PROUD MEDIA NEWS CENTRE

  England head coach Sarina Wiegman felt the defending champions created their “own problems” after opening their Euro 2025 campaign with a 2-1 loss to France in Zurich. The Lionesses were forced to regroup after Alessia Russo had an early goal chalked off following a VAR review for offside in the build-up and needed to dig deep after Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored within four first-half minutes. But England struggled to get a shot on target, ending the contest with just two, and, while late substitutions sparked the Lionesses into life in the closing stages, Keira Walsh’s 87th-minute goal proved mere consolation. “Of course, I’m very disappointed,” said Wiegman. “I think we started well. After that, of course we know France are very good, but we created chances (for France) by playing short passes all the time. We were a bit sloppy too.” It was a first major tournament group-stage defeat for the Dutch head coach, who won the Euros with the Netherlands in 2017 b...

  Jet2 is expected to deliver stronger profits for the past year amid a jump in holidaymakers booking last-minute trips. However, investors will be keen for more guidance from the company about how delays to plane deliveries and travel disruption will impact its performance in the new financial year. The Leeds-based holiday operator and airline will report its finances for the year to March 31 on Wednesday July 9. It is expected to reveal that profits have risen by as much as 10% to between £565 million and £570 million, having originally indicated profits of around £540 million late last year. Analysts have also predicted a sharp jump in sales, with Panmure Liberum predicting sales of £7.21 billion for the year to March, up from £6.25 billion a year earlier. Earlier this year, the company had seen shares waver after warning shareholders in February that it was facing higher hotel and flight costs and the delayed delivery of planes over the summer season. Nevertheless, Jet2 pointed...

After Labour backbenchers forced a welfare U-turn, it will be harder for ministers to hold the line on all their other demands. In common with many parents across the country, here's a conversation that I have with my young daughter on a semi-regular basis (bear with me, this will take on some political relevance eventually). Me: "So it's 15 minutes until your bedtime, you can either have a little bit of TV or do a jigsaw, not both." Daughter: "Ummmm, I want to watch TV." Me: "That's fine, but it's bed after that, you can't do a jigsaw as well." Fast-forward 15 minutes. Me: "Right, TV off now please, bedtime." (Pause) Daughter: "I want to do a jigsaw." Now replace me with the government, the TV and jigsaw options with axing welfare cuts and scrapping the two-child cap, and my daughter with rebellious backbenchers That is the tension currently present between Downing Street and Labour MPs. And my initial ultimatum is ...

  Three works created by Northern Ireland theatre, dance and arts organisations will be spotlighted as part of an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer. The Spotlight On Theatre And Dance From Northern Ireland initiative on August 19 is delivered by Theatre and Dance NI (TDNI), in collaboration with Belfast International Arts Festival, and supported by British Council Northern Ireland and The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Now in its seventh year, the event aims to shine a light on work created by artists and arts organisations from Northern Ireland. The exposure of being part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe gives an opportunity for the artists to connect and network with international arts industry figures with a view to having their work tour internationally. The three productions from Northern Ireland being profiled in 2025 are Anthem For Dissatisfaction by Gina Donnelly with SkelpieLimmer Productions, Consumed by Karis Kelly, a Pain...

  The new   Superman   has to save the world all on his own. In a red carpet interview with   Heart   at the London premiere of James Gunn’s “Superman,” star   David Corenswet   discussed asking for advice from Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin, who both played the DC icon in “Man of Steel” and “Superman & Lois,” respectively. Although they were “encouraging” to Corenswet, they didn’t want to influence his performance. “Both of them, interestingly, sort of said in their own words, ‘I’m not gonna try and give you any tips,'” Corenswet explained. “And I think that’s a very Superman thing. Superman’s not so much for giving advice or dictating how other people should be.” He continued, “They really just conveyed to me an encouragement and a sense of ‘have fun with it’, which I think is Superman’s way of doing it too. They were very encouraging and we had a lovely experience. I’m excited to meet them one day. It’ll be great when we can all get in a room t...

 Police appealed to the public for help COPS have launched an urgent hunt after a 12-year-old girl went missing from a popular seaside town. Pixie was last seen at around 12.15pm yesterday in the Westbourne area of Bournemouth. The schoolgirl is described as five feet four inches tall and of slim build with long brown wavy hair. Dorset Police said they were "growing concerned" for her welfare due to her young age. Pixie was last seen wearing a brown vest top, black cycling shorts and turquoise trainers. Cops urged anyone with information to get in touch immediately. Inspector Scott Jones, of Dorset Police, said: “We are growing concerned for Pixie’s welfare due to her young age and that she has now not been seen for a number of hours. “I would urge anyone who has seen Pixie, or has information about her whereabouts, to please get in touch. “If you see this appeal Pixie – please get in touch with us or your family as we are all worried about you and just want to make sure you ...

  Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services are set to be rolled out across every council in England, ministers have announced. The Department for Education is putting £500 million targeted at disadvantaged communities into the scheme, to put a Best Start family hub in every local authority by April 2026. The Education Secretary has said that the scheme will “give a lifeline” to families. Family hubs were originally rolled out across 75 local authorities at the start of 2024 by the then-Conservative government. Officials say that the hubs will be rolled out in every local authority by April 2026, and there will be expanded so there are up to 1,000 of them by the end of 2028. Among the services available at the locations will be birth registration, debt advice, midwifery services and support for parents who are separating or have separated. Officials hope that the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social care. Bridget Phillipson said: “It...

  The King’s Foundation has launched a programme to teach students the art of costume-making for film and television. The Costume Craft Programme is supported by Amazon MGM Studios and Ascend, its global crew training programme, which will give students the opportunity to create costumes for the studios and Prime Video. Students will also undergo industry placements focusing on craftsmanship and technical skills including leathercraft, hand-stitching, natural dyeing and sewing production. The course is an addition to the existing textiles courses run by the foundation, which include luxury garment production, embroidery, millinery, knitting and sewing. It is a postgraduate level programme and will be based at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, the headquarters of the foundation, with regular set visits to Amazon MGM Studios productions. Eight places are on offer. The programme is fully-funded and includes tuition, materials and contributions towards required travel. Successful a...

  Ministers “pushed ahead too fast” and “didn’t listen enough” on welfare reform, the Education Secretary has said. Bridget Phillipson also said that future spending decisions had been made “harder”, when asked about the prospect of the two-child benefit cap being scrapped. Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that she was “not going to pretend that it hasn’t been a tough or a challenging week” after ministers were forced to scrap their plans for the personal independence payment (Pip) in the face of a backbench revolt. “I’d be the first to acknowledge that, both in the pace and the nature of what we set out, we didn’t get it right, but we do need to reform the system we’ve got,” she said. Asked about the Prime Minister’s authority, the Education Secretary said: “What the Prime Minister has said, and what I also believe, is that what we set out, we pushed ahead too fast, we didn’t listen enough to people, including, I would say, including to lots of p...

  Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says Islamic and right-wing extremism remain Britain’s “biggest threats” ahead of the 20th anniversary of the July 7 bombings. On July 7 2005, four suicide bombers targeted the capital’s transport network, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770 on three London Underground trains and a bus. A series of attempted bombings followed the attacks, and in the subsequent manhunt for suspects, police shot dead innocent man Jean Charles de Menezes, at a tube station. Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Ms Cooper recalled how news of the attacks had emerged as she headed to a local government conference in her then-role as a junior minister. “The anti-radicalisation programme Prevent became more important than ever,” Ms Cooper said. “And communities across the nation were determined that hatred would not win. “The work done at that time has endured and evolved. Islamist extremist terrorism remains the greatest threat, followed by extreme right-wing terrorism. “B...