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By Gwladys Fouche OSLO The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, sailed into Oslo on

Todd Boehly is dialing back his involvement at Chelsea FC, people with knowledge of the matter said, as

Helen Flanagan admits she’s “no superwoman”, and isn’t saying being a single parent is easy. But despite “running around like a blue-arsed fly” as she puts it, the former Coronation Street actress, who split from her footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair last summer, says her new single family life is working really well. “I co-parent with my ex-fiancé Scott – we’ve got three children together, and we were together for 13 years,” explains Flanagan, 32, who has just appeared on I’m A Celebrity… South Africa. “My friends help me with the children, because I do work nearly every day. I have a friend and we’re a girl gang together – I’m not superwoman! So that works nicely at home. “Scott’s living with his mum at the moment in Bristol, and my children are really close to their nana, so it works really well. My kids just have a really happy environment, with me and my friend at home, and then they have a really nice happy environment with their dad and their nana.” Flanagan, who lives in Manchester, says she has the children – Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and two-year-old Charlie – “the majority of the time”, as their dad’s away playing football for Bristol Rovers a lot. “So it kind of can’t be helped, really,” she says. “But his mum is absolutely fantastic, we get on very, very well. She’s known me since I was 19, so I’m close with his mum, and she helps me a lot with the children.” The actress admits that although she misses her “babies” when they’re with their dad and nana, she makes the most of her child-free time. “I had my children not young, but young-ish – I had Matilda when I was 24 – and I just feel like I spent all my 20s being pregnant and breastfeeding at home,” Flanagan reflects. “So it’s kind of nice sometimes to have that time, because I know they’re in the best hands with Scott’s mum, and it’s lovely that I can spend some time with my friends and concentrate on my work and have some fun. So it’s nice, it works well. “Of course I miss them, they’re my babies, but I know they’re really, really happy with their nana and their dad, so I don’t have to worry. I do feel like the happier you are as a mum, the better it is for your child.” Most of Flanagan’s time these days is spent either working or looking after the kids – and deflecting her daughters’ pleas to get on social media. “I’m not ready for my five-year-old and eight-year-old to have social media yet – I don’t think it’s healthy for children to have social media too young,” she says. “Matilda’s desperate to go on TikTok and create her own content, and sometimes I feel a bit guilty because I’m on TikTok and Instagram and she sees that. So I said, ‘Why don’t you have mummy’s?’ and she said, ‘No, I want my own!’” As a compromise for the time being, the girls have been allowed a NickWatch connected smartwatch, which is free from social media but features games, music, safe connectivity with parents, and a GPS tracker. “A GPS tracker is such a comfort as a parent to have,” says Flanagan. “You can see where they are at all times, which is great. For me as a parent, I never keep my eyes off my children, they’re too precious. It’s just to have peace of mind.” New research by NickWatch found 41% of parents with a child under 10 years say their child has walked off on their own without them being aware. According to the survey, parents of children aged under 10 say they’ve ‘lost’ them five times on average. Fortunately, keeping a close eye on her kids means Flanagan has never been in that position, although she admits: “I’ve had a moment in a supermarket where I’ve kind of gone, ‘Where’s Matilda?’, and then I’ve seen her. But it’s common for people to lose their children, which is really scary – it’s the worst feeling in the world, and you need to have eyes in the back of your head.” But it was her daughter’s eyes that were on her, when Flanagan took part in I’m a Celebrity… South Africa recently, more than 10 years after she first took part in the show in the Australian jungle. “I loved the jungle, I really, really, did,” she declares. “It was just such anamazing experience. It was great to go back and redeem myself. I didn’t want to be pathetic and rubbish at the trials, and I had my little girl watching from home, so I couldn’t have not done it – she’d have been gutted, so that was my motivation.” Now she’s back, Flanagan, who last appeared as Rosie Webster on Coronation Street in 2018, says she’s currently doing a lot of work on social media and auditioning, and has “things in the pipeline that I can’t really share just now”. But she adds: “I’d absolutely love to go back to Coronation Street at some point, it’s just timing – I definitely want to do it at some point.” Helen Flanagan is helping to launch Nickwatch, a new connected smartwatch for children aged six to nine with built-in GPS tracking. Read More Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden diagnosed with breast cancer aged 32 Joe Alwyn attends Celine dinner at Cannes Film Festival Madeleine McCann – latest news: Search of remote reservoir enters second day as police seen digging beside dam Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Proposals for a digital European currency are taking shape

Popular Twitch streamer Zack ‘Asmongold’ responded to Andrew Tate's recent tweets, which have come as a surprise to his followers

By Emma Farge GENEVA Older people have suffered and died at a disproportionately high rate since Russia's invasion

South Korea has canceled its plan to launch its first commercial-grade satellite citing a technical issue, days after rival North Korea reaffirmed its push to place its first military spy satellite into orbit

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has condemned the handling of fresh allegations of Covid lockdown rule-breaking as "bizarre and unacceptable", as he faces a further possible probe into the "Partygate"...

Eddie Howe was not expecting much of a reception when he got back home after becoming the first manager since Sir Bobby Robson to steer Newcastle United into the Champions League. “The dog probably won’t even get up and give me a wag,” he said. “He will probably be asleep on the sofa.” But Howe has a smiling tendency to downplay and deflect. He had claimed he would celebrate the 6-1 demolition of Tottenham with a tea and a biscuit. Securing a top-four finish, he said, might prompt something slightly stronger. “I hope it is not with a tea and biscuit,” he said. It has been Howe’s way not to mention the Champions League; he claimed it had just “crept up on us” and that he had only started to think about it seriously in the last few weeks. Which, if true, would make Howe the exception at St James’ Park. He nevertheless sounded like a man who had started his planning, albeit with a typical willingness to moderate expectations. Champions League revenue could provide a £100 million boost to Newcastle’s income; not money their owners need, given the wealth of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but essential for the club, considering the way Financial Fair Play regulations limit their room for manoeuvre. “We don’t have the ability to spend the money people think we have,” Howe insisted. A voice of caution made a couple of pertinent points. Firstly, Newcastle do not want to lose the unity and spirit that has propelled them beyond more talented teams. To put it another way, they don’t want to do a Chelsea. And secondly, the better the side has got, the fewer the number of players who can actually improve it. Of those who can, Newcastle are likely to ignore established superstars. So far, they have not raided any of their new rivals: they have not bought from the Premier League’s big six – a term they may have rendered outdated – while instead purchasing from Burnley, Aston Villa, Brighton and Everton and, with the arguable exception of Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid, they have recruited from Europe’s second tier: Real Sociedad, Lyon and Lille. The sense is the plan might not change; it can just be accelerated. “We have been really good in the three transfer windows,” said Howe. There was no need for false modesty; they have. Perhaps they have more ambitious targets now: then again, ambition was always apparent, whether taking Trippier to a club in the relegation zone, a few months after winning La Liga. Even without Champions League football, their persuasive powers were apparent: Bruno Guimaraes was an Arsenal target, Sven Botman wanted by AC Milan. More such targeted recruitment seems on the cards. “We will be adding to the squad but it won’t be huge numbers,” said Howe. Two targets look particularly attainable. Kieran Tierney would be their first recruit from the big six, but even then a player who has lost his place in Arsenal’s strongest side. Dan Burn has been an endearing emblem of Newcastle’s progress but a great overachiever is not actually a great left-back. James Maddison was wanted on Tyneside last summer; with Leicester’s possible relegation and the England international’s contract expiring in 2024, they are dual reasons why he could be available. He would offer something different, an injection of creativity into a hard-running team and a player whose goals and assist numbers are excellent. This summer may bring a search for a right-footed Botman, a right-sided centre-back of similar capability; well as Fabian Schar has done, it could be a position where Howe looks to upgrade. There is also scope for midfield reinforcements. The question of whether Guimaraes plays exclusively as the deepest of the trio or as one of the No 8s may dictate if Newcastle go for a more defensive presence. Certainly, there are a host of different types of midfielders who look like Howe-type players and are likely to be on the market: Moises Caicedo, James Ward-Prowse, Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount look cases in point. It will be instructive if Newcastle were to enter the race for Mount, given the high calibre of his suitors. Part of Howe’s task is to balance loyalty with ruthlessness, to assess how many of those who had the season of their life this season are capable of repeating the feat or will regress to a lower level: Burn, Schar, Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy, Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock all belong in that category. Some will surely spend more time on the bench. Another issue is whether Newcastle can play such an exhausting style of play with a far more crowded fixture list: to use Dean Smith’s word, they have “steamrollered” opponents this season but with the aid of freshness, cohesion and continuity. But Howe has scarcely rotated and only 14 players have made more than five league starts this season. It is an illustration of why he feels he has a small squad, especially after the January sales of Chris Wood and Jonjo Shelvey. The summer may see an exodus of some of the unused, of some of Ryan Fraser, Matt Ritchie, Jamal Lewis, Jamaal Lascelles, Isaac Hayden and Javi Manquillo, all part of his inheritance. Maybe Allan Saint-Maximin, too, the crowd-pleaser who does not fit Howe’s high-pressing ethos. Each represents the old Newcastle. The newer Newcastle is taking shape in Howe’s image and at a speed he did not forecast. The worrying element for their newer peers is their status as a Champions League club gives them more pulling power and a bigger budget. Read More Roberto De Zerbi: Brighton’s Lewis Dunk has been playing through pain barrier Let’s do it – Pep Guardiola wants PL charges dealt with as soon as possible Newcastle celebrate Champions League qualification – Tuesday’s sporting social Roberto De Zerbi: Brighton could lose Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister Pep Guardiola expecting City’s intensity to drop but warns of challenges to come Leeds, Leicester and Everton facing final-day scrap for Premier League survival

Reese Witherspoon radiated youthfulness in the selfie that highlighted her distinctive features with minimal makeup

A famous drag show restaurant has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis, claiming a bill that prohibits children’s attendance at drag shows has hurt its business and is a violation of the First Amendment. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando, a franchise location of the drag show restaurant chain Hamburger Mary’s, is alleging that the state of Florida, “Seeks to explicitly restrict or chill speech and expression protected by the First Amendment” in a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Monday. The lawsuit pertains to SB 1438, nicknamed the Protection of Children, which allows for criminal penalties against a food service establishment for admitting children to “an adult live performance.” The bill, which was signed into law by Mr DeSantis last week, prohibits children from attending adult live performances or the establishment can face fines, have their license suspended or revoked and their liquor license suspended or revoked. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando offers “family friendly” drag performances on Sundays, which they say have been greatly affected by the passage of SB 1438. “This bill has nothing to do with children, and everything to do with the continued oppression of the LGBTQ+ community,” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando wrote in a Facebook post. In the lawsuit, Hamburger Mary’s Orlando said “immediately” after the bill passed, 20 per cent of their bookings were cancelled for the 21 May 2023 show as well as future bookings despite the performances being “family friendly.” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando is alleging in the lawsuit that the bill does not serve a compelling governmental interest and is too vague, thus violating the restaurant’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression. “The law and anticipation of it has had a chilling effect on free speech in Florida,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit names Mr DeSantis, the state of Florida, as well as Melanie Griffin, the Secretary of the State Department of Business and Professional Regulation for Florida, as defendants. The recent Protection of Children bill defines “adult live performance” as any presentation in front of a live audience where a part of it depicts sexual activity, sexual conduct, nudity, lewd exposure, lewd conduct, prosthetic or imitation genitals and more. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando claims, “There is no lewd activity, sexually explicit shows, disorderly conduct, public exposure, obscene exhibition, or anything inappropriate for a child to see” in their family-friendly brunches. The restaurant claims several undercover agents visited a drag brunch in December and did not witness “any lewd acts” that were inappropriate for children. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando is also alleging that the state of Florida has not provided examples of specific conduct that is harmful to children. “The uncertainty about what specific conduct this law prohibits, as well as the threat of police surveillance and criminal charges, is precisely what concerns the Plaintiff in this case,” the lawsuit says. Instead, Hamburger Mary’s Orlando believes this is another example of conservative leaders trying to restrict LGBT+ inclusivity in communities. “Anytime our legislators want to demonize a group, they say they are coming for your children. In this case, creating a false narrative that drag queens are grooming and recruiting your children with no factual basis or history to back up these accusations AT ALL,” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando wrote on Facebook. “They are setting a precedent that the state legislators [sic] can decide what is best for you based on THEIR own values and convictions, and write it into law,” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando added. The Independent has reached out to Hamburger Mary’s Orlando and Mr DeSantis’ office for comment. Read More Why are drag shows being targeted by the state of Tennessee and other republicans? Tampa Pride event cancelled over Ron DeSantis’ latest anti-LGBT+ laws Pride events cancelled across Florida due to ‘climate of fear’ after DeSantis’s anti-LGBT+ laws A famous restaurant chain has sued Florida over DeSantis’s drag ban Florida school bans poem recited by Amanda Gorman at Biden inauguration AP News Digest 3:10 am

The head of Iran’s nuclear program is insisting that his nation will cooperate with international inspectors on any “new activities” regarding its nuclear sector