Putin makes new threat if foreign troops are deployed to Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine before a peace agreement has been signed would be considered “legitimate targets” by Moscow‘s forces.

Putin’s comments came hours after European leaders once again pledged their commitment to a potential peacekeeping force.

“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

Putin also dismissed the idea of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after a final peace deal, saying “no one should doubt” that Moscow would comply with a treaty to halt its 3½-year full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

He said that security guarantees would be needed for both Russia and Ukraine.

The Russian leader’s comments follow remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for Ukraine once fighting ends.

Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine. He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops to Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea or in the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after any ceasefire or peace is achieved.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, almost eight years after Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Moscow has repeatedly described the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force “unacceptable.”

British couple killed in Lisbon funicular pictured before tragedy

A British couple killed in a funicular crash in Lisbon on Wednesday have been named as Kayleigh Gillian Smith and her boyfriend William Nelson.

The pair were in the carriage of the Gloria funicular that derailed and careered down a hill before smashing into a hotel in the heart of the Portuguese capital’s tourist district.

Smith, 36, a theatre director, and Nelson, 44, a lecturer, died alongside an 82-year-old British man, and 13 others. A further 22 were injured, five of whom remain in serious condition in hospital.

The couple were from Cheshire and on holiday in Lisbon.

Hours before their deaths, they shared pictures of themselves smiling at popular tourist sites including Sao Jorge castle.

MADS Theatre in Macclesfield posted a tribute on Friday night saying: “It is with great sadness that we must acknowledge the death of Kayleigh Smith and her partner Will Nelson in the Lisbon funicular tragedy.

“Kayleigh was a valued member of our society and made considerable contributions both to MADS and to drama in the North West. It is indeed a sad loss to all of us at the theatre.”

In a statement, Cheshire Police said they were supporting the families of two residents of the North West area following the tragedy.

They added formal identification had not yet taken place.

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “We can confirm that two of the individuals who died following the funicular incident in Lisbon are believed to be residents from North West area.

“While formal identification is yet to take place, the families of the two individuals, a 44-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman, have been notified and are being supported by specialist officers at this time.

“The families have requested for their privacy to be respected.”

The Gloria funicular, which is 140 years old, was packed with passengers when it came off the rails killing five Portuguese nationals, three British citizens, two Canadians, two South Koreans, one American, one French, one Swiss and one Ukrainian.

Portugal’s prime minister Luis Montenegro described the incident as “one of the biggest tragedies of our recent past”.

Investigations are underway into the cause of the crash, with the government’s office for air and rail accident investigations saying it has completed its analysis of the wreckage. It is expected to release a preliminary report next week.

A No 10 spokesperson said prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is “deeply saddened” that three British nationals died.

He went on: “His thoughts are with their families and those affected by this terrible incident. We stand united with Portugal during this difficult time.”

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the families of three British nationals who have died following an incident in Lisbon, and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Man forces flight into emergency landing after ‘punching’ passenger

A British man accused of repeatedly punching a fellow passenger forced a flight to Turkey into an emergency landing on Monday.

The flight from Manchester to Antalya, Turkey, was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Thessaloniki Airport in Greece at around 11pm on 1 September.

The unidentified 35-year-old man allegedly repeatedly punched a Turkish passenger, 41, in an altercation over a reclining seat.

He was reportedly found guilty of dangerous bodily harm and disturbing the peace on the flight by a Thessaloniki court on Tuesday.

According to Greek outlet Ekathimerini, the man received a 15-month prison sentence, which he was allowed to “buy off” for €10 (£8.67) per day.

The defendant denied punching the passenger, reportedly telling the court he “didn’t do anything violent.”

The sentence was suspended pending an appeal, and the man was released.

Crew members said that the man had drunk two cans of beer, reported Ekathimerini.

The flight continued its journey to Antalya after the man was removed from the aircraft and taken into custody.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) receives “a number of harrowing letters” each year from passengers who witness “drunk and disruptive behaviour in-flight”.

Disruption is happening more often. Globally, the number of “unruly passenger incidents” rose by 8 per cent last year, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Many of the 259 incidents a day (about 11 per hour) will have been terrifying for passengers and crew on board, reports Independent travel correspondent Simon Calder.

“An intoxicated passenger can become a danger to themselves and others on board the aircraft,” says Iata. “In the event of an abnormal or emergency situation, the intoxicated passenger would likely be less able to comprehend, cooperate, respond, follow instructions or evacuate the aircraft.”

Read more: United Airlines planes collide on San Francisco runway

Djokovic’s new reality painfully exposed in familiar US Open exit

Novak Djokovic cracked a wide smile on the big stage and licked his lips. He was exactly where he wanted to be as he duelled with young rival Carlos Alcaraz in their US Open semi-final, the muscle memory ingrained within the 24-time grand slam champion taking over. Djokovic won two outstanding points in the second-set tiebreak, defying his age to outmanoeuvre his younger opponent and he sensed his opportunity to strike.

At 38, Djokovic was determined to enjoy the battle and take nothing for granted. But then, reality and time hit him like a train. After those two lung-bursting points, which sent Alcaraz sliding and spinning into the tramlines, Djokovic suddenly hit the wall. He made basic errors in the rallies, checking out of exchanges where he used to outlast his opponents. “I ran out of gas,” Djokovic admitted.

From there, Alcaraz won the tiebreak to establish a two-set lead, and Djokovic knew he was in a fight that he could not win.

There was no hiding from the truth, either. Djokovic has now lost in three grand slam semi-finals in a row to either Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, falling in straight-sets each time.

“They’re just too good, playing on a really high level,” Djokovic said after his 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 defeat to Alcaraz denied the Serbian in his latest bid to a record 25th grand slam.

“I think I had enough energy to battle him and to keep up with his rhythm for two sets. After that I was gassed out, and he kept going. That’s kind of what I felt this year also with Jannik. Best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them. Particularly if it’s like the end stages of the grand slam.”

For Alcaraz and Sinner, beating Djokovic at the grand slams used to be the pinnacle. Now, it has become routine. The 22-year-old even said after his victory over Djokovic that he wasn’t at his best. This was a far more edgy and error-strewn Alcaraz that had previously cruised into the semi-finals, but the Spaniard knew he could go the distance and Djokovic could not.

The familiar pattern leaves Djokovic in something of a no-man’s land as he approaches what could be the final season of his career in 2026. Djokovic has proved that he remains the third-best player in the world this season, becoming the oldest man in history to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slams. He is a level above would-be contenders like Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz, notching wins over both this season, but he remains below the two best in the world.

Djokovic was always the player who pushed himself, chasing down Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s grand slam titles and breaking almost every record there was to set in the sport. For perhaps the first time in his career, he has accepted that there are now two players at the top who are now out of reach.

He cannot blame the hand he is holding. “Of course it’s frustrating on the court when you are not able to keep up with that level physically, but at the same time, it’s something also expected,” Djokovic said. “It comes with time and with age.”

It becomes harder at the grand slams and over best-of-five sets, while the cumulative efforts of getting through to the semi-finals leave Djokovic with nothing left in the tank. “That’s something I, unfortunately at this point in time in my career, can’t control,” Djokovic said.

He can’t control the draw, either, and unless the rest of the world finds a way to beat Alcaraz and Sinner, Djokovic will always expect to come up against one or both of them deep into the second week.

“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the grand slams. I think I have a better chance of best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough,” he said.

“I’m not giving up on grand slams in that regard, having said that. I’m going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy at least. But it’s going to be a very difficult task.”

Djokovic remains committed to battling on, still plans to play at all four grand slams next season, but he needs help from elsewhere, someone to take out Alcaraz or Sinner in the early rounds and leave him with a clearer run. He left the US Open placing more faith in fate than his ability to beat Alcaraz and Sinner over five sets.

“Competing with Carlos, had some amazing points. The crowd was into it, and it was quite close,” Djokovic said. “He was just a better player in the important moments. It’s never fun losing a tennis match, but at the same time, if I’m to lose to someone, I would lose to these two guys. I know that they are just better at the moment. You just have to hand it to them and say well done.”

British woman found dead on Greek beach, husband says

A British woman has been found dead after she vanished from a beach in Greece over a month ago, her husband has revealed.

Michele Ann Bourda, aged 59, disappeared while her husband was asleep on Ofrynio beach in Kavala, northern Greece last month.

Police said she was found on the small, privately owned island of Fidonisi around 40km from where she vanished, according to the Daily Mail.

Her husband, Chris Bourda, had informed police that he was especially concerned as his wife had a history of severe depression and anxiety.

Speaking to the newspaper, he criticised authorities for not beginning their search soon enough and claimed they told him that his wife had disappeared with an unknown man, which he dismissed as “rubbish”.

Mr Bourda told the Mail : “They have found her body. Sadly, I was expecting this. The problem is the harbour police did not start their search until late at night, and I don’t know what effect that had.

“I think the harbour police really didn’t do anything and next time something like this happens they should think about it. It shouldn’t take them three hours to write up a missing person’s report before starting the search.”

The couple had been sunbathing on the beach together when her husband woke up to find her gone around midday. Her belongings, including her money, glasses, and medication, were still there.

Formal identification has not taken place but an autopsy is due to be carried out on Friday.

“They said there were no signs she had drowned, that there was no body, that she was following someone else. But I knew this was not the case,” Mr Bourda said.

“It’s impossible. Nobody did anything to help. Even the chap who saw her in the sea, he lost sight of her. If you are a foreigner, they do not care about you here.”

Mr Bourda also called for mental health services in Britain to improve. “If she had seen a psychiatrist much earlier and got the relevant medication, then she would have still been alive,” he said.

“The problem with depression is that it can sometimes trick you into thinking you are fine. I thought she was alright, but she wasn’t.

“Unfortunately, I fell asleep in the sun and I slept and when I woke up I knew instantly something was wrong. I didn’t know then what had happened but I knew something had gone wrong.”

The Hellenic Police were contacted for comment.

The Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”

The funniest, strangest and best things from this year’s Fringe

The Edinburgh Fringe is a place where British eccentrics take centre stage and the country’s weirdest most wonderful talents get to explore the craziest outreaches of their creativity, whether it’s staging immersive theatre in a bathroom, or performing a show on a treadmill.

For all the silliness, though, there’s a seriousness to the whole thing: the Fringe is the breeding ground for Britain’s comedy trendsetters: The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen first found audiences here and the international phenomena that are Fleabag and Baby Reindeer got their first outings on the stages of the Fringe.

This year, as ever, the festival’s packed schedule sees Edinburgh veterans rubbing shoulders with dozens of emerging voices on the hunt for an audience, many of them willing to perform anywhere from the backroom of a pub to a book shop, or even a bathtub.

The summer of 2025 is looking like it’s going to be a particularly strong year for established heroes of the Fringe. Winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award back in 2009, Tim Key returns to the Fringe with a new show Loganberry, likely to be informed, in part, by his recent experiences starring in the film The Ballad of Wallis Island and appearing as pigeon in Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17. Expect deadpan poems and much hilarity.

Following the success of her smash hit Channel 4 show The Change, about a menopausal woman rediscovering herself in the Forest of Dean, Fringe-favourite and 2013 winner Bridget Christie returns to Edinburgh with a work in progress at the Monkey Barrel. Also showing a work in progress is Ahir Shah, who has pedigree when it comes to licking a show into shape at the festival – when he did so in 2023, he won the main prize. Television presenter and podcaster Nish Kumar is back on his old stomping ground too with a new show Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe at the Gordon Aikman Theatre.

For all the tried-and-tested performers who pretty might guarantee laughs, one of the real joys of the Fringe is to be found in taking a risk on an up-and-coming comedian in the hope you stumble across a star of the future.

In some cases that might mean checking out a Fringe first-timer like Toussaint Douglass, who makes his Edinburgh debut with his hotly-tipped show Accessible Pigeon Material, which promises to be joyfully absurd and very pigeon-heavy in terms of content. Or popping in to see if promising young talents can pull off that tricky second album: having scooped a Best Newcomer gong at last year’s Fringe, Joe Kent-Walters is reprising his gloriously demonic working men’s club owner, Frankie Monroe, at the Monkey Barrel Comedy venue (Cabaret Voltaire).

Also keen to build on a promising start will be Leila Navabi, a television writer from South Wales, whose 2023 musical comedy show Composition included a song about having her ears pierced in Claire’s Accessories. This year, she’s back with Relay, which blends jokes and songs to explore her attempts to make a baby with her girlfriend and a sperm donor.

Whether they’re promising young tyros or established names, for many comedians the creative freedom and outright silliness of the Fringe has them coming back time and time again. Take, for example, Ivo Graham whose show this year is called Orange Crush and is described by the man himself as “a show about hats, haters and hometown heroes, from a man who promised everyone he loved that he wouldn’t do Edinburgh in 2025, but then came back anyway, because he simply had to do this show.”

If you are planning to join Ivo in Edinburgh to soak up the comedy chaos in person, don’t forget provisions. The average Fringe day involves walking 15,000 steps, climbing 43 hills and sitting through at least one show in a sauna-like attic with no ventilation. So, pack accordingly: a bottle of water, a sturdy fan and a packet of Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums or Jelly Babies to keep your blood sugar and national pride intact. Nothing says “I’m here for the arts” quite like chuckling through a late-night experimental mime while chewing on a Jelly Baby’s head.

Now you’re in the know, don’t forget to set the juice loose with Maynards Bassetts – grab a bag today!

UK to bask in 22C sunshine after wettest week for seven months

Don’t pack away the garden barbecue just yet, weather experts are predicting a return to sunshine this weekend.

After the wettest week for seven months, the Met Office forecasts the UK will bask in temperatures reaching up to 22C, in London on Saturday.

The warm weather is forecast to continue into Sunday with highs of 22C in Norwich and 20C in Edinburgh.

However, showers are also expected on Sunday across the UK.

“Warm sunshine on Saturday, though winds freshening and a few showers developing in the west,” a spokesperson said. “Turning more unsettled for Sunday and Monday. Rain giving way to sunshine and blustery showers.”

It comes after a yellow weather warning for storms was put in place for much of northern England, the Midlands and parts of Wales on Thursday.

The warning, which was in place until 5pm, predicted further rain and flooding.

England experienced its wettest week for seven months, according to the Environment Agency.

There have been “notable” amounts of rainfall, particularly in the North West, South East and South West, all of which received more than 35mm of rain between August 27 and September 2.

Rivers levels have increased at nearly all the sites monitored by the agency, although just over a third were classed as being below normal for this time of year.

Despite the recent showers, total rainfall in England in August was only 42 per cent of the long-term average.

Long spells of dry and hot weather over the past few months have taken their toll on the environment and agriculture, leading to hosepipe bans, drought orders, poor harvests and low water levels in reservoirs.

Both spring and summer 2025 were the UK’s warmest on record, while spring was the second driest for England since Met Office rainfall data began in 1836.

Yorkshire Water still has a hosepipe ban in place despite some recent rain, while Southern Water still has a ban in place for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Dave Kaye, Yorkshire Water’s director of water services, said: “Yorkshire is in drought following an extremely dry spring and the hottest summer on record.

“While the rain, which was heavy in some areas but short-lived, has been welcome, the majority has been taken up by the extremely dry ground, as well as plants and trees.”

Shopping online at work is not a sackable offence, judge rules

Shopping online during work time is not a sackable offence, a judge has ruled.

A tribunal found the amount of time an accountancy administrator spent browsing sites including Amazon and Rightmove was “not excessive”.

The woman, named in the judgement as Ms A Lanuszka, had been fired from her job in July 2023 after her employer Accountancy MK Services used spy software to monitor her computer.

Across two days, business owner Ms Krauze claimed Ms Lanuszka had spent one hour and 24 minutes on personal matters.

Ms Lanuszka – who accepted she had visited websites Rightmove, Very and Amazon – claimed she was allowed to use the computer for personal matters if she had no other work to do.

And employment judge Michael Magree ruled that a “large proportion” of the time highlighted as personal use had, in fact, been used for work purposes, including for planning, Excel and presentation skill training.

He added there were “no underlying performance concerns or warning” given to Ms Lanuszka, and noted the date of her sacking coincided with the arrival of Ms Krauze’s sister on a permanent basis in the UK.

“Given the fact that there was no prohibition on personal computer use and the amount of time Ms Lanuszka devoted to personal matters during the two days has not been shown to be excessive, there is no deduction for contributory fault,” Mr Magee wrote in his judgment.

“The tribunal concludes that there were not reasonable grounds to support a conclusion that Ms Lanuszka was guilty of misconduct. Nor was there a reasonable investigation carried out.”

According to the judgment, made in Bury St Edmunds in June, Ms Lanuszka began working for Ms Krauze under a separate company name, which was dissolved in 2021 before a new company set up.

Ms Krauze dismissed Ms Lanuszka in 2023 with the belief she would not be able to file for unfair dismissal due to her not working for the new company for two years, Mr Magree said.

Ms Lanuszka was awarded more than £14,000 in compensation and costs.