Public schools in France have been turning away students for breaking a new national ban on the abaya, a long, robe-like garment often worn by Muslim women, as a rights group filed an appeal against the prohibition.

Britain’s intensifying mortgage crunch is now forcing London’s wealthiest home sellers to agree to discounts or risk deals

Dame Esther Rantzen has compiled the life lessons she’s learnt since being diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in a new book. Rantzen, 82, first announced her diagnosis in January, before revealing it had progressed to stage four in May this year. The veteran TV presenter told the Daily Mirror she’s on “new medications” but that “nobody knows if it’s working or not”. However, reflecting on her life, she added that the diagnosis “made me realise how very lucky I am”. In an excerpt from her new book Older & Bolder: My A - Z of Surviving Almost Anything, published by The Times, Rantzen shares the lessons she’s learned – about health, family, growing older, sex, nudity, grief, and naps – since being diagnosed with cancer. “Sex drives people mad. Probably that’s what it’s for, because if you think about it, if you were sane, would you do such an inelegant, unhygienic thing?” the former host of That’s Life! writes. “Here is the good news. When you’re too old for sex, sanity returns. Here is the bad news. Then, nobody listens to you.” Rantzen explains she’s in “favour of nudity” because if we all did it more often “everyone would accept body hair and lumps”. She notes there are “several antidotes to grumpiness” including sunshine and chocolate, but “money, sadly, doesn’t work”. Other important lessons she’s learned over the years include prioritising spending time with your loved ones, health is the only thing that truly matters, and that naps are one of the “happy discoveries of growing older”. She also offers advice on motherhood, grandchildren, and the temporariness of beauty. In the excerpt, Rantzen recalls the moment she first noticed a lump in my armpit, a few days after Christmas last year. “An evangelical non-smoker”, Rantzen was shocked to discover she had lung cancer and later learned it was an extremely rare kind that most commonly attacks young Asian women. When she slowly began telling her friends and family, asking them to share their most fun memories together, Rantzen writes she was “overwhelmed” by their responses. “Another lesson cancer has taught me: the one thing worth hoarding is friendship. Never let it go. Stay in touch,” she adds. Rantzen is best known for being the presenter of the BBC’s That’s Life, a topical entertainment show, from 1973 to 1994. She also founded the charities Childline and Silver Line in 1986 and 2012 respectively. In 2015, Rantzen was made a DBE for services to children and older people through her charitable organisations. Read More Emily Eavis appreciation and not-so-secret sets: 8 of the biggest Friday highlights at Glastonbury 2023 Princess of Wales wows Royal Ascot crowds in striking red dress Kourtney Kardashian shows off baby bump as fans speculate about due date A woman stopped tidying up after her husband accused her of doing ‘nothing’. Then she filmed the results Mother shares heartbreak after inviting whole school class to daughter’s birthday party

Max Verstappen will start on pole position for Saturday’s sprint race after beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to top spot by just 0.011 seconds. Verstappen qualified fastest here on Friday for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but he will line up in sixth after serving a grid penalty for a gearbox change. But for the 15-lap dash in the Ardennes, the Red Bull driver begins from the front after edging out the impressive Piastri in wet-dry conditions at Spa-Francorchamps. Carlos Sainz finished third, just 0.025sec adrift of Verstappen, with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc fourth. Lando Norris took fifth for McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who appeared to trip over one another in the closing moments, only seventh and 10th respectively for Mercedes. “It was difficult, but we stayed calm,” said Verstappen. “The gap to second was not as big as yesterday, but there was no need to risk it all. “My second sector was a bit careful – turns eight and nine were very slippery so I left a bit of time on the table – but I am still on pole and that is what counts. “Let’s see if it rains in the afternoon. I will try to have a clean start and have good vision and that is very important when it is wet.” The start of qualifying was delayed following heavy rainfall in the area, but the sun suddenly broke through allowing the action to get under way 35 minutes later than advertised. The final running took place on an almost dry track and the times tumbled as grip improved and the clock ticked down. Rookie Piastri, 22, looked to have done enough to take the spoils when he crossed the line fastest, only for Verstappen to steal his thunder “There wasn’t much left in that lap,” said Piastri over the radio. “Probably 11 milliseconds.” Verstappen is on course to gallop to his third world championship in as many years and the Dutch driver will be expected to extend his 110-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez later on Saturday, with the Mexican only eighth on the grid. Eight points are awarded for the winner of the 15-lap dash, with a sliding scale down to to eighth place. The result of Saturday’s sprint, which could take place in the wet with more rain forecast, has no bearing on Sunday’s 44-lap main event. Lance Stroll’s gamble to switch from wet rubber to slicks with a couple minutes of Q2 remaining backfired as he crashed out. The Canadian driver lost control of his Aston Martin through the left-hand ninth corner, skidding through the gravel and into the tyre barrier. The front of Stroll’s machine was heavily damaged in the accident and the running was suspended. His crash meant team-mate Fernando Alonso, who turned 42 on Saturday, did not post a time, leaving him a disappointing 15th on the grid. Saturday’s race is due to get under way at 5:05pm local time (4:05pm BST). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice

By Timothy Gardner A transgender Mississippi girl declined to participate in high school graduation on Saturday after a

Bernie Ecclestone – the former supremo of Formula 1 – has pleaded guilty to fraud at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday but has been spared jail. The 92-year-old failed to declare more than £400 million of overseas assets to the government, namely a trust in Singapore with a bank account of around $650 million. He was sentenced to 17 months in jail, suspended for two years. He has agreed a civil settlement of £652,634,836 in respect of sums due to HMRC over the course of 18 years. The billionaire, who has courted controversy throughout his life, was in charge of F1 for over 40 years before relinquishing his role in 2017 when current owners Liberty Media took over the running of the sport. The Independent takes a look at Ecclestone’s life and times through his tenure in motorsport and beyond: 1930 – Ecclestone born on 28 October, son of Sidney and Bertha Sophia, in St Peter, Suffolk. 1952– Marries first wife, Ivy Bamford, at 21-years-old. They have a daughter, Deborah, born in 1955. The pair divorce in the 1960s. 1958 – Entered two F1 races as a driver, at Monaco and Silverstone, after purchasing two chassis from the disbanded Connaught Formula One team. Failed to qualify for either race. 1972 – Buys Brabham F1 team for £100,000. Tastes success with Nelson Piquet’s two world titles in 1981 and 1983, though only records a best result of second in the constructors’ championship. 1974 – Forms the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA). Played crucial role in negotiating F1’s television rights. Becomes chief executive in 1978. 1984 – Slavica Radic, later his second wife, becomes pregnant and second daughter Tamara is born. Marries Radic in 1985. 1988 – Sells Brabham for more than $5 million to Swiss businessman Joachim Luhti. 1988 – Ecclestone’s third daughter, Petra, is born in London. 1997 – Embroiled in a dispute with the Labour Party over tobacco sponsorship of Formula 1, in contrary to the new government’s health position. After a meeting with prime minister Tony Blair alongside Max Mosley (a fellow Labour Party donor), the government make an exemption for F1. 2005 – Farce embroils the United States Grand Prix, with seven teams refusing to participate due to safety concerns over the Michelin tyres used. No compromise was reached, and only six cars (using Bridgestone tyres) started the race. 2008 – Radic files for divorce, which is settled in March 2009. She receives a reported settlement of $1 billion. 2009 – Crashgate. F1 descends into chaos after cheating scandal which saw Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crash a year earlier in Singapore to aid his team-mate, race winner Fernando Alonso. It later emerges, in 2023, that Ecclestone and then-FIA boss Mosley knew about the scandal at the time. Felipe Massa is now in the process of pursuing legal action for damages, having lost the 2008 world title to Lewis Hamilton. 2009 – Ecclestone widely condemned after remarks that were positive about Adolf Hitler. He said to The Times: “Terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was – in the way that he could command a lot of people – able to get things done”. Ecclestone later apologised for his comments. 2012 – Marries vice-president of marketing for the Brazilian Grand Prix Fabiana Flosi, 46 years his junior. 2014 – Paid a £60 million settlement to end a bribery trial in Germany without admitting guilt. Prosecutors had accused him of bribery of banker Gerhard Gribkowsky. 2017 – Removed from position as CEO of Formula One Group after its £6.4 billion takeover by Liberty Media. Retains title of Chairman Emeritus until January 2020. 2020 – Ecclestone has first son, Ace (Alexander Charles Ecclestone), at age 89. 2020 – Criticised by F1 and Lewis Hamilton after comments made in wake of the murder of George Floyd. Ecclestone says to CNN: “In a lot of cases, black people are more racist than what white people are.” 2022 – Arrested by Brazilian authorities for illegally carrying a firearm while boarding a private plane to Switzerland. Ecclestone paid bail and was freed to travel to Switzerland. 2022 – Ecclestone says on Good Morning Britain that he would “take a bullet” for Russia president Vladimir Putin because he was a “first class person,” adding that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was just a “mistake” that businessman make. He later apologised for his comments. 2023 – Pleaded guilty to £400m fraud. Sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for two years. Read More Lewis Hamilton gives blunt response to Felipe Massa’s legal action over 2008 F1 title F1 given new deadline by Felipe Massa’s lawyers – who label Lewis Hamilton title a ‘sham’ ‘More teams, less races’: FIA boss outlines aspirations for future of F1 F1 reveal unique Las Vegas GP schedule and ‘opening ceremony’ plans Lance Stroll ‘may have contravened FIA rules’ during furious outburst in Qatar

The family of a Brit missing in Switzerland say they will do everything they can to find him.

A woman is suing Starbucks for “false and deceptive practices” over claims that the coffee company’s iced, fruit-filled refresher beverage actually contains no fruit. Joan Kominis from Queens, New York, filed a complaint in August 2022 after learning that Starbucks’ Strawberry Acai Lemonade Refresher contained no actual acai. Court documents filed in the southern district of New York claim that “unbeknownst to consumers, the Mango Dragon Fruit and Mango Dragon Fruit Lemonade Refreshers contain no mango, the Pineapple Passionfruit and Pineapple Passion Fruit Lemonade Refreshers contain no passionfruit, and the Strawberry Açaí and Strawberry Açaí Lemonade Refreshers contain no açaí.” Kominis and her co-plaintiff, Jason McAllister of California, are seeking damages in excess of $5m. Starbucks has since called the allegations “inaccurate” and “without merit”. On Tuesday 19 September, US District Judge John Cronan rejected Starbucks’ request to dismiss nine of the 11 claims in the class-action complaint because “a significant portion of reasonable consumers” would assume that the beverages in question would contain the fruit in their names. The plaintiffs have said the main ingredients in these beverages were water, grape juice concentrate, and sugar. They claim the refreshers “differ from other Starbucks products” in that the product doesn’t contain items in their name. “Starbucks’ hot chocolate contains cocoa, its matcha lattes contain matcha, and its honey mint tea contains honey and mint,” reads the complaint. While they noted that the refresher drinks do in fact contain freeze-dried pieces of strawberries, pineapple and dragon fruit, they claimed that Starbucks “does not affirmatively indicate anywhere which ingredients are and are not in the products.” Starbucks had said that the fruits mentioned in the refreshers titles are meant to “describe the flavours as opposed to the ingredients.” Judge Cronan disagreed, writing in his ruling: “Nothing before the Court indicates that ‘mango,’ ‘passionfruit,’ and ‘açaí’ are terms that typically are understood to represent a flavour without also representing that ingredient.” In Kominis’ original filing, she claimed that she was going to buy a Strawberry Açaí refresher specifically for the açaí benefits. The suit stated that açaí berries and juice “are known to provide benefits to heart health, cognitive function, and contain anti-cancerous properties.” “Had she known that the product did not contain açaí, she would not have purchased it, or would have paid significantly less for it,” the document read. Kominis said that she and other consumers bought these menu items and “paid a premium price” based on Starbucks’ naming of the refreshers, and would either not have purchased them or “paid significantly less for them” had they been aware they were missing one of the named fruits. “The allegations in the complaint are inaccurate and without merit,” a Starbucks spokesperson told Today. “We look forward to defending ourselves against these claims.” One claim of fraud and another for unjust enrichment were dismissed from the suit, but Starbucks will have to face the rest of the allegations. The Independent has contacted a spokesperson for Starbucks for comment. This is the second lawsuit an American food chain has faced in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Burger King was sued over claims that the company misled customers by making its Whopper burger appear larger on the menu than how it appears in reality. Read More Citing sustainability, Starbucks wants to overhaul its iconic cup. Will customers go along? Starbucks cheers ‘good progress’ in plan for 100 new UK shops Ed Sheeran serves up Pumpkin Spice Lattes to surprised Starbucks customers Courgette season is nearly over – here’s three ways to make the most of them Top international cuisines Brits are keen to try Subway enthusiasts stew over launch of first ever 3-inch sandwich

It's finally here. On Monday, Netflix dropped the trailer for the fifth and final season

TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 24, 2023--

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By Julia Harte South Carolina's state House on Tuesday began a days-long debate over a bill to ban