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Britney Spears slams ex Kevin Federline’s ‘constant gaslighting’ after bombshell claims

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Iconic pop singer Britney Spears hit out at her ex-husband Kevin Federline after he made bombshell claims in his memoir, You Thought You Knew

Britney Spears hit out at her ex-husband Kevin Federline’s ‘constant gaslighting’ after he made bombshell claims about her in his new book. In K-Fed’s upcoming book, You Thought You Knew, he claimed the Born To Make You Happy singer used to stand over their sleeping sons while holding a knife.

Kevin – who divorced the Toxic singer in 2007 following three years of marriage – has claimed that on multiple occasions their sons Sean Preston, 20, and 19-year-old Jayden James would wake up to discover their mum watching them. He said she would then leave the room without any explanation.

A year after their divorce, the former backing dancer was granted full custody of the boys in the wake of Britney ‘s mental health battles.

READ MORE: Britney Spears ‘bombshells’ from ‘bedroom knife to secret Justin Timberlake call’READ MORE: Britney Spears’ ex Kevin Federline claims she watched sons sleep with knife in hand

In a new post shared on her Instagram page, Britney responded to Kevin’s ‘constant gaslighting’ as she told fans she “always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my with my boys”.

She wrote over a white background: “The constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting. I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys. Relationships with teenage boys is complex.

“I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life. Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own father for me.

“They need to take responsibility for themselves. With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years. I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available.

“Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here. I will always love them and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids of my mental health and drinking.

“I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years. I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.”

In another section of the book shared with the New York Times, Kevin discussed his worry that “something bad” could happen to his troubled ex-wife.

He penned: “The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible.

“It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK. From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.”

A representative for Britney told us: “With news from Kevin’s book breaking, once again he and others are profiting off her and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin. All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism. She detailed her journey in her memoir [The Woman In Me].”

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‘I’m not in Dubai for money… I don’t want my kids growing up in England’

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Arabian Falcons

Ciaran Kelly

Football reporter
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Jonjo Shelvey had missed penalties before.

But footage of this particular spot-kick went viral after the Arabian Falcons captain failed to hit the target against Al Fath.

Shelvey estimated there were only 75 supporters watching the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Second Division League game earlier this month.

It was a far cry from the crowds the former England international was used to during previous spells at Newcastle United, Liverpool, Swansea City and others.

However, the midfielder insisted he “could not care less” after a clip of his miss at Jebel Ali Shooting Club racked up a million views on social media.

“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’ve since seen a few things like ‘he’s gone there for money’. I’m thinking ‘what money? There’s no money in the UAE Second Division League’.

“The ballpark of the standard wage here is £2,000-a-month for a footballer. In terms of what I’ve earned throughout my career, that’s nothing.

“My brother earns more working in a hotel in London, so it was never about coming here for the money.”

‘I’d never wear a watch in London any more’

Shelvey, in his own words, had been “doing nothing for two months”.

Following an unsuccessful trial at Hull City the free agent suffered a hamstring injury, which complicated his prospects of securing a summer move.

But Arabian Falcons manager Harry Agombar reached out to ask his childhood friend to move out to Dubai to help “grow the club”.

Though Shelvey’s family had long been settled on Tyneside – even after he left Newcastle in 2023 – the father-of-three saw it as a chance to embark on a “fresh start”.

“I’ve had my time,” the Londoner said. “I’m happy and content. I’m just at the stage now where I want to enjoy football. It’s about waking up, enjoying what I do and spending time with my family.

“If I’m honest, I don’t want my children growing up in England any more. We’re very lucky that we lived in a nice part of the UK but where I’m from, originally, you can’t have nice things in my opinion.

“I’d never wear a watch in London any more. You can’t have your phone out in London, in my view.”

About 80,000 mobile phones were stolen in London last year, according to the Metropolitan Police, and there have been some high-profile instances of theft in the capital in the past 12 months.

Ex-Formula One driver Jenson Button and wife Brittny had a case filled with £250,000 worth of valuables snatched outside St Pancras station in February, while thieves stole more than £10m worth of bespoke jewellery from socialite Shafira Huang after breaking into her St John’s Wood home back in December.

But the Met says personal robbery has been reduced by 13% and theft is down 14% in London so far this year.

“I’m not massive on reading politics,” Shelvey said. “I just see some of the things that go on.

“I see people getting arrested for tweeting and, then, all of the flags and ‘taking back the country’.

Finding love at Newcastle

That is not meant as a slight on the community Shelvey has left behind.

Though Shelvey has uprooted from the UK, the 33-year-old said the north east was “the only place there he would want to live”.

“There’s this debate about whether Newcastle are able to attract the big players compared to the Manchester clubs and the London clubs but, until you go there, you don’t understand what it does to you,” he said.

“There are loads of things to do. I don’t care what anyone says. If players are going to listen to this, it’s a no-brainer to go there and play football.

“You will not find love at a football club like I found at Newcastle, with how they take to their players and how much they back you.”

Shelvey spent longer at Newcastle than any other side – seven years in total following his move from Swansea City – and said he was “honoured” to have represented the club and worn the captain’s armband on occasion.

As well as sticking around following relegation, in 2016, and playing his part in taking Newcastle straight back up, Shelvey also helped ensure the club then stayed in the top flight.

He even scored what proved to be a “massive” goal against Leeds United as Newcastle started to pull away from danger three and a half years ago.

It ended up proving a turning point in head coach Eddie Howe’s reign.

“If I had not scored that, the club would have gone down!” he said. “I’m joking. Looking back at it, you don’t realise how big a goal it was and, to be fair, the keeper [Illan Meslier] chucked one in for us. I scuffed the life out of it.

“But I’ve only got good things to say about my time at Newcastle. I loved it. Even when I first got the call about going there, I drove 12 hours from Swansea because of the traffic. I just wanted to get up there, get my medical done and get signed.

‘Is this going to be my last session?’

Shelvey, clearly, still retains an affection for Newcastle and Howe, who “knew how to get into your head”.

However, Shelvey is wary of being a “hindrance” and has stopped short of reaching out to the Newcastle head coach just yet as he studies for his Uefa A Licence coaching qualification.

A member of Howe’s backroom team previously urged Shelvey to contact his former manager, to ask to watch training or do some coaching in the academy.

But Shelvey wants to get there “on merit rather than relying on someone he knows”.

He is now combining coaching in the evenings in Dubai with training in the mornings after signing an initial one-year deal with the Falcons, as the club target promotion to the second tier.

Shelvey counts ex-Manchester United and West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison as a team-mate and believes are “a few players out here you could take into League One or League Two if given the chance”.

But Shelvey recognises that his body is “not the same as it used to be”.

“When you get older, every time you go on the training pitch, you think, ‘is this going to be my last session?'” he said. “If I got a bad injury now, I would probably call it a day.

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Ariarne Titmus, Olympic gold medallist, retires from swimming

By in News, World News

Australian four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus has retired from competitive swimming at the age of 25, ending a stellar career that featured one of the sport’s great rivalries with American Katie Ledecky.

Titmus confirmed her decision on Thursday, bowing out as one of Australia’s most decorated athletes with eight Olympic medals and four world titles.

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The decision came as a shock to her nation, and the swimming world in general, as she had long planned a return to the pool to chase more Olympic glory at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

“A tough one, a really tough one, but one that I’m really happy with,” she said of her decision in a video on social media.

“I love swimming, I’ve always loved swimming. It’s been my passion since I was a little girl.

“But I guess I’ve taken this time away from the pool and realised some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me.”

Ariarne Titmus won four gold medals, three silver and one bronze during her Olympic career [File: Petr David Josek/AP Photo]

Race of the century

Titmus won her third individual Olympic gold medal in a 400m freestyle final dubbed “the race of the century” at the Paris Games when she beat Ledecky and Canada’s Summer McIntosh to defend her title.

After Paris, she resolved to take a year off from competing and training to recharge, electing to skip the world championships in Singapore and instead cover the meet as a TV commentator.

But the return to the pool never materialised.

Titmus had undergone surgery to remove benign tumours from her ovaries eight months before Paris, and she said the health issue had reminded her about having a life outside swimming.

“Delving more into those health challenges, I’ve had to think about what’s most important to me,” said Titmus, who retires as the 200m freestyle world record holder.

“Beyond swimming, I’ve always had goals in my personal life.

“More than anything, I’m excited for what’s next.”

The face of Australian swimming at the last two Olympics, Titmus’s retirement robs the national team of an inspirational leader who did much to restore the country to superpower status in the sport after a lean decade.

Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky react.
Titmus, centre, won the 400m freestyle title at the 2024 Paris Olympics, beating American great Katie Ledecky, right, and rising superstar Summer McIntosh in what was dubbed the ‘race of the century’ [File: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]

An incredible career

Born in Tasmania, Titmus moved to Queensland in her early teens to be trained by elite coach Dean Boxall.

Earning the nickname Terminator after sweeping the 400m and 800m freestyle titles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, she then announced herself to the swimming world by beating Ledecky in the 400m freestyle at the 2019 World Championships.

Two years later, her swim to reel in Ledecky and snatch her 400m freestyle crown at the Tokyo Games became instant swimming folklore, along with Boxall’s manic celebrations in the stands.

The successful defence of her title in Paris made her the first Australian woman to go back-to-back in an individual swimming event since Dawn Fraser in the 1960s.

Titmus also bagged two silvers and a relay gold at Paris, including her runner-up finish behind Ledecky in a thrilling 800m freestyle final.

She always said Ledecky, the “GOAT” of women’s swimming, made her a better rival, but as intense as the rivalry was, there was only mutual admiration, hugs and kind words outside the pool.

The American great was among those congratulating Titmus on her career after the retirement announcement.

US media return Pentagon passes, giving up access after new rules kick in

By in News, World News

Dozens of news outlets have lost access to the Pentagon after they refused to sign a new set of guidelines that sharply restrict their ability to report on the United States military.

The Pentagon had set a deadline of Wednesday afternoon in the US for reporters to agree to a new 21-page set of rules in order to obtain press credentials and access to the Pentagon’s premises.

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More than 30 outlets declined to cooperate, including The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Politico, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Reuters, CNN, and more.

Conservative news outlets like Fox News and Newsmax – both favoured by US President Donald Trump – also declined to sign the rules.

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents more than 100 news outlets, said in a statement Tuesday that the Department of Defense had started confiscating media badges “from virtually every news organisation in America”.

“It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalising national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution,” the press group said.

Media outlets have announced they will continue to report on the Pentagon, albeit without direct access to the building and news briefings.

The Pentagon’s new rules restrict the ability of reporters to move around the building, engage with staff, and “solicit information” from sources, according to a Pentagon memo posted online by The New York Times.

They also try to restrict the media’s ability to publish classified and even some kinds of unclassified information, although this right is protected by a 1971 Supreme Court ruling.

The case, New York Times v United States, protected the rights of The New York Times and The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers at the height of the Vietnam War.

Previous guidelines from the Pentagon fit on a single page. They primarily concerned protocols for entering the Pentagon premises and storing personal property, according to another document shared by The New York Times.

Washington Post reporter Tara Copp saves the name plaques from various news organisations as she and members of the media pack up their belongings in the press area in the Pentagon, on October 15, 2025, in Washington, DC [Kevin Wolf/AP]

The changes to Pentagon reporting rules were first introduced by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, in September.

They were met with immediate criticism because they appeared to make journalists legally liable for reporting on the Pentagon.

A revised version of the rules toned down some of the language, but media outlets say they still violate their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

The Pentagon played down media concerns in a statement on Monday.

Where are Liam Payne’s accusers now as his family mark one year since his tragic death?

By in Entertainment News, News

Two men accused of supplying Liam Payne with cocaine remain imprisoned in Argentina one year after his fatal balcony fall, as authorities continue to sift through hundreds of hours of evidence from the singer’s final days

One year after Liam Payne’s tragic death in Buenos Aires, two men accused of supplying the former One Direction singer with cocaine remain behind bars as Argentina’s complex investigation continues with no sign of a trial.

The 31-year-old British star died on October 16, 2024, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel, shortly after 5pm local time. Emergency services rushed to the scene, but Liam was pronounced dead at the hotel. A post-mortem later ruled the cause of death as “polytrauma”, meaning multiple traumatic injuries to the body.

Payne had been in Argentina for a short holiday with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, 26, as the couple attended Niall Horan’s concert in Buenos Aires before spending several days in the city. Kate returned to the US three days before his death, while Payne chose to extend his stay alone.

In the hours before he died, Payne was seen on hotel CCTV speaking to staff and visitors. Witnesses said he appeared “calm” but had been drinking. According to local reports, Payne hired two women to his room earlier that day and was later seen leaning over the balcony moments before falling.

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Toxicology results later revealed traces of cocaine, alcohol and prescription antidepressants in his system at the time of his death.

Two men, waiter Braian Paiz, 25, and hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra, 22, were arrested in connection with the case and later charged with selling cocaine to the singer in the days leading up to his death. Both men deny the charges but have been in custody since January. If they are convicted, they could face up to 15 years in prison.

The pair were formally accused in June, with prosecutors alleging they supplied Payne with drugs at least twice in the fortnight before his death. CCTV footage is said to show Payne asking Pereyra for “seven grams more” during a brief lift exchange at the hotel on the day he died.

Pereyra is being held in Marcos Paz Prison, a high-security facility outside Buenos Aires that houses several of Argentina’s most dangerous offenders, including convicted drug traffickers.

Meanwhile, Paiz remains in a city police cell but is expected to be transferred to federal custody before the trial begins.

Both men claim they are being scapegoated for the singer’s death last October. Speaking from his cell, Paiz said: “I’m just a working lad who crossed paths with a star. Today I’m paying for that coincidence with my freedom. I wish he hadn’t died and things were different.”

He has previously said he met Payne while working at a restaurant in Puerto Madero, where the pop star dined days before his death.

“He asked for my Instagram in front of his girlfriend,” Paiz told Gente magazine. “We spoke on a private account. There was intimacy, but not sexual intimacy.”

His lawyer, Juan Pablo Madeo Facente, maintains Paiz did not profit from giving drugs to Payne, saying: “He is totally convinced of his innocence. He should not be held responsible to this extent.”

Despite the pair being charged, the case remains stalled. Investigators are still reviewing 800 hours of CCTV footage, Payne’s laptop, and the mobile phones of several people linked to the case.

One suspect’s phone, reportedly used to message Payne before his death, was not searched until March despite being seized the previous November.

A legal source told The Sun: “The process is painfully slow. The likelihood of a trial seems a long way off, and there’s real frustration about how long it’s taking to complete the evidence review.”

Payne’s family, including his former partner Cheryl Tweedy, mother to their son Bear, 8, are being kept informed of developments and are said to be hopeful the two suspects will eventually face trial.

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M&S brings back Bella Freud sell-out slogan knits– but they won’t be around for long

By in Entertainment News, News

Run, don’t walk– Bella Freud is back with another M&S collaboration

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Marks & Spencer is teaming up once again with one of Britain’s most sought-after designers, and this time, the collab is even bigger and better. The high-street favourite has announced its second range with London designer Bella Freud, launching online and in selected stores from today, Thursday 16th October 2025. Though looking at the offerings, we’re certain the range won’t be in stock for long!

After the sell-out success of last year’s debut, the new drop takes things up a notch, expanding from fashion into a full lifestyle collection that spans womenswear, lingerie, menswear, kids and homeware. It’s the perfect combination of M&S’ wearability and pricing, and Bella’s cult, tongue-in-cheek aesthetic.

Bella Freud, known for her iconic slogan knits (think 1970 and The Last Poets), has once again brought her unique quirk to this second collection. And with prices starting from £10 for accessories and going up to £300 for a coat, you’re getting her charm for a lot less than it would cost on her own website.

SHOP IT: M&S X Bella Freud Wham Bam Wool with Cashmere Jumper, £130

“This year’s collection is based on the idea of entertaining at home,” Bella says. “You want to be a bit dressed up and feel glamorous, but you also want to feel at ease.” The result? Pieces that feel both laid-back and luxe, or, as Bella puts it, “dressing down that’s dressed up.”

Bella’s latest line brings her signature word sweaters back to M&S, this time with a fresh set of phrases and a focus on luxury fabrics like 100% cashmere and wool with cashmere blends. The palette stays true to her roots: deep navy, black and cream, offset by autumnal brown and burgundy, with flashes of pink and green running through for contrast.

SHOP IT: M&S X Bella Freud Wham Bam Jumper, £130, Shirt, £120 and Trouser, £120

It’s a clever update of the pieces that made her a cult favourite on the British fashion scene: jumpers with personality that still slot seamlessly into everyday wardrobes. And considering her own jumpers retail for around £295, the fact that M&S is bringing her knit designs for £130 –better than half price– is a real treat.

For 2025, the range also expands beyond womenswear into menswear, lingerie, kidswear and home. The kids’ jumpers mirror the main collection, offering mini versions of the classic knits in sizes age 3–10– a smart move ahead of gifting season. Over in homeware, the designer’s playful sensibility comes through in ceramic nibble bowls, bold bedding sets and small details that add character to any room.

M&S is also keeping sizing inclusive, with the women’s range running from 6–24, knitwear in XS–XL and multiple leg lengths across trousers. The new silk shirts, pyjamas and tailored separates sit alongside the knits, rounding out a collection that feels grown-up but not boring.

READ MORE: Rare deal slashes ‘flattering’ M&S cardigan that ‘looks expensive’ to £4.50

SHOP IT: M&S X Bella Freud Women’s Dreamers Pyjamas, £50, and Cashmere Socks, £35

As we say, the range won’t be in stock for long, judging by how fast last year’s collection sold out, so make sure you’re speedy if you want to add something to your basket!

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If you’re interested in other hot style collaborations, do check out Debenhams x Ashish’s collection with Kim Cattrall. Our fashion writer Faith says: “When Debenhams announced its latest Designer collaboration was with Ashish, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. When they announced the face of it was Kim Cattrall, well, you better believe I was counting down in my calendar to snap up some items from it.