Drivers warned to expect delays on M62 towards Manchester after lorry fire

direct to your inboxBus and taxi drivers and teachers over the age of 50 should be given Covid jabs at the half-empty mass vaccination centre at the Etihad, say local leaders.Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has repeated calls on the government to give local authorities greater flexibility over how to use spare capacity at the site.Covid jabs are said to be ‘sitting in fridges’ as people belonging to the four groups on the government's vaccine priority list are waiting to be called

direct to your inboxCoronavirus has brought heartache to thousands of families across Greater Manchester.More than 5,200 people have died in our region's hospitals alone. And tragically, this number is continuing to rise.

straight to your inbox every day for freeEA Sports, the developers and publishers of the popular FIFA gaming franchise, have explained why Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood is yet to receive a realistic game face.FIFA 21 was originally launched in October on Xbox One, PS4 and PC, with the next-gen, enhanced version of the game released on the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 on December 3.Although United have a long-term partnership in place with Konami, the developers and

direct to your inboxThe NHS has confirmed the deaths of 18 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for coronavirus.Nationally, a further 309 hospital deaths were reported on Thursday.Of those, 42 were in hospitals in the north west region.Six further deaths have been recorded at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, with five more at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.Three further deaths were recorded at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh

straight to your inbox every day for freeAttentions switch away from domestic action and back to matters on the continent for Manchester United tonight as they travel to Turin to take on Real Sociedad.United would have preferred to be returning back to European action in the Champions League rather than Europe’s second-tiered competition, yet, the Europa League still provides the club with another avenue in which to secure a major trophy and replicate the success they enjoyed in the competition

direct to your inboxHundreds of bus drivers in Manchester are set to strike later this month in a dispute over pay and conditions. Members of Unite employed by Go North West will walk out from February 28.

Get the inside track on the big stories from Manchester courts with our weekly newsletterTwo drug dealers brutally murdered a man in his own home as they robbed him of a cannabis grow.Jack Brown, 26, and Conor O'Casey, 23, will both have to serve a minimum of 27 years in jail as they received life sentences for the murder of father-of-four Leroy Hanley.They had cycled to his home in Rusholme and planned to steal a cannabis grow, which they believed was worth £7,000.After getting into his house,

straight to your inbox every day for freeMason Greenwood was substituted in the second-half against West Ham because Manchester United are managing his game-time.Greenwood, 19, has started in six of United's last seven matches but was replaced by Edinson Cavani in the 86th minute, much to the surprise of many observers who felt he had performed better than fellow forwards Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.Martial was starting for the first time in four games but failed to score while

direct to your inboxA new Covid-19 surge testing centre will be set up at Moss Side leisure centre after a new variant of coronavirus was discovered in the area.The facility is expected to open by Thursday along with a mobile testing unit at the Arrahman Mosque on Bedwell Street.Testing centres have already been established at Our Lady’s RC Church on Raby Street and in the car park of the Gurdwara Temple on Monton Street.More than 10,000 people are being offered immediate PCR tests after four

were identified in two households in the area in recent days.It is related to a strain first detected in Bristol last month, which is related to the UK's dominant strain identified in Kent towards the end of last year.Now, at least 10,000 people across homes and businesses will be offered free PCR tests in an effort to contain the virus.Testing units will be set up for walk-in appointments and home testing kits will also be offered by council workers knocking door-to-door in the affected

Pro Pest Manchester, says the issue is down to restaurants and pubs closing due to the lockdown, which has meant the pests have to look elsewhere for food.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola believes there is "a lot" of room for improvement in this Manchester City team despite them sitting clear at the top of the Premier League table. A comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley thanks to first-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan leaves the Blues three points ahead of nearest rivals United with a game in hand and continued their superb winning streak that now sits at nine in the league and 13 in all competitions.

straight to your inboxGary Neville has warned Manchester City that Liverpool could ride a similar wave of momentum to themselves following back-to-back Premier League wins.Pep Guardiola's side have risen to the top of the table after a run of 12 matches unbeaten, including nine victories. City's defensive record has been impressive too, with John Stones and Ruben Dias forming a fantastic partnership at centre-back, which has seen only two goals conceded during that run.

straight to your inbox every day for freeJamie Carragher has warned that this season could prove to be a missed opportunity for Manchester United.The Reds recorded a goalless draw with Arsenal to make it two games without a win after their shock defeat to Sheffield United in midweek, a result which leaves them three points behind leaders Manchester City having played a game more.

EXCLUSIVE: Pedro Correa (The Middle), Booboo Stewart (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad), Simon Rex (Scary Movie franchise), and Steven Bauer (Scarface) will star in My Dead Dad, a coming-of-age indie drama from executive producers Declan Baldwin and Karl Hartman of Big Indie Pictures, the production company behind acclaimed films like Manchester by the Sea and Beautiful Boy.

direct to your inboxA yellow weather warning for snow has been issued by the Met Office for parts of Greater Manchester this weekend.Up to 10cm of the white stuff is expected to fall on higher ground.The warning, which covers parts of Stockport and Tameside, is in place from 3am to 6pm on Saturday.The snow may be heavy at times and could lead to travel disruption, according to the Met Office.There is a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with

direct to your inboxThree men have been arrested for begging money from drivers stuck in city centre traffic.Police said they took action against the trio after they 'ignored prior warnings and refused support'.The problem has been cropping up on Great Ancoats Street, where ongoing roadworks are almost complete, for many months.Drivers stuck in congestion caused by temporary traffic lights and reduced lanes have been approached by people begging for money at their window.Officers from Greater

straight to your inbox every day for freeThe games are still coming thick and fast and Manchester United are back in action on Wednesday as Sheffield United visit Old Trafford.United go into the game full of confidence after beating Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday and having not lost in the Premier League in 13 matches.The players were back in training at the start of the week ahead of the Blades' visit.

direct to your inboxA weather warning remains in place for Greater Manchester this morning as many parts of the region wake up to snow.After temperatures plummeted to below freezing overnight, many areas have reported a dusting of snow in the early hours.Local forecasters say this has been followed by freezing fog, widespread ice and a harsh frost.And people travelling this morning are being urged to take care on the roads.The Met Office yellow warning for ice which came into effect overnight