One Strictly Come Dancing couple’s early signs of a power struggle have been revealed as the show moves in with its first elimination.
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Strictly a power struggle as a professional dancer secretly dislikes her partner.
All signs point to tension between one Strictly Come Dancing couple, says a body language expert. The show has entered its third week and said goodbye to the first eliminated contestant last Sunday (5 October), but already, there may be a power-struggle going on.
According to expert Judi James, the body language between late arrival Amber Davies and pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin, the two are not getting along as swimmingly as they could be.
“These two showed signs of an early potential rift or power-struggle,” Judi said. “Amber’s body language in front of the judges and Claudia comprised of the self-diminishing rituals of an acutely nervous vulnerability. She scrunched her shoulders, placed her fingers in front of her lips and performed a modest, sweet smile.”
Judi continued, “We saw her fizzing with ideas and energy in rehearsals,” adding that this was a significant change from how she was at rehearsals. However, she continued to make mention of Nikita, Amber’s partner. We also heard Nikita say, “She’s doing really well,” with a rising intonation that suggests a query rather than a statement.
His “She’s trying to run before she can walk” implied a brief power struggle, and Nikita was spotted “pinching” his forehead with one hand as a possible exasperation.
Judi explained that some Amber behavior was “over confidence,” which could have rubbed Nikita in the wrong way.
The small gesture that suggested an over-confidence was used to start the high five after the dance, with the pro dancer instigatoring the rituals of success and the celebrity patiently waiting anxiously to be reassured and praised,
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In turn, Nikita might not have been as encouraging as he could have been when the judges had given their feedback. And when the judges constructively criticized Amber, Nikita nodded in stead of standing up for his partner.
The audience was prompted to turn their heads during an exaggerated face-pulling that included a jutting bottom lip in the style of a sulk because “Amber’s telling, “It was…interesting… comment about training seemed to give a hint of some dramas behind the scenes.” In front of the judges, he said, “Let’s walk before you run,” and Amber’s smile fell off like a brick.
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There were at least two “tells” of potential battles on the balcony after the results. Instead of giving Amber a hug or touching her, Nikita placed his hands on Ross’ shoulders while his hip was in a barrier. Where do we begin? asked her in a loud voice. criticism of Nikita’s singing
Judi believes the couple could win the show, as she has many others. They won’t have a good time together, though, according to the statement. If Amber turns into human blotting paper and soaks up Nikita’s coaching, their Strictly experience will probably work better than to advance.
In Madagascar, anti-government demonstrations have resurrected, with demonstrators requesting the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina.
On Monday, the capital’s Antananarivo streets saw the start of a third week in a row of protests. Police used tear gas at demonstrators. The unrest started with water and electricity cuts, but it spread to Rajoelina’s administration in a wider anti-government outburst.
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Local TV stations in the cities of Toliara and Antsiranana, also known as Diego Suarez, have broadcast footage of protesters confronting police in cities across the nation.
A Reuters reporter reported that police in Antananarivo shot tear gas at the protesters, the majority of whom were university students.
The government’s rejection of the figures came on Monday from the United Nations, which stated that 22 people had been killed and more than 100 had been injured since the protests started.
On September 25, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital to erect barricades using rocks and tyres.
Gen Z Madagascar, a social media youth organization that describes itself as a “peaceful, civic movement,” organized them. Organisers claim to have influenced youth movements in Morocco and Nepal.
According to the International Monetary Fund, about a third of Madagascar’s 30 million people have electricity access. The state energy company Jirama has been accused of corruption and mismanagement, which has fueled public outcry, and daily power cuts frequently last longer than eight hours.
According to Ketakandriana Rafitoson, the global vice chair of Transparency International, “people don’t have refrigeration for medication, don’t have water for basic hygiene, and then there’s massive corruption.”
These protests were caused by “violent grievances that transcend daily life,” the statement goes on.
After police used rubber bullets and tear gas, the protests sprang into chaos as they spread throughout Antananarivo. Some lawmakers’ homes were damaged, and shops were raided.
Authorities put an overnight curfew in place to stop people from gathering in the evenings after the first night of protests.
Since then, there have been numerous demonstrations that have expanded into a movement that aims to address public dissatisfaction with Rajoelina’s administration’s performance.
In a 2009 military coup, Rajoelina, 51, personally campaigned for reform. He was elected in 2018 despite a brief resignation in 2014 and re-elected in 2018.
According to experts, he is now facing the biggest challenge to his rule in a long time as a former media tycoon. Rajoelina attempted to appease the protesters by firing his cabinet last week.
Attempts to engage demonstrators have been repeatedly rebuffed, according to a government spokesperson.
No clear or organized leadership has reportedly emerged to engage in constructive discussions, the spokesperson said.
Barcelona have lost their final two games, and this season’s opponents are using a tactical tactic inspired by Harry Kane to create chances.
Onsiders and paying attention to defensive lines are frequently advised by buffed strikers.
Why are strikers “offside”?
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Goncalo Ramos scored the 90th-minute winner in PSG’s Champions League victory over Barcelona.
Ramos said, “I think a lot about beating a high line,” when discussing how the goal occurred. [I believe there is a video of Harry Kane scoring against Barcelona two years ago when he did the same thing as I did on the goal.
What did he mean by this, though?
In a strange way, both Ramos and Kane were able to score against Barcelona’s high defensive line when they first waited in an offside position, something defenders don’t typically do.
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Assailants have previously mentioned positioning themselves in this way, according to Thomas Muller.
Muller, a veteran Bayern Munich forward who left the previous season to join the Vancouver Whitecaps, said: “It is easier to defend a guy that comes the ball because the striker is in front of them. They can see and defend him.
However, you always have to turn when you have a guy [behind you], but you don’t want to give up your offense.
Momentum prevents Barcelona from regaining control.
The defenders face the ball and move up the pitch as Barcelona attempt to catch their foe offside.
Last week, PSG and Bayern had players ready to run in behind the Barcelona goal with their weight and momentum in the right direction.
For Barcelona’s defense, it was difficult to recover because of this. How quickly they can regain their goal if they have to turn before accelerating once more.
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In both instances, a quicker wide player running in behind was used to convert the ball. They were structurally onside when the pass was thrown their way, and the relatively slower striker, who was offside, directly caused uncertainty.
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regaining the advantage to score
Both strikers moved towards the back post as the wide players moved the ball up the pitch instead of moving toward the ball, giving them time to get into an onside position.
The central attacker’s position toward the back post made it possible for them to play the pass into space, which allowed for the goalkeeper to intercept it before it curled back in their direction with time.
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Although the similarities between the two goals are striking, there are also striking similarities between the two games.
Concerningly, Barcelona has conceded similar chances this season in the league to Levante, Rayo Vallecano, and Sevilla.
Dame Jilly Cooper, who was known as the ‘queen of bonkbusters’ after penning saucy novels including Riders and Rivals, died aged 88 after a fall, her family confirmed in a statement
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Dame Jilly Cooper’s one-word to describe her legacy as Riders author dies(Image: GETTY)
Dame Jilly Cooper previously opened up about her incredible legacy and hopes before her death aged 88. The much-loved author – who was known as the ‘queen of the bonkbusters’ after penning saucy novels including Riders and Rivals – has sadly died following a fall.
Her family, including Jilly’s children Felix and Emilym issued a heartbreaking statement on Monday to confirm their mother died on Sunday morning following a fall. In a statement, her family said: “Mum, was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds.
“Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock. We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”
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Before her death, she discussed her honour and legacy, for which she was unerringly grateful.
She said: “I have lived an incredibly lucky life. Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky. I had brilliant parents, a heavenly husband and lovely children.
The author also added: “I hope I am a bit funny. I hope I cheered people up. I hope I tell a good story.”
The icon’s funeral will be held privately, as she requested, and a public service of thanksgiving will be held in the coming months at Southwark Cathedral to remember the author and her incredible life – that was just as colourful as her characters.
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Her agent, Felicity Blunt, said it was ‘the privilege of my career has been working with a woman who has defined culture, writing and conversation since she was first published over fifty years ago.’
She added Jilly will undoubtedly be best remembered for her chart-topping series The Rutshire Chronicles and its havoc-making and handsome show-jumping hero Rupert Campbell-Black.
“You wouldn’t expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have so emphatically stood the test of time but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things – class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility,” she said.
She added: “Her plots were both intricate and gutsy, spiked with sharp observations and wicked humour. She regularly mined her own life for inspiration and there was something Austenesque about her dissections of society, its many prejudices and norms. But if you tried to pay her this compliment, or any compliment, she would brush it aside.
“She wrote, she said, simply ‘to add to the sum of human happiness’. In this regard as a writer she was and remains unbeatable. In her last few years Jilly added to her curriculum vitae by serving as an executive producer on the Happy Prince adaptation of her novel Rivals for Disney+. Her suggestions for story and dialogue inevitably layered and enhanced scripts and her presence on set was a joy for cast and crew alike. Emotionally intelligent, fantastically generous, sharply observant and utter fun Jilly Cooper will be deeply missed by all at Curtis Brown and on the set of Rivals.”
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In a heartbreaking and personal message, Felicity added: “I have lost a friend, an ally, a confidante and a mentor. But I know she will live forever in the words she put on the page and on the screen.”
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The US military’s recent strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs near the Venezuelan coast have raised questions about the legality of such actions and heightened fears of a military escalation in the region.
In the latest attack on Friday, at least four people were killed, taking the death toll to 21 since the first boat was attacked on September 3 as part of the Trump administration’s “war on cartels”.
US President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and determined that the United States is in “a non-international armed conflict” with them, the administration notified Congress on Thursday.
But critics argue that the administration’s military actions potentially violate the US Constitution in addition to international laws, with rights observers and legal scholars saying the deadly attacks amount to “extrajudicial killing” and violation of human rights.
Since taking office in January, Trump has designated several drug cartels, including the Tren de Aragua cartel based in Venezuela, as “global terrorist organisations”.
In the past several weeks, the Trump administration has deployed warships in the Caribbean to target boats that it says are involved in “narco-trafficking”, ratcheting up military and political pressure against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who has condemned the “US aggression” against his country.
So are Trump’s strikes legal, and will they lead to military confrontation with Venezuela? And what is the history of Venezuela-US tensions?
A vessel burns in this still image taken from a video released September 15, 2025, depicting what US President Donald Trump said was a US military strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel that had been on its way to the US, the second such strike carried out against a suspected drug boat in recent weeks [Handout/Donald Trump/Truth Social/via Reuters]
What we know so far
The US has carried out at least four strikes in recent weeks on small vessels in the Caribbean Sea, near Venezuelan waters, that Washington claims were carrying illegal drugs.
The most recent strike, on Friday, destroyed a vessel that was accused of carrying narcotics. Two other strikes last month killed at least six people. At least 11 people were killed in the first strike on September 3.
The Pentagon, however, has not disclosed precise locations or evidence linking the targeted boats to drug-trafficking networks. Washington has not provided any proof of its claims about the boats carrying drugs.
US officials say the operations were conducted in international waters, while Venezuelan authorities insist they occurred dangerously close to, or inside, the country’s territorial zone.
What has Trump said?
Speaking at Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday, Trump applauded the US Navy’s efforts to combat “cartel terrorists”, noting that another vessel off Venezuela’s coast had been hit on Saturday.
Trump also postured for further action inside Venezuelan territory. “In recent weeks, the navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water … we did another one last night. Now we just can’t find any,” he said.
“They’re not coming in by sea anymore, so now we’ll have to start looking about the land because they’ll be forced to go by land,” Trump added.
Later, speaking with the reporters at the White House, the US president noted that the US military build-up in the Caribbean had halted drug trafficking from South America. “There’s no drugs coming into the water. And we’ll look at what phase two is,” he said.
Al Jazeera, however, could not independently verify Trump’s claims.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro says the US deployments were ‘the greatest threat that has been seen on our continent in the last 100 years’ [File: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters]
How has Maduro responded?
Venezuelan leader Maduro, who has called the strikes “heinous crimes”, has said that he is prepared to declare a state of emergency in the event of a US military attack amid a large US military build-up in the southern Caribbean.
The US has deployed at least eight warships and one submarine to the eastern Caribbean as well as F-35 aircraft to Puerto Rico, bringing thousands of sailors and marines to the region, reported Reuters.
In August, the US doubled its existing bounty on Maduro to $50m and accused the Venezuelan leader of being one of the world’s leading narco traffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.
In a televised address last Monday, Maduro announced that a “consultation process” had begun to invoke what he called a “state of external unrest” under the Constitution of Venezuela, aimed at protecting the people.
Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the Trump administration wants to overthrow his government – an allegation that Trump has denied, saying, “We’re not talking about that.”
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said that the emergency declaration would grant Maduro special powers to mobilise the armed forces and close Venezuela’s borders if needed.
She said the measure was intended to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against “any serious violation or external aggression”.
Caracas has staged military drills, mobilised militias, and postured its Russian-made fighter jets under a “defence of the nation” campaign.
Are US strikes legal?
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said the maritime strikes amount to “extrajudicial killings”.
“US officials cannot summarily kill people they accuse of smuggling drugs,” said Sarah Yager, Washington director at HRW. “The problem of narcotics entering the United States is not an armed conflict, and US officials cannot circumvent their human rights obligations by pretending otherwise.”
Salvador Santino Regilme, a political scientist who leads the International Relations programme at Leiden University, said that under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, the use of force by one state against another is prohibited except when authorised by the UN Security Council or exercised in legitimate self-defence under Article 51.
And the US claim that strikes against “drug traffickers” near Venezuela amount to self-defence “appears legally untenable”, Regilme told Al Jazeera.
He noted that drug trafficking, even when transnational, does not constitute an “armed attack” under customary international law.
“Unless Washington can prove that the targeted actors carried out or imminently threatened a large-scale armed attack attributable to Venezuela, these actions risk violating the charter’s core prohibition on the use of force and undermining another state’s territorial integrity,” Regilme said.
To qualify as a non-international armed conflict, as the Trump administration notified Congress, said Regilme, there must be protracted armed violence between organised armed groups or between such groups and a state under the Geneva Conventions. Simply labelling cartels as “terrorists” or “narco-terrorists” does not automatically trigger the applicability of international humanitarian law (IHL), he added.
Expanding the “terrorist” label to justify military targeting risks normalising warlike responses to what are primarily criminal and socioeconomic problems,” Regilme said, referring to the US strikes.
“It militarises law enforcement and blurs the boundaries between crime control and warfare, which has led to severe human rights abuses in the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ from Mexico to the Philippines,” he told Al Jazeera.
Celeste Kmiotek, a senior staff lawyer at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, said in a report that even outside armed conflict, striking a vessel without imminent threat or judicial process may constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life.
Domestically, lethal targeting abroad requires a clear legal basis under US statutes or the US Constitution, she said, adding that no congressional consent or specific Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) covers anti-drug operations in Venezuela.
How have other countries reacted to this?
Several Latin American countries have criticised the actions, with Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro calling the strikes an “act of tyranny” in an interview with the BBC.
“Why launch a missile if you could simply stop the boat and arrest the crew? That’s what one would call murder,” he said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has also condemned the US attacks on boats, which he said amount to “executing people without a judgement”.
“Using lethal force in situations that do not constitute armed conflicts amounts to executing people without a judgement,” President Lula said in a UN speech last month. He has also expressed his criticism against the deployment of US naval forces to the Caribbean, calling them a source of “tension”.
Russia has also condemned the US strikes.
“The ministers expressed serious concern about Washington’s escalating actions in the Caribbean Sea that are fraught with far-reaching consequences for the region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said after a phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil.
China, one of Caracas’s largest trading partners, warned that US actions in waters off Venezuela pose a threat to “freedom of navigation”.
China “opposes use of threat [or] force in international relations [and] … any interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs on any pretext”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
“The unilateral enforcement actions by the US against foreign vessels in international waters, which exceed reasonable and necessary limits, violate international law, and infringe [on] fundamental human rights, such as right to life,” said Guo.
He added that these actions “pose a potential threat to the freedom and safety of navigation in relevant waters and may impede the freedom of high seas enjoyed by all countries in accordance with international law”.
Members of the National Bolivarian Militia gather after responding to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s call to defend national sovereignty amid escalating tensions with the US, in Valencia, Venezuela on September 5, 2025 [Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters]
What does it mean for the US influence in the region?
The scope of accountability of the US strikes on vessels off the Venezuelan coasts is quite limited, said Regilme.
This episode reflects a recurring pattern in US foreign policy, which he termed “militarised punishment: the use of military force framed as moral enforcement rather than lawful defence”.
Instead of addressing the complex social and economic roots of drug trafficking, he said, Washington relies on coercive displays of power that project moral authority but lack a clear legal foundation.
Regionally, Regilme said that the strikes could exacerbate distrust toward US interventions in the Southern Hemisphere.
Latin American states, even US allies, remain deeply sceptical of Washington’s extraterritorial military actions justified under counter-narcotics or counter-terrorism rhetoric, he said, which stands to erode regional cooperation mechanisms and embolden nationalist or anti-imperialist political actors.
US ties with Venezuela deteriorated after the 1998 election of President Hugo Chavez, whose socialist agenda sought to reclaim national control over Venezuela’s vast oil wealth by increasing royalties on foreign firms and tightening state oversight.
Chavez also forged close alliances with Cuba, China, and later Iran, marking a sharp ideological break from decades of alignment with Washington.
Under Maduro, who succeeded Chavez in 2013, the bilateral tensions deepened amid Venezuela’s worsening economic collapse and growing authoritarianism.
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Former England captain Lewis Moody has been backed to tackle motor neurone disease with “every ounce of his strength” by former team-mate and fellow Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood.
Moody, 47, learned he had the degenerative, muscle-wasting condition two weeks ago and has told BBC Breakfast he is struggling to confront the implications of his diagnosis.
Rugby league legend Rob Burrow and Scotland and British and Irish Lions great Doddie Weir have both died from the disease in the past three years.
“He is the most wonderful human that we love to his very core”, Greenwood, who played alongside Moody for both England and Leicester, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It is just tragic news, because he is one of the great guys. And I know there is no order to this stuff – how you leave this planet – but you root for the good guys.
” There is not a nasty bone in his body. He is the most optimistic human you can hope to find, and then he had an ability on the pitch to just turn a switch and be the most ferocious competitor.
Former Gloucester and Leicester second row Ed Slater, who was diagnosed with MND in July 2022, and has led fundraising efforts since, said he was “absolutely devastated” for Moody.
Moody told BBC Breakfast that he felt “slightly selfish” for not getting in contact with Slater since he found out he had the disease a fortnight ago, saying he has been daunted by what the future held for him.
“We will be here for you as and when you need”, Slater said in a social media message, before directing followers to a fundraising drive launched for Moody by his friends.
Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney said Moody, who won 71 England caps and three caps for the British and Irish Lions, “represents the very best of rugby’s values” both on and off the pitch.
Sweeney added: “Lewis represented England, the British and Irish Lions and his clubs Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby with both brilliance and distinction – one of the toughest and most fearless players ever to don a back row shirt in the game, earning the respect and admiration of team-mates, opponents, and supporters alike all over the world.
” We are ready to offer practical and emotional support to the Moody family in whatever way is needed and appropriate, and we encourage people to show their support through the fundraising initiatives now being set up. “
Former England back Chris Ashton told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast that he has nothing but respect for Moody, describing his former team-mate as” a real leader”.
” It’s not sunk in yet, “Ashton said”. Even though this is the fourth player that we all know]to have MND], it never gets any easier. I think it’s because you know what’s coming.
“But what a player, what a human – he’s so passionate, such a hard man. I admire him even more for what he is going to go through”.
Danny Care, who played scrum-half for England during Moody’s captaincy, also praised his old skipper’s leadership qualities and promised to be supportive.
“It hit me hard today”, Care told Rugby Union Weekly. “We have seen with Doddie and with Rob and Ed Slater what this horrible disease does to people. I think that is what scares you the most.
” I will never forget my first time in the England camp. Moody put his arm around me straight away and said ‘ I will look after you. If there’s any trouble – come to me. ‘
“We are all hurting for him but we are all here for him”.
Retired England back Ugo Monye also spoke highly of his former team-mate and is pleased that Moody has found some answers.
“He is such a carer of a bloke – which is such a contradiction to how he played the game because he was so tough – but off the pitch he is a really thoughtful and really caring person”, Monye said.
“I think Lewis thought something was up with him. There’s been times when I’ve spoken to him about him having constant headaches. There’s always been something just niggling in him, so I’m so pleased that he’s investigated.
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Kevin Sinfield, who was awarded a CBE for his services to the motor neurone disease community after his friend Burrow’s diagnosis inspired him to raise more than £10m to fund research and awareness, sent Moody a message of support and made a fresh vow to tackle the disease.
” I’m obviously very saddened by the news, “said Sinfield, who is a skills and kicking coach for the England national rugby union team”. I’d like to wish Lewis, and all his family and friends, the very best.
“I’ll support in any way I can. We have to keep fighting MND]motor neurone disease] together”.
Andrea Pinchen, Sweeney’s counterpart at Leicester Tigers where Moody made 223 appearances, winning seven English titles and two European crowns over 14 years, also paid tribute to Moody as a person, as well as a player.
“The figures, trophies and awards tell you what an incredible player Lewis was, but that is only half the story”, said Pinchen.
“One minute he’s parading around with the World Cup trophy and the following Friday he’d be in the ticket office where I worked, answering the phone to supporters if we were really busy and helping sell tickets.
” As an individual, his commitment to his club along with his warmth and passion shone through, which endeared him to team-mates, staff and supporters alike.
“Always looking to help others, Lewis together with his wife Annie have worked tirelessly through the Lewis Moody Foundation, supporting research into brain tumours and helping affected families.
” He absolutely threw himself in. It was very much lead by example. He would never ask somebody to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He is utterly fearless. “
What is motor neurone disease?
Fergus Walsh
Medical correspondent
Affecting about 5, 000 people in the UK at any one time, motor neurone disease is a neurological condition which gets progressively worse over time.
Motor neurones are nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that carry messages to muscles controlling movement which, when damaged, interrupt signals to muscles, leading to muscle weakness, loss of movement and muscle wasting.
It can also affect speech and the ability to walk and breathe unaided.
Motor neurone disease is most common among over-50s – though it can affect people at a much younger age – and while more than 50% of those affected die within two years of diagnosis, life expectancy can vary considerably.
Stephen Hawking had a rare, slow-progressing form of the disease, living more than 50 years with the condition – and trials of an immunotherapy drug interleukin-2 suggest it can extend survival for those with less aggressive disease.
A Scottish study three years ago found that former international rugby players were more than 15 times more likely to develop MND than the general population, and were also more likely to develop dementia and Parkinson’s.
The research is not definitive and as yet there is no proven link, but it has highlighted the need to minimise the risks of head injury in sport.
