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Up to 10,000 UK nationals are thought to be on the Greek island, which is being ravaged by wildfires.

UK airlines are scrambling evacuation flights to the wildfire-ravage islands of Rhodes and Corfu where up to 10,000 British tourists are stranded in a “living nightmare” as a fresh red alert is issued for Crete. The two biggest holiday firms Tui and Jet2 have axed all flights to the island in the coming days after holidaymakers forced to flee their hotels had to sleep on floors in schools, airports and sports centres – but other firms, including Ryanair, Thomas Cook and easyJet continue to fly tourists who want to travel to Rhodes. The popular destination of Crete was also placed under an “extreme” fire warning on Monday, with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis telling parliament it must “be on constant alert” in the weeks ahead. He declared his country to be “at war” with the blazes and warned of three more “difficult days” before the extreme heat eases. “The climate crisis is already here, it will manifest itself everywhere in the Mediterranean with greater disasters,” Mr Mitsotakis said, just a week after multiple infernos ignited near Athens, destroying homes and businesses, and days after temperatures hit 45C. Prime minister Rishi Sunak urged holidaymakers to remain in touch with tour operators but the Foreign Office has so far not discouraged Britons from travelling to Greece. Urging the UK government to “get a grip”, Lib Dem MP Layla Moran hit out Tory ministers’ “inaction” as she warned current advice was leaving families unable to claim on their insurance to “[pay] the penalty for deciding not to fly out” to Rhodes. More than 2,000 holidaymakers have so far been repatriated in what was described as the largest evacuation in Greek history, with more flights due on Tuesday as Rhodes’ deputy mayor warned the fires remained “out of control” seven days after flaring into life. Helen Tonks, a mother-of-six from Cheshire, accused travel firm Tui of flying her into “living nightmare” on Saturday night, as she told The Sun of landing in Rhodes only to be informed that her hotel had already burned down. The firm has now cancelled all flights to the island until Saturday. Claire Jones, a 36-year-old from Leicestershire on a honeymoon with her new husband Paul was evacuated by coach over the weekend in a “traumatic” journey as fled their hotels on foot carrying babies and small children, with some reporting walking for 10 miles in searing heat. Upgrading the fire risk in Crete to the highest warning level on Monday, Greek authorities also put swathes of the country under notice of a “very high fire risk”, including Athens, the Peloponnese, Karpathos, Kalymnos and Kos. While authorities have suggested the Corfu blazes may be a result of arson, the UK’s former chief scientific advisor Sir David King warned on Monday that the millions of British tourists planning Mediterranean holidays this summer should take Greece as “a big, big warning”. Lamenting that “many people will die from heat stress” due to the relentless heatwaves scorching southern Europe, Sir David said he had “no doubt” that the extreme temperatures are due to melting ice in the Arctic caused by human-led climate breakdown. Temperatures in Rhodes were forecast to climb as high as 40C by Wednesday, as Greece faces its longest heatwave on record. The EU’s civil protection agency has deployed some 450 firefighters and seven planes from Bulgari, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. But the travel industry appeared to be preparing the ground for a restart in tourism in some of the unaffected areas. A spokesperson for Abta, the travel association, said: “We understand that some of the resorts have had their evacuation order removed by the Greek authorities and people have been advised that they can return to the resorts of Lindos, Pefkos and Kalathos. “Travel companies will be liaising with their accommodation providers to ensure that they are ready to receive customers and customers will be notified accordingly.” Chris Elworthy, a 42-year-old farmer from Faversham in Kent, said he had been left £10,000 out of pocket after his easyJet flights to reach a private villa in Pefkos with his wife and two children were cancelled. “We are now £10,000 out of pocket; easyJet is not helping at all with a flight, despite having promised on Twitter that they would provide a voucher or another flight ... 24 hours later they have done nothing,” he said. “The villa is refusing to refund us, and the holiday insurance is saying that we’re not covered because we didn’t have the additional natural disaster cover on top of the ordinary cover.” Dan Jones, a sports teacher from Torquay, had to climb onto a fishing trawler with his sons to escape the raging fires on Saturday night, describing it as “the scariest moment” in his life and adding: “What brave boys.” Estimating that between 7,000 and 10,000 British tourists were on Rhodes due to it being peak holiday season, Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell told LBC that reports of holiday company reps seeming “to have gone missing” was “a deplorable state of affairs” which the government would investigate. But he defended the lack of advice against travelling to Rhodes, saying the fact “that only 10 per cent of the island is affected by these fires” meant tour operators were “best placed to give guidance on whether or not a family or individual’s holidays are going to be ruined by these events”. Downing Street defended not discouraging people from travelling to Rhodes, despite sending a team to help holidaymakers affected by the fires. The PM’s official spokesman said: “The current situation is impacting on a limited area in Rhodes and whilst it’s right to keep it under review and it’s possible that the advice may change we do not want to act out of proportion to the situation on the ground.” There are “not currently” plans to get the RAF to help people leave, he added. Read More Wildfires: Is it safe to travel to Greece right now? Family £10,000 out of pocket after Rhodes holiday ruined by wildfires How long will the wildfires last in Greece? ‘Trauma’ for couple on honeymoon who fled Rhodes fires amid screams and smoke

Walt Disney Co. is reviewing its schedule of film releases through the rest of the year and may

The internet is roasting Ben Shapiro after he watched the Barbie movie wearing an outfit that was almost identical to the one Ryan Gosling wears as Ken. On 21 July, the conservative commentator tweeted a photo of himself inside a movie theatre where he attended a screening of the new Barbie film, which stars Margot Robbie as the titular Barbie doll and Ryan Gosling as her paramour, Ken. “My producers dragged me to see ‘Barbie’ and it was one of the most woke movies I have ever seen,” Shapiro wrote on Twitter, alongside a photo of himself wearing a black T-shirt tucked into a pair of black pants with a matching black belt. “My full review of this flaming garbage heap of a film will be out on my YouTube channel tomorrow at 10am ET.” Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for many Barbie fans to point out that Shapiro was seemingly wearing the exact outfit that Gosling wears as Ken during the film’s musical performance of “I’m Just Ken”. “You hated it so much you cosplayed as a Ken,” replied one user on Twitter. “My brother in Christ, you are wearing a Ken cosplay,” another person joked. “I hated it so much I had to dress like ken and get a cute outfit photo with the movie poster,” a third person said, while someone else wrote: “Ken Shapiro out here pretending he was ‘dragged’ to this movie while giving full Kenergy.” Despite his accidental Ken fashion moment, Ben Shapiro proceeded to post a 43-minute scathing review about the “woke” Warner Bros film. “Well, folks, wasting two hours of my precious time, two hours I will never get back, two hours around my deathbed I will wish that I had not spent that time doing. It makes me viscerally angry,” he said, waving a notepad at the viewers and setting fire to a Barbie doll in the clip. Shapiro condemned Gosling’s portrayal of Ken as “annoying and ridiculous” and criticised the film for including a transgender Barbie character, played by actor Hari Nef. The conservative commentator argued that many parts of the film are too mature for a younger audience, as he claimed that his theatre was full of “youngish and middle-aged moms” with their “six, seven and eight-year-old girls”. He also refuted that the real world in the film has a patriarchal system, and pointed to the women-centric cast and crew of Barbie. “I mean, Greta Gerwig is a lady. She’s making a good living off of this,” Shapiro said. “Margot Robbie is playing the lead. In fact, the entire cast aside from basically Ryan Gosling is women, so it seems like women are doing okay.” Ben Shapiro isn’t the only conservative to share their Barbie hot takes. Last week, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz and his wife Ginger Gaetz attended the red carpet premiere of Barbie at the British Embassy in Washington, DC. After the Barbie screening, his wife took to Twitter to share her list of critiques, including that the film “neglects to address any notion of faith or family” and that it contained “disappointingly low T from Ken”. “Thinking about watching the Barbie movie? I’d recommend sticking to getting outfit inspiration and skipping the theater,” she tweeted. “Here’s why: The Barbie I grew up with was a representation of limitless possibilities, embracing diverse careers and feminine empowerment. The 2023 Barbie movie, unfortunately, neglects to address any notion of faith or family, and tries to normalize the idea that men and women can’t collaborate positively (yuck).” Ginger Gaetz concluded her Barbie review by listing what she felt were the pros and cons of the movie. “Pros: Margot Robbie’s performance, Stunning costume design, Amazing soundtrack,” she wrote. “Cons: Unfortunate portrayal of big dreams causing anxiety instead of inspiration, Disappointingly low T from Ken, Unfair treatment of pregnant Barbie Midge.” Despite Barbie’s negative reviews from conservative commentators calling the newly-released film “woke”, the live-action movie is estimated to amass more than $300m (£233m) internationally, making it the most successful opening of an original non-superhero film ever. Read More Ben Shapiro mocked for posting 43-minute video rant about Barbie movie as he sets fire to doll Barbie on track to earn biggest ever box office opening for non-superhero film With ‘Barbie,’ Greta Gerwig breaks a box office record for female directors America Ferrera points out ‘revolutionary’ detail in original Barbie Dreamhouse America Ferrera reveals her guilty pleasure is ‘not showering for a few days’ Mattel accused of ‘stealth marketing’ after giving away free Barbie dolls in schools

The world’s soybean market is dominated by one major buyer: China. For years, Brazil has taken an increasingly

Wheat and corn prices surged after Russia attacked one of Ukraine’s biggest Danube river ports, ramping up the

Wheat prices rose sharply Monday following a strike by a Russian drone on a Ukrainian port on the Danube river.

It was at a November 2012 meeting at the University Club on Fifth Avenue that David A. Handler

Miranda Lambert had a much lighter interaction with a concert goer recently.

Montana Brown has revealed that she chose to have a home birth when welcoming her son Jude last month because she felt that hospitals are not “the safest place” for non-white people. The former Love Island star, 27, shared a YouTube vlog about her pregnancy and birth plan recently to answer questions from followers about her experience. She opened up about her decision to have a home birth, adding that she hired a doula, a trained professional who supports women through labour and birth, as well as through post-partum. Brown, who is mixed race and has Japanese and Jamaican heritage, said she “can’t wait” for her home birth. She filmed her vlog before giving birth to Jude in June. “I feel like hospital isn’t the safest place to give birth and I know people are gonna be like, ‘What the f***, you’re an idiot’ but I just think it’s personal preference,” she told her followers. “Also, I just think as a non-white person, it’s not the safest place to be in hospital in childbirth. All these things I’ve thought about for a long time. We’re also having a doula, which I’m really excited about.” In the UK, Black women are nearly four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than white women, according to a report published by MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK) in 2022. The study found that there was a slight drop in the maternal mortality rate for Black women between 2018 and 2020. It also found that Asian women are around twice as likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than white women. In a 2021 response, the government said it was “committed to reducing disparities in health outcomes and experience of care”. Brown, who is engaged to fiancé Mark O’Connor, said she asked for advice on a home birth from The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) star Sam Faiers, who she called the “queen of home birthing”. “It’s just fantastic… She’s helping me feel really set in my decision,” she said. Replying to a fan who asked if she felt afraid of giving birth, Brown said had the “most positive mindset ever”, and would continue to do so even if she had to have a “C-section, an epidural, or wound up in hospital”. The reality star and her fiancé welcomed baby Jude on 23 June. Last week, she opened up about the struggle to get pregnant despite being in her twenties and said she was surprised it took her so long to conceive. Speaking on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Brown told host Giovanna Fletcher that she thought “something was wrong” with her when she and O’Connor first started trying for a baby. “I thought, ‘We’re young, this is going to be really easy’… For the first four months, we’d used ovulation sticks, and then I’d do a pregnancy test and it’d be negative,” she recalled. After both she and her partner went to check their fertility, they discovered she had “no oestrogen and no testosterone”, which made her realise that people “can be young, fit and healthy, and still really, really struggle to conceive”. Announcing her son’s birth, Brown shared a black-and-white photograph of the newborn being cradled against her chest on Instagram and wrote: “Welcome to the world Jude Isaiah O’Connor. We’re so smitten with you little man.” The couple announced their engagement in April, after O’Connor proposed to her in Bermuda. They first met in 2020. Brown featured in series three of Love Island and was coupled up with Alex Beattie at the end. They broke up shortly after leaving the villa. Read More Ruth Handler: The Barbie inventor who revolutionalised prosthetic breasts and narrowly avoided prison Woman praised for response to airline employee who asked her to swap first class seat with child Fans defend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle amid breakup rumours 8 healthy habits to help you live longer – according to a new study The bowel cancer symptom George Alagiah wished he’d caught earlier George Alagiah: What are the signs of bowel cancer?

By Aby Jose Koilparambil British homebuilders are building fewer homes, cutting down on land purchases and offering more

Eight habits that could help people live more than 20 years longer have been identified by researchers. While it’s long been known that certain lifestyle factors can influence lifespan, the American study isolated the eight factors that have the biggest impact – being physically active, being free from opioid addiction, not smoking, managing stress, having a good diet, not regularly binge drinking, having good sleep hygiene, and having positive social relationships. The research was presented at Nutrition 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, and used data from 719,147 people enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program. It found low physical activity, opioid use and smoking were associated with around a 30-45% higher risk of death, while stress, binge drinking, poor diet, and poor sleep hygiene were each associated with around a 20% increase, and lack of positive social relationships was linked with a 5% increased risk of dying. Men who had all eight habits at age 40 were predicted to live an average 24 years longer than men with none of the habits, according to the findings, and women with all eight habits in middle age were predicted to live an extra 21 years, compared with women with none of the habits. Xuan-Mai Nguyen, health science specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said: “We were really surprised by just how much could be gained with the adoption of one, two, three, or all eight lifestyle factors. Our research findings suggest that adopting a healthy lifestyle is important for both public health and personal wellness. The earlier the better, but even if you only make a small change in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, it still is beneficial.” The researchers say the findings highlight how lifestyle factors contribute to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are associated with premature disability and death. How to embrace the eight healthy habits Inspired to give your own lifestyle a boost? “If making these small but mighty adjustments could help you to live for an extra 20 years, maybe it’s time to make those changes,” says life and wellbeing coach, Natalie Trice. She shares the following insights and tips… 1. Do more exerciseRegular exercise can help prevent a wide range of major diseases – plus it’s great for keeping stress levels in check. “Going for a walk, having a swim, running with friends, even just a good old dance-off in the kitchen can get your heartbeat up and those feel-good endorphins pumping – so get your trainers on and start moving,” says Trice. 2. Manage stressTrice suggests adopting simple stress-busting practices such as mindfulness meditation, and enjoying hobbies and sports. “These can profoundly impact overall wellbeing, as you bring your stress levels down,” she says. “This isn’t about pretending everything’s great, but rather looking at easy habits you can adopt that will take down the stress, which can lead to anxiety and burnout.” 3. Don’t smoke Quitting smoking is an essential step in improving health and potentially adding years to your life. Trice points out that while some people may think reaching for a cigarette takes the edge off their stress, there are healthier ways to cope. “Maybe going running or taking up yoga could be the release and focus you need, and one that will help you live longer, smell fresher and feel better,” she suggests. “Also, with the cost of cigarettes going up all the time, giving up will free up cash for the things in life that really need to be paid for.”If you are struggling to quit smoking, talk to your GP about options available to help. 4. Don’t binge drink“By cutting down on booze, you’re doing your body and brain a massive favour,” says Trice. “Drinking every night will impact your body and could affect your sleep and work performance. Enjoy life, but if you want to enjoy it for longer, then keep tabs on your drinking.” Official guidelines suggest drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol a week (equivalent to six medium glasses of wine of six pints of beer), spread across at least three days. 5. Eat healthily Generally speaking, a balanced diet that’s rich in fibre, whole grains, fruit and veg and lean protein, with heavily processed and sugary foods kept to a minimum, is linked with better health. “We all know about eating five-a-day but doing this can be tough if you’re busy with family and work. If you can start to do this, you’ll feel better,” says Trice. “Focus on eating regularly and thinking about what you put in your body, so that it works for you, not against you.” 6. Don’t take drugsRecreational drugs can harm health in a number of ways. Trice suggests those affected start by speaking to a trusted friend or their GP, and “look at the support which could not only extend your life, but save it”. 7. Try to get good sleep Trice says: “It’s vital that we look at getting a decent night’s sleep, as this can help you feel so much better. Making sure you have a sleep routine in place can be helpful and can be as easy as having no screens in the bedroom, having a bath or shower before you hit the sack, as well as making sure the temperature is right and you have curtains to keep the light out in the mornings.” 8. Nurture positive social relationshipsTrice observes: “If you’re able to nurture a supportive network of friends, colleagues and family, this can lead to improved mental and emotional wellbeing and a longer life.” Lacking social connections? Look at local volunteering opportunities and community walks and groups. Making friends can take time, but even finding ways to regularly spend time and interact with others can help. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live George Alagiah: What are the signs of bowel cancer? Carol Vorderman says she no longer sunbathes after health scare Carol Vorderman: Why my skin cancer scare means I no longer sunbathe