A cabinet minister has admitted that “more will have to be spent on defence” in the UK.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that the government’s spending review, set to conclude in June, will lay out the “roadmap” for increasing funds in the sector.

He told Sky News: “The whole cabinet, the whole government, most people in this country, recognise the pressures the world is under, recognise more will have to be spent on defence.

“The spending review will set out the roadmap towards that target.”

His comments follow US president Donald Trump’s call for all Nato member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP.

Right now, member states only have to spend 2%. The UK currently spends 2.3% of its GDP on defence.

Labour has pledged to raise it to 2.5% but has not offered a clear time frame for that increase.

The pressure is particularly high for the European members of the defence alliance due to the Ukraine war.

Trump hopes to bring the conflict to a rapid conclusion by negotiating directly with Russia and only consulting Europe over its decisions.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has subsequently warned that Vladimir Putinwill be “preparing for war against Nato countries next year” – unless there are sufficient security guarantees for Kyiv included in any peace deal.

Asked if chancellor Rachel Reeves would be happy forking out this extra cash after she pushed all departments to cut down on spending, Reynolds replied: “The chancellor knows more than most people the pressures on public services across the board.

“Defence has to be the cornerstone for our national prosperity and our national security.”

He added that the last time the UK managed to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence was under a Labour government, and claimed: “This is something that is very much in the DNA of the Labour movement, something we take very very seriously.

“I know the challenges are real but the pressures on defence are real as well.”

Presenter Trevor Phillips said: “Everything you’ve just said to me says pretty clearly that the united cabinet – of which you have just spoken – expects there to be an increase in defence spending and expects the chancellor, when she comes back to present her plan, they expect to see more money going into defence than there currently is.” 

“We will set out that roadmap – we have already put more money into defence in the first Budget of this government,” the minister replied.

If you know how strict I am about my carrot cake, brownie, rocky road, and meringue bakes, it won’t surprise you that I’m pretty fussy about my cookie recipes too. 

I don’t want a “lacy” thin cookie ― I want something thick and doughy, with a golden crispy edge surrounding its domed middle and molten chips. 

So why, despite my best efforts, did my homemade attempts always spread into too-crunchy puddles?

I chilled the dough for half an hour; I avoided using too much butter; I was careful not to over-beat the mix. 

As it turned out, though, I was missing a crucial step that Redditors and Mary Berry alike all swear by.

What’s the secret?

I’d read about the importance of chilling your cookie dough in the fridge before cooking the biscuits. 

Liks shortcrust pastry, it helps the butter-filled mixture to hold its shape when it’s cooked (vital for that tall-and-gooey texture I want). 

But according to Mary Berry and members of r/Baking, I wasn’t taking the chill seriously enough. 

All of them recommend freezing, rather than refrigerating, the dough. 

Per Mary Berry, you should wrap the dough in clingfilm and stick ’em in the freezer “for about 30 minutes, or until firm and nearly frozen.” 

“By freezing the roll of lemon cookie dough first, you can create perfect round biscuits,” she explained. 

A Redditor found that the best results came from dough that was frozen for even longer ― between 24-48 hours. 

“It helps with the baking of the crisp on the edge/gooey in the middle type of cookies,” a commenter agreed (those are the kind I’m after). 

Of course that provides its own challenges, as the dough will be nigh on impossible to roll out and shape in that state. 

Personally, I’ve found Mary Berry’s advice the best ― chilling the dough until it’s just under solid means I can stack the cookies high without running the risk of them spreading. 

Why does chilling cookie dough make a difference?

Recipe developer Caitlin Haught Brown told Martha Stewart’s site that “The colder and more solid the fat is, the less the cookie will spread.” 

That means you’ll be able to keep that delicious chewy middle without running the risk of an all-crisp biscuit. 

That’s not all ― “In terms of flavour, you’ll notice more depth of flavour from the vanilla and the sugar will taste sweeter” after a big chill, Caitlin adds. 

Personally, I noticed both changes in my altered dough (I’m never going back). 

A cabinet minister hit back at JD Vance this morning after the US vice-president attacked the UK.

JD Vance slammed Britain on Friday over its implementation of safe zones around abortion clinics, which are intended to stop anti-abortion campaigners from harassing people going into the facility. 

But, speaking at the Munich Security Summit, Vance criticised the buffer areas, and recalled how one man, Adam Smith-Connor, was given a two-year conditional discharge for breaching the restrictions around a clinic in Bournemouth.

Vance said: “After British law enforcement spotted him and demanded to know what he was praying for, Adam replied simply, it was on behalf of the unborn son he and his former girlfriend had aborted years before.”

Smith-Connor was ordered to pay £9,000 after he was found praying in a buffer zone and refused to leave. 

Vance also criticised the “safe access zones” in Scotland and inaccurately claimed the Scottish government told citizens to report each other for “thought crime”.

He said: “In Britain, and across Europe, free speech I fear is in retreat.”

The new vice-president’s comments were part of a wider speech which saw him attack the whole continent.

He also claimed the greatest threat to Europe came from “within” as countries were fleeing from their own voters and their own values.

Asked about Vance’s claims on Sky News, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “I did say we don’t have to agree on everything and I think that’s one area where we would disagree.

“I speak as a Christian myself, no-one is subject to any kind of enforcement from the state for praying in this country.

“The example he gave was about people being able to access health care, in this case abortions free of intimidation or harassment. 

“I think that’s an important British value so I think we we disagree in our interpretation of that.”

Presenter Trevor Phillips asked: “So he’s wrong, he just doesn’t get Britain?”

“I wouldn’t put it in those terms,” the minister replied.

He said the agenda from the new administration is “admirably clear, articulated” but the UK and the US can “disagree”.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel would not be drawn on whether she agreed with Vance’s stance during her own Sky News interview.

She told Phillips: ”[Vance] is absolutely within his rights to give a speech of content that he chooses, that’s absolutely right and proper.

“He’s given a view – personally I think it’s up to politicians and governments of the day to stand up and demonstrate what they’re doing and tackle some of these issues that exist within different countries and different systems.

“All our systems are very very different, let’s not forget that.”

She added: “There’s always more that we must do to defend free speech.”

Could Labour be about to stumble upon an effective way to win back voters who are flocking to Reform UK?

Labour MP Joe Powell is co-sponsoring a private members bill which could force social media companies to make their content less addictive for anyone under 16.

The proposed legislation would stop businesses from being able to take online data from those under 16 without parental consent, and raise the age of internet adulthood – currently 13 – by three years.

It would stop short of a complete ban on smartphones for children, but would empower families and teachers to reduce the time children spend on the devices.

The bill will have its second reading in the Commons on March 7.

And after yet another week where the polls suggested Reform are now ahead of Labour, pressure is building on Keir Starmer to turn his party’s fortunes around.

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Powell said the bill is already “hugely popular across the country, including with voters tempted by parties like Reform.”

Pollsters More in Common revealed a fortnight ago that 81% of Reform voters support increasing the age limits on social media platforms from 13 to 16.

In fact, the bill is marginally more popular with Reform voters than with Labour supporters (75%) and Tory backers (79%).

Of those surveyed, 72% said social media had a negative impact on young people compared to just 14% who said it was positive.

Similarly, the grassroots organisation, Smartphone Free Childhood, claims more than 200,000 parents, grandparents, teachers and health professionals have joined the movement calling for change.

Luke Tryl, UK director of More in Common, said: “Support for raising the age at which young people can use social media to 16 is pretty much as close to a slam dunk as you can get in public opinion popularity terms.

“This is a government that desperately needs public opinion and policy wins – and raising the age of access to social media would be one of them.”

Powell, the MP for Kensington and Bayswater, told HuffPost UK: “Many doctors now say harms associated with unfettered social media and smartphone use is a bigger risk to children’s health than smoking.

“Children and parents are ahead of politicians on this issue, and we need to catch up.”

Data from Childwise’s The Monitor Report 2023 shows 13-14 year olds spend 4.4 hours on their phones every day – more than double the NHS recommendation – which can trigger poor sleep, reduced mental wellbeing and decreased concentration.

Josh MacAlister – recently promoted to parliamentary private secretary to senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden – first brought the bill to the Commons last autumn.

He said at the time: “The evidence is mounting that children doomscrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm. We need the equivalent of the ‘seatbelt’ legislation for social media use for children.

“Parents are in an impossible bind over whether to ostracise their child from social media or expose them to the harms and addiction of content. Countries around the world are now taking bold action and our children risk being left behind.”

The bill would build on the Online Safety Act passed by the Conservative government did include some provisions for children’s safety.

It could be a way for Labour to help quell Reform UK’s meteoric rise - and its own precipitous fall - since last July’s general election.

The government has tried to take on Nigel Farage’s right-wing party by highlighting its attempts to crack down on immigration, even going so far as to release videos of illegal workers being arrested.

This has simply led to accusations that Labour was simply trying to ape Reform.

Supporters of Powell’s bill believe it could be a more effective way of persuading voters to return to Labour.

Adam McNicholas, senior advisor at strategy consultancy Stonehaven and director of messaging for the Labour Party during the 2024 general election, said this was a “live kitchen table issue” last October.

He said: “Voters don’t expect government to tell parents how to raise their kids – but, across party lines, they do expect help protecting children from smartphones.

“Doom scrolling, always-on notifications and access to dangerous content have triggered a national conversation about the harms being caused to children with smartphones. This is a live kitchen table issue.”

Keir Starmer is expected to join European allies for an emergency summit in Paris over the Ukraine war.

The prime minister said it was a “once in a generation moment for our national security” and that the continent must take a larger role in Nato.

The meeting is likely to be held on Monday and will address fears the US is looking to cut Europe out of its peace talks with Russia.

Allies will likely to discuss how the continent should address Ukraine’s future membership of Nato and how to offer Kyiv further security guarantees.

It comes after Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine hinted that US and Russia will hold negotiations on how to resolve the war and will consult, but not directly involve, Europe.

Special envoy Keith Kellogg claimed previous negotiations fell apart because too many parties were involved.

He may have been alluding to the 2015 Minsk Agreements, negotiated by Europe, which failed to secure a ceasefire with Russia in the east of Ukraine.

Kellogg told the Munich conference that negotiations “may be like chalk on the blackboard, it may grate a little bit, but I am telling you something that is really quite honest”.

Senior American figures and Russian negotiators are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. 

The US claims Ukraine is invited, but Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is yet to receive an invitation.

According to the Guardian, Downing Street confirmed on Saturday that it heard of the proposed meeting, that Starmer would attend, and that he would take messages from Europe to Washington when he visits later this month.

Some reports suggest he will then meet with European leaders and Zelenskyy upon his return.

The prime minister said: “This is a once-in-a-generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.

“It’s clear Europe must take a greater role in Nato as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine’s future and face down the threat we face from Russia.

“The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”

The meeting will test Starmer’s mission to stay perfectly balanced between the US and Europe in a post-Brexit world.

While France is yet to announce the talks, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at the Munich security conference that French president Emmanuel Macron had called for the summit.

Sikorski said: “President Trump has a method of operating, which the Russians call reconnaissance through battle.

“You push and you see what happens, and then you change your position, legitimate tactics. And we need to respond.”

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has called for a creation of an “army of Europe” after US vice-president JD Vance attacked the continent on Friday, saying its greatest threat came “from within”.

The Ukrainian president claimed the old relationship between Europe and America was “ending” and the continent “needs to adjust to that”.

The Ukrainian leader also said Kyiv would “never accept deals made behind our backs”.

Foreign secretary David Lammy said the UK and the EU have to spend more on defence as Europe faces an “existential question” even if a peace is negotiated in Ukraine.

Trump has been pushing for Nato countries to spend 5% of their GDP on defence – a huge increase compared to the 2% they are expected to spent now.

Lammy also admitted at the Munich conference “we all know we have to go upward”.

I’m pretty fussy about my food. Even though I cook a lot, I reckon I’ve only got a few recipes (brownies, carrot cake, rocky road, roast potatoes, and fudge, to name a few) down to what I’d consider a consistent 10/10.

Unfortunately, pancakes, especially the fluffy American-style ones, are definitely not on that list.

For some reason, my efforts often end up rubbery and gummy, anaemic and eggy; nothing at all like the fluffy, golden, crispy-edged food of my dreams. 

Or at least, they used to. Because with Pancake Tuesday well on its way, I decided to try out a few tricks to perfect the decadent breakfast, and one of them has become a non-negotiable ― it delivers the perfect texture every time. 

What’s the secret to fluffy American pancakes?

When you’re making a cake with baking powder or baking soda, it’s usually advised to put it in the oven as soon as possible before the agent gets to work. It could go limp as it bakes otherwise. 

So, following that philosophy, I used to put American pancake batter into a preheated pan the second I finished beating it.

But as it turns out, that’s not advised in this case. 

Flour company King Arthur says that it’s important to let American pancake batter rest for a minimum of five minutes, which “allows the leaveners in the batter to be almost fully activated.” 

That should result in the “tallest and lightest pancakes possible,” they say. 

The company adds: “You’ll know when it’s ready because the batter gives a little jiggle if you tap the mixing bowl, instead of looking thin like water.” 

I’ll admit I was nervous trying it for the first time, but it definitely worked ― batter that had been allowed to rest for seven minutes, which is how long it took to achieve the jiggle King Arthur flour described, provided the lightest, tallest, crispiest golden pancakes I’ve ever made. 

Why does resting the batter matter?

According to Tasting Table, it gives the batter more time to absorb the flour ― ensuring a smoother and lighter result.

It’ll also help to release fluff-creating starches and protein from the flour too. 

As for the baking soda I was so worried about, it seems a five-minute rest will actually help to distribute it more evenly throughout the batter ― ensuring far better results. 

Yup, I’m never going back...

I drink enough water. I try my hardest to get enough sleep (but I’ll admit that, like most of us, I don’t usually meet that goal). I try to wake up at roughly the same time every day. 

So why am I always so dizzy first thing in the morning?

In my case, it’s probably down to my anaemia ― dizziness is common and mostly benign, the NHS says.

Cleveland Clinic agrees, saying that most of the time, waking up with he sensation is nothing to worry about. 

But it can sometimes be a sign of six conditions, they add. 

Which are?

Per the clinic, these include:

• Low blood pressure
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
• Dehydration
• Medication
• Sleep apnea
• Heart failure.

Low blood pressure (under 90/60mmHg) can make us feel dizzy and lightheaded, especially when moving suddenly from lying down to standing. 

Meanwhile, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is an inner ear problem that creates a spinning sensation. It happens when little calcium crystals break free from the part of the ear they’re usually housed in, entering the parts of the ear that sense rotation of the head.

Dehydration leads to lower blood pressure because your blood has less volume overall. 

Dizziness is a common side-effect of as much as 5% of medications, the NHS says ― that doesn’t mean you should stop taking them, but speak to your GP if the symptom is bothering you. 

Sleep apnoea, which you should see a doctor about if suspected, can decrease the amount of oxygen that gets into your blood, leaving you dizzy on waking. 

Meanwhile, the NHS explains that heart failure can lead to lightheadedness or dizziness because it prevents enough oxygen from getting to your blood.

It can happen over time or suddenly, and does not mean your heart’s stopped working ― “It means it needs some support to help it work better.” 

Speak to your doctor if you suspect heart failure, which can also make you more tired and breathless than usual.

When should I see a GP about morning dizziness?

Per the NHS, you should see your doctor about morning dizziness if:

• you’re worried about your dizziness or vertigo
• it will not go away or it keeps coming back
• you’re finding it harder to hear or speak
• there’s ringing or other sounds in your ears (tinnitus)
• you have double vision, blurred vision or other changes in your eyesight
• your face, arms or legs feel numb or weak
• you have other symptoms like changes to your pulse, fainting or collapsing, headaches, feeling or being sick.

Millie Bobby Brown has admitted that childhood fame led to her missing out on “a few things.”

The Stranger Things star was only 11 years old when she was aptly cast as Eleven, the human science experiment bestowed with telekinetic powers, and while the 20-year-old is now a married woman, she feels her early stardom prompted some arrested development.

“I don’t have many friends, because of who I am,” Millie told Vanity Fair for a cover story published on Wednesday. “I didn’t go to school, so I don’t have the best social skills when it comes to people my own age and friendships. I struggle with that quite a bit.”

She continued: “I missed out on a few things. But I’m working through them.”

Child stardom has certainly had a negative impact on untold celebrities over the decades. And like those before her, the British actor has had to navigate much of her life in the public eye, with trivial confessions about not being the most avid movie watcher leading to criticism against her on social media or innocent selfies prompting backlash about her looks.

Elsewhere in her Vanity Fair interview, Millie discussed being intentional about allowing people to get to know her.

“I don’t allow many people into my life, and when I do, I think it should be super moderated,” she said. “I started this really young, and I felt that the press specifically was very, very harsh on me. And so I just like to make sure that I’m advocating for myself.”

Millie also talked about getting married to Jake Bongiovi, son of rock star Jon Bon Jovi. The pair tied the knot last May after three years of dating, and they’ve since moved onto a farm in Georgia where Millie spends much of her time feeding a baby goat and fostering dogs.

“We were pretty united going into it,” the actor told Vanity Fair. “We talked about our political views, what kind of family we want to build, the kind of home we want to live in, the kind of relationship we’re looking for, the kind of careers we want.”

“It’s such an important decision, and we wanted to make sure we were making the right one,” she continued. “I knew I was. It always felt right with him.”

Sometimes even A-listers have to film important movie moments by the seat of their pants.

That was apparently the case for Tom Hanks when director Ron Howard and his crew moved production of The Da Vinci Code into the Louvre, and Tom found no time to change between scenes inside the famed Paris museum.

Ron told the tale during a panel last week at the MegaCon convention in Orlando, Florida.

“Tom Hanks didn’t have time to go back to his dressing room to change for the next scene,” he told the crowd, adding: “And so, I was giving him these notes on what the next scene was going to be and he was changing his pants in front of the ‘Mona Lisa.’”

“I said, ‘Wait a minute. This is a moment we have to remember’,” the filmmaker continued. “‘OK, We’ve been under the water with the mermaid [in 1984’s Splash], we’ve been weightless with the Apollo 13, and now you’re pantsless with the Mona Lisa’.”

While Ron’s story produced audible laughter, clearly, production on the 2006 movie wasn’t easy.

“[We] had to be super careful in the Louvre,” he admitted. “You couldn’t even let the lights shine directly on the masterpieces, they had to bounce off the floor and be soft light, but we had three nights in a row [in the Louvre]. We were on a very, very tight schedule.”

Ron said it was the frantic pace that ultimately led Tom to change swiftly on the spot.

The Da Vinci Code was released at a time when even less-anticipated films enjoyed theatrical windows of several months and, with a giant fandom behind Dan Brown’s novels and an A-list cast including Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen, the movie grossed $760 million worldwide.

Ron Howard and Tom Hanks ultimately reunited for two sequels, 2009’s Angels And Demons and 2016’s Inferno, and while the trilogy wasn’tparticularlyacclaimed, this cheeky anecdote might have just solved a real-life puzzle — the mystery of the Mona Lisa smile.

Dementia is a pretty broad umbrella term, encompassing everything from Alzheimer’s disease to Lewy body dementia and Huntington’s disease. 

The most common forms are Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia ― though the former can sometimes (incorrectly) be used interchangeably with the word dementia.

That’s a mistake for a few reasons. Firstly, more than a third of dementia cases go undiagnosed in the UK, partly because a lot of us don’t recognise the symptoms. 

Secondly, it turns out that “at least” one in 10 cases of dementia are “mixed”, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, meaning they include more than one subtype of the condition.

Mixed dementia explained

If you’re diagnosed with mixed dementia, it means you have more than one type of dementia. 

The most common combination is Alzheimer’s disease with vascular dementia, which is down to poor blood flow to the brain.

Alzheimer’s Association explains that this happens because “the abnormal protein deposits associated with Alzheimer’s disease coexist with blood vessel problems linked to vascular dementia”.

Other combinations include Alzheimer’s with Lewy body dementia (which comes about thanks to the formation of protein clumps).

While we aren’t sure exactly why it happens, autopsies have revealed that concurrent dementias are “significantly” more common than we previously thought, especially among people over 75.

They are often mistaken for Alzheimer’s alone, though Alzheimer’s Society writes that “the two different types of disease combine to make symptoms worse than they would be on their own”.

Why does spotting mixed dementia matter?

Dementia UK says that not fully understanding the condition “can lead to the diagnosed person missing out on interventions that could be helpful for the unrecognised condition”. 

For instance, people with Alzheimer’s are often prescribed cholinesterase inhibitors, while those with vascular dementia may need to make lifestyle changes and have their blood monitored to slow the progress of the condition. 

The most common medication to treat mixed dementia is donepezil, says Alzheimer’s Society UK. 

If you suspect dementia, speak to a GP as soon as possible ― the earlier it’s diagnosed, the better the outcomes are.

Dr Zoe Williams knew a lot about birth before the arrival of her son in 2021. 

The TV doctor, now 44, previously worked for six months in an OB-GYN unit where many women deemed “high risk” came to give birth. She admits it gave her a “skewed” view of what childbirth entails.

When she became pregnant, she was adamant she would have a planned C-section (“like a lot of doctors do,” she says). Her reasoning was that while she didn’t believe it was the “safest or best option”, at least she knew what she was going in for. There was an element of control. 

“But when I was around six months pregnant, the doctor noise in my head got quieter, and the maternal mum Zoe got louder, and I completely shifted to wanting a home birth,” Dr Zoe, who regularly appears on ITV’s This Morning, tells HuffPost UK in an interview.

Throughout this growing revelation, she had to “let go” of her medical knowledge and – with the help of a doula and hypnobirthing trainer – she was “guided towards the science of what happens when things don’t go wrong”.

“For example, the oxytocin helps drive the childbirth and if you get stressed the cortisol affects the oxytocin,” she explains.

“I started to realise: if I go to hospital, I will be stressed in that situation and I’ll find it very uncomfortable. I just wanted to be at home. So in the end, it was like I put down my medical knowledge and regained this mother knowledge, which is what saw me through.”

Dr Zoe ended up giving birth to her son Lisbon at home, with no midwives present, in a birthing pool. She says she was fortunate to have a doula present but was able to deliver her baby herself. 

Discussing her experience, the healthcare professional who’s currently working with Tommee Tippee, reveals: “In the end, when I was going through childbirth, it was like in my mind I knew it had nothing to do with me, it was none of my business.

“This was my body and the baby, it had a job to do, and I just needed to support them by staying calm, tolerating the ‘sensations’ as they decided to call them, and let them do their job. And I knew instinctively, intuitively, I absolutely knew that everything was going to be okay if I was just left alone.

“I didn’t want a doctor anyway near me. I did want a midwife though [she laughs] – and maybe a bit of gas and air.”

While her birth was luckily very straightforward, it was the aftermath – the fourth trimester – which the doctor felt completely unprepared for. 

Her recovery from birth took a long time (“well I’ve never fully recovered to be honest – physically or mentally, you’re never the same again,” she notes).

While she was able to go running a few months prior to pregnancy, it took over six months post-birth to be able to run 10 metres.

But perhaps the biggest shock was “how hard being a mum is”.

“I’m not sure everyone finds it as hard as I do, because if I’m honest I’ve always found things easy – whether it’s been school or sport,” says Dr Zoe.

“I’m very resilient. I’m very physically and emotionally strong. But having a baby broke them, more than anything – and it’s only now looking back...  I wouldn’t say I had postnatal depression, but I had some form of postnatal anxiety.”

Around one in five women will develop mental health issues when they’re pregnant or in the first year after their baby’s born. However they might not even realise it at the time.

“I didn’t sleep, I was just terrified of everything and for the first year, year-and-a-half maybe, it affected me daily,” Dr Zoe says.

“My mental health was definitely impacted but, at the time, I just thought this is how it is – which I’m sure a lot of mums do.”

Now, the NHS GP is keep to encourage other mums – especially Black mothers – to reach out for support if they’re feeling low or anxious after birth, particularly if it’s detrimental to daily functioning.

We know that Black mums are twice as likely to be hospitalised with perinatal mental illness than white mums and suicide continues to be the leading cause of direct maternal death between six weeks and 12 months after birth.

“You don’t need to be at a point where you’re suicidal to feel that you are worthy of receiving help and support,” says the health expert.

“If you’re struggling to function in any way, or your quality of life is significantly impacted by any mental health symptoms, you should always reach out for help because help is available in many different forms.”

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.

There are a few things a new season of The White Lotus is always going to get us excited about – namely, where the next resort will be located, who will be meeting their maker and, of course, which star-studded guests will be checking in this time around.

Well, with TV’s most famous hotel chain about to reopen its doors, we’re happy to report that the cast is as packed with stars as ever, most of whom you’ll recognise from either the silver screen, your TV set or, in some cases, the pop charts.

Here’s your quick guide to where you’ve seen the stars of The White Lotus season three before…

Natasha Rothwell

Let’s start with an obvious one. Fans of The White Lotus will have already seen Natasha Rothwell in action back in the first season, and she reprises her role as former spa manager Belinda in this third run.

Both a singer and actor, Natasha’s credits include the teen drama Love, Simon, the award-winning comedies Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show and Brooklyn Nine Nine, the divisive superhero offering Wonder Woman 1984 and the musical Wonka. 

Natasha was also the showrunner of How To Die Alone, which was cancelled shortly before the premiere of The White Lotus season three, and has lent her voice to the likes of BoJack Horseman, American Dad and the Disney movie Wish.

Christian Friedel

Shortly before being cast in The White Lotus, Christian Friedel received huge acclaim for his chilling performance in the Oscar-winning film The Zone Of Interest.

Prior to that, his main credits were in his native Germany, appearing in the likes of Netflix’s Babylon Berlin and Perfume.

As a musician, he was also a member of the band Woods Of Birnam, providing vocals and synths.

Lalisa Manobal

The White Lotus is actually Lalisa Manobal’s first acting credit.

If you’re a fan of pop music, though, you’re probably more aware of her music work, performing in the global girl group Blackpink, who have collaborated with stars like Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga and Cardi B, as well as scoring UK chart hits with songs like Kill This Love, How You Like That and Pink Venom.

Later this year, she’ll release her debut solo album, Alter Ego, which includes collaborations with Doja Cat, Raye and Rosalía.

Arnas Fedaravičius

Arnas Fedaravičius has landed his biggest role to date in The White Lotus, playing “energy healer” Valentin, who catches several tourists’ eyes during their stay at the hotel.

You might have previously spotted the Lithuanian actor in The Wheel Of Time or The Last Kingdom.

Parker Posey 

Known to cinephiles as the “Queen of the Indies”, Parker Posey starred in several hit indie films in the 1990s, including Dazed And Confused and Party Girl.

A two-time Emmy nominee, her TV work has included Tales Of The City, Will & Grace, The Good Wife, Lost In Space, New Girl, Search Party and, more recently, Mr And Mrs Smith.

Parker has also appeared in films as varied as The Daytrippers, Scream 3, Best In Show, The Sweetest Thing, Superman Returns, Beau Is Afraid and Thelma.

Jason Isaacs

Harry Potter fans will know Jason Isaacs for his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy, and he’s also appeared more recently in Sex Education and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Jason’s additional work includes The OA, Star Trek: Discovery, The Patriot and that live-action Peter Pan we all loved back in the day, in which he played both Captain Hook and Me Darling.

Patrick Schwarzenegger

If you enjoy a bit of true crime, you might have already seen Patrick Schwarzenegger in the drama version of the hit documentary The Staircase, and he’s also appeared in the films Daniel Isn’t Real and Moxie.

His other TV work has included Gen V and the Ryan Murphy projets Scream Queens and American Sports Story.

As his last name suggests, Patrick is the son of action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. He also dated Miley Cyrus for around a year, and is thought to have inspired her Dead Petz single BB Talk.

Sam Nivola 

Sam Nivola’s acting career is really picking up steam, after landing a score of impressive credits since 2021.

You may have recently watched him in the Anne Hathaway thriller Eileen, the romantic miniseries The Pursuit Of Love, the Netflix biopic Maestro or the soapy drama The Perfect Couple, in which he starred as Nicole Kidman’s on-screen son.

Sarah Catherine Hook

Sarah Catherine recently took the lead in the TV adaptation of Cruel Intentions, playing the character inspired by Sarah Michelle Gellar’s on-screen role in the 2000s teen film.

Before that, she appeared in Impeachment: American Crime Story, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and First Kill.

Aimee Lou Wood

Aimee Lou Wood’s break-out role came in the hit Netflix teen comedy Sex Education, which earned her a Bafta win.

Since then, she’s shared the screen with Bill Nighy in Living, took the lead in the BBC series Daddy Issues and co-created the upcoming show Film Club.

If you’re a theatre fan, you might have also seen Aimee on the West End as Sally Bowles in the current production of Cabaret.

Walton Goggins

Among Wolton Goggins’ vast CV are several Quentin Tarantino collaborations, including The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

He’s also appeared in The Bourne Identity, Marvel’s Ant-Man And The Wasp and the TV series Vice Principals, The Shield, Fallout and Justified, earning Emmy nominations for the latter two.

Carrie Coon

For her role in the dystopian drama The Leftovers, Carrie Coon earned herself a Critics’ Choice Awards win back in 2016.

She’s also appeared in shows like Fargo and The Gilded Age, and starred as Ben Affleck’s on-screen sister in the hit thriller Gone Gill.

To us, though, she’ll always be the woman who gave Miranda the “dancing frogs” in Sex And The City…

Leslie Bibb

Some of Leslie Bibb’s most prominent roles included playing Brooke McQueen in Ryan Murphy’s Popular and Christine Everhart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Leslie has also appeared in Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy, Apple TV+’s Palm Royale and the ninth season of the US medical drama ER.

Michelle Monaghan

True Detective viewers will remember that Michelle originated the role of Maggie Hart in the very first season, earning her a nomination at the Golden Globes.

Her other work has included the third Mission: Impossible movie, the high school drama Boston Public and Netflix’s polarising Messiah.

The White Lotus season three premieres on Now and Sky on Monday 17 February.

Losing a loved one is something we all will experience at some point – and unfortunately, no prior loss can prepare us for the ones that lie ahead and the world-shattering emotions that come with them.

For those of us who have to face the financial admin that’s left behind when somebody dies, there is a compounded grief as we try to navigate the institutions and paperwork that are an essential part of death admin.

In fact, in Octopus Legacy’s Human Cost of Dying report, families rank financial institutions among the least helpful when dealing with a loved one’s death.

These findings reflect the stories of people like Rosie and Lucy, who have faced overwhelming hurdles in the wake of their loved ones’ passing.

HuffPost UK spoke with Rosie and Lucie about the traumatic obstacles they faced following their losses – and what needs to change. 

Rosie’s mother dying left her with an unmanageable amount of admin

Rosie lives in Edinburgh with her husband and three children.

Back in 2003, Rosie’s mother came to live with the family. But sadly in 2009 she suffered from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, was rushed to hospital and placed in the high-dependency unit. 

Speaking with HuffPost UK, Rosie explains how her mother’s health deteriorated over time: “She was non-responsive for a couple of weeks – and as she woke up, it became evident that something wasn’t right.

“She had suffered a stroke during the operation and was eventually transferred to a hospital which supported stroke rehabilitation. From there, she was eventually well enough to come home.”

Unfortunately, their family’s peace didn’t last long.

“A few months later, as I was coming home from a run, I saw my mum waving at me from a bedroom window. I then watched her fall,” says Rosie.

“I ran home and found that she had suffered another stroke – we returned her to the local stroke unit, and then back to the rehabilitation hospital. This time, she wasn’t in for stroke rehabilitation but in a geriatric ward. She never left.”

The family experienced a prolonged period of grief prior to her passing

Rosie admits: “For me the grieving process was initiated in 2009 when she first went into emergency surgery. This was a long, tortured process of gradually watching my mother losing herself.

“My mother had been a force of nature, immensely practical and sensible. If there was a problem, my mother would find a way to resolve it.

“There were moments, during her rehabilitation when her very strong sense of humour would peep through. She would have a twinkle in her eyes watching the banter between staff on the ward. She would beam at me or my children when we came to visit – and pat our hands.”

But mostly, as she watched her mum deteriorate, she grieved.

“When my mum died it was a release. For her – and for all of us. We could actually say goodbye,” says Rosie.

Thankfully, the funeral went smoothly. Rosie and her family shared stories of her mother and bonded with others over their stories.

But the financial admin following the funeral was when the problems started

Rosie is self-employed and offered to work on the financial side of her mother’s estate on behalf of her siblings for an agreed fee. However, it wasn’t as simple as she had expected it to be.

“My mother had 13 ISAs with different institutions,” Rosie says.

“When my father died, my mother had become really interested in money management. She had invested in the stock market and had also taken advantage of great rates each year for her TESSA (tax exempt special savings scheme) and ISA allowance.

“I discovered that each bank had different requirements in order to close the accounts. Some required a death certificate certified in a branch. Some required a death certificate certified by a lawyer. Some required correspondence just from me. Some required correspondence from all three siblings. No two of the financial institutions I approached required the same process.

“The details are woolly now – but I remember sending endless letters / forms to my siblings for them to sign and return.”

The admin put a strain on Rosie’s relationship with her siblings

For Rosie, it seemed bizarre that there wasn’t a standard process that institutions used.

“Had I known at the outset, I would not have proposed to complete this work, particularly given the fact that my mother had died in Scotland, but her will was drawn up in England,” she says. 

The siblings ended up needing to engage a legal firm to complete the work anyway.

“The whole process was time consuming, resulting in me spending far longer on the process than I had anticipated. Rather than supporting each other in a period of loss, we were really discussing who wanted a footstool, a salad bowl – or who had signed what form,” she says. 

“The length of the process created friction between me and my siblings to the point that we had periods of not speaking following this time.”

One silver lining during this dark time was that Rosie’s mother had already been through the process of settling an estate when her husband died in 1993.

“As a very practical person, she had written a list every year, of all her assets and where they were. That was invaluable,” says Rosie. 

“My mother had also taken the precaution to open joint accounts with each of us, so that we would be able to access funds in the event of her death.”

The admin following the loss of her husband put Lucie’s life on hold for years

After losing her husband during the pandemic, Lucie encountered administrative hurdles that sent her back to when she lost her husband.

Between receiving questions from pension providers like “could you have saved your husband?” and having bailiffs sent to her property, Lucie spent the next two years battling against a range of institutions.

Her life was on pause, and she was forced to relive the trauma of finding her husband dead every single time.

Speaking with HuffPost UK, Lucie says that young widowers face a wealth of obstacles that leave them unable to process their grief: “There are very few widows, particularly young widows, who can leave the financials to sort themselves out.

“Mostly, we really need that cash to keep going and enable at least a sense of stability at a time which is so destabilising. Having to relive your trauma, deal with what seems so trivial (yet unfortunately vital) takes strength and clarity which is so challenging to achieve at this time.

“Instead of focusing on self or family, one has to really focus on getting through a challenging process which means setting aside the grieving process – which, in my view, prolongs the process.”

Financial institutions left Lucie feeling overwhelmed and frustrated

If Lucie could suggest anything to organisations that frequently speak with grieving families, it’s better training. She urges: “Have specifically trained teams with appropriate scripts and understanding of the challenges.

“Additionally, ensure that customers are regularly reminded to provide statements of wishes, emergency contacts, nominated representatives who can deal with financials in the event of death or critical illness.”

She also believes that empathy can go a long way 

Following a loss, particularly the loss of somebody very close to you, the world can feel like such a strange place – like you are the walking wounded and nobody quite understands the particular pain that you are feeling.

This is compounded by a lack of empathy in institutions that aren’t suitably prepared to work with people going through something so life-altering.

Lucie admits: “I was made to feel like a nuisance. So many inappropriate questions about the nature and circumstances of my husband’s death, none of which were relevant.

“Because I was pushing hard for resolution, I was made to feel like I was in the wrong and almost not grieving enough. It was a genuinely awful process.”

Lucie shares a warning to couples and families

Some of this is still unavoidable for families in the wake of a death, but Lucie believes preparation is essential.

She advises: “Agree on where you will store passwords. Communicate well about what financial products you have and where the information is.

“Draft a will. Complete your expression of wishes and update them regularly. Get comfortable talking about money and death.

“My biggest reflection is that these were not conversations we had; I had no idea where my husband’s paperwork was and most of it was on his laptop, the password of which I did not know… Share this stuff!”

Yesterday, I left my weekly spin class ― with its lovely dim lighting ― only to feel a hand on my bicep seconds after facing the bright lights of the gym. 

A fellow cycle class member wanted to know if I was alright, which confused me until I spotted my scarlet, sweat-drenched face and slicked hair in a mirror. 

Still, I told myself, my embarrassing appearance was worth it. After all, the more you sweat, the better the workout ― right?

Well, according to Nuffield Health’s personal training lead, Sam Quinn, apparently not. 

“There is a common myth around sweating being an indicator of intensity, but this isn’t always the case,” he told HuffPost UK. 

So what does sweating during a workout really mean?

Sam explains that all sweat really means is that your body needs to cool down. 

That could be because you’re working your body hard, thus bringing your core temperature up ― but the amount you perspire is “dependent on the individual and isn’t an indicator of how hard you are working or how intense your workout is.” 

Clothing, environment, medical conditions (like diabetes and hypothyroidism), body composition, cardiovascular fitness, and genes can all affect how sodden our T-shirts get after the end of our sessions, the personal trainer explains. 

So, Sam shared, “Sweating is not an indicator of how hard you are working or how effective your workout is.”

Instead, he recommends gauging how hard we’ve gon in the gym using other metrics.

“Measuring heart rate, VO2 max and tracking your workouts which are proven methods of measuring the efficiency and intensity” of your exercise.

What if I don’t sweat at all during a workout?

If you usually leave the gym without much perspiration, that might not be a sign of anything unusual ― you could just naturally sweat less. 

But physical therapist John Gallucci told Healthline that sometimes, a bone-dry armpit after an intense session can reveal dehydration. 

“Dehydration before a workout means that your body will be severely lacking in fluids. And since sweat is primarily composed of water, not having enough of it may mean that your body is unable to sweat,” he told the publication. 

Still, if you know you drink enough fluids and still don’t break much of a sweat during a workout, fear not ― your intensity might not necessarily need to change. 

And for those of us who could fill a bathtub by wringing out our post-workout gym ’fit, sorry, but apparently that doesn’t mean we’re necessarily doing the class any better (sigh). 

Is it us or is everyone talking about gut health right now?

We recently learned that sourdough bread is better for our guts, that gut health is tied to Alzheimer’s disease, and there are specific times of the day that are best to eat to protect your gut health (to name a few).

However, with all this news coming at once, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and not understand where to start with your own gut health. How do you even know if yours is that healthy beyond how it feels?

Well, according to Nick Ilott, senior researcher and lead bioinformatician at The Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies, University of Oxford, all you need is a little bit of sweetcorn.

I’m sure you know where this is going.

The sweetcorn test: how to simply test your gut health

First of all, and this may be difficult for some people, to do this test, you can’t eat sweetcorn for 7-10 days in something that is called the ‘wash-out phase’. 

Once this time has passed, note down the date and time and eat some sweetcorn. You don’t need to have more than a handful of corn for this test to work but if you’ve been craving some corn on the cob, treat yourself.

Ilott explained: “Because the outer shell of the corn is indigestible, it will pass through your gastrointestinal tract with the rest of the food you’ve eaten and will eventually be visible in your stool.”

Loo-vely.

What you then need to do is keep an eye on the next few stools that you pass, and once you do spot a little kernel or two, note down the date and time.

“If you pass the corn in 12 hours or less, your gut is fast. If you don’t pass it for around 48 hours of more, then your gut is slow,” explained the expert.

“If you find your gut motility is on either end of the spectrum, there are fortunately things you can do to improve it.”

He advises that if your gut is consistently fast, you should visit your doctor for further tests.

Studies suggest that the median gut motility time is about 28 hours, and it’s considered “normal” for an individual person’s transit time to fall between 10 and 73 hours. If yours falls within this range, you don’t have to seek any further advice.

However, Ilott urges that if you feel your gut motility time is a little slow but you aren’t experiencing symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, lack of appetite or nausea, you should eat more fruit and vegetables to increase your fibre intake, as well as drink more water and exercise. 

Maya Hawke is sharing a rather sexist note she once received that made her “really upset.”

The “Stranger Things” star has been acting for nearly a decade, and while she comes from famous pedigree — her parents are Oscar nominees Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke — she’s “comfortable” being a nepo baby, and found the note anything but helpful.

“A director told me — actually, I think was a producer, but they were in cahoots — told me I looked prettier with my mouth closed, and that I should close my mouth after I speak more often,” said Hawke during an episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast released Thursday.

Hawke is only 26 years old but studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the Stella Adler Studio in New York, and found the producer’s suggestion particularly dense because she’s long been attuned to what suits any given character she’s playing.

Hawke said on the podcast that a lack of “jaw tension” was integral to the role in question.

“I was playing a character that was distinctly un-self-conscious,” she added. “That was a trait of the character, that they didn’t care about looking pretty and they were un-self-conscious, and so it was clearly just a desire of the aesthetic of the thing, and I was annoyed about it.”

Hawke didn’t mention the person by name, but she’s worked on many well-known projects, including Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and the Duffer Brothers’ “Stranger Things.”

Hawke, who was raised by celebrities and attended a private school in Brooklyn, does nonetheless seem grateful to lead a creative life — and even acknowledged last year that she’s OK with “not deserving” the Hollywood opportunities available to her.

“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word,” she told the Sunday Times in June. “There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway. And I know that my not doing it wouldn’t help anyone.”

“I saw two paths when I was first starting, and one of them was: change your name, get a nose job and go to open casting roles,” Hawke continued at the time, adding: “It’s OK to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. It’s a lucky place to be.”

If there is one chore that’s easy to half-arse, it’s definitely laundry. Chuck the clothes in the washing machine, wash at 40, job’s a good ’un.

However, and we did all know this deep down, those laundry labels really do mean something and not following them correctly could reduce the lifespans of our favourite garments and bedspreads.

The same goes for the drying and ironing process, too. 

Clothing brand Chums explains: “It’s not only the misuse of bleach that can impact your clothing’s condition and longevity, but washing, drying and ironing, too.”

Chums goes on to say that exposing certain materials such as wool to high temperatures at any point in the laundry process can cause fibres to weaken, leading to garments shrinking or becoming misshapen.

They add: “This can also happen if you dry them in the wrong way without a tumble dryer, as hanging some materials can cause the fabric to stretch with the weight of the water.”

The experts provided a full guide to laundry labels, so we no longer need to wing it.

A full guide to laundry labels and what they mean

Washing machine symbols

Almost all the washing symbols will be based on an image that looks like a bowl of water. The only one that doesn’t look like this is the do not wring symbol, which resembles a twisted garment with a cross over it.

Machine washable – this is the basic symbol of a bowl of water. In most cases, you’ll get one of the following symbols instead to give you more information:

• Wash cold – a bowl of water with 30°C printed inside it, or a single dot
• Wash warm – a bowl of water with 40°C printed inside it, or two dots
• Wash hot – a bowl of water with 60°C printed inside it, or four dots

These are the three most common temperature symbols, although it is possible to have others. For instance, you might have a garment that specifies it shouldn’t be washed at over 50°C, which could also be represented with three dots inside the washing bowl.

Symbols that designate how you should wash the item

These typically come with four separate instructions:

• Use a synthetics cycle – a bowl of water with a single horizontal line underneath it.
• Use a gentle or wool wash cycle – a bowl of water with two horizontal lines underneath it.
• Hand wash – a bowl of water with an image of a hand inside. This symbol means you should either wash the item by hand, or you could use your machine’s hand wash cycle if it has one.
• Do not wash – a bowl of water with a cross over it.

Bleaching symbols

Chums explains: “All bleaching symbols are based on the shape of an equilateral triangle.

“There aren’t as many bleaching symbols as there are washing symbols, but it’s important to pay attention to them as using the wrong type of bleach – or using bleach when it’s not recommended – can drastically alter the condition of your garments.”

The standard bleaching symbols are as follows:

• Bleaching allowed – a single, empty triangle with the point facing upwards.
• Use non-chlorine bleach – a triangle with two parallel diagonal lines inside.
• Do not bleach – a triangle with a cross over it.

Laundry drying symbols

“Washing and bleaching aren’t the only things that can potentially cause damage to your garments – drying them incorrectly can as well.”, Chums warns.

“Fortunately, your garments come with symbols that help you to understand the best method to dry them after washing. Drying symbols all come in the shape of a square with various details inside.”

First, let’s take a look at the tumble-drying symbols:

• Tumble dry allowed (on any heat) – a square with a circle inside it, touching each edge of the square. It can be easier to remember if you see the image as a picture of a tumble dryer, with the circle representing the door
• Tumble dry on low heat – a square with a circle inside it, and a single dot at the centre of the circle
• Tumble dry on medium heat – a square with a circle inside it, and two dots in the middle of the circle
• Tumble dry on high heat – a square with a circle inside it, and three dots in the middle of the circle
• Permanent press or synthetics cycle – a square with a circle inside it, and a single horizontal line underneath the square
• Delicate or gentle cycle – a square with a circle inside it, and two horizontal lines underneath the square
• Do not tumble dry – a square with a circle inside it, with a cross over the whole symbol

You might also receive instructions on how to dry the garment without the tumble dryer. These include:

• Drip dry – a square with three vertical lines inside
• Dry flat – a square with a single horizontal line inside. Many people find drying flat easiest with a clothes airer that has a flat portion, as this allows air to flow under and around the garment, rather than laying the garment flat on a solid surface
• Hang to dry – a square with a curved line inside going from one upper corner to the other. This looks a bit like a washing line suspended from the top of the square

Ironing symbols

Ironing symbols are usually easy to spot because they are shaped like an iron. Like washing and drying symbols, ironing symbols mostly relate to allowable temperatures, as well as a few other helpful tidbits:

• Iron cool (max 110°C) – an iron with a single dot inside
• Iron medium (max 150°C) – an iron with two dots inside
• Iron hot (max 200°C) – an iron with three dots inside

If there are no dots within the image of the iron, that means you can iron at any temperature you like.

Do not iron – an iron with a cross over it.

Steaming not allowed – an iron with two lines jetting out from the base. These lines have a cross over them, meaning you shouldn’t use the steam function on that garment

Dry cleaning symbols

Chums says: “If your garment needs the care of a professional, or you just want to have the item cleaned professionally for a special occasion, the dry cleaner in question will also need some instructions.

“As they tend to use different processes than you would at home, there is some additional information for dry cleaners included on the garment care label.”:

• Dry clean only – an empty circle
• Suitable for dry cleaning with any solvent – a circle with a capital ‘A’ inside
• Suitable for dry cleaning with any solvent except for Trichloroethylene – a circle with a capital ‘P’ inside
• Suitable for dry cleaning with a petroleum solvent only – a circle with a capital ‘F’ inside
• Do not dry clean – a circle with a cross over it

It is both more and less complex than I thought.

Here’s a question you’ve probably never asked yourself: what’s your clutter personality?

Over the years in their work as professional organisers, Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman, from The Declutter Hub, say they’ve identified several different types of clutter personality.

“What we mean by that is that certain people have common traits when it comes to getting on top of the clutter in their home,” they explain.

And one of the most prevalent is the ‘happy heaper’.

The what now?

The decluttering experts say the ‘happy heaper’ is “often a deep, sometimes chaotic and possibly neurodivergent thinker”.

“They are likely to have a busy life with multiple people, projects and priorities to think about,” they say. So, basically too many tabs (mentally and physically).

“Because of the busy nature of their life, their home often falls down on the list of priorities,” say the decluttering pros.

“Whilst other people might think their home is chaotic, they have a sense of knowing where something might be found and it’s often in heaps of things dotted around the home.”

What are the signs of a ‘happy heaper’?

1. Those heaps are something the happy heaper continually wants to tackle but they’re easily distracted and it doesn’t take much to distract them from the task in hand if something more exciting rears its head.
2. Their heaps are often there as visual reminders. They feel that if they put something away, they will probably forget all about it so they leave stuff out. 
3. They may suffer from all-or-nothing thinking. Instead of focusing on smaller, more achievable projects they go all in, bite off more than they can chew, try and do a whole garage in one day, get overwhelmed and give up.
4. Perfectionism often stops them in their tracks too as they don’t embark on doing something unless the conditions are perfect.

Ok, I’m a happy heaper – now what?

If you resonate with the above, the experts have shared their advice for how to tackle those piles once and for all:

1. Set your big picture goal. Don’t just jump straight in. Take some time to plan your project and think of your big picture vision: ‘I want to have friends over for coffee’, ‘I want to change my dumping ground into an office’, ‘I want to start my days stress-free’ and keep that vision firmly planted in your mind when you’re decluttering.
2. Break it down one drawer or one cupboard at a time. Think of your energy levels, how much time you have and what other tasks might come your way and then allocate a short burst of time. Make sure to declutter when your energy is at your best since it requires repeated decision making. 
3. Use a timer to avoid becoming too entrenched in your project. Break your project down into 30 minute chunks of time, and, if you still have energy and are still focused, set your timer again for another 30 minutes. Be sure to continually evaluate your energy levels and make sure you are still on track with your original project.
4. Build up your decluttering muscle. Start with easier, less emotional rooms in your home, like the kitchen, bathroom or linen cupboard. You will still find items that are tricky to let go, but normally these rooms are more straightforward to do, since the items have fewer emotions attached to them. Once your decluttering muscle has started to flex you can move onto more tricky categories like books, paperwork and sentimental items.

The experts stress the tips above are valid for anyone about to embark on a decluttering journey, but acknowledge a neurodivergent person might need to approach things differently.

Tackling clutter if you are neurodivergent

Firstly, the experts urge people to be mindful of the overwhelm of decision-making, as every item you come across when you are decluttering needs a decision.

You’ll have to ask yourself: Do I need it? Do I use it? Do I love it? And those are the easier questions. “Often a decision involves more deep-seated emotions and involves even more energy to make,” they suggest.

For someone who is neurodivergent, these constant decisions can “lead to a feeling of overwhelm and decision fatigue”.

So it’s crucial to break down the tasks into manageable chunks.

And while you’re at it, it’s also key to acknowledge your strong attachment to things.

“People with ADHD and ASD in particular often attach strong emotions to objects, making it harder to let go,” they add.

“It’s important to analyse these emotions. Why is this item causing such consternation? Am I keeping it out of guilt, aspiration, sentimentality or a myriad of other emotions?”

Lastly, be aware of hyperfocus, which might be a bit of a barrier for a long-lasting change in clutter mindset. 

“If we spend hours and hours on a decluttering project that can lead to burnout,” says the cleaning experts.

“Our memories are strong and we harbour negative associations with decluttering and therefore avoid it going forward. The timer we mentioned above is a great way to stay on track and constantly be able to move out of a hyper focused state.”

Good luck! 

Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman host The Declutter Hub Podcast and their new Bloomsbury book Reset Your Home, Unpack Your Emotions And Your Clutter, Step By Step is out Feb 2025.

Seems like a wayward sneeze would have posed quite a fashion problem for Kim Kardashian during last year’s Met Gala.

The theme of last year’s event was Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, and in the latest episode of the reality show The Kardashians, Kim revisited her uncomfortable experience wearing a remarkable yet immovable custom Maison Margiela artisanal gown by John Galliano on the 2024 red carpet. 

The culprit for Kim’s unease? A silver corset so constricting that it made her waist practically invisible. 

In the episode’s confessional, Kim likened wearing the gown to suffocating.

“I’m not as uncomfortable as I might look,” she said before adding: “God bless the Bridgerton cast that has to dress like this every single day. That would be so difficult, honestly.”

Even walking in the dress was evidently an ordeal for Kim.

“Are you ever gonna wear a dress to The Met where you actually can walk?” her mum Kris Jenner jokingly asked her daughter during another confessional. 

“I have never felt this much pain in my life,” Kim admitted to her film crew in a scene recorded after the gala, as she was rushing to her hotel to disrobe from her corset. She confessed that while she could handle many discomforts, using the bathroom was where she drew the line. 

When she finally removed her corset, the cameras showed that Kim’s back was covered in marks of her sacrifice to fashion — welts and indentations.

During a confessional, an off-camera producer asked the reality star if the ordeal was “worth it,” to which she responded: “Absofuckinglutely.” 

Ariana Grande says the scrutiny she’s endured while living in the public eye never get any less “unpainful”.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for a new cover story, the two-time Grammy winner opened up about facing criticism stemming from her rumoured relationship with boyfriend and Wicked costar Ethan Slater, and how the drama has affected her emotionally.

“It’ll never be unpainful,” Ariana said of the gossip. “But also, I walk with the awareness that I’m an artist and this is a path that I’ve chosen, and so I just try to protect myself so that I never start to resent the art.”

Ariana and Ethan have kept their relationship largely under wraps. The Break Free singer was previously married to real estate broker Dalton Gomez, with the pair finalising their divorce in March 2024.

Ethan also was married to therapist Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a young child. The former couple settled their divorce in September 2024. 

Shortly after the news broke that Ariana had split from her ex-husband, reports emerged that she was dating Ethan, which stirred up speculation about the pair’s relationship timeline on social media.

It’s unclear when Ariana and Ethan started dating, but a source close to the couple has maintained it was after they both separated from their spouses.

“Ariana and Dalton separated in January,” one insider told People in July 2023. “She and Ethan recently began dating, and he is separated from his wife.” 

The two made their relationship Instagram official in November 2024.  

Ariana then broke her silence about the public’s negative reaction to her relationship with Ethan in an interview with Vanity Fair last September.

“The most disappointing part was to see so many people believe the worst version of it,” she told the publication. “There couldn’t be a less accurate depiction of a human being than the one that the tabloids spread about him.” 

She also called out the criticisms and depictions of Ethan as someone who left his wife and baby to date her as “bullshit”. 

“No one on this earth tries harder or spreads themselves thinner to be there for the people that he loves and cares about. There is no one on this earth with a better heart, and that is something that no bullshit tabloid can rewrite in real life,” she added.

Watch a clip from Ariana Grande’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter below:

You’re reading Between Us, a place for parents to offload and share their tricky parenting dilemmas. Share your parenting dilemma here and we’ll seek advice from experts.

Getting a young child to listen to you as a parent can be exhausting work.

When they don’t listen, you probably get stressed and their emotions heighten – long story short, things go nuclear very quickly.

There are tantrums, hitting, possibly kicking.

One parent asked HuffPost UK what they can do about their child, who is three-and-a-half years old and simply just won’t listen. 

“He is very active, intelligent but a naughty child,” the parent said. “For the last few months, he has stopped listening to us (my husband and I). We have tried all the ways but it’s become so difficult for both of us and very exhausting (mentally and physically) to handle him.

“We try to listen to him and bring him whatever he asks, do whatever he asks us to do, just to make him understand that we love him and listen to him and expect him to do the same, but it all goes in vain.

“I am afraid he might develop an attitude just like this with the growing age. What should we do? Also, we shifted to another country a few months back only and he has not started going to childcare yet.”

What does an expert recommend?

For Counselling Directory member Debbie Keenan, the child’s behaviour seems like “a natural response” to both his developmental stage and also the transition of moving to a new country.

“At this age, children experience a growing need for autonomy while still relying on external regulation from parents to help them manage big emotions and big behaviours,” she says.

“Moving to a new environment can intensify feelings of uncertainty, leading to testing boundaries, seeking control, and expressing emotions through sometimes challenging behaviours.”

So, what can they do?

Try to stay calm when your child doesn’t listen 

Staying calm when your child a) isn’t listening and b) is doing the exact thing you told them not to do, can feel like a pretty impossible task at the best of times – let alone after a long day at work, or if it’s the 100th time that day and you’re banging your head against a brick wall. 

But Keenan says: “If you are stressed, your toddler will pick up on this. Calming your toddler down starts with regulating your own nervous system.”

Children, especially toddlers, are “highly attuned to their parents’ emotional states”, adds the therapist.

So when you’re stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted or frustrated, your child will likely pick up on these cues and mirror them, escalating the situation further.

What can you do then? Try to stay calm. Take some big breaths yourself. If you need to, step back from the situation and “tap in/tap out” with your partner. 

“You can model and teach emotional regulation by speaking calmly and slowly when addressing him. Encourage deep breaths when he is frustrated, model by taking a deep breath yourself,” she adds.

“Also, it may be beneficial to practice mindfulness finger breathing or petal breathing together.” 

Use positive reinforcement

When you’re exhausted and stressed it can be easy to fall into a cycle of negativity, but this can only make things worse.

“Although it may be difficult, avoid focusing too much on negative behaviours,” says Keenan.

She recommends to instead use positive reinforcement and praise good behaviours as much as possible.

Set boundaries – and really stick to them

One thing that’s really important with kids is to set firm but loving boundaries – and really stick to them. 

“Children feel safer when they know their limits,” says Keenan. “Use clear, calm language: ‘I understand you want to go outside, but right now, we are doing this.’ Stick to your decisions without negotiation. Firm, but kind.”

Stick to the same routine as much as possible

A structured daily schedule can help children feel secure, reducing the need for disruptive behaviours as they learn to anticipate what comes next, says the therapist.

She advises setting fixed times for meals, play, sleep and incorporating good sleep hygiene in the run up to bedtime – for example, a bath before bed, dimmed lines, no screen-time, a story or calming activity. 

The therapist points to the fact the child hadn’t started childcare yet and added that “embedding structure and routine at home can really help”.

Get down to their level

One simple communication technique which the therapist uses herself when speaking to young children is to get down to their level. 

“When a child is struggling with listening, me kneeling or sitting at eye level while maintaining gentle, open body language embeds a sense of connection,” she explains.

“Additionally, if they struggle verbally to express themselves, I have toys out – when they are distracted playing, they usually talk when they don’t feel pressured. This approach can be used by parents and makes communication feel less authoritative and more cooperative, helping your child feel listened to and understood.”

Don’t give them everything they want

The parent mentioned they do whatever their child wants or asks them, and the therapist warns this “needs to stop immediately”.

“While responsiveness to a child’s needs is crucial, fulfilling every request to gain compliance may inadvertently reinforce demanding behaviour,” she explains. 

“Instead, setting clear and consistent boundaries teaches self-regulation. Using firm but calm language, offering limited choices, and implementing natural consequences can help him understand expectations.”

She offers the example that instead of giving into a demand, you could say: “We can play together after you tidy away your toys.”

“This maintains structure while still allowing him to feel in control,” she adds.

And lastly, look after yourself

Self-care is super important for parents – especially if you’re exhausted from trying to deal with tricky behaviour all day.

“If one parent is at home all day, give that parent a break for whatever they need: a relaxing bath, watching a film ... start embedding richness into the day, whatever that looks like for you both,” says Keenan.

“It is important that you look after each other as well, don’t let this phase rupture your relationship.”

Ultimately, remember that this phase (and it is a phase) will pass. 

In the space of just over a week, Amandaland has become one of the most talked-about British comedies of recent memory.

The Motherland spin-off, hooked on Lucy Punch’s character and her dysfunctional family, is currently airing weekly on BBC One earlier this month, with all six episodes also dropping simultaneously on iPlayer.

And for those who’ve already binged the whole thing, they’re already growing impatient for more.

The question is… will there be more Amandaland in the future?

Well, first, the bad news. At the time of writing, the team behind Amandaland is staying tight-lipped about whether or not we’ll be seeing more from Amanda and her neighbours.

However, the may be a few glimmers of hope.

First of all, the show itself has been a hit with both critics and viewers, and given how much people had been crying out for more Motherland, Amandaland seems to have been a nice balm for those missing the original show.

And during a post-screening Q&A, earlier this month, executive producer Sharon Horgan admitted that she was “not allowed to say” if an Amandaland Christmas special would be on the cards later this year.

So, no word on a full series just yet, but a fair bet we might be popping round to Amanda’s over the festive period.

Frankly, we’ll take any morsels of news we can get at this point.

As well as returning stars from Motherland like Lucy Punch, Dame Joanna Lumley and Philippa Dunne, Amandaland introduces some exciting new additions to the cast, including Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney and Gavin & Stacey’s Samuel Anderson.

When we heard ITV was bringing back Celebrity Big Brother, we had no idea whether it would work, but given that the revival included unexpected feuds, laugh-out-loud ridiculous moments and jaw-dropping revelations from the contestants, we needn’t have worried.

A second run is set to air in the spring, with a new house, new twists and, of course, a whole new cast of celebrities.

Rumours have now begun trickling in about exactly who will be taking part, including familiar faces from a range of different fields.

Curious? Well, here are all the rumoured housemates so far...

Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes is best known for making the final of the third series of Love Island, in what proved to be a flagship year for the reality show.

In the years since, he and former co-star Kem Cetinay landed their own reality show (as well as a short-lived music career), and he can now be seen regularly presenting sports coverage on both the BBC and ITV.

According to The Sun, Chris has now signed on the dotted line to keep his reality career going with a stint in the CBB house, with a “source” claiming that “execs are hoping he will bring his huge young fanbase with him to the show, along with some juicy tales”.

Rebekah Vardy

Following media rival Coleen Rooney’s stint in I’m A Celebrity last year, where she finished in second place, it seems Rebekah Vardy is ready to step back into the spotlight herself.

Back in January, OK! magazine cited a “source”, who said: “Becky will be hoping very much to emulate Coleen’s success in the jungle, and turn public opinion around totally, with a stint on the show.

“She would hope for everyone to fall in love with her and be offered exciting projects off the back of it, just as Coleen has experienced with I’m A Celeb - and a primetime show like Celebrity Big Brother would be a great vehicle for a whole host of opportunities.”

Watch this space to see how that plays out…

Ella Morgan 

Another of this year’s rumoured CBB housemates who got their start on reality TV is Ella Morgan.

Ella previously appeared on Married At First Sight in 2023, making history as the first trans bride to take part in the show, and followed that with a stint on another dating show, Celebs Go Dating.

Towards the end of last year, The Sun reported that she had been “in talks with ITV producers to take part on CBB”, with a source claiming the former MAFS fave is “really up for it”.

Danny Beard

Former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK champion Danny Beard was reported by The Sun to be “in talks” with ITV in January about appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, having won over viewers with their candid takes on the spin-off Late & Live.

While best known for winning the fourth series of Drag Race’s UK edition, Danny is no stranger to reality TV, after first making a name for themself on Britain’s Got Talent in 2016, making it through to live shows.

They’ve since gone on to appear on the short-lived Celebrity Karaoke Club, as well as playing themself in an episode of Hollyoaks and landing an enviable presenting gig on Radio 1.

Paul Chuckle 

Last year, 90s kids’ TV fave Paul Chuckle became the first celebrity rumoured to be “in talks” for an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

According to The Sun, Paul – who made up one half of The Chuckle Brothers, alongside his late brother Barry – had actually been booked to appear on last year’s series, but was ditched at the eleventh hour when bosses thought the line-up was already a little “skewed” in terms of age.

“It’s early days as the Big Brother team is still busy with October’s ‘civilian series’,” a “source” told the tabloid in August. “But Paul’s name is in the mix for the celeb version.”

Tommy Fury

No, Chris Hughes isn’t the only Love Island alum that’s been linked with a spot on CBB this year.

Back in October, The Mirror reported that boxer and reality star Tommy Fury was “producers’ top pick” for the Celebrity Big Brother line-up. He’d previously been linked with a stint on I’m A Celebrity, following his much-publicised split from Molly-Mae Hague last year, but this proved not to be the case.

Instead, his former castmate Maura Higgins was cast on I’m A Celebrity, finishing in a not-too-shabby seventh place overall.

Annie Kilner

Annie Kilner found herself in the headlines last year thanks to her footballer husband Kyle Walker.

The Sun reported in February that Annie was eyeing £750K to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house, on the proviso that the influencer with whom her husband had an affair would not be making an appearance.

However, it was later claimed that she’d turned down ITV’s offer as she wouldn’t want to leave her young children.

Amanda Abbington

Following the controversy surrounding Amanda Abbington’s stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, which led to an investigation the following year, The Sun claimed that CBB bosses “wanted to sign her up” in the hope she would shine more light on the scandal.

However, she was reported to have “discreetly turned down the offer”, after being turned off reality TV by her stint on Strictly.

Eamonn Holmes

Eamonn Holmes is a self-professed CBB fanatic, even entering the house as part of a task during the reality show’s tenure on Channel 5.

He’s also been rumoured to be in consideration as a housemate for as far back as we can remember, and this year’s series is no exception.

As reported by The Mirror, CBB producers thought Eamonn’s recent split from Ruth Langsford would make him an intriguing housemate, but the daytime star is said to have turned down the offer as the result of his ongoing health issues.

Gary Lineker

If you’re thinking to yourself, “surely Gary Lineker is too big for Celebrity Big Brother?”... well, you’re not wrong.

Speaking on the podcast The Rest Is Football, the outgoing Match Of The Day host claimed his team had already been approached by CBB since he announced he would be leaving the long-running football show last year.

“My agent sent it through jokingly, and he replied, ‘Oh yes, Gary’s fee will be £50 million!’,” he quipped. “He did it completely as a joke, obviously, and they came back and said, ‘Oh, that’s a little bit... it’s not within our budget’.”

When co-host Alan Shearer claimed his guest was “going to get asked to go on all of them”, he fired back: “I can tell you now, don’t bother asking.”

Interestingly, Gary’s name has also come up during reports about the potential cast of the celebrity version of The Traitors, which is also set to air later this year.

JD Vance stunned Europe with his shocking speech at the Munich Security Conference this afternoon.

The US vice-president ripped into the European establishment over its “retreat” from key values, and what he described as its restriction on free speech and content moderation.

He also accused leaders of “running in fear of your own voters”.

Vance claimed that to many Americans, Europe looks “more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet era words like misinformation and disinformation”.

At one point, he said if American democracy can survive 10 years of climate activist Greta Thunberg “scolding it” then Europe can “survive a few months” of Elon Musk.

Thunberg, now 22, started School Strike for Climate in 2018 and has often criticised world leaders, particularly Donald Trump, for inaction over the environment.

Musk is the world’s richest man, CEO of X, Tesla and SpaceX, and the head of the new informal department of government efficiency (DOGE). He has major influence over the new US administration as Trump’s new right-hand man.

Vance also told the conference that he fears the “threats from within” Europe rather than Russia and China, because of the “retreat from some of its most fundamental values”.

He claimed this includes free speech in Europe, and called on all countries to live by “democratic values”, and said there is no issue more “urgent” than mass migration.

The vice-president’s remarks were particularly eye-catching considering the Trump administration has just opened negotiations with Russia to end the Ukraine war.

The US has already hinted that Vladimir Putin will be able to get pretty much everything he wants in any peace deal – including formally taking occupied Ukrainian land – three years after he invaded the beleaguered country.

The move has sparked comparisons to World War 2 appeasement amid concerns Russia will just try to seize more land in the future.

Vance said he believes the US can “come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine”.

Vance also said European countries have to play a “bigger role” in the future of the continent, but that it is becoming less clear what Europe is actually defending itself against.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius later slammed Vance for his words, telling the conference it was wrong to describe Europe as “authoritarians” and that the intervention was “not acceptable”.

Pistorius said: “Democracy does not mean a vociferous minority would automatically be right. They cannot decide what truth is, and democracy must be able to defend itself against extremists who try to destroy it.”

He continued: “I would like to explicitly contradict and oppose the impression that vice president Vance suggested here, that our democracies oppress and silence minorities.

“We not only know against whom we defend our countries, but what we defend them for – for democracy, for freedom of opinion, for the rule of law, and the dignity of each and everyone.”

The Liberal Democrat’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Calum Miller, said: “Britain will not take lectures about political freedoms from the acolyte of a President who tried to undermine American democracy and now praises Putin. 

“The British people will see straight through this hypocrisy.”

There was also plenty of fury on social media...

Madonna had an early Valentine’s Day present for fans who are eagerly waiting on new music.

The Queen of Pop has been hard at work on her first new music since 2019’s polarising album Madame X for some months, revealing in December that she was back in the studio with Stuart Price, with whom she previously worked on her seminal album Confessions On A Dance Floor.

And in her latest Instagram post, Madonna made it clear that Confessions was a major inspiration for her new material.

Describing the new music as “Confessions Part 2”, Madonna wrote on Thursday evening: “My Valentine’s Day gift to all my fans is to let you know I’m putting my heart and soul into my new music and I can’t wait to share it with you!!”

The Like A Prayer singer also shared a montage of herself and the Grammy-winning producer having fun together in the studio.

Confessions On A Dance Floor proved to be a huge hit for Madonna upon its release in 2005, spawning four UK top 10s including the number ones Hung Up and Sorry.

The following year, she embarked on The Confessions Tour in support of the album, which went on to become the highest-grossing tour of all time for a female artist (a record Madonna broke herself with her following tour, although Taylor Swift now holds the title thanks to her epic Eras Tour).

Madonna also won her sixth Grammy for Confessions, in the Best Electronic/Dance Album category.

She and Stuart Price reunited in 2023, when he served as the musical director on her first ever greatest hits tour.

Prior to that, Madonna had been in the studio with Max Martin, the pop juggernaut behind hits like Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time, Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl and The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights.

Vladimir Putin will undoubtedly be rubbing his hands with glee this weekend.

Less than a month into his second term in office, Donald Trump declared that negotiations to end the three-year war in Ukraine had officially started – and then expressed support for all of Putin’s main demands.

The announcement was a moment the rest of Ukraine’s western allies had been dreading, even though Trump’s sympathies with Putin have been well-documented.

After all, the US president once called the invasion “savvy” and “genius”, and claimed earlier this week that Ukraine could “one day” be part of Russia.

But Wednesday’s sudden declaration marked the moment the US officially stepped away from Europe, and decided Kyiv would no longer be allowed to decide its future for itself.

The US president’s move also undermines the west’s previously-united efforts to isolate Putin on the world stage after he invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

So – what happens now?

What do we know about the US’s proposals so far?

After his 90-minute phone call with Putin, Trump confirmed that the war is “unlikely” to end with a restoration of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders (a demand which was once a red line for Kyiv).

That means Ukraine could lose all of its land which is currently occupied by Russia (roughly 20% of its total territory).

The US defence secretary Pete Hegseth also claimed it was not “realistic” for Ukraine to try and join the Nato alliance. 

He said there would be no American troops deployed to Ukraine, although European and non-European soldiers could be added to future security guarantees for the beleaguered country.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already expressed frustrations that Trump chose to call Putin before speaking to him.

He told the press on Thursday it was “unpleasant,” but not necessarily a sign of Trump’s priorities.

However, Zelenskyy echoed the words from his European allies and said he would not accept terms to end the war without Ukraine’s input.

Is this really peace?

According to Trump, yes – both he and Putin “want peace”.

He also told reporters that he told Ukraine it was “not a good war to go into and I think they have to make peace, that’s what I think.”

But Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow from think tank Chatham House, doesn’t think these early negotiations are promising at all.

He told HuffPost UK that the deal outlined by the US so far is akin to only an “illusory peace”.

Giles said: “Without that protection, without those security guarantees and that means of deterring Russia from pushing further – whether immediately or after he has re-gathered his forces, there is no peace.

“It is a claim of an illusory peace in the form of a temporary respite from conflict, which does nothing to address Russia’s underlying aims and the way in which they are completely incompatible not only with European security but also the existence of Ukraine.”

He added that Hegseth’s list of what will happen is “indistinguishable from Putin’s demands”.

Why is Trump pushing for peace now?

Even before his January inauguration, the US president was promising to end the war within his first 24 hours back in office.

While he missed this self-imposed deadline, Trump has insisted that he will end the Ukraine-Russia war, breaking from the united front the western allies have presented to Putin over the last three years.

According to the UK’s former defence secretary Ben Wallace, this all comes down to Trump’s most famous slogan – Make America Great Again.

Wallace told Times Radio: “MAGA is all about America first.”

The former Tory MP said this was not a display of leadership from Trump, but about prioritising the US.

Washington DC has sent approximately $69.2 billion in military aid since Russia initially invaded Ukraine in 2014, and Trump has made it clear he wants to cut down on the US’s international spending so money can go on domestic issues instead.

Ukraine is also home to 50 rare minerals which Trump, ever the businessman, has his eye on.

He said this week he wants the equivalent of ”$500 billion worth of rare earths” from the country if Ukraine wants continued military support from the US.

But Lev Parnas, a businessman who once served as a fixed in Ukraine for Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told POLITICO it was more personal.

Speaking last year, he said: “Trump hates Ukraine. He and people around him believe that Ukraine was the cause of all Trump’s problems.”

Meanwhile, Dr Mike Galsworthy – chair of the European Movement UK, said the US under the Trump administration is “absolutely an unreliable partner on anything.”

He said: “This government cannot and should not make any serious plans which rely on the US in any way.”

Giles said: “It’s reasonable to think that Trump wants a PR victory at the cost of a catastrophic defeat for close US partners.”

But the specialist also suggested there might be no one clear reason.

He said: “The deeper motivations for what drives Trump to favour policy outcomes that Russia would like over those which are actually in the interest of the US is the subject of many long books, both psychological and counterintelligence speculation.”

Does Ukraine have to accept any peace deal Trump and Putin come up with?

As Chatham House’s Giles said, there is no logical reason why Kyiv would even agree to these terms in the first place.

He said: “For Ukraine, it makes no sense to agree to a catastrophic peace decision which would actually be worse than fighting on.”

But, Trump can pressure Kyiv to act in one way or another just by withholding aid because the US is Ukraine’s largest military donor and strongest ally.

Nick Harvey, former armed forces minister and CEO of European Movement UK, went so far as to compare it to extortion.

He said: “It smacks of blackmail. Ukraine would do better to keep hold of its mineral rights, and make a brutal assessment of who its friends are.”

Similarly, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “The UK and our European allies must ensure that President Zelenskyy is not bullied by Trump into giving away sovereign Ukrainian territory to Putin.”

But. how many other options does Ukraine have?

Zelenskyy himself has said Europe alone cannot protect Ukraine, telling the Guardian this week: “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees.”

Can the rest of Europe help at all?

Despite being overshadowed by Trump, Europe does not appear to have given up – at least, according to its public rhetoric.

UK PM Keir Starmer told ITV News: “Putin is the aggressor. Putin’s in breach of the UN Charter, in my view. And this conflict could be ended tomorrow if Putin withdrew his troops. And so for me, that would be the simplest and the quickest way to end this conflict.”

“Ukrainians want peace,” Starmer said. “Those that have had to flee the country want to go back to their country. But this has to be led by Ukraine. There’s no negotiations about Ukraine which doesn’t involve Ukraine, and Ukraine needs to be in the strongest possible position.”

Wallace also said that Britain – and its allies – have to “make sure that 2014, 2022 doesn’t become 2028”, alluding to Putin’s first annexation of Crimea more than a decade ago and his full-blown invasion eight years later.

Simlarly, Labour backbencher David Taylor told HuffPost UK: “We must make no mistake, this war is not just critical to the security of Ukraine, it is critical to our security here in the UK. The frontline in Ukraine is the frontline for us in the UK.”

But, can Ukraine’s other allies realistically fill the void left by the US?

Giles suggested that was not possible, and accused European leaders of “delinquency” for not boosting their own defence over the years when they had the chance.

Taking aim at the British government in particular, he said: “The ongoing disinterest of the UK in even maintaining its current defence capacity, let alone boosting it to something that was comparable to what it promised Nato, is a dereliction of duty that will have severe consequences before long.”

Will Putin simply rearm and return?

Wallace told Times Radio: “I don’t trust Putin an inch. And without any form of mechanism or indeed guarantees, he’ll be back. He will rearm and he will be back.”

Giles went to so far as to compare Trump’s negotiations to Nazi appeasement of 1938, when then-UK prime minister Neville Chamberlain secured promises from Adolf Hitler that he would not attempt any further land grabs – as long as Germany could annex the Sudetenland.

The specialist said: “There are some many parallels between the current situation and 1938 it’s almost ludicrous.

“Nobody should be surprised if at some point we do see Donald Trump waving a piece of paper and telling the world that Mr Putin has told him he has no territorial ambition.”

Giles also pointed out that the main difference between now and the pre-World War 2 era is the west seems much more reluctant to build up its defences now than it did 90 years ago.

He said: “No one is thinking about rearming right now, because they have had the time to rebuild their forces and they have squandered it.”

How long could any Trump-Putin peace deal hold?

Hitler waited a year after his deal with Chamberlain before invading Poland.

If Putin were to follow in his footsteps, it could not be long before he returns to seize more land – a fear which has hung over eastern Europe throughout the war.

As Giles said: “We’ve been hearing timeframes getting steadily smaller and smaller.

“The consensus in the early part of last year is that it would take three to five years for Russia to be ready to make a move against a Nato nation.”

But the Danish Defence Intelligence Service warned this week that Russia could be ready to wage a local war with a bordering country within six months. Within two years it could launch a regional war in the Baltic Sea region, and in five years it could launch a large-scale attack on Europe – if the US stays out of it. 

Giles noted that Russia’s means to attack at long-range distances have been left “untouched” throughout the war with Ukraine. In fact, they’ve been reconstituting them while under pressure from Kyiv.

He said: “Putin will have been encouraged by Trump coming to his rescue.

“Not only potentially giving him the respite his forces want from the ongoing grinding attrition but also Putin’s international rehabilitation.”

Trump has said he and Putin were planning to visit one another’s capitals, apparently overlooking the international arrest warrant out for Putin over his actions in Ukraine.

“All of this is precisely what Putin has been looking for,” Giles said, adding: “It’s not whether Russia will push further, but when and where.”

Fellow sleepyheads, rejoice ― it turns out that our daily napping habit is actually good for our brains and bodies. 

But there are, sadly, caveats. 

For instance, even a sleep-expert-approved nap spells bad news for our overall sleep schedule if we take it after 2 pm (oh, dear). 

And it turns out that naps which last longer than a certain amount of minutes can harm our all-important Circadian rhythm, too. 

How long should a nap last?

The average length of a nap is about an hour. 

But despite the pretty hefty runtime, most people (52.6%) say they actually feel more groggy than refreshed after their midday kip, per The Sleep Foundation.

That’s in line with sleep specialist Dr Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer’s advice to Cleveland Clinic; “You’ll probably want to nap for less than an hour,” she told the publication. 

Napping for that long runs the risk of putting yourself into deep sleep, which is likely to make you feel disoriented and experience sleep inertia on waking.

Most sleep cycles take about 90 minutes to complete, too, which is why you may feel especially bleary when you wake up mid-cycle.

Perhaps that’s why Dr Foldvary-Schaefer, the Mayo Clinic, and The Sleep Foundation all agree that the best nap length is between 20-30 minutes. 

Not only is that the “sweet spot” for alertness (according to Dr. Abhinav Singh, the medical director of the Indiana Sleep Centre), but you’ll be less likely to disrupt your sleep schedule too. 

Do I ever need to worry about napping too much?

Dr. Michael Grandner, the director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona, told the American Heart Association: “If you’re napping because it helps you get through the day, that’s probably a good thing.”

“But if you’re napping because you just can’t stay awake, that’s a sign that there’s some underlying health issue. You’re either not getting enough sleep at night or your sleep quality could be very poor.”

The NHS says you should consider seeing a GP if: 

• you’ve been feeling tired for a few weeks and you’re not sure why
• your tiredness affects your daily life
• you feel tired and have other symptoms, such as weight loss or mood changes, or you’ve been told you’re making gasping, snorting or choking noises when you’re asleep.

Despite being in the music industry for almost 20 years, and her huge chart success here in the UK, Lady Gaga has only ever actually performed at the Brit Awards solo once.

But what a performance it was.

Taking place just days after the death of Alexander McQueen, Gaga rewrote her song Telephone (which had only just been released as a single at that point) as a piano ballad, with poignant lyrics paying tribute to the late fashion designer, with whom she had collaborated many times.

Dressed in an elaborate mask and enormous headpiece, Gaga then went into an avant-garde rendition of her Fame Monster cut Dance In The Dark, accompanying herself on a bespoke hybrid electric instrument that she had christened “Emma”.

However, during a wide-ranging interview on Hot Ones, Gaga admitted there was one aspect of the performance that she wishes she’d thought through a little better.

You see, Gaga was joined on stage by a 25-foot statue of herself designed by the artist Nick Knight, which apparently proved rather cumbersome for the crew (even if she maintains it was still “really cool”). 

“It was so early in my career, I didn’t plan how it would get on and off the stage,” she admitted. “It was so heavy, and the crew guys were like, ‘we can not… this thing is as big as the arena, we can’t put it on the stage’. That was pretty expensive, and a bad decision.”

Rumours at the time indicated that the statue was also going to be used on Gaga’s iconic Monster Ball tour, though this proved not to be the case.

Nowadays, Gaga says she’s trying to be “a lot more resourceful, like, just making less and not overproducing things”.

“I’m growing up,” she added.

The Grammy winner shared similar comments during a recent interview with Elle about her latest hit single Abracadabra, saying that she was trying to be “environmentally conscious to not overproduce and make too many new things” while putting together the song’s accompanying music video.

As a result there’s one particularly fun detail in the Abracadabra video that fans should look out for.

Watch Lady Gaga’s full interview on Hot Ones below:

Keir Starmer has stepped away from Donald Trump’s words on Ukraine by claiming the country is on an “irreversible path” to joining Nato.

Kyiv has long asked to join the defence alliance in the hope that it would protect it from Vladimir Putin’s expansionist aims.

But, after his discussions with Vladimir Putin, the US president seemed to suggest Ukraine should give up its Nato ambitions and cede occupied territory to Russia to end the war.

So it was a surprise when the UK prime minister seemed to contradict Trump today, when he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that his country is on course to joining the alliance.

In a readout about their conversation – provided by No.10 – a spokeswoman said: “Ukraine needed strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future, and it could count on the UK to step up, [Starmer] added.

“The prime minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine being on an irreversible path to Nato, as agreed by allies at the Washington Summit last year.”

The government has been treading very carefully around Trump since he returned to office and avoiding either criticising him or directly contradicting his suggestions on issues such as trade.

But on Ukraine, Starmer has stepped out from Trump’s shadow. Yesterday, the PM called Putin the “aggressor” in the Ukraine war after the US president seemed to lay the blame at Kyiv’s feet.

Starmer was also “unequivocal that there could be no talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine” in his call with Zelenskyy, amid worries that Russia and the US would come to an agreement about ending the war without Kyiv.

The PM reiterated Britain’s “concrete support for Ukraine for as long as it’s needed” and promised “strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a  soverign future”, too.

Zelenskyy soon issued his own readout of the call, saying he thanked the PM “for all the UK’s support and emphasised that we deeply value Britain’s leadership”.

He added: “The Ukrainian and American teams must work together with European and all our global partners to achieve concrete results.”

Alluding to Starmer’s words on Nato, the Ukrainian president said: “The security of each nation depends on strengthening our collective security.

“It is crucial that every new week brings tangible results that will ensure a lasting and reliable peace.”

Starmer also spoke to Trump on the phone last night while he was hosting his special envoy to the UK, Mark Burnett, although Downing Street offered no further details on the conversation with the US president.

According to the readout from No.10, “Burnett and the prime minister agreed on the unique and special nature of the UK-US relationship, the strength of our alliance, and the warmth of the connection between the two countries.”

It added: “Burnett reflected on his personal connections to the UK, and his mother’s experience working part-time in Downing Street as a waitress over 30 years ago.

“They emphasised the huge potential for even stronger collaboration on trade, tech and cultural matters between the US and the UK, and looked forward to working together.”

I can be pretty cynical, but I have to confess that ― whether I’m single or taken ― something about Valentine’s Day has always warmed my frosty heart. 

I can tell myself I simply look forward to the discounted chocolates and enjoy the spectacle of suddenly abundant flowers, but to be honest, I’m probably a diehard romantic in denial. 

Perhaps one of the reasons why I’m so hesitant to embrace my inner sentimentalist is that dating problems, from ghosting to losing that “spark” and even breaking up, are so common. 

So it’s a good thing online care finder Lottie has asked the wisest minds among us ― those of care home residents ― for advice on some common dating woes. 

After all, who could be more qualified to talk about how to keep the spark alive in a long-term relationship than couple Norman and Betty (both 91), who have been married for 66 years and now live together at Blossomfield Rose Care Home in Solihull?

Norman has three rules for couples who are in it for the long haul 

Norman shared that the secret to keeping your significant other happy in the long term is following three simple rules. 

“Hold hands, buy the lady some flowers and ALWAYS show respect for their
age,” he advised.

Meanwhile, 91-year-old Dougie from Droitwich Mews Care Home reckons a little time apart from one another is a good way to keep couples interested. 

“Sometimes distance is best for keeping your wife happy,” he commented. 

As for the women’s perspective, 94-year-old Madge (who lives with 96-year-old husband Jeff at Studley Rose Care Home, 74 years into their marriage) says the key to managing disagreements with her beau is “letting him think he is always right.” 

Any other pearls of wisdom?

92-year-old Geraldine, a resident at Cheriton Care Home in Dorchester, married her “first and last” boyfriend at 18. 

She says that avoiding unnecessary arguments is key ― “when you start to bicker, you need to calm the situation down straight away. You’ve got to say, that’s enough, ’we’ll talk about it later”.

That way, she claims, “the argument goes away”.

96-year-old Eileen, a resident at Beaconsfield Heights Care Home, says that “the gentleman should always pay on a first date”.

Perhaps relatedly, 87-year-old Peter from Woodlands Care Home warns: “Stay away from women; they cost you a fortune”.

Meanwhile, 85-year-old Hilary’s advice is short and sweet: “as partners, you should always stick together,” she shared.

The Trump administration is sending mixed signals over its position on the Ukraine war.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Vance warned that further tough measures could be on the table for Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, refuses to strike a deal with Ukraine that guarantees its neighbour’s sovereignty.

“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage,” he said.

But Vance appeared confident that an agreement could be reached to end the nearly three-year conflict.

“I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people,” he said.

Vance’s words appear to strike a considerably different tone to the statements made by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week, which prompted widespread concern among Kyiv’s allies in Europe as well as establishment Republicans in the US.

Hegseth on Wednesday said the return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, before Russia’s annexation of Crimea, is an “illusionary goal.” He also threw cold water on Ukraine’s prospects of joining Nato. 

While Hegseth sought to walk back part of that statement on Thursday, suggesting everything would ultimately depend on Trump, the president still appeared downbeat on Ukraine’s Nato ambitions.

“I don’t see that happening,” Trump said.

Trump this week had a lengthy phone call with Putin, without having first spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or the country’s European allies. In a post on this Truth Social platform, Trump said he and Putin both agreed to “start negotiations” on a potential deal to end the war. 

Vance appear to echo the belief that everything is on the table as far as the terms of a possible deal are concerned.

“President Trump could say, look, we don’t want this thing, we might not like this thing, but we’re willing to put it back on the table if the Russians aren’t being good negotiating partners, or there are things that are very important to Ukrainians that we might want to take off the table,” he told the Journal.

Vance and Zelenskyy are scheduled to meet in Munich on Friday. US Secretary Marco Rubio was expected to join their meeting but it’s unclear if he would be able to attend after his original flight to Germany experienced a “mechanical issue.”

Zelenskyy told reporters he doesn’t believe the U.S. “has a ready-made plan” to end the war.

“I think this is very important,” he added.

Read the full Vance interview here.

An audience member clashed with Tory MP Danny Kruger last night and accused him of lying about illegal immigration.

The government has just toughened up immigration rules so most people who arrive to the UK via small boats cannot become British citizens – including people who are already here.

It’s part of Labour’s wider bid to show it is tough on immigration.

But one member of the BBC Question Time audience slammed this approach, and said: “I find it quite disgusting how we’re talking about human beings – it’s not illegal to claim asylum in a foreign country, OK?

“Saying they’re illegal immigrants – they’re not, they’re asylum seekers and refugees.

“Legal immigrants tend to be people who could here illegally and overstay a visa, or who overstay an application. That’s the majority of illegal immigrants who are in this country.

“They’re not people who are fleeing war, and we know countries that are closer to the Middle East tend to take on a lot more refugees than we ever do.”

He said there is an element of calling these people “invaders” and “dehumanising them” so they can be blamed for issues such as the housing shortage.

“But we have only built 250,000 council houses since Thatcher came into power. Before that we built five million, that’s a fact. I don’t understand why people like to always claim immigrants are the problem when it’s recent successive governments who are the problem.”

Tory MP Danny Kruger then began to argue that people are arriving here illegally, only for the same man to shout over him: “No they’re not!”

Kruger said: “It is illegal breaking into this country. They should be deported.”

The member of the audience said again: “It’s not illegal to request asylum, you’re lying. You’re lying!”

The Tory MP said the UK has a “genuine obligation to what we can to the needy of the world, to the displaced, to the dispossessed, to the people fleeing torture, and we do that generously in this country as we always have.”

But he added that the UK has taken “hundreds of thousands of people from war-torn country” – only for the audience member to shout: “So has every other country in Europe!”

Kruger put his hand up and replied: “There are 100 million human beings in this world who would qualify for refugee status, are you suggesting that any of those people who can make it to these shores should be able to live here?”

“That’s not what is being argued, is it?” The audience member hit back, adding that “100 million people are not trying to come here”.

Kruger just hit back that people should only be allowed to live in the UK if they apply “properly” and are “deserving of asylum”.

“You can’t have anybody who can afford to pay thousands of pounds to cross Europe, and pay a people trafficker,” the MP said.

Journalist George Monbiot, who was also sat on the panel, sided with the man in the crowd and pointed out: “You can’t apply for asylum until you arrive on these shores.

“But you cannot also – in your home country that you are trying to escape – seek a visa on the basis that you are going to apply for asylum.

“It’s a perfect Catch-22.”

He noted there is no formal route for people to come to the UK which would satisfy the government, which is why migrants have to try and get here via other means.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how to tell regular old-age memory loss from dementia. 

Speaking of which, scientists think that signs of physical frailty can predict dementia nine years ahead of diagnosis. 

But given that muscle loss is a completely normal part of ageing ― Harvard Health says that “After age 40 there can be a decline of 1% to 2% per year in lean body mass and 1.5% to 5% per year in strength” ― how are we meant to tell “normal” strength loss from frailty? 

Well, according to a 2022 paper, strength loss is inevitable over time, while frailty is not. Here are some of the differences.

How can you tell normal ageing from frailty?

Age UK says that about 10% of people over 65 live with frailty (about half of over-85s have it).

Those are high numbers, but prove that frailty doesn’t affect all older people.

Professor John Young, national clinical director for the frail elderly and integration at the NHS England, said: “In medicine, frailty defines the group of older people who are at highest risk of adverse outcomes such as falls, disability, admission to hospital, or the need for long-term care.” 

The 2022 paper we mentioned earlier, meanwhile, says that while “normal” ageing happens pretty much equally across a person’s whole body at once, frailty disproportionately affects our metabolism, nerves, and muscles.

Age UK’s comment makes sense, then ― they say it “actually describes someone’s overall resilience and how this relates to their chance to recover quickly following health problems.” 

It can manifest as weight loss, exhaustion, and conditions like poor eyesight, worse hearing, and arthritis. People with frailty are more likely to be housebound.

In other words, frailty lowers your reserves.

It means you have a much lower “buffer” of health and strength to battle against illnesses ― something like a UTI might make an aged person quite ill for a week, but it could affect a frail person severely for a very long time.

Is there anything we can do to prevent frailty?

A 2018 study saw 33% of frail older participants return to pre-frail status after a year, highlighting “the need for preventing and treating these conditions in later life.” 

Professor John Young told the NHS that staying active, eating enough calories (and focusing on calorie-dense foods if that’s difficult), socialising, and even taking vitamin D can decrease the effects of frailty on a person’s life.

John’s Hopkins Medicine says that you may be able to decrease your risk of becoming frail in the first place by strength training, eating well, and staying socially connected and optimistic.

A BBC Question Time guest dubbed the furore around Rachel Reeves’ career a “distraction” from the current “catastrophic situation” we are in.

The chancellor is facing intense scrutiny after the BBC reported her LinkedIn account exaggerated how long she had worked at Bank of England.

Reeves was also allegedly the subject of an expenses probe when she was the senior manager at Halifax Bank of Scotland in the late 2000s, which the chancellor has since said she had no knowledge of.

Prime minister Keir Starmer has stood by his chancellor, telling the media that these issues were from “many years ago”.

But last night, BBC Question Time host Fiona Bruce asked the panel: “Is it ever OK to put things on a CV which are not true?”

Journalist George Monbiot replied: “No, it’s not OK but actually it’s a pretty trivial issue.

“I know it’s going to be kicked around by the media because the media loves this kind of gossip.”

“It’s not the first time [the LinkedIn profile] had to be amended,” Bruce cut in. “And this is the chancellor, the second most important person [in the government].”

“I accept all that, but actually it’s a distraction from the pretty catastrophic situation in which which we find ourselves,” he replied. “We have a chancellor and indeed a prime minister who have no vision at all apart from this thing called ‘growth’, GDP growth.”

Labour have repeatedly pledged to put economic growth at the heart of their government, but Monbiot argued it should not be used as a measure of national welfare.

He said in some ways there is a “direct contradiction” between growth and our welfare, adding: “We can see this in exactly what Rachel Reeves is doing.”

He also criticised Reeves’ decision to allow a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport and for her “horrible attack” on regulations.

“To make matters worse, [she is] turning on people who care about the natural world,” Monbiot said.

Alluding to the accusations around Reeves’ CV, he suggested that “the big deception is that GDP could be seen as a measure of our wellbeing.”

Education minister Jacqui Smith defended the chancellor on the same programme last night, pointing out that Reeves corrected her LinkedIn account when the issue was raised.

“She is probably the best qualified chancellor that we’ve had for a considerable period,” Smith said. “She is a trained economist, which is – given some of the chaos we’ve had from chancellors and budgets in the recent past – is actually something really really important.”

Reeves has often pointed to her past in the Bank of England to bolster her credentials, and repeatedly claimed to have spent the best part of a decade there.

But she left the Bank nine months earlier than she started on her LinkedIn profile, which means she spent five and a half years there.

A spokesperson has since told reporters that the mistake was due to an administrative error from her team and that the chancellor didn’t see it before it was published. The profile has now been updated.

How long does it take to get over a breakup?

Recommend me a heartbreak playlist?

What’s the best food to eat when you have a broken heart?

When my last relationship ended, I absolutely bombarded Google – and my longsuffering friends – with questions like this. My life had never felt so turbulent – in the space of an evening I not only had nowhere to live but also had no idea what the coming weeks, months, years – hey, the rest of my life – were going to look like.   

If that sounds overdramatic, it’s meant to.

Believe me, I was astonished – and perhaps a little embarrassed – at how in-pieces I was. I knew that breakups happened to everyone. I knew that by most standards, mine was a decent one – reasonably mutual, no terrible behaviour on either side, definitely the right thing. And I knew – I promise I knew – that a relationship was only one part of a full and interesting and joyful life. Yet I genuinely felt like I cannot and will not cope with how awful this is.

Enter the very specific questions.

It’s interesting, looking back, how much I was hoping I could gamify my way out of heartbreak. That if I followed the right ‘ten easy steps to healing a broken heart’ then I would be miraculously cured – tomorrow.

This kind of thinking probably owes a lot to self-help books. How To Win Friends and Influence People. The Power of Positive Thinking. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The Secret. These are titles that have wormed their way into pop culture and parody, that sell in their millions even as they’re criticised for being full of pseudoscience at best and charlatanism at worst.

What they all promise is certainty – that even at the most devastating rock-bottom of your life (or perhaps the humdrum bleurghness of your life!) – you can follow a neatly-packaged process and emerge triumphant.

Don’t get me wrong, lots of things did help me navigate my heartbreak. I will always be an advocate of the walk-and-talk during times of emotional strife, and pulling on my hiking boots for a wet weekend in Yorkshire with my closest friends did soothe the soul – even if I was sobbing every five minutes. Getting extremely drunk whilst playing Catan with my new housemates also made a positive difference – at least for that evening. The following morning – not so much.

Convincing myself that I just needed to meet someone new, like now and going on an app overdrive – including drinks with three separate people in a single day – was probably a mistake. Though I like telling the story a few years on.

But the point is that none of these things was a miracle cure – not collectively and certainly not individually. Some took me backwards even as they took me forwards. The path through heartbreak is not linear.

This contrast between the desire for concrete answers and the rather messier reality of recovering from a broken heart is what inspired my debut novel, Instructions for Heartbreak. Four friends, all heartbroken in different ways, come together and create a kind of manual, writing down the lessons they’ve learned. This advice is pooled at the end of each chapter. How will post-breakup sex feel? Should you cut off all your hair? Why exactly does getting outside help? 

It also inspired my accompanying Substack, where I ask writers to recommend seven things to soothe a broken heart – books among them. It’s interesting, reading these, to notice how much commonality there is. So many people recommend being by water as an opportunity to think and reflect (pun intended). Tea has come up more than once as the ultimate drink to soothe the soul – and with an important element of ceremony. But there are plenty of contrasts too, and I’ve loved learning about people’s favourite comfort reads, building a whole new heartbreak playlist and adding new films to my must-watch list.

Because moving through heartbreak might be a meander rather than a sprint, but it turns out there are myriad things out there that will make a positive difference. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all heartbreak toolkit – but there are infinite different ways you can build your own.

And really, isn’t that more comforting?

Jeremy Strong has admitted he has found it “really painful” to be misunderstood and thought of as a certain way in the media.

The Oscar nominee has become infamous as something of a serious figure in the acting world, not helped by an article about him published in the New Yorker in 2021, in which his Succession co-star Brian Cox made it clear he was unimpressed with Jeremy’s hands-on approach to acting (something he’s spokenabout repeatedly in the years since).

Asked about this widely-shared profile, and the public’s reaction to it, during a new interview with GQ Hype, Jeremy admitted: “It was really painful.

“It’s painful to feel misunderstood and misrepresented, and I’m sure there were things about it where looking in the mirror can also be painful.”

When the interviewer asked about Jeremy’s earnestness at a time when sincerity is becoming more scarce, he agreed: “I think the fact that cringe has become a word is evidence of that.”

He also brought up a recent advertising campaign he did with the US fast food chain Dunkin’ Donuts, in which he poked fun at his own reputation.

“I did [the ad] because it was my answer and response to all of that stuff,” he said. “A repudiation of it. A way, in its own form of risk, of actually poking fun at myself, poking fun at this absurd notion.

“I’ve never called myself a Method Actor. Never once. The Bean Method is as absurd or as legitimate as these ideas that are going around.

“So I had fun with that and I thought it was just a way of saying ‘Listen, I take what I do extremely seriously, but I don’t take myself all that seriously’.”

Jeremy is currently in the running for an Oscar thanks to portrayal of Donald Trump’s former mentor Roy Cohn in the film The Apprentice.

The polarising movie is up for two awards in total, with leading man Sebastian Stan also nominated for Best Actor.

Did you know menopause symptoms can last for up to ten years?

Yup ― between perimenopause and the change itself, the National Institute on Aging says menopause “usually lasts about seven years but can be as long as 14 years” (ah, lovely).

Of course, the process starts at different times for different people. 

The NHS says that menopause which begins before the age of 45 is considered early and advises people noticing symptoms to see their GP. 

But when does it start for most people ― and how is menopause actually different from the barrage of symptoms that can appear before it (perimenopause)?

Average ages change around the world but are roughly in the same bracket

In the UK, the average age for menopause to start is 51. 

In the US, it’s 52.

Most people will experience it between the ages of 45-55. 

But perimenopause can start earlier ― often between two to eight years earlier. 

It can lead to symptoms lots of us associate with menopause, like lower libido, hot flashes, night sweats, needing to pee more often, and PMS-like signs. 

Though you might have those symptoms, though, menopause doesn’t officially start until you’ve gone a year without getting your period. 

Your period may be irregular for a long time before that happens.

What should I do if I think I’ve reached menopause or perimenopause?

Per the NHS, “Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have a big impact on your life, including relationships and work.” 

They recommend getting advice as soon as you notice changes, especially if your day-to-day life is affected by hormonal shifts ― regardless of whether those are down to menopause or perimenopause. 

Your doctor might suggest you try hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which replaces some of the hormones lost during menopause. 

That can not only “relieve most menopause and perimenopause symptoms, including hot flushes, brain fog, joint pains, mood swings and vaginal dryness” within a few months or weeks, but can also protect your more vulnerable bones against conditions like osteoporosis. 

Renée Zellweger has claimed that Hugh Grant certainly lived up to his reputation on the set of the new Bridget Jones film.

The two actors share the screen once again in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which Renée discussed during an appearance on Thursday’s edition of The Tonight Show.

When host Jimmy Fallon asked the two-time Oscar winner about what it was like to work with Hugh for the third time (the British actor famously ducked out of part three, Bridget Jones’s Baby), she was full of enthusiasm about being back with her old co-star.

And apparently, that’s more than can be said for him.

“He’s the best, he’s so much fun,” Renée enthused. “But I don’t have to tell anybody that, you guys know. He’s our favourite grumbler in chief, isn’t he?”

She continued: “He’s mastered the art of fun grumbling, hasn’t he? He hates everything! It’s genius!”

To help promote their new movie, Hugh recently interviewed Renée for a cover story in British Vogue, during which they addressed his reputation as the most “curmudgeonly” man in Hollywood.

“I’m not very friendly,” Hugh admitted, to which his friend and colleague insisted: “No! I don’t think that’s true about you at all. I feel like you save your energy for the people that you really, really love and care about, and who know you really, really well.”

She added: “I don’t think you’re curmudgeonly. I think you’re funny. 

“But I don’t think that you suffer superficial conversation. It exhausts and bores you, and you’d rather watch cricket on telly.”

“You know my feelings about people, Renée,” he then responded. “I don’t like them on the whole. But you, you I’ve always liked.”

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is in cinemas now.

Richard Tice was torn apart by presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer yesterday over over Donald Trump’s approach to the Ukraine war.

The US president announced this week that he will be starting negotiations to end the conflict with Vladimir Putin.

Although the war began three years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine in a land grab, Trump has suggested Kyiv should make concessions to Putin in the name of peace.

The US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has already suggested Russia gets to keep a fifth of Ukraine’s landmass and that Kyiv is prevented from joining Nato.

The Reform UK party is close to the Trump administration and so keenly defended his approach to the Ukraine war.  

On Talk TV last night, presenter Hartley-Brewer asked Tice: “Which part of Britain would you give away if we were invaded and you wanted to negotiate peace?”

He began: “None at all –”

The presenter interrupted: “Oh so we wouldn’t give away any of Britain, but it’s OK for us to give away a bit of Ukraine?”

Tice said it was Ukraine who will choose to give it away, to which the presenter replied that Ukraine doesn’t want to give it away.

“Of course it doesn’t! But ultimately, it is Zelenskyy’s decision,” he said. “Ultimately, we’ve got to stop killing people.”

Hartley-Brewer replied: “If we were invaded, and our close allies in Nato, like the US, supported us for a bit but gave us just enough support so we could actually not lose, but not enough to win.”

Tice said that would leave the invaded country in a better position to negotiate a solution, but the presenter pointed out that the US was now essentially letting the invaders take territory.

The MP then tried to compare it to settling the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but Hartley-Brewer cut in: “We didn’t give away territory to an invading force! That’s a ridiculous analogy.”

He maintained it was a valid comparison, but the presenter said: “Sorry, who invaded Northern Ireland?”

Tice said: “Wars stop when people stop killing people.”

Hartley-Brewer said: “No, wars stop when one side is defeated. Sorry, have you heard of the Second World War? Did we negotiate the end of the Second World War?”

Tice replied: “There were lots of other wars where ultimately people negotiate a peace, otherwise you just carry on. How long are we going to carry on?”

The presenter suggested the reason there would be a negotiated settlement is because “it’s not our problem”.

“Except it will be our problem when Vladimir Putin thinks he can take any territory of any country in Europe that he damn well pleases,” she said.

Tice said the negotiation would stop Putin from pushing further forward.

“You clearly don’t understand how President Trump works. He starts out in one position, that doesn’t mean that’s where he settles,” Tice replied. 

She said: “You know what you don’t do in a negotiation? You set out a position where you give the other side everything that they want. Literally what they’ve done.”

She added: “I thought Reform cared about national borders and security, just, apparently not all of them.”

He said his party does care, but that the war has to stop, so Hartley-Brewer asked: “How long would you fight for this country?”

“Until I’m dead,” Tice replied, leading the presenter to say: “Well exactly, that’s what the Ukrainian people would ideally do if they were given support.” 

A Complete Unknown star Monica Barbaro has revealed she finally met folk legend Joan Baez, who she portrayed in the Bob Dylan biopic.

While Joan has previously heaped praise on the film, and Monica’s depiction of her more specifically, she wasn’t actually able to meet the woman who played her on the big screen until recently.

Earlier this week, the Oscar nominee posted a picture of herself with the iconic singer-songwriter on Instagram, admitting that meeting her was a “surreal” experience.

“A beautiful night in so many ways. Absolutely surreal,” she told her followers, after attending the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund’s 30th anniversary benefit concert.

“Joan, you’re a legend,” she added.

She also posted clips of Joan on stage at the event, including a rendition of the classic Diamonds And Rust, which was inspired by the singer’s relationship with fellow performer Bob Dylan.

Last month, it was revealed that Monica was in the running for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in the biopic, alongside Wicked’s Ariana Grande, Emilia Pérez’s Zoe Saldaña, Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini and The Brutalist’s Felicity Jones.

Speaking about Monica’s performance towards the end of last month, Joan said: “I loved what she did in the film. If I didn’t think she was good at it, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it in general.

“But she looked enough like me and she had my gestures down. You could tell who it was.”

Addressing A Complete Unknown more broadly, she added: “That’s how it was. When he walked into the room, he took up all the oxygen. And so my part was always diminished in his presence. And in that sense the film is accurate.”

Timothée Chalamet plays Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, with Elle Fanning appearing as Sylvie Russo, a pseudonym for another, more private, ex of Bob’s, Suze Rotolo.

A Complete Unknown is in UK cinemas now.

A lot of people think that Santa’s suit is red and white because of an early Coca-Cola ad. After all, he and the brand share the same colours. 

But it turns out that Saint Nick’s iconic garb predates the well-known advert. The company itself wrote: “Even though it’s often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the colour of Coca‑Cola, he appeared in a red coat before [Coca-Cola illustrator Haddon] Sundblom painted him.” 

And yet we never hear that Valentine’s Day chocolate-giving is a tradition borne partly from another company’s marketing choice ― even though that claim seems to have more heft to it. 

Why do we give chocolates on Valentine’s Day?

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact origins of Valentine’s Day, but some form of the romantic holiday dates back to the 14th century (some speculate its roots lie earlier, in ancient Rome). 

But giving one another chocolates on the holiday is a newer phenomenon that started in the last 200 years. 

Chocolate had only been available as a drink until 1847, when it was first turned into a moulded paste by J.S. Fry and Sons. 

Before then, members of royal European courts ― who else outside of cocoa’s native Central and South America could afford the delicacy? ― drank bitter Xocolatl, which was associated with virility and masculinity. 

The idea of linking the newly-formed bars with romance, though, wasn’t really one which occurred to consumers until Cadbury’s combined the sweet treats with other Valentine’s motifs, like hearts and Cupids. 

In 1861, Richard Cadbury created a “fancy box” for the day which was shaped like a heart, meaning buyers could keep love letters and other romantic items in there long after eating its contents. 

Dr Charles Feldman, professor of food studies, told CNN that this marketing move made an association between chocolate and romance that lasts to this day. 

“The marketing machine took over,” he said, adding that the different varieties of heart-shaped boxes other companies made over time “gave men the opportunity to demonstrate their taste by choosing the right box for the particular woman.”

Is that why Cadbury Roses are called that?

Roses weren’t actually associated with romance until Victorian times (a bit like chocolates). 

But nope ― the brand’s marketing know-how didn’t extend to naming one of their selection tin products after the amorous gift. 

Instead, the company says they were “Named after Dorothy Cadbury’s favourite flowers, roses.”

The former Cadbury’s director was a keen botanist, it turns out.

Jameela Jamil has admitted that she inadvertently “ruined” Glastonbury for fellow music fan Benedict Cumberbatch.

On a recent episode of Paloma Faith’s Mad Sad Bad podcast, Jameela explained that last year’s Glastonbury fell in the middle of “one of the saddest” years of her life, following the “sudden” death of a friend.

As a result, the Jameela was in an especially emotional place when she attended the festival, where Coldplay where headlining, telling Paloma: “Now I’ve become someone who cries to Fix You by Coldplay.” 

“I was uncontrollable at Glastonbury,” she recalled. “And I was like, ruining it for Benedict Cumberbatch who was next to me ― who I don’t know.” 

“So he’s just trying to listen to the song, and I’m just going ― ughhhhh!”

Jameela’s boyfriend, musician James Blake, also performed at 2024′s Glastonbury, with Jameela watching from the crowd.

The former star of The Good Place said it was only when partner James told her that she’d “really checked out of life” that she realised how much she’d been struggling with her grief.

“I tend to not register emotions in my brain ― I just push emotions down into my body. I rarely know I’m depressed when I’m depressed,” Jameela shared.

She added that her sadness often comes out in “earthquake”-like “panic attacks.” 

Jameela has previously spoken about her struggles with depression, anorexia, and suicidal thoughts. 

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.

Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations, including His & Hers which is coming to Netflix later this year. The secret of her success? It might be Scotland. She tells us about her love affair with Scotland and how it has inspired her books, including Beautiful Ugly, which is out this month.

All of my books have been partly written or edited in Scotland, and more than one of them is set there, including Beautiful Ugly.

Ten years ago I was still writing in my spare time, on the train to work and at weekends. Then I took a trip to the Scottish Highlands to finish a book called Sometimes I Lie. I rented a small property near Glencoe and I fell in love.

I walked a lot, I wrote a lot, and when I submitted the novel, I somehow got my dream agent after years of nothing but rejections. He sold the book for more money than I’d ever dared dream of. First in the UK, then in an auction in the US, soon followed by another auction in Germany. My dreams came true and my life changed very quickly. I quit my job, became a full time author, and I’ve been writing books ever since.

I’d written a few books before Sometimes I Lie which nobody wanted to publish. So I’ve often asked myself what was different with that book. Was it just a case of good timing? Or luck? Did I stumble upon the zeitgeist perhaps? Or was it something about Scotland, where I had written so much of the story?

I am a smidgen superstitious, so back to Scotland I went to write the next novel. And I’ve been returning to the Highlands every year since, sometimes for several weeks, because I genuinely think there is something magical about the place. 

The Highlands haven’t just helped me to write, visiting has inspired a few of my stories too. I first had the idea for Rock paper Scissors during a trip to Scotland in March 2018. We drove to a remote property in a terrible snow storm. When we finally arrived, it was dark and cold, there was no power due to the storm, the pipes were frozen so no water, and no phone signal so our phones didn’t work.

The car was quickly snowed in so we couldn’t leave, and we soon realised we were trapped. We tried to make the best of it – lit a fire, opened some wine – then, just before bedtime, a ghostly face appeared in the window. Someone was outside, watching us, and I felt like I was in a horror film. In real life it was just a kind caretaker checking we were okay, but my imagination rewrote the story and it became the opening of Rock Paper Scissors. 

The following year we stayed at an old converted chapel in the Scottish Highlands. My agent had just sent my latest book out to publishers, and I was scared nobody would want it and that my career might be over. I was surrounded by so much beauty. Glistening lochs, majestic mountains, a shimmering sea, so I decided to distract myself by climbing hills and walking for miles along the coast. When that didn’t calm my anxiety, my husband suggested a trip to a whisky factory. 

After an afternoon spent tasting whisky at the local distillery we went home. My agent still hadn’t called. By then I was absolutely convinced that everyone hated the new book, so I opened some wine and started cooking my favourite Nigella recipe. When the bottle was empty, I opened another.

My favourite places to stay tend to be in the middle of nowhere. There was only one spot in the property where my mobile had a signal – a tiny upstairs windowsill – and I had given up checking it. But then my husband walked into the kitchen holding my phone and told me it was Jonny, my agent. Given how much I’d had to drink I didn’t think answering was a sensible idea, but it turned out my husband already had.  

I told my agent that I was a bit drunk. He offered to call back, but I said no, and braced myself for bad news. Then he told me I had a huge new book deal, the biggest of my career, and my legs stopped working. I sunk to the floor, I laughed, I cried, I thanked him. And, despite being drunk, I remember every word of that call. Once again the Scottish Highlands had been a place of luck and magic for me. My career wasn’t over, it turned out I was just getting started.

Visiting the Highlands always feels like coming home. A few years ago I was island hopping in the Outer Hebrides and my ferry got cancelled leaving me stranded on a tiny island with nowhere to sleep but my car. That was the moment that sparked the idea for Beautiful Ugly, my new book. The Scottish Highlands have played such a huge role in my writing career, and inspired so many of my stories, I think I will always be in love with Scotland. 

Beautiful Ugly is out now.

Stephen Fry has been heavily tipped to appear in the celebrity version of The Traitors for a while now, with host Claudia Winkleman listing the former QI star as one of her top picks. 

When talking about his potential seat at the show’s iconic round table on Lorraine Kelly’s show, the actor joked: “Of course, I’m in no position to say. I may be practising lying, I may be simply talking the truth”.

Speaking to Metro at the Newport Beach Film Festival‘s UK and Ireland Honours event at Raffles London, the star recently revealed the frankly gory reason why he hasn’t commented on the topic. 

He told the publication: “I can say that the BBC would slice off my testicles if I were to comment publicly on the possibility of such a thing as dwelling in a castle in Scotland for a week or two – or indeed for a day or two, quite likely.” 

Stephen added, “I would be fired in the driveway, which is the thing they sometimes do, isn’t it, before you even get there, if you say the wrong thing.” 

Though the telly legend had previously said “hell will have frozen over” before he did a show like Strictly Come Dancing or I’m A Celebrity, he told Metro that this one was different. 

Calling The Traitors “brilliant,” he explained: “I’m not usually a fan of what you might call reality TV, but I think of it more as a game than reality TV, it’s just a very clever game, simple but complex as well.” 

He then joked, “I’m a terrible liar ― or am I?”.

When asked whether he’d rather be a Faithful or a Traitor, Stephen said that while he thinks of himself as a faithful sort of person, he reckons we’re all traitors to ourselves in one way or another (woah). 

“We’re traitors to ourselves, we let ourselves down, betray our ideals… Gosh that got serious very quickly, didn’t it? What happened there?” he said. 

Still, he doesn’t seem to see a visit to Adross Castle as such an intense process.

“It’s supposed to be fun, you’re right! Mustn’t overdo it,” he said when asked if he thought the experience should be enjoyable. 

“And yes, I believe that it is happening, and I believe that, as I say, that I’m not supposed to talk about it. Wouldn’t it be interesting to do? I think it would…” 

Marisa Abela has spoken out about how the reception to her Amy Winehouse film impacted her.

Last year, the Industry actor played the lead in the biopic Back To Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, which also starred Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Maville.

From the moment the movie was first announced, many were left questioning whether Back To Black was appropriate or necessary, given how many times Amy’s story has already been told in various documentaries.

And once it was finally released, it didn’t really fare too well with critics, either.

Reflecting on the reaction to Back To Black during an interview with The Independent, Marisa admitted: “You can’t help but take things incredibly personally, whatever someone’s intent is.

“I think some people do mean for you to take it personally and some don’t. But things did start to feel a bit scary, like when some of the first tabloid articles were coming out.”

On how she dealt with the negative reception, Marisa admitted she “just turned my phone off” and “deleted Instagram for about six months”.

Marisa admitted that having anticipated a backlash to Industry that never really came, “I don’t think I quite prepared for everything that happened” with regards to Back To Black.

Because of Amy’s struggles with both addiction and an eating disorder, Marisa worked closely with a dietician to help lose weight for the role, which came with its own startling effects.

“I felt like I had a lot of autonomy over my body and the choices I was making,” she recalled.

“But when other people start commenting on it, that’s when it becomes difficult because it’s hard to un-hear someone saying ‘you look amazing’ when you know your body is in an unhealthy and unsustainable place.”

Last year, Marisa spoke about Back To Black’s reviews with Rolling Stone, claiming: “It was a more exposing experience to anything I’ve dealt with in the past. I’ll never fully understand the need to be a negative presence.

“But I think that my response to it was, and only ever could have, been, to work hard. To create something meaningful and a story that felt like it was being told from the inside out, finally, rather than a kind of voyeuristic look into Amy’s life.”

Help and support:

• Beat: Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677 and Youthline: 0808 801 0711, or email help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (adults) fyp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (youth support) 

• Samaritans: Open 24 hours a day, on 116 123

• Mind: Open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393 

A cabinet minister avoided responding directly to questions comparing Donald Trump’s interventions on Ukraine with World War 2 appeasement today.

The US president agreed to start peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin earlier this week.

The White House already appears to have given the Russian leader everything he was hoping for in return for stopping the war which he started back in 2022 – including forcing Kyiv to cede occupied territory to Moscow.

Trump’s words are in stark contrast to Keir Starmer’s, who has made it clear Putin is still the aggressor although the prime minister stopped short of criticising the US president himself.

And his technology secretary took the same approach this morning.

On LBC, presenter Nick Ferrari asked Peter Kyle if he agreed with the claims that Trump is just appeasing Putin, like Britain did with Adolf Hitler in 1938.

Ferrari said: “There are allegations that Donald Trump is effectively selling out Ukraine as a form of Munich Accord we saw with Neville Chamberlain.

“How accurate is that in your view?”

Kyle began by saying he was at the Munich Security Conference where Britain was talking about the “emerging threats”.

He continued: “You talk about the 1930s, well that’s a warning we need to always have an eye on the future.

“When it comes to Ukraine, Britain has stood by Ukraine and President Zelenskyy from the very start, the best way to end the war today is the best way since day one – Vladimir Putin ends this illegal war that he started and he started alone.

“That’s unlikely to happen but that does mean that any negotiated settlement needs to have the voice of President Zelenskyy.”

Kyle also said he, defence secretary John Healey and foreign secretary David Lammy would be there in Munich to listen to Zelenskyy who is also at the summit. 

So Ferrari asked again: “But secretary of state do you support the idea that has been seen in some sections of the media that this is like World War 2 appeasement?”

Kyle dodged the question once more, and replied: “What was also said by the US defence secretary yesterday is that everything is on the table. 

“We need to act coolly and calmly going forward, and listen to what President Zelenskyy says he needs and be there to support him for it.

“It is great that we have a US president who is now so dedicated to bringing this war to an end.”

He added that the conference is a “crucial opportunity” worth seizing with “both hands”.

Kyle avoided insulting Trump again on Times Radio too, when presenter Chloe Tilley asked if it was right the president is reportedly going to be deciding who is at the negotiating table when it comes to deciding how to end a war in Ukraine.

Kyle said: “I’m not interested in who decides.”

Tilley replied: “Really? So it doesn’t matter if Ukraine doesn’t decide?”

Kyle said: “We are very interested in who is at that table. The important thing is that President Zelenskyy is at it. 

“Right now that is what we are primarily concerned about. It is extraordinarily important bearing in mind the suffering that Ukraine has been put through.

“The people of Ukraine, the country of Ukraine and its integrity as a sovereign nation has been under threat.

“It has been invaded, it has been through hell. They have the right to be at the table and if we are to deliver a sustainable peace there it would be inconceivable that that peace could be delivered without their voice being heard.”

The ripple effect of Chappell Roan’s acceptance speech at the Grammys can already be seen.

On Thursday, Universal Music Group – the parent company of labels like Interscope, Def Jam and Island, to whom the Pink Pony Club singer is signed in the UK – announced it was introducing the Music Industry Mental Health Fund, which will offer support to musicians across the US, including those who are not signed to a label.

The new fund is a collaboration between UMG and Music Health Alliance, which aims to provide struggling musicians with healthcare.

Earlier this month, Chappell was awarded Best New Artist at the Grammys, where she delivered a speech inspired by her experiences before her meteoric rise to global fame.

“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here, in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a liveable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists,” Chappell began.

As many of her music industry peers applauded and looked on in agreement, the singer-songwriter continued: “I got signed so young, as a minor, and when I got dropped I had zero job experience under my belt.

“Like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic, and could not afford health insurance. It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art, and feel so betrayed by the system, and so dehumanised to not have healthcare.”

Chappell added that “if my label would have prioritised artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to”.

“So, record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a liveable wage and health insurance, and protection,” she insisted.

After one music exec branded Chappell “uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be today”, the chart-topper insisted she would “put my money where my mouth is” and contributed to $25K to the charity Backline, who offer mental health and wellness services to people within the music industry, as well as their families, urging the exec in question to do the same.

Since then, fellow singers Charli XCX and Noah Kahan have matched Chappell’s donation, while Halsey has also spoken out in support of her.

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.

Ye – the rapper former known as Kanye West – has denied that he and his wife Bianca Censori are separating.

On Thursday evening, the Daily Mail reported that Ye and Bianca had ended their relationship, and would file for a legal divorce in the coming days.

This comes amid the latest scandal for the polarising musician, who was recently dropped by his agent and had his online store shut down off the back of antisemitic and otherwise offensive comments posted on social media, including professing himself to be a Nazi and expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

However, Ye’s long-time spokesperson, the divisive right-wing media personality Milo Yiannopoulos, has now denied that the couple have split.

“Ye and Bianca are in Los Angeles, about to enjoy Valentine’s Day together. Announcements about their private life will come from them directly, not unsourced rumour in the tabloid press,” Milo told the Hollywood Reporter.

“Is this the fifth or is it the sixth time the press has wrongly reported that Ye and Bianca are separating? I’ve lost track.”

Earlier this month, Ye and Bianca made headlines when they walked the red carpet at the Grammys, where the Australian model and architect dropped her coat to reveal a completely see-through dress underneath.

Prior to that, the Grammy winner had been keeping a low-profile for a number of years, following several much-publicised controversies.

These included several antisemitic outbursts, wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt to a fashion show and inviting Marilyn Manson to take part in a stunt to promote Ye’s 2021 album Donda.

Ye and Bianca are thought to have been married since 2022, the same year the Jesus Walks rapper finalised his divorce from media personality Kim Kardashian.

The pair’s relationship has generated plenty of conversation in the last three years, with Ye saying in another of his notable X posts last week that he has “dominion” over Bianca.

The Wall Street Journal has predicted that newly-named Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr will become the first of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees to leave their role.

“It’s hard to believe Robert F Kennedy Jr will run Health and Human Services given his left-wing views,” wrote the conservative newspaper’s editorial board.

The notorious vaccine sceptic — who ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 election, before dropping out and endorsing Trump — has “coasted on the public backlash against the Covid overkill of vaccine mandates” and the purported censorship of public-health officials during former President Joe Biden’s administration, said the board.

“Promising disruption is easy,” it noted. “The test of a cabinet is whether it delivers results. Our guess for first one to muster out is RFK Jr.”

Kennedy was confirmed as health secretary on Thursday. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican, Kentucky) was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy’s confirmation.

Trump during his 2024 campaign promised he would let Kennedy “go wild on health” if he won back the White House.

Read the full editorial here.

Senior minister Pat McFadden played it cool last night when asked how the UK would respond to Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.

The US president announced on Thursday from the White House that he was going to impose “reciprocal tariffs” on all other countries, saying this approach would be “fair to all”.

Trade between the UK and the US is worth around £300bn annually, with American imports slightly outweighing the number of British exports.

It’s not yet clear how this plan would apply to Britain, although Trump did suggest his policy would see VAT as a tariff. 

Any additional charge on UK imports or exports could rock the economy, which is already struggling to grow.

But Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, McFadden, later told Sky News that Labour will be adopting a “wait and see” approach to Trump’s announcement.

He said: “That’s the best reaction to everything over the last month.

“Sometimes tariffs are announced, sometimes they’re unannounced.

“The best thing to do is digest this and speak to the Americans properly, and that’s what we’ll do.”

He added there “are a lot of unanswered questions” and that the government would not “overreact” to any announcements.

McFadden continued: “We took the decision […] that we wouldn’t breathlessly chase every headline that was coming out over the last month. I think that’s the right decision.”

He continued: “How mature would it be for me to walk into a studio five minutes after some announcements and say ‘yeah, we’re going to retaliate’? That’s not the way you make policy.

“We will always stand up for the national interest, it’s a government’s duty to do that, but the best thing in the national interest is to maintain a good trading relationship with everybody that we need to maintain that with, right across the world.”

McFadden added that that the UK would be seeking open trading relationships with the US, EU and China, but declined to say if the government would retaliate to any tariffs.

Trump has brought up the topic of tariffs repeatedly throughout his first month back in office, imposing a 25% of steel imports earlier this week.

He did impose large tariffs on the US’s nearest neighbours, Canada and Mexico, but he suspended those plans for 30 days after negotiations.

Both countries, along with the EU, have prepared retaliatory tariffs if Trump follows through on his plans, and China has already slapped a 10% tariff on its exports.

Meanwhile Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride warned Sky News that there are “risks out there” for the UK right now.

He said: “The way that you face those risks and get through turbulent times is a strong economy, a growing economy – not an economy in which businesses are being taxed to the point where they’re laying people off.”