New York State

ALTON Towers has released first look pictures of its latest thrill ride Toxicator ahead of the new season.

The new topspin ride stands a whopping 78ft tall and will be the first of its kind in the country.

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The Toxicator will be the first topspin ride in the country[/caption]

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It stands at 78ft tall[/caption]

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Toxicator towers over Nemesis Reborn[/caption]

Daredevils will be seated back-to-back before being flipped around and held face down over a “pool of toxic alien acid”.

The new ride will put riders through heart-pounding centrifugal forces from the spin patterns.

Riders will be able to ride Toxicator from Saturday, March 15.

Now, new drone footage released by Alton Towers shows impressive views over the Staffordshire countryside from the top of the ride.

Reportedly, the Toxicator will be the only topspin ride in the world to be elevated above ground level.

This means other park-goers will be able to watch the ride from underneath.

When it opens, the Toxicator will stand at 78ft (23m), making it the highest ride of its kind at Alton Towers.

The new ride will be located in the Forbidden Valley, next to the newly-reopened Nemesis Reborn, and it will be able to accommodate 500 riders per hour.

And customers can also experience it in the dark as part of the Alton After Dark event.

Only park-goers who are taller than 1.4m will be allowed to ride Toxicator and tickets are now on sale.

Bianca Sammut, Vice President of Alton Towers Resort, previously said: “We’re excited to be giving fans a flavour of the truly ‘spincredible’ power of Toxicator.

“From March 15 those brave enough to submit to the spin will be able to experience the latest that Forbidden Valley has to offer.”

Alton Towers is home to plenty of adrenaline-inducing rides, including Nemesis Reborn, The Smiler and Oblivion.

And Toxicator isn’t the only new attraction set to open at the Staffordshire-based theme park in the future.

For younger park-goers, there’s also CBeebies Land, which is set to get a new junior rollercoaster next year.

The theme park revealed the news via Instagram on December 20, 2024.

CBeebies Land first opened in 2014 and is currently home to 13 family-friendly rides.

At the end of last year, Alton Towers announced it would be closing its oldest ride permanently.

Meanwhile, here’s an exciting new look at the nearly-completed Epic Universe, which will open later this year.

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Daredevils are excited to try out the new ride[/caption]

RAMSAY Street has been home to the cast of Neighbours for decades, but sadly for viewers, time is once again up for the soap.

In February 2025, The Sun exclusively revealed that the beloved Australian show is being axed for a second time – here’s everything you need to know.

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Neighbours started in 1985 but is now sadly coming to an end[/caption]

Why has Neighbours been cancelled?

The announcement came after production company Fremantle failed to agree a new deal with Amazon, just two years after the streaming service brought the soap back.

A source said: ”Amazon gave Fremantle two years to see if it worked but sadly they just didn’t get the viewers. 

”It’s a really sad day especially for the cast and crew who work on the show in Melbourne. 

”This really is the end of Neighbours just as it’s celebrated its 40th birthday.”

The soap was cancelled by Channel 5 in 2022, before it was later brought back by Amazon.

Channel 5 first began broadcasting the show in 2008, after taking over from the BBC.

Reacting to the news of the axing, one fan took to X and wrote: ”It’s never a good day when a soap is cancelled #Neighbours.”

A second viewer wrote: ”Sad news about Neighbours again been axed from Amazon hope it can be saved again.”

And a third said: ”I can’t believe @neighbours is going to be axed again #Neighbours.”

Final episode

The soap has been a fan favourite both here and across the pond since it first aired in 1985.

Production is now set to come to a close this summer with the final ever episode being aired at the end of the year.

A-list stars

Over the years, viewers have welcomed and waved goodbye to plenty of Ramsay Street residents.

During that time, the soap has been pivotal in the careers of many A-list stars including Margot Robbie who starred as Donna Freedman.

She was on the show from 2008 until 2011, before starring in Martin Scorsese’s blockbuster The Wolf Of Wall Street in 2013.

Speaking on her time on the soap, Margot admitted that she repeatedly cold-called the casting office until she was put through. 

She recalled: ”I don’t know why, I think it was a mistake.

”They asked: ‘How old are you?’ and I said: ‘I’m 17.’

”She said: ‘Oh, we need a 17-year-old girl right now, so come in next week.”

Other big names to have emerged from the show include Russell Crowe, Natalie Imbruglia, Kylie Minogue, Liam Hemsworth, and Holly Valance.

SELENA Gomez’s former friend Caro Franklin has threatened to ‘expose’ the star in a cryptic deleted post – months after their sudden fall out.

Caroline and Selena, 32, were close friends, and often pictured together.

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Selena Gomez’s former friend Caro Franklin has threatened to ‘expose’ the star in a cryptic deleted post – months after their sudden fall out[/caption]

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Around three months ago, Selena’s fans noticed that she’d unfollowed Caro[/caption]

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Caro has spoken out[/caption]

But around three months ago, Selena’s fans noticed that she’d unfollowed Caro – with the feud believed to have been started due to their differing political views.

One theory brought to the table by fans is that it’s due to Selena being very liberal, while Caro is pro-Trump.

Now, Caro has spoken out in some now deleted Instagram stories that appear to be directed at her former friend Selena.

She said: “I’ve been transparent with who I am my whole life… Who are you? What have you presented to the world that you are?”

Caro continued: “When I decide how and when to expose you… I will address it with the most detail and sincerity to the 10 year friendship that I experienced and survived… Under oath.”

She finished her post with a kissing face emoji.

Prior to the unfollow, Selena and Caro were often spotted hanging out together.

Caro shared a photo with then bestie Selena back in July 2023, as the girls stunned in pink side by side.

She wrote: “come on Barbie lets go party! HBD SG.”

Meanwhile, Selena confirmed her engagement with Benny Blanco in December 2024.

And the songstress ditched her top and got very cosy with her music producer fiance Benny for a new photoshoot.

The 32-year-old could not keep her hands off her lover in the new pictures for Interview magazine.

In one close-up shot, Selena’s bare shoulders could be seen as she went without a top as Benny clutched her from behind.

In the seductive snap, she held her finger up and pressed it against the inside of his lip before resting her other hand on her bare chest.

Benny opted to strip down to his boxer shorts as he went trouser-less for another snap where he sat on a sofa alongside his popstar partner.

Selena put on a busty display in that image as she threw of a furry coat and channelled old Hollywood glamour with her hair and make-up.

The pair also appeared to get hot and heavy with one another inside a car for the raunchy new images as Selena laid on top of her partner with their bodies hanging out the door of the vehicle.

It comes as the couple confirmed that they would be working together on a collaborative music project.

Vowing to be the nest music power couple, Selena and Benny have teamed up for their first joint album, I Said I Love You First.

Ahead of the impending record’s release, they surprised fans with the first song entitled, Scared of Loving You.

The record was co-written with Finneas, the brother of Billie Eilish and her primary collaborator.

A statement to tease the album read: “The album came together organically as a direct result of the comfort that they both felt when working together creatively, allowing them to produce art that authentically reflects their experiences.

“It chronicles their entire story — before they met, falling in love and looking to what the future holds.”

It will be Come & Get It singer Selena’s first full-length release since 2020’s Rare.

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Caro has since deleted these screenshots[/caption]

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The former friends in Paris together[/caption]

The U.S. government’s foreign aid freeze has upended the supply chain for medical products crucial for fighting diseases including HIV and malaria in some of the world’s poorest countries, and life-threatening gaps could persist for months, according to two sources familiar with the sector. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) usually places around $600 […]

Iss Ishq Ka Rabb Rakha 21st February 2025 Written Episode, Written Update on TellyUpdates.com The Episode starts with Ranbir and Meghla seeking Meher’s blessings before heading to the airport. Meher expresses her concerns to Ranbir about Meghla’s irresponsible nature, which upsets Meghla. However, she reassures Meher of her sincerity. Adrija intervenes, advising Meghla to stop [...]

The post Iss Ishq Ka Rabb Rakha 21st February 2025 Written Episode Update: Meghla gets blamed appeared first on Telly Updates.

The first season of Beast Games sits at a dismally low 13% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, something that certainly irked the creator, MrBeast, but he told Dexerto he makes the show for the many, not the few. Speaking on Dexerto’s Clickbaited show, we asked Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson to expand on his earlier criticism of...

This leaked Black Ops 6 perk sounds very familiar if you’re a veteran Call of Duty player.

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THE old wives tale that excessive screen time can give you square eyes may contain some truth, after a new study found it could increase kids’ risk of an eye condition.

Just an hour spent in front of screens increases children‘s risk of myopia by 21 per cent, the research found.

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Using screens between one and four hours was found to significantly increase the risk of myopia[/caption]

Myopia, the medical term for short sightedness, is when a person can’t see objects far away clearly.

The study, carried out by a team at Seoul National University College of Medicine, South Korea, pulled together 45 studies involving 300,000 kids.

They found the risk of myopia increased significantly between one to four hours of daily screen time, and then rose more gradually after four hours.

The widespread adoption of smart devices among children was said by the researchers to have an influence.

They wrote: “Global smartphone penetration surged from 21.6 per cent in 2014 to 69 per cent in 2023.

“Additionally, the age at which children begin using smart devices is decreasing, with many two-year-olds spending up to two hours daily on such devices.

“As a quintessential form of near-vision work, the use of smart devices has been considered to have a significant association with increased risk of myopia.”

Studies over the last decade have shown myopia to be a growing problem, particularly among children.

A study published in 2016 found children are twice as likely to be short-sighted than 50 years prior.

Scientists at Ulster University tracked more than 1,000 children over six years, and compared it to results from similar studies in the 1960s.

Writing in the journal PLOS One, they said: “The proportion of myopes in the UK has more than doubled over the last 50 years in children aged between ten and 16 years, and children are becoming myopic at a younger age.”

At the time the study was published, the researchers found myopia was most likely to develop between the ages of six and 13 years.

Also, that 16.4 per cent of children aged 12 to 13 were short sighted – more than double the rate of 7.2 per cent of those aged 10 to 16 in the 1960s.

The new Korean study specifically looked at how much screen time increased the risk of myopia among kids.

While the risk increased significantly between one to four hours, the association remained insignificant for screen time exposure of up to one hour per day, suggesting a potential safety threshold.

The researchers wrote: “These findings could offer meaningful insights for future research and inform educational strategies and
public health policies aimed at addressing the myopia pandemic.”

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Using screens for up to one hour a day was seen as a potential safety threshold[/caption]

Signs of myopia

Short-sightedness usually starts in children from age 6 to 13, according to the NHS, but it can also happen in adults.

Signs include:

• difficulty reading words from a distance, such as reading the whiteboard at school
• sitting close to the TV or computer, or holding a mobile phone or tablet close to the face
• getting headaches
• rubbing the eyes a lot

Visit an optician if you or your child has signs of short sightedness, or you or your child hasn’t had an eye test for two years.

Short-sightedness is usually treated with glasses or contact lenses.

THERE is, obviously, a lot of competition, but Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips have just performed their sickest stunts yet.

Stomach-churning though their antics to date may have been, at least they’ve only involved willing participants.

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Yesterday, Bonnie Blue appeared to hint that she was pregnant[/caption]

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The pair were once friends but had a falling out over whose idea it was to sleep with 1,000 men in a day[/caption]

Rather than people who can’t give their consent, because they haven’t been born yet. Or who, it turns out, don’t exist.  

Bonnie and Lily both appeared to announce pregnancies on social media yesterday.

Infuriatingly, even though no one knew if this was real or fake news at the time, these professional trolls were winning once again – everyone was discussing them, speculating, criticising.

And that’s just how they like it.

Yes, they make their living from staying relevant, and shocking, but both women clearly adore being the centre of attention, no matter what form that attention takes.

As long as they’re being talked about, they don’t seem to care what anyone’s saying.

The former friends, who fell out – as so many do – over whose idea it was to set a record by sleeping with 1,000 men in one day, both seemed to reveal that they were pregnant on the same day.

Bonnie posted a photo of pickles, chocolate sauce and sprinkles hashtagged cravings, before talking about her plan to livestream the birth in eight months time.

She has today clarified that she’s not pregnant, and stated that she would never lie about being pregnant because that is “a step too far”.

She says she just “hinted” that she was pregnant, “as a joke”.

Hours later Lily had shared a photo of herself with a baby bump and two positive pregnancy tests.

Followers were dubious, as she’d had a flat stomach the last time she appeared on social media, but of course there’s no way to tell which image had been altered.

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Bonnie fuelled rumours with a ‘cravings’ post[/caption]

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Lily shared pictures of two pregnancy tests[/caption]

As with so much when it comes to Bonnie and Lily, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s fake. Probably sometimes for them as much as for us.

Bonnie made a video today where she said that she tried to get pregnant for years when she was younger, and that she found it a very lonely experience.

Presumably she thinks this is an excuse, that it makes what she did better?

Let’s be clear: it only makes it worse.

If she has been through fertility struggles, she should be much more sensitive to all those currently going through the ordeal, and not have made light of the situation by, in her words, even ‘hinting’.

That supposed joke will never, ever be funny to anyone facing the painful reality of infertility.

Grim future

Bonnie and Lily are locked in the world’s grimmest race to the bottom, and have run out of ways to cause outrage and offence, so now they will either pretend to be up the duff or exploit genuine pregnancies for clicks.

Maybe one day they really will be pregnant at the same time, and this story could take a surreal twist – they become rival mumfluencers, competing with each other to change 1,000 nappies in one day.

That’s actually the best possible scenario.

Because otherwise, both of them will have to do something even more extreme to drag the spotlight back on to themselves, to outdo each other, sinking lower and lower and lower.

It’s impossible to guess where it will end, the only guarantee is that it won’t be anywhere good.

There seem to be no depths to which they won’t plummet, so the worry is that they put themselves, or others, in severe danger, or lands them in jail.

The worst possible outcome is that there will be permanent devastating consequences to their temporary bids for infamy.

Oh, and that their children will read all about them online when they grow up.

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Bonnie even joked her baby would have 1,057 dads and the world’s fittest mum[/caption]

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She and Lily are locked in the world’s grimmest race to the bottom[/caption]

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Their antics have left critics wondering just how far they are willing to go for attention[/caption]