Former world number two Ons Jabeur has announced that she is pregnant with her first child.
Jabeur, 31, decided to take time away from tennis in July for her own wellbeing, saying she had not felt happy on court “for some time”.
The Tunisian, now ranked 79th, posted on Instagram: “Took a little break to reset and recharge… Turns out, we’ve been planning the cutest comeback ever.
A two-time Wimbledon runner-up, Jabeur has been dubbed the ‘Minister of Happiness’ for her cheerful personality.
However, she said she was putting herself first in taking a step back from the tour “to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living”.
Jabeur told Sky Sports last week she feels the sport’s schedule “is killing everyone” – echoing comments by the likes of six-time major champion Iga Swiatek, who said the season is too long and too intense.
The former Strictly star penned some beautiful words to her ‘special baby boy’, Beau, as he turned 17 years old and posted some sweet pics of the teen from throughout his life
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Louise Redknapp pays emotional tribute to lookalike son as he towers over her(Image: Getty Images)
Louise Redknapp took to social media to pay an emotional tribute to her youngest son Beau as he turned 17, writing some beautiful words about her “special baby boy”.
The former Strictly star hopped on Instagram on Monday (10 November) to share a series of pictures from her son’s life. This included one where he looked remarkably like his mother – with one key difference. As the two posed together, even slightly stooped, Beau was a whole head taller than Louise.
In the caption of the post, Louise wrote: “To my special baby boy words can not describe how proud I am of you! My favourite times are being in the car singing at the top of our voices as I take you to football training, I love your approach to life and how you throw yourself into everything, good luck in all you have got coming your way, you’re charming, you’re fun and full of kindness and I’m so proud be your mum!”
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“Happy Birthday Beau Beau. Love Mum xxx,” the singer continued. Louise has two sons – Charley, 21, and Beau, 17 – with her ex-husband Jamie Redknapp. The pair married in 1998 in a ceremony in Bermuda and divorced in 2017.
Several of the photos Louise shared included both Beau and Charley. One, taken from a holiday at the beach, showed just how much taller both of her sons are than her. Standing all together, Louise only reaches the shoulder of Charley.
Just a few months ago, Louise posted a similar message about Charley, as he turned 21. Sharing pictures of her eldest to Instagram, she wrote: “How did this happen?! My baby is 21 years old today!!!
“Chaz, I am so proud of you and the charming young man you have become. You’ve been my partner in crime and shadow since day one, and nothing makes me happier than seeing you living your best life.
“I would, however, like to request that you now at the age of 21, learn how to wash up, turn the lights off and pick your clothes up off the bedroom floor… but maybe we’ll get there for next year. Happy Birthday Charley, have the most amazing day! We love you so much. Love Mum Xxx.”
This message sparked conversation, as Louise’s words came after Jamie threw a big birthday bash for his son, which she did not attend. Fans noticed that she had avoided the event and hopped in the comments to say it was a “shame” she hadn’t attended the party.
One fan commented: “Lovely words Louise! Such a shame you’re not all together celebrating today.” Another said: “Would’ve loved seeing Louise at Charley’s birthday, she clearly adores her boys.”
During her divorce, Louise felt like she had been painted the villain. She told Fearne Cotton that she “never realised” how horrible people could be. “I never realised people could be so unkind and say such terrible things. It blew my mind.”
She added that she leaned on her children for support. “If I didn’t have my kids, I think I would’ve just given up. My kids were my everything, and they needed me.”
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has said that the Nigerian government will have no moral ground to blame citizens for seeking help elsewhere if it cannot provide security.
READ ALSO: Tinubu’s Govt Not Interested In Fighting Insecurity – Babachir Lawal
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Lawal said the government must assure the people of their safety if it does not want them to cry for help from outside.
“The government should assure us that they can give us the peace, security, and prosperity that we desire,” Lawal said.
“If they are unable to do that, they cannot blame any part of society that decides to seek help anywhere,” he added.
‘Genocide Or Pogrom’
The former SGF also supported US President Donald Trump’s position that the killing of Christians in Nigeria qualifies as genocide.
“It’s a genocide; if it’s not a genocide, it is a pogrom,” Lawal stated.
He insisted that the claim that more Muslims than Christians were killed did not justify what is happening.
The former SGF said, “I have watched the argument going on about this issue of genocide; it is one-sided. Obviously, those who are more vehemently opposing it are the Muslims whose brothers are the perpetrators of the genocide,” he said.
“They come with this very funny narrative that, ‘Oh, Muslims too are being killed, more Muslims are being killed than Christians.’
“That is their argument, but it does not justify what is happening. If 1,000 children are killed, and among them one is your own, your worry is about that one.
“In any case, why dodge the fact that those being accused of carrying out the genocide are Muslims, not Christians?”
Lawal claimed that before the current pressure from Trump, President Bola Tinubu, then a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had led a delegation of party leaders ahead of the 2015 election to inform former US President Barack Obama that Christians were being slaughtered in Nigeria.
The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain said the issue of whether there is genocide or not should be secondary, as the government’s priority should be to guarantee the security of lives and property.
He also lamented that soldiers continue to lose their lives to Nigeria’s lingering insecurity because the government had left them with outdated weapons to fight terrorists equipped with more sophisticated arms.
Lawal’s assertion followed a recent threat of military action in Nigeria by former US President Donald Trump over what he described as the “Christian genocide” in Africa’s most populous nation.
US mediator Jared Kushner has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the fragile US-backed ceasefire in Gaza.
Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump who helped broker the agreement, met Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday as part of US efforts to stabilise the tenuous truce.
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The meeting comes a month after Washington and regional powers pushed Israel to agree to a ceasefire. The truce has partly halted two years of Israeli bombardment, which levelled much of Gaza and killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities.
The talks focused on some of the most contentious elements of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s two-year war on the Palestinian territory, according to Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian.
The officials discussed plans for the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international security forces and the establishment of a technocratic government in the territory that excludes Hamas, she said.
Hamas has repeatedly insisted that relinquishing its weapons is a red line.
Addressing Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, Netanyahu promised that Gaza would be “demilitarised, either the easy way or the hard way”, in what was a thinly veiled threat to escalate the war.
Hamas fighters in Rafah
A key point of contention remains a group of roughly 200 Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah, an area still controlled by Israeli forces. Hamas has demanded their safe passage to Gaza’s interior, but Israel has refused.
The US’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, described the proposal to grant the fighters safe passage in exchange for disarmament as “a test case” for the broader peace plan.
A Hamas official confirmed that negotiations over the issue were ongoing, saying the group was eager to resolve the dispute “to remove any pretext Israel could use to undermine the ceasefire agreement”.
However, he ruled out surrendering the fighters. Another Palestinian source speaking to Reuters warned that any Israeli attempt to forcibly extract them could risk the entire truce.
Beyond the immediate crisis, the ceasefire also requires agreement on a transitional governing council for Gaza excluding Hamas, the formation of the proposed stabilisation force, and conditions for reconstruction and disarmament. Each of these steps is expected to face resistance from both Hamas and Israel, given the political and security implications.
The proposed international force could require a United Nations mandate before deployment, and few nations have expressed willingness to participate without one. Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye are among the potential contributors.
Dreaming Whilst Black’s award-winning star Adjani Salmon on watching Hurricane Melissa devastate his homeland
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BBC star’s heartbreak as devastating hurricane rips through island home(Image: Getty Images for SXSW London)
When Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica, Adjani Salmon could only watch from afar, powerless as the storm tore through the island he still calls home.
“It was heartbreaking,” he says quietly. “My mum’s house in Montego Bay was damaged, pieces of the roof were completely blown off. That house has stood through Gilbert and Ivan, so to see it finally give way really hit me. I knew then how serious it was.”
The writer, director, and star of the critically acclaimed BBC comedy Dreaming Whilst Black was born in South London but raised in Jamaica from the age of five to twenty-three, experiencing several major hurricanes during that time. He recalls the noise, the chaos, and the remarkable sense of togetherness that always followed. But this time felt different. “At first, I thought the press were scaremongering,” he admits. “But when the Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, said no building in the entire region could withstand the storm, I realised this wasn’t like anything we’d experienced before.”
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Stuck at home in London, he found himself glued to his laptop, watching the storm intensify on Zoom Earth, a meteorological website that tracks global weather systems. “You grow up knowing hurricanes are part of Caribbean life, but this, this was on another level, especially when the winds hit 250mph.”
Despite the chaos, his mum’s Wi-Fi miraculously held out for most of the hurricane. “She sent me pictures of the house, and it was heartbreaking. Eventually she chose to stay with her friend because of the damage to the house. I wanted to fly home immediately, but the airport in Montego Bay was flooded and shut down. I just felt helpless.”
It’s not a feeling he’s used to. For Adjani, 36, being on the ground and helping has always been instinctive. “As a kid, when the roof blew off my school, we got two weeks off. I remember everyone scrambling for bottled water and tinned food, but there was always this community spirit, people looking out for each other,” he says. “When I was about 22, a friend and I jumped in a pickup truck to deliver supplies to older relatives and neighbours. That’s what Jamaica is about, that sense of togetherness.”
After seeing the devastation from Hurricane Melissa, Adjani was determined to act. “I’ve sent money and donated what I can, but I needed to do something physical. The least I could do was help,” he says. “I went down to JN Bank in Brixton to volunteer. It was so refreshing to be surrounded by everyone who just wanted to help in their own little way and feeling that energy. It reminded me why community matters.”
Volunteers – including community activist Lee Jasper, DJ & model YNG CPTN and reggae legend Luciano – turned up in their droves to pack essential supplies generously donated by the public all bound for the next shipment to Jamaica. JN Bank UK – the first Caribbean bank to launch in the UK five years ago – have partnered with local charity Food for the Poor Jamaica, to ensure that vital supplies reach the worst-affected communities and survivors.
The atmosphere at the volunteer hub at JN’s flagship Brixton branch was emotional, but uplifting. “Then Luciano stopped by and did a singalong,” Adjani says, smiling. “It was completely unexpected, but it lifted everyone’s spirits. That’s Jamaica for you. Even in the hardest moments, there’s music, there’s love, there’s hope.”
Though most of his family remain in Kingston, the experience has strengthened Adjani’s resolve to return as soon as he can to help rebuild. “Jamaica is a cultural heartbeat,” he says. “If you truly love Jamaican culture, now’s the time to show it, whether that’s through volunteering or donating.
“Hurricanes have always been a part of our lives,” he adds. “But Melissa is different. It’s terrifying, yet it reminded me that Jamaicans are resilient. As we say in Jamaica “We likkle but we tallawah!”
For more information on how to support relief efforts or volunteer, visit www.isupportjamaica.com.
