Konstantin Koltsov, the boyfriend of tennis superstar Aryna Sabalenka, “was most likely drunk” when he died in Miami, his ex-wife has told media in Belarus.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that Koltsov had been to date Australian Open champion Sabalenka, 25, died on Monday at the age of 42 in an “apparent suicide” after jumping from a hotel balcony in Miami.

The Belarusian former professional hockey player, who shares three children with ex-wife Julija Mikhailova, is said to have joined his girlfriend in the city as she prepares for the Miami Open, where she starts her campaign on Friday.

Miami-Dade police have taken over the investigation into the suspected suicide, but in an interview with media in her native Belarus, Mikhailova gave her thoughts on what could have happened.

She has claimed her ex-husband was “most likely drunk” before the fatal fall, and while she says liquor bottles were found in his hotel room, officers could not find a suicide note. She also says that she believes his recent behavior indicated he was not preparing for suicide.

‘Most likely he was very drunk,” she said Zerkalo. ‘Unfortunately, hockey players are sometimes guilty of that.

‘Empty alcohol bottles were found in the room where Konstantin was staying. There was a balcony with an ocean view. Probably Konstantin did not keep track of his actions.

‘WWe still have the old family computer with Konstantin’s email. I knew the passwords and managed to open some emails. Konstantin had also booked apartments at another location. Purchases that have not yet arrived have been paid for. He rented a car for a long time.

“That is, he did not mean to die. Of course, anything can go to your head, but there was no sign of tragedy.”

She added that he had fallen from the 23rd floor of the St Regis Bal Harbor Resort, and while police immediately ruled out homicide, their investigation is expected to be completed within a month.

Mikhailova said their children Daniel, Alexander and Stefan, aged 18, 16 and five, are coming to terms with his death and claimed the couple’s eldest son, Daniel, is the heir to his estate.

Reflecting on her relationship with Sabalenka, Mikhailova said: ‘Nice girl. I loved Konstantin very much, but Sabalenka treated my children well, so I have a normal attitude towards her.’

She also shared how she first heard of her ex-husband’s death.

“It was March 18,” she said. ‘At first they called me several times asking if I was at home and saying they wanted to tell me something about Konstantin. And then the detective came.

‘He tried to convey the news in a gentle manner as much as possible. But of course I was in shock.

“He then shared information, asked some appropriate questions, explained several procedural points and said we could call him anytime.”

Mikhailova added that she had shared very little communication with Koltsov in the weeks leading up to his death.

Elsewhere, Koltsov’s first coach, Vladislav Astapenko, has expressed his belief that the 42-year-old’s death is linked to family problems.

“He had an argument, it’s a family situation,” he said Tribuna. ‘I can’t understand it myself, it’s very difficult, it’s difficult now’

According to investigators, Bal Harbor police and firefighters were dispatched to the St. Regis Bal Harbor Resort in reference to a man who jumped from a balcony at 12:39 a.m. ET on Monday.

Reports from his native Belarus initially claimed that Kolstov had died of a “dislodged blood clot.”

Koltsov, who played hockey for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, was pronounced dead by his former club Salavat Yulaev Ufa on the social messaging site Telegram on Tuesday.

“It is with deep sadness that we inform you that Salavat Yulaev’s coach, Konstantin Koltsov, has passed away,” the Russian club’s statement read.

‘He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues and fans. Konstantin wrote himself into the history of our club forever.

‘Koltsov won the Russian Championship and the Gagarin Cup as part of Salavat Yulaev and did a great job in the team’s technical staff.

“May his memory burn brightly.”

The death of Sabalenka’s partner comes just five years after her lost her father Sergey after his sudden death at the age of 43.

Like Koltsov, her father had also played professional hockey, and the Belarusian athlete has often spoken about the motivation her father inspired her in her tennis game.

Despite his apparent suicide, the Tennis Channel reports that Sabalenka still plans to play the tournament in the Sunshine State this month.

As a result, she returned to the court on Tuesday to practice for her draw in Friday’s Round of 64, when she will meet the winner of Simona Halep and Paula Badosa’s opening match.

In footage shared by Polish sports commentator Bartosz Ignacik, Sabalenka is seen working her serve, just 24 hours after Koltsov’s death was confirmed.

Sabalenka and Koltsov were first linked in June 2021 and the two-time Australian Open winner has regularly posted photos of them together on her Instagram account.

“I love you @koltsov2021,” she wrote in a message with hearts and other emojis.

“Happy birthday my love. You are my dearest person, my best friend and my strongest support. Peace be with you, strength, patience and health.

‘I hope we get everything we planned. I love you.’

For support, call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org or www.thecalmzone.net/get-supportor call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.

Nayab Singh Saini, the Lok Sabha MP from Haryana’s Kurukshetra, met Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday to formally stake claim for the formation of the government in the state.

Haryana Floor Test Latest News: The Haryana floor test started at 11 am and Haryana CM Nayab Saini moved a vote of confidence during the special session of the House to prove majority for his government. A day after taking oath as Haryana chief minister, CM Nayab Singh Saini is conducting the floor test to prove majority in the Assembly.

Nayab Singh Saini, the Lok Sabha MP from Haryana’s Kurukshetra, met Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday to formally stake claim to form the government in the state, replacing his predecessor, senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar. He took oath as the Haryana CM at a swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh.

Four BJP leaders Kanwar Pal Gujjar, Jai Parkash Dalal, Moolchand Sharma and Banwari Lal took oath as ministers in the Haryana cabinet.

An independent MLA Ranjit Singh was also administered oath by Governor Bandaru Dattatreya. Former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar was also present.

The newly elected CM said the BJP-led government in the state has the support of a total of 48 MLAs, adding that the Speaker has been urged to conduct the floor test on Wednesday.

“I would like to thank Prime Minister Modi, party president JP Nadda, union leader Amit Shah and other senior leaders of the party for giving me this responsibility. We will work for the development of the state. We have asked the Speaker to conduct the floor test in the Vidhan Sabha tomorrow around 11 am. We have informed the Governor about the support of 48 MLAs,” CM Saini said.

Following the collapse of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) alliance and the subsequent resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, former CM Khattar said the demand of the JJP leaders over the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha polls possibly led to the split of the alliance.

Manohar Lal Khattar said, “JJP leaders’ demand over seat sharing in the Lok Sabha polls may have led to the collapse of the alliance. The 10 seats in the state were won by the BJP. The JJP leaders must have spoken to the central leadership. There is nothing official but they (JJP) have decided that they will contest the Lok Sabha seats separately and the decisions have been taken accordingly.”

Nayab Saini, an influential figure within the OBC (or other backward classes) community, is the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Kurukshetra and was appointed the party’s state chief in October last year. He is also a close confidant of Khattar, whose second (consecutive) term ends this year.

By Kate Dennett for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 5:49 PM EST, March 1, 2024 | Updated: 5:49 PM EST, March 1, 2024

A COUPLE have added a brand new floor to their home via an Ikea bargain without breaking planning rules.

Kate Ellison and husband Robert wanted to renovate their north London home but were limited to what they could do.

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The couple decided they wanted a pretty big change and soon faced complications when planning permission was required.

The pair had no choice but to put their heads together and think outside the box – because they didn't want to submit applications or wait for approval.

One day they were in everyone's favorite furniture store and saw that you could buy a mezzanine.

The product meant they could add a new layer to their Victorian property without the hassle of application.

Kate and Robert bought the Tolkning room divider from Ikea for just £99.

The mezzanine now floats above a cupboard in their home and provides an extra layer and space.

Kate said: “It creates such an interesting, modern space.

“It really gives the house that wow factor.”

The easy hack comes after Michael Gove announced a series of policy measures this week, including changes to permitted development rights.

A consultation on the proposed changes sets out how homeowners can build wider and taller extensions without planning permission.

The plans include L-shaped shells, loft conversions and kitchen extensions.

The documentwhich was published on Tuesday, also proposes to scrap rules that mean extensions and other buildings cannot take up more than 50 percent of the surrounding land, known as the 'curtilage'.

Homeowners will also be able to convert as much attic space as they want without permission.

It is part of a wider Conservative effort to support 'soft densification' of towns and cities across the country.

Gove's proposed expansion plans

One-storey extension

Current rules: Limited to 3 meters deep for most houses and 4 meters deep for detached houses.

New rules: increased to 4 meters depth for most houses and 5 meters for detached houses.

Rear two-storey extension, highest point

Current rules: Must not be higher than the highest point of the house.

New rules: May be as high as the highest part of the house, but cannot be visible from the street.

Attic extension

Current rules: Limits conversions to 50 cubic meters in most cases or 40 cubic meters in terraced houses.

New rules: Homeowners may convert as much attic space as is available.

L-shaped extensions

Current rules: A building permit is required.

New rules: no building permit is required.

Extension sizes

Current rules: Extensions and other buildings may not occupy more than 50 percent of the surrounding land, known as 'curtilage'.

New rules: Can cover more than 50 percent of the area.

The JD(U) has a total of 45 MLAs, excluding the chief minister, who is a member of the Legislative Council.

Patna: Nitish Kumar's JD(U) on Sunday exuded confidence that its national president, who was sworn in as Bihar CM for the ninth time after forming a new government with the BJP, will win Monday's confidence vote.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who convened a meeting of the legislative party JD(U), downplayed the absence of “two or three MLAs” and attributed it to “unavoidable circumstances about which they had given advance information.” He emphasized that those absent would be present in the meeting during the floor test.

“We in the NDA have a total strength of 128 MLAs. We sit comfortably in the 243-person group. All our MLAs will be present in the House of Representatives where a vote of no confidence against the Speaker will precede the confidence vote,” Chaudhary said.

The senior JD(U) leader dodged a direct answer on the exact number of MLAs who had skipped the meeting.

“All but two or three were there. Those who did not come had informed the party leadership of the unavoidable circumstances that kept them away. However, they will be present in the House tomorrow,” Chaudhary claimed.

JD(U) sources requesting anonymity said the three MLAs who were not spotted at the meeting were Sudharshan Kumar Singh, Bima Bharti and Dilip Roy.

The JD(U) has a total of 45 MLAs, excluding the chief minister, who is a member of the Legislative Council.

Chaudhary said, “As per the schedule prepared for tomorrow's proceedings, the House will first take up the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. As required by the rules, 38 MLAs will rise to support the motion after which the Speaker will make way for his deputy who will conduct the proceedings until a new Speaker is elected”.

Notably, vice-chairman Maheshwar Hazari belongs to the JD(U), while chairman Awadh Bihari Chaudhary belongs to the RJD, which has lost power due to Nitish Kumar's latest upheaval.

Chaudhary was also questioned about the assertive stand of RJD national spokesperson Manoj Jha, who earlier in the day stressed that the party would continue to fight on the Speaker issue till the end. Jha cited a number of Supreme Court rulings stating that removal would require a vote by a majority of House members

Chaudhary replied, “We know the rules as well as he (Jha). Everything will proceed according to the rules.”

Ahead of the confidence vote, the political temperature is rising in the Bihar capital with all major players working to keep their flock together.

BJP MLAs, who were in Bodh Gaya to attend a two-day workshop, were brought back to the capital late on Sunday evening. The party has 78 MLAs.

Party sources said a number of MLAs had skipped the two-day workshop but did not reveal their names.

The NDA also includes four MLAs from the Hindustani Awam Morcha led by former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has issued a whip amid rumors that he might be tempted by the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, who has given him the post of chief minister has offered in exchange for a transfer. about.

There is also independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh, who is also a minister and was present at the meeting of the legislative party JD(U).

Meanwhile, Congress MLAs, who had been stationed in Telangana for a week fearing poaching, returned. The party has 19 MLAs, all of whom have reached 5, Deshratna Marg, the bungalow allotted to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav when he was deputy CM.

RJD MLAs along with their Left allies have been staying at Yadav's residence since Saturday evening and are likely to reach the Vidhan Sabha together on Monday in a show of solidarity.

The Mahagathbandhan, which includes RJD, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI and CPI(M), has 114 MLAs.

Moreover, there is one member of the AIMIM, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who has not revealed his cards.

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

A South Carolina man believes he has discovered the plane Amelia Earhart was flying when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

Former US Air Force intelligence officer Tony Romeo turned his fascination with the legendary pilot into an adventure when he embarked on an ambitious search for Earhart's lost plane.

Romeo, who sold his commercial real estate investments to fund his search, managed to capture a sonar image of an airplane-shaped object on the ocean floor in December.

Earhart and her Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra disappeared at the height of her fame, a mystery that has spawned decades of searches and conspiracy theories.

Earhart's record-breaking career as a pioneering pilot at the dawn of the aviation era made her an international celebrity.

She became the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the continental US and the Atlantic Ocean, and the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the mainland across the Pacific Ocean.

“This might be the most exciting thing I'll ever do in my life,” Romeo told the Wall Street Journal.

“I feel like a ten-year-old going on a treasure hunt.”

“It was just unthinkable that she would be missing,” Romeo said.

Adding: 'Imagine if Taylor Swift just disappears today.'

Romeo spent $11 million to finance the trip and buy the high-tech equipment needed for the search, including an underwater 'Hugin' drone manufactured by Norwegian company Kongsberg.

The expedition started in early September from Tarawa, Kiribati, a port near Howland Island, with a crew of 16 aboard a research vessel.

During trips that lasted 36 hours each, the unmanned submersible scanned 5,200 square kilometers of ocean floor.

Finally, about a month into the search, it had captured a faint sonar image of an object the size and shape of an airplane about 16,000 feet underwater within 100 miles of Howland Island.

However, the image went unnoticed until the team discovered it while scanning the data, about 90 days into the trip.

Romeo is now planning a recurring exhibition to get better views of the mysterious object.

Some experts are intrigued by Romeo's discovery, including Dorothy Cochrane, curator in the aviation department at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Cochrane told the Journal that the location of the sonar image corresponds approximately to where experts have concluded Earhart may have crashed.

However, experts are not yet ready to call the find definitive and have called for clearer images with details such as a serial number matching Earhart's plane.

“Until you physically look at this, there's no way to say for sure what that is,” Andrew Pietruszka, an underwater archaeologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told the Journal.

Romeo is not the first to organize trips in an attempt to locate the missing plane; half a dozen adventurers and enthusiasts have spent millions on the unsolved mystery.

Expeditions were launched in 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2017.

Adjusted for inflation, the missions collectively cost at least $13 million, the Wall Street Journal estimates.

“It's the only thing in my career I've ever looked for and not found,” said Tom Dettweiler, a sonar expert who participated in two of the searches and was part of the team that found the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland. Canada, in 1985.

Kate Garraway has 'spent thousands' adapting her north London home for husband Derek Draper's battle with the devastating, debilitating effects of COVID-19 after he fell ill with the respiratory virus in March 2020, as Britain braced for its first national lockdown.

But following Derek's tragic death on January 3, aged just 56, the Good Morning Britain presenter may be forced to sell the property as caring for the former political lobbyist at home for three years has 'wiped her out financially'.

Potential buyers will notice significant personal changes to the property including a lift, wet room and a ground floor completely redesigned to meet all of Derek's needs.

Kate, 56, is said to have spent thousands of pounds on professional help for her late husband – who was confined to a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care before suffering a fatal cardiac arrest – and on two trips to Mexico to pioneer treatment.

The popular presenter suffered more financial problems in 2022 when the couple's psychotherapy company Astra Aspera closed with debts of £184,000.

The closure left her with a tax bill of £716,000. Another company, Praespero 100, saw its assets fall by £87,000 in 2022.

A friend said: 'It's so sad for Kate. Not only has she had to watch her beloved husband suffer for almost four years, but her financial worries have never been far from her thoughts.

'It has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to care for Derek and do everything she can to make him better, but she is struggling.

'The house is about all she has left financially and she is now faced with the fact that it may have to be sold.

'It's where she and Derek were so happy and also where her two children grew up – but bills are bills and they need to be paid. It's terrible for Kate.'

Kate admitted last year: 'It's been tough financially. As anyone with a loved one who is seriously ill knows, costs are skyrocketing in so many ways.

'You have to make changes to your home and that affects your ability to work.

'I had to take long periods off when Derek first became ill and it is affecting the family's overall income as he can no longer work.'

Speaking to Good Morning Britain viewers in 2021, Kate admitted it was 'completely overwhelming but also wonderful' to have Derek back home.

Kate revealed the changes she made to the family home in her heartbreaking documentary Finding Derek, in which she added a wheelchair lift, wet room, alarm system and a ground floor bedroom to the house.

The presenter installed the lift so that her house became wheelchair accessible for Derek.

Kate also converted the ground floor lounge into his new bedroom, which was fitted with a hospital bed as the virus damaged the former lobbyist's muscles.

At the time the show was filmed, the wet room was still being worked on and a builder was seen laying plaster and preparing to install a toilet inside.

Kate explained to viewers: 'What we're doing at the moment is an occupational therapist dealing with the layout of the house, where we're looking at setting up a wet room, basically living on the ground floor.

'He will either be on a stretcher or in a wheelchair. And they are also figuring out how to install a lift in the garden.'

Kate revealed she would sleep downstairs in a 'murphy bed' so she could be close to Derek while she selected small mosaic tiles, his favorite style, for the new bathroom.

The presenter brought a team of carers into the house and admitted it was like 'a ward at home now because he needs so much equipment', her co-host Ben Shephard told ITV's Good Morning Britain in 2021.

Other features of the house include floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the garden, which allowed Derek to view his and Kate's children Darcey and Billy.

Kate admitted that their two children were 'over the moon and overwhelmed in equal measure' when they got back Derek, who worked with physiotherapists and speech therapists during his hospital stay.

Comparing it to bringing home a newborn, Kate said that after extensive planning she wondered 'what do we do next?', but she stressed: 'It was overwhelming but also amazing.'

She added: 'We are over the moon and overwhelmed in equal measure…

'I still remember that day when you brought home your firstborn and you had been planning for nine months, and you thought, 'What do we do now?'

'It's kind of that feeling. It was overwhelming, but also amazing.

'It was a medical reason for coming home as well as our wish and his wish to encourage a more normal environment to encourage his recovery and consciousness and they [the children] absolutely loved it.

Very helpful. It was actually great.'

But she said that after a year in intensive care, their children had started “delaying” questions to their father.

'I'm actually noticing a bit of procrastination, like 'should we check with Dad?' she told viewers at the time. 'And I'm like, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, I'm still the boss.”

“They are absolutely thrilled and overwhelmed. And of course we are there for support, but I am not a doctor.'

Kate also revealed how her home was equipped with an alarm system in case Derek needed urgent attention.

She said, “He can press it with his right hand when he needs us. There are people for Derek, there is someone for the children.

'It was a bit of a strange feeling when I thought 'oh my goodness'. We hope that this will be the future situation and that he will not have to go to hospital again.'

She’s already Zara Tindall’s best friend, but now Dolly Maude is about to become her mother’s right hand too after being appointed maid of honor to the Princess Royal.

The mother-of-four, who is an NHS midwife and who famously helped deliver Zara’s third child Lucas on a bathroom floor when the Royal’s birth plan went awry, is seen as a trusted confidante and has been described as ‘fiercely loyal and discreet ‘.

The 51-year-old also shares Zara’s tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

Last January, Ms Maude appeared at Cheltenham Racecourse with her best friend, wearing a badge with the words ‘Lady in Waiting’.

A royal spokesperson later had to clarify that this was actually a joke.

But now the midwife is given an official role under Princess Anne, The Telegraph revealed.

A friend of Mrs Maude said: ‘For the Princess Royal it is a perfect fit because of their shared love of dogs and horses.

‘Not only does she have a very good bond with Zara, she also gets along very well with the princess. She is very loyal and discreet. It’s a great match.’

Buckingham Palace is expected to announce the appointment in the Court Circular on February 1, when Ms Maude will be unveiled as one of four newly appointed ladies-in-waiting to the King’s sister, replacing others who have retired.

A maid of honor is traditionally the wife or daughter of a colleague, but can also be a cousin or close friend.

They act as a companion on royal engagements and assist in their daily duties.

Mrs. Maude is very much a part of the Tindall family. She was present at the birth of all three of the couple’s children and was a bridesmaid when the Princess Royal’s daughter married Mike Tindall in 2011.

The former England rugby international has even described Mrs Maude as ‘more important than me’ given her role in assisting Zara when she went into labor at their Gatcombe Park home with her son Lucas, who is now two.

Speaking about the birth, Mike told his podcast The Good, The Bad & The Rugby how Zara had gone into labor the night before, so they organized childcare for Mia and Lena – but the little boy arrived so quickly they didn’t have time to take it to the hospital.

He recalled: ‘Luckily Zara’s friend is Dolly, she is actually more important than me in making sure she was at all three of my children’s births. She was there and realized we wouldn’t have gotten to the hospital in time, so it was run into the gym, grab a mat, go to the bathroom, towels down, brace brace brace!

‘Luckily the midwife who was supposed to meet us at the hospital wasn’t that far away, so she drove up, got there exactly as we had assumed the position, and then the second midwife arrived just after the head had arrived!’

Mrs Maude was the perfect person to be there at the time, having qualified as an NHS maternity nurse in 2008.

She worked in a hospital in Sierra Leone in 2013, where he taught basic nursing and theater skills and worked for NHS Gloucestershire for almost 16 years.

The two families are close and Mrs Maude is often seen looking after Tindall’s children, Mia, nine, Lena, five, and Lucas, while attending equestrian events.

She has four children with husband Chris: Billy, 26, Nell, 24, Ted, 17 – who was a page boy at the Tindalls and is Zara’s godson – and Mary, 15.

As one accustomed to a busy schedule, Mrs. Maude now finds herself employed by the hardest-working member of the Royal Family, Princess Anne.

According to a recent analysis of public events and official gatherings, Princess Anne carried out 457 royal engagements in 2023 – 32 more than King Charles.

The king finished in second place, with 425 engagements, while his wife, Queen Camilla, came fourth with 233.

The Duke of Edinburgh came third with 297 engagements.

These engagements include events such as the coronation on May 6 and the King’s state visit to France in September.

The Princess Royal and the King saw their workload increase in 2023, as they took on many of the tasks and assignments previously carried out by Elizabeth II.

Prince William and Princess Kate carried out 172 and 128 engagements respectively, with the majority of day-to-day public duties carried out by members of the royal family well into or near retirement.

The lady’s role in waiting for the Princess Royal is also one that could potentially span many decades.

It was previously revealed that of her eleven ladies-in-waiting, two had been in her service for more than 50 years, three for more than 40 years and five for more than 30 years.