Category News

Alan Titchmarsh says ‘I’m knocking on a bit’ as he opens up on retirement after massive change

By in Entertainment News, News

As he begins a new chapter in his life and faces a “new challenge,” Alan Titchmarsh has shared details about a significant upheaval that marks the culmination of a 23-year journey.

Alan Titchmarsh has revealed the reply he gives to those who enquire whether he’s planning to “retire”. He admitted that he’s “knocking on a bit” as he opened up on a significant move that has brought an end to a 23-year chapter. In September, Alan listed the expansive four-acre property that he shares with his wife, Alison, for £3.95 million.

The former Gardeners’ World host purchased the Grade II-listed manor house in Holybourne, Hampshire (known as Manor Farm House), in 2002, but it had finally reached the stage where it was “time to downsize.”

He told BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine that the motivation behind the change was to embrace a “new challenge”, though he also admitted that people of a certain age are frequently told that downsizing is something they’d be “wise” to contemplate.

The 76-year-old explained that moving on would always be a “wrench” when you’ve invested your “heart and soul” into a property because they hadn’t originally intended to leave their Georgian home.

He said, “But when you are knocking on a bit (despite what the numbers tell me), you do muse on the future, which I hope will be long and fulfilling. “

Are you retiring, Alan added? I’ve been asked. ‘Er, no! More like “consolidating.” The day will come when it starts to be overwhelming, so I’d rather move on to new pastures before that becomes the case, despite the fact that looking after four acres and a Grade-II listed house has been and continues to be a delight beyond measure. “

He continued to explain that his daughters discovered his new home, which he described as both “low” and “modern”, a stark contrast to his previous property. It’s a more modest acre and a half in size, but Alan and Alison are apparently “smitten”.

The new place also presents an exciting gardening opportunity for Alan; it boasts acidic soil (unlike the previous chalk), meaning he can finally cultivate rhododendrons.

Alan emphasized that since he was 20 years old, he hasn’t been able to do this.

In other news, Alan recently revealed that he doesn’t like a particular plant and has warned others against using it “anywhere near my garden.” He also admitted that he detests being “unkind” to any particular plant.

Continue reading the article below.

Despite this, he labelled the offending species, ornamental kale (also known as purple kale), a “bit of a weirdo”. He shared his views about this particular variety on his YouTube channel, Gardening With Alan Titchmarsh.

Where have you seen a more vibrant rosette, the most exquisite plant life ever? he quipped. Oh no, I’m not kidding. I couldn’t have imagined that.

Tinubu Swears In New NPC Chairman, Commissioners, Five Perm Secs

By in News, Nigeria News

President Bola Tinubu sworn in Aminu Yusuf, the new head of the National Population Commission (NPC), along with two other commission commissioners.

Members of the council witnessed the brief ceremony that took place during the opening session of the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Yusuf from Niger State was appointed NPC Chairman on October 22, 2025, while Tonga Betara Bularafa from Yobe State and Nasarawa State Governor Joseph Haruna Kigbu were appointed commissioners.

Senate Appoints Chairman and Commissioners for the National Population Commission

Along with the NPC officials, five permanent secretaries sworn in.

Yusuf was appointed as the head of the National Population Commission (NPC) in October, and the Council of State approved that appointment.

Verstappen, Norris, Piastri: F1 set for three-way title fight in Abu Dhabi

By in News, World News

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, will take the title of Formula One’s champion on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, aiming to overthrow Max Verstappen, who is currently the Dutchman’s fifth consecutive title.

Verstappen is the only one who will need to place on the podium at Yas Marina if Norris wins the three-way showdown, which could feature a high drama showdown between Norris and Verstappen.

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None of the three contenders have come back strong in the final season before the start of a new era for the sport and the expansion to 11 teams with new rules and engines.

All seven victories are cumulative, capable of growing that total, and prepared to deliver a heart-pounding sunset finale that might have been straight out of Brad Pitt’s most recent F1 blockbuster.

All race retirees have experienced the agony of crashes or collisions.

Verstappen’s incredible fightback, McLaren’s incredible season, and Verstappen’s incredible season.

At the end of August, Norris, who won the first game of its kind in Melbourne in March, bounced back with a hot streak while the Australian was in trouble.

After losing a title fight to Verstappen, he won in Abu Dhabi last year.

“This season has been fantastic,” she said. Our car is incredible. Everyone on the team is very talented. Thank you to each and every one of our supporters. He declared, “We have one more race coming up, and we will give it everything.”

Piastri, who led from Saudi Arabia in April to Mexico in October, is now 16 points behind his teammate. He had hoped to win Australia’s first championship since Alan Jones 45 years ago.

The driver who finished third overall going into the final round has triumphed twice this century, and he needs to win or finish second.

Verstappen, who finished 104 points behind Piastri in late August, could have made the most astonishing comeback of all, joining Michael Schumacher as the only drivers to win five straight.

After winning in Qatar last weekend and moving on from Las Vegas on the weekend before that, the Dutchman grinned, “We stay in the fight until the end.”

He has won four straight victories at the anti-clockwise circuit in Abu Dhabi up until last year, which has made it a happy hunting ground for him.

Norris would need to be eliminated for a second victory to be successful.

Due to poor planning, McLaren both had their vehicles banned in Las Vegas and lost the podium win for Piastri and Norris in Qatar.

The runaway constructors’ champions, who have the second-highest single-season points total in history, must be able to secure their first title double since 1998.

Verstappen is hoping to take the lead after the 24th and final round of Abu Dhabi on Sunday [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] Despite not having won the drivers’ world championship at any point during the 2025 F1 season.

Prize money and paddock pecking order

Others will be chasing prize money and points to advance their position in the paddock pecking order while the title drama unfolds.

Given that George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are both heavily reliant on Verstappen, Mercedes and Red Bull are in a fight for second place.

Yuki Tsunoda, who previously worked for Honda and Aston Martin, will make his final appearance at Red Bull, having been given his seat by Frenchman Isack Hadjar for the following season.

While Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, is facing his first season without even standing on the podium, Ferrari will only have one chance to win a race in 2025.

With Nico Hulkenberg starting his 250th start for the factory Audi team, Sauber are only five points adrift of eighth-placed Haas, who are ultimately seven points adrift of Aston Martin.

Alpine, owned by Renault, are battling Renault engines for the final time before switching to Mercedes power. One last attempt is required for Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto to earn his campaign’s first point.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in action.
[File: Lars Baron/Getty Images] McLaren claims there are no team orders for winning at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which means Norris, left, and Piastri, their world champion drivers, will be competing with Verstappen.

ICC judge speaks out on impact of US sanctions

By in News, World News
NewsFeed

US sanctions have had a “horrifying effect” on her life, according to Canadian ICC Judge Kimberly Prost, who told Al Jazeera. She spoke with our correspondent Step Vaessen, one of nine US officials who has been charged with trying to prosecute Israeli and American citizens.

Published On 3 Dec 2025

A draw with a winner? The routes to northern glory at 2027 World Cup

By in News, Sports News
Images courtesy of Getty

Mike Henson

Rugby Union News Reporter for BBC Sport
  • 125 Comments

Any opposing argument is overshadowed by its hit rate.

Nine times has the William Webb Ellis Trophy been delivered to southern hemisphere hands, and ten times have the world’s best teams met for a World Cup final.

New Zealand in 1987, 2011 and 2015. Australia in 1991 and 1999. South Africa in 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023.

Only once has the Tri-Nations triopoly been broken, with the exception of Jonny Wilkinson’s glorious dropper from 2003.

The venue where the 2027 final will take place is Sydney’s Stadium Australia, where England won.

    • five hours ago

In pools F and D, respectively, England and Ireland placed third and fourth in the world, behind South Africa and New Zealand.

England and Ireland would be ineligible to face the two southern hemisphere superpowers until the final if all four teams lived up to their seedings and advanced to the pool winners.

The Springboks and All Blacks would compete in quarter-final collision, making sure one fell before the final four, while England and Ireland would remain apart until the semis.

Fabien Galthie’s side would be eager to take on whoever emerges from that titanic encounter if France were to advance as pool winners, which is difficult to see Japan, the USA, or Samoa preventing.

Scotland could sabotage France’s passage to the last 16 if they lose in three of the previous four matches in the pool.

Only one of their past 16 games with Ireland came against Gregor Townsend’s side, including losing in a Pool B match against France in 2023.

If Scotland defeats Uruguay and Portugal in Pool D, they are most likely to face France, who have a much better record, in the last 16.

A quarter-final against Fiji is expected to follow, according to the current rankings.

Even Wales, which is mired in a pitiful state and underwent structural change, is upbeat.

In a worst-case scenario, Tonga and Zimbabwe are far more amiable Pool F opponents than Samoa, who lost to Wales in 1991 and 1999 and who won at Principality Stadium in 1991 with a point in the hopes of qualifying for the Six Nations.

A team that finished second in Pool F, which includes Argentina, Fiji, Spain, and Canada, will receive a last-16 tie in Pool C.

The caveats are now.

Other contenders for the southern hemisphere’s position will have a say.

Argentina would relish their chance to reach the World Cup semi-finals again despite Ireland’s success. On its own soil, Australia will be a more strategic and formidable force than it was in 2023.

At a World Cup, Fiji always poses a greater threat than their disparate squad, which they rarely receive with the dedicated build-up.

Although this draw is more recent than previous ones, there is still a ton of rugby to be played before the tournament gets underway in October 2027.

Once it does, there will be problems. No campaign or competition follows predetermined paths with such ease.

However, a draw does open up possibilities, as the lopsided quarter-finals of 2023 demonstrated.

The narrative of the inaugural Nations Championships’ final year features the hemispheres competing against one another in the autumn crescendo at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. North versus south is the driving force behind the finale.

related subjects

  • Rugby Union of Scotland
  • Rugby Union of England
  • Rugby Union of Wales
  • Rugby Union
  • Rugby Union of Ireland

More on this story.

Why did India order smartphone makers to install a government app?

By in News, World News

Following a significant backlash resulting from concerns about digital rights, India has suspended a command to smartphone manufacturers to install a government-owned cybersecurity application on all new mobile devices.

All leading smartphone manufacturers, including Apple and Samsung, were given 90 days to add the government’s Sanchar Saathi application to all newly produced devices, according to an official notification released by the Department of Telecommunications on November 28.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government claimed the decree was a step in a campaign to combat mobile phone fraud and abuse.

However, both tech companies and advocates for digital privacy were against the order. Previously, a number of privacy- and security-related issues reportedly caused Apple, headquartered in the United States, to say it would not comply with the order.

What we know is as follows.

What was stated in the order?

Manufacturers were instructed to ensure that Sanchar Saathi was “pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India” within 90 days in accordance with the directive issued by India’s Department of Telecommunications.

Manufacturers were informed that the app’s features were “not disabled or restricted,” and that it was “readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup.”

Manufacturers and importers were instructed to “make an effort to push the App through software updates” for devices already in stock, according to the order.

Companies were also required to submit compliance reports to the telecom ministry within 120 days of the directive.

More than 85 percent of Indian households are smartphone owners, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in May.

Why was this ordered by the Indian government?

The government supported the decree, stating that Sanchar Saathi would enable “stakeholders to report International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) – related suspicious misuse and also verify the authenticity of IMEIs used in mobile devices.” Sanchar Saathi added that the country’s Telecom Cyber Security Rules empower it to establish “necessary to identify and report acts that may endanger telecom cyber security.”

A unique 15-digit IMEI is used to identify a particular mobile device.

What was the response of smartphone manufacturers?

According to a source with knowledge of Apple’s concerns about the app, the tech giant would tell the Indian government that it would not abide by any such laws anywhere in the world.

Samsung, a South Korean-based tech company, was reportedly reviewing the order, a source inside the industry told Reuters, but it had not provided any information regarding how it planned to proceed.

What were the order’s criticisms?

Its “deeply worrying expansion of executive control over personal digital devices” was described by the Indian Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF).

On the surface, the stated goal of halting IMEI fraud and improving telecom security appears to be a legitimate state goal. However, the methods chosen are “disproportionately” legal fragile, “economically hostile” to user privacy and autonomy,” it said in a statement.

Priyanka Gandhi, a leader of the Congress and Lok Sabha member, described Sanchar Saathi as “ridiculous” and “snooping.”

The Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Center claimed that the directive was yet another attempt to “destroy user autonomy, make a mockery of consent, and have a 24-hour State in My Home measure.”

“This is the beginning of a function creep slope.” The extensive integration of state software on private devices results in an increase in surveillance capabilities without the need for fresh public debate whenever new changes are made, according to the statement.

“Government has no business being in our devices that are more meaningful to us than our loved ones,” he said.

The Indian government’s COVID-19 contact tracing app, Aarogya Setu, was the subject of a similar controversy in 2020, when it was deemed a “privacy minefield” by critics.

When was the order removed by India?

The government announced early on Wednesday that it would be willing to change the order “based on the feedback we receive.” The order was voided a few hours later.

The Indian Communications Ministry stated in a press release that the government has decided not to require pre-installation for mobile manufacturers.

The app is secure, according to the statement, and is only intended to protect users from “bad actors in the cyber world.”

The IFF claimed that the full legal order governing the revocation was still a “welcome development” even though it was still in its entirety.

Do other nations have similar orders?

Russia released Max earlier this year, an app designed to stop stolen phones from being used in fraud schemes and expand access to state-backed digital services.

Max is allegedly more secure than apps provided by foreign competitors by Russian authorities.

Max, a product of the state-controlled tech company VK, is integrated with government platforms and is required on all new cell phones and tablets sold as a result of the government’s requirement since September 1.

Moscow claimed that the move would create a “digital ecosystem” that was “smarter”. The app is likely to be used for surveillance, claim Moscow has refuted, though, according to critics.