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Sharon Osbourne Offers Update On Ozzy’s Health After His Recent Surgery

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Sharon Osbourne has said that her husband Ozzy is “doing well and on the road to recovery” after the rocker underwent surgery recently.

The former X Factor judge provided an update on her Instagram story as she thanked fans for their “love and support” in the lead-up to the procedure.

She previously revealed that she was travelling to Los Angeles to support the Black Sabbath star, who has Parkinson’s disease.

Writing on Instagram, Sharon wrote: “Our family would like to express so much gratitude for the overwhelming amount of love and support leading up to Ozzy’s surgery!

“Ozzy is doing well and on the road to recovery! Your love means the world to him.”

Sharon thanked Ozzy's well-wishers in an Instagram story post
Sharon thanked Ozzy’s well-wishers in an Instagram story post

Instagram/Sharon Osbourne

Ozzy has a rare form of the disease called Parkin 2, which he has had since birth.

In an interview with Classic Rock magazine in May, Ozzy said he was waiting on more surgery for his neck after a quad bike accident in 2003 left him with lasting damage.

He added: “I can’t walk properly these days. I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road.”

The singer previously cancelled his North American tour in 2020 to undergo medical treatment.

In April, Sharon revealed that Ozzy had contracted Covid, noting that she was “very worried” for him given his health conditions.

After travelling from the UK to Los Angeles to look after him, she shared a bed-ridden picture of herself hooked up to a drip, explaining that her “entire household” had later tested positive as well.

The couple have been married since 1982 and they have three children together – Aimee, Kelly and Jack.

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‘Extremely Concerning’ No Impact Assessment Carried Out On Right To Buy Extension

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A Labour MP today said it was “extremely concerning” that a full impact assessment has not been carried out on Boris Johnson’s right to buy extension.

Just days after surviving a bruising confidence vote, Johnson attempted to reset his leadership with a speech announcing a new housing policy in Blackpool.

It included an extension of the right-to-buy scheme to people on low incomes who rent their homes from housing associations.

The prime minister argued the £30 billion currently spent on housing benefit should instead be used to help people secure and pay for mortgages on their own home.

However, the secretary of state Michael Gove has admitted that they did not conduct a “full” impact assessment before it was announced.

Asked if an assessment of the impact on social housing stock had been carried out, Gove told MPs on the housing committee: “We haven’t conducted a full equalities impact assessment yet. We will do, as ever, when we bring forward policy.

“The prime minister explained last Thursday on the basis of the pilot – there had been a full evaluation of that pilot – we felt it was now appropriate to roll it out nationally.”

The senior cabinet minister suggested a “full impact assessment” of the policy could not be done until all the details of the policy are “furnished”.

Labour MP Ian Byrne, among those who quizzed Gove yesterday, told HuffPost UK: “The admittance by the secretary of state regarding the absence of an impact assessment on social housing with his new right to buy policy announcement is extremely concerning.

“We need a real strategy to deal with the lack of housing in our communities not a reheated Thatcher policy which has contributed hugely to the housing crisis we face, by a desperate PM searching for positive headlines with his core supporters.”

The Sunday Times reported that the policy caused “heated rows” with Gove who privately accused Downing Street of “bouncing” the policy before it was ready.

The newspaper reported that officials had not undertaken an impact assessment on how it will affect social housing stock, or how many new homes will be needed to replace those sold off and that the Treasury was refusing to provide extra funds.

During the committee hearing yesterday, Gove insisted the government would ensure housing associations do not “see detriment to their balance sheets” as a result of the policy.

But asked where the funds would come from, he replied: “From across government. We’ll be saying more about how we propose to ensure we have the funding necessary in order to deliver the programme.”

He said the Treasury had agreed it will be funded, adding: “I think we’ll have to say watch this space.”

Bob Kerslake, former head of the civil service, wrote in the Guardian: “The paucity of detail in the current announcement suggests it is still at the drawing-board stage. It should stay there.”

A spokesperson from the department for levelling up said: “Right to buy has helped nearly two million council tenants realise their dream of home ownership, and we want housing association tenants to have the same opportunity.

“As the prime minister stated, there will be a one-for-one replacement of each social housing property sold.

“We will work with the sector on the design of the scheme, and will announce more details in due course.”

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Love Island Host Laura Whitmore Gets Real About Life In The Villa: ‘It Stinks’

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Laura Whitmore has opened up about the reality of living in the Love Island villa during a new interview with Alan Carr. And as it turns out, the gaff absolutely stinks.

Yes, the Irish presenter was the latest guest on Alan’s podcast Life’s A Beach, during which she opened up about the distinct aroma of the Love Island residence.

“It smells so bad,” she admitted. “If you think about it – that amount of people, about 40 or 50 islanders go through it the whole summer. It starts off with about 10 or 12 and then more keep going in. And they’re like 18-year-olds.”

Laura continued: “The carpet, the fake tan, the make-up, the BO – it stinks!

“You know when they try to cover the BO with Lynx Africa? That’s what it smells like.”

The new series of Love Island launched earlier this month, with Laura at the helm for the third year running.

The original cast of Love Island 2022
The original cast of Love Island 2022

TV/Shutterstock

Before the new series’ debut, Laura decided to get ahead of her usual detractors with a TikTok video addressing some of the criticism she claims to have faced every year since she took over as host.

This included comments about her salary, her decision to fly between Mallorca and the UK over the course of the series, her interview technique when she speaks to the Islanders and claims she’s “never in” the villa.

On Monday night, Afia became the first Islander to be eliminated from the show this year, after the latest brutal recoupling.

Love Island airs nightly at 9pm on ITV2.

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This Is How Much Sleep You Actually Need (Spoiler: It’s Not 8 Hours)

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How much sleep are you getting? Judging by how you’re feeling, you’d probably say ‘not enough’.

Many of us dealing with the drudgery of the day often don’t feel very well rested and are likely to wish for more snoozing time. But actually, we might be sleeping too much already, depending on our age.

The ideal amount isn’t actually eight hours for those over 38 years old, according to scientists who conducted a major new study.

The University of Cambridge and Shanghai’s Fudan University examined the sleeping habits of nearly 500,000 adults aged between 38 and 73 and found that the ideal amount of sleep may be seven hours.

Participants were tested on their cognitive abilities and asked about their sleeping patterns, wellbeing, and mental health.

Researchers also sourced brain-imaging and genetic data for up to 40,000 participants in the study to get a better insight into their wellbeing.

Interestingly, they found that getting too much sleep and not enough has the same consequences. While traditionally, we’re told to get eight hours, scientists found that this amount, or any more (or less than seven) have a negative effect on our bodies as we age.

They found that too much sleep and not enough both had a detrimental effect, causing mental health issues and ‘worse cognitive performance’.

The study also showed that being consistent is key, so getting six hours one day and then nine the next can still leave you feeling groggy and tired.

So, why exactly do we feel a brain fog when we wake up some mornings?

Researchers say that it could be due to slow-wave deep sleep being disrupted during shorter bouts of slumber. This means the brain doesn’t have enough time to clear out the toxins.

Not only is getting the right amount of sleep better for your overall wellbeing, it’s good for our memories. That’s because scientists found that the hippocampus – the memory centre – is also affected by a lack of or excess of sleep.

So the older you get, the more you might want to get into the routine of achieving seven hours a day. This also has the added benefit of decreasing the likelihood of illness.

Prof Barbara Sahakian from the University of Cambridge, one of the study’s authors, said: “Getting a good night’s sleep is important at all stages of life, but particularly as we age. Finding ways to sleep for older people could be crucial to helping them maintain good mental health and wellbeing and avoiding cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementia.”

The Sleep Foundation also has similar advice for the ideal slumber time, based on age group.

It suggests that older adults should aim for seven-eight. While the Cambridge study says to go for the lower number in that range, as long as you feel well-rested with the amount you currently get, then it’s all good.

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Keir Starmer Under Investigation By Parliamentary Standards Watchdog

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Keir Starmer is under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over potential breaches of rules on earnings and gifts.

The Labour leader is being probed by Kathryn Stone over whether he broke two sections of the MPs’ code of conduct on registering interests on employment and earnings.

Stone is also looking at whether Starmer potentially breached rules in the section regarding gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources.

Asked about the issue on Monday, the Labour said he was confident he had not broken the MPs’ code of conduct.

“My office is dealing with it and will be replying in due course,” he told reporters while on a visit to Wakefield ahead of the by-election.

Asked if he was sure he had done nothing wrong, he said: “Absolutely confident, there’s no problem here.”

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Andrew Lloyd Webber Booed By Cinderella Audience As His Latest Musical Closes For Good

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The mere mention of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s name was met with jeers and boos as the curtain came down on his Cinderella musical.

Last month, it was announced the show’s final performance would take place on Sunday 12 June, with the production team being met with criticism after some members of the team – including actors who were poised to join the cast – discovered the news of its closure on social media.

The curtain came down on Cinderella for good on Sunday, and while Andrew was not there in person, his presence was certainly still felt.

Director Laurence Connor read out a speech from the Phantom Of The Opera creator after the show, with a comment branding the show a “costly mistake” not going down well in the room.

Carrie Hope Fletcher in character as Cinderella
Carrie Hope Fletcher in character as Cinderella

David M. Benett via Getty Images

The speech read: “I am hugely sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I want to thank everyone from our fabulous cast, crew and musicians, the superb creative team, Laurence.

“I keep thinking if only we had opened three months later, we wouldn’t have had to postpone our opening twice because of COVID – I promise you we would have been here for a very long time to come.

“My huge thanks to everyone. We kept the government’s feet to the flames and led the charge to the West End opening again. It might have been a costly mistake, but I am proud of what we did and will forever be grateful to everyone who supported me.

“Cinderella got some of the best reviews of my career and I am immensely proud of it and it’s hugely due to you all. All my love, Andrew.”

The speech was then met with boos and jeers, with Variety reporting that his name had already been met with a similar reaction from the audience when it was brought up earlier in the curtain call.

The Cinderella premiere took place in August last year, having been scheduled for the previous month but delayed due to Covid isolation protocols.

Cinderella opened with an audience capacity of 50% after the impresario rejected prime minister Boris Johnson’s offer for the show to be included in the coronavirus live events pilot scheme.

Then in December, Cinderella was stopped due to “Covid-related absences”, alongside London productions of hit musicals Hamilton and The Lion King.

At the time, Andrew said he’d found it “simply heartbreaking” to see the theatre industry “decimated” by cancellations, adding “no-one in the government listens”.

He postponed Cinderella until 2022 “to avoid more disruption” as the number of Covid-19 cases increased across the country.

Written by Oscar winner Emerald Fennell, and starring Carrie Hope Fletcher in the lead role, Cinderella is described as a “complete reinvention” of the classic fairytale, and is based on an original idea by the Promising Young Woman director.

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This Is How Much Debt Maternity Leave Is Putting Women In

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Babies can come at the most surprising moments in life. And for many people, they arrive at a point where your personal finances aren’t at their strongest.

In fact, some women entering maternity leave are doing so without any savings at all.

Reduced pay during this time coupled with the costs of a newborn means many mums have to borrow money to get by. And some are being left in debt.

A study of parents by finance company Credit Karma found that a quarter of parents get into maternity leave without any money saved, while 26% of women get into debt while on their maternity leave.

The amount in borrowing has increased by £560 since 2018, the company says, taking the average borrowed per parent up to £2,800.

Those with student loans face the harshest outcomes as the interest rate on those loans remains seriously high while they are on leave and unable to pay it off.

Credit Karma said women with interest loans accrue an average of £1,770 loan interest in just six months of leave.

Given the cost of living crisis, which is seeing bills go up as never before, this paints a dire picture for new parents.

Akansha Nath, head of partnerships at Credit Karma UK said: “Women are often disadvantaged financially throughout their life, and the responsibility to give birth plays a huge role in this gender disparity.

“At a time when the cost of living is affecting most people, and every penny counts, it’s more important than ever that women take advantage of any support available to them.”

These debts, even if eventually paid off, can then follow women into life, affecting their credit score and therefore their ability to buy homes and other goods.

Credit Karma said maternity-affected credit scores can set women back an average £17,000 in interest over the course of their lifetimes.

If you are struggling with maternity debt, there are resources that can help.

Step Change has a benefit checker, as well as list of grants available to expectant parents. The website also offers free money management tools designed to help people with their finances, without judgement.

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Minister Insists No Tories In His Seat Have Criticised Boris Johnson And People Are Sceptical

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A cabinet minister has been ridiculed after he claimed no Conservatives in his constituency are critical of Boris Johnson.

Brandon Lewis said Tories in Great Yarmouth are “in full support” of the prime minister, despite 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him from office.

The PM has seen his personal approval ratings plummet in recent months as a result of the partygate scandal.

But appearing on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, the Northern Ireland secretary insisted Johnson remained popular throughout the country.

He said: “In 2019 people came out and voted for the prime minister, gave him an overwhelming mandate, which followed the mandate the Conservative Party gave him a few months earlier.

“He is somebody who consistently does well and wins elections and I’ve got to say, my constituents, my mailbox, is very clear that support is there for the prime minister.”

Presenter Sophie Raworth asked: “You don’t get criticism in your mailbox about the prime minister?”

Lewis replied: “Genuinely, the criticism I’ve had in my mailbox has been people I know are Labour supporters or are Labour activists in my constituency. What I’ve had generally on doorsteps and in my mailbox, and elsewhere in the country, is people want to see us getting on delivering for people and that’s what the prime minister is focused on.

I can only talk for my constituency – I’ve had people in full support of the prime minister. And actually, even today I’ve had supportive messages from the chairman of the Conservatives in Northern Ireland around the work the prime minister’s doing and we should get on with the job.”

The exchange was met with incredulity on social media.

Lewis had earlier insisted that legislation being introduced tomorrow by the government to over-ride parts of the Northern Ireland protocol will not break international law.

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Labour Condemns Government Plan To Replace Striking Rail Workers With Agency Staff

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Labour has condemned government plans to replace striking rail workers with agency staff in a bid to stop the network grinding to a halt later this month.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps is reportedly preparing to draft emergency legislation to allow the move ahead of planned industrial action later this month.

Members of the RMT are due to stage a three-day walkout on June 21, 23 and 25 in a dispute over jobs and pay.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, Shapps wants to overturn a law brought in by the last Labour government banning the use of agency workers to carry out the jobs of those on strike.

Asked for her view of the proposals on Sky News’s ‘Ridge on Sunday’ programme, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would not feel safe travelling by rail with untrained staff carrying out essential tasks.

She said: “It just doesn’t make any sense. The way to resolve this is to get people around the table, but the idea that you can replace a skilled train signaller with an agency worker – would you feel safe going on a train knowing that there was an agency worker rather than a properly-skilled and trained-up train signaller?

“I know that I wouldn’t, so instead of this fanning the flames and increasing tensions the Government need to act like firefighters rather than arsonists and try and get some resolution to this.”

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, accused the government to trying to “pour petrol on the flames” of the dispute.

Asked about the agency worker plan, he said: “That would be an outrageous act if the government go down that road.

“We’ve already got the most restrictive anti-union legislation in the whole of western Europe. It’s already incredibly difficult for unions and workers to withdraw their labour. There are so many legal loopholes to fly through.

“If you think about what Grant Shapps is trying to do with that legislation, is to make industrial action ineffective, and I believe it’s a basic human right to be able to withdraw your labour.

“You only do it as a last resort and any attempts to bring people in to undermine disputes will not resolve the problems.”

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Love Island Introduces Gemma’s Ex-Boyfriend Jacques O’Neill As Latest Bombshell

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Love Island is about to get a whole lot more complicated for Gemma Owen as her ex-boyfriend arrives in the villa.

A preview at the end of Friday night’s episode teased the entrance of a new bombshell who previously dated Gemma, with ITV now confirming his identity.

As many had correctly speculated, he is rugby league player Jacques O’Neill.

Jacques O'Neill is set to join Love Island
Jacques O’Neill is set to join Love Island

Elisabeth Hoff/ITV

The 23-year-old, who hails from Cumbria, has been released from his Castleford Tigers contract to appear on the ITV2 reality show.

He is reported to have dated Gemma, who is the daughter of football legend Michael Owen, for around a year, with their break-up coming in the last 12 months.

Get to know him a little better below:

On if he’s a catch…

“We all think we’re a catch, don’t we? I’m loyal, I’m respectful and I’ve got good manners. I’ll look after someone close to me to the full extent I can. I would have a baby in two or three years. I think I’d be good with babies too, they’d be good looking wouldn’t they?”

On being single…

“I split up with my ex and then I was seeing someone else. I was concentrating so much on my rugby and then I had that injury. I think it needs to be the right person, at the right time.”

On how he falls in love…

“Quick. I literally know if they’re going to be my girlfriend within a week. I fall pretty quick.”

On what gives him the ‘ick’…

“People singing Christmas songs! I was seeing this girl and it was just before Christmas and she started singing Christmas songs in the car and it went through me – it gave me the ick bad.”

Gemma is set for a surprise when her ex arrives in the villa
Gemma is set for a surprise when her ex arrives in the villa

Elisabeth Hoff/ITV

Gemma is currently paired with Luca Bish following Friday’s recoupling, which saw the fishmonger steal her from Davide Sanclimenti.

Her dad also recently defended the 19-year-old from comments on whether she is too young to appear on the show.

In an interview with MailOnline, he said: “She has had two years more than I had to get ready for life in the public eye.

“Also, she’s a mature 19. She’s a bit like me in that regard. I was playing for Liverpool when I was 17, and having to make friends with 23, 24, 25-year-olds.

“The bottom line is, she’s an adult and I have to trust her to make sensible decisions.”

Love Island continues on Sunday at 9pm on ITV2.

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