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A young Aston Villa fan looked set for a tearful night when a steward tore away his banner asking for his favourite player’s shirt – but it turned out better than he could have dreamed. Aston Villa blew away Dutch team AZ Alkmaar at AFAS Stadion on Thursday evening, and one fan was hoping to come away with Moussa Diaby’s shirt. Goals from Leon Bailey, Youri Tielemans, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn secured a 4-1 victory for Villa. After the game, manager Unai Emery said: “There were 1,000 fans here helping us and we played 90 minutes, being very competitive.” But for the young supporter, things looked set to end on a sour note, after a steward ripped the sign down and binned it. He had even written his message in Diaby’s native French. The fan was seen with his hands over his face crying as another steward went over to console him. One person captured the moment on X/Twitter, saying: “That’s unnecessary from the stewards to throw it in the bin.” Luckily for the boy, things took a turn for the better after news of what had happened made its way to the Aston Villa players. He was able to meet his hero after the game, as Diaby invited him onto the pitch, took a picture with him and gave him the shirt as a gift. The lad was grinning from ear to ear as he got a handshake and an embrace from the Frenchman. It’s the sort of fairytale story the young fan will carry with him for the rest of his life – getting to meet Aston Villa’s star player on a victorious European away night. The club summed it up perfectly, sharing the clip on X/Twitter, with the caption: “This is what it’s all about.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Meta Platforms's Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing

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Matthew Perry dated Molly Hurwitz from 2018 to 2021

A British family was forced to flee in the middle of the night as the wildfires ravaging parts of Greece broke out in Corfu on Sunday evening and came within metres of their holiday home. Rebecca Bell, 50, of Sheffield, was among those who received an evacuation order via a text message overnight as dozens of blazes erupted on the western island, with more than 2,000 people moved to safety. “It did feel like the end of the world yesterday,” she told The Independent from the village of Sinies, describing the intensity of the heat, “banks of flames” cascading down the hillside, and a “yellow glow of fire” in the sky. The blaze broke out in the northern part of Corfu, which is popular with British tourists, on Sunday evening, with those in Sinies, Santa, Megoula, Porta and Palia Perithia told to evacuate to Kasiopi. Have you been affected by this story? Email tara.cobham@independent.co.uk Firefighters have struggled through the night to contain 82 wildfires across Greece, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far, amid strong winds and successive heatwaves driven by the climate crisis. The most serious fire was on the island of Rhodes, where 19,000 people had been evacuated from several locations as wildfires burned for a sixth day, Greek authorities said, in what was "the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country". Ms Bell, who works for a technology company, arrived at their rented villa in Sinies on Friday with her husband, Mat Pennell, their 18-year-old daughter, and the teenager’s friend for the family’s two-week summer holiday. They were all about to leave for dinner on Sunday evening when they received the evacuation order. But, unable to see flames, only smoke, and reassured by the villa owner, they decided to continue with their evening plans. It was when they got into the car after eating and attempted to return to the villa that was the most frightening moment, she said. “We saw banks of flames coming down the hillside and realised it was serious.” The roads to the village were shut and police cordons were in place, but the family were allowed to collect their passports from the villa. “We packed up in 10 minutes and threw everything into the car,” said Ms Bell. “I’ve never packed a bag that quickly in my life. “When we were up there by the villa it was hot, you could feel the heat. The fire was perhaps about 400 metres from our villa.” She spoke of giant fire and water trucks driving up the hill as they were coming back down. The family went to the evacuation point Kasiopi but said there was nothing happening there, so they sat in the car until about 2am when they realised they would not be making it back to the villa that night. “It felt weird driving around like, ‘What do we do now?’ It was bizarre, very disaster movie-esque,” said Ms Bell. They spoke with a local businessperson who let the family stay in his home for the night. “Because we had rented privately it was down to us to work out our next move, and we ended up with some kind strangers,” Ms Bell said. “My husband and I slept on the sofa in the man’s living room, which was super kind and amazing to be so welcoming to people in such a crazy situation.” She said they did not sleep a huge amount and heard helicopters presumably dropping water on the hillside at sunrise. The family managed to make it back to the villa on Monday morning, shortly before receiving a text message that advised people to return to their accommodation as “the situation is under control and the fire is receding”. Ms Bell said smoke can still be seen rising in the hills but the yellow glow of fire has been replaced by clear skies. “The fire looked pretty close to the villa, but nothing has burned,” she said, adding: “Safety first, but I am very glad the holiday plans didn’t go to rack and ruin.” Read More Greece fires – live: Corfu evacuations begin as tourists fleeing Rhodes inferno spend second night in airport ‘Like hell on earth’: Brits evacuated from Rhodes describe devastating Greek wildfires Greece wildfires: Everything you need to know How to tell if you have Covid or heatstroke Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad?

As I sit in the dark of Screen 2 at Oxford’s Curzon cinema, a woman a few seats away from me does something I’ve not seen before: she orders pizza. Specifically, she orders £64.85 worth of pizzas and chips for her and her family. A few minutes later – after the film has started, in fact – the food is brought to her, as though she was sitting in any regular restaurant and not in a cinema. Eating at the pictures is becoming ever more sophisticated, with ushers bringing you food as fancy as sushi without you having to move a muscle. Is it getting a bit silly? It’s no secret that cinemas have endured a range of crises over the past few years, partly thanks to the rise of streaming and then the pandemic and even more streaming. Cinemas across the country have shut down and forecasters predict that screens won’t be as full as they were pre-Covid until 2025. Some of the cinemas that survived, like AMC, are saddled with billions of pounds worth of debt. Just showing people films may not cut it in this difficult new era. As they fight to survive, cinemas are having to up their game. They have to offer “experiences”. Christina Flourentzou, operations manager at Curzon, says they learned that customers wanted more food and drink with their film thanks to their feedback service, Feed It Back. This happened before Covid struck, she points out, but post-pandemic the company rolled their restaurants out on a bigger scale. “What we’re trying to do is elevate the guest experience,” she says. “For us it’s about giving the guest the best possible experience; so anything that they want, we can give them, essentially.” At my local Curzon this includes padron peppers, mushroom and truffle croquettes, and vegan hot dogs. What Curzon has discovered, according to Flourentzou, is that when at-seat food and drink service is offered, the spend per customer goes up – often by as much as £2 per person. There is a different mindset when ordering at your seat compared with ordering at the till: “You take your coat off, your hands are free, you look at a menu, suddenly someone comes to you and says, ‘What would you like?’ Your mentality changes.” On any new site Curzon will now endeavour to install tables at seats, in order to allow for this in-screen service. Eating entire meals in your cinema seat is becoming more and more popular but it isn’t a brand-new phenomenon. Studio Movie Grill, born in Texas but with sites in states including California, Florida and Georgia, has been offering at-seat food and drink since 2000. Tearlach Hutcheson, the company’s vice president for film, calls this kind of operation a “cinema eatery”. He agrees that it isn’t just the pandemic that has caused a shift in customer priorities; it’s been happening over the past 20 years as home entertainment systems have become increasingly more sophisticated and cinemas have had to compete. “I think that people are looking for a different experience when they go to the theatres,” he says. “We have to provide a more luxurious catering experience to the guest.” I think the immersion is only going to get more and more. I think that everyone is going to adapt because this is what people want. I don’t think the cinema is enough now ... I don’t think it’s ever going to go back to popcorn and drinks Amy Fernando, creator of Taste Film At Studio Movie Grill, food revenue is more than twice that of ticket sales, and its CEO says that business is better for the company than before the pandemic. In cinemas, profit margins have always been higher on food than on tickets – though these margins are far smaller for cooked food than for popcorn and Coke. The kitchen staff at Studio Movie Grill are often dishing out six meals per minute. A recent innovation was a kitchen printer that printed orders faster than ever before. Servers are allowed to bring food and drink to guests at any point (unlike Curzon, where, Flourentzou says, it should strictly happen during the adverts and trailers) but the bulk of orders are placed within the first 30 minutes of arrival. Studio Movie Grill could represent the future of the cinema-going experience: it might soon be completely normal to bundle the film-and-a-meal experience into one. What Hutcheson is confident about is that cinemas will become more of a “destination spot” in order to entice people to leave the comfort of their homes. Flourentzou doesn’t think I’m right to call it “panic” but it does seem like cinemas are urgently fighting to stay alive. One person who knows all about using food and cinema to create an experience is Amy Fernando, creator of Taste Film, an enterprise that shows films to customers while serving them food featured in those films. Watching Goodfellas in 2016, Fernando was inspired by the infamous shaving garlic scene to marry the two things she cared most about. Seven years later, she has swapped teaching for running the business full-time. “I think the beauty of coming to the cinema, or doing an experience like this, is sharing it with like-minded people,” she says. “Post-Covid there is something special in getting dressed up, going out, and sharing the experience with other people.” When I go to watch Taste Film’s version of Mrs Doubtfire, I agree. I didn’t think of the film as one featuring all that much food but at appropriate moments we are served a savoury birthday muffin; chilli salt and pepper chicken wings; a meringue martini; tiger prawn skewers with chips and salad; a pina colada; and a chilli and chocolate mousse. As Fernando says, the frisson of fun is largely to do with two communal experiences: everyone not just watching the film at the same time but eating the same food at the same time. This won’t be replicable in regular cinemas (a Taste Film ticket is £75, for example) but the company is going from strength to strength, partnering with the big streamers, and its growth is indicative of people’s updated expectations around film. “Guests want more,” says Fernando, “and younger people want more.” Ultimately, of course, it will be the quality of films that govern whether or not cinemas stay afloat. This summer has seen an unusual boom in quality and business, with Barbie and Oppenheimer proving critical darlings as well as excellent earners. But where the cinemas can’t control how good the films are, they can control the various offerings they provide around them. “I think the immersion is only going to get more and more,” says Fernando. “I think that everyone is going to adapt because this is what people want. I don’t think the cinema is enough now.” Hutcheson and Flourentzou agree. Hand in hand with this development, Hutcheson says, will be a resurgence in “purer cinematic experiences” – people wanting to experience cinema with as sophisticated a picture and sound experience as possible. He believes that it won’t be long before cinema eateries – at the moment confined to more modest theatres – will also enter the IMAX space. Look at the signs and it certainly seems as though it will be difficult to put the genie back in the bottle – which means cinemagoers may need to brace themselves for an exciting new range of smells. Fernando is probably right when she says: “I don’t think it’s ever going to go back to popcorn and drinks.” Read More Too gay, too weird, too pregnant: The most controversial Barbie dolls in history Doing things alone isn’t ‘self-love’ – we don’t need to make everything empowering Sizzling kitchen drama The Bear is spicing up the dating game for chefs ‘It started with a radish’: Chef Simon Rogan reflects on restaurant L’Enclume at 20 The true story – and murky history – of Portuguese piri piri oil 30-minute summer recipes for all the family to enjoy

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Dwayne Johnson has shared how "completely heartbroken" he feels about the Maui wildfires in an emotional post on Instagram. The 51-year-old actor and former WWE wrestler took to the social media platform amid the wildfires that began on August 8 and have since spread at speed as a result of the high winds and dry land. As it stands, 96 people have been confirmed dead with more people currently missing. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Johnson partly grew up in Hawaii, living in Honolulu as a teen and in his message urged: "All our local families, our ohana, our aiga, stay strong thru this devastating time." In his video message, he began: “I know that by now all of you around the world have seen the complete destruction and devastation that has hit our Hawaiian islands – our island of Maui. “And I’m completely heartbroken over this and I know all of you are too.” He continued: “Everything that I’ve seen transpire over these past couple of days, everything that continues to transpire hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, it’s all heartbreaking, “Thank you guys around the world for all of your love and your support, your light, your prayers. “Thank you for sending them to the islands of Hawaii, the people of Hawaii.” Along with his video message, Johnson also included images of the devastating impact the wildfires have had as well as the ongoing rescue efforts. Meanwhile, actor Jason Momoa - who was born in Honolulu - warned in an Instagram post to tourists not to visit the area at this time due to the ongoing crisis. “Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply,” he said. “Mahalo to everyone who has donated and shown aloha to the community in this time of need.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Pete Alonso homered twice and drove in a season-high five runs, Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings and the New York Mets beat the New York Yankees 9-3 in their Subway Series opener

The Tennesse car crash involving four vehicles in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s motorcade has revealed that his campaign has misused government vehicles by using cars owned by the state of Florida in his presidential run, a report claims. The crash that took place on Tuesday as the campaign team was travelling to fundraisers in three cities in the state shows how the campaign is using state resources, but it remains almost impossible to discover who’s funding it after a new law passed by the Florida legislature to shield Mr DeSantis’s travel records from the public, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The research director for nonprofit government watchdog Integrity Florida, Ben Wilcox, told the paper: “The legislature has enabled him to hide his travel records so we don’t know and have no way to hold him accountable if he is using state resources in his campaign or if that is even the case”. Orlando Democratic state representative Anna Eskamani told the paper that “It’s absurd that he’s using public resources and public infrastructure to campaign. He’s using state resources to boost himself politically”. The crash took place as the campaign was heading to a fundraiser when an accident further ahead caused traffic to slow down. A Tennessee Highway Patrol officer heading the motorcade stopped short, and the cars behind the officer rear-ended each other, according to Chattanooga Police. “If the accident hadn’t been reported, we wouldn’t have known otherwise about the use of state vehicles,” Ms Eskamani added. “It makes you wonder how often state vehicles and public employees are being used at out-of-state campaign events.” One DeSantis staffer was treated on the scene of the crash for minor injuries. There were no further injuries, police said. Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agents were also involved in the accident. Police said all the vehicles in the crash were government-owned. FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger told the paper: “We’ve never answered questions about our protective operations assets (number of agents used, vehicles etc.)” The federal campaign finance report filed on 15 July covering the three months leading up to 30 June doesn’t include any payments to FDLE for travel or security. The report states that $76,256 were spent on private security. The DeSantis campaign has recently been in the news for spending large amounts without much to show for it, and recently laying off 38 people – a third of the campaign staff. Travel and staffing appear to be large expenses for the campaign as Mr DeSantis has been reported to be travelling with a larger group of staffers compared to other candidates. The campaign had raised $20m as of 30 June and they had spent $8.2m – more than a million on payroll and almost as much on travel – $896,000. Mr DeSantis is reported to prefer to fly in private jets provided by a number of top donors, the Sentinel notes. Since the start of his gubernatorial re-election campaign last year, there have been questions about whose private jets he’s using and if they’re reported as in-kind contributions or gifts. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a sitting governor run for [president],” Mr Wilcox told the paper. The director of public access for the Florida Center for Government Accountability, Michael Barfield, told the paper that “at the end of the day, taxpayers don’t know what their money is being spent on”. He added that the group is considering its next legal steps. “We’re questioning the validity of the exemption,” Mr Barfield said. “We don’t think it meets a public purpose, so we will brainstorm about potential legal action.” Ms Eskamani said the legislature could repeal the public records exemption, but that “It would take a political will that doesn’t exist, even for something as nonpartisan as access to travel records”. The Independent has reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment. Read More A new challenger has emerged to Trump – and his extreme anti-woke message is working DeSantis cornered on his Bud Light boycott after threatening legal action over stock drop Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Disney’s efforts to neutralize governing district takeover Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Disney’s efforts to neutralize governing district takeover DeSantis questioned about his Bud Light boycott after complaining about stock drop Trump calls additional charges in Jack Smith’s superseding indictment ‘harassment’