By Will Dunham (Reuters) -Alan Arkin, a versatile and prolific American actor who thrived in both comic and dramatic roles

Selling Sunset star Amanza Smith has shared an update after undergoing surgery to treat an infection that spread from her bloodstream to her spine. The interior designer, who works at the real estate company The Oppenheim Group, has revealed in a new interview how osteomyelitis, a painful bone infection, had affected her lower vertebrae. Smith, 46, discovered the infection after experiencing severe backache that lasted nearly a month. After she collapsed while at her Los Angeles home back in May, her friend encouraged her to visit the hospital. “I thought I had a backache, and I almost died,” Smith told People in the magazine’s latest issue. “The doctors and my friend saved my life.” Smith told the publication that she was given antibiotics to treat the infection but faced some complications. She underwent surgery on her lower spin to “clear the infection from the bones” but later found out that the osteomyelitis had affected another area at the front of her spine. “The risk was the antibiotics wouldn’t penetrate the bone, and my entire back could collapse,” she said. Smith had two surgeries to treat the osteomyelitis, which included having part of her spine replaced after it “deteriorated” as a result of the infection. The second operation lasted six hours, in which doctors inserted a titanium mesh cage in her back. She previously said: “Part of my spine has completely deteriorated due to the infection and I’ll be getting a new vertebrae and a couple of screws and rods in my spine to replace what has been eaten away from the bacteria.” In the new interview, she told People: “I am an iron woman, with rods and screws.” Smith returned home from hospital in early July, but her recovery period involves six months of antibiotics, physical therapy and “treading lightly on her feet”. “There are so many things I can’t do, because I can’t lift more than five pounds,” she told the publication. “Sometimes my purse is too heavy. You can’t speed up time, but I’m very anxious to be able to do the things that I love to do. I like to decorate. I like to rearrange. I want to be able to hang things, but I’m very limited right now.” Reflecting on her period in hospital, Smith said that she would never take her mobility “for granted” again. “When I can walk and jog again and do Pilates or ballet, I hope I stick to them because I plan on living to be 107,” she said. According to the NHS, osteomyelitis is a painful bone infection that usually goes away if treated early with antibiotics. However, it can cause serious long-term problems if not treated. Anyone can develop the infection, but a person may be more at risk if they have diabetes, a broken bone, a weakened immune system or recently had an infection or surgery. Smith joined Netflix’s hit reality show Selling Sunset in the second series in 2019. The show follows the drama surrounding employees at The Oppenheim Group, an elite real estate brokerage selling luxury properties in Los Angeles. Read More Queen’s service to inspire young writers in Commonwealth challenge High infidelity: why do people have affairs? Bride tries on mother’s wedding dress 30 years after parents’ wedding Revlon hits back at Selling Sunset star after she found makeup in her husband’s van Strictly’s Amy Dowden finding it ‘so hard’ as she shares hair loss update amid cancer How to help your teen with comparison culture on GCSE results day

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Republican US Senator Mitt Romney said that former president Donald Trump had brought an indictment upon himself for his taking classified documents and refusing to return them. Mr Romney released a statement on Friday after news that a grand jury indicted Mr Trump for his alleged unlawful of retention of national defence information at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Mr Trump said he must report to a court in Miami by Tuesday at 3pm ET. “Like all Americans, Mr Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The government has the burden of proving its charges beyond a reasonable doubt and securing a unanimous verdict by a South Florida jury,” Mr Romney said. “By all appearances, the Justice Department and special counsel have exercised due care, affording Mr Trump the time and opportunity to avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others,” he said. “Mr Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.” The 2012 Republican presidential nominee, whom Mr Trump endorsed in that election, has since emerged as one of the GOP’s most outspoken critics of the former president. Mr Romney voted to convict Mr Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2020, the only Republican Senator to do so, for attempting to withhold aid for Ukraine in exchange for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky investigating Joe Biden’s son when Mr Trump was running for re-election. In 2021, six other Republicans joined Mr Romney to convict Mr Trump for his incitement of the January 6 riot. Mr Romney alluded to those cases in his statement. “These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection,” he said. The statement stands in contrast to Mr Romney’s statement after a New York grand jury indicted Mr Trump in April, when Mr Romney expressed some scepticism. New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office charged Mr Trump on 34 counts related to his allegedly making hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. “Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda,” Mr Romney said at the time. “No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.” Read More Trump-appointed judge will initially preside over ex-president’s federal court appearance Trump indictment — live: Trump’s brazen classified document admission revealed amid MAGA meltdown over charges Jailhouse Rock? Trump followed his furious indictment announcement with a DJ set

Russia is likely building new defences in southern Ukraine, amid “growing concern” among Vladimir Putin’s forces about Kyiv’s success in breaching its first defensive line, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said. Moscow’s troops are believed to be “deploying additional checkpoints, ‘hedgehog’ anti-tank defences and digging new trenches” near the Zaporizhzhia village of Tokmak, which is situated just 16km from Ukraine’s forces, and is set to become a “lynchpin” of Russia’s second defensive line, the ministry said. In Donetsk, Ukraine’s armed forces celebrated the recapture of Andriivka, a village near Bakhmut, after a battle in which they claimed Russia had suffered “significant losses” – a liberation the military said was “key to success in all further directions”. The comments came as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the destruction of a Russian air defence system in the annexed Crimea peninsula, as a Ukrainian minister vowed that “there will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships”. Read More Kim Jong Un stops to see a fighter jet factory as Russia and North Korea are warned off arms deals She danced with Putin at her wedding. Now the former Austrian foreign minister has moved to Russia What is a Storm Shadow cruise missile?

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By Angeliki Koutantou and Fedja Grulovic ATHENS (Reuters) -Wildfires across Greece slowly abated on Thursday after razing swathes of forest