Shona Robison warns local authorities not to raise council tax as struggling town halls set budgets

Christopher Vourlias Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions, which recently wrapped the action-thriller “G20” for Amazon Studios and MRC Film in Cape Town, is planning to return to South Africa to film the true story of a young African refugee’s improbable journey to the U.S., the company’s head of film production and development, Melanie Clark, revealed this week at the Joburg Film Festival. Developing the film with a working title of “The Refugee,” Clark said Davis and Tennon’s production banner is “actively working on [it] with some local partners and are in the process of figuring out how to shoot it” in South Africa, adding that “we do plan to shoot that here.” The veteran production executive described the project as “the true story of a young Sierra Leonean boy who lost his mother in [the country’s civil war] and found himself alone, because no family would take him in any refugee camp.

Rishi Sunak has hinted at further cuts to national insurance in next week's Spring Budget.

Perth and Kinross Council has voted to freeze council tax in 2024/25.

Residents of a Perthshire village have launched a campaign to save their local library.

Humza Yousaf has defended his Government's record on housing as it prepares to slash spending on building affordable homes.

Humza Yousaf has been urged to ditch a “devastating” £190million housing cash cut in this week’s Scottish budget amid soaring rents and a homelessness emergency.

Montecito, California, with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.The Duke of Sussex, 39, and his family moved across the pond from his hometown of London in January 2020 after taking a step back as senior members of the Firm.According to author Tom Quinn, Harry is “very bored” in the city of palm trees and Tinseltown, and even “misses being a working royal.”“Being a royal is the only thing he is trained to do,” the “Queen Mary to Meghan Markle” writer told the Mirror recently.“He knows that to retain his value and the interest of the world he is better off not being a retired royal so offering to come back to help out at least reminds the world who and what he is,” he went on.The Invictus Games founder has been considering taking more frequent trips back to the United Kingdom as his father, King Charles, undergoes treatment for cancer. Earlier this month, Harry flew back to his home soil for a quick trip to visit Charles, 75, once news of his cancer went global.“Harry was apparently visibly shocked and upset when he heard that his father had cancer.

People in Rochdale will pay more in council tax from April. A 4.99 per cent hike in the household precept has been agreed. Of that, 2pc will go towards adult social care.

Residents in Trafford are to be hit with a 4.99 per cent increase in their council tax alongside £2m-plus cuts to adult and children’s services. The move was approved by the authority’s full council meeting last night (Wednesday) as it approved a net revenue budget of £217.83m for 2024/25.

Scottish Ministers have coughed up extra funding as a sweetener for local authorities over a bitter council tax freeze row.

Thania Garcia Berner, the American rapper and CEO behind the cannabis brand Cookies, in association with 4 Ways Entertainment, has set the cast for their first joint film, “Splash City.” Alex Ferrufino, David Mansanalez, John Mercado, and Arie Rose of 4 Ways are set to produce the coming-of-age thriller set against the backdrop of “the real and raw subculture of the San Francisco Bay Area,” according to a press release. The script for “Splash City” was written by David Mansanalez and Berner, with Ferrufino directing the film.

Naman Ramachandran A key audience participation segment of the London West End adaptation of Henrik Ibsen‘s 1882 play “An Enemy of the People” left people in tears, star Matt Smith told the BBC. In “An Enemy of the People,” when Dr. Stockmann (Smith) makes an unbelievable discovery about the healing waters in his local baths, he holds the future of the town in his hands, but those with everything to lose refuse to accept his word.

A wide range of household bills are set to rise significantly this April.

Homeless and heavily pregnant, a young woman walks the streets of Manchester with nowhere to go. Sobbing, she faces the very real possibility of sleeping rough - days before her due date - as darkness approaches.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Stephen King recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to question why Warner Bros. is holding back its new film adaptation of “Salem’s Lot,” based on King’s 1975 horror novel about a writer who returns to his hometown in Maine and discovers its residents are becoming vampires. The movie went into development back in 2019 and shot in Massachusetts in 2021.

memorable appearances on NBC’s hit sitcom “Friends” as Ross Geller’s son, Ben.The “Riverdale” star, 31, appeared in a plethora of episodes between 2000 to 2002 when he was seven-years-old. However, Sprouse has not had contact with any cast members: David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, the late Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc.Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54 after being found unresponsive in his jacuzzi.“Friends has become now such an iconic thing, this entity,” the Disney Channel child star told People recently.

Residents in Stockport are set to be hit with a council tax increase. The council is planning to lift the rate by 4.99 per cent, adding £111 to yearly bills for band D equivalent homes - £9.33 per month, according to its budget report.

The Scottish Government has announced extra help for people struggling with Council Tax debt will be on offer in three local authority areas under a new pilot scheme. Citizens Advice Scotland will be provided with £200,000 funding to better understand the reasons why some people end up in Council Tax arrears and to work collaboratively with local councils to help reduce and prevent debt in the future.

Northerners are paying £250 a year more than they should on their council tax bills, according to a leading think tank. The Northern Powerhouse Partnership says that introducing a fairer system would save the North of England a total of £1.2bn a year in council tax.

People living in Rochdale will be hit with a 4.99 per cent tax rise after initial approval from council bosses.