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Kym Marsh announces baby news after splitting with ‘soulmate’ toyboy four months ago

Coronation Street star, Kym Marsh, has shared some ‘thrilling’ baby news with her followers after calling it quits with her ‘soulmate’ boyfriend, Samuel Thomas, this year

Kym Marsh has some exciting baby news (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

Kym Marsh has got some exciting baby news after revealing her daughter Emilie, 27, is pregnant. The Hear’Say star, 49, who is set to become a grandmother for the fourth time, shared the happy news four months after she called it quits with her boyfriend, Samuel Thomas, 30, who she previously described as her ‘soulmate’.

Taking to Instagram, posting a snap of her grandson and granddaughter proudly holding a baby scan, sporting Big Brother and Big Sister t.shirts, Kym wrote: “I am so thrilled to share the news!!! Grandchild number 4… incoming!!! Congratulations to my beautiful daughter @listentoemilie, my wonderful son in law @mikeyhoz and Teddy and Polly!! Can’t wait to meet you little one!”

Coronation Street star, Kym Marsh's grandkids
Coronation Street star, Kym Marsh, has shared some ‘thrilling’ baby news with her followers

Responding to the post, one of the actress’ followers replied: “Congratulations to Emilie, Michael, Polly and Teddy. So thrilled for you all.” While a second added: “The best news, so happy for your family.”

Kym, whose son, David, also has a child, first became a grandparent when she was 42. However she admitted she didn’t relish being called ‘Grandma’ and so changed it to Yaya on grandson Teddy’s request before finding out the name was Greek for ‘grandma’.

Speaking to CBeebies about her family, she said: “I always knew I would be a young grandparent because of how old I was when I had my children.

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Kym Marsh and Samuel Thomas
The actress and Samuel called it quits earlier this year(Image: @samuelthomasuk/Instagram)

“I was 42 when I found out I was going to be a grandparent. It still came as a bit of a shock but I was so excited.

“Both me and Emilie’s dad were thrilled to bits. Then, of course, meeting Teddy was on another level.”

She continued: “I’m still a very busy person, but as a grandma I try to make as much time as I can. I like to think they will all grow up knowing that, even though I’m busy, I will always be there for them.”

Kym’s baby news comes four months after she called it day with actor, Samuel, who she met while performing in 101 Dalmatians The Musical. Despite referring to the 30-year-old as her ‘soulmate’, Kym split with her co-star after six months.

The mum-of-three, who has been married three times, met Samuel after she split up from her third husband, Scott Ratcliff. Fans thought Samuel, who is the same age as Kym’s eldest child, David Cunliffe, may propose. But now it’s all over, with Kym insisting she’ll never walk down the aisle again.

Emilie Mae Cunliffe and Kym Marsh
Emilie is expecting her third baby(Image: Getty Images)

Talking to the Independent about her future plans as she got ready to star in a theatre production of Abigail’s Party in April, playing Beverley, she said of the seventies – when the play was written: “You were expected to get married back then. It was almost a little girl’s dream.

“But not for Kym Marsh. I’ve been married three times, and three times it’s not gone well – so no more for me. Three strikes and I’m out.”

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Israel has learned no lessons from Iraq

Tel Aviv’s decision to launch a new war against Iran on June 13 is a disaster in the making. No one will benefit, including the Israeli government, and many will suffer. The exchange of fire has already resulted in at least 80 people killed in Iran and 10 in Israel.

It is tragically clear that the lessons of past failed military adventurism in the region have been entirely ignored.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has branded the war as “pre-emptive”, aimed at preventing Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapon. In doing so, he has repeated the strategic blunder of the last two politicians to launch an alleged “pre-emptive” attack in the region, US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

As Israeli jets and missiles streaked across the Middle East’s skies and carried out their deadly strikes against Iranian military sites and military leaders, they immediately made the world a far more dangerous place. Just like the US-British invasion of Iraq, this unprovoked attack is set to bring more instability to an already volatile region.

Netanyahu claimed that the attacks were meant to devastate Iran’s nuclear capabilities. So far, the Israeli army has hit three nuclear facilities, Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, causing various levels of damage. However, it is unlikely that these strikes will actually put a stop to the Iranian nuclear programme, and the Israeli prime minister knows it.

The Iranian authorities have intentionally built the Natanz site deep underground so that it is impervious to all but the strongest bunker-busting bombs. Tel Aviv lacks the capability to permanently destroy it because it does not have the Massive Ordnance Penetrator or the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bombs that are produced by the United States.

Washington has long refused to provide these, even under the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has coddled Israeli officials and sought to shield them from sanctions over their war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Trump’s team has recently indicated again that it would not supply these arms to Tel Aviv.

From US official reactions after the attack, it is not entirely clear to what extent Washington was informed. The US State Department initially distanced the US from the initial attacks, labelling them a “unilateral” Israeli operation. Shortly after, Trump claimed that he was fully informed.

The extent of US involvement – and approval – for the attack remains a major question, but it immediately ended any hopes that its intense diplomacy with Tehran over its nuclear programme in recent weeks would result in a new deal, which is a short-term win for Netanyahu.

But further action against Iran appears dependent on bringing the US into the conflict. That is a huge gamble for Tel Aviv given the number of critics of US interventionism among the top ranks of Trump’s advisers. The US president himself has attempted to make reversing US interventionism a key part of his legacy.

Israel’s actions are already harming Trump’s other interests by pushing global oil prices up and complicating his relations with the Gulf states that have much to lose if the conflict disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

If Israel looks like it is winning, Trump will undoubtedly claim it as his own victory. But if Netanyahu’s strategy increasingly depends on trying to drag Washington into another Middle Eastern war, he may well lash out against him.

As things stand now, unless Israel decides to breach international norms and use a nuclear weapon, making any further strategic achievements in Iran would indeed depend on the US.

Netanyahu’s second declared goal – overthrowing the Iranian regime – also seems out of reach.

A number of senior military commanders have been killed in targeted attacks, while Tel Aviv has openly called on the Iranian people to rise up against their government. But Israel’s unilateral aggression is likely to bring far more anger towards Tel Aviv among Iranians than it will against their own government, regardless of how undemocratic it may be.

In fact, Iranian regime assertions that a nuclear bomb is a needed deterrent against Israeli aggression now will appear more logical to those who doubted it domestically. And in other regional countries where Tehran’s interests had been retreating, Netanyahu’s actions risk breathing new life into these alliances.

But even if Israel succeeds in destabilising Tehran, it will not bring about regional peace. This is the lesson that should have been learned from the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The collapse of the Iraqi state in the aftermath led to a major rise in extremism and ultimately to the establishment of ISIL (ISIS) that terrorised so much of the region in the 2010s.

Israel has no chance of instituting a smooth transfer of power to a more pliant regime in Tehran. Occupying Iran to try to do so is out of the question given that the two countries do not share a border. US support for such an effort is also hard to imagine under the Trump administration because doing so would be sure to increase the risk of attacks against the US.

In other words, Netanyahu’s attacks may bring short-term tactical gains for Israel in delaying Iran’s nuclear ambitions and thwarting talks with the US, but they promise a long-term strategic disaster.

Gattuso Named New Italy Coach After Spalletti Sacking

Gennaro Gattuso was named Italy’s new coach on Sunday and will be tasked with helping the Azzurri qualify for the 2026 World Cup after replacing Luciano Spalletti.

The 47-year-old was part of the 2006 World Cup-winning side and won 73 caps for the national team as a player.

The Italian football federation (FIGC) said Gattuso would be presented to the media on Thursday.

“Gattuso is a symbol of Italian football,” said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina.

“The blue shirt is like a second skin for him. His motivation, his professionalism and his experience will be essential.

“(He is) Aware of the importance of the objective we want to achieve. I thank him for the total dedication with which he has accepted this challenge.”

Four-time champions Italy have failed to qualify for the past two World Cups and started their bid to reach next year’s tournament in North America with a 3-0 loss to Norway last week.

FILE: Gennaro Gattuso

Gattuso is an experienced coach and was last in charge of Croatian club Hajduk Split, helping them qualify for next season’s UEFA Conference League.

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His other former clubs include AC Milan, for whom he made 468 appearances as a player, Napoli, Valencia and Marseille.

Italy are next in action in Group I of qualifying with games against Estonia and Israel in September.

Spalletti was sacked after the Norway defeat, and Monday’s win over Moldova was his last match in charge.

Italy missed out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia after losing a play-off to Sweden and then also failed to qualify for the 2022 finals in Qatar, suffering a shock exit from the play-offs at the hands of North Macedonia.

Gattuso has had a mixed coaching career since retiring as a player in 2013.

His only major trophy as a head coach was the 2019/20 Italian Cup with Napoli.

He lasted only 22 and 24 matches in charge of Valencia and Marseille respectively, while an announced deal with Fiorentina was rescinded just two weeks before his contract was due to begin in 2021.

According to Italian media, former Italy defenders Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci will join his coaching staff.

Former boss Cesare Prandelli is expected to take over the youth teams.

The FIGC had been turned down by both Claudio Ranieri and Stefano Pioli before appointing Gattuso.

GB claim three golds on final day of World Rowing Cup

Benedict Tufnell for British Rowing

Olympic champion Lauren Henry MBE was among the winners for Great Britain as they claimed three gold medals on the final day of the World Rowing Cup in Varese, Italy.

Henry was impressive in the women’s single sculls, finishing more than eight seconds clear of Germany’s Juliane Faralisch and China’s Ruiqi Li, who took silver and bronze respectively.

“I’m really pleased with the race,” said the 23-year-old, who was part of the successful quadruple sculls team in the Paris Games.

“I kept it lively, there’s some bits that I still want to work on to see how I can push on, but there’s certainly more to come.

Henry’s gold was sandwiched between two more for Britain.

Both the men’s and women’s eights teams were victorious in their races, while the men’s quadruple sculls team finished third behind hosts Italy and Poland to take bronze.

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Capital FM’s Summertime Ball chaos as show halted and fans left confused

Capital FM’s Summertime Ball was dramatically halted today – with fans in the stadium left confused. The show had been paused temporarily, attendees revealed as they shared snaps of the screens around the stadium.

The Summertime Ball is taking place today at Wembley Stadium, with the likes of Mariah Carey, Benson Boone, KSI, Lola Young, Busted vs McFly, Zara Larsson, Dasha, Reneé Rapp and Jessie J all performing. Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff, Tate McRae, Myles Smith and JADE are also performing at the huge event, which is expected to draw in a crowd of 80,000.

However, soon into the show, fans were shown a statement from organisers on the screens. It read: “We have had to pause the show temporarily. Please remain in the stadium. We hope to restart shortly. Thank you.”





A reported power outage caused issues at the stadium today

Fans were quick to go on Twitter and share updates from the venue. One wrote: “Capitals summertime ball is going well #summertimeball,” whilst another added: “Whoops #Summertimeball.”

JADE is set to open the event, with fans worried her set might be cut due to the technical issues. One wrote: “Capital better not cut @jadethirlwall set short because of the lateness starting!! #CapitalSTB #capitalsummertimeball.”

It hasn’t been confirmed but fans have said there was a power outage at the stadium. Fans are now reporting that the power outage has been resolved and the screens are working once again.

The show was expected to start at 3.30pm, but at the time of writing, it has yet to start. Capital Breakfast’s Jordan North said: “We are absolutely buzzing to be back at Capital’s Summertime Ball with Barclaycard this year!”

Ashley Tabor-King, Founder & Executive President of Global, added: “We’ve got a stellar line-up of global superstars and today’s biggest hit music artists – all set to light up the stage! This is truly one of our best ever line-ups and we can’t wait to see 80,000 Capital listeners enjoy every moment, it’s going to be a day to remember!”

Whilst the show is yet to start on the livestream, former Love Island star Kem Cetinay is DJing. One wrote: “No offence to Kem, but please for the love of god just put JADE on!!! #CapitalSTB,” whilst another added: “I have not waited 14 mins beyond the actual livestream starting to endure Kem off Love Island doing a s*** job at DJ’ing!!! PUT JADE ON NOW FFS #CapitalSTB. No offence to Kem, but please for the love of god just put JADE on!!!”

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Wales and Northern Ireland into World Cup semis

Getty Images

Wales and Northern Ireland are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup of Darts following quarter-final victories in Sunday’s opening session in Frankfurt.

The Welsh pair of Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, aiming to win the competition for a third time, posted a three-dart average of 99.66 in their 8-4 win against Hong Kong.

“We were consistent all the way through, they put us under some decent pressure at stages,” Price told Sky Sports after securing a place in the last four, where Wales will meet the Netherlands later on Sunday.

“We weren’t at our ultimate best there but we improved from the last game. Every game we go through, we’ll improve again and whatever anyone throws at us, we’ll throw a little bit more back.”

Clayton, currently fifth in the PDC’s Order of Merit, and Price, who is 11th, are the two highest-ranked players remaining in the field.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney defeated the Republic of Ireland, represented by Keane Barry and Willie O’Connor, in their last-eight tie.

Barry and O’Connor were 5-4 up before Rock and Gurney reeled off four consecutive legs to secure an 8-5 victory.

Northern Ireland’s semi-final opponents will be Germany, who followed their shock last-16 victory over pre-tournament favourites England by beating 2022 champions Australia in a deciding leg.

Australia’s Damon Heta missed a match dart at double top in the penultimate leg, with Martin Schindler confirming the host nation’s place in the last four with his first attempt at double 12 in the decider.

While Northern Ireland and Germany will bid to reach a World Cup of Darts final for the first time, the other semi-final will be contested by two nations who have won the event six times between them.

The Netherlands’ four titles came in the first eight editions of the tournament, but they have not won it since Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld triumphed in 2018.

Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen had not lost a leg in their first three matches in Frankfurt, including an 8-0 thrashing of Scotland in the last 16.

A streak of 16 consecutive legs won was ended when Czech pair Karel Sedlacek and Petr Krivka broke throw in the opening leg of the quarter-final, but the Dutch duo won eight of the next nine legs to complete another convincing victory.

Josh Rock celebratesGetty Images

Sunday’s results and fixtures

Quarter-final results

Semi-finals (18:00 BST, best of 15 legs)

Final (to follow semi-finals, best of 19 legs)

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