NATO leaders have celebrated their unity in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

"Victory is not easy, but it is certain," imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, said in a message smuggled out of...

A civilian cargo ship sailing from Ukraine reached Istanbul on Thursday in defiance of a Moscow blockade that sent tensions soaring after Russia open...

Amy Dowden has shared “the hardest step” of her cancer journey with fans as she shaved her head. The Welsh dancer, who has competed on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Dowden, 33, has been documenting the journey for her fans, and recently described in a candid video how she “cries every day” as her hair falls out due to treatment. On Thursday (21 September), with Dowden over halfway through her chemotherapy, the dancer made the brave decision to “take control” and shave her head. In a montage shared on Instagram, Dowden was shown dabbing at her eyes while her “loved ones” cut off chunks of her hair down to a short, cropped style. The remaining hair was then shaved off, with the Strictly star growing more emotional and pausing to cover her face with her hands. However, she was in the end shown admiring the end results in the m “This too shall pass,” Dowden wrote, before describing the haircut as “the hardest step so far”. “I tried my best to save it. I know it’s only hair but these past few months I’ve had what feels like so much taken away from me that has made me not feel like Amy. I’m missing every possible aspect of dancing. I just wanted to keep my identity with my hair and I tried telling myself it wouldn’t go. But I would dread the pain of waking up to the shredding everyday.” She continued: “I’ve not been able to take control of this journey so far, but as you can see with some of my loved ones I took the courage and CONTROL. “It’s going to take some time to get use to and learn to love and embrace but, I’m now focusing – not on the hair I’m losing but the hair I’m going to get back and the happy dancing, tea lover who talks way to fast whilst rolling every rrrrr who is still there inside with or without hair!” Dowden said that she could now “see the finish line” after shaving her head, explaining: “This for me was a hurdle I couldn’t even bring myself to think or speak about. I’ve done it and I’ve also crossed the halfway chemo line! I’m feeling empowered and positive!” Dowden’s fellow Strictly pro Dianne Buswell commented: You are still all the things you were before, just with added courage, strength and determination. One thing about you is that you don’t let anything take over! “I cannot wait to have you back on the dancefloor with us chatting away, making endless cups of tea! We all love you so much and I’m such a proud friend.” Due to her treatment, Dowden has not been given a professional partner during this series of Strictly Come Dancing. However, the team paid tribute to Dowden during Saturday (16 September) night’s launch show. Host Tess Daly called Dowden their “Welsh dragon” and explained that she would be missing “the start of the series”. Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 23 September at 6.15pm on BBC One. Read More Strictly’s Bobby Brazier: ‘I don’t think happiness or fulfilment lies in what TV show I’m gonna do’ Strictly’s Amy Dowden says she ‘cries every day’ as she opens up on losing her hair during cancer treatment Strictly Come Dancing’s biggest stars this year are 50 plus – it’s refreshing to see Stacey Solomon leads tributes to cancer campaigner Nicky Newman who has died aged 35 Is a four-day week a good idea? | You Ask The Questions Yoghurt could be the cure for bad garlic breath, study finds

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM A top Israeli lawmaker said on Sunday that any forging of relations with Saudi

Young British footballers are trying to help lowly ranked Pakistan qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday and discussed a range

Florida's citrus production is expected to improve in the upcoming season compared to last year when twin hurricanes battered the state

Deadly violence has been surging in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as the Israeli military pursues Palestinian militants in the aftermath of the Hamas attack

Adele admitted to spending thousands of dollars on eBay and acquiring entire collections from estate sales of deceased homeowners

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to launch his second campaign for the Republican nomination for president next week in New Hampshire

Donald Trump has doubled down on his apparent dislike of Kim Kardashian, dubbing her the “most overrated celebrity”. It’s the second time the controversial former president has had something to say about the star, despite seemingly having a good relationship with the reality star during his time in office. In Jonathan Karl's book about the last few tumultuous weeks of Trump’s presidency, he suggested that the relationship first soured after Trump made a deal with Kardashian that he would help her with a clemency case, in return for her having some of her football star friends visit him in the White House – something that never transpired. Karl claimed Trump ultimately hung up a phone call from Kardashian in a rage, and after some “choice words”, over the alleged broken promise and his belief that she supported Joe Biden. Now, Trump has taken to social media to publically call out Kardashian in a scathing rant calling her “overrated”. In his post on Truth Social, he claimed that Karl’s version of events are “fake news”. He wrote: “In the ‘book’ he has the World’s most overrated celebrity, Kim Kardashian, supposedly telling me that she ‘would leverage her celebrity to get football stars to come to the White House,’ if I would commute the sentences of various prisoners. “This story is Fake News in that she would be the last person I asked to get football players.” Elsewhere in the long post, he wrote: “I did help with prisoner commutation, but only if deserving, and much more so for Kanye West than for Kim, who probably voted for Crooked Joe Biden.” Kardashian and Trump met in the Oval Office in 2018 to talk about prison reform and sentencing, as well as the pardoning of Alice Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for nonviolent drug and money laundering charges. The former president granted Johnson clemency days after their meeting. 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.