Author: Tara Whitman

Boldmere Futures says the town council “weren’t offered a penny” to cover a shortfall of about £10,000. The council’s stated reason was that the festival “was not financially sustainable”. The Boldmere Christmas Festival, held along the high street in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, has been cancelled for a second year running. The organisers, Boldmere Futures CIC, say Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council voted to refuse the funding needed to cover the deficit. The event reportedly costs about £24,000 to stage, covering road closures, insurance, security and first aid. Income from rides, markets and street food vendors brings in only about £14,000,…

An 800-year-old bloodstained cloth linked to the saint and a painted panel that covered his tomb are on show at St Mary’s Cathedral until 28 November. Two relics of St Francis of Assisi have left Italy for the first time and gone on public display at St Mary’s Cathedral of the Assumption in San Francisco. One is a cloth stained with the blood of the 13th-century saint, held in a silver reliquary. The other is an Italo-Byzantine style painted panel that once covered his tomb. The exhibition runs through 28 November, and admission is free. The relics According to Catholic…

A friend of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex says they object to labels that they believe misrepresent their status, as the couple return to the public eye in the UK. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly frustrated by the phrase “working members of the Royal Family”, according to a friend quoted by The Sunday Times. The friend said the couple dislike the term and also object to being called “former royals”. The comments follow the couple’s joint public engagements in Nottingham on 15 October, their first major appearances together in Britain since returning from the United States.…

Reports to the US medicines regulator describe two people who died after taking products sold as retatrutide. The drug is still in clinical trials, and it has not been proven to have caused either death. Two deaths have been reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after people took bootleg versions of retatrutide, the experimental weight-loss injection nicknamed “reta”. The products claimed to be the drug, which is nearing the end of clinical trials but has not been approved by the agency. The cases appear to be the first public accounts of this kind of unauthorised use in…

Health officials say flu is circulating earlier than in recent years, and the NHS’s national medical director has described the first signs of winter pressure on hospitals as “ominous”. The NHS has urged eligible people across the UK to get their flu vaccine without delay, as figures show flu activity rising earlier than usual. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows flu test positivity in England reached 6.5% in the week ending 4 October, up from 5% the previous week. Flu attendances at A&E are already above the level expected for the time of year. Professor Frankie Swords, NHS England’s…

Researchers say the drug-resistant form of the diarrhoeal infection is spreading faster than other types, and expect it to become more common in the coming years. A sexually transmitted form of shigellosis is on the rise in the UK, and many of the bacteria tested show resistance to antibiotics, according to a recently published paper. Infectious diseases expert Julia Marshall wrote that its spread was happening “more rapidly” and “more intensely” than other versions of the illness, with the highest rates among men who have sex with men. England recorded 2,560 diagnoses of sexually transmitted shigella in 2025. The paper…

The Crown Estate says the payment has been agreed following the formal handover of the Windsor home, though a reported repair bill of £1.8m is understood to outweigh it. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been granted £302,000 in compensation after the lease on his former home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, was officially surrendered, a Crown Estate spokesperson said. The former prince left the property earlier this year and is now living on the Sandringham Estate. The surrender brings to an end an arrangement dating back to 2003. It is reported that he also faces a bill of about £1.8m for repairs. The…

Andy Burnham says he wants the UK to deliver the cure the world is waiting for, as ministers announce a drive to make it easier for people to join clinical trials. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is to announce a £48m partnership with industry to support dementia research and speed up the development of new treatments. The Government is contributing £33m through the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, alongside funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK and Gates Ventures. The money will go towards tackling one of the biggest obstacles in the field, recruiting enough people to test promising treatments. Mr…

The former prince has launched a Judicial Review against Thames Valley Police and the Old Bailey, alleging officers took private and confidential items unrelated to their investigation during raids on his properties, in what is believed to be the first legal challenge of its kind by a royal in almost 400 years. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has alleged that police seized personal items from his home during a raid earlier this year, as part of a legal challenge against Thames Valley Police and the Old Bailey over the lawfulness of the search warrants used. According to The Telegraph, the former prince claims…

The Gillette Stadium owner, who barred rapper Macklemore from Ed Sheeran’s US tour over pro-Palestinian remarks, says the singer personally requested he commit $2m towards humanitarian aid before Macklemore issued a public challenge to match his own donation. Robert Kraft, the American businessman who ordered Macklemore removed as Ed Sheeran’s opening act, has said Sheeran personally asked him to commit $2m (£1.5m) towards humanitarian aid in the Middle East. The claim, made by Kraft on Wednesday, follows a public pledge from Macklemore to donate $1m (£750,000) to Palestinian organisations, in which the rapper challenged Kraft to match the sum. Kraft,…