free webpage hit counter

Blogs

Crystal Palace forced to wait on crunch Europa League decision from Uefa chiefs with new date re

CRYSTAL Palace will have to wait until at least Monday to discover if they have been cleared to play their first European campaign.

Palace’s “Multi Club Ownership” issues were among a number of similar matters being considered by Uefa finance chiefs.

Crystal Palace soccer players celebrating a goal.
Reuters
Crystal Palace will find out if they are in Europe on Monday[/caption]

But the meeting at Uefa headquarters in Nyon has so many cases to consider that final verdicts will not be announced until after the weekend.

Palace legal beaks and executives pleaded their case to Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body, with their arguments strengthened by Lyon’s relegation from France’s top flight over the club’s soaring debts.

The Selhurst club have been made to wait for the green light since their FA Cup Final win over Manchester City because Lyon are owned by the Eagle Football group owned by US businessman John Textor, who had a 44.9 per cent stake in Palace despite being kept at arms length by Steve Parish and Americans Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer.

Despite his limited role at Selhurst Park, Uefa were concerned that Textor’s ownership stake breached regulations stating that clubs which are part of a shared ownership group cannot compete in the same competition.

Those rules saw Manchester United owners Ineos park their shares in French side Nice in a blind trust to allow both to play in the Europa League last season, with Chelsea owners BlueCo withdrawing from their hands-on role at Strasbourg.

And Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis stepped back from any official role at the City Ground in April, to meet the Uefa requirements, when he hoped the East Midlanders would qualify for the Champions League alongside Greek side Olympiacos.

Palace, though, did not make any changes to the ownership structure ahead of the Uefa deadline for next season – a situation complicated by Blitzer’s ownership of Danish side Brondby, who qualified for the Conference League.

And as Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1, compared to Palace’s 12th-placed ranking in the Prem, they take priority over the South East London side. 

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS

Despite that, the FA have backed the Eagles and Palace’s cause was also aided by Textor’s announcement that he is selling his Palace shares to New York Jets owner and former US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson in a £190m deal.

That sale still has to be cleared by the Premier League, although it is not expected to be held up.

Textor now faces being ejected from the Lyon hotseat as well, with investment fund Ares, who loaned the US businessman £330m to fund his takeover in 2023, seeking to install new leadership.

Lyon’s relegation means they would not be nominated to take up their Europa League place, although the club are appealing against the decision of French football’s financial regulator.

But if Lyon were to win their appeal after being excluded from the official entry list, Nyon chiefs anticipate they are likely to apply to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to be reinstated.

That would probably be at the expense of Strasbourg, who finished seventh in Ligue 1 and are expected to be nominated in Lyon’s place.

However, insiders anticipate that Palace would not be retrospectively prohibited from competing if Uefa has cleared their entry. 

Meanwhile, Irish side Drogheda has been expelled from the Uefa Conference League.

This is due to multi-club ownership rules in a similar circumstance to Palace.

Read More »

Horror golfball-sized hail & thunderstorm supercell pummels Austria shattering windows and flooding Alpine resort

A THUNDERSTORM unleashed golf ball-sized hail and torrential rain across Austria – after a trail of destruction in France.

The terrifying supercell storm whipped through towns, shattering windows, flooding streets and causing nearly £8m worth of damage to agriculture.

Hand holding two large hailstones after a storm.
Shutterstock Editorial
Thunderstorms dropped golf ball-sized hail on Austria[/caption]
Large hail pummeling a pool area.
X/@manu_oberhuber
The regions hardest hit were Styria, Tyrol and Lower Austria[/caption]
Large hail covering a street during a thunderstorm.
X/@WeatherMonitors
It comes after weather chaos across central Europe[/caption]

Powerful thunderstorms battered Austria on Thursday, with the national weather agency Ubimet issuing the highest-level warnings in some areas, according to the German newspaper Die Presse.

The hardest-hit regions were reportedly Styria, Tyrol, and Lower Austria.

In Innsbruck, western Austria, hailstones up to 1.6 inches fell, while Tannheim in the Tyrolean Alps recorded over 60 litres of rain per square metre.

Lightning strikes also caused fires in some places – in Wörgl, lightning set a family home ablaze, spreading to the roof, Die Presse reports.

The Tyrol fire department responded to around 150 calls, mostly due to fallen trees and water damage.

Fügen, in the Zillertal valley, experienced a severe hailstorm that flooded streets.

Wind gusts reached 70 mph in Micheldorf, Upper Austria.

Kurt Weinberger, chairman of the Austrian Hail Insurance, said the storms caused major damage to agriculture, according to Die Presse.

He said: “Based on initial assessments by our experts, the total agricultural damage from yesterday’s storm amounts to nine million euros (£7.7m).”

Austrian meteorologist Manuel Oberhuber posted a video of the intense storm in Tyrol on X, writing: “One of the most powerful thunderstorms struck the Lower Inn Valley in Tyrol yesterday.

“A “right-moving” supercell produced 2-inch hail, torrential rain and severe wind gusts, as seen here in the Fügen area.

“Many windows were shattered.”

In a separate post, Oberhuber explained: “The hail analysis shows the path of the supercell.”

“You can clearly see that it veers sharply to the right, heading east, compared to the thunderstorm just north of it.

“A deviation from the normal movement direction can occur with strong wind shear and often leads to especially intense storms…”

Meanwhile, in France, at least two people – including a child – died after a violent storm caused flash floods in Paris.

The storm produced 39,000 lightning strikes across the country.

In the Dordogne region of southwest France, huge hailstones damaged roofs during the peak of the storms.

Around 70 buildings were damaged in the commune of Belvès alone, The Telegraph reports.

Tragically, in southern France, a falling tree killed a 12-year-old boy.

Fallen tree blocking a sidewalk after a storm.
Shutterstock Editorial
A supercell is a powerful thunderstorm with a rotating updraft that can lead to large hailstones[/caption]

Read More »

Gender reveal party for 8 people descends into CHAOS when 200 guests rock up after invite ‘went viral’

A GENDER reveal party for 8 people descended into chaos when 200 guests rocked up after the invite “went viral”.

An Airbnb property where a gender reveal party was held descended into “absolute chaos” and “mayhem” as up to 200 youngsters showed up.

Large group of youths gathered on a residential street at night.
MEN Media
Police were called after ‘up to 200’ youths descended on the property[/caption]
Street sign for Falcon Close, leading to Durnford Close.
MEN Media
Police were called to a usually quiet cul-de-sac in the Norden area[/caption]
Falcon Close, Rochdale street scene.
MEN Media
It took officers in Tactical Aid Unit vans around two hours to clear them out[/caption]

Police were called to a usually quiet cul-de-sac in the Norden area of Rochdale to break up the massive crowd.

Residents of Falcon Close said crowds of youngsters gathered on the street, and it took officers in Tactical Aid Unit vans around two hours to clear them out.

The Manchester Evening News obtained an image showing the scale of the gathering, amid speculation that word of the party spread on social media.

Residents initially thought it was an “after party” for school leavers following a prom, but the M.E.N. spoke to a man claiming to be the property owner, who said it had been booked for a gender reveal with just eight guests.

“They looked in their 20s to me,” one resident of Falcon Close said.

He added: “It was their presence that became quite threatening really.

“It was absolute mayhem.”

“It was very, very scary when I looked out of the window last night,” another resident said.

They added: “It took the police two hours to clear them out.”

A Golf GTI later crashed into the front of a house on nearby Edenfield Road, although it is not known whether the incident is linked to the party.

Greater Manchester Police has refused to comment.

The Airbnb, which has five bedrooms, a pool table and a hot tub, was first offered for rent in October.

The owner, who didn’t give his full name, said the incident on Wednesday evening had “cast a bit of a shadow”on the property, but promised to prevent anything similar from happening there again.

He said: “We got up there as quickly as we could and got it shut down with the police.”

Other residents have complained about past problems with Airbnb renters on the street, saying their “uncaring” behaviour has caused tension and ill feeling in the neighbourhood.

“There are quite a few elderly people around here,” added one.

They said: “Usually, it’s a very quiet cul-de-sac, we all stick together and look after each other.”

Another resident, posting on a local Facebook page, called what happened “horrendous”.

They wrote: “Complete disregard for people living on Falcon Close – young families and elderly people. Totally unacceptable.

“This Airbnb needs to be shut down.

“It’s not right to expect local families to tolerate this.”

Listed on Airbnb, the property is called Falcon House and can be rented for between £350 and £750 per night, depending on the day of the week.

No further details have been revealed.

Read More »

Mystery of Disneyland ‘child marriage’ paedo Jacky Jhaj’s hidden fortune as not even COPS know how he funds sick stunts

COPS still don’t know how the convicted paedo who staged a “fake wedding” to a nine-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris is paying for his sick stunts, a court heard today.

Jaskarn “Jacky” Jhaj’s bizarre mock marriage involved booking out part of the theme park and is believed to have cost him more than €130,000 (£110,000).

Mugshot of Jacky Jhaj.
MET Police
Jaskarn “Jacky” Jhaj is a convicted paedophile wanted by the Met[/caption]
A man at a mock wedding ceremony at Disneyland Paris.
revistacrescer.globo.com
In a sick stunt he faked a marriage in Disneyland Paris with a 9-year-old[/caption]
Disneyland Paris castle.
Disneyland is a popular holiday destination for children

Cops were called to the vile event on Saturday by an actor hired to play the dad of the nine-year-old Ukrainian bride flown out two days before the vile “wedding”.

Around 100 extras had been hired to pose as congregation members, with the wedding thought to have been filmed by wannabe director Jhaj.

He is currently being held by French cops on fraud, identity theft and money laundering charges. 

The 39-year-old is a convicted paedophile currently wanted by Scotland Yard for breaching court orders imposed when he was caged for four years in 2016 for molesting two 15-year-old girls. 

Jhaj, who changed his name by deed poll last August to “London JA”, was last seen leaving the UK for Milan in November.

This morning, cops told a judge at Isleworth Crown Court in West London that the creep organised fake movie shoots and a Leicester Square film premiere costing thousands of pounds to get close to underage girls.

But the authorities – who were at court to beef-up a sexual harm prevention order aimed at stopping Jhaj from having contact with kids – still have no idea how the fame-obsessed paedo is funding his stunts.

Benedict Scantlebury, representing the Metropolitan Police, said: “I can’t make any submissions as to the provenance of his wealth. 

“But he’s a man who clearly seems to have the ability to draw on significant sums of money and he’s willing to use that money to spend hundreds of thousands.” 

He had registered multiple firms with Companies House to arrange and pay for his films, naming as directors people who “do not appear to be genuine”.

Mr Scantlebury said the police wanted to close a loophole in Jhaj’s existing sexual harm prevention order that meant he could hire child actors for his stunts as long as they are accompanied by a chaperone.

His long history of bizarre stunts includes renting out the Odeon in Leicester Square for a fake film premiere in October 2023, hiring hundreds of kids to act as his fawning fans.

Some of the children, who had been hired from casting agencies, were in primary school. Teen girls said they’d been asked to scream for him and try to touch him. 

Two years earlier – in 2021 – cops were called over concerns about his behaviour towards a “young girl” on set. 

A 999 caller told police Jhaj “tried to get himself and the female actress in a room together”, adding that he left in a hurry saying “I think I’m about to get arrested.”

Convicted pedophile Jacky Jhaj in a car.
Jhaj, features in a two-hour film uploaded online called “Dangerous Sexual Predator”
Jacky Jhaj at a red carpet event.
Jhaj previously held a similar event in which he hired young girls to pretend to faint as he walked up and down a red carpet in Leicester Square

A trailer from the film – shown to the court this morning – showed Jhaj apparently firing a machine gun from the top of an armoured car at National Trust-owned mansion Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. 

Jhaj hired around 100 mourners to attend a fake funeral at Brompton Cemetery, West London, in March 2024. He’d booked using a fake name and the actors – including young girls – were unaware he was a sex offender. 

Three months later, in June, he pulled up in a rented Bugatti supercar outside a dance school in Tower Hamlets, East London, handing out gifts to the students, aged between eight and 14. 

Jhaj had hired a choreographer to go into the school earlier in the day and hold auditions for another fake production. 

Then in August 2024 he staged a bizarre shoot near the O2 that saw him blow up a mocked-up BBC News-branded lorry while completely naked. Firefighters were called to the massive blast. 

On Friday, the court was told: “The crew did not know that he would be naked during the shoot, and one of the drone operators filming the shoot had his children present at the scene.”

Jhaj is suspected of uploading videos from his stunts online using anonymous bot accounts on social media sites. 

Giving evidence at Isleworth Crown Court this morning, Detective Constable Andy Hawes of the Metropolitan Police said he had “no doubt” the sicko was also responsible for a two hour YouTube video from 2020 showing the topless pervert driving around picking up girls outside schools. One of the girls was in school uniform. 

The dash cam-shot video described Jhaj in a title card as a “dangerous sexual predator” and it promised: “This footage has never before been seen. Until now.” 

DC Hawes said blowing up a lorry at the O2 was a “display of defiance towards the authorities”.

Advertisement for extras in a high-end wedding rehearsal.
Facebook
A disturbing advert used to rope in children for the fake wedding[/caption]
Pink wristband with partially obscured names and "21st June 2025".
Instagram/bfmtv
A band for the fake guests as the wedding[/caption]

And the other bizarre stunts betrayed his sense of “gratuitous entitlement”. 

The detective added: “He surrounds himself with children. He enjoys their attention. He wants their affection. 

“Thankfully, when he has hired casting agencies to provide children it is their legal requirement to provide chaperones.” 

He said: “All of the stunts or the most recent ones are done in alias names, some wearing prosthetics, so in the future he can regale these stories to other females without it being linked to his true identity.” 

On Friday, a judge was told that perv Jhaj has never admitted what he does is wrong and has refused to take part in sex offender workshops aimed at treating his sick obsession with kids. 

Probation officers have previously flagged him as posing a “grooming risk to female children” and required him to take polygraph – lie detector – tests, police said. 

Jhaj, of Feltham, West London, was first convicted in 2016 – when he was jailed for four years for molesting two 15-year-old girls he’d tricked into thinking he was a bigshot film producer.

He later staged a video of him allegedly being mobbed by adoring teens – played by actors – while coming out of prison.

Last July, he got a let-off £500 fine after he admitted breaching sex offender register notification requirements by failing to tell cops about a new passport.

He was last seen by cops in November 2024, when he told officers at Hampstead police station that he would be flying to Munich on November 10 and returning the next day. 

Jhaj in fact jetted to Milan, Italy, and has not been seen since – although he is currently wanted for breaching court orders. 

The cop responsible for investigating the paedo producer, DC Hawes, said this morning: “There have been extensive checks and at borders, airlines, all means of trying to locate Mr Jhaj but no success.” 

Large fire and smoke near a body of water.
X
A massive fireball near the O2 saw black smoke float across the Thames[/caption]
Massive fireball explosion engulfing a BBC lorry.
Twitter/@gale_hunte
Jhaj (left) walked away from the fire while being naked[/caption]

He eventually emerged last Saturday, when he was arrested at Disneyland Paris over the sick wedding prank.

Mr Hawes told the court: “This morning, I took a phone call from the National Crime Agency in Paris who stated that Mr Jhaj has been remanded for four months pending a trial. 

“He has lodged an application for bail, which has to be heard within 20 days.” 

On Friday, Judge Martin Edmunds – who said he’d learnt of Jhaj’s arrest from news reports – ruled the case could go ahead in his absence. 

He stressed that the fake wedding in France was not part of the evidence supporting the police’s application to extend the Londoner’s sexual harm prevention order. 

But the judge added: “I am not in a position to determine the rights or wrongs of the events at Disneyland nor do I purport to do so.

“But I do note they appear similar to other attention seeking stunts which are the subject of this application.” 

He extended the sexual harm prevention order for a decade and updated its requirements, banning Jhaj from unsupervised contact with kids without prior approval from the cops.

In his ruling, Judge Edmunds said: “The total absence of any evidence showing that the defendant is seeking to address appropriately his preoccupation with children means that a lengthy order is necessary.” 

He added: “The stunts show absurd, grandiose thinking, access to very substantial funds to feed his attention-seeking behaviour, and persistent work to generate the illusion that he is a film maker.” 

Read More »

Russians advance slower than a SNAIL with 50k pinned down as Putin’s summer offensive mired in Ukraine’s ‘dronegrinder’

THE Russian invasion of Ukraine has been advancing at an incredibly slow pace – with Kyiv’s “dronegrinder” warfare miring Putin’s summer offensive.

The rate at which Moscow is capturing land has been dubbed “slower than a snail” – all while the human cost of Russian casualties is sky high.

Self-propelled howitzer firing.
AP
Ukrainian soldiers of 43rd artillery brigade fire self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions[/caption]
Soldiers preparing a Milan anti-tank missile.
Reuters
Ukrainian service members firing an anti-tank guided missile weapon system[/caption]
Firefighters battling a large industrial fire.
Getty
Firefighters try to extinguish after a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv[/caption]

After 448 days of fighting inside Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, the Russians reportedly only managed to take control of 50 per cent of the city.

Which means the troops, on average, are only able to take 0.00629 square miles of land per day – which is a painfully low conversion rate.

Even snails, which have a speed of 0.03 miles per hour, can cover more land than what the Russians have gained in the region.

Meanwhile, Kyiv has ramped up its defences as it seeks to thwart Vladimir Putin’s final killer summer offensive, which military analysts say could start as early as July.

Ukraine’s fierce resistance forced Russian troops to stop in the Sumy region’s border area, Kyiv’s military Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky revealed.

The military boss said that the Ukrainian armed forces managed to tie down a 50,000-strong force and stabilise the frontlines “as of this week”.

It comes after Putin cemented his territorial ambitions by proclaiming “all of Ukraine” belonged to Russia and threatening to seize Sumy.

Syrsky added: “In the Pivnichnoslobozhanskyi and Kursk sectors, we’ve managed to tie down about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades.”

Some 125,000 Russian soldiers are reportedly massing along the Sumy and Kharkiv frontiers, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence.

Ukrainians have now tasked a special defence group to strengthen fortifications near the frontlines, build anti-drone corridors and “kill zones”

Though the Russian forces recently seized Andriivka (north of Sumy City) and advanced southeast of Oleksiivka, according to the ISW assessment.

Putin’s battlefield casualties have soared past the bloody one million milestone after 40 months of meatgrinder war. 

Ukraine’s fierce resistance forced Russia to pay a mighty toll for every inch of land it has taken, and its advances remain painfully slow.

The staggering milestone includes troops who have been killed or wounded so severely that they cannot fight on.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, one million Russian military troops have been put out of action since February 24, 2022, with 628,000 of those casualties occurring in the last six months.

Burning through a million troops has won Putin just 20 per cent of Ukraine’s total territory – mainly in southern and eastern areas – which is a humiliating conversion rate.

A defiant Ukraine stunned the world with its new-age drone warfare, which now kills more Russians than conventional battlefield techniques, such as artillery firing and battle tanks.

One-way attack drones now account for almost 80 per cent of all the casualties in the war, with experts now dubbing it a “dronegrinder” war.

Inside Operation Spiderweb

By James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter

UKRAINE’S shock sleeper drone blitz on Russia’s bomber fleet has delivered a hammer blow to Vladimir Putin’s nuclear arsenal.

The SAS-style strike against four airfields deep inside Russia is reminiscent of the most daring raids of the WW2 that turned the tide against the Nazis.

Volodymyr Zelensky oversaw Operation Spiderweb – much like Winston Churchill did as Britain struck deep behind enemy lines.

Putin’s doomsday bomber fleet is now crippled with 41, or a third, of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks on tarmac.

Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia – caused by only 117 cheaply made drones.

Ukraine’s spies spent 18 months putting the plan into action and struck on the eve of fresh peace talks in Istanbul.

The drones and the containers were smuggled into Russia separately and were pieced together right under Vlad’s nose.

Clueless lorry drivers then parked the containers next to Russian airbases – where they sat and waited in plain sight.

Then, on the morning of June 1, the fleet of flying bombs rose over the far reaches of Russia – and the most daring military operation of the war began.

Nondescript shipping containers parked in laybys and verges had attracted little attention – before their lids blew open and the drone swarms poured out.

The craft buzzed as they took off into the air and only had to travel a short distance to their valuable targets.

Each of the 117 drones had their own dedicated pilot and Russia had little defences to protect their bases and stop them.

Drones with cameras sent video back to HQ in Ukraine of the moment craft struck their targets and explosions ripped into the sky.

Thick black smoke climbed high, with civilians near the bases sending video of Ukraine’s successes around the world.

The furthest strike was Belaya Air Base – so far inside Russia that the closest neighbouring country is Mongolia.

Olenya Air Base near Finland and Ivanovo and Dyagilevo near Moscow were also struck in the country’s west.

IS PUTIN BLUFFING?

Some senior commanders in Ukraine believe the Russian attack on Sumy could be a feint and that Moscow is actually preparing to attack further south to push further into the Donbas.

If so, Russia is likely to attack through three areas near each other in the Donbas – Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, and Pokrovsk.

Vlad already controls more than 95 per cent of Luhansk, but capturing Donetsk would cement his control over the Donbas region and achieve a war aim, albeit a scaled-down one.

The Donbas is an important industrial and mining area – and some 200,000 to 300,000 people still live in four cities controlled by Ukraine.

Moscow’s military planners will be weighing up whether they want to fight through the cities like they did in Bakhmut or encircle them by going around through farmland.

Illustration of a map showing potential directions of a Russian summer offensive in Ukraine.

Kramatorsk is the closest city to the front line and is under constant attack by Russia.

Brutal fighting is going on in the city – with a recent kamikaze drone strike that managed to get inside an armoured vehicle carrying Ukrainian soldiers.

Russia has an opportunity to conduct a pincer movement around Kostiantynivka with its soldiers controlling land to the east and west of the city.

Instead of attacking the city directly, the could bypass it and attack Druzhkivka behind it – thereby cutting Kostiantynivka and any Ukrainian soldiers still there off.

In nearby Pokrovsk, Russia already has a salient, a bulge, out from the front line after a previous advance.

The Pokrovsk front line is also very near Dnipropetrovsk Oblast – a region of Ukraine the Kremlin hasn’t yet officially claimed.

A successful breakthrough there might mean Putin can actually expand his war goals.

Soldiers holding rifles.
Reuters
Russian soldiers lined up[/caption]

THE SOVIET RHETORIC

It comes after Putin reaffirmed his long-held claim that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”.

He declared: “In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours.

“There is a saying: wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that is ours,” he added.

The narrative is central to Putin’s rhetoric, which he has used to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

He reiterated his demand that Kyiv accept the realities of Moscow’s territorial gains and abandon plans to join Nato.

Putin said: “We aren’t seeking Ukraine’s surrender, we want them to recognise the realities on the ground,” adding that Moscow has repeatedly warned Kyiv to make a deal.

Two soldiers walking past a bombed-out building.
Reuters
Members of Ukraine’s White Angel police unit evacuate people from Pokrovsk[/caption]
Man examining equipment in dimly lit room with soldiers in background.
Getty
Ukrainian soldiers fly a drone near Pokrovsk[/caption]

Asked about Moscow’s goals in Ukraine, Putin threatened to take Sumy – a key Ukrainian city – as part of the creation of a “buffer zone”.

He repeated that Moscow was “advancing on all fronts” and that his troops had penetrated up to seven miles into the Sumy region.

Putin said: “We have to create a security zone along the border.

“We have no objective to take Sumy, but in principle I do not rule it out… They pose a constant threat to us, constantly shelling the border areas.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga described Putin’s comments as “deranged” and called for Kyiv’s allies to slap “devastating sanctions” on Russia.

Read More »

Cops arrest Dawlah Islamiya member in Maguindanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY — Authorities arrested in Maguindanao del Sur province a member of local terrorist group allied with international terrorists during law enforcement operation on Wednesday, police said. The arrest of the suspected local terrorist came four days after the Army’s 6th Infantry Division killed two Dawlah Islamiya members and arrested two others in Mamasapano

Read More »

Major double radio shake-up as Brian Dowling announces station move after quitting 98FM just three WEEKS ago

THERE’S been a major double radio shake-up announced today with Brian Dowling moving stations.

After more than two years at the helm, the Virgin Media star called it quits on his 98FM radio show earlier this month.

Brian Dowling on TodayFM wearing a Care Bears shirt.
Brian Dowling is returning to radio air waves next month
Instagram / @bprdowling
Brian Dowling, Jennifer Zamparelli, and Dave Moore on TodayFM.
Brian Dowling with Jennifer Zamparelli are filling in for Dave Moore on Today FM
Instagram / @bprdowling
Brian Dowling at 98FM radio show.
Brian Dowling quit his 98FM show earlier this month
BPRdowling/Instagram

Brian had been co-hosting a weekday morning programme from 10am to 1pm with Suzanne Kane since March 2023.

However, the pair hadn’t hosted together in months with Leanne Hanafin replacing Suzanne and they both announced their departure on June 3.

The dad-of-two then bid farewell to his listeners with his last show on June 6.

And just three weeks later, Brian is back on the airwaves on a new station.

The Kildare native announced today that he will be filling in for Dave Moore on his Today FM show while he’s away on holidays.

Brian took to Instagram and said: “And just like that… I’m back on the radio.

So excited to be filling in for the man who is in shorts 365 days of the year @davetodayfm for his show on @todayfm as he takes his summer holidays, well let’s be honest if I had legs like him I’d do the same.

The 47-year-old added: “Bring on the next week of RADIO FABULOUSNESS. To the team there START YOUR ENGINES & in the words of @gourounlian, LET’S DO THIS.”

The presenter will be “taking the reins” from Monday, June 30, while another radio legend Jennifer Zamparelli will then take over on the week after.

Jennifer recorded a video of herself and Brian in the Today FM studio this morning and said that she’s “very disappointed” that they won’t be co-hosting the show together.

Brian replied: “They lied to us.”

Jennifer joked: “Who is the boss? We thought we were doing it together.”

Brian added: “I think they’re afraid to put us together.”

Jennifer responded: “It would be too good I think. That would be f***ing magic, wouldn’t it?”

While Dave, who looked very excited to be going on his holidays, shared a farewell video to his listeners showing off Brian and Jen saying: “My presenters are here, my replacements are here.

‘SO EXCITING’

“Look after them, will you? Have a good time, I’ll be on the beach.”

Brian’s friends and fans flooded his comment section with support and congratulations.

Aoife wrote: “Can’t wait to have you back on the air waves!”

Shannon joked: “Can’t get rid of ya!!!”

Katash commented: “Awww so exciting.”

Denise remarked: “Fantastic. Enjoy every minute of it.”

Read More »

Huge £500million underground tunnels set to connect four UK islands & ‘reverse decades of depopulation’

PLANS for a £500million underground tunnel service connecting four UK Islands have been taken to the next level. 

This comes after Shetland councillors agreed to take forward proposals for the construction of tunnels between islands in a move described as “a significant step.” 

View of a road and hilly landscape through a tunnel.
Getty
Plans for an underground tunnel service have been taken to the next level[/caption]
Rainbow over waterfall on Faroe Islands cliffside.
Getty
Council leader hopes this will reverse depopulation[/caption]
Road tunnel entrance on grassy hillside.
Getty
Councillors have agreed to fund further research into the viability of a tunnel system[/caption]

According to The National, a report on the future of Shetland’s inter-island transport was presented to councillors for the first time on Wednesday.

The report recommended enhanced ferry services for Fetlar, Foula, Papa Stour and Skerries, together with the case for tunnels to Bressay, Unst, Whalsay and Yell. 

In the wake of the report, councillors have now agreed to fund a study to establish the commercial and financial viability of a tunnel system.

Future steps to move the project forward were also discussed.

The options presented in the report don’t come with any cost estimates, with the council emphasising the funding is uncertain. 

Earlier this year, The Scotsman reported that the tunnels are expected to cost more than £500million

Council Leader Emma Macdonald told The National: “Tunnelling in Shetland is, ultimately, about future-proofing our island population.

“Transport connectivity is central to creating sustainable islands which provide good homes and good jobs for our people, and which reverse decades of depopulation.” 

She added: “The experience of our neighbours in the Faroe Islands is clear – tunnelling from mainland Shetland to our outer islands could increase their population, lower their average age, and increase their economic prospects.” 

Such tunnels are common in the Faroe Islands and Norway. 

Ms Macdonald also insisted that they must continue to invest in a reliable ferry service as well. 

Councillors hope these plans will put a halt to depopulation 

In reference to Wednesday’s meeting Ms Macdonald said: “This represents a significant step towards the construction of tunnels between our islands.” 

Isles MP Alistair Carmichael expressed his excitement for this project, saying it is now time to deliver on this long-anticipated promise. 

The MP described the tunnels as having the potential to be transformative for Shetland’s economy. 

Mr Carmichael added: “It has been a long road just to reach this point and there is still a long way to go but I am glad that progress is being made.” 

He concluded that he is excited to keep up the momentum as he anticipates further talks with UK and Scottish governments. 

The report was published by a team of consultants appointed by Shetland Islands Council. 

A team of engineering consultancies COWI, Stantec and Mott Macdonald have been collaborating on the study, and exploring how transport links between islands could be improved over the next 30 years. 

The National also reported that Wednesday saw the discontinuation of any possibility of a Feltar tunnel for the time being. 

Road leading to a tunnel in the Faroe Islands.  A sign indicates the tunnel's length (1195 m).
Getty
The report was presented on Wednesday[/caption]
Snow-covered pedestrian tunnel exit.
Getty
MP Alistair Carmichael, anticipates further talks with the UK and Scottish government[/caption]
Interior of a large, illuminated tunnel with a roundabout.
NQ
According to the Scotsman, these plans could cost more than £500million[/caption]

Read More »

Medieval English town is being turned into ‘landmark destination’ with 277 homes, new leisure centre & budget hotel

PLANS have been revealed for a multi-million transformation of a medieval English town in Kent. 

The redevelopment scheme includes the building of 277 new homes, a leisure centre and a budget hotel

Tonbridge High Street in Kent, UK, with charity shops.
Alamy
The council’s new plan hopes to transform the town for the better[/caption]
Aerial view of Tonbridge Boys School.
Alamy
It hopes to build 277 new homes, a leisure centre and a budget hotel[/caption]
Aerial view of Bough Beech Reservoir showing low water levels.
There will be a public consultation on the proposal on Monday
Getty

The area that can expect to see this swanky new upgrade is a council-owned site in Tonbridge. 

According to KentLive, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council want to enhance the area, which is east of the town’s high street, and have “much-needed homes” built. 

The new leisure centre will also replace the pre-existing Angel Centre, and will be built in a new location in Sovereign Way. 

The council hopes that the leisure centre will become a “landmark destination.”

Funding is also reportedly already being in place. 

Sovereign Way north will also see the building of 122 of the new proposed homes, along with a potential hotel and an NHS healthcare facility.

A further 56 homes are to be built at the former Angel Centre, and up to 99 more at Angel West. 

This information can be found in the council’s 69-page masterplan

This masterplan reveals hopes to make more of the River Medway, which it acknowledged as a big part of the town’s identity. 

The plan, which has been made available to the public, also details the addition of a linear shaped river park, in a bid to “transform the south bank into a green corridor for walking, cycling and socialising.” 

These additions to the medieval town aim “to invite more people to call Tonbridge home,” “energise the high street” and “rediscover the relationship between the town, the river, and its open spaces.” 

There will be a public consultation on the proposal which will go before the cabinet on Monday, June 30. 

This is expected to launch from the middle of next month, for six weeks. 

KentLive also reported that during the summer, a more detailed programme of works will be created, which will include where the council could bid for funds

The public is also currently being asked what it would want to see at the new leisure centre, as part of a separate consultation.

Following public consultation and other work, the masterplan will return to cabinet for adoption in October.

Three of the documents for Monday’s meeting can not be viewed by the public, with the council stating this is because they are related to the financial or businesses affairs of a person.

Penshurst Place, a 14th-century country house in Kent, UK.
Alamy
The new plan is 69 pages in length[/caption]
Aerial view of police investigating a depot robbery.
PA:Press Association
The council hopes to energise the town’s high street[/caption]

Read More »

Surprise ‘PS6 leak’ leaves stunned gamers saying ‘this is nuts’ over top-secret details about ‘powerful’ new machine

TOP secret details about the rumoured new PS6 have been leaked, with gamers left stunned by the “nuts” changes.

The next PS6 handheld console is rumoured to be released next by Sony’s PlayStation for the next generation of gaming hardware.

A hand holding a PlayStation 5 controller in front of a TV screen displaying video games.
Getty
The PlayStation 6 will follow the PS5 as Sony’s newest handheld console[/caption]

KelperL2, who has previously shared information, provided more technical details of what they claim will be part of the new PS6 handheld console on the NeoGAF forum.

The post was shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumours Subreddit, which had KeplerL2 state: “The only AMD handheld with AI upscaling anytime soon will be the PlayStation handheld.”

New technical details of the PS6

KelperL2 also revealed that the portable PS6 will have 16GB of RAM, 16MB MALL cache and 4MB L2.

This is more cache and improved memory compression than the PS5, although the handheld will only have 1/3 the memory bandwidth of the PS5.

They said: “It’s pretty obvious that a mode that cuts bandwidth in half is meant to stimulate the handheld.”

Improved processing speeds and performance improvements, however, may offset the lower memory bandwidth.

They added: “There is no planned Z3 lineup for AMD’s next-gen APUs.

“The next OEM handheld APU lineup (if it happens at all, as AMD seems to be losing interest in this market) will be with their next-next-gen lineup in 2029.

Last year, the leaker also commented in a NeoGAF forum in September that the rumoured PS6 has “two SoCs (System-on-a-Chip) in development for next-gen, idk if it’s a Series X/S situation or home console + handheld but probably one of them will be affordable at least”.

They also speculated about the PS6 handheld on the same forum that it’s console is a “15W SoC on 3nm”, which is less powerful that the current PS5.

This sparked speculation about whether the PS6 would even be able to play PS5 if less powerful, but KeplerL2 explained: “It can definitely run PS5 games, just not at the same resolution / FPS (frames per second), mainly due to lower memory bandwidth.”

They added on another comment from a user:  “Hard to estimate performance since it’s using an unreleased GPU uarch but I think it’s somewhere between XSS (Xbox Series S) and PS5.”

Another hardware leaker who is a reputable source on Chiphell, zhangzhonhao, also claimed the PS6 console will use AMD’s next generation UDNA architecture.

The GPU will succeed AMD’s RDNA 4 and CDNA by combining them, for possibly enhanced ray-tracing in the light, and is used in the PS5 Pro console.

Responses from gamers

After details from KeplerL2 were shared on Reddit, gamers responded in the comments.

One self-proclaimed active member of the Dev community wrote: “This this nuts and also bonkers”.

Another added: “This is massive news.

“My biggest worry with this handheld was no AI upscaling while Switch 2 has DLSS.

“Looks like a very compelling product now.”

PlayStation release date history

Sony has turned out an enormous array of consoles over the years.

Here’s a list of PlayStation release dates, along with the days of the week that they launched on:

  • PlayStation – Saturday, December 3, 1994 (1st Saturday)
  • PS One – Friday, July 7, 2000 (1st Friday)
  • PlayStation 2 – Saturday, March 4, 2000 (1st Saturday)
  • PS2 Slimline – Friday, October 29, 2004 (5th Friday)
  • PlayStation 3 – Saturday, November 11, 2006 (2nd Saturday)
  • PS3 Slim – Thursday, August 27, 2009 (4th Thursday)
  • PS3 Super Slim – Tuesday, September 25, 2012 (4th Tuesday)
  • PlayStation 4 – Friday, November 15, 2013 (3rd Friday)
  • PS4 Slim – Thursday, September 15, 2016 (3rd Thursday)
  • PS4 Pro – Thursday, November 10, 2016 (2nd Thursday)
  • PlayStation 5 – Thursday, November 12, 2020 (2nd Thursday)
  • PS5 Slim – Friday, November 10, 2023 (2nd Friday)

Trends show a six to seven year gap between major console releases, however there is no confirmed date for when gamers can expect to get their hands on the PS6.

Predictions suggest Sony’s preference for “the second or third week of November”, as during the end of the week on a Thursday or Friday or Saturday.

Read More »