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National News

Lidl and Asda begin lifting restrictions on fresh produce as shortages ease

Shoppers started seeing shortages of tomatoes around the 20th of February Supermarkets have started to drop customer limits on buying some fresh fruit and vegetables as supply issues that led to widespread shortages begin to ease. Discounted grocer Lidl is the latest to confirm it is lifting all restrictions on fruit and veg by Monday. The supermarket said it had been closely reviewing the situation but availability remained strong even amid an increase in demand. Asda confirmed it had removedRead More

today 20

National News

Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron discuss migrant crossings in Paris meeting

The Prime Minister and the French president have met in Paris at the start of a UK-France summit as they discuss how to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel unlawfully. Rishi Sunak has set preventing the small boats from crossing the strait between England and France as one of his top five priorities ahead of the next election. They are expected to build on a deal announced in November, with the UK agreeing in the autumn to provide £63 millionRead More

today 11

National News

UK and France to agree to develop precision strike weapons at Paris summit

Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron are expected to sign off on the UK and France collaborating to develop precision strike weapons to combat Russian aggression. As well as the deal on weapons, the two leaders are also set to agree on working more closely on training Ukrainian marines and supplying weapons to Kyiv during a UK-France summit in Paris on Friday. The Prime Minister said the West faced “unprecedented threats” and that he and his French counterpart wanted to “fortify”Read More

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National News

Councils say pothole funding is 31 times below budget per mile for major roads

Government funding for maintaining England’s motorways and major A roads was 31 times higher per mile than for repairing local roads last year, according to new figures. The Local Government Association (LGA), which conducted the analysis, urged the Treasury to use next week’s Budget to provide more money to councils to fix their pothole-plagued roads. It said that Government-owned company National Highways spent £192,000 per mile on maintaining its network of motorways and major A roads last year. That isRead More

today 14

National News

Ive seen quite a few of my colleagues close to having a breakdown says GP

“I’ve seen quite a few of my colleagues close to having a breakdown,” says GP Stephen Taylor. “It’s one of the reasons I keep doing my job.” Dr Taylor used to be a partner at his practice in the north of Manchester. Now he works as a locum doctor, covering holiday and sick leave. “Over the 30 years I’ve been practising, I’ve seen a slow increase in the amount of work family doctors are expected to do,” the 57-year-old says.Read More

today 16

National News

Energy bill cuts and home insulation plan needed says Lib Dem leader

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is calling for a cut to energy bills and a plan to insulate homes, ahead of the party’s Scottish conference. The Scottish Liberal Democrat spring conference will take place on Friday and Saturday in Dundee. Ahead of the gathering, Mr Davey said his party would pay for a cut in energy bills with a tougher windfall tax on oil and gas companies. He also called for the Scottish Government to launch an emergency nationwideRead More

today 12

National News

Manchester United bounce back with comfortable victory over Real Betis

Manchester United showed their character by comprehensively beating Real Betis 4-1 in the Europa League four days on from their humiliating defeat at Liverpool. Sunday’s 7-0 collapse at their bitter rivals equalled the club’s record competitive defeat and left manager Erik ten Hag calling for a response from an unacceptable loss that he labelled “unprofessional”. The United boss stuck with the same starting line-up that was annihilated at Anfield and the players repaid their manager’s faith in a 4-1 victoryRead More

today 12

National News

Emma Raducanu delivers composed display in comeback win against Danka Kovinic

Emma Raducanu marked her injury comeback with a fine 6-2 6-3 win over Danka Kovinic in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Raducanu’s participation in her first match since losing to Coco Gauff in the second round of the Australian Open in January had been doubt after she revealed the wrist problem she was troubled by last season has returned. But the British number one, who withdrew from last week’s event in Texas and anRead More

today 18

National News

356000 extra mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by mid 2024

An extra 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024, in addition to those who are already behind, according to the City regulator. This has been reduced from a previous estimate made last September that an additional 570,000 mortgage borrowers could become financially stretched by the end of June 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. The FCA defined mortgage borrowers as being financially stretched if more than 30% of their gross household income wasRead More

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