who ran over a cyclist, killing him, which Linda says left Rose so enraged she was “foaming at the mouth”.

“She was hysterical, absolutely enraged and yelled, ‘He should be hanged! That poor cyclist’. While yes, it was terrible, that was coming from a mass murderer.

“She started foaming at the mouth, it looked like toothpaste and we were transfixed by this gross white gunk coming out of her mouth. That’s when the debate ended.” 

Another outburst followed an arsonist setting fire to her cell, which nearly killed her pet budgie, who was left covered in black soot.

He was always proposing. He didn’t write love letters, he would just say, ‘I was thinking, if you’d like to marry me the offer is still there’

Linda on notorious lag

Linda recalls: “Rose was hysterical, ‘How could anyone be so evil to set fire to a cell and leave a bird in there’ she yelled. She begged the guards to save it.

“It was given to another inmate to nurse back to health. After that, she went and lay on her bed for two days straight. She didn’t get off it until the budgie was better.”

Serial proposers

In another surprising twist, Linda found herself on the receiving end of affection from two notorious prisoners – mobster Reggie Kray and violent lag Charles Bronson.

The former, she tells us, would call her every week from prison, lavished her with gifts and once proposed before telling her “forget I said anything” after she turned him down. 

Meanwhile Bronson popped the question “probably every three months and at least 14 times” in letters as well as sending her photos.

The lag, who has nearly served 50 years behind bars, contacted her claiming he knew some of her friends and said “what a lovely person I was”.

“Due to being in prison for so long, he didn’t have a lot to chat about so would ask me questions like, ‘How are you?’, ‘Any family visits?’ and that kind of thing.

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Charles Bronson bombarded Linda with proposals[/caption]

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Reggie Kray (left) also tried to woo the bank robber[/caption]

“Then all of a sudden, ‘Would you like to marry me?’ I said, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea’. He said ‘That’s ok’ and then three months later, was like, ‘Would you like to marry me?’ again.

“He was always proposing. He didn’t write love letters, he would just say, ‘I was thinking, if you’d like to marry me the offer is still there.’

Although Bronson was originally jailed for petty crime and robbery, his attacks on fellow inmates and prison officers have seen his sentences extended to total five decades.

“I feel sorry for him, that he’s still in prison. It’s a shame when you put it into context. Everyone assumes he murdered someone but he didn’t,” says Linda.

“He just drove authorities mad for so many years with his antics. What he did wasn’t that big and he’s been in there forever.” 

Linda, who was released on parole in 2008, has put criminality firmly behind her and dedicated her life to her family and writing – she’s published two memoirs and is about to release her fourth novel.

Titled Hope, it’s about three generations of women caught in the grips of London’s murky underworld and many of the characters are loosely based on crooks she met.

“It’s a world I came from, which makes it more real, and some characters are based on women I knew and met in prison,” she says. 

“It was my late husband, George, who died from cancer nine years ago, that inspired me. He told me, ‘Linda, go for it. Do your writing’. I’ve found my niche and I know I’m making him proud.”

Hope, the second in a crime gangster trilogy, is published by Mountain Leopard Press on July 17. To preorder, visit here

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Linda’s new book is loosely based on those she met from the criminal underworld[/caption]

A prominent abbot from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province admitted to being deceived by a call centre gang, leading to a personal indiscretion which he later regretted. At Wat Chang Lek in Bang Sai district, locals gathered to support the abbot, Prakhru Pratheep Watcharaporn, who is also the district head monk of Ban Klueng. Prakhru …

The story Ayutthaya abbot scammed, loses 120k baht to call centre gang as seen on Thaiger News.

POLICE in Spain are searching for the person who released a menacing 3ft crocodile into a reservoir at a Spanish tourist hotspot.

Tourists were left frightened after spotting the scaly beast near a popular bathing spot, which police sat could have caused a serious injury.

Guardia Civil

Police are searching for the person who released a 3ft crocodile at a holiday hotspot in Spain[/caption]

Guardia Civil

A group of teenagers spotted the animal before it could cause any damage[/caption]

The reptile was luckily seen by teenagers and captured by cops before it could cause any harm.

The Guardia Civil is now probing who may have released the animal into the reservoir in Albacete in Castilla-La Mancha.

The nature protection service (Seprona) originally thought the reptile was an alligator but later identified it as a yacare caiman.

This species is a member of the crocodile family usually found in Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.

Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun

WHILE thousands have suffered from Al Qaeda’s brutality, few understand its inner workings as well as Aimen Dean, a former operative turned British spy.

From 9/11 to London’s 7/7 attacks, the terrorist group is linked with some of the most vicious atrocities of the 21st century. 

BBC

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Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001[/caption]

PA:Press Association

Al Qaeda were linked to the 7/7 attack on London[/caption]

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Aimen with older brother at their home in Saudi Arabia[/caption]

The dad-of-one was 17 when he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, which killed almost 3,000 civilians. 

He had just emerged from a year battling the Serbs in the Bosnian war, where he was exposed to “charred remains, mutilated bodies, and mass graves”.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Aimen revealed he was lured in by the promise of fighting a “villainous” America who he blamed for the lengthy war.

But he turned on them when he saw the true face of the terror group – appalled by how they would indiscriminately slaughter civilians.

Aimen was speaking to us as this week Britain marked 20 years since 7/7 – where 52 people were killed and 784 as bombs went off across the London Underground and on a bus.

“He was so convincing, he was so eloquent that I believed what I now know were delusions,” he said.

‘Kill or be killed’

Aged 18, Aimen travelled to a secluded mountainous spot in Afghanistan where he would spend the next 11 months learning how to build bombs.

As a self-confessed bookworm and “nerd”, the intellectual rigour and mathematical precision required for bomb making proved an exciting – albeit risky – endeavour for the teenager. 

“I remember thinking this is so much fun, why didn’t they teach chemistry like this at school?” he said.  

Joined by three other men – including Moez Fezzani, now an ISIS leader in Libya – he spent his days mixing highly toxic chemicals under the watchful leadership of vengeful chemist and terror mastermind Abu Khabab.

Khabab was in charge of developing Al Qaeda’s mass-casualty weapons and was linked to a series of terror plots before being killed in a CIA drone strike in 2008.

Outside of building bombs, the group spent their time debating and listening to the radio.

“We would just sit down and discuss everything endlessly. We would talk about what is wrong with the world.

“We would reinforce each other’s negative views and talk about the need for change and how this could only come if we tear the system down,” Aimen recalled.

With just a mattress on the floor to sleep on and little else but books to keep him occupied, the bunker was basic at best. 

I remember thinking this is so much fun, why didn’t they teach chemistry like this at school?

Aimen Dean

Bombs and extremely toxic chemicals were stored in wooden shelves, which Aimen joked would have given any British health and safety inspector a heart attack.

He said: “We were dealing with chemicals all the time so they gave us lots of fruit to build up our resilience.”

“Khabab told us that your first mistake is your last mistake. He had two missing fingers to which I said, well you are testament of living to make another mistake. 

“He said: ‘it’s idiots who came before you who did this. They are no longer here anymore – I was just collateral damage'”.

Your first mistake is your last mistake

Terror leader, Abu Khabab

But just under a year after Aimen joined the terror group, his life took a drastic turn when news of a suicide bomb attack in East Africa upended his views and beliefs. 

The devastating assault on U.S embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Tanzania resulted in 200 deaths and an estimated 4,000 wounded. 

According to Aimen, some 150 civilians were also blinded because the vans were “loaded with shrapnel” to maximise death and destruction.

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Aimen Dean was 17 when he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, pictured, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks[/caption]

AFP

Firemen walk amid the smouldering rubble of the World Trade Center following 9/11[/caption]

New beginnings

“This is when I started to have doubts and I realised things were going in the wrong direction.

“I realised it was about making gas canisters full of hydrogen cyanide to attack nightclubs and cinemas,” he said.

“My good moral compass and critical thinking kicked in.

“I thought, what if I build something for someone that is then used on civilians? I disagreed completely with this,” he added.

When he raised his concerns with Khaleb, the terror leader replied: “The world is not the Disney movies that you watch.

“This is a jungle. Kill or be killed. The world only respects one language: terror.”

Feigning sickness, Aimen was sent to Qatar where he renounced his oath to the terror group and decided he would never go back. 

I started to have doubts and I realised things were going in the wrong direction

Aimen Dean

Arriving in the country, he was questioned by security services as a suspected Al-Qaeda member.

He cooperated by giving them a number he had memorised for an Al-Qaeda bank account.

Delighted at having landed on an treasure trove of intelligence, the Qataris offered him the choice of being handed over to America, France or Britain.

“I felt little cultural affinity with the French and didn’t speak the language. And I didn’t trust the Americans either,” said Aimen.

Within nine days he had “landed in the lap” of MI5, who he said enthusiastically whisked him back to the UK after quickly recognising his impressive knack for map reading and photographic memory. 

Arriving in the UK, he was offered a Coca-Cola which he tried for the first time (now, his favourite drink) and a Harry Potter book.

The next six months were filled with long training days and getting to grips with English before being sent to live in a flat with an Al Qaeda operative in London.

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Osama bin-Laden addresses a news conference in Afghanistan on May 26, 1998[/caption]

Supplied / Aimen Dean

Aimen worked for the MI5 and MI6 for eight years, becoming one of the secret service’s most audacious spies[/caption]

On becoming an informant for the British Secret Intelligence Service he said the best piece of advice he received was to just “go and have fun”.

During this time, Aimen hopped between homes and became close with his roommates by leaning on his superior intellect and offering them religious guidance.

He said: “I am generally theologically better trained than the average Al Qaeda person so I ended up being kind of like a spiritual coach.

“It’s a bit brutal but it means they will open their hearts and minds to me, which made my espionage much easier.”

It wasn’t long before Aimen was asked if we would go back to Afghanistan and acquire intelligence for the MI6.

This is a jungle – kill or be killed. The world only respects one language: terror

Abu Khabab

After rigorous training, he returned to the Middle East pretending his return was so he could get back in touch with his spirituality.

He spent the next eight years spying for MI5 and MI6, becoming one of the secret service’s most audacious spies.

When asked about any close calls, he told The Times about a period in 2001, when he was called to meet one of bin Laden’s closest lieutenants.

He feared they had clocked on but was instead asked to deliver a message to four “brothers” in London, instructing them to “leave the country”.

The message read: “They must leave the country and come here before September 1. Something big is going to happen and we expect the Americans to come to Afghanistan.”

Aimen was walking along Oxford street later that year when he learned of the terror attack on America’s Twin Towers and remembered those haunting words: “something big”.

Not long after, he caught wind of a worrying plot engineered by his former leader Khabab to bomb the New York Subway.

Thanks to Aimen’s tip, news of the planned attack was passed to the Oval office and successfully foiled.

When asked about any close calls, he recalled the time he was cooking at the military camp and suddenly felt the cold end of a pistol against his lower spine.

“Someone said, that’s it confess, we know who you are. We know who you are working with,” he said.

His thorough training had taught him how to detect a bluff, so he held his nerve.

It later transpired the incident was a routine test. Did he ever feel scared? Nervous, yes, he said.

But the trick is to always “forget you’re spying”.

Supplied / Aimen Dean

Supplied / Aimen Dean

On becoming an informant for the British Secret service he said the best piece of advice he received was to just ‘go and have fun’[/caption]

MANCHESTER UNITED are holding talks to land two of the country’s best teenage talents during the summer transfer window.

The bids are spearheaded by United’s head of academy recruitment Luke Fedorenko and director of academy Nick Cox, who are trying to attract some of the UK’s best young players to boost the academy.

According to The Athletic, Man Utd are keeping tabs on highly-rated youngsters Seth Ridgeon and Tyrese Noubissie who are both considering the offers.

Fulham ace Ridgeon, 16, has already played for the club’s Under-21s despite his young age.

The attacking midfielder is also the captain of England‘s Under-17 side.

Noubissie, 16, is set to depart Manchester City after finding opportunities to be limited.

The versatile midfielder, who can play as a No6 and No8, joined City from Leicester two years ago following a whopping £1million deal.

United are very interested in both wonderkids and recently invited them for a tour at Old Trafford and Carrington where they met director of football Jason Wilcox, while manager Ruben Amorim also made a brief appearance.

However, Man Utd face competition for both teenage sensations during the summer transfer window.

Ridgeon has attracted interest from City, Chelsea, and Liverpool, while Fulham are fighting hard to hold onto him.

Noubissie, on the other hand, is eyed by RB Leipzig and Strasbourg who are making attempts to convince him to move abroad with his situation being described as “open”.

There are other European clubs keeping tabs on the France Under-16 international because of his continental heritage as he was born in Scotland to father, Patrick, who is from Paris.

Nevertheless, United are thought to be leading the race, especially in Ridgeon’s case as they have tabled an “impressive proposal”.

IPHONE owners have been warned not to try cooling “tricks” that could do more harm than good as the hot weather kicks in.

With temperatures topping 30C, may see an alert pop up on your iPhone saying it “needs to cool down before you can use it”.

Getty - Contributor

Apple

If your device is laying around in temperatures over 35º C (95º F), you’ll likely be met with the message above.

This is when you will need to make an effort to cool it down to avoid damaging the battery.

But James Brown, director at insurance company Protect Your Bubble, has warned against two quick cooling techniques that could do far worse.

“Our phones are very rarely away from our hands, but during a heatwave, it’s all too easy for these devices to get dangerously hot, which affects battery life and may cause the device to temporarily shut down,” he explained.

“Even if your phone comes with the highest rating of water resistance, it’s a bad idea to submerge your phone in cold water to forcibly cool down.”

Storing your device where the temperature gets below freezing is also not good for your iPhone, so the same applies to leaving your phone inside a fridge, freezer or water cooler.  

“Doing so will cause condensation to form inside your phone, which will damage the device in the long run,” Brown explained.

KEEP COOL & CARRY ON

Time is your friend when it comes to cooling.

So, it is smarter and easier to keep your phone in the shade and try to reduce the amount of time spent on it.

“Avoid excessive use of your phone when outside in direct sunlight or operating at maximum screen brightness,” Brown added.

“Playing high-performance video games or streaming videos for a long time can make even the latest smartphones heat up.”

The brighter the screen is, the more power your phone battery is using, and the hotter your phone can become.  

“If you’re outside and you need to check your phone, seek shade nearby and lower the brightness of your screen,” he continued.

“If, even after turning off power-hungry apps, you find your phone is still heating up, turn on your phone’s built-in power-saving mode.

“This mode will close background apps, reduce brightness and enable faster screen locking.”

iPhone owners should also consider removing chunky cases that may restrict airflow around the device – so long as you’re not overly clumsy or travelling over hard floors any time soon.

Finally, don’t leave your device in your car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed the 35C limit.

THE flags are out, the weather is good and the whole county is hitting Croke Park — it’s 1996 all over again in Meath.

Oasis are at the peak of their powers, a young Meath team have dethroned Dublin in the Leinster Championship and are one game away from the All-Ireland SFC final.

That summer, Meath beat Ulster champions Tyrone in the last four and tomorrow, we face Anglo Celt Cup holders Donegal. Seán Boylan led us to the promised land in 1996.

And I’m not saying Robbie Brennan will deliver Sam Maguire, but there’s no reason we can’t beat Donegal and get back to our first decider since 2001.

There’s a huge buzz around the county — we have waited such a long time for this level of excitement.

Tomorrow is extra special closer to home too as my best mate Gary’s son, Ben, will be a flag-bearer on the pitch when the teams run out — a dream come true as he is football-daft.

It’s fantastic — having missed out on promotion from Division 2 in the league, to be 70 minutes from an All-Ireland final is such a contrast.

Seeing off Dublin was a huge result and even though Louth won the Leinster final, Meath are here on merit after beating Kerry in the All-Ireland series to top the group, then weathering a second-half Damien Comer-inspired Galway storm two weeks ago.

Last year, a lot of people in Meath, never mind across the country, didn’t know who Jordan Morris, Eoghan Frayne and Ciarán Caulfield were but they are household names now.

Meath’s summer looked over before it had even begun when coaches Joe McMahon and Martin Corey quit on the eve of the Championship.

Nobody knew what was going on, it was all doom and gloom but huge credit has to go to Brennan, he rallied the troops and I believe the players took much of the responsibility on themselves too.

It’s all well and good having a good manager but you need the players to drive it on and Meath have grown with every game they’ve played.

They’re in bonus territory already, they have nothing to lose and they are probably in the same position as they were against Dublin, against Kerry and against Galway.

Nobody gave them a chance of winning except themselves. But now the Meath public are starting to believe too.

We have a lot of good young players there that don’t fear the top teams — and the year is not yet over.

From speaking to a few of the lads and reading interviews with players over the last week or two, they have huge belief in their ability and they won’t be found wanting tomorrow.

They have no fear but they have a a never-say-die attitude and will keep going.

They could have rolled over when Galway came back at them with two quick second-half goals, but captain Frayne responded with a vital score before Morris found the net.

They fought back and pushed for home.

Supporters were looking for the qualities of the famous old Meath teams — that the game was never over until the final whistle. And we’ve seen that from this side.

They’re not a physically massive team, but they’re full of guts and they get stuck in.

They are particularly good with breaking ball around the middle area, which provides a platform for attack.

PAY NO HEED

They’ve been written off against the Dubs, against the Kingdom and against the Tribe but have gone from strength to strength.

And hopefully, that continues, because tomorrow all the pressure is on Donegal.

Jim McGuinness’ men were dumped out by Galway at this stage last year. And in year two of his second stint, the Glenties man will be looking to go at least one step further.

Obviously they want to win an All-Ireland, but Meath have a lot of very good young players.

Michael Murphy has shown he has lost none of his sparkle, but Seán Rafferty has been outstanding all year at full-back for the Royals and has handled anything — or anyone — thrown his way.

I think he’s going to relish marking Murphy — what aspiring young player wouldn’t?

Donegal duo Michael Langan and Ciarán Thompson are playing good football too and if Donegal get a run on us early doors, the game could quickly get away from us so a good start is key.

Coming down the stretch, if it’s close, Donegal will really start to feel the heat but I reckons our young cubs have what it takes to win.

RISING STARS

Yes, McGuinness has oodles of talent, but Meath are not wanting on that front either, with Frayne and Morris the real standouts.

Morris scored 1-6 against Galway and Frayne is such a leader, at the tender age of 22.

Both of them will need to be tuned in tomorrow, but the Meath lads seem to have a great bond, they are all good mates and there’s no ego.

They remind me of a club team in the way they are all in it for each other and the cause and never stop working.

It will be such a wonderful occasion, with more than 70,000 tickets already sold. And overall it’s been a brilliant Championship for football, but especially for Meath football.

And just like in 1996, something about this journey tells me it’s not over yet.