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Ellie Goulding Shares Update Following Pyrotechnic Mishap During Live Performance

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Ellie Goulding has assured her fans she’s doing well following an incident during one of her recent live shows.

Over the weekend, the chart-topping singer was performing her recent hit Miracle at Victorious Festival in Portsmouth, when a stage firework appeared to go off at the wrong time, and ignited close to her face.

The moment was recorded and shared online, with Ellie heard briefly screaming after the firework went off, before shaking it off and carrying on with the rest of her number.

Shortly afterwards, Ellie spoke out to let her Instagram followers know she was “intact” after the performance.

“To those asking, I am OK!” she insisted on her Instagram story. “Pyro didn’t hit me directly in the face. Face is intact.”

Ellie signed off her message “love you, thank you”, adding a firework gif to her post.

The British star recently enjoyed a chart resurgence after teaming up with Calvin Harris for the trance-inspired Miracle, which reached number one in the UK singles chart.

This marked the third time the two musicians have worked together, previously releasing the top 10 hits I Need Your Love and Outside in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris in 2014
Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris in 2014

Dave J Hogan via Getty Images

Earlier this year, Ellie unveiled her fifth studio album Higher Than Heaven, which gave the Anything Could Happen singer her fourth number one in the UK, in the same week that Miracle also reached its peak in the singles chart.

To coincide with the release, she’s set to tour the UK and select cities in Europe in October.

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Ben Wallace Has Resigned As Defence Secretary

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Ben Wallace has formally resigned as defence secretary ahead of a mini-reshuffle of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet.

In a letter to the prime minister this morning, he said he had “taken the decision to ask that I be allowed to step down” after four years in the job.

Wallace announced last month that he planned to quit the Ministry of Defence and would also not be standing at the the next election.

He told the Sunday Times he would stay in his post until the next reshuffle.

Among those tipped to replace him are Grant Shapps, Treasury minister John Glen and Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin.

Sunak is expected to carry out a limited shake-up of his top time this morning, with a wider reshuffle later in the year.

Wallace became an MP in 2005, but his constituency of Wyre and Preston North is being abolished in a review of boundaries and he will not seek a new seat.

Since 2015 he has also been minister for Northern Ireland and a security minister.

Wallace had hoped to be chosen as the next secretary general of Nato, but his chances were scuppered after the United States decided not to support his bid.

In his letter to the PM, Wallace said: “After much reflection, I have taken the decision to ask that I be allowed to step down.

“I won my seat in 2005 and after so many years it is time for me to invest
in the parts of life that I have neglected, and to explore new opportunities.

“Thank you for the support and your friendship. You and the Government will
have my continued support.”

He also called on the government to boost defence spending as the world becomes “more insecure and more unstable”.

In his reply, Sunak said Wallace had “served our country with distinction”.

He said: “I fully understand your desire to step down after eight years of exacting ministerial duties.

“As you say, the jobs you have done have required you to be available on a continuous basis.

“But I know you have more to offer public life both here and internationally. You leave office with my thanks and respect.”

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Suits Creator Reveals One Word The Royals Apparently Didn’t Want Meghan Markle To Say On Air

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Suits creator Aaron Korsh has claimed he was “irritated” by the Royal Family’s supposed interventions when it came to Meghan Markle’s character after she began dating Prince Harry.

The Duchess of Sussex was still playing Rachel Zane in the US drama when she met her future husband, and her character was eventually written out of the show in the lead-up to their wedding.

Prior to that, however, Aaron has alleged that the Royal Family “weighed in on some stuff” to do with Meghan’s character, which left him rather displeased.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: “I will say, and I think Harry put this in the book, because I heard people talking about it — [the royal family] weighed in on some stuff.

“Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn’t do, and it was a little irritating.”

Aaron went on to say that one particular grievance was related to the term “poppycock”, which he’d planned to have Meghan’s character say as a nod to his in-laws, who use the term regularly.

Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane during the sixth season of Suits
Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane during the sixth season of Suits

USA Network via Getty Images

“The Royal Family did not want her saying the word,” the producer and writer claimed. “They didn’t want to put the word ‘poppycock’ in her mouth. I presume because they didn’t want people cutting things together of her saying ‘cock’.”

Interestingly, Aaron said the term was then changed to “bullshit” in the script, adding: “There was maybe one or two more things, but I can’t remember.”

Asked how the Royal Family got their hands on the script in the first place, Aaron said: “I don’t know how they got ’em. I was aware that they were reading them because I got the feedback, but I don’t remember the process by which they got them.”

Aaron Korsh
Aaron Korsh

Alberto E. Rodriguez via Getty Images

Buckingham Palace had no comment when contacted by HuffPost UK. We have also contacted representatives for the Duchess of Sussex.

Prince Harry previously wrote about Meghan leaving Suits – and the alleged royal interference that preceded it – in his book Spare, which was released at the beginning of this year.

“Meg packed up her house, gave up her role in Suits. After seven seasons,” he wrote.

“A difficult moment for her, because she loved that show, loved the character she was playing, loved her cast and crew – loved Canada.

“On the other hand life there had become untenable. Especially on set. The show writers were frustrated because they were often advised by the Palace comms team to change lines of dialogue, what her character would do, how she would act.”

Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018 was attended by a number of her former Suits co-stars, who have also publicly jumped to her defence on several occasions since.

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Chris Christie Taunts Trump With The ‘One Thing He Cannot Stand’

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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie boasted that he’s living “rent-free” inside Donald Trump’s head after the former president launched another attack on him.

Trump on Tuesday fired off a rant on his Truth Social website saying Christie “SHOULD DROP OUT OF THE RACE.”

Christie, one of a number of candidates running against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, said that won’t happen.

“He only wishes I was going away,” Christie said, saying Trump was “obviously” watching as he criticised the former president on TV when he posted that message.

“I was laying out the truth about him,” Christie said, saying the “one thing he cannot stand” is when someone credible calls him out.

“He knows I’m not just some politician talking about his problems. I’m someone who’s done it, and done it well,” Christie said, noting his 130 wins and zero losses in prosecuting political corruption cases when he was a U.S. attorney.

“I know how deep his problems are, and how much they’re damaging both the Republican Party and the country,” Christie said. “I’m not getting out this race. Maybe he should think about getting out of the race since he’ll be spending most of March and half of April in a courtroom in Washington, DC.”

That’s a reference to the March 4 start of Trump’s election interference trial, one of four criminal cases against the former president.

Christie is polling in the low-to-mid single digits, far behind Trump and behind a number of other candidates such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy and former United States Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Yet the former president seems to devote outsized attention to Christie, frequently responding to his TV appearances by attacking him on social media despite the fact that the two were once close allies.

In 2016, Christie became one of the first prominent Republicans to endorse Trump, and remained a loyal insider for the duration of Trump’s presidency, but turned into a critic afterward.

See his full conversation with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins below:

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Thousands Of Russian Soldiers Refusing To Fight In Ukraine As Morale Plummets, Says UK

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Thousands of Russian troops are refusing to return to the frontline in Ukraine as their morale plummets, according to the UK.

Two soldiers were last week sentenced to serve at least two years in a penal colony after being convicted of disobeying orders to fight.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was reported last month that nearly 100 Russian soldiers a week after being convicted for refusing to go into battle as the war drags on.

“If this trend continues, there will be approximately 5,200 convictions a year for refusing to fight,” the MoD’s latest intelligence update said.

“The high rate of convictions demonstrates the poor state of morale in the Russian Army and the reluctance of some elements to fight.”

The MoD said that was a result of a “lack of training, motivation and high stress situations” faced by Russian forces in the war.

They added: “Although some soldiers have refused to fight and attrition rates remain high, Russia highly likely mitigates their loss by committing a mass of poorly trained soldiers to the frontline.”

It emerged yesterday that Russia is failing to hit its army recruitment targets despite a massive rise in forces’ pay.

Russia is estimated to have suffered more than 200,000 casualties so far in the Ukraine war.

The MoD revealed last month that up to half of Russian fatalities in the war could also have been prevented “with proper first aid”, while crude battlefield medical treatment is causing a huge number of preventable fatalities and amputations.

Meanwhile, at least half of the elite 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine have probably been killed or wounded.

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Russia Failing To Hit Army Recruitment Targets Despite Huge Boost In Soldiers’ Pay, Says UK

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Vladimir Putin is unlikely to hit his target for recruiting volunteers to the Russian army despite massively increasing their wages, according to UK intelligence.

On the eve of the invasion of Ukraine in February last year, a Russian lieutenant earned 81,200 rubles – around £672 – per month.

According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), by October last year, even those ranked as privates were being paid 195,000 rubles – around £1,615 – a month as Putin tried to boost the numbers signing up to serve.

In their latest intelligence update on X, formerly Twitter, the MoD said some in the junior ranks of the Russian army are now on more than 200,000 rubles – £1,650 – a month

“This is over 2.7 times the Russian national average salary of 72,851 rubles,” they said. “By way of comparison, 2.7 times the average UK salary would equate to over £90,000 a year.

“It is highly likely that the salary and additional benefits are a strong incentive for personnel to join up, especially to those from the poorer areas of Russia.”

However, the MoD said Russia was still “unlikely to meet its targets for recruiting volunteers to the ranks” despite the massive boost in soldiers’ pay.

Russia is estimated to have suffered more than 200,000 casualties so far in the Ukraine war.

The MoD revealed last month that up to half of Russian fatalities in the war could also have been prevented “with proper first aid”, while crude battlefield medical treatment is causing a huge number of preventable fatalities and amputations.

At least half of the elite 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine have probably been killed or wounded.

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Hannah Waddingham ‘Respectfully Steps Down’ As Host Of BBC Proms Event

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Hannah Waddingham has told fans she pulled out of hosting a BBC Proms event this week out of solidarity with the ongoing actors’ strike.

On Friday, the BBC announced that the Ted Lasso star would be fronting the Fantasy, Myths and Legends Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, which was recorded on Monday evening.

However, shortly before the event was due to get underway, Hannah revealed she would no longer be taking part, as a show of “support” with her colleagues in the entertainment industry who are currently on strike.

“Hey guys, I very sadly won’t be able to host tonight’s [BBC Proms] Fantasy, Myths and Legends,” she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“It will be a magical night, but due to my ongoing support for the [SAG-AFTRA] strike I must respectfully step down. I look forward to being back at [the Royal Albert Hall]!”

Members of the Screen Actors’ Guild have been on strike for over a month now, with the union taking action shortly after it was announced that the Writers’ Guild of America was also on strike.

This marks the first time in over 60 years that both unions have been on strike at the same time.

Among the key concerns behind the ongoing actors’ strike include streaming residuals, minimum pay and the “use and potential abuse” of artificial intelligence within the film and TV industries, per the Los Angeles Times.

Due to the strikes, a number of major films and TV shows have now shut down production, with some studios now pushing back release dates for key projects that have already completed filming while its cast are striking.

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‘This Was A Conservative Policy’: BBC Presenter Skewers Minister Over Tory ULEZ Hypocrisy

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A Conservative minister was left squirming after a BBC presenter highlighted the Tories’ hypocrisy over London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

Transport secretary Mark Harper was skewered by John Kay on the day the controversial scheme is expanded across the whole of the capital.

The decision by Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, has been criticised by the Tories.

But on BBC Breakfast this morning, it was pointed out to Harper that ULEZ was originally the brainchild of Boris Johnson when he had Khan’s job in 2015.

Kay told him: “There are millions of people waking up this morning inside the ULEZ charging zone in London.

“I just want to read you a quote from the mayor of London: ‘The world’s first ULEZ zone is an essential measure to help improve air quality in our city and protect the health of Londoners’.

“That was former mayor of London, Conservative Boris Johnson. This was a Conservative policy originally, however critical you are of it now.”

Harper replied: “No, the expansion of the ULEZ zone to cover the whole of Greater London is a decision by the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, supported by the Labour leader.

“If you look at the mayor’s own impact assessment, it will have a minor to negligible effect on air quality. So it’s very clear, despite what the mayor says, this isn;t about improving air quality in Greater London, it’s about raising from Londoners for him.”

Kay then went on to point out that expanding ULEZ from central London was backed during the pandemic by Harper’s predecessor as transport secretary, Grant Shapps.

He said: “It wasn’t just Boris Johnson though, was it? Former Conservative transport secretary Grant Shapps, your predecessor in your job, he wanted the congestion charge in London expanded three years ago.”

But Harper hit back: “No he didn’t, this has been put around by the Labour Party. This was about the expansion of the ULEZ to the north and south London circular area, which was something that was a manifesto commitment by the mayor.

“The government does not support the rollout of the ULEZ to the whole of Greater London – we’ve been very clear about that.”

Under ULEZ, drivers of polluting vehicles are charged £12.50 per day.

Khan has insisted that its expansion is necessary to improve air quality across the whole of London.

However, the move was blamed for Labour’s failure to win the recent Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, which prompted Keir Starmer to urge the mayor to re-think the policy.

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‘Just Another Gimmick’: Government Slammed Over Plan To Put Electronic Tags Immigrants

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Government plans to put electronic tags on immigrants to prevent them from absconding have been slammed as “just another gimmick” by Labour.

Home secretary Suella Braverman this morning refused to rule out the move, which was reported by The Times and the Daily Telegraph.

Asked about the plan on Sky News, Braverman said the government “needed to exercise a level of control” of migrants.

She added: “We are exploring all options to ensure that we have that level of control over people so that they can flow through our system swiftly to enable us to thereafter remove them from the United Kingdom.”

But shadow employment minister Justin Madders accused the Home Office of planning to treat asylum seekers like “criminals”.

He said: “The only people you tag are criminals, so my understanding is that people who are coming into this country seeking asylum are not criminals, they’re usually people fleeing persecution.

“If there’s a problem absconding this is the first I’ve heard about it and clearly the solution to that is to get on and process the asylum applications a lot quicker than is happening and this is just another gimmick that is not dealing with the root of the problem at all.”

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, told The Times: “It’s treating people as objects rather than vulnerable men, women and children in search of safety, who should be treated with compassion and humanity.”

The plan was even called into question by right-wing Tory MP John Redwood.

He told Times Radio: “I would need to be persuaded about the role of the electronic tag.

“I’m grateful for the clarification that it’s only going to apply to those who have been found to be illegal migrants. I think the bigger problem is to work out how many people in the system are illegal migrants and therefore need a safe place to return them to, and how many are asylum seekers.”

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Stormzy And Maya Jama Spark Reunion Rumours As They’re Snapped Holding Hands On Holiday

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Stormzy and Maya Jama are at the centre of speculation they’re back together after they were seen holding hands while on holiday in Greece.

The award-winning rapper and Love Island host were previously in a relationship for four years, before going their separate ways in 2019. In the years since, they’ve repeatedly been rumoured to have reunited, which they have previously always denied.

Over the weekend, the rumour mill went into overdrive when fans began to suspect that Stormzy and Maya were on holiday together, after their followers began to pick up on some similarities between the pair’s social media posts.

A post from TikTok user Georgina Ball – which suggested Stormzy had “soft launched” the reunion – even racked up as many as 4.2 million views.

While neither Stormzy nor Maya commented on the speculation, the Daily Mail later published photos of them walking around Hydra Island together hand-in-hand.

In the pictures, posted on Sunday, the two are seen smiling as they walk through the town holding hands, in matching white ensembles.

After the photos were shared on Sunday, fans were quick to share their reactions over on X (formerly known as Twitter):

Maya Jama’s team had no comment when contacted by HuffPost UK.

We have also contacted representatives for Stormzy.

Stormzy and Maya Jama pictured together in 2017
Stormzy and Maya Jama pictured together in 2017

Dave J Hogan via Getty Images

Stormzy previously referenced his break-up from Maya on his third album This Is What I Mean, which reached number one upon its release last year.

The former Glastonbury headliner later opened up about the split during a sit-down interview with Louis Theroux.

“My break-up, that was probably the biggest catalyst for growth as a man,” Stormzy said. “It was like, OK, you made a mistake and you lose someone you loved, someone you cared for, someone who is special to you.

“That’s probably the biggest loss a man can have, isn’t it? Away from someone passing away, that’s the biggest loss you can have.

“The whole fucking palaver that surrounded that situation, do you know what I mean? There were other things in terms of mistakes I’d made. I didn’t do what a man should do to fully appreciate love, and care for his woman.”

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