"Making Less Money, But...": UK Couple After Buying Village In France

A couple who sold their home in the UK to buy an entire village in France say their lives have improved since leaving Manchester. According to New York Post, Liz Murphy, 47, and her husband David, 56, purchased the historic rural hamlet of Lac De Maison in south-west France four years ago, in January 2021. They sold their three-bed home in Manchester and used the cash to buy six 400-year-old houses, two barns and three acres of land. They have now turned their tranquil town into a thriving business, and say that they have no plan to return as their parents have also moved out with them. 

The couple, who used to work in radio, live with Ms Liz's mother Helen Diaper, and stepdad Terry. They turned three houses in their village into holiday homes which can accommodate 19 people in total. They are now also installing solar panels to become more self-sufficient. 

The pair revealed that they don't make as money as they did in the UK but say their quality of life is better. "We haven't got the pressures we had in the UK. In France, we're mortgage free. So although we're making less money than we did in the UK, it's massively outweighed by our quality of life," Ms Liz said, as per the Post. 

"My mom and stepdad decided to sell their house and come with us. It's been lovely - having them so close by for the kids has been really great. It's great to have on-site babysitters," she added. 

The couple said that previously they felt trapped in the "rat race" working "busy" nine-to-five jobs. However, it was amid Covid, they realised their dreams of leaving their lives in Manchester, England, and owning their own place in France.

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They revealed that they chose France after visiting for holidays. They also wanted to be "somewhere close enough for people to visit and it not cost a fortune". So, when they came across the huge plot of land, they decided to sell their three-bed home and move with their two children in December 2020. They later also convinced Ms Liz's parents to move with them from Nottingham. 

The couple now have three holiday homes up and running. They are also installing 60 solar panels so they can be more self-sufficient. The family have also introduced some new members - three goats, four chickens and three cats.

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Trump Claims 360-Year-Old Man Is Getting Social Security, Gets Fact Checked

US President Donald Trump delivered his first speech to Congress in his second term on Tuesday night (local time), elaborating on his massive budget cuts, crackdown on illegal migration and economic vision for America's future. However, during his address, the American President was found bending some facts on issues, especially on the payment of social security to millions of senior citizens above the age of hundred.

Trump alleged his Social Security Administration (SSA) records show "shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors, and that our seniors and people that we love rely on."

"Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. I don't know any of them. I know some people who are rather elderly but not quite that elderly. 3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129. 3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139. 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149...1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159, and over 130,000 people, according to the Social Security databases, are age over 160 years old," he said.

The President claimed a lot of money is paid out to many of these people, which is hurting "Social Security", and "our country". and his administration is probing the matter.

He further alleged that several hundred people older than 220 were also still getting checks, according to SSA data - and that "one person is listed at 360 of age."

Fact Check

The alleged fraud mentioned by President Trump-- and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk earlier-- reportedly doesn't exist. The numbers Trump and his billionaire advisor referred to are products of a known problem with the government's data, according to a report by NBC.

The report said that while there are millions of people over the age of 100 registered in the Social Security Administration's database, the vast majority of them don't receive benefits. The issue has been repeatedly identified by the Social Security Administration, but officials have argued that updating old records is costly and unnecessary.

Social Security's new acting commissioner, Lee Dudek, also recently acknowledged the issue and said, "The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits."

According to a 2023 Social Security inspector general report, 18.9 million people listed as 100 years or older - but not dead - were in the database.  However, only 44,000 of them were getting payments.

In another report released in July 2024, SSA's inspector general found that from 2015 to 2022, only 0.84 per cent of benefits payments were improper. The report also said most of these improper payments were overpayments - not payments to dead people or people who didn't qualify.

Moreover, the agency data showed, just 89,106 people - not tens of millions - over age 99 received retirement benefits in December last year.

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9 Students Who Went Missing In Mexico Found Dismembered With "Bag Of Hands"

Nine students who went missing on vacation in Mexico have been found dismembered by the side of the road along with a "bag of hands". According to the New York Post, the group, from the Mexican town of Tlaxcala, went missing on February 27. They had been travelling to the beaches in Oaxaca to celebrate their graduation. On Sunday, the cops found their remains in a truck of an abandoned vehicle in San Jose Miahuatlan on the border of the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca.

According to the Post, four of the bodies were in the truck, while the other five bodies were left under the tarp. A bag of eight pairs of hands were also discovered at the scene, with two more hands left in the truck. Cops said that the bodies of the four women and five men, ages 19 to 30, all had bullet wounds and signs of torture. 

The victims, identified so far, are Angie Lizeth, 29, Brenda Mariel, 19, Jacqueline Ailet, 23, Noemi Yamileth, 28, Lesly Noya Trejo, 21, Raul Emmanuel, 28, Ruben Antonio, and Rolando Armando. The ninth victim has yet to be identified. 

A video capturing the last time they were seen alive showed their car driving along the Atlixcayotl highway, around 90 miles west of where their remains were eventually found, according to the outlet.

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Police have launched an investigation into the incident. No suspects have yet been named. The Attorney General's Office in Puebla said it is collaborating with its colleagues in Tlaxcala and Oaxaca to try and track down the killers, as per the Post. 

"So far I cannot offer information. There are lines of investigation, but I cannot reveal them due to confidentiality," the head of Puebla's State Attorney General's Office, Idamis Pastor Betancourt, said at a press conference. 

"All relevant investigations are being carried out. When we have a response and the investigation is complete, we will be in a position to provide more information," the official added. 

Notably, the murder rate in Mexico continues to rise. According to the Post, 30,000 people were killed in 2023. It reportedly marked the most violent year in the country's recent history. 

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"Delimitation Separate From Population Management": Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday sought to dispel confusion around delimitation, asserting that it is a separate issue from population management and should not be linked to the ongoing political discussions.

"Delimitation is a continuous process, occurring once in 25 years," Naidu told reporters here.

"Don't link all issues at a time. Delimitation and population management are different. I am talking about national interest," he added.

Discussing the ongoing political debates, Naidu emphasised, "There are reservations, and we will accommodate them. But don't link all issues at a time." Speaking about India's demographic potential, Naidu highlighted the country's unique position in the global demographic landscape, describing India as having the "biggest advantage of demographic dividend".

Naidu also drew attention to the global aging crisis, pointing out the population challenges in countries like Japan, China, and some European nations.

"Japan is minus 8 per cent. It is an important issue for the survival of human beings," Naidu said.

"Aging problem has started in south India. Only two states -- Bihar and Uttar Pradesh -- have advantages in north India. We were thinking it is a disadvantage but it is an advantage now," he said.

Challenging the traditional family planning perspectives, Naidu revealed a personal policy shift.

"Even I used to advocate family planning as a challenge. Now, I am changing my views and promoting population growth," he said.

The chief minister also suggested a new approach for resource allocation, saying, "Wealth creation and population often conflict." He proposed that "the government of India or the finance commission should promote population".

"Don't punish those who have aging problems today. Give incentives for more children," he said.

On concerns about delimitation, particularly those raised by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Naidu said, "All those things will be discussed. Sometimes some decisions are taken on the basis of assumptions. But sometimes all assumptions don't give dividends for the society. We have to change our views." "We will work out how to keep everyone's sentiments in mind," Naidu said, positioning himself as a pioneer in "demographic management".

Clarifying his approach, Naidu added, "I did not say population promotion, but demographic management. If you do demographic management, sustainability of the economy will be there, and Indians will do a great job."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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World's Biggest Iceberg Runs Aground Off Remote Antarctic Island

The world's biggest iceberg appears to have run aground roughly 70 kilometres from a remote Antarctic island, potentially sparing the crucial wildlife haven from being hit, a research organisation said Tuesday.

The colossal iceberg A23a -- which is more than twice the size of Greater London and weighs nearly one trillion tonnes -- has been drifting north from Antarctica towards South Georgia island since 2020.

This had raised fears it could collide with the island or run aground in shallower water near it, potentially disrupting the ability of penguins and seals to feed their young.

However, the gigantic wall of ice has been stuck 73 kilometres (45 miles) from the island since March 1, according to a statement from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

"If the iceberg stays grounded, we don't expect it to significantly affect the local wildlife," BAS oceanographer Andrew Meijers said.

"In the last few decades, the many icebergs that end up taking this route through the Southern Ocean soon break up, disperse and melt," added Meijers, who encountered A23a in late 2023 and has tracked its fate via satellite ever since.

Satellite images analysed by AFP showed that the closest edge of the roughly 3,300-square-kilometre iceberg had stopped more than 70 kilometres from the island in late February.

It remains unclear whether the iceberg is stuck for good.

"It will be interesting to see what will happen now," Meijers added.

Upside for wildlife?

The world's biggest and oldest iceberg calved from the Antarctic shelf in 1986.

It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in place.

Satellite imagery had previously suggested it was not crumbling into smaller chunks along the familiar path that such icebergs take. However a 19-kilometre chunk broke off in January.

There had been concerns for wildlife on the crucial breeding ground of South Georgia if the iceberg parked too close.

This would have forced animals like penguins and seals to travel much farther to get around the colossal block of ice.

"This could reduce the amount of food coming back to pups and chicks on the island, and so increase mortality," Meijers explained.

However in its current location, the iceberg could offer benefits to wildlife.

"Nutrients stirred up by the grounding (of the berg) and from its melt may boost food availability for the whole regional ecosystem, including for charismatic penguins and seals, Meijers said.

Along with the nearby South Sandwich islands, South Georgia is home to around five million seals and 65 million breeding birds from 30 different species.

The island's seals and penguins have already had a "bad season" due to a bird flu outbreak, Meijers told AFP in January.

What about climate change?

The iceberg poses no threat to shipping. It is so huge that vessels can easily avoid it.

However, as it breaks up into smaller pieces, certain areas could become off limits to commercial fishing ships "due to the number of smaller -- yet often more dangerous -- bergy bits", Meijers said.

There is no permanent human population on South Georgia, which the UK administers as a British overseas territory.

Argentina also claims the island -- along with the Falklands to the west which it calls Las Malvinas.

Icebergs of this size are rare but not unheard of. There have been two of similar sizes in the same area over the last five years, Meijers said.

Such huge icebergs are a "completely normal part of the lifecycle" of the Antarctic ice sheets, Meijers emphasised.

But ice shelves have lost 6,000 billion tonnes of mass since 2000, which is matched by accelerating ice loss attributed to climate change, he added.

Researchers warned last month that a rise in the planet's average temperature to between 1.5 and 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels could melt enough frozen water to lift oceans by a dozen metres -- and beyond the point of no return.

Last year -- which smashed previous heat records as the world was battered by fires, floods and storms -- was the first calendar year above 1.5C.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Trump Says "Will Not Put Up" With Zelensky's Stance On Ceasefire

Donald Trump said Monday that Washington would "not put up with" Volodymyr Zelensky's rhetoric much longer, as the US president prepared to meet his top team after a disastrous Oval Office row with the Ukrainian.

"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer," Trump said on social media, citing a story quoting Ukraine's president saying the end of the war with Moscow was far off.

"This guy doesn't want there to be Peace as long as he has America's backing."

Trump also took aim at European leaders who met Zelensky for crisis talks in London at the weekend, saying that they had "stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US."

"Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump's broadside came after a meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky at the White House on Friday which descended into an extraordinary on-camera argument.

Trump and Vance raised their voices and accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and ungrateful for US military assistance, as the Ukrainian pushed his demand for US security guarantees as part of any truce.

Zelensky was then told to leave the White House, with a crucial deal giving Washington preferential access to Ukraine's mineral resources left unsigned.

Trump is now meeting his top advisors on Monday to discuss next steps on Ukraine, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters.

White House officials did not confirm a report by the news outlet Axios that Trump was considering cutting all military aid to Kyiv following the row.

European leaders, who have offered peacekeepers to guarantee any ceasefire but also want a US "backstop", met in London on Sunday in a desperate bid to resolve the row.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Monday with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to discuss the leaders' meeting in London.

Rubio "confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Pathetic, Uncalled For": Ex-Ind Star's Brutal Take On 'Rohit Fat-Shaming' Row

Former Indian cricket team fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad was extremely critical of Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed over her comments about Rohit Sharma. During India's Champions Trophy 2025 match against New Zealand, she took to social media to call Rohit 'fat'. “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” Shama wrote in a post which she deleted later. However, the comments from Shama Mohamed resulted in a massive backlash and Prasad went to call them "absolutely pathetic" and "uncalled for".

"Rohit has maintained great dignity as a captain, led us to a T-20 WC win 8 months back and in the middle of an ICC tournament, body-shaming him is absolutely pathetic and uncalled for. Should have some respect for a person who has achieved through his skills and leadership for so many years," he posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Rohit has maintained great dignity as a captain , led us to a T-20 WC win 8 months back and in the middle of an ICC tournament, body-shaming him is absolutely pathetic and uncalled for.
Should have some respect for a person who has achieved through his skills and leadership for… pic.twitter.com/0FoGGYxpAa

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) March 3, 2025

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad said making fat-shaming comments on the Indian captain "damages the image of the country".

Shama's comments on Rohit triggered strong reactions from all quarters, and the issue snowballed into a big controversy, which led the Congress party to direct Shama to delete her social media post on Rohit.

“A cricketer who is doing so well for the nation, under whom the team is playing very well. Such comments against that player are not at all good. By this, you are also damaging the country's image. This is really shameful,” Lad told IANS.

So far in the ongoing tournament. Rohit remains to be the only top order Indian batter who is yet to score a half-century, with Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer firing in top form. The 37-year-old has accumulated 76 runs across three innings.

(With IANS inputs)

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