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A defiant plane passenger has been praised for refusing to swap seats with a couple who were trying to blag a free upgrade on their flight. The chancers asked if the traveller would switch to allow them to sit next to each other.

Construction of the University of Bolton’s Institute of Medical Sciences has injected more than £12m into the local economy. The medical training college, which is due to open in 2024, has far surpassed its local spend targets, with current figures for expenditure within a 20-mile radius totalling £12.3m, more than doubling its initial target of £6m.

SNP ministers have been called on to protect jobs and public services as the Scottish Government prepares to reveal its annual budget.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed when the General Election will be held.

Chanel's huge fashion show which was held in Manchester earlier this month is believed to have brought around £8m to the city, according to the council. The exclusive Métiers d'Art event which took place in the Northern Quarter on December 7 saw celebrities stay in the city's top hotels to attend the luxury fashion brand's outdoor catwalk before heading to Victoria Baths for an after party.

A new qualification offering young people an alternative route to university without debt will be launched in Greater Manchester in September next year, the Mayor has confirmed.

Over the last year or so, the sight of squads of police officers - prising open the security shutters as they launch yet another raid - has become a familiar one on Manchester's notorious 'Counterfeit Street'. Since last November, when GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson vowed to clean up the area around Bury New Road in Strangeways 'once and for all', more than 200 counterfeit shops have been closed down.

Six Irvine and Kilwinning shops have been slapped with warnings after being caught selling alcohol to underage kids.

Michael Nordine author Greed may not be good, but it is universal. And while America would appear to have a monopoly on movies about the pursuit of wealth for wealth’s sake, plenty of other nations have exported their version of the rags-to-riches tale — of which Saudi Arabia’s Oscar submission, “Alhamour H.A.,” is just the latest.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer President Biden is set to make a whirlwind fundraising tour of Los Angeles this weekend, hitting six or seven events in the course of a day and a half. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will attend a sold-out fundraiser on Friday night, with co-hosts including Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Shonda Rhimes, Rob Reiner, Peter Chernin and Jim Gianopulos. Lenny Kravitz is slated to perform.

Humza Yousaf has been dealt a fresh blow by the Court of Session after a judge ruled the UK Government did have the power to block controversial gender reforms.

There were a bunch of Hollywood A-List stars in Saudi Arabia today for the closing night gala of the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer It’s hard to measure the full impact of the Hollywood strikes — mainly because the TV and film industry will be facing the ripple effects for years to come — but a new study has revealed one significant immediate hit: 17% of Los Angeles-based showbiz workers lost their jobs during the work stoppages. According to the Otis College of Art and Design’s study, the first released under the college’s ongoing Otis College Report on the Creative Economy, following the WGA (which ran May 2-Sept.

The UK Government’s Rwanda plans are a “real dark day” for the country, Humza Yousaf has said.

Tidal has laid off 40 members of staff across multiple departments, amounting to 10 per cent of its total staff.The music streaming service is owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s company Block, which has been making layoffs across its many branches, which also include Square and Cash App.As reported by Bloomberg, the layoffs include Jeff Benjamin, a former member of Tidal’s editorial team, along with other members of the editorial staff.In a statement from the company, they said: “As part of Block and its recent announcement to cap the number of employees at the company to focus on business growth, TIDAL has carefully considered how to right-size our team to ensure we are able to continue to build and invest in critical areas of the business.”“We do not take these decisions lightly, and we are sincerely grateful for the contributions of our impacted teammates.”Earlier this week, Spotify also announced that they were cutting down 17 per cent of its workforce in order to save costs. The streaming platform had previously laid off 6 per cent of its staff earlier in the year.Spotify chief executing Daniel Ek said that the recent decision was made as economic growth had “slowed dramatically”.

A three-year warning has been issued to millions of homeowners as mortgage costs are expected to rise once again. Almost five million UK households are set to see their mortgage repayments jump by hundreds of pounds over the next three years, the Bank of England has said.

Openreach has announced that another 167,000 homes and businesses across Scotland are set to get access to full fibre broadband. The company is announcing a further £50 million investment across 25 new locations, including Bannockburn in Stirling, Lochgelly in Fife and Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire.

New York is looking to help film and TV get back up and running after the strikes.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Writers returned to work two months ago, and the SAG-AFTRA strike has been over for nearly a month. Production has restarted but won’t be back to full strength until mid-January. But even as Hollywood tries to return to normal, dark clouds are forming on the horizon.

Naman Ramachandran The BBC has revealed a first look for season 2 of show “The Traitors.” Season 1 was a huge success and won two BAFTAs, including for host Claudia Winkleman. Set in a Scottish castle, the format sees 22 strangers compete in a series of missions for a chance to win £120,000 ($151,000). However, amongst the players lie the ‘Traitors,’ who meet in secret and decide who to eliminate from their fellow players known as ‘Faithfuls.’ “The Traitors” will return on Jan.

A family in the UK has managed to cut nearly £600 off their energy bills by using cardboard and polystyrene to properly insulate their home.

An Ayrshire town has been voted the most dog friendly in the UK. Girvan has been given the accolade of being the most picture pawferct place for pooches.

Stampede Ventures’ adaptation of Isabell Ronin’s YA romance webnovel Chasing Red will shoot in Saudi Arabia, it was announced at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah on Saturday.

EXCLUSIVE: Priority Pictures, the production company of Emmy-winning producers Lizzie Friedman, Karen Lauder, and Greg Little, has optioned Douglas Brunt‘s NYT bestseller The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel and will develop it for the screen, Deadline has learned. It’s not clear at this point whether the adaptation will be for film or TV.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom will take the debate stage on Thursday night, marking an usual event between a Republican presidential candidate and a high-profile Democratic governor. The 90-minute debate, moderated by Sean Hannity on Fox News, will begin at 9:00 p.m.

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has stripped Lawrence Jones of his honorary doctorate following his rape and sexual assault convictions.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi-owned MBC Group, the Middle East’s top broadcaster, has announced it is floating a 10% stake on the Riyadh stock exchange seeking to raise up to 831 million riyals ($222 million) in a move to boost growth and help fuel its output of high-end productions. “Institutional and retail investors will be allowed the opportunity to acquire shares and participate in the long-term growth plans of the company and the Saudi media market,” MBC Group said in a statement on Thursday.

Holyrood’s finance committee has warned Lorna Slater’s Circular Economy Bill lacks basic financial credibility in a stinging rebuke.

YouTube star Nella Rose had a dramatic time in the latest episode of I'm A Celebrity as it was announced she was 'being seen by a medic'.

In a sense, Central Appalachia is as threatened by climate change as much as any other place on Earth.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent BUENOS AIRES — Brazil is beginning to come back as Latin America’s production powerhouse. At Ventana Sur on Monday, representatives of key federal, state and city authorities as well as a leading producer outlined some of the directions the giant would like to take on its return.

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wants North East England to get in on the all-consuming Barbie hype. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s nationwide annual box office passed the symbolic $7 billion and RMB 50 billion marks in recent days, confirming a decent, but still incomplete recovery of the theatrical cinema industry. According to consultancy Artisan Gateway, the running box office total to Nov. 26 was $7.15 billion.

Anna Marie de la Fuente With Brazil under focus at Ventana Sur’s this year, highlighting the work of Spcine, Cinema do Brazil and Projeto Paradiso, São Paulo film-TV commission Spcine has organized a series of panels and other events to signal Brazil’s return to normal after the devastating tenure of Jair Bolsonaro. With President Lula da Silva back in the saddle since his stunning re-election in October 2022, confidence in Brazil as a partner in film and TV investments is awakening large expectation.

An investigation is under way after a Manchester Airport flight to Sweden departed almost three hours late - without the luggage, according to passengers.

A new and improved Aldi store has reopened in North Ayrshire in a welcoming boost to the community.