According to the Met Office, three areas of the UK will have high pollen counts this weekend

The NHS recommends an unusual nostril hack that could help prevent hay fever. Parts of the UK are set to experience “high” levels of pollen this weekend.

An estimated 13 million people across Britain grapple with hay fever – a common allergic response triggered by airborne substances like pollen. Also known as allergic rhinitis, it comes with some frustrating symptoms including sneezing, itchy eyes, and headaches.

Symptoms will typically be worse whenever there are high amounts of pollen in the air. According to the Met Office, three areas of the UK will have high pollen counts today (Saturday, March 21).

These are Grampian, and Central, Tayside and Fife in Scotland and North East England. Yorkshire and Humber and Dumfries, Galloway, Lothian and Borders are both expected to have “medium” levels of pollen.

While there are treatments and remedies for hay fever available from pharmacies such as antihistimines, there are also some simple hacks you can try at home to minimise your exposure to pollen. On its website, the NHS says: “There’s currently no cure for hay fever and you cannot prevent it.

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“But you can do things to ease your symptoms when the pollen count is high.” As part of its advice, the health body recommends putting something around your nostrils.

READ MORE: Hay fever sufferer with ‘dry eyes all summer’ finds ‘best product’ for £10READ MORE: Brits who can’t get GP appointment urged to use other NHS scheme for treatment

It says: “Put petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) around your nostrils to trap pollen.”

Other NHS advice for reducing hay fever symptoms includes:

• Wear wraparound sunglasses, a mask or a wide-brimmed hat to stop pollen getting into your nose and eyes
• Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off
• Keep windows and doors shut as much as possible
• Vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth
• Try to use a pollen filter in the air vents of your car, if you have one, and a HEPA filter in your vacuum cleaner
• Do not cut grass or walk on grass
• Do not spend too much time outside
• Do not keep fresh flowers in the house
• Do not smoke or be around smoke – it makes your symptoms worse
• Do not dry clothes outside – they can catch pollen
• Do not let pets into the house if possible – they can carry pollen indoors

It also recommends speaking to a pharmacist if you have hay fever. You should then see a GP if your symptoms are getting worse, or your symptoms do not improve after taking medicines from the pharmacy.

The ITV star told his fans that he has been diagnosed with both viral meningitis and encephalitis

The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) star Jordan Brook has provided a health update after being rushed to hospital with meningitis.

Jordan, 31, has been part of the ITV reality series since 2017, fast becoming a fan favourite on the series which introduced the nation to the likes of Joey Essex and Gemma Collins. He’s currently expecting his first child with his co-star Sophie Kasae.

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Rushed to hospital earlier in the week, Jordan has revealed that he has been diagnosed with two viruses, which are causing swelling on his brain. Currently in hospital, he is being monitored for seizures.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday morning (March 21), Jordan shared a video from his hospital bed as he opened up about what’s happening. He confirmed in the video that he has been diagnosed with both viral meningitis and encephalitis.

Speaking to his 251,000 followers, Jordan warned his fans not to listen to rumours about him circulating online. He said: “This is the first time I’ve really been able to speak strong enough about what’s going on.

“There’s been a lot of speculations as to why I’m here and what’ going on and there’s a few comments and people saying things that this is my diagnosis that I got yesterday. I’ve been diagnosed with not one but two joining viruses that are attacking a similar part of my body.

“I have got viral meningitis and encephalitis together. That’s the inflammation of the brain and the lining around it… So this isn’t something small or minor.”

According to the NHS, meningitis ‘is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges)’. If not treated quickly it can become very serious and cause life-threatening sepsis and even result in ‘permanent damage to the brain or nerves’.

The NHS also states that encephalitis ‘is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed (swollen)’. The condition can also be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.

Jordan continued: “I had CT scans, MRI scans, lumbar punctures. With round-the-clock care since I’ve been in this hospital. I’m on IV drips, everything antiviral, pain management, physio, seizure monitoring, to minor seizure risk at the minute.

“But unfortunately the swelling on my brain is getting worse. It’s really, really tough. Even the simple day-to-day activities and normal things that aren’t easy right now so this is what I’m dealing with day-today.

“I’m on day 11 of treatment and I’d like to reach out to everyone and say just be careful what you read online and be conscious of some things that people are writing.”

He added: “Commenting this isn’t like a joke or people are writing that I’m a lot worse than I am and there’s big C-words being dropped and things like that – it isn’t that – but there’s swelling on my brain it’s really bad they’ve upped my meds, my steroids to try and get the swelling down. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be [in hospital]…

“My focus right now is simple I need to get healthy. My Sophie’s been amazing and she’s growing my precious baby boy. I just want to be a young, healthy dad, home for my family, with my baby – that’s the goal. This won’t beat me.”

“I will get out of this,” he added before sharing thanks for support he’s received. “Thank you to all my family and my friends, everyone’s messages that have been coming through and keep the support going.”

When it comes to his diagnosis of viral meningitis and encephalitis ‘mixed together’, Jordan stated that it has caused severe inflammation and swelling on his brain. He noted that the doctors are ‘working tirelessly to get under control’ before he’s allowed to go home.

“Monitoring seizures every hour through the night, so yeah, we’re not out of the woods yet but we’re getting there that is my update for now and thank you, obviously, [to] anyone who is thinking of me and please be kind to Soph and support Soph and anybody else in the same boat but I love you all and this won’t beat me I will get home. So that’s my update for today,” he said.

Nicholas Brendon thanked Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans in one of his last video messages before his death on Friday (20 March), aged 54.

The actor was best known for playing Buffy’s best friend Xander Harris on the hit ‘90s TV show, alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar. In a statement on Friday, his family revealed Brendon had died of natural causes in his sleep.

One of the star’s last post on his Instagram page was a video Q&A with Buffy fans, in which he thanked them for their support and revealed he had watched every episode of the series.

15 minutes later than originally scheduled, both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are moments away from kick-off down on the south coast in the Brighton sunshine. Here is a reminder of how the two sides line up this afternoon:

Brighton: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu; Milner, Gross; Gomez, Hinshelwood, Minteh; Welbeck.
Substitutes: Steele, Georginio, Baleba, Kostoulas, Boscagli, Mitoma, Ayari, De Cuyper, Veltman.

Liverpool: Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike.
Substitutes: Woodman, Gomez, Chiesa, Jones, Robertson, Nyoni, Ramsay, Morrison, Ngumoha.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took the United States to war without a vote of support from Congress, but lawmakers are increasingly questioning when, how and at what cost the war with Iran will come to an end.

Three weeks into the conflict, the toll is becoming apparent. At least 13 U.S. military personnel have died, and more than 230 have been wounded. A $200 billion request from the Pentagon for war funds is pending at the White House. Allies are under attack, oil prices are spiking and thousands of U.S. troops are deploying to the Middle East with no endgame in sight.

“The real question is: What ultimately are we trying to accomplish?” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told The Associated Press.

“I generally support anything that takes out the mullahs,” he said. “But at the end of the day, there has to be a kind of strategic articulation of the strategy, what our objectives are.”

Trump said late Friday that he was considering “winding down” the military operations even as he outlined new objectives and goals.

Congress stands still

The Republican president’s decision to launch the U.S.-Israel-led war with Iran is testing the resolve of the Congress, which is controlled by his party. Republicans have largely stood by the commander in chief, but will soon be faced with more consequential wartime choices.

Under the War Powers Act, the president can conduct military operations for 60 days without approval from Congress. So far, Republicans have easily voted down several resolutions from Democrats designed to halt the military campaign.

But the administration will need to show a more comprehensive strategy ahead or risk blowback from Congress, lawmakers said, especially as they are simultaneously being asked to approve billions in new spending.

Trump’s quip the war will end “when I feel it in my bones” has drawn alarm.

“When he feels it in his bones? That’s crazy,” said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

House speaker says mission is ‘all but done’

The president’s party appears unlikely to directly challenge him, even as the conflict drags on. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said the military operation will be over quickly.

“I do think the original mission is virtually accomplished now,” Johnson, R-La., told the AP and others at the Capitol this week.

“We were trying to take out the ballistic missiles, and their means of production, and neuter the navy, and those objectives have been met,” he said.

Johnson acknowledged that Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the Strait of Hormuz is “dragging it out a little bit,” especially as U.S. allies have largely rebuffed the president’s request for help.

“As soon as we bring some calm to the situation, I think it’s all but done,” Johnson said.

But the administration’s stated goals — of ending Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon and degrading its ballistic missile supplies, among others — have perplexed lawmakers as shifting and elusive.

″ Regime change? Not likely. Get rid of the enriched uranium? Not without boots on the ground,” Warner said.

“If I’m advising the president, I would have said: Before you take on a war of choice, make the case clear to the American people what our goals are,” he said.

Congress retains the power of the purse

The Pentagon has told the White House it is seeking an additional $200 billion for the war effort, an extraordinary amount that is unlikely to win support. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the amount “preposterous.”

The Defense Department’s approved appropriations from Congress this year are more than $800 billion, and Trump’s tax breaks bill gave the Pentagon an additional $150 billion over the next several years for various upgrades and projects.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said the country has other priorities.

“How about not taking away funding for Medicaid, which will impact millions of people. How about making sure SNAP is funded,” she said, referring to the health care and food assistance programs that were cut as part of last year’s Republican tax reductions.

“These are things that we should be doing for the American people,” she said.

Many lawmakers have recalled the decision by President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the Sep. 11, 2001, attacks to come to Congress to seek an authorization for the use of military force — a vote to support his proposed military actions in Afghanistan and later, Iraq.

Tillis said Trump has latitude under the War Powers Act to conduct the military campaign, but that will soon shift.

“When you get into the 45-day mark, you’ve got to start articulating one of two things — an authorization for the use of military force to sustain it beyond that or a very clear path on exit,” he said.

“Those are really the options the administration needs to be thinking about.”

The incident happened at Val Ridanna, a high-altitude valley in Italy

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A major rescue operation took place after an avalanche killed two people and left three seriously injured. The incident happened at Val Ridanna, a high-altitude valley in South Tyrol, Italy, shortly before 11.40am local time on March 20.

Ten people, all of whom were reportedly equipped with Arva avalanche transceivers, were swept away, according to Italian news agency LaPresse. Out of the eight survivors seven were injured, three seriously and two lightly, reports Mirror.

Reportedly the snow mass broke away in the Racines area on Cima d’Incendio at 2,445 metres, the rescue operation involved five helicopters. The Innsbruck operations centre was alerted, and requests for intensive care beds were reportedly made at hospitals in Merano, Bolzano and Bressanone.

The Guardia di Finanza and all local Alpine rescue teams were on site. Last week, a report from the Austrian Alpine Club revealed that all but two of Austria’s 96 glaciers have retreated over the last two years, saying the “dramatic development” highlights the impact of climate change.

The reports shows the Alpeiner Ferner in the western Tyrol region and Stubacher Sonnblickkees in Salzburg to the east are facing the greatest loss, each with a retreat of more than 330 feet. The average retreat was more than 65 feet.

“The disintegration of the glacier tongue is also progressing at the Pasterze, Austria’s largest glacier, making the consequences of climate change visible,” the club said in the report covering 2024 and 2025. The report, it added, “confirms once again the long-term trend: Glaciers in Austria continue to shrink significantly in length, area, and volume”.

The retreat of glaciers in Europe has vast implications for drinking water, power generation, agriculture, infrastructure, recreational activities, the Alpine landscape and more. Neighbouring Switzerland, which is home to the most glaciers in Europe, has noted a similar retreat in its glaciers in recent years, a trend that has been reported around the world.

Poor weather conditions including low snowfall, warm temperatures including an exceptionally hot June last year – nearly 5C above the average – have contributed to the retreat, the club said.

“The glaciers are melting – and with every new report, the urgency grows, club vice president Nicole Slupetzky said. “It’s no longer a question of whether we can still save the glaciers in their old form; it’s about mitigating the consequences for ourselves.”

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Liverpool manager played down the severity of Hugo Ekitike’s injury in the wake of Liverpool’s damaging defeat against Brighton.

Already without Mohamed Salah and Aleksander Isak, the Reds were rocked early on at the Amex Stadium when their France international striker went down in agony following a collision with James Milner.

The summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt was clearly in pain as he limped to the sidelines where he received further treatment.

Ekitike attempted to play on but was unable to continue and was replaced by Curtis Jones after only eight minutes.

The 23-year-old had been called up to Les Bleus squad ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Colombia but may now be forced to withdraw.

Speaking about his centre forward’s injury, Slot said: ‘The players and the fans know that there is only eight games to go to qualify for the Champions League and every game you have to miss is something you are upset about.

‘Him going off and not being able to help the team – it is just a bit of bad luck. It is not like he will be out for three months but it is bad enough that he wasn’t able to continue.

‘It was a blow for him and a blow for us.’

After their midweek morale-boosting win over Galatasaray, Liverpool would have hoped to build further momentum on the south coast.

Instead, they delivered another insipid, disjointed display that yielded a 2-1 defeat and has put their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League in major jeopardy.

‘First half was an equal game. It was a big blow for us that one of our two strikers that we have available with Hugo [Ekitike] and Alex [Isak] was already not here and the other one has to go off after one or two minutes – that is usually not helpful, especially when you look at how well Hugo played Wednesday,’ added Slot.

‘The first half was equal and the second half, Brighton were the better team on the pitch.’

Danny Welbeck’s brace ultimately proved decisive as the outgoing Premier League champions succumbed to their 10th defeat of the campaign.

Slot said: ‘It is clear that we have lost a lot of points after playing in Europe. I have tried to explain a lot of times already why this is but today we also have to give credit to Brighton. In the second half, they were the better team on the pitch.

‘What I thought was, you won’t need 24 points to qualify and hopefully I am right because we aren’t able to get 24 points anymore.

‘We kept trying, in the second half we were close but they were closer to score the third one than we were the second one. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough after a week like this.’

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She is described as 5ft 5in, petite, with hair in a messy bun

Police have issued an appeal for a woman who went missing in Co Derry on Saturday.

Taking to social media, PSNI have asked for help in locating Shannon Donnell was last seen at Altnagelvin Hospital in the morning of March 21.

Shannon has been described as 5ft 5in, petite, with hair in a messy bun.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police are concerned for local woman Shannon Donnell who has went missing form Altnagelvin Hospital earlier today.

“Shannon hasn’t been seen in a number of hours and was described as 5ft5, petite, hair in messy bun. Burgundy leggings, light blue jumper and a heavy black coat. She is also wearing black converse shoes.”

PSNI have asked that if any person knew of Shannon’s whereabouts, or have any information that may assist in locating her, please call 101 quoting: 538-21/03/26.

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A 44-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with carrying a blade.

A man has been charged after allegedly wielding a knife in Fife.

Police officers raced to Lawrence Court in Buckhaven at 9.05pm on Friday night. It followed reports of a disturbance on a housing estate.

A 44-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with carrying a bladed weapon.A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Images taken at the scene showed two police vans and a marked car parked on the street. A number of officers could be seen standing outside a block of flats.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.05pm on Friday, 20 March, 2026, we received a report of a disturbance in Lawrence Court, Buckhaven.

“A 44-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with carrying an offensive weapon.

“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

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LONDON (AP) — Wimbledon will use video review technology for the first time at this year’s tournament, the All England Club announced Saturday.

The oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament will have the technology available on Centre Court, No. 1 Court — the club’s second-biggest stadium — plus four other show courts.

Players will be allowed to review specific calls made by the chair umpire — such as double bounces.

Video review made its Grand Slam tennis debut at the 2023 U.S. Open. The Australian Open also uses the technology.

Centre Court and No. 1 Court will have video review available throughout the tournament, which starts on June 29, and the technology will be used on No. 2 Court, No. 3 Court, Court 12 and Court 18 for singles matches.

Players will not be limited in the number of reviews they can request.

Video review is separate from the electronic line-calling used for ruling balls in or out.

Last year, Wimbledon replaced line judges with electronic line-calling, though it wasn’t without hiccups.

The grass-court major is also adding visual indicators for electronic line-calling on scoreboards showing ‘out’ and ‘fault’ calls.

“This enhancement has been made as a result of feedback following the adoption of live electronic line-calling last year,” the All England Club said in Saturday’s announcement.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis