To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Stephan Shemilt
Chief Cricket Reporter
Jofra Archer says he can play in England’s final two Tests of the series against India after making a triumphant comeback in the win at Lord’s.
The fast bowler missed more than four years of Test cricket because of injuries but played a vital role in the tense 22-run victory that gave England a 2-1 lead in the series.
The 30-year-old took a wicket with the third ball of his comeback, then took three wickets in India’s second innings as England defended a target of 192.
Any questions over Archer’s fitness and ability to play Test cricket again were answered in his return match.
He completed 39.2 overs and bowled at high pace throughout – his average speed was never lower than 87mph and the Sussex man bowled 41 deliveries in excess of 90mph.
Archer had been meticulously managed on the road back to Test cricket, playing almost exclusively white-ball matches. The fourth Test at Old Trafford and fifth Test at The Oval are back to back, so it has been suggested England will need to control his workload.
But Archer said: “I can play the other two if they let me.
“I don’t want to lose this series. I said I wanted to play the Test summer and I wanted to play the Ashes.
Archer won his 14th Test cap at Lord’s. His 13th came in early 2021, against India in Ahmedabad. In the intervening period, his career was threatened by serious back and elbow injuries.
Asked if he ever doubted a possible return to Test cricket, he replied: “No.
“Obviously it would have been the format which would have taken the most time to come back to.”
In Archer’s time away from the Test side, England were revitalised when captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge in 2022.
A previous run of one win in 17 matches – a series of results that Archer was part of – was reversed with a brand of attacking cricket, and England have won 25 of their 39 Tests since Stokes took charge.
“The guys have played some really exciting cricket since ‘Baz’ took over,” added Archer.
“The mentality of the team under ‘Baz’ suits the way I like to play. So, you know, I just couldn’t wait to get back and actually do it without having to be prompted to do it.”
England have recalled spinner Liam Dawson after an eight-year absence from Test cricket to replace the injured Shoaib Bashir for the fourth Test, which begins on 23 July.
We’ve found where to shop GK Barry’s exact Wimbledon sunglasses that ‘don’t get caught in your hair’ and look like a designer pair without the hefty price tag
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
We’ve found where to shop GK Barry’s exact Wimbledon sunglasses(Image: Instagram @gkbarry_)
GK Barry was one of many celebs to attend Wimbledon last week, and her accessory choice caught our attention. Spotted in a sleek pair of £89 sunglasses that “look so expensive” and, most importantly, “don’t get caught in your hair,” this chic pair ticks all the boxes for sunny days.
The sunglasses we’re on about here are the Glee Oval Frame Tortoiseshell Sunglasses in Black from Dune, priced at £89.
If you’re after a pair of sunglasses that look designer without the hefty price tag, the Glee shades are the perfect ones. With a 60s-style oval silhouette and soft red-tinted lenses, they are the perfect balance between trendy and timeless.
When investing in a pair of sunnies, it’s important to think long-term about whether you’re going to like them the following year. Luckily, this Dune pair are hard to get bored of.
READ MORE: Emily Atack sports £38 bigger bust-approved ASOS dress that’s perfect for the heat
READ MORE: Zara McDermott’s blowdry brush works even if you’re ‘awful’ at hair – and is now on sale
These chic Dune sunglasses are perfect for sunny days(Image: Instagram @gkbarry_ / Dune London)
Not to mention the gold detailing on the arms elevates these a bit further, and makes them great for more formal events such as sitting courtside at Wimbledon, summer weddings or even the races.
Made from lightweight acetate, they’re comfortable enough to wear all day and best of all, they won’t do that annoying thing where your hair gets tangled in the arms.
For the rest of her look, GK opted for a Chanel-esque black and white tweed mini dress, with a matching white Chanel quilted bag and some simple gold and pearl jewellery (most likely hailing from her Abbott Lyon collection).
Article continues below
The celebrities really aced their looks at Wimbeldon this year. From Frankie Bridge’s chic pinstripe Karen Millen midi dress, currently £149.50 here to Samantha Cameron’s Cefinn seersucker dress, £290 here and Louise Thompson’s on-theme Lulu Guiness strawberry punnet handbag, available to rent from £5.16 a day here.
On Friday, 30 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) threw their weapons into a bonfire at a meeting in Sulaimaniyah, a city in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
After hiding out in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains for three decades, where they reportedly trained for combat and planned attacks against Turkiye, they were now renouncing their armed struggle.
The symbolic gesture is the first phase of disarming the PKK as part of a rejuvenated peace process with Turkiye, which could end a 40-year conflict that has killed some 40,000 people.
As the process unfolds, a question arises about how this may affect the broader region, including the autonomous Kurdish areas in Iraq and Syria.
Lack of transparency
In February, jailed PKK leader Abdulla Ocalan called on his fighters to fully disarm, saying the time for armed struggle was over and Kurds could now realise their rights through politics.
Senior PKK leaders heeded the call in April and agreed to a new peace process with Turkiye.
The success of the peace process largely hinges on reintegration and the political and cultural rights Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will confer on Kurds, according to Gonul Tol, an expert on Turkiye and the PKK with the Middle East Institute think tank.
While Erdogan and his far-right coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli, support the new process, the implementation remains shrouded in secrecy, say analysts.
They believe the government is wary of disclosing details to avoid public backlash from some nationalist quarters, who may see any concessions as rewarding the PKK for armed rebellion.
The process will likely entail a general amnesty for PKK fighters and giving Kurds the political and cultural rights they have long demanded, which would allow disarmed PKK fighters to return to Turkiye from northern Iraq, Sinan Ulgen, an expert on Turkiye and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, said.
Only senior leaders would continue to live abroad, without fear of being targeted.
However, he added, there has been no public discussion of how the government plans to reintegrate former PKK fighters into civilian life.
“The lack of transparency raises the question over how much public support there is for this initiative,” Ulgen told Al Jazeera.
Nurettin Ucar cries over the coffin of his daughter Yagmur Ucar during the funeral of people killed in an explosion in Istanbul on November 14, 2022, that Turkiye blamed on the PKK [Yasin Akgul/AFP]
According to Tol, Kurdish politicians are expecting Erdogan to make some political concessions to the Kurds through the recently established Turkish Parliamentary Committee.
Failure to do so, she warns, could collapse the peace process.
How Iraq’s Kurdish region factors in the process
The exact number of PKK fighters is unknown, but rough estimates suggest there are between 2,000 to 5,000 in the Qandil Mountains.
Since the 1990s, the PKK has reportedly plotted attacks against the Turkish state from these mountains with no real resistance from Iraqi authorities.
This dynamic continued after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, which officially brought about an autonomous Kurdish region in the north.
Turkiye has on many occasions bombarded PKK positions in the mountains, often relying on jets, artillery and helicopters.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which governs the Kurdish autonomous region, has never interfered in the fighting, noted Nazli al-Tarzani, an independent Iraqi analyst.
However, she said Iraq’s Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), may now try to exploit the peace process if it succeeds.
They could exaggerate their role in the process to attract voters in the upcoming national elections in November, she added.
“Things always heat up during an election cycle, and they could use the [disarmament] as a point-scoring exercise,” al-Tarzani told Al Jazeera.
The other scenario, said al-Tarzani, would see a resumption of conflict between Turkiye and the PKK in the Qandil Mountains.
She added that the KRG has strong commercial and economic ties with Turkiye and will likely remain quiet and in the peripheries if the peace process collapses and conflict resumes.
On top of that, she explained, the KRG cannot assist Turkiye with such a complicated military operation.
“They don’t have the capacity for a scheme of that scale, and it would be quite costly. Also, I don’t think Turkiye would want to outsource. They would want to call the shots,” she said.
The PKK’s incentives
The PKK has its own reasons to lay down arms and see through the peace process, analysts told Al Jazeera.
Salim Cevik, an expert on Turkiye and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC, noted that the group is militarily weak after being driven out of Turkiye in 2016.
During that period, the PKK in Turkiye was trying to carve out an autonomous region which would link up with its counterpart, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), in Syria.
At the time, Kurds from Syria and Turkiye were joining the fight against ISIL (ISIS) with US support, while expanding their control over majority-Kurdish and Arab regions in northern Syria.
But since March 10, the YPG has been negotiating its own deal with Syria’s new authorities – a close ally of Turkiye that came to power after toppling former President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, right, shaking hands with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi after signing an agreement to integrate the SDF into state institutions, in Damascus on March 10, 2025 [SANA/AFP]
Analysts previously told Al Jazeera that any agreement between Syria’s new authorities and the YPG would lead to some limited form of Kurdish autonomy in Syria, but with greater oversight and control from the central government.
“PKK expectations seem clear … that Turkiye will stop trying to undermine Kurdish autonomy in Syria [as part of the peace process],” said Cevik.
However, Tol said Turkiye still worries that PKK fighters could mobilise in Syria if the peace process suddenly collapses, referencing the close ties between the two Kurdish factions.
“The Turkish government must be thinking that they are going to have thousands of YPG fighters right on their border if this thing doesn’t work out,” she told Al Jazeera.
Splinters and national security
Although analysts believe disarmament should go smoothly, some PKK fighters could refuse to disarm if they are unhappy with the process or believe that Ocalan, who has been in Turkiye’s custody since 1999, is out of touch, said Ulgen.
“Turkiye is relying on Ocalan to steer the entire PKK conglomerate … whether they will all listen remains an open question,” Ulgen told Al Jazeera.
Their cooperation will hinge on how soon Turkiye will confer fundamental rights on Kurds, he added.
Burcu Ozcelik, a security expert on Turkiye and the PKK with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), believes a splinter is very unlikely.
She explained that Ocalan has remained influential in the ideological evolution of the group and that he has retained the loyalty of PKK fighters since he was captured.
In addition, she said, Turkiye appears to view the rejuvenated peace process, the disarmament of PKK fighters and their reintegration into civil life as imperative for national security.
She referenced Turkiye’s historical and increasingly truculent relationship with regional powers such as Iran and Israel.
Israel, in particular, appears to view Turkiye’s regional influence as a threat to its power and agenda in the region.
Turkiye may be concerned, said Burcu, that Israel may therefore attempt to instrumentalise Kurdish armed groups to thwart what they perceive to be Turkiye’s influence, regionally.
“In the aftermath of Assad’s fall in Syria, Israeli government officials were very vocal of the Kurds being a natural ally to Israel and that Israel should support Kurdish autonomy,” she told Al Jazeera.
This possibility is incentivising Turkish ministers to reach a deal with the PKK to thwart the possibility of foreign meddling.
Cat Deeley looked incredible in a high-street top from River Island on today’s This Morning, and it’s the perfect summer staple for your wardrobe
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Here’s where to shop Cat Deeley’s latest look(Image: ITV)
TV favourite Cat Deeley brought serious summer style to the This Morning sofa today, and her outfit is refreshingly affordable. Known for her effortlessly glam looks that often come with designer price tags, Cat surprised fans by stepping out in a budget-friendly top from high-street hero River Island.
Cat wore a sunset-hued one-shoulder top from the retailer, paired with a sand-coloured skirt from Maje Paris. Styled by Rachael Hughes, she accessorised the look with a tan belt and matching sandals.
Her Orange Textured Sleeveless Draped Top, which costs £29, features a flattering asymmetric neckline, ruched side detailing, and a textured fabric that will mean less ironing is required. Sleeveless and stylish, it’s the perfect choice for warm-weather dressing, be it for brunch dates or beachside dinners.
READ MORE: 10 heatwave-ready fashion and beauty buys our writers are loving
READ MORE: New Balance slashes price of ‘most comfortable shoes ever’ by 50% in huge sale
Available in sizes XS to XL, the top also comes in classic navy and zesty yellow , making it easy to match with your summer wardrobe. Even better? It’s part of a co-ord set.
Fashion fans can snap up the matching Textured Wide Leg Trousers for a head-to-toe holiday-ready ensemble that’s as comfy as it is chic. Together, the set serves up the ultimate airport or resort look without breaking the bank.
Cat Deeley wearing the River Island top on This Morning(Image: Instagram/River Island)
For a similar aesthetic, Asos is selling a Topshop twist one shoulder top in rust red for £26. While M&S is offering this Nobody’s ChildOne Shoulder Top for £35 . It’s designed in a flattering fitted shape with a twist detail at the single shoulder for a striking look.
It’s not the only outfit worn by the mum-of-two that’s been delivering summer style inspo, though. Tomato girl may have been the go-to aesthetic last summer, but Cat Deeley resurrected the trend with a striking red halterneck mini dress from COS last month. Priced at £85, the Fluid Halterneck Mini Dress is expected to be a popular choice for summer events, especially after being spotted on the 48-year-old.
Halternecks have formed a significant portion of Cat’s This Morning wardrobe, wearing at least seven for the magazine show in June alone. One such piece was the Black Hardware Detail Halter Top, from Next. Originally £39, it’s been reduced to £19.50 and is currently available in all sizes.
Cat Deeley wears Next top on This Morning(Image: Instagram/catdeeley)
Another budget-friendly look came in the form of a burgundy Reserved co-ord. Her waistcoat, priced at £22.99 down from £35.99, is made from 70% cotton and 30% linen, making it a breathable and cool piece when temperatures soar.
Cat teamed her waistcoat with the matching pair of creased linen-blend Bermuda shorts. Originally £32.99, they’re also reduced to £22.99, meaning shoppers can get the entire look for £45.98.
Most recently, though, she opted for Boden’s Halter Linen Dress , which comes in at £146. However, customers at Boden can currently save 15% off new dress styles with the code W7XC, taking the total down to £124.10.
Israeli settlers and security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in recent weeks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the United Nations human rights office warns.
The violence also includes the demolitions of hundreds of homes and forced mass displacement of Palestinians as well as annexations of more land in violation of international law, Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
The UN body’s warning came as the Palestinian death toll in the West Bank inches closer to 1,000 since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and Israeli forces launched their genocidal campaign in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed.
At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since that day, according to the UN. At least 2,907 home demolitions were also carried out by Israel during the same period.
The UN issued its warning on Tuesday on the heels of the killing of 20-year-old United States citizen Sayfollah Mussallet, who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in Sinjil town, northeast of Ramallah, on Friday.
“Israel must immediately stop these killings, harassment and home demolitions across the occupied Palestinian territory,” Al-Kheetan said in a separate statement published on the OHCHR website.
“As the occupying power, Israel must take all feasible measures to ensure public order and safety in the West Bank.”
Since January, there have been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties, which is a 13 percent increase over the same period last year, the OHCHR said.
In January, Israel also launched a major military operation called “Iron Wall”, forcibly displacing 30,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, the agency added.
The OHCHR also accused Israeli forces of firing “live ammunition at unarmed Palestinians”, including those trying to go back to their homes in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.
The intensity of violence by settlers and Israeli forces has so alarmed Palestinians that many, including residents in the Old City of Hebron, have been forced to turn their homes into cages, putting up barbed wire on their windows to protect themselves.
Hebron resident Areej Jabari told Al Jazeera that despite the protective wire, her family still feels unsafe.
“Barbed wire can’t protect from all the wire that settlers throw at us and from bullets and tear gas often fired by Israeli forces,” she said.
Parts of Hebron, where about 35,000 Palestinians and 700 Israeli settlers live, are under Israeli military control.
Jabari said that when she tried to document one of the attacks, Israeli forces broke into her residence, broke the glass windows, and seized her camera and its memory card.
Relatives mourn during the funeral of 61-year-old Walid Bdeir, who was killed by Israeli soldiers near Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank [File: Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
The OHCHR said Israeli forces have often used unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, against Palestinians “who did not pose an imminent threat to life”.
The youngest of the victims has been two-year-old Laila al-Khatib, who was shot in the head by Israeli forces in January while she was inside her house in Ash-Shuhada village in Jenin governorate.
On July 3, 61-year-old Walid Bdeir was shot and killed by Israeli forces, reportedly while he was cycling home from prayers and passing through the outskirts of the Nur Shams camp.
In June, the UN said it recorded the highest monthly injury toll of Palestinians in more than two decades with 96 Palestinians injured in Israeli settler attacks.
Al-Kheetan said Israel is obligated as an occupying force to protect Palestinians from settler attacks. He called for an “independent and transparent” investigation into the killings.
“Those responsible must be held to account,” Al-Kheetan said.
On Monday, top church leaders and diplomats from more than 20 countries also called on Israeli settlers to be held accountable during a visit to the predominantly Christian town of Taybeh after recent attacks in the West Bank village.
Former This Morning boss Martin Frizell has been taking things a day at a time since his wife Fiona Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But there’s one kind act he believes we should can all do for those with dementia
Fiona Phillips’s husband Martin Frizell shares his practical advice for other spouses in the same situation as him
Fiona Phillips may have had her life for ever changed by her early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis – but she’s not the only one whose future has never been the same since.
For her family have also been having to learn how to adjust as they go – as her husband Martin Frizell explains they felt “isolated” and left to their own devices.
After three years of watching the disease affect his beloved wife, Martin, 66, has now become somewhat of a self-taught expert – or at least he knows how to best handle it day to day for the sake of his family. And for the former This Morning boss, there’s one major lesson he’s learned: Never say no. Whatever the person says to you, it’s better to improvise with the delusion than cause them to extra distress by arguing against it.
It’s something he learned during his hours of reading on the subject. And while he admits he can’t always pout it into practice, he has been sticking to it recently after Fiona became obsessed with the belief Martin was a kidnapper holding her hostage. Now, every time she becomes particularly distressed, he plays along, pretending he’s taking her back home to her late parents – when really they are just walking round the block. While it may seem counterintuitive, he’s learned it’s the kindest response.
READ MORE: Fiona Phillips’ heart-wrenching health update – as husband reveals bitter irony
Not, of course, that it’s always easy. Martin found it especially hard when Fiona turned round to him one day and said the words he had been dreading; “You’re not my husband”.
In one of the final chapters of Fiona’s new book Remember When, Martin writes: “The experts say you are not supposed to challenge someone with Alzheimer’s when they’re saying things that are completely wrong, but it’s very difficult when you are in that moment and you are just desperately hoping you might be able to get through to them. What am I supposed to say when she says: ‘You’re not my husband!’?” But Martin tries to stick to his coping mechanism. He adds: “Obviously it’s not nice [when she says it] – but I don’t feel hurt by it because I know that isn’t Fiona talking: it’s the illness that has taken her mind.”
Fiona and husband Martin at a 2013 film premiere shortly before she became concerned about her ‘low moods’(Image: Getty Images)
Fiona and Martin shortly after her diagnosis in 2022
The recent kidnap fears have led to the most extreme ‘role-playing’ so far. Martin explains that sometimes Fiona, a former Daily Mirror columnist, is so perturbed he has to take her out the house and pretend they are heading to her parents’ home for a prisoner swap or ransom exchange. Their sons Nathaniel, 26, and Mackenzie, 23, also have to play along.
“The textbooks say to never argue with a dementia patient, although even without the illness you could never win an argument with Fiona, so we play along,” says Martin. “Sometimes Mackenzie has to fetch her electric-blue Whistles coat – one of the very few items of clothing this once-stylish woman now insists on wearing, despite having a room full of outfits – and then Fiona and I leave the house as if I am taking her home.”
Martin pretends he’s walking her back to her parents, who she insists are searching for her. Both her parents also had Alzheimer’s. Her mother, Amy, passed away in 2006, and her father, Neville, was diagnosed shortly after and died in 2012.
“Fiona and I leave the house as if I am taking her home,” explains Martin. “We walk around the block as she loudly proclaims, ‘I’ll never forgive you for tricking me,’ and passers-by stare; then we are back home again, where she goes in and greets Mackenzie as if she hasn’t seen him for days. She has forgotten about her mum and dad and is happy to sit down.”
But Martin, who quit his ITV job to spend more time with his wife-of-28-years also wants to reassure others in his position that the most important thing they can do is to follow their own instincts. For while, as a journalist, he’s naturally spent hours studying the subject in books and listening to experts, he also believes spouses just have to do what feels right at the time – to them.
He says: “It feels as though I have read a million books and online articles about how best to cope with a partner with Alzheimer’s. Some of the advice I agree with – but other bits I’m not so sure about. I think you just have to trust your instinct and deal with whatever is thrown at you as best you can in that moment. By trying to live up to being the perfect Alzheimer’s partner, you are just heaping even more pressure on yourself when there is already so much. And every day is different.”
Indeed the day after Fiona told him he wasn’t her husband, she was back on better form, showing signs of her former witty self. He admits Fiona, 64, is now existing only “in the present” and even struggles to hold a conversation – a skill which was the core of dazzling TV career – as she will often struggle to remember “30 seconds or five minutes” ago.
It’s a poignant revelation as Fiona’s new book Remember When…. hits shelves this week. Readers are able to see how Fiona’s condition changes from the early chapters she started more than a year ago, to the penultimate chapter where Martin gives his update. He insists Fiona however has the last word and had to remind her about the book so she could do the final chapter.
He writes: “I’d like to tell you Fiona is content in the situation into which she has been forced. But that wouldn’t be the truth. She isn’t – she is frustrated every single day. And depressed.”
Fiona Phillips and husband Martin Frizell attended Derek Draper’s funeral, six months after she went public with her illness in July 2023
He adds: “She constantly says she wants to work, but she knows deep down that she can’t. She knows she cannot hold a conversation and she forgets what she wants to tell people. She will give up and crumple. She tries to fight it, but it’s too hard.”
There’s one thing that does make Fiona her former happy self – listening to The Stylistics – her favourite band from when she was a teenager. “Every day, several times a day, she’ll say, ‘Hey Google, play The Stylistics,’,” recalls Martin in the new book. “She begins to sing, word perfect and I stroke her hair as she says, ‘Please don’t leave me.’”
Martin is adamant he will not sugarcoat what is happening and pretend there is any relief. He’s found fewer and fewer friends have kept in touch and says the invites have all but stopped. He knows Fiona can’t go to a dinner party or one of the swanky events they used to attend as a TV power couple, yet says: “But sometimes it would be nice to be asked.”
Fiona was just 61 when she was diagnosed in early 2022. In an early chapter of her new – and probably last – book, she poignantly reveals her fear that she’ll forget the little everyday moments she shares with her sons.
Fiona Phillips was a breakfast staple on GMTV for 12 years – along with her ‘sidekick’ Eamonn Holmes
Speaking of her desire to be her former self, she wrote: “I want to watch Chelsea beat Arsenal 3–0 at home. I want our son Nat to come home on leave from the Army and give me one of his bear-like hugs. I want our youngest son Mackenzie to bring me a cup of tea and a biscuit when we sit watching TV together. I want to be me.”
Sadly – as Fiona knew while penning those words – those moments are only going to become harder and harder to have. She bravely chose to share the news of her debilitating and devastating illness in a series of exclusive interviews for The Mirror in July 2023.
In the three-day series, she admitted she had spent years trying to convince herself her low mood and brain fog was caused by something else. – first, long covid and then the menopause.
