Iran could hold nuclear talks with European powers next week, Tasnim says
"The principle of talks has been agreed upon, but consultations are continuing on the time and place of the talks. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised," Tasnim reported quoting a source informed with the matter.
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Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Ellen DeGeneres's £15m Cotswolds farmhouse where she fled after Trump won US election goes on the market - as TV star confirms she's 'staying in the UK for good'
Ellen DeGeneres has put her £15million Cotswolds farmhouse on the market less than a year after moving there from the US. The US talk show queen told an 700-strong audience of British fans at a one-off show at Cheltenham's Everyman Theatre the farmhouse she moved into last year was now for sale. Yet she has also insisted she is staying in Britain 'for good' - with the decision to stay confirmed following Donald Trump 's re-election as US president last November. She has been living in the UK with her actress wife Portia de Rossi, 52, currently based in a new second home - having left the initial one that is now up for grabs. DeGeneres, 67, said at the Cheltenham event where she was in discussion with broadcaster Richard Bacon: 'We decided we needed a different house, and now we are selling that house. 'So if anyone wants a house, it's a beautiful house - it's a beautiful stone farmhouse. 'To clarify, I'm not selling the new one we now live in. I'm selling the old stone farmhouse.. Sources have confirmed that Ellen has quietly let it be known through her property agent that the farm is now available to the right buyer. The stunning farm, which is set in 40 acres among the rolling Cotswolds hills, was bought by DeGeneres and de Rossi in June of last year for £15million. Ellen was so enamoured by the property that she paid £2.5million above the asking price. However, the couple's new life in the quaint English countryside quickly went dramatically wrong after the seemingly-idyllic six-bedroom bolthole was swamped by flooding just days after they moved in. They were left virtually marooned after a tributary of the River Thames running beside the property broke its banks. Speaking at Cheltenham last week, Ellen told how she had decided to move permanently to the Cotswolds as a reaction to Donald Trump's second American presidential win last year. She said her and Portia had visited the English rural region often and always planned to spend some of the year there while reverting to the US as their main home, but that changed with Trump's victory over his Democrats rival Kamala Harris. Asked if she was staying here because of Mr Trump, she said: 'Yes. We were hopeful for Kamala. We were very hopeful and we thought at least let's get a place here. 'The idea was that we would be here for three or four months of the year - but always when we came here we loved it and we thought it was beautiful. Pictures were shared online of DeGeneres and de Rossi at last weekend's Cheltenham event 'We thought when I stopped the show [Ellen's eponymous US talk show] one day, that it was so beautiful here that we would get a farm here and then go back there. 'And we got here the day before the election. We woke up to lots of texts from our friends and crying emojis. And we were like, "He [Trump] got in. So we are staying here. We are not going back. We are not leaving." 'So we bought a house that we thought was going to be a part-time house. 'Then we decided we needed a different house, and now we are selling that house. So if anyone wants a house, it's a beautiful house. 'It's a beautiful stone farmhouse. To clarify, I'm not selling the new one. I'm selling the old stone farmhouse.' Speaking further about her first year in Britain, DeGeneres pondered on 'the best thing about life in the UK', telling her audience: 'I really like the people. Fish and chips are delicious too. 'The UK is beautiful. It is absolutely beautiful. We [Americans] are just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. 'Even in the villages and the towns, I love the architecture and houses. Everything you see here is charming. It is a simpler way of life. The couple have since moved to the safety of higher ground in a spectacular new property which is perched on a hilltop on the edge of a village in Oxfordshire 'It's clean. Everything here is just better. The way animals are treated, the way people are polite. I just love it here.' However, she did admit the weather was an early issue, adding, 'We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time' - prompting laughter from the audience. She went on: 'The winter is tough. I would definitely say the winter is tough. But I still enjoyed it because we are not used to seasons. 'In California it is pretty much always the same and that gets a little boring - and I like the seasons. 'There is no worse thing than that [the winter]. I enjoy going to British pubs. Of course we go to pubs. We love pubs.' She and de Rossi were pictured and filmed last November enjoying a visit to fellow Cotswold resident Jeremy Clarkson's pub The Farmer's Dog. Putting a positive spin on the winter, DeGeneres has now said: 'I saw snow for the first time in my life. 'I had honestly never seen snow before - it was just like a fairytale, it was beautiful. 'We love it here. Portia flew her horses here. I have chickens and I had sheep for about two weeks - don't get sheep 'They are now with a 12-year-old shepherd in training. I spent so much money on those sheep. I cannot tell you how much those sheep cost me. 'It was Portia's idea - she said, let's get sheep. We were riding lawn mowers all day trying to keep the grass down in the pastures for the horses and we were like, "We just can't keep up with this".' DeGeneres told how they bought four sheep which escaped, meaning they had to build fences and electric fences later taken down for being 'ugly' - while the sheep are now with a local shepherd boy, she added. A local property source who has heard from Ellen's buying agent confirmed that their original farm was now back on the market. The source said: 'Ellen's buying agent has let it be known to us that the farmhouse is indeed available again. 'It is not advertised on the open market and you won't see it on any estate agent's website but it is definitely now available if the right buyer makes an approach.' MailOnline revealed in April that the couple had moved out of that farmhouse following a series of setbacks including flooding. Ellen DeGeneres and de Rossi had already purchased their first Cotswolds home before the 2024 presidential election, but reportedly decided to 'get the hell out' of the US afterwards They have now moved to the safety of higher ground in a spectacular new property perched on a hilltop on the edge of a village in Oxfordshire. It is about a 30-minute drive from their original home and planning documents show it has a 'sustainable drainage system' and is not 'at risk of flooding'. The comedian posted an image on Instagram of Portia surveying the spectacular view from their new property with the image also featuring a rainbow. Describing the 'three things which make me happy' to her 136 million followers, Ellen wrote: 'My wife, a rainbow and my wife taking a photograph of a rainbow.' She also recently shared videos of the couple's growing family of chickens that they keep at the grounds. Their stylish new mansion does have a dark backstory, being built near the site of an old farmhouse where a man was murdered. Our source told MailOnline: 'The murder was a few years ago now and it was quite a grim one so for people around here who have long memories the place will always be notorious. 'And just because they demolished the old place, anyone who has grown up around here will always say, "Oh, that's where the murder was".' After the murder, the farmhouse stood empty for many years before it was finally sold as a derelict building only fit for redevelopment to a local architect for almost £2million. Planning permission was granted to demolish the farmhouse and erect a 'replacement dwelling' with associated buildings and for the surrounding site to be landscaped. The minimalist single-storey house features floor-to-ceiling windows offering breathtaking panoramic views of the Cotswolds, plus a giant outdoor infinity pool. The modern home with 10,000sqft living space has its own cinema, gym and steam room as well as a huge open plan kitchen and lounge area with a hanging fireplace. The massive master bedroom has a huge walk-in wardrobe and two en suite bathrooms, while four further bedrooms are also en suite. More than 1,000 trees have been planted on the surrounding estate to help reduce the noise. According to US magazine People, DeGeneres is a well-known collector of 'multi-million dollar homes' including a £24million property in the Montecito area of California the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also live. In 2023, she told one US outlet of having bought and sold 'over 50 houses' including a house in Malibu that once belonged to Brad Pitt. Earlier this year it was reported that she had put two homes in Montecito on the market - thought to be among her last remaining properties in California.
Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Ministers who breach sleaze rules won't get severance payments
Ministers who are sacked for breaching sleaze rules will no longer receive severance payments under government plans. At present, ministers who lose their jobs are entitled to three months' pay, which amounts to nearly £17,000 for a Cabinet minister. Pat McFadden, a Cabinet Office minister, announced on Monday morning that ministers guilty of a serious breach of the ministerial code would no longer receive the money. The payment will also not be given to those who served less than six months in the job. The move is part of an overhaul aimed at restoring trust in standards in public life, which will result in the launch of a new Ethics and Integrity Commission. The commission, created from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, will have a wider, stronger remit to oversee integrity across every part of the public sector. Ministers will also scrap the advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba) as part of the shake-up. Critics have said the watchdog, which assesses the jobs former ministers take after leaving government for conflicts of interest, is toothless and unable to enforce its rules properly. Under the changes, ministers who refuse to comply with its judgments and those of its successors will have to pay back any severance pay. Mr McFadden said: 'This overhaul will mean there are stronger rules, fewer quangos and clearer lines of accountability. 'The Committee on Standards in Public Life has played an important role in the past three decades. These changes give it a new mandate for the future. 'But whatever the institutional landscape, the public will in the end judge politicians and Government by how they do their jobs and how they fulfil the principles of public service.' Ministers are currently entitled to a severance payment equivalent to three months' salary when they leave office for any reason, and no matter how long they have been in the job. Under the changes being announced by the Government, ministers who return to office within three months of leaving will also not receive their salary until the end of that three-month period. The reforms are aimed at preventing situations like that under the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss governments, which saw some Conservative ministers who served for little more than a month receive payouts of thousands of pounds. Labour says £253,720 was paid out to 35 outgoing Tory ministers who were in post for less than six months during 2022, some of whom were in their jobs for 37 days. The new Ethics and Integrity Commission will report annually to the Prime Minister on the health of the standards system. It will be chaired by Doug Chalmers, a retired lieutenant general who chairs the current Standards Committee. The committee was set up in 1994 by Sir John Major, then prime minister, after his government was mired in accusations of 'sleaze' following a series of parliamentary scandals. Sir John warned in a recent speech that a small group of politicians were increasingly breaking the rules, and suggested Acoba needed to be reformed. Ministers have instead decided to scrap it and split its functions between the Civil Service Commission and the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Under reforms to the business appointments rules, former ministers found to have breached them by taking on inappropriate jobs will now be asked to repay any severance pay they receive.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Ministers who serve less than six months in government won't get payoffs as PM tightens rules on ‘golden goodbyes'
Ousted ministers will only receive payoffs if they have served in government for more than six months as Sir Keir Starmer overhauls his appointments watchdog. After repeat examples of ministers receiving payoffs after only serving short stints, the prime minister has tightened eligibility for severance payouts. He has also scrapped the Advisory Committee for Business Appointments (Acoba) as part of the shakeup, replacing it with a new Ethics and Integrity Commission created from the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, who is driving through the reforms, said: 'This overhaul will mean there are stronger rules, fewer quangos and clearer lines of accountability. "The Committee on Standards in Public Life has played an important role in the past three decades. These changes give it a new mandate for the future." But he added: "Whatever the institutional landscape, the public will in the end judge politicians and government by how they do their jobs and how they fulfil the principles of public service." Ministers are currently entitled to a severance payment equivalent to three months' salary when they leave office for any reason, regardless of how long they have been in the job. The rule saw former minister Michelle Donelan reject the offer of £17,000 severance pay after her 36-hour tenure as education secretary. And the political turmoil at the heart of the Conservative government in 2022 cost taxpayers more than £3m in severance fees for ministers and advisers across three prime ministers. Sir Keir's shakeup would also have seen his own ministers Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, and Tulip Siddiq, a former Treasury minister, made ineligible for severance pay. Under Labour's plans, ministers who leave office after a serious breach of the ministerial code or who have served less than six months will also now not get the payment. If they return to office within three months of leaving, they will also not receive their salary until the end of that three-month period. But critics called for the PM to go further, blocking ministers who are forced out in disgrace from receiving payouts altogether. The Liberal Democrats said Sir Keir's change was 'the right step' but that he 'must now go further - ban ministerial severance payouts altogether for disgraced former ministers, as well as stripping Liz Truss of her access to the ex-PM allowance fund of up to £125,000 per annum'. The new Ethics and Integrity Commission will report annually to Sir Keir on the health of the standards system. It will be chaired by Doug Chalmers, a retired lieutenant general who chairs the current Standards Committee. The committee was set up in 1994 by then-prime minister Sir John Major, after his government was mired in accusations of "sleaze" following a series of parliamentary scandals. Sir John warned in a recent speech that a small group of politicians were increasingly breaking the rules, and suggested Acoba needed to be reformed. It has faced repeated allegations that it is toothless and unable to enforce its rules properly. Ministers have instead decided to scrap it and split its functions between the Civil Service Commission and the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Under reforms to the business appointments rules, ex-ministers found to have breached them by taking on inappropriate jobs will now be asked to repay any severance pay they receive.
