Andy Burnham backs calls for VAT cut - but told 'it ain't going to happen'

A British student hopes to become the fist deafblind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest after reaching base camp last year - and deciding she must make as many memories as possible before she risks losing her sight for good.

Night buses will have a ‘security presence’ on-board when a pilot launches in the summer, the Mayor has said.

Another tribute has been paid to ‘very-much-loved’ man who was instrumental in Greater Manchester’s arts and music scene.

Andy Burnham has 'confidently' said the next phase of rolling-out Bee Network buses will 'be better for the public on day one' than existing services.

A new online petition is urging the UK Government to “commit to not increasing the State Pension age above 68” following the publication of new research by the International Longevity Centre, which suggested that the State Pension age will need to rise to 71 by 2050 to keep up with projected longer life expectancy.

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton who was awarded a Fellowship at the EE BAFTA Awards on Sunday has called for more investment in British cinema. The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry. Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema.

Scottish Labour delegates have backed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after party MSPs called for “unequivocal” support. The party’s conference held in Glasgow unanimously backed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s calls for an immediate end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Rod Stewart has sold his back catalogue for close to $100million (£79.3million).The British music legend reached an agreement with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists, meaning the company now owns his publishing catalogue, recorded music and a stake of Stewart’s likeness and image rights.The company, founded by music industry executive Azoff, has previously purchased the back catalogue of artists like the The Beach Boys, Cher and Dean Martin.“Irving and I are a couple of old-timers and I believe we have a mutual respect and admiration for each other,” Stewart said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. My life’s work is in safe hands with him.”According to the WSJ, Iconic Artists said this week that it has raised more than $1billion (£793.5million) in capital, which will go towards investing in more catalogues.Stewart is the latest artist to part ways with his back catalogue, after Graham Nash sold the rights to his back catalogue to Iconic Artists Group in October.Last year, meanwhile, Justin Bieber sold the rights to his songs for a reported $200million.

Strictly Come Dancing's Layton Williams, the Traitors and Big Brother stars as well as queens from Rupaul's Drag Race dazzled on the red carpet as they arrived at a glitzy awards night in Manchester city centre on Friday night (February 16).

EXCLUSIVE: France TV Distribution has posted new deals for French director Delphine Deloget’s custody battle drama All To Play For (Rien à perdre) starring Virgine Efira.

Celebrating the LGBTQ+ community is what the eagerly anticipated Gaydio Pride Awards encompasses at its core. A night to champion and honour the work of individuals, charities and organisations who better the lives of those in the community across the UK.

Activists are staging a blockade at a defence company’s shipyard in Glasgow in solidarity with Palestinians and are calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Alex Ritman “Kneecap,” the wildly raucous comedy biopic about the Irish rap group that became one of the unexpected hits of this year’s Sundance, has scored more international sales. The film, the debut feature of director Rich Peppiatt starring the band members as themselves along with Michael Fassbender, was already picked up in Park City by Sony Pictures Classics, which acquired all rights to the title for North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.

Strictly Come Dancing star Craig Revel Horwood allegedly said that one contestant was a “minger” while giving feedback on the show's current live UK tour. While the 2023 series of the BBC show may be over, many of the stars of the show have been busy touring where they have been bringing the magic of the show to venues up and down the country.

Naman Ramachandran Altitude is launching international sales on two films featuring iconic British band Blur at the Berlin European Film Market. The band, consisting of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree, was formed in 1988 and tasted considerable success until it went on hiatus in 2015. The first film is an untitled feature-length documentary depicting the return of Blur, captured across a year in which the band made a surprise return with their first record in eight years, the #1 album “The Ballad of Darren.” It follows the relationship of the bandmates of over three decades as they come together to record 10 new songs ahead of their sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2023.

Night buses will be rolled out in parts of Greater Manchester as part of a trial later this year. Andy Burnham revealed that plans for a pilot scheme are being prepared during the Night Time Economy Summit on Thursday (February 8).

While she is usually up bright and early to grace screens on her eponymous show every morning, viewers have noticed that Lorraine Kelly has recently been missing from the early show on Fridays. While many took to social media to complain about her absence, with some even suggesting it no longer air on a Friday, the presenter has now stepped in herself to give an explanation.

Guy Lodge Film Critic In “Porcelain War,” a resilient Ukrainian couple divide their time between two seemingly antithetical pursuits: When enterprising Slava Leontyev isn’t training fellow civilian soldiers in the ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion, he and his partner Anya Stasenko are skilled ceramic artists, casting and painting dainty porcelain figurines inspired by local nature and folklore. If the title already suggests something pointed in that disparity, this emotive debut by Leontyev and American co-director Brendan Bellomo leaves nothing to chance in ensuring we get it: Porcelain, we are told, is “fragile but everlasting, and can be restored after hundreds of years.” Lest the point still be lost on us, the couple’s combined voiceover later offers a blunter paraphrase: “Ukraine is like porcelain — easy to break, but impossible to destroy.” The metaphor is clear enough, then; whether it’s quite complex enough to sustain a feature-length documentary is another question.

Paul Mescal lead romantic fantasy film All Of Us Strangers.Written and directed by Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years), the film is the second screen adaptation of the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada.A synopsis for the film reads: “One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life.“As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.”After accepting the loss of his parents, Adam (Scott) goes to see Harry (Mescal) in his flat only to find Harry’s dead body in the bedroom, with the same bottle he was drinking from on the night they met, only now it’s empty.Adam leaves the room and is confronted by Harry’s ghost, who is seemingly unaware of his own death. Adam reassures him, telling him that it isn’t his corpse in the bedroom, before inviting him back to his flat.They both lie in bed together and Harry’s ghost asks him to put on a song to fill the silence.

New EastEnders spoilers show Karen Taylor is soon set to arrive back in Walford after fleeing to Spain back in December, having grown concerned about the whereabouts of her son Keanu. Karen (Lorraine Stanley) left Albert Square behind last year after Keanu (Danny Walters) blamed her for son Albie's kidnap, despite him being behind the entire thing.