Around 2.7 million workers will benefit from the changes

Millions of the UK’s lowest-paid workers are set for a significant earnings boost starting April 1, as the new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect.

The increases – originally announced in the Autumn Budget – aim to assist households struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, though industry leaders warn the move could fuel further inflation.

The primary National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over will climb to £12.71 per hour, a 4.1% increase. According to Treasury figures, this will result in a gross annual pay rise of approximately £900 for a full-time employee.

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A more dramatic shift is coming for younger workers, as the Government moves toward its goal of a single adult wage rate. Those aged 18–20 will see their pay jump by 8.5%, bringing their hourly rate to £10.85.

Here is a full breakdown of the new rates coming into effect next month:

• National Living Wage (21 and over): £12.71 per hour – up 50p
• Rate for age 18-20: £10.85 per hour – up 85p
• Rate for age 16-17: £8.00 per hour – up 45p
• Apprentice Rate: £8.00 per hour – up 45p

Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the hikes, stating that she accepted the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to ensure workers are “properly rewarded”.

“I know that the cost of living is still the number one issue for working people,” the Chancellor noted during her announcement. “Too many people are still struggling to make ends meet, and that has to change”.

While the news is a victory for labour groups, the hospitality and retail sectors have expressed grave concerns. Business owners argue that the combination of higher wages and increased National Insurance contributions is pushing many firms to the brink of closure.

Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, warned that businesses have reached their limit for absorbing costs. “These additional costs make action to reduce hospitality’s tax burden even more important,” she stated, adding that most businesses will have no choice but to pass these costs onto consumers, potentially driving up prices at restaurants, pubs, and hotels.

The wage increase arrives at a complex moment for the UK economy.

With the Bank of England currently holding interest rates at 3.75% and energy bills remaining a significant concern for many as long as the conflict in the Middle East continues, the extra £900 to £1,500 in annual earnings will provide a vital lifeline for the 2.7 million people affected.

Iran has issued a warning that tourist destinations across the globe will not be secure as the conflict with the US and Israel enters its third week

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Iran has issued warnings about potential attacks on tourist destinations worldwide as it continues to expand its missile operations.

The nation’s supreme leader made another defiant declaration on Friday, nearly three weeks after US-Israeli military action began, which has resulted in the deaths of several senior Tehran officials and dealt significant blows to its weapons manufacturing and energy infrastructure.

Meanwhile, a United States official told The Associated Press that Washington is dispatching three additional warships and roughly 2,500 Marines to the Middle East region.

Coinciding with one of Islam’s holiest days, Iran launched strikes targeting Israel and energy facilities in nearby Gulf Arab nations. Tehran has shown its capacity to execute operations that disrupt oil production and affect the worldwide economy, driving up prices for essentials like food and fuel far beyond Middle Eastern borders.

Washington and Israel have offered different rationales for the military campaign, from encouraging an internal uprising to topple Iran’s government to dismantling its nuclear capabilities and missile infrastructure.

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No public signs of any such popular revolt have emerged, nor is there any clear conclusion to the conflict in sight. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised the Iranian people’s steadfastness amid the ongoing hostilities.

In a televised written address marking the Persian New Year, Nowruz, Khamenei suggested the strikes by America and Israel were based on the mistaken assumption that eliminating Iran’s top officials would lead to the government’s downfall. He commended Iranians for “building a nationwide defensive front” and “delivering such a bewildering blow that the enemy fell into contradictions and irrational statements.”

On Friday, Iran’s chief military spokesman, Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi, issued a stark warning that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide would not be safe for Tehran’s adversaries. This declaration has raised concerns that Iran may resume using militant operations beyond the Middle East as a strategic tool.

A US official confirmed the additional deployment of American forces to the region, disclosing that the USS Boxer along with two other amphibious assault ships have been dispatched carrying roughly 2,500 Marines. Two further US officials acknowledged vessels were being sent, but refused to reveal their specific locations.

All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of military operations. US and Israeli officials have maintained that weeks of continuous strikes have severely weakened Iran’s military capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted on Thursday that Iran’s naval forces had been devastated and its air capabilities significantly weakened, claiming their ballistic missile production facilities had been knocked out. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard disputed the missile assertion on Friday.

“We are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling,” Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, a spokesman, was quoted as saying in Iran’s state-run IRAN newspaper.

Moments after this announcement, Iranian state television broadcast that Naeini had been killed in an airstrike.

NATO’s supreme commander, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, announced on Friday that the alliance has pulled several hundred personnel out of Iraq and repositioned them to Europe.

Those withdrawn were serving in NATO’s security advisory mission, which was set up in 2018 to provide guidance to Iraqi defence and security authorities.

The withdrawal followed a wave of Iranian strikes targeting troops stationed at British, French, and Italian bases across the nation. Iran has intensified its assaults on energy infrastructure in Gulf Arab nations after Israel struck Iran’s extensive South Pars offshore natural gas field earlier in the week.

Loud blasts shook Dubai as air defence systems engaged incoming projectiles over the city, where many locals were observing Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. In Iran, Nowruz celebrations continued despite Israel confirming additional strikes, with blasts echoing throughout Tehran.

Explosions were also audible in Jerusalem after the Israeli military issued alerts about incoming Iranian missiles. Emergency services confirmed treating two people, both approximately 70 years old, who suffered minor injuries.

U.S. President Donald Trump launched renewed attacks on NATO partners who have refused his request for support in safeguarding the strait. Allied nations have opted not to participate in the conflict, explaining they received no prior consultation before the U.S. and Israel commenced operations. Trump labelled NATO members “COWARDS” on social media, proclaiming: “NATO IS A PAPER TIGER.”

Stevie Ross, 66, was out walking Ollie at Mill Farm in Livingston on Saturday when he suddenly slipped down an embankment and into the high water of the River Almond.

A father and son have been left heartbroken after their dog was swept away in a fast-moving river – but the pair are continuing their determined search following a potential sighting.

Stevie Ross, 66, was out walking Ollie at Mill Farm in Livingston on Saturday, March 14, when he suddenly slipped down an embankment and into the high water of the River Almond. The 15-year-old springer spaniel is completely deaf, has a weak back leg, and is showing signs of early-onset dementia – and, nearly a week later, the dad is fearing the worst.

Stevie and son Corey, 24, have been out daily looking for him and the pair have even bought a drone to search further afield. Stevie told Edinburgh Live: “He fell down an embankment into the water, which was quite high. Because he’s 15 now and got a weak back leg, he’s not the strongest swimmer. I couldn’t get to him because of all the foliage and trees, and he just disappeared in seconds.”

“I’m devastated, because he’s my best friend. He gets all my problems. I tell him when I come home at night what I’ve been doing and talk to him constantly. Him and Corey are also inseparable. We’ve had him since Corey was 10, so he’s absolutely heartbroken as well.”

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The pair have had support from Muzzle Mutts, a volunteer search crew for lost dogs, who arranged for a tracker dog, drones and thermal imaging cameras to search areas around the river, which eventually runs into the Firth of Forth at Cramond.

Stevie added: “Our feeling is he’s possibly got out of the river and he’s wandering about goodness knows where. We’ve been up and down the river, in the water with waders. We need to find him.

“I’ve got to the point now that even if I found his wee body, at least I’d have some closure. But I’m hoping that’s not the case, we’re not giving up. We had a sighting near Blackburn last night, so we’ve been out there today. We had another one as well not long after he went in, and were fairly sure it was him, but we couldn’t find him.”

Ollie is described as a black-and-white springer spaniel. He was wearing a black harness with white reflective strips and a label reading “Security”. Stevie has warned people not to approach him in case he becomes frightened – instead advised them to contact the “Hazel Muzzle Mutts” page via Facebook.

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The schoolboys, who were accused of carrying out the offences when they 12, 13 and 14, broke down in tears in court after being found not guilty of rape this week

‘Clapping’ noises were heard and a voice telling the girl to ‘s*** it’ in harrowing footage played during a trial of three teen boys accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.

The boys, who were accused of carrying out the offences when they 12, 13 and 14, broke down in tears in court after being found not guilty this week.

Jurors were asked to determine whether the third boy, now aged 14 and previously deemed unfit to stand trial, had committed the acts near Newbold tram stop in Rochdale in February 2024, and whether he had encouraged the other boys.

After a fortnight-long trial at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court , the now 16 year old and the now 15 year old were both acquitted of rape, with all three cleared of two ‘joint enterprise’ counts.

The three boys denied the charges and said at trial it was ‘consensual’.

Tears and audible sighs of relief were seen throughout the courtroom as the jury foreperson announced the verdicts, reports Manchester Evening News, with one exhausted voice heard saying: “Jesus.”

Mobile phone footage of the incident was played to the jury in which ‘clapping’ noises could be heard, along with a voice telling the girl to ‘s*** it’. This footage had been ‘circulated’ among the boys and ‘others’, prosecutors said.

Jurors were told that ‘some’ of the incident was recorded on a mobile phone. The girl was ‘not asked if she consented to filming’, the court heard

Earlier in the trial, the jury was informed that the girl was ‘physically pushed and bent over forward’ during the incident. Prosecutor Kim Whittlestone stated that the boys then ‘all swapped’. She said it ‘would have been obvious’ that she ‘did not want this to happen’.

“It would have been clear that she was not consenting,” she told the jury. A friend accompanying the girl ‘intervened to halt what was happening’ and the now 15 and 16-year-olds fled from the scene, it was heard.

In closing statements from the defence, Rachel Shenton, who represented the now 16-year-old, said consent was ‘more nuanced’ than ‘please may I do this to you? Yes’. She added: “It starts with banter, and flirting, with someone walking into bushes. They are not middle aged people, these are adolescents.

“[The alleged victim] herself said ‘I didn’t say yeah’. Is that enough?” Ms Shenton said the girl had been ‘untruthful’ and said she flirted on the tram. The evidence, she told jurors, showed the girl had been ‘inconsistent’.

“[Her friend] told them to f*** off,” Ms Shenton added. “I asked [the alleged victim] if she told them to ‘f*** off’. She did not. She went into the bushes. I’m not seeking to throw shade at her. She is a young girl… immature. Why didn’t she shout? Why didn’t she scream?”

Ms Shenton said the girl had been embarrassed about being called a ‘sl*g’ by two strangers who walked past. She added: “How does she react? ‘I was raped’. It is a get out of jail free card. This was not a rape, it was a shameful encounter.”

Peter Gilmour, representing the now 15-year old-said: “These are children. We must not judge children by the standards of adults.”

He said his client was 13 at the time and had never had sex before, adding: “She was flirting with him on the tram. They talk on the tram about ‘sh**ging’. Over in the bushes she doesn’t shout or scream or push anyone away.

“If there was a point she had second thoughts, she didn’t give any indication. And she immediately regretted that and says to her friend she had been raped. She went into the bushes, she went willingly. Her answer was ‘I never said yeah’. How was he supposed to know?”

Following 9 hours and 46 minutes of deliberations, the jury found all three boys not guilty on all counts.

When police raided Callum Briggs’s home they recovered cocaine, cannabis and cash after he pointed them in the right direction.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 26-year-old told officers where they could find his stash of Class A and Class B drugs.

Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said Briggs maintained that he turned to dealing after he racked up drug debts of his own and was selling to fund his own habit.

She said officers recovered drugs from a North Face manbag and inside a set of drawers in the kitchen where cocaine was discovered and cannabis was found in an upstairs room.

A specialist officer estimated that the drugs had a street value of up to £3,000 in cannabis and up to £4,500 in cocaine.

Briggs, of Laurel Avenue, Thornaby, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis, and possession of criminal property – the £1,635 in cash – seized during the raid on November 6 last year.

Albany Kidd, mitigating, said her client was compliant with the police when they entered his property and pointed them in the direction of the stashed drugs.

She added: “He suffered the bereavement of his father around two years ago in very difficult circumstances.

“He turned to illicit substances as a coping mechanism and quickly accrued a debt with the dealers.”

Recorder Ayesha Smart sentenced Briggs to two years in custody, suspended for two years.

“You were in substantial debt with dealers and you were struggling for money to feed your own habit, so you engaged in the sale of drugs to pay off the debt,” she said.

“What is clear is that you were directed by someone higher up the chain and your involvement was limited to street dealing.”

Briggs was also ordered to attend 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

The other victim also delivered a victim impact statement in court, addressing Bubb directly: “You tried to convince me that I could not speak up because your job was to keep the public safe, you had solidified that by threatening to make yourself unsafe and end your own life if I dared to speak up about your abhorrent behaviour.”

Carers Plus Yorkshire, a charity that has supported unpaid carers for 30 years, will put on sessions for those aged eight and above.

With funding from Broadacres Housing Association, the sessions will empower young carers to manage their own mental health alongside caring responsibilities.

Charlene Saunders, Young Carer Worker with Carers Plus Yorkshire, said: “For some young people being a carer is an experience they really enjoy whilst for others it can be difficult and very stressful.

“This session will help them understand what the person they are caring for is going through, to recognise the conditions and also to manage their own mental health wellbeing.”

The sessions, joint-funded through £350 from Broadacres’ Community Development Fund, which supports local organisations, groups, and projects in areas where Broadacres has homes.

Ms Saunders said: “We support young people across North Yorkshire and do not have the core funding to organise groups sessions.

“That’s why this Broadacres grant is so welcome because it allows the young carers to share experiences with peers and to realise, they are not alone.”

These unpaid carers often juggle family life, work or education and financial pressures, all with very little recognition or support.

The Broadacres Community Development Fund is currently closed for applications for the 2025/26 financial year.

Young carers and families interested in the group can find more details at www.carersplus.net.

Information about future funding opportunities from Broadacres can be found at www.broadacres.org.uk.

Met Office weather forecasters say snow could fall in parts of the UK this weekend – despite many facing sunny skies and rising temperatures on Saturday

Snow is expected in some parts of the UK this weekend, the Met Office has said.

That is despite Saturday bringing sunny conditions for many, with temperatures climbing into the mid-to-high teens as high pressure dominates.

Manchester and Edinburgh could reach 16C and 15C respectively on Saturday, while Bristol and London will enjoy highs of 15C and 14C across the weekend. Meanwhile, normally sun-soaked southern European cities such as Athens and Madrid are forecast to see clouds and cooler highs of 12C and 13C on Saturday.

However from Sunday, a band of cloud and patchy rain will push southeast across the country, followed by sunny spells and scattered showers in the north. Some of these showers could fall as snow.

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Met Office Chief Forecaster Steve Willington said: “While the early part of the period brings warm sunshine for many, it’s not unusual to see colder spells and even some wintry showers in March.

“As we head into next week, a shift to a cooler north‑westerly flow will bring a drop in temperature and more unsettled weather, including some hill snow in the north and brisk winds at times. This pattern is entirely typical for the time of year.”

BBC Weather states: “Tomorrow will see areas of mist and fog slow to clear in the morning, leaving sunny spells and variable cloud for most. Cloudier in north-western Scotland with patchy rain lingering.

“On Sunday, cloudy and breezy in the north with light rain clearing, and showers in the north-west later. Bright spells and areas of low cloud and fog to start in the south. Cloudier later.”

Early next week, a more mobile Atlantic pattern is expected, with rain spreading into northern and western areas on Monday and Tuesday, occasionally turning to snow over the Scottish mountains. Stronger winds are likely in the north, with coastal gales possible.

By Wednesday, a cooler and more unstable north-to-northwesterly flow will bring frequent showers, some heavy and wintry over higher ground. Snow could even reach lower levels in the north later in the day. Temperatures are expected to be near or slightly below average.

Towards the end of the week, higher pressure is expected to build from the west, reducing showers and easing winds. However, temperatures are likely to remain on the cooler side and some overnight frost is possible.

Man Utd arrive on the south coast with an opportunity to move six points clear in third and four behind rivals Manchester City, who are not in Premier League action this weekend, in second place. Lisandro Martinez could return from injury, meaning Carrick has a near full strength squad to choose from for an important fixture.