RONNIE O’SULLIVAN is on a quest to win his first ranking title in 21 months at the Xi’an Grand Prix.

O’Sullivan whitewashed Scotsman Stephen Maguire to progress to the last-16, having lost just one frame in this tournament so far.

The Rocket is back in action this afternoon against Jak Jones.

And he’ll be hoping to avoid an embarrassing defeat like champion Kyren Wilson, who was on the wrong end of a whitewash from Shaun Murphy.

This means there will certainly be a new champion come the conclusion of Monday’s final!

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TELLY tough guy Ant Middleton is being sued by military top brass for spilling special forces secrets, we can reveal.

The Ministry of Defence is taking legal action against the decorated former soldier for breach of contract.

Getty

Telly tough guy Ant Middleton is being sued by military top brass for spilling special forces secrets, we can reveal[/caption]

Seven

The Ministry of Defence is taking legal action against the decorated former soldier[/caption]

The Sun understands the rare move relates to a series of social media posts about his time in the Special Forces.

A source said it was not connected to his time as chief instructor on hit TV show SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Military chiefs have lodged legal papers at the High Court ahead of a blockbuster battle with the TV hardman.

The case is listed as Ministry of Defence vs Middleton.

A source said: “Special Forces contracts were changed some years ago to include a non-disclosure clause.

“This is an extremely rare move for the MoD to take.

“The action doesn’t relate to his TV appearances or books or work as an honorary cadet Captain.

“It is focused on a series of social media posts about the Special Forces.”

The MoD introduced changes to contracts for members of the Special Forces in the wake of the Bravo Two Zero best-sellers by Andy McNab and Chris Ryan.

The books detailed a botched mission behind enemy lines in Iraq.

Both soldiers had left the force by the time the MoD introduced a confidentiality agreement for special forces soldiers in 1996.

They were designed to prevent the publication of further accounts of undercover missions without the permission of senior officers.

A spate of earlier books by former SAS soldiers were written after the authors voluntarily submitted manuscripts to the MoD for vetting.

This comes after we reported earlier this year how Ant finally sold his sprawling family home for £1.35million.

The former SAS: Who Dares Wins star was forced to put the five-bed property on the market after business debts left him facing bankruptcy.

Ant and his wife Emilie had bought the rural retreat in Essex for £1.16million in 2019.

The Sun exclusively revealed the couple agreed a sale price of £1.35million with a buyer.

The forced sale of the couple’s ‘matrimonial’ home had been reported in a liquidation update for Ant’s company Sway and Starting.

Sway and Starting went into liquidation in December 2022.

Ant left the UK to move to Dubai last year after he was axed from SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2021.

Following Ant’s axe from SAS: Who Dares Wins, the family relocated to Australia so he could star in a format of the show Down Under.

Ant fronted four runs of SAS: Australia, however, plans for a 2024 series of the show never materialised.

Meanwhile, earlier this year it was also revealed Ant had been kicked off The Amazing Race Australia before the series had even aired after a row involving his brother led to the pair being disqualified.

The duo were sent home mid-production after Ant’s brother Dan allegedly became involved in a heated off-camera argument.

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The Sun understands the rare move relates to a series of social media posts about his time in the Special Forces[/caption]

Alamy

Ant was forced to put his five-bed property on the market after business debts left him facing bankruptcy earlier this year[/caption]

I’VE done my time at overpriced pumpkin patches, heading home with ropey-looking veg that cost £50.

Sp here are my top tips of how you can avoid scary spends over Halloween and pick up a pumpkin for pocket-money prices, while still having lots of frightful family fun. 

Catherine Lofthouse

I’ve found plenty of ways to enjoy the spooky season without the price tag[/caption]

Catherine Lofthouse

Plenty of National Trust properties can be accessed with a membership[/caption]

If you’ve got National Trust or English Heritage membership, there’s lots of events over October half term for spooky season, most of them at no extra cost.

I don’t have membership, but you can often get free family entry if you keep an eye on offers in local papers.

Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be used to buy English Heritage membership, while cashback site Quidco can issue any funds in your account as a National Trust giftcard, which can pay for entry.

The National Trust has just launched a new Stranger Folk digital adventure, aimed at 7 to 12-year-olds, at sites including Belton House in Lincolnshire, Kingston Lacy in Dorset and Blickling in Norfolk.

October is also a great time to use any annual passes that you already have for local attractions, which might offer free or low-price Halloween or Bonfire Night events. 

Our nearest historic house is holding a Monster Mayhem hunt around the gardens for just £2 and children get in free with Blue Peter badges, so it’s worth checking if there’s a similar offer at any tourist attractions in your area.

I’ll also be making use of our annual pass to Twycross Zoo to enjoy the wildlife-inspired trick-or-treat trail.

The site is offering pumpkin painting, face painting and a spooky show over October half term. If you’re on universal credits, you can get entry for £7, so it could be a cost-effective day out.

Woods and forests are brilliant backdrops for trick-or-treat trails and are usually free to visit.

Visitors to Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire can enjoy Robin Hood and the Haunting of Sherwood: A Spooky Scarecrow Adventure from October 18, following the Major Oak trail to crack the clues and claim a prize. Trail sheets cost £4.50.

Catherine Lofthouse

Some places will have a free pumpkin patch – take a look on the website beforehand[/caption]

Catherine Lofthouse

You can save lots by not spending a fortune on entry fees[/caption]

Check out your local libraries for creepy craft and scary storytimes. Wareham Library near Poole in Dorset is holding a free spooky object handling session on Friday October 31, while Fosse Library in Leicester is offering haunted schoolhouse tours for ages 11 upwards on Thursday October 30.

Museums are perfect places for some free frightful fun, especially if the weather‘s wet and windy outside and you need an indoor option. 

Head to the Royal Armouries’ Fort Nelson near Portsmouth to enjoy free Halloween-themed activities including face-painting, crafts and storytelling sessions over half term.

(Booking in advance is needed, thanks to restricted parking on site.)

Sports clubs, leisure centres and pubs often hold Halloween discos or Bonfire Night celebrations, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for posters while you’re out and about or looking on social media to see if you’ve got any free events near you. 

And shopping centres might also be hosting special sessions over Halloween, with Haymarket in Leicester running a Freaky Friday event, including free crafts, a fancy dress competition, stilt walkers, comedy from Mr Trick and Mr Treat and even a chance to meet the Witches of Oz.

Check out council-run parks like Fairlands Valley in Stevenage for free fireworks.

Catherine Lofthouse

Voluntary organisations run events at a fraction of the cost of profit-making companies and it’s win-win as the money is going back into a good cause. 

Our local miniature railway has Halloween ghost trains running the last Sunday in October. Admission to the site is free and train rides are normally about £3 per person.

If a pumpkin patch really is a must-do for your little horrors at Halloween, you can keep costs low by picking one where entry is free, like Undley Farm near Bury St Edmunds.

Then you just pay for the individual attractions – family tickets for the maize maze are £19 and the inflatables are £3 per child.

You can grab your gourds while you’re there or just head to your nearest supermarket if you’re not picky about your pumpkins. 

Obviously the best freebie fun is on October 31 itself, when darkness falls and everyone is out and about in fancy dress.

If you want to plan your route in advance, you can visit www.trickortreatmap.com to see which houses are taking part this year.

So there’s no need to fork out for fireworks or Halloween – there’s plenty of freebie fun out there if you know where to look.

For more Halloween fun, check out Europe’s biggest Halloween attraction just opened in the UK – it was so terrifying one Sun Writer lost her voice screaming.

And for more freebies, this map reveals seven pumpkin patches with FREE entry in UK this October.

Catherine Lofthouse

Mesmo com tantas coisas boas acontecendo, não dá para esquecer o horror do passado recente nem dos enormes desafios que estão pela frente

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The post Drive 959 asks: What would surprise your younger self most about your life right now? appeared first on KAYA 959.

Mapaballo Borotho Twenty-one food delivery motorcycles have been impounded in Pretoria East as part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department’s (TMPD) Transport Month operations on Thursday. According to TMPD spokesperson Puleng Motholo, the motorcycles were seized for non-compliance with road traffic regulations, with many of the riders found to be [...]

The post TMPD impounds 21 food delivery motorcycles in Pretoria East during transport month crackdown appeared first on KAYA 959.

President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled a comprehensive peace proposal to end the war in Gaza, nearly two years after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Israelis are celebrating the Gaza deal which calls for Hamas to release all of its hostages. While in Gaza, there is jubilation that a devastating war could soon be over after two years. NBC News’ Richard Engel reports.

President Donald Trump had to maintain the trust of Israel and a series of Arab- and Muslim-majority nations. His ability to walk that tightrope was tested repeatedly.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado who lives in hiding after attempting to run against President Nicolás Maduro