Live updatesLive updates,
Iran-US live: Tension lingers amid threats as Tehran reopens airspace
Polls open in Uganda amid crackdown, fears of violence, internet blackout
Uganda is on edge as polls have opened, with President Yoweri Museveni expected to extend his four-decade rule amid a police crackdown on the opposition, fears of violence and an internet shutdown.
The East African nation is holding a contentious general election on Thursday after a Ugandan government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access, starting on Tuesday evening.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Polling stations were slow to open, as is usual in Uganda, but voting was under way shortly after 7am (04:00 GMT) in at least one Kampala suburb, AFP news agency journalists saw. There were heavy police and army patrols in the border town of Jinja, another AFP team said.
Partial results are expected later in the day after polls close.
More than 21.6 million voters have registered for the election. In a country where 70 percent of people are under age 35, high unemployment is a key issue for first-time voters.
The local Daily Monitor newspaper ran a full-page on how to “election-proof your home”, advising citizens to reinforce doors and windows and designate a safe room in case of unrest.
The United Nations Human Rights Office stressed on Wednesday that “open access to communication & information is key to free & genuine elections”.
“All Ugandans must be able to take part in shaping their future & the future of their country,” it said.
The government of Museveni, 81, has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on its critics, arresting political opposition leaders and their supporters.
Museveni is being challenged in Thursday’s vote by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, whose campaign rallies have been routinely disrupted by the Ugandan authorities.
As with his 2021 campaign, hundreds of Bobi Wine’s supporters have been arrested in the run-up to the vote. He has been wearing a flak jacket at rallies, describing the election as a “war” and Museveni as a “military dictator”.
“We are very aware that they are planning to rig the election, to brutalise people, to kill people, and they don’t want the rest of the world to see,” Bobi Wine told AFP.
The UN Human Rights Office last week warned that Ugandans would be heading to the polls amid “widespread repression and intimidation against the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists and those with dissenting views”.
Claudia Winkleman’s crippling health battles – chronic condition to ‘falling apart’
The Traitors and former Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman, who celebrates her birthday today, has faced a number of health issues over the years, including a chronic condition
The Traitors’ presenter Claudia Winkleman, who turns 54 today (Thursday, January 15), is one of the UK’s most recognisable TV stars.
She worked on Strictly Come Dancing for 15 years before announcing her departure at the end of the last series. Her star has continued to rise as she fronts The Traitors and its celebrity spin-off while she is set to host her own BBC chat show this spring.
Claudia is also a mum-of-three with her husband of 25 years Kris Thykier but life has not been all plain sailing.
Her life has thrown up some serious health challenges, including one that left her feeling “embarrassed”.
Claudia has spoken candidly about her ongoing battle with myopia, an eye condition where distant objects appear blurry due to an issue with focus. The chronic eye condition resulted in a number of operations which mean she “can’t really read anymore”.
Speaking to Gabby Logan on her Mid-Point podcast, she said: “I’ve had a lens replacement. I’ve had so many operations on my eyes.
“I had a lens replacement in my left eye because my astigmatism was so bad I was minus 16, but that was 14 years ago and then I had a little fiddle with it but because I was so short sighted by then I’m now long sighted so I can’t really read anymore.
“I can with glasses, I’ve got plus 2.5 but I can’t read The Bee Sting with those glasses and that light.”
Around one in three people in the UK suffer from myopia. Claudia admits she has always had terrible eyesight.
During a 2021 interview with the Sun, she revealed she is “embarrassed” at the situation as she struggles to read an autocue – a key part of the job for a television presenter.
She said: “I can’t even begin to tell you how blind I am. It’s embarrassing. I can’t read the autocue. My eyes have deteriorated so badly, I’m not meant to drive. I am doing the wrong job.”
Poor eyesight is not the only health condition Claudia has battled against. She also opened up about a long-term health issue that left her “falling apart”.
She said that after not “standing up straight” for all her life, she is now working with a Pilates instructor to correct her posture.
Speaking with Gabby Logan about her issue, Claudia said: “My body is made entirely of crepe. [I’m] falling apart.
“I’ve got a bad back and I need some form of strength. You know what I mean? I’ve got my core.
“They talked to me about parts of my body. They said, ‘The problem is you’ve never used your lats’. I was like, ‘What is that?’. Apparently, so my shoulders are up by my neck. I’m always like (demonstrates her posture).
“And I don’t like the look of people standing up straight. It feels somehow cocky, so my stance has always been like a turtle.”
‘Lats’ refers to the latissimus dorsi muscle, one of the largest muscles in the back. Pilates can help improve major muscle groups, posture, flexibility, strength, balance and body awareness.”
Speaking about a slightly less serious issue she has faced, Claudia also revealed she had an invisible brace fitted after learning her teeth were becoming crooked.
In what she called a “mid-life crisis”, the TV star admitted she uses Invisalign.
Speaking to the Emma Guns Show back in 2018, she said: “They’re part of the mid-life crisis, I’ve got Invisalign in. My teeth suddenly went crooked, one morning they all decided to fold in front of each other, you couldn’t do anything with them so I got this, I’m slightly in love with it. They’re so clever.”
Article continues below
Mia McKenna-Bruce shares wild audition trick that secured How To Have Sex role
Netflix actress Mia McKenna-Bruce hared her quirky audition technique while announcing the 2026 nominees for the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award.
Mia McKenna-Bruce, who leads the cast of the new murder mystery series Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials on Netflix, has revealed the unusual method that landed her breakthrough role.
The 28-year-old actress announced the nominees for the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award at The Savoy hotel in London, having previously won the accolade in 2024 for her performance in How To Have Sex.
British nominees Posy Sterling, Archie Madekwe and Robert Aramayo were all in attendance at the ceremony, whilst American nominees Chase Infiniti and Miles Caton were unable to make it.
During a Q&A attended by Reach Screen Time and other media outlets, Mia revealed her unconventional approach during her audition for the role of Tara in 2023’s How To Have Sex.
The drama brought her widespread acclaim, securing her a British Independent Film Award alongside the BAFTA Rising Star Award, reports the Express.
When co-host Ali Plumb asked about her most memorable audition experience, Mia responded: “I think it’s going to have to be How To Have Sex.”
Drawing parallels with Posy’s portrayal of Molly Brown in 2024’s Lollipop, she explained: “A lot of it was improv and having to act drunk. So it’s like, ‘Ok, that’s a really hard thing to do.’
“So it was like, ‘Ok, how do I be drunk?’ And I figured, if I just spin around in a circle loads…” she added, prompting laughter from the audience.
“Then that makes you feel dizzy. Yeah, I find it’s a really good way to play drunk because it makes you dizzy and you kind of go ‘woah’ and your voice kind of goes a bit funny because you’re dizzy…
“So I spent a lot of time spinning around in a circle in the audition room hoping that I’d get the job!”
How To Have Sex, which boasts an impressive 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, tells a coming-of-age tale exploring female adolescence.
The synopsis states: “Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday — drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.”
Fast forward three years, and Mia now stars as Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent in Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, adapted from the author’s mystery novel of the same name, which debuts on Netflix today.
The stellar cast also includes Harry Potter legend Helena Bonham Carter, Sherlock’s Martin Freeman and fellow BAFTA Rising Star Award nominee Nabhaan Rizwan.
Netflix describes the new series: “England. 1925. At a lavish country house party, a practical joke appears to have gone horribly, murderously wrong. It will be up to the unlikeliest of sleuths – the fizzingly inquisitive Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent – to unravel a chilling plot that will change her life, cracking wide open the country house mystery.
“A witty, epic and fast-paced drama from the Queen Of Crime, Agatha Christie, is brought to life in a thrilling new version for Netflix.”
Article continues below
Voting is now open via ee.co.uk/BAFTA and across EE social channels, with audiences also able to cast their vote on WhatsApp.
Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials will arrive on Netflix on January 15.
Russian attacks cause energy emergency in freezing Ukraine, says Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a state of emergency is being declared for Ukraine’s energy sector, as repeated Russian attacks have left thousands of homes without heat and electricity amid freezing winter conditions.
Zelenskyy’s announcement came as temperatures dropped to -19 degrees Celsius (-2.2 Fahrenheit) in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, where hundreds of apartment buildings remain without heat following a massive Russian attack last week.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“The consequences of Russian strikes and deteriorating weather conditions are severe,” said Zelenskyy in a post on X late on Wednesday, adding that “repair crews, energy companies, municipal services, and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine continue to work around the clock to restore electricity and heating”.
Zelenskyy also said he had asked his government to review curfew restrictions during “this extremely cold weather” and that the country was working to increase its electricity imports to try to alleviate the dire situation.
In Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, 471 apartment buildings remained without heat on Wednesday, almost a week after a Russian attack left thousands of apartments without heat, electricity and water, according to city officials.
The attack, which began last Thursday night, prompted Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko to urge people to leave the city, saying that “half of apartment buildings in Kyiv – nearly 6,000 – are currently without heating because the capital’s critical infrastructure was damaged by the enemy’s massive attack”.
Energy supply has been a frequent target during Russia’s war on Ukraine, with Moscow and Kyiv launching attacks on oil refineries, gas pipelines, pumping stations and nuclear and thermal power stations, which are powered by coal, oil and gas.
Russian-appointed local official Yevhen Balitsky said on Telegram on Wednesday that a Ukrainian attack had left more than 3,000 people without electricity in Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhia.
Black Sea attacks
The frequent attacks on energy supply during Russia’s war with Ukraine have also expanded beyond both countries’ borders, including to oil tankers in the Black Sea.
In recent months, a number of oil tankers have come under attack from drones in the Black Sea, prompting concerns from neighbouring countries, including Turkiye and Kazakhstan.
On Tuesday, drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea, chartered by United States oil giant Chevron, according to the companies involved. The ships were sailing towards a terminal on the Russian coast, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday blaming the attacks on Ukraine, which had yet to publicly comment.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that three oil tankers were hit in the attack and that they were heading to a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, where an oil pipeline from the central Asian country ends.
The ministry urged the US and Europe to help secure the transport of oil.
Important context you need to know before watching 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Skip to main content
Need to know
The latest instalment in the beloved apocalyptic horror franchise 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is released on January 14 in the UK, and January 16 in the USA. It picks up after the previous film, 28 Years Later
Everything you need to know before watching 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is part of the famous franchise but feels like more of a sequel to the 2025 blockbuster. For that reason, you should know a little about the previous film before watching this one. With that being said, here’s the all important context you need to know…
- This film was shot back to back with the previous instalment, 28 Years Later, which was released in 2025 and fronted by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and newcomer Alfie Williams. The latter two will reprise their roles in The Bone Temple.
- 28 Years Later focused on Williams’ character, Spike, a young boy living in an isolated, post-apocalyptic world with his parents. The British isles have been placed under indefinite quarantine after the outbreak of the so-called Rage Virus, which turns people into mindless, aggressive killers.
- Spike and his family live among a community on Lindisfarne, an island which is naturally defended from the rest of Great Britain by a causeway which floods with the tide. As part of a coming-of-age rite of passage, Spike is led inland with his father, Jamie (Taylor-Johnson) to kill an infected but they end up stranded by a group who are led by an ‘Alpha’, a stronger and more intelligent “infected”.
- When they make their way home, Spike is disappointed when his father embellishes their exploits. Upon later discovering his father is having an affair, he takes off with his sick mother Isla (Comer) to track down an eccentric GP living in the wilderness (Fiennes).
- Unfortunately, Dr Kelson deduces Isla is suffering from incurable brain cancer – and she wishes to be euthanised. Spike remains disillusioned and isn’t ready to go home, choosing to stay on the mainland where he encounters a gang – styled after Jimmy Savile – who manages to creatively kill an infected.
- The new film also stars Jack O’Connell – playing gang leader Jimmy in the final scenes of 28 Years Later – as well as Erin Kellyman and Chi Lewis-Parry. Cillian Murphy is returning to his role as Jim from the first film, 28 Days Later, which was released in 2002.
READ MORE: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple trailer’s chilling voiceover and where it’s from
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.