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LIVERPOOL cult hero Firmino has been linked with a sensational move to Real Madrid, reports claim.

Real are looking for an experienced goalscorer to support Kylian Mbappe up top, after finishing second behind LaLiga champions Barcelona this season.

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Roberto Firmino is being linked with an unlikely move to Real Madrid[/caption]

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Firmino could be reunited with former Liverpool team-mate Alexander-Arnold[/caption]

It comes just days after Madrid swooped Liverpool boyhood star Trent Alexander-Arnold, who ended his 20-year career at Anfield for sunny Spain.

And according to Spanish outlet AS Sport, Madrid are in the hunt for a new Joselu-like figure to come to the Bernabeu.

The former Stoke and Newcastle forward may have flopped in the Premier League, but he’s fondly remembered in the Spanish capital.

Joselu scored crucial goals en route to Real’s 2024 Champions League victory, most notably his two late notches in the semi-final win over Bayern Munich.

Joselu, who came through the ranks at Real as a youngster, scored 18 goals in 49 appearances in all competitions as he played a vital support role after rejoining for a year aged 33.

And having been without such a prolific role player this year after Joselu joined Saudi side Al-Gharafa SC, Firmino has reportedly dropped onto Madrid‘s radar.

The Brazilian, 33, who once featured in one of most lethal Premier League front-threes with Mo Salah and Sado Maino, now plays in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli.

Firmino was linked with a shock move to Madrid before the end of Liverpool contract in 2023.

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Josulu became a cult hero in Madrid[/caption]

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After initially struggling to find his feet, Firmino has managed 21 goals in 65 appearances, and he captained Al-Ahli to the AFC Champions League Elite title this season.

Firmino is also seen as someone who could play a vital bench role for new manager Xabi Alonso, who also starred for both Liverpool and Madrid.

A move would allow youngster Gonzalo Garcia, 21, another year to develop after scoring 25 goals for Madrid‘s academy this season.

If does complete the switch, then Firmino would be reunited with former Liverpool team-mate Alexander-Arnold.

The pair who won it all at Liverpool during Jurgen Klopp‘s golden years, including the club’s first-ever Premier League trophy and the 2019 Champions League title.

While Firmino was given a hero’s send-off when he was released in 2023, the England right-back faced heavy criticism from Liverpool fans, who were initially fuming about his free agent status.

But Madrid have since paid £10million to release Alexander-Arnold a month early from this contract that was due to end on June 30.

The Spanish giants were hell-bent on having the 26-year-old for the Club World Cup, starting on June 14 in the US.

Firmino would also have fellow Brazilians Vinicius Jr and Eder Militao as team-mates.

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Firmino could also link up with Brazil team-mate Vinicius Jr[/caption]

A BUDGET airline is increasing flights to an affordable holiday destination – less than a year after they first launched.

Norse Atlantic Airways started the new route from London Gatwick to Cape Town in October 2024.

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Norse Atlantic Airways is adding even more flights to Cape Town[/caption]

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Cape Town is often named a top affordable winter sun destination[/caption]

And the huge demand for the South African route has since seen them extend the flight season as well as add more flights.

Previously offering three flights a week, this was increased to four earlier this year.

And the airline has now increased it even further, with six flights a week being launched.

And the seasonal route previously only operated until the end of April.

However the new season will operate from October 2, 2025 until May 2026.

Bård Nordhagen, Norse Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Following the success of our inaugural season we see great opportunity in the South African market.

“By expanding services, we wish to show to the trade and consumer markets we are committed to this route.”

 Andrew Fish, Head of UK & South African Sales at Norse Atlantic Airways added: “We are seeing exceptional momentum on this route, and this frequency increase reflects both customer confidence and Norse Atlantic Airlines’ long-term growth strategy.”

Cape Town was named the best value long-haul holiday destination in Post Office Travel Money’s Long Haul Holiday Report last year.

Not only is it affordable, but don’t expect any jet lag either with no time difference.

And it is a great winter sun hotspot, with highs of 27C in November and January.

The Sun’s Head of Travel (Digital) Caroline McGuire recently visited Cape Town with her family.

She said: “Everything in Cape Town is so accessible that we landed at 8.30am, got our hire car, checked into the hotel and were on the glorious Camps Bay beach in swimsuits by 11.30am.

“Camps Bay suburb feels like a cross between Cannes and a fancy California town, with its white sandy beach, backdrop of Table Mountain and smart restaurants lining the beachfront.

“Better still, the one-hour time difference meant we had no jet lag, so we could get stuck in straight away without the need to sleep it off. 

“The famous mountain was the first adventure spot on our list.

“And it made for a great family day out thanks to the rotating gondolas that slowly spin to offer panoramic views on the ascent to the top. “

Norse currently offers six long-haul destinations, including Miami, New York, Bangkok and Cape Town. 

Here are some of the other new flights that have launched this year.

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Along with being affordable, there is no jet lag in Cape Town[/caption]

LOVE Island’s boss has explained why this iconic spot in the villa has had a makeover for this year’s series.

Over the course of the show’s run, the terrace has become notorious for naughty moments as islanders sneak away for one-on-one chats and private time.

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This year’s villa is promising to be one of the bst yet[/caption]

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This year’s terrace has see through panelling and lower walls so there’s nowhere to hide[/caption]

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Last year’s terrace was secluded and overlooked the villa[/caption]

It’s also known for being the perfect spot for sneaky kisses – not always with who they are coupled up with.

But as the series returns on Monday, this year’s islanders will have nowhere to hide.

Show boss Mike Spencer-Hayter revealed: “The walls for the terrace are lower and more see-through so not as secret as before.”

“I think we just felt like it was a bit too covered up,” he added.

“You can’t see it fully, it’s still private. But I think lowering it and the kind of fretwork turns out good. Extra gossip.”

Previously, the terrace was connected through the girls’ changing area, had high walls which were made taller thanks to decorative flower walls.

However, those have been stripped back in this year’s series, with a long terrace now in place, with lower walling and no extra decoration.

It makes the view of the terrace that more clearer from the garden, where most of the islanders tend to spend their days.

Over the course of the show, the terrace has delivered iconic moments, including Ekin-Su crawling across the floor in order to be completely obscured as she made her move on Jay Younger.

The terrace is not the only part of Love Island that’s getting a switch-up – with the team aiming for twists bigger and better than ever before, starting in the first week.

Mike told The Sun: “Something big is coming in week one. We’ve got a really big week one planned. It’s hard to say what we’re doing without saying it.

“It’s not a celebrity. We’ve not seen it before.”

He added that changes will be noticeable from the very start of the series.

He said: “There will be things happening for the first couple of days we’ve not done before and certainly in week one. During that week, there’s something incredibly big we’ve never done before.

“Hopefully we can do it. It’s quite experimental. I just think you can’t rest on your laurels, being like, ‘This is really popular.’

“We have to keep it exciting and tear up the rule book a bit.”

Love Island starts Monday at 9pm on ITV, ITV2 and ITVX.

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Islanders will have to get creative to find someone quiet for a smooch[/caption]

KEMI Badenoch has said she would back Trump-style travel bans — as she warned Britain is being “mugged” by illegal immigration.

The Tory leader said there are scenarios where blocking people from certain countries is “viable”.

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US President Donald Trump[/caption]

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Kemi Badenoch delivering a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in Westminster, London[/caption]

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Migrants sit on a dinghy as they prepare to sail into the English Channel on May 31, 2025 in Gravelines, France[/caption]

It comes days after the US President signed an executive order banning citizens from 12 countries from entering America — in the name of national security.

Asked by The Sun if she would ever consider following suit, Ms Badenoch said: “Parliament needs to be able to decide who comes into the country, for how long, and who needs to leave — and that does include travel bans.

“On a country-specific basis it’s much tougher, it’s often more vague.

“But I think there are scenarios where that is viable.”

She added: “That doesn’t mean that I agree with what Donald Trump has done… I haven’t actually seen the list of countries that he’s banned people from.

“I’m much more focused on what’s happening here.”

Mr Trump’s new executive order blocks entry to nationals from 12 countries — including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan — citing the threat of foreign terrorism.

The crackdown revives his first-term “Muslim ban” and forms part of his hardline immigration pledge.

Back in London, the Tory leader delivered a fiery speech declaring the UK had “lost control” of its asylum system and said she would “likely” pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights to fix it.

She warned: “We cannot become the destination for everyone looking for a new home or a better life. Nor can we be the world’s softest touch.

“In some years our approval rate was above 80 per cent. Last year, Japan’s was 2 per cent.

“Britain is being mugged.”

She said human rights laws had been “stretched and distorted” by activist lawyers and were now being used to block deportations of dangerous criminals.

The Tory chief announced a commission, led by Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson, to draw up plans for how the UK could leave the ECHR — with a final decision due by the autumn Tory Party conference.

Ms Badenoch said: “I have always said that if we need to leave the Convention, we should.

“And having now considered the question closely, I do believe that we will likely need to leave — because I am yet to see a clear and coherent way to fix this within our current legal structures.”

She also confirmed the Tories are working on a new third-country deportation scheme to replace the scrapped Rwanda plan.

Her intervention comes amid growing anger over blocked deportations – with Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK already pledging to quit the ECHR altogether.

Calls to overhaul the ECHR are also gaining traction across Europe – with the treaty’s own chief yesterday saying there should be “no taboo” on rewriting the rules.

Council of Europe boss Alain Berset told The Times the 75-year-old convention must “adapt” to tackle the scale of modern migration.

He urged governments – including Britain – to open political talks, saying: “We need discussion about the rules that we want to have, and there is no taboo.”

It comes after leaders in Italy, Denmark and seven other nations have demanded more power to deport criminals and block irregular migration.

Downing Street this morning welcomed discussion about changing the Convention.

The Labour Government has always vowed to pass laws ordering courts to throw out ridiculous appeals to European laws by foreign offenders or illegal migrants.

A No 10 spokesman said: “Border security is vital to national security, and we welcome efforts to ensure the European Convention on Human Rights is being applied correctly and allowing countries to protect their borders.

“It’s important there is discussion on how the ECHR operates to ensure it can safeguard human rights while meeting the needs of democracies. The Prime Minister has been clear on this, it should be Parliament that makes the rules on immigration and Government that makes the policy.

“That’s why this Government is actually taking action on the ECHR. Our immigration White Paper sets out new plans through legislation to tighten the application of the ECHR, giving courts the clarity they need so our immigration rules are no longer abused, and as the Prime Minister has said, we want to ensure the right balance is made in migration cases in relation to the national interest.”

The UK is at risk of a ‘surge’ in measles cases in the coming months due to a decline in vaccine uptake, officials have warned.

Unvaccinated children are expected to pick up the virus on summer trips abroad, with a number of popular destinations having seen ‘large’ outbreaks this year, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

France, Italy, Spain and Germany are among those suffering such outbreaks in Europe, which reported 127,350 cases overall last year.

That figure was double the number of cases in 2023 and the highest recorded since 1997.

‘Measles cases are picking up again in England and outbreaks are happening in Europe and many countries with close links to the UK,’ Dr Vanessa Saliba, Consultant Epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said.

Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Romania and Thailand currently have among the highest number of measles cases in the world, according to the World Health Organisation.

The UKHSA said the resurgence of measles is a ‘global’ problem linked to ‘declines in MMR vaccine uptake observed over the last decade, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic’.

More than 17% of children in England have not had a two-dose MMR vaccine, which is needed for full protection.

That figure rises to nearly 28% in London, which has reported almost half of all cases in the past four weeks.

There have been 420 lab-confirmed cases in England so far this year, of which 109 were in April and 86 in May.

‘Cases have predominantly been in unvaccinated children aged 10 years and under,’ officials said, ‘but there are also cases being reported in young people and adults’.

After London, the biggest hotspots currently are the North West (25% of cases in the past four weeks) and the West Midlands (11%).

Children do not have full protection if they received their first dose after their first birthday but were not taken to get the second (given between three-and-a-half and five years old).

Full protection can be given at higher ages by taking two doses at least one month apart, the NHS says.

The most contagious virus known to humans, measles can rapidly trigger large outbreaks as each infected individual can transmit the disease to another 18 on average.

It typically causes cold-like symptoms at first before triggering a widespread, blotchy rash across the body.

In some cases it can suppress the immune system, making the patient vulnerable to other viruses like pneumonia, which can be deadly in children.

Dr Saliba continued: ‘It’s essential that everyone, particularly parents of young children, check all family members are up to date with 2 MMR doses, especially if you are travelling this summer for holidays or visiting family.

‘Measles spreads very easily and can be a nasty disease, leading to complications like ear and chest infections and inflammation of the brain with some children tragically ending up in hospital and suffering life-long consequences. Nobody wants this for their child and it’s not something you want to experience when away on holiday.

‘The MMR vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your family from measles. Babies under the age of 1 and some people who have weakened immune systems can’t have the vaccine and are at risk of more serious complications if they get measles. They rely on the rest of us getting the vaccine to protect them.

‘It is never too late to catch up, if you’re not sure if any of your family are up to date, check their Red Book or contact your GP practice. Don’t put it off and regret it later.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

United are determined to sign the Bees star.

Liverpool are closing in on a deal to sign Puskas Akademia goalkeeper Armin Pecsi, according to reports in Hungary.

The 20-year-old made his first-team breakthrough last year and this season he has established himself as Puskas Akademia’s first-choice goalkeeper with 36 appearances and 11 clean sheets in all competitions.

Pesci represents Hungary at Under-21 level and according to Nemzeti Sport, the goalkeeper left the team’s training camp this week in order to travel to England to finalise his move to Liverpool.

The report adds that the Premier League champions are in ‘advanced negotiations’ with Puskas Akademia and a deal could be announced as early as next week.

It’s understood that Puskas Akademia will receive a club-record fee for their highly rated goalkeeper.

Pesci could become the third Hungarian player in Arne Slot’s squad alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez, who Liverpool are in talks to sign from Bournemouth.

Last month, Pesci was named among the nominees for the Golden Boy award for the best Under-21 player in world football.

Pecsi was only one of three goalkeepers to make the top 100 shortlist alongside Toulouse’s Guillaume Restes and Mike Penders, who will join Chelsea this summer after his £17 million signing from Belgian side Genk last year.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will also sign Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer after agreeing a £29m deal with Valencia last year.

The Premier League champions also remain in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a deal to sign Florian Wirtz, who has rejected Bayern Munich and is intent on a move to Anfield this summer.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

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