Imran Khan is alive but facing ‘mental torture’, his sister says after jail visit

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is alive and well, his sister said, after she was finally allowed to visit him in prison on Tuesday.

Uzma Khan’s visit was the first time any member of Khan’s family had seen him in weeks, and the authorities have also barred him from meeting his legal team or political party officials – leading to mounting speculation about his well being.

Her remarks late on Tuesday after the visit to Adiala Jail appeared aimed at reassuring Khan’s millions of supporters in Pakistan and abroad after concerns were raised over his health and whereabouts – and even whether he was still alive. Prison authorities had dismissed the rumours about his condition as baseless.

“Imran Khan’s health is perfectly fine. However, he said that they are subjecting him to mental torture, and that Asim Munir is responsible for all of this,” she said.

Field Marshal Asim Munir is the chief of Pakistan’s army, and considered to be the most powerful figure in the country. He recently secured expanded powers and lifelong legal immunity after parliament passed a constitutional amendment, which also limits the independence of the Supreme Court.

Khan, 73, has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on convictions for corruption and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career. His wife, Bushra Bibi, also has been convicted of graft and is serving time in the same prison, but they are not allowed to see each other except when they appear in court, his supporters have said.

Speaking to reporters in the city of Rawalpindi where he is imprisoned, Uzma Khan said she found her brother “perfectly in good health” but furious over largely solitary conditions in the prison.

“When I met with him, he was very angry,” she said, quoting him as saying that the “mental torture” of his solitary conditions is “worse than physical abuse”.

Supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party had gathered outside the Adiala prison since early on Tuesday, anxious to hear news about Khan, who had received no visits since 4 November. They waited until his sister emerged from the facility to make her brief statement.

Authorities deployed hundreds of officers around the prison and issued a ban on rallies there and in Islamabad.

Khan’s spokesperson Zulfiquar Bukhari said only one sister was allowed a brief meeting. He said Khan’s family and legal team should be allowed regular meetings, and denounced restrictions on access to Khan as “mental torture.”

Thanking the international media, he wrote: “When our own local media has been clamped down and silenced, it was their compassion and unwavering reporting that finally pushed this unelected setup to allow Imran Khan’s sister to meet him.

“Although he is legally entitled to frequent visits by multiple family members and others. Today proves that when we raise our voices together, change becomes possible.”

Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and his party is in opposition in the parliament. Khan and his party often allege that its mandate was stolen in the 2024 parliamentary elections, which they say were rigged in favor of the current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a charge the government denies.

Khan has been convicted of several charges ranging from corruption to revealing state secrets, and is serving multiple prison terms concurrently, meaning he serves only the longest term.

Additional reporting by agencies

Laura Woods provides update on condition after collapsing live on air

Laura Woods is doing “OK” after she fainted live on air while presenting ITV’s pre-match coverage of England’s clash with Ghana.

The 38-year-old was caught by pundits Ian Wright and Anita Asante before ITV cut straight to commercials.

When the coverage returned, Katie Shanahan confirmed that she had taken the reins as lead presenter after Woods had been “taken ill”.

“As you have probably noticed, we don’t have the wonderful Laura Woods because she’s just been taken ill. But she’s in very good hands, so I’m stepping in at late notice,” Shanahan said.

Woods has now taken to Instagram to provide an update on her condition, revealing that a virus was likely the reason as she apologised for causing any worry.

“Gosh, that was a bit weird,” she wrote. “Sorry to worry everyone, I’m OK. The wonderful paramedics at Saints have said it’s probably a virus, just need a bit of rest and hydration.

“I’m really embarrassed that happened on TV, but a big thank you to my colleagues at ITV who really looked after me tonight. And to Wrighty and Neets for catching me, and sorry again.”

Woods’ fiance Adam Collard offered some reassurance to viewers, writing on X: “Laura is all ok and with the right people. Thank you for all of your kind messages.”

Shanahan then issued a similar update on ITV’s live broadcast when attention returned to the panel with England leading Ghana 1-0 at half-time.

Having wished her “a speedy recovery” before kick-off, Shanahan added: “She’s doing OK and we all send her our love.”

The abruptness of the incident led to an outpouring of concern on social media.

One X user wrote: “Don’t know what happened there with Laura Woods at the coverage of the Lionesses game on ITV4, but hoping she’s OK.”

Another wrote: “Looking forward to the game but hope Laura Woods is OK. Quite a shock to see her collapse like that.”

Fans were also quick to praise those around Woods for how they dealt with the troubling situation.

“Full respect to the presenter who had to step in with zero notice after Laura Woods fainted,” one viewer posted, hailing Shanahan who is now in charge of steering the build-up. “She’s making it look easy.”

Arsenal legend Wright, a beloved figure in women’s football, has also earned plaudits for catching Woods and potentially preventing her from further harm.

“Hope Laura Woods is OK? Well played, Wrighty,” another fan said.

Woods is one of the most recognisable faces in sports broadcasting and is a regular on ITV’s coverage of the Lionesses, taking on lead presenter roles for both the 2023 Women’s World Cup and Euro 2025.

She gave birth to her first child in January 2025 with former Love Island star Collard and returned to TV in April.

England, Springboks and more learn fate in Rugby World Cup draw

The draw for the largest Rugby World Cup in history has been, made with all 24 qualified nations finding out their fate for the tournament in Australia.

New Zealand will meet hosts Australia in a mouthwatering clash in pool A, which also features Chile and World Cup debutants Hong Kong, while England have been drawn against neighbours Wales in pool E, with Tonga and Zimbabwe. Scotland and Ireland are together in pool D, alongside Portugal and Uruguay.

The 2027 edition has been expanded by four teams as rugby’s signature event heads Down Under for the first time since England’s triumph in 2003. Could Steve Borthwick’s side follow in the footsteps of Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson and co? After an encouraging 2025, they appear to be heading in the right direction though it will take some team to stop South Africa from completing a three-peat if the Springboks continue on their current trajectory.

A 24-team tournament brings a revamped format with six pools of four sides to be drawn, and a round of 16 introduced. With some third-placed sides progressing, a favourable draw could be key to a nation’s chances of going deep in two years’ time.

Follow all of the latest from the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw in Sydney with our live blog below:

Hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight to resume

More than a decade after its baffling disappearance, the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is set to resume on 30 December, Malaysia’s transport ministry has confirmed.

The Beijing-bound flight vanished in 2014, becoming one of the world’s most enduring aviation mysteries.

The Boeing 777, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Despite numerous extensive search operations conducted over the years, all previous efforts to locate the aircraft have proven unsuccessful.

The latest attempt to find the missing plane, which saw a search in the southern Indian Ocean suspended in April due to adverse weather, will now recommence.

Exploration firm Ocean Infinity has confirmed it will resume seabed operations for 55 intermittent days.

The transport ministry stated: “The search will be carried out in targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft,” though no precise location for this new search area has been disclosed.

Under the terms agreed between the Malaysian government and Ocean Infinity, the firm stands to receive $70 million if substantial wreckage is discovered within a 15,000 sq km (5,790 sq miles) area of the southern Indian Ocean.

Malaysian investigators previously did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft was deliberately diverted from its course. Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from MH370, has been found washed ashore along the African coast and on various Indian Ocean islands.

A 495-page report published in 2018 suggested the Boeing 777’s controls were likely intentionally manipulated to alter its trajectory.

However, investigators were unable to identify who was responsible and refrained from offering a definitive conclusion on the incident, stressing that finding the wreckage was crucial.

Checks on the captain and co-pilot revealed no suspicious elements in their background, financial affairs, training, or mental health.

The flight carried over 150 Chinese nationals, 50 Malaysians, and citizens from countries including France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine, and Canada.

Families of those on board have sought compensation from entities such as Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, and the Allianz insurance group.

British tourist fighting for life after being stabbed on Thai party island

Thai police are searching for a man who stabbed a British tourist outside a beach club on Wednesday.

Louis Johe Jarvie, 34, suffered a knife wound to his right arm in the incident, which took place in Cherng Talay, Phuket at around 12.20am.

The attacker, said to have been foreign to Thailand, fled the scene before police arrived.

Visibility is said to have been “poor” at the time, according to police as they tried to put together an image of what the person looked like.

“Witnesses said they saw a large foreign man stab the British man in the arm,” police said. “The victim is now feeling better but is not ready to respond.”

Rescue workers from the Cherng Talay Tambon Administrative Organisation provided first aid before Mr Jarvie was taken to Thalang hospital, where he is currently recovering.

Authorities are using CCTV footage of the area to identify the suspect and are continuing to question witnesses who saw the incident or were around at the time of the attack.

The Independent has contacted Phuket police for fcomment.

Millions of tourists visit Thailand every year, with the largest numbers of Western tourists arriving from Russia and the UK, according to the country’s department of tourism. Around 60 per cent of Thailand’s tourists are returning visitors.

Last week, a British tourist and father-of-one died in front of his wife after getting trapped in a rip current on Freedom Beach in Phuket. He was the fourth tourist to have died on southern Thailand beaches over the course of three days, according to the Thai Examiner.

A previous series of deaths in Phuket had led to concerns over an alleged lack of safety and security measures on the island.

Police Lieutenant Colonel, Chanan Mekchai, at Patong Police Station, said: “The incident happened at around 11.30am, and we were notified an hour later.

“He went to the beach with his wife at around 10am. While swimming, he was caught in strong waves and disappeared beneath the surface.”

A spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Perfect portraits: from groups to selfies and candid pics, expert tips

Portrait photography has come a long way from the days where everyone needed to be smiling directly into the camera, as a flash bulb popped.

And in fact, following on from an era where social media sites offered very curated, sometimes heavily filtered snapshots of our lives, more natural, candid images that really show off our personalities and experiences are now very much on trend. Think authentic photos of genuine moments where no-one is really paying attention to the camera. Instead they’re focused on enjoying what’s happening and the people they are with. For example, friends around a table enjoying a drink and a chat. Families engaged in a favourite activity. Photos that look like a glimpse into someone’s normal every day.

The best way to capture these in-the-moment shots? On a mobile: our ever-present, hand-held, do-everything device that has steadily taken over photography in the 26 years since the first camera phone appeared. Samsung’s newest device, the Galaxy S25 FE offers a wealth of photography-first features, from multiple cameras, lenses and wide angle settings, to in-built AI technology that will help you take the best possible pictures, then easily edit them afterwards. And as a photographer who runs masterclasses in mobile photography I couldn’t wait to try it out.

The phone itself is slim and lightweight, which makes it so much easier to hold steady, for clear, crisp, blur-free images, and take discreet, candid snaps.

Of course, we all have friends, family members and even pets who love performing for the camera. But for those who are a bit more reluctant to step into the frame, the Galaxy S25 FE offers a whole host of easy-to-use, fun AI features that will have even the most camera-shy feeling completely confident and ready for their close-up.

Samsung’s Drawing Assist function is a prime example and was an absolute hit with my kids, transforming our Sunday afternoon walk from a litany of moaning and dragging feet into a fun-filled adventure involving a lucky escape from the shark that apparently now lives in the park pond, and flying through the air with some giant balloons.

And all it took was a few simple, if strategically positioned snaps and some quick sketches using the Sketch to Image* function when editing the photo. This works best when you have some space in the frame around your subjects so you can easily draw what you want to add. In the shark image, for example, we needed enough water to the left of my kids for the shark to emerge from.

In the photo where the children are flying with the balloons, I needed them to be high up against the sky, and I also wanted the trees visible to add some context to the story we were trying to tell. They’re on top of the boulders, but I had to crouch down on the ground to cut out the houses in the background. By using the Generative Edit** function I was then able to replace the boulders with trees and then used Sketch to Image to draw in some balloons to make it look like they were floating away.

You don’t need to be an amazing artist for Sketch to Image to work well either, just enough line and shape for the app to recognise what you want to add into your image. The only limit here is your imagination and creativity. Involving the kids in some fun photography also meant that I got to capture some real, candid moments of them in the beautiful Autumn sunshine, with none of the usual complaints.

While playing around with reality can be fun, the Galaxy S25FE’s other AI features can also be used to make more subtle adjustments to enhance your images.

Just a few minutes of work with the Generative Edit function on a day out with a friend, helped me erase two unwanted photobombers from a photo (in which she perfectly co-ordinated with the graffitied heart wall in Borough Market). While removing some distracting weedkiller from the table where my cat was basking in the sunshine ensured the perfect pic where I can really appreciate him in all his fluffy glory.

Aside from fun and helpful editing functions, the phone’s AI technology is also running in the background to give your photos a boost, whatever and whenever you are capturing them.

This is great when you’re shooting challenging lighting conditions, for example at night. Dark, grainy and blurred photos are a thing of the past, with Samsung’s Nightography feature. Tapping the yellow moon icon that appears in dim lighting will enable this clever function which captures multiple images and then uses AI to blend them together to create one sharper, brighter image.

This can take a few seconds, so you’ll need to keep very still when using this feature – if you can, brace your arms on a table and hold the phone with two hands to keep the camera as steady as possible. It also helps if your subject is still, so this is more for capturing adults and older kids than snapping a restless pet or fast-moving child.

For these trickier subjects, from youngsters to four-legged friends, the excellent autofocus on the device makes for pin-sharp portraits rendered in high definition. And if you couple that with the outstanding Samsung colour profile you get beautifully saturated, nicely contrasted images which really pop. All the colours are beautifully rendered and all skin tones (and fur tones) are true to life. No filters are needed here.

And this is not just true of portraits you take of other people. The 12 MP camera lens on the front of the phone makes for gorgeously rendered, high resolution selfies with a variety of crop options, so you can find the perfect angle or image composition.

Taking a selfie at a 1:1 square crop, as well as the standard 3:4 crop option means you can easily include a friend or family member in your photo. And there’s a lovely little feature where you can get the lens to zoom out a little by tapping the ‘two person’ icon to provide a little extra space.

The 9:16 crop option means you can opt for a more flattering, longer and thinner photo while the full frame cop allows you a more zoomed-in selfie.

And if you want to take your selfies to another level, the option to add a little skin toning and smoothing effect and iron out any wrinkles (or in my case remove evidence of a sleepless night) is one of the additional features that makes the selfie camera stand out!

The excellent battery life means you don’t need to worry about it lasting, even after a few hours of photo fun. And when your battery does run down, lightning fast charging will see you back at 60 per cent in just 30 minutes, so you don’t have to wait long until you are good to go again.

Overall, whether it is taking vibrant portraits of yourself or capturing creative, candid images of the people (and pets) in your lives, making memories you’ll want to share is easy and fun with the Galaxy S25 FE.

Kirsty Hamilton is a portrait photographer – find out more at her website and on Instagram.

To find out more about the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE visit Samsung

*Samsung account login and network connection may be required for certain AI features.

**Samsung account login is required. Requires network connection.

I’m a Celeb: Eliminated star drops bombshell as they leave

The eliminations are continuing on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Kelly Brook is the latest celebrity to leave the jungle.

As the model left the camp, she dropped a bombshell by cryptically telling the remaining celebrities: “There were more milk bottles.” She was referring to the sweets she won with Aitch and Angryginge in a dingo dollars trial. Unfortunately, the whole tray of treats did not make it back to camp as the trio ate most of them in secret.

The latest episode also saw Shona McGarty take on a Bushtucker trial, winning eight stars out of a possible nine. It came after tensions were finally quashed as the celebrities agreed on a solution to the long-running washing up gate.

Later, the campmates took on an extra challenge to win a night out at the Jungle Arms.

I’m a Celebrity continues nightly on ITV and ITVX.

Thames Water’s profits surge amid bill hikes and rise in complaints

Troubled utility giant Thames Water remains embroiled in discussions regarding a crucial rescue package with its creditors, even as it reports a surge in revenues alongside a rise in customer complaints stemming from increased bills.

Thames Water said it said it cut pollution spills by a fifth, as profits reached £414m for the six months to September – having raised fees substantially – by almost a third (31 per cent) earlier this year.

The group said customer complaints surged by three-quarters to 55,158 in the half-year, as revenues hit close to £2bn for the period.

Despite the return to profit there remain concerns over the ongoing viability of the firm which has around a £17.5bn debt load.

In addition, the most recent financial filing revealed Thames Water had paid £57m across six months in fees towards advisers on the rescue process, including bankers, lawyers and PR consultants.

The heavily indebted company, which serves approximately 16 million customers across Britain, described ongoing negotiations as “positive” but confirmed they are still underway with both the Government and regulators. The aim is to finalise a deal that will stabilise the firm and address its precarious financial state.

Thames Water is currently engaging with a consortium of its primary creditors, London & Valley Water, whose proposal includes injecting capital and writing off debt in exchange for more flexible performance targets.

But Thames Water warned there was still a “material uncertainty” over whether the deal would be secured.

It said: “Since the proposal was made, positive discussions are ongoing between the consortium, the regulators and Government, albeit there remain a number of items to be negotiated and agreed before a recapitalisation can proceed.”

The group is hoping to secure the deal to stave off temporary nationalisation after being left on the brink of collapse by nearly £20 billion of debt.

Its creditors – which include institutional investors such as Aberdeen, Elliott Management and Silverpoint Capital – is seen as the final realistic option on the table to avoid being placed into the Government’s special administration regime after a previous rescue deal with US private equity giant KKR collapsed in May.

Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said: “We continue to work closely with stakeholders to secure a market-led solution that we believe is in the best interests of our customers and the environment.

“This in turn will allow the transformation of Thames to continue, a programme that will take at least a decade to complete and will restore the infrastructure and operations of the company.”

Half-year results from the provider revealed underlying earnings surged to £1.2 billion for the six months to September 30, compared with £715.1 million a year ago.

Revenues rose by 42% thanks to the bill increases, which it said also helped fund £1.3 billion of capital invested to fix leaks, cut sewage spills and improve water quality.