Month: February 2025

Undoubtedly at the top of everyone’s bucket list, the Northern Lights, formally known as aurora borealis, are a natural phenomenon that can be tricky to see with the naked eye.

On the cusp of the ‘aurora oval’, Iceland is widely known for being one of the best places in the world to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights in all its glory, with thousands of Brits flocking to its capital of Reykjavík every year.

So, how can you catch a cheap flight to Iceland and when is the best time of year to see the Northern Lights? Find out everything you need to know below.

When is the best time of year to see the Northern Lights?

The Northern Lights are never guaranteed and a lot of factors need to align in order to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon. The best conditions to see the Northern Lights? You need a clear, dark sky with dry conditions. Pollution, snow or clouds can spoil your chances of seeing the lights – so it’s worth heading out of the city centre if you can or further up land to escape the city’s lights.

According to Arctic Direct, the best time of day to see the Northern Lights is between 9pm and 2am with peak visibility usually around midnight.

The best window to see the phenomenon is between late September and early April with multiple online sources claiming that March is the best time to head to Iceland.

The best places to eat and drink in Reykjavík

Just like Sweden famously has Fika, a tradition that involves relaxing with friends over coffee and cake, Iceland has Kaffitímar. Essentially, it’s a great excuse to indulge in pastries and call it sightseeing. Braud & Co is one of the city’s most famous bakeries and we can confirm it lives up to the hype – just make sure to get there nice and early to beat the queue for cinnamon buns. Other brekkie spots worth adding to your list include Baka Baka for croissants and Deig for bagels.

As for tea, TikTok recommends booking a table at Sumac, Apotek or Food Cellar. Head over to Hús Máls og Menningar for an after-dinner tipple and dance, as the library turns into a bar after dark with live music on weekends.

How to book cheap flights to Iceland now

For a limited time only, you can fly to Reykjavík for less than £50. You need to book a flight from London Stansted to Reykjavík Keflavík Airport on Thursday, 6 March via Expedia UK. The flight departs at 11am and lands at the local time of 2.05pm with one personal bag that fits under the seat in front of you included. The last time we checked, seats were selling fast, so make sure to hurry if you’re keen.

If you’re based up north, you can fly to Reykjavík the day before (Wednesday, 5 March) for £59 with easyJet via Expedia UK. The flight departs from Manchester Airport at 4.10pm and arrives at the local time of 7pm. If you’re even further up north, the cheapest flight we can find is from Edinburgh on Tuesday, 4 March at 12.10pm to arrive at the local time of 2.35pm. As for prices, it will only set you back £58. See you there?

We’ve seen the subscription-based platform rise to prominence over the past few years, to the point where content creators have made a name for themselves on OnlyFans alone, rather than taking their fans with them to the 18+ site.

Sophie Rain was an unknown a couple of years ago, and now she claims to make over $40m a year through her adult content.

But while some of the platform’s celebs boast earnings of genuinely unbelievable numbers, what about the average creator?

The porn-friendly platform is actually under a UK company called Fenix International, so it’s legally required for them to publicly share information about its business and earnings.

In its figures to do with the financial year ending 30 November 2023, their revenues, profits, scale, and other factors were shared, showing an increase in all categories.

It’s become an ultra-successful, profitable company, with its revenue increasing by 19 percent from $5.5 billion (£4.19 billion) in 2022 to $6.6 billion (£5 billion) in 2023, according to Variety.

The number of users saw an increase of 28 percent over the year to 305 million users, while the number of creators hit 4.1 million, a 29 percent increase.

People can genuinely make millions from content, but the story’s different for your average creator.

OnlyFans takes a 20 percent cut of profits, meaning that there would be $5.32 billion (£4.2 billion) to share among creators.

Some quick maths reveals that the average creator will earn $1,300 (£1,030) per year, just $108 (£85.70) per month.

If you were thinking of quitting your day job to pursue this then, you might want to think twice.

On the bright side though, the figure represents an increase of 19 percent.

But the figure itself is a far cry from the millions that we see the big names rake in month upon month.

In fact, Range Media reports that one creator that ranked in the top 71st percentile of creators had just two active subscribers.

The majority of the site’s earnings go to the top one percent of creators, who are believed to earn nearer to $49,000 (£38,900) per year, which is more like a salary.

Obviously, when we move up to the top 0.1 percent, they earn 15 times more this on average, according to Matthew Ball.

It’s no surprise that the biggest earners are those who bring over a following from mainstream media or social media, as it’s a surefire way to make profit.

Whether it be the classic steak bake or its many vegan options, the chain provides a selection including some of Britain’s most beloved national foods – more or less.

While having a meat-filled pastry a couple of times a week may satisfy your cravings, do you think you could stomach ‘the UK’s biggest bacon sarnie’?

Well, this is what Craig Harker decided to have a crack at, undertaking the near 8,000-calorie challenge to prove that he may just be the biggest Greggs lover in the world.

The 37-year-old dad is part of a competitive eating league, and wanted to test himself with the 100-piece bacon butty, which is put in a massive white bap that’s big enough to fill out a pizza box.

When asking for the unusual order, the confused server thought he was joking at first.

But before long, he was served the massive sarnie, and had to fork out £60 for the meal. Not to worry though, as it came with entire bottles of ketchup and brown sauce.

Known on social media as Dad Loves Food, the food enthusiast revealed that the treat was about nine inches tall, jokingly calling it the ‘bacon Mount Everest’.

“Look at that, that’s absolutely insane. It’s like a whole pig in a box,” he told fans.

Footage showed Craig ordering his monster meal at a Greggs branch in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, showing the camera that he was unable to hold the entire thing.

Heading home, the British Eating League founder started to chomp down on the massive butty and tower of bacon, with some Coca-Cola to wash it down.

But just 38 rashers in, he called time on the challenge as he struggled as time went on.

“As for 100 slices, I think it’s impossible,” he claimed.

“I don’t think anyone could do it, maybe [competitive eater] Max vs Food possibly, maybe someone part of the British Eating League, but definitely not me.

“I think I’ll stick to the smaller ones next time.”

He ended up giving the rest of his rashers to his friends and family, and compared the sarnie to ‘holding a newborn baby’.

“I brought it home as it was too big to stand there holding, I had the kids round me watching and waiting for the leftovers,” Craig admitted.

Explaining that there was no waste because of the hungry mouths around him, he also stated: “I never want to look at a piece of bacon again.”

The pub owner said that the huge bacon butty would also be a tough ask for even his most seasoned champion eaters, as he barely managed to eat over a third of the rashers.

Craig has previously been in the news for putting 51 rashers into a single sandwich, but this challenge was a step too far.

Claiming that he wanted to find a challenge that was ‘different’, he explained: “As part of the British Eating League sometimes it’s quite hard to find the challenges so I have to create them for the eaters.

“It’s the biggest bacon sarnie I’ve ever seen or tried and I think even the big eaters in the world would struggle to eat something like that.”

Upon first glance a receipt for a couple of magnets from a defunct houseware shop doesn’t seem at all significant; but just like everything else from 9/11, it holds a story of another life which was impacted by the tragedy.

Now all of us will most likely have a good idea of what happened on the fateful morning in New York.

It’s fair to say that most of us have a good understanding of what happened on 11 September, 2001, through watching countless documentaries, films and TV series over the years.

However, this doesn’t really do it justice when it comes to depicting the sheer confusion on the ground back in 2001, which is what makes first-hand accounts of New Yorkers on the ground feel all the more terrifying.

This includes the above receipt, which reveals the final items ever purchased inside the sprawling office blocks.

Seeing a receipt from 9/11 alone is strange enough, but the image becomes a lot more chilling when you notice the time in which the two magnets were purchased at 8:55am — nine minutes after the plane smashed into the North Tower.

Now in retrospect, you’d imagine everyone inside said tower would evacuate if they could, right?

Well not exactly, as several first person accounts have revealed how the severity of the situation wasn’t initially clear to everyone – both in and outside of the building.

Alongside the multiple companies who had offices in the tower, there was also a Lechters shop, where Wall Street journalist Joanne Lipman was purchasing two fridge magnets for her daughter’s birthday.

By time Lipman had made her way to the till with the magnets, there was already a commotion in the tower, however, she wasn’t aware that a plane had struck the building and pressed the cashier to ring up the purchase before leaving.

The moment was detailed in Dean Rotbart’s book September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story which detailed how staff at WSJ responded to the attacks, which happened opposite their office.

“Before work on the morning of September 11, Lipman was browsing the aisles of the Lechters Housewares store located on the concourse of the World Trade Center.” wrote Rotbart (via PR Newswire).

After selecting the magnets, she noticed people being rushed through in the building’s corridors, with even the cashier seemingly anxious to leave.

This didn’t deter Lipman, who at the time, was used to commotion in the city. She replied: “Ring this up first. I’m not leaving until I pay.”

Lipman handed the cashier $20 in cash for the purchase, collected her change of $9.17 and receipt, before stepping back out into a completely different world.

Police in the north-east Brazilian state of Bahia are now investigating as there is speculation this followed a viral online ‘challenge’.

Davi Nunes was rushed to hospital in Planalto after his health suddenly deteriorated, beginning to vomit and starting to limp.

At first, the teen is said to have told his dad he had hurt himself while playing.

However, as things got worse, it is reported he told medics at a chemist he had mixed up a dead butterfly in water before injecting the liquid into his right leg.

As his condition started to worsen, Davi was rushed to another hospital on Wednesday (12 February) but later died.

The teen’s death has caused a lot of media speculation in Brazil, as rumours fly about it being part of a weird internet challenge.

He didn’t explain what type of butterfly he had picked for this, but is said to have denied the allegation before he died that he found the experiment online.

Police are now awaiting full post-mortem results after opening an investigation into the claims. It is being openly speculated by media in Brazil that Davi did the injection due to a social media craze.

The teen’s dad reportedly found the syringe he used under his pillow while he was tidying up their home.

It is said his death may be linked to possible toxins in the butterfly mix which could have then caused his body to shut down as he went into septic shock.

A spokesperson for Civil Police in Vitoria da Conquista, which is leading the investigation, said in a statement: “The autopsy results will help clarify the cause of death. The investigation is designed to clear up what happened.”

Professor Marcelo Duarte, director of Sao Paulo University’s Zoology Museum and a butterfly specialist, said: “Butterflies have a complex biology, and the fluids present in their bodies have not been studied in depth in terms of their toxicity to humans.”

The milkweed that Monarch butterflies eat as a caterpillar is actually a poisonous toxin which is then stored in their bodies.

This then makes the Monarch butterfly taste terrible to predators. But, experts have pointed out that the amount of these toxins is typically too small to represent a serious risk to human health.

OnlyFans creator Goodwin, 30, is currently going viral after her appearance on The Reality Check podcast where she discussed her career as an adult content creator and how she’s investing her £100,000 a month salary back into property.

However, the interview quickly went south after one of the three hosts brought up the topic of ‘dignity’ and whether or not adult content creation ‘contributes to society’.

When asked by Shuan Maroof if she’d prefer to work in a different industry to preserve her ‘dignity’ Goodwin responded by alluding to previously suffering abuse, adding that her career decision was ‘reclaiming everything that’s been taken from me’.

The conversation only got more heated from that point as the hosts grilled the content creator on whether or not she was contributing to society before laughing at her decision to take her children on holiday in the UK — which prompted Goodwin to accuse the men of disrespecting her and leave the studio.

“I’m gonna head off now, you lot are the most disrespectful people I’ve ever met,” she said.

The three men appeared confused over the sudden turn the podcast took, before branding Goodwin ‘delusional’ for her opinions.

“She was just delusional man,” CJ McKenna insisted to his co-hosts.

The episode has proved to be controversial online, with the majority of viewers siding with Goodwin on the matter.

“Surly [sic] her buying homes to help people who can’t afford them is her helping society and donating to charity,” one person wrote, while a second added: “Lads, listen back to the bit where she rents her properties to those who can’t afford it. It literally doesn’t get more contributing to society than that.

“Granted people might not agree with what she does for a living, but she’s clearly an intelligent woman who is being smart with her money.”

Goodwin has since issued a statement after the clip went viral online, thanking followers for their support and asking for people to stop sharing the clip online.

“I don’t know what else to say other than thank you,” she wrote on Instagram.

“Thank you to everyone that has messaged, checked in on me and had my back.”

She went on to explain that while she understands what makes a ‘successful social media clip’ and that she no longer wants to be associated with the group.

“I am politely asking you to remove any clips with me and post nothing more about me,” she wrote.

“Not because I’m ashamed of what I said (or what I could get in) but because I wish to not be associated with these three men and this podcast.

“If anything good comes from this, it will be that no other woman is disrespected and belittled by three men in their apartment for views.

“The ball is in your court guys.”

Delta Flight 4819 appeared to crash land on a snowy runway and flip over, though incredibly it seems as though everyone on board the plane survived.

The crash occurred at around 2:15pm local time yesterday (17 February) and of the 80 people on board the plane it seems the damage count is 18 injured and zero fatalities.

Survivors from the plane crash have posted footage of what it was like inside the plane itself, while the view from outside the plane was utterly terrifying for onlookers.

People saw Delta Flight 4819 come down on the runway and appear to feel the impact of the landing hard, with flames bursting from the aircraft as it flipped over.

An air ambulance service took three people to hospital for their injuries after the crash, but it is quite incredible that of the 76 passengers and four crew members there have been no fatalities.

“All of a sudden everything just kind of went sideways and then next thing I know it’s kind of a blink and I’m upside down still strapped in,” he said of the experience of being in the crash.

A number of aviation experts have given their verdict on the incident, with many saying that the weather was the most likely cause of the plane flipping over on the runway.

CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz suggested that a ‘strong gust of wind’ affecting the plane when it touched down had caused it to flip over.

Aviation expert Scott Hamilton told Newsweek that the wind and snow around the Toronto airport are likely to be major factors in the plane flipping over.

While aviation safety expert John Cox said it was ‘very rare to see something like this’.

He said: “We’ve seen a couple of cases of take-offs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare.

“The weather conditions were windy. The wind was out of the west at 27 to 35 knots, which is about 38 miles an hour (61kph). So it was windy.

“But the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that. The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”

An investigation into the crash has been launched with the goal of recovering the plane’s flight recorder and cockpit audio recorder to gain a clearer picture of what happened.

GTA 6 is currently expected to hit shelves later this year, with the video game’s parent company Take-Two Interactive confirming an autumn 2025 release window earlier this month.

It is the second time in a matter of months that autumn has been confirmed as the time to expect a GTA VI release, which if anything shows that the game’s production is ticking along nicely with no major hiccups putting production back and delaying when punters will be able to buy the product.

Speaking in early February, Take-Two confirmed fall 2025 for the release to console. We’re talking the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

For those with a PS4 and Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch or its soon to be released successor, hard luck. Those consoles aren’t getting a sniff of the new product.

And in a frustrating, but not new, move for millions more gamers, those who play on PC wont be enjoying GTA 6 in the same time frame as PS5 owners.

All is not lost, though. And if anything, the hope for PC gamers has been increased following a recent revelation from one gaming insider.

Previously, GTA 5 was released around 18 months after the game landed on PS4 and Xbox 360.

That first landed on shelves in September 2013, followed by a port to PS4 and Xbox One in November 2014. Only in April 2015 did it finally go on to PC.

Well, it appears the wait wont be anywhere near as long when it comes to GTA 6.

That is according to the vice president of Corsair Gaming, a gaming brand and company based in California that creates gaming specific PC equipment such as the computers themselves, headsets, keyboards, and gaming chairs and desks.

Speaking about Corsair Gaming’s latest financial results, VP Ronald van Veen let slip when he expects a PC version of the game to be released.

“Yeah, GTA 6 is probably the one everyone is talking about,” Van Veen said.

“And we’ll get a glimpse of that, I think, later on in the year for console. My understanding now it’s going to come out in the fall for console, and then early 2026 for PC.”

Early 2026 will be music to the ears of PC gamers everywhere.

It comes after console gamers were given a ‘mapped out’ release of when GTA 6 will come to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with September now seemingly a write off due to the release of fellow Take-Two video game, Borderlands 4.

And with the company saying it will not take part in cannibalisation – whereby one product competes directly another of its own – fans think a release date from late October to the first week of December is now most likely.

Once a force to be reckoned with on the Formula One circuit, Schumacher, 56, earned 91-career victories and seven World Championships during his illustrious auto racing career.

However, just a year after Schumi retired from the motorsport for a second time, he was involved in a tragic skiing accident in Meribel, a ski resort in France.

It’s understood the German went off-piste on December 29, 2013, experiencing a serious head injury when he hit his head a rock.

Months after being placed in a medically induced coma in a hospital in Grenoble, Schumacher returned to his home in Switzerland to continue his recovery.

The F1 star has not been seen in public since the accident, with his wife Corinna, 55, working around the clock to care for the sportsman and keep details of his health under lock and key.

However, last week, three men were convicted of trying to force the Schumacher family to hand over £12 million (€15m) to prevent 900 personal photos, nearly 600 videos and medical records from making their way online.

The BBC reports that Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, who was considered the blackmail plot leader, was sentenced to three years in prison by the German court while his son, Daniel Lins, 30, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence.

Markus Fritsche, 53, who worked for the Schumachers as a security guard for 18 months before the skiing accident, also received a two year suspended prison sentence.

Following the ruling, Corinna has stated that she is not content with the sentences that were given to the three perpetrators.

“We have appealed against what we consider to be the far too lenient sentence for Mr. F.,” the West German-native said, as per ESPN.

“In my opinion, he was the mastermind behind this. What still shocks me most is the massive breach of trust. He should receive a punishment that deters any potential copycats.”

Corinna’s statement was in line with a note released by Thilo Damm, a representative of the Schumachers at the extortion trial.

“We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal,” he claimed. “We don’t know where the missing hard drive is. I don’t have a crystal ball, but there is the possibility of another threat through the backdoor.”

Back in 2021, Corinna gave a rare insight into her husband’s ongoing health battle during the titular Netflix documentary.

“Michael is here. Different, but he’s here, and that gives us strength, I find,” she tearfully explained.

“We’re together. We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.”

The ex-equestrian champion, who shares two children with Schumacher, added that she would always do ‘everything’ to ‘carry on as a family’.

The former employee was accused of transferring the files to the other suspects for a ‘five-figure sum’ and has been handed a suspended two-year prison sentence by officials.

As per the Daily Mail, Fritsche reportedly contacted Tozturkan, claiming he was in ‘possession’ of material related to Schumacher.

“He asked if we could do anything with it. I said: ‘I will ask but we will definitely be able to do something’,” the guilty party told Wuppertal District Court on 10 December.

“I said: ‘I will ask but we will definitely be able to do something’,” he continued. “I was given two hard drives, one was black, and the other was blue. For the most part I admit everything, but I didn’t buy the pictures.

“I was going to try and sell them first but when I didn’t get any interest that’s when I contacted the Schumacher family.”

Gabby was an American vlogger that began filming and posting her and Brian’s ‘van life’ on their channel, before going missing on their cross-country trip in August, 2021.

Brian returned to his home in Florida from the trip alone, raising alarm bells as he refused to speak with Gabby’s family and police when they started investigating the 22-year-old’s disappearance.

A true crime documentary was recently released on Netflix about the incident, titled American Murder: Gabby Petito. You can view the trailer here:

After police issued a warrant for Brian’s arrest, he disappeared, with his body later being found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had admitted to killing his fiancée in a journal entry that was found next to his body.

Since Gabby’s tragic death, details have emerged of her relationship with Brian, including the new Netflix documentary, which came out on Monday (17 February), that includes interviews from family and friends, as well as Gabby’s personal texts and journal entries.

One of Gabby’s friends admitted that meeting him was ‘very weird but he was very nice’, but told their mum: “He’s a really nice guy but I feel like there’s something off about him.”

But just a day after the documentary’s release, fans have noticed something chilling about her YouTube channel.

If you visit the couple’s page, titled ‘Nomadic Statik’, you’ll notice that there is just one video that’s been uploaded, and it was back on 19 August, 2021.

This sole eight-minute video is titled ‘VAN LIFE | Beginning Our Van Life Journey’, and it marked the start of an intended vlog series, showcasing the couple’s adventures in their van, which was converted into a makeshift motorhome.

It was the only video she posted to the channel, despite filming a lot more content throughout their trip.

One user pointed out: “I felt sick after realising this was the only video she was able to publish. I love how this was put together. Amazing talent. Her van was also incredibly put together. So very heart breaking.”

Another wrote: “It’s really sad coming back to this video knowing what happened. Rest in the sweetest peace, Gabby. You are loved by so many.”

And a third said: “This proves everything you see on social media isn’t always reality…”

Gabby’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, revealed that she got an ‘odd text’ from her daughter on the day she went missing, and also offered some advice to potential documentary viewers.

“When you watch the documentary, remember that this is a real person, this is a real family, it’s a real story and it’s real life,” she said to NewsNation.

“It’s not just true crime. This can happen to anyone. We never in a million years thought this would happen to our family.

“That’s why we’re trying to help people, so we can prevent this from happening to them.”