Sienna might have found a friend in the must unexpected of places.
Read More »
Hollyoaks confirms very unexpected ally for Sienna in Ethan murder story
Tragedy in Coronation Street as TV legend is rushed to hospital after collapse
She's found struggling to breathe.
Read More »
Carla Connor delivers big news which will impact major Coronation Street family
It's a huge blow.
Read More »
Alfie stunned as Kat exposes abuse in EastEnders – can he save her?
The truth at last.
Read More »
Archaeologists find ‘hugely rare’ secret TOMB under Indiana Jones landmark Petra hiding skeletons & ‘Holy Grail’ cup
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found a secret tomb underneath the landmark Petra – a World Wonder and Indiana Jones film setting.
Twelve bodies have been found in the tomb, with one of them holding a chalice that resembles the Holy Grail.
Diggers excavated the 2,000-year-old grave after finding it through a sonic underground search.
In Petra’s tomb they also found bits of bronze, iron, and other bits of ceramic items.
Hundreds more items are expected to be recovered as excavation continues, according to lead archaeologist Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman.
Creasman said his team dated the grave to the first century BC using luminescence dating, which tracks the last exposure of minerals to sunlight.
Many other tombs have been discovered across Petra, but it is rare to be able to excavate the bodies.
Josh Gates, host of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown was part of the dig.
Gates said: “This is a hugely rare discovery — in the two centuries that Petra has been investigated by archaeologists, nothing like this has been found before.
“Even in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world … there are still huge discoveries to be made.”
Creasman said the discovery could help unlock clues about ancient Arab society.
He said: “The Nabateans were a multicultural trading society who only worked because they united as a people. I hope they might be able to teach us something today.”
Located in modern day Jordan, Petra was built in the 1st century BC and was inhabited by about 20,000 people at its peak.
The building is called Khaznah, or the Treasury, and was built by nomadic Arabians, called the Nabataeans, in about 100BC.
Petra’s Treasury was named as such because of an early theory that it held the treasure of an Egyptian pharaoh.
Most researchers today believe that it was a tomb built by Nabataean King Aretas IV, who ruled from about 9BC to 40 AD.
It is a hit tourist destination with visitors having to walk through a small canyon that hides the building before they arrive.
Petra might be recognisable to most people for its starring role in Steven Spielberg’s 1989 sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Normally, great cities are based near rivers, allowing easy access to the water which is the lifeblood of any human settlement.
Petra, on the other hand, enjoyed a maximum 15cm of rainfall every year, forcing its inhabitants to develop water management systems which appear impressive to this very day.
Republican hardliners accused of trying to sabotage King Charles’ historic Australia tour
REPUBLICAN hardliners were last night accused of trying to sabotage King Charles’ historic tour Down Under.
Charles put his cancer treatment on hold so the nine-day trip to Australia could go ahead.
But the six state premiers have snubbed an invitation to greet him and the Queen at a reception in Canberra.
Royal commentators branded the move “petty” and “an insulting slap in the face”.
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told The Sun: “It’s very disrespectful.
“It’s just people stomping their feet and using the tour by the King to get a bit of attention.
“The politicians are jumping on the bandwagon and using it to boost their agenda.
“This has been going on for years.
“The King is very laid back about it all. He loves Australia and he loves the people.
“This is just being revved up by republicans who have been banging the same drum for decades.”
Australian politician and monarchist Bev McArthur said: “The failure of state premiers to attend the reception in Canberra is completely indefensible.
“Welcoming the King and Queen to Australia is the least they can do as the most senior elected representatives of their states.
“I find it insulting. They should just take off their republican hats, make the short trip to Canberra, say ‘hi and thank you for coming to Australia’.”
The trip starts later this week, with the Canberra event on Monday. Buckingham Palace did not comment on the row.
Inside Charles' cancer fightback
By Matt Wilkinson, Royal Editor
IT was an announcement that sent shockwaves around the world – King Charles had cancer and would be stepping back from public-facing duty just 16 months into his reign.
For this no-nonsense, keep-calm and-carry-on Monarch — eldest son of the even more hard-headed Prince Philip — to admit he had to ease back on his workload meant one thing: it was bad.
Dutiful Camilla, 77, stood in for the King when he stepped back from a string of engagements including the Royal Maundy Service at Worcester Cathedral and a solo two-day visit to Belfast, both in March.
But fast forward just six months from the announcement and incredibly he is now fit enough to travel 10,000 miles for a gruelling tour of Australia and Samoa.
As one source close to the King, 75, told me: “The sun wasn’t shining in February but it is shining now”.
The King’s aides were keen to point out when he made his public comeback at a cancer hospital on April 30 that not all recovery programmes for cancer patients are the same.
Yet while he is “not yet out of the woods”, according to those in his inner circle, they add there is “great optimism” and treatment has gone “better than anyone would have thought”.
Today the details of exactly how the Royal Household put our much-loved Monarch back together again are revealed.
From exactly why he was pulled from duty to the pioneering treatments that meant he never lost his hair — and the real reason his wayward son, Harry, was given an audience of just 30 minutes.
Charles’ ordeal began in January when he revealed he needed a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.
He decided to allow the public to know what he was going through, which resulted in a huge outpouring of sympathy.
Charles was touched by the public reaction but also significantly buoyed when it was revealed the NHS website received 11 times more daily visits from men with similar concerns.
But then his condition would take a turn for the worse.
Charles was due to spend two nights in the London Clinic — where Kate was also being treated — so when he spent a third night in care, people started to become concerned.
Those worries were realised when tests revealed cancer.
But rather than hide this devastating news from the public he decided that following the supportive reaction to his prostate diagnosis he would allow it to be made public.
A carefully constructed plan inspired by Operation Bubble which protected the late Queen from Covid-19 was thrown into action.
He would have weekly treatment in London and factor in vital periods of rest time at Sandringham, Highgrove and Windsor.
But his health plan was thrown into turmoil when Prince Harry announced he would jet from Los Angeles to see his father.
While the King delayed his helicopter flight from Buckingham Palace to Sandringham, his wayward son was given just 30 minutes of his company at Clarence House.
Plans were in place to avoid the King contacting a secondary infection and Harry flying 5,000 miles on a jet was not ideal.
Aides prevented Harry, 39, joining his father at Sandringham fearing “we’d never get rid of him” and he needed to reduce his social contact while undergoing cancer treatment.
During this time a Freedom of Information request revealed the Department for Culture and Media had begun procurement for the King’s potential funeral — although sources say this is not unusual.
Suggestions that William had been lined up as a potential Prince Regent if the King was unable to carry out the position have been denied by Buckingham Palace.
But the King was withdrawn from all public duty for 103 days although he continued reading government red boxes.
It can now be revealed the decision to postpone his public facing role was made as a “precautionary measure” because of the King’s diminished immune response to other diseases.
The Royal Household copied Covid-style protocols — or tiers imposed by the Government during the pandemic — to minimise secondary infection such as seasonal cold or flu.
A source said: “We had to minimise potential risk from other people, not because he couldn’t do the job.”
But as winter turned into spring and weather became warmer it meant they could relax the Covid-style tiers.
This was demonstrated when the King emerged from the Easter Sunday service and was greeted by 60 well-wishers at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Just days earlier, the monarch and his team had received news that the treatment had gone better than anyone could have expected.
One insider said: “He was raring to go after the positive results and didn’t want to hang around any longer”.
It meant the King told aides that a trip to Australia, seen as the most important tour a monarch will ever take, must go ahead in the autumn, as first revealed by The Sun.
New cervical cancer treatment cuts risk of death by 40% in ‘biggest breakthrough in 20 years’
A NEW treatment regime for cervical cancer cuts the risk of death by 40 per cent, according to a large-scale study.
Researchers in London completed a long-term follow up of patients given a short course of chemotherapy before chemoradiation – a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The findings, which follow on from those first presented in October 2023, show a 40 per cent reduction in the risk of death and a 35 per cent reduction in the risk of cancer coming back within at least five years.
At the time of the initial results, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) hailed the shift as the biggest improvement in cervical cancer treatment in more than 20 years.
Chemoradiation has been the standard treatment for the condition since 1999, but despite improvements in care, cancer returns in up to 30 per cent of cases.
The Interlace phase III trial, funded by CRUK and University College London (UCL) Cancer Trials Centre, looked at whether a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation could cut relapses and death among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer that had not spread to other organs.
The results, published in The Lancet, are so clear that experts are calling for the regime to be used across the UK and internationally.
Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator of the trial from UCL Cancer Institute and University College London Hospital (UCLH), said: “This approach is a straightforward way to make a positive difference, using existing drugs that are cheap and already approved for use in patients.
“It has already been adopted by some cancer centres and there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer.”
The trial team recruited 500 patients over 10 years from hospitals in the UK, Mexico, India, Italy and Brazil.
They were randomly allocated to receive either standard treatment or the new treatment combination.
After five years, 80 per cent of those who received a short course of chemotherapy first were alive and 73 per cent had not seen their cancer return or spread.
In the standard treatment group, 72 per cent were alive and 64 per cent had not seen their cancer return or spread.
Researchers said that five patients involved in the trial have been disease-free for more than 10 years.
Professor Jonathan Ledermann, senior author of the study from UCL Cancer Institute, said: “The incremental cost for using the drugs in the Interlace trial is low, making this a new treatment that can be easily implemented in all health economies, to significantly improve overall survival.”
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, added: “Timing is everything when you’re treating cancer.
“The simple act of adding induction chemotherapy to the start of chemoradiation treatment for cervical cancer has delivered remarkable results in the Interlace trial.
“A growing body of evidence is showing that additional chemotherapy before other treatments, like surgery and radiotherapy, can improve the chances of successful treatment for patients.
“Not only can it reduce the chances of cancer coming back, it can also be delivered quickly, using drugs already available worldwide.”
How to protect yourself against cervical cancer
CERVICAL cancer is most commonly diagnosed in women in their early 30s, with around 3,200 new cases and 850 deaths each year in the UK.
According to CRUK, the five-year survival rate is around 70 per cent – and the earlier it is caught, the better.
Cervical screening programmes and HPV vaccines have reduced rates and save 4,000 lives each year.
It is vital you attend your smear test and get jabbed when invited, and that you know the symptoms of cervical cancer to look out for.
These aren’t always obvious, and they may not become noticeable until the cancer has reached an advanced stage.
But you might notice:
- Unusual bleeding (often after sex, between periods, or after the menopause)
- Pain and discomfort during sex
- Vaginal discharge (often unpleasant smelling)
- Pain in your lower back, between your hip bones or in your lower tummy
Women are invited to have regular cervical screenings between the ages of 25 and 64. How often depends on your age.
The HPV vaccine, which helps protect against the virus, is recommended for children aged 12 to 13 and people at higher risk from HPV.
Source: NHS and Cancer Research UK
Brit dad of four found dead at bottom of 600ft cliffs after holiday night out in Benidorm
A BRIT dad of four was found dead at the bottom of 600ft cliffs after a holiday night out, an inquest heard yesterday.
Nathan Osman, 30, was on his first trip away with friends when the tragedy struck.
His family think he was on his way back to his hotel but got lost and fell in Benidorm.
His body was found by police the following day.
An inquest opening was told he suffered traumatic brain injuries after falling 600ft from a cliff.
Nathan’s family have started a fundraiser to bring his body home from Spain after the tragedy last month.
They also said Nathan, from Pontypridd, South Wales, was “a doting partner to Katie, mother of his four children”.
They added: “He was an incredible father and made so many memories his children will cherish.”
Coroner Graeme Hughes said an inquest was needed due to the “violent” nature of his death and adjourned the hearing for a date to be set.
Dating Game Killer Rodney Alcala’s eerie remarks to Cheryl Bradshaw on TV set before he was unmasked as serial murderer
A HEARTLESS serial killer whose sick crimes are at the center of a new movie made now-disturbing comments in a jaw-dropping dating show appearance.
Murderous Rodney Alcala appeared on national television to try and win over Cheryl Bradshaw in the midst of a rampant killing spree where he raped and murdered young women and girls.
Alcala’s twisted game show appearance has resurfaced as the story of his life of crime is being retold in an upcoming Netflix film, Woman of the Hour.
The serial killer competed on the Dating Game in 1978 while he was working as a typesetter for the Los Angeles Times, even though he had already served jail time for molesting two girls.
In the episode, Alcala wooed over Bradshaw with his now-eerie suggestive remarks about loving the night time and an impression of a “dirty old man.”
At one point, he was asked to explain what meal he would be if he was being served for dinner, to which he responded a “banana” that “looks good.”
“Peel me,” he exclaimed at Bradshaw.
At the end of the show, the bachelorette picked Alcala as the winner, and the host described him as a professional sky diver and photographer.
However, the two never actually went on their date because Bradshaw said she later felt “creeped out” by the contestant.
By the time Alcala appeared on the show, he had already beat, raped, and strangely five women.
He’s officially been linked to 8 murders, but investigators believe Alcala may have killed up to 130 people based on his disturbing photo collection.
For his photography work, Alcala would convince young women and children to post nude for him, and keep their pictures in a secret stash.
Hundreds of sickening pictures were uncovered by cops, and those depicted range from adult women to teenage boys.
In 2010, police released 120 pictures, and urged the public to help them identify the models as they believed some of them could be victims.
About 900 other photos weren’t released because they were too sexually explicit.
DISTURBING HISTORY
Alcala has been called a “killing machine” who tricked women and girls into coming to his house before slowly killing them by strangling them until they lost consciousness.
He would sometimes repeat this process several times and sexually assault his victims.
It’s unknown how many people were killed by Alcala, but some detectives believe it could be hundreds.
Who was Rodney Alcala?
RODNEY Alcala is one of America's most notorious serial killers, and detectives are still uncovering terrifying details about his crimes.
Alcala was born to a Mexican-American family in 1943 in Texas.
His family moved back to Mexico, but after his father abandoned them, his mother took them to Los Angeles.
Growing up, Alcala was well-liked by classmates, but he started to have troubles when he joined the military at 17.
Commanding officers described him as insubordinate and anti-social. He was punished several time for harassing women.
Alcala was eventually dismissed from the military for having a so-called breakdown, where he left his station to flee back to California.
His first crime took place in 1968, when he convinced Tali Shapiro, who was 8 at the time, to get in his car.
He then took her inside his home and raped her before escaping cops and fleeing to New York.
Alcala would serve time in prison for this assault and another before he was let out and embarked on a heartless killing spree.
He’s known to have killed at least 8 women, but detectives believe his victims could range in the hundreds.
The serial killer was born in 1943 to a Mexican-American family, and moved to Los Angeles when he was 11 after his dad abandoned them.
Former classmates described him as a popular student who was exceptionally smart and relatively athletic.
At 17-years-old, he joined the military to become a paratrooper, but started having trouble with his commanding officers.
He was discharged after he had a nervous breakdown and left his station in North Carolina to hitchhike across the country back to his mom in California.
Alcala’s first horrific crime came in 1968 when he kidnapped and violently raped 8-year-old girl Tali Shapiro while she was walking to school.
Tali survived the attack, but was in a coma for nearly a month, and has almost no memory of the attack.
Alcala fled to New York and started working in film while he evaded police. He killed at least one other woman before he was caught.
Two months after he was paroled for child molestation, he was re arrested for assaulting a teenage girl and sentenced to two more years in prison.
In 1977, Alcala started his known spree of murdering and raping women throughout California. He’s still being tied to homicides and missing persons cases years later.
One of his victims was Georgia Wixted, who was murdered by Alcala in her Malibu apartment in 1977.
The serial killer was finally arrested in July 1979 and sentenced to death the following year.
He died in prison in 2021 from natural causes.
Half of all patients rushed to hospital with sepsis die within 2 years, scientists warn – with 5 groups most at risk
HALF of surviving sepsis patients die within two years, a new study shows.
Sepsis is a serious illness with a high mortality rate, but the latest research highlights its long-lasting threat to a person’s lifespan.
Danish researchers examined deaths over a long follow-up period in a prospective study of 714 adult Dane patients admitted to the emergency department with sepsis.
Dr Finn E Nielsen, a senior scientist in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, said: “We found that certain factors increased the risk of death after sepsis, including, not surprisingly, advanced age.
“Additionally, conditions such as dementia, heart disease, cancer and previous hospitalisation with sepsis within the last six months before admission also elevated the risk of dying during a median follow-up period of two years.”
The findings, being presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress today (Tuesday), showed that the risk of death increased by four per cent for every additional year of age.
A history of cancer more than doubles the risk (121 per cent).
Heart disease increased the risk by 39 per cent, dementia by 90 per cent, and previous admission with sepsis within the last six months by 48 per cent.
Dr Nielsen said patients with the risk factors should be identified and followed up more closely after they are discharged.
The World Health Organization warned in 2020 that little is known on the outcomes of people who survive sepsis.
Dr Barbra Backus, an emergency physician in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, who was not involved with the research, said: “Sepsis is a serious and potentially fatal medical condition.
“The incidence of sepsis is increasing in several countries, yet so far, there has been limited, reliable information about long-term outcomes for patients who develop sepsis.
“More research is needed to help us better understand the risk factors for an increased risk of dying from sepsis, which can help to improve treatment.”
Sepsis has a mortality rate of around 20 per cent, the Sepsis Trust reports.
There are around 48,000 deaths from sepsis in the UK every year – more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined.
Each year, almost 80,000 people end up with life-changing after-effects, ranging from lethargy and muscle weakness to PTSD and repeated infections.
Who gets sepsis and what causes it?
Sepsis can affect anyone. The condition occurs when the body’s immune system has an overeaction to an infection.
As a result, the body attacks itself.
Some people are more likely to get an infection that could lead to sepsis, however.
This includes babies under the age of one, people over 75 years old, people with diabetes or a weak immune system (either due to treatment, a condition or genetically), people who have recently had surgery or given birth.
Any infection can lead to sepsis. But those more likely to are those of:
- Lungs, such as pneumonia.
- Kidney, bladder and other parts of the urinary system
- Digestive system
- Bloodstream
- Catheter sites
- Wounds or burns