The three-year agreement, which followed a competitive tendering process, will see cleaning and catering equipment supplier PPS responsible for supplying a comprehensive range of cleaning and hygiene products to approximately 90 schools across the borough.

As part of the contract, PPS will provide a consistent and reliable supply of essential products, supporting schools in maintaining high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, and safety.

The contract includes dedicated account management and responsive customer support, ensuring an efficient and dependable service across all locations.

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With over 25 years of sector experience, PPS will bring its product expertise, sustainability credentials, and industry knowledge to support Bolton Council’s hygiene, compliance, and environmental objectives.

This contract, PPS says, represents a significant milestone in PPS’s continued growth within the public sector, further strengthening its presence in the education and local authority markets.

PS Sales Director Jenny McGuckin said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this contract with Bolton Council. We look forward to building a strong, long-term partnership, supporting schools with reliable supply, expert guidance, and products that help maintain the highest standards of hygiene.”

A PPS van

Jon Dyson, Director of Place at Bolton Council, added: “We are pleased to partner with PPS to support our schools. Their expertise and commitment to quality will play an important role in ensuring our sites are well supplied and able to maintain safe and hygienic environments for staff and pupils.”

The contract caps off a strong period of growth for PPS, with the company also reporting continued success in securing new business and expanding its footprint across the public sector.

WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to try to smooth over the president’s anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.

Trump had suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, as Iran effectively shut it and sent gas prices soaring.

The Republican president’s meeting with Rutte, with whom he had a warm relationship, comes as the U.S. and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait. The nascent ceasefire was struck after Trump said he would strike Iran’s power plants and bridges, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

The plan to reopen the strait is still cloudy and is expected to be a central focus of the Wednesday afternoon meeting with Rutte. The White House said the meeting was expected to be behind closed doors. In the Trump administration, though, that can change at the last minute, and meetings can be opened to the press.

Congress in 2023 passed a law that prevents any U.S. president from pulling out of NATO without its approval. Trump has been a longtime critic of NATO and in his first term had suggested he had the authority on his own to leave the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union.

The crux of the commitment its 32 member countries make is a mutual defense agreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on them all. The only time it has been activated was in 2001, to support the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Despite that, Trump has complained during his war of choice with Iran that NATO has shown it will not be there for the U.S.

Ahead of the meeting, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, issued a statement Tuesday night in support of the alliance, noting that, “Following the September 11th attacks, NATO allies sent their young servicemembers to fight and die alongside America’s own in Afghanistan and Iraq.” McConnell, who sits on a committee overseeing defense spending, urged Trump to be “clear and consistent” and said it’s not in America’s interest to “spend more time nursing grudges with allies who share our interests than deterring adversaries who threaten us.”

If Rutte’s meeting does not alleviate Trump’s frustrations, it’s unclear if the Trump administration would challenge the law barring a president from pulling out of NATO. When the law passed, it was championed by Trump’s current secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who at the time was a senator from Florida.

The alliance was already rattled over the past year as Trump returned to power and reduced U.S. military support for Ukraine in the war against Russia and threatened to seize Greenland from ally Denmark.

But Trump’s badgering of NATO intensified after the Iran war began at the end of February, with the president insisting that securing the Strait of Hormuz was not America’s job but the responsibility of countries that depend on the flow of oil through it.

“Go to the strait and just take it,” Trump said last week.

Trump was also angered as NATO allies Spain and France forbade or restricted use of their airspace or joint military facilities for the U.S. in the Iran war. They and other nations, however, agreed to help with an international coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz when the conflict ends.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been a particular source of Trump’s frustration, was set to travel on Wednesday to the Gulf to support the ceasefire. The U.K. has been working on developing a post-conflict security plan for the strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

Trump has previously threatened to leave NATO and often said that he would abandon allies who don’t spend enough on their military budgets. Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in his recent memoir, said he feared that Trump might walk away from the alliance in 2018, during his first term as president.

___

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Roswell Road,”Rebel Joy” (Self Released)- The debut album from London based multi-instrumentalists Jasmine Watkiss and Zoe Wren was five years in the making but I’m happy to inform potential listeners that their patience will be amply rewarded. The duo have paid their dues in no uncertain fashion via a globe trotting touring schedule that has included visits to such far flung locations as Spain, Canada and Germany., and the experiences that they’ve enjoyed along the way have informed the subtly crafted content of a beautifully harmonised collection which mines a rich vein of melodic Americana with a memorable blend of honesty, charm and grace. The subject matter of their material is nothing if not eclectic too, with songs which tackle a diverse array of topics including life on a Greenpeace ship, female emancipation and the delights of living an unconventional lifestyle.”Can’t Take My Soul” and “Holy Mountain” are musical highlights.

Various Artists,”Soul To Soul” (Wienerworld)- This energised live CD has been culled from the soundtrack of a 1971 documentary film which traced the exploits of a string of top notch American soul, rock, jazz and gospel performers as they travelled to the West African state of Ghana in an attempt to explore the ancestral roots of the vibrant music which had brought them fame and fortune. The list of participants who appeared on stage at Black Star Square in Accra included luminaries such as The Staple Singers, Ike and Tina Turner, Santana and the undoubted star of the show Wilson Pickett, who regaled his highly receptive audience with some rabble rousing gems from his illustrious back catalogue such as “In The Midnight Hour,” “Funky Broadway” and “Land of 1000 Dances.” A very good time was obviously had by all concerned in a unique cross cultural celebration of Ghana’s Independence Day.

Trump wrote: “A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!”

Donald Trump has threatened any country supplying weapons to Iran with eye-watering tariffs – something he probably doesn’t have the power to do.

Posting on his Truth Social website, Trump wrote: “A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!”

But in February, the Supreme Court struck down his ability to impose tariffs immediately and unilaterally as unlawful.

He had been using an “emergency powers” law to circumvent congress in imposing blanket tariffs on countries across the world.

Iran, the United States and Israel last night agreed to a two-week ceasefire – an 11th-hour deal that headed off Trump’s threat to unleash a bombing campaign that would destroy Iranian civilisation.

But hours after the announcement, Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks Wednesday.

It was not clear if the strikes would scuttle the deal, which Vice President JD Vance called “fragile.”

Even before the new attacks, much about the agreement was unclear as the sides presented vastly different visions of the terms.

Both the US and Iran have painted the truce as a victory – with Tehran applying strict conditions to their agreement to re-open the Strait of Hermuz to tankers under their supervision.

Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war the US launched with Israel on Feb. 28. But when a version in Farsi emerged that indicated Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium – which is key to building a nuclear weapon – Trump called it fraudulent without elaborating.

Iran’s demands for ending the war, meanwhile, include a withdrawal of US combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions, and the release of its frozen assets.

In his post Wednesday, Trump said: “We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran.”

It’s not clear if other Western nations would agree to that – and the other points are likely nonstarters.

Pakistan said that talks to hammer out a permanent end to the war could begin in Islamabad as soon as Friday.

Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday that the deal doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah. Israel’s military said later that fighting and ground operations continue.

Loud booms could be heard throughout Beirut on Wednesday, and smoke rose from several points. It was not immediately clear what was targeted.

Hezbollah has not confirmed if it will abide by the ceasefire, though the group has said it was open to giving mediators a chance to secure an agreement. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the group would not stop firing at Israel unless Israel agreed to do the same.

While Iran could not match the sophistication of US and Israeli weaponry or their dominance in the air, its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz since the war began proved a tremendous strategic advantage: Iranian attacks and threats deterred many commercial ships from passing through the waterway, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime.

That has roiled the world economy and raised the pressure on Trump both at home and abroad to find a way out of the standoff.

The ceasefire may formalize a system of charging fees in the strait that Iran instituted — and give it a new source of revenue.

The plan allows for both Iran and Oman to charge ships, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations they were directly involved in. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.

That would upend decades of precedent treating the strait as an international waterway that was free to transit and will likely not be acceptable to the Gulf Arab states, which also need to rebuild after repeated Iranian attacks targeting their oil fields.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the strait would be allowed under Iranian military management — further clouding the picture of who would be allowed to transit the waterway.

Trump, meanwhile, suggested American warships would be “hangin’ around” the strait. That could be a potential flashpoint in days to come.

News of the ceasefire drove oil prices down Wednesday, but they were still higher than before the start of the Iran war, a sign that uncertainty still persists about the conflict.

US-Israeli strikes have battered Iran and its leadership, but they have not entirely eliminated the threats posed by Tehran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles or its support for regional proxies, like Hezbollah. The US and Israel said addressing those threats was a key justification for going to war.

Trump said Wednesday that the US would work with Iran to “dig up and remove” enriched uranium that was buried under joint US-Israeli strikes in June. He added that none of the material had been touched since. Any retrieval is expected to be an intensive undertaking.

There was no confirmation from Iran on that.

Tehran insisted for years that its nuclear program was peaceful, although it enriched uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

Iran referred to its nuclear program differently in two versions of the ceasefire plan that it released. The version in Farsi included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear program. That phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats with journalists.

A senior Israeli official said the United States had coordinated the ceasefire with Israel in advance and said Israel’s government credited “the massive crushing of the regime’s infrastructure” with securing the agreement.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing private diplomatic conversations, the official said Washington had committed to pressing for the removal of nuclear material and dismantling of Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Airstrikes reported in the hours after the deal is announced

Shortly after the ceasefire announcement, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all issued warnings about incoming missiles from Iran. That fire stopped for a time, then hostilities appeared to restart.

An oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island came under attack, according to Iranian state television. Its report said that firefighters were working to contain the blaze but no one had been hurt. It did not say who launched the attack.

The island is home to one of the terminals that Iran uses to export oil and gas.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says the army wasn’t involved in the Lavan attack. The US military’s Central Command did not respond to questions about the strike.

A short time later, the United Arab Emirates’ air defenses fired at an incoming Iranian missile barrage. Kuwait’s military forces, meanwhile, responded to an “extensive wave” of drone attacks.

More than 1,900 people had been killed in Iran as of late March, but the government has not updated the war’s toll for days.

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 people have been killed. and 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 US service members have been killed.

John Davidson, a Tourette’s campaigner who suffers from involuntary tics, was heard shouting a racist slur while black actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage.

The BBC has been found to have breached its editorial standards when it broadcast a racial slur during its coverage of the 2026 Bafta Film Awards.

The corporation said it was hit with a deluge of complaints after Scots disability campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourette’s Syndrome which leads to involuntary tics, could be heard shouting as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for special visual effects during the ceremony on February 22.

John’s life story inspired the film I Swear, which won three out of six nominations at the ceremony, including Robert Aramayo winning Best Actor for his portrayal of Davidson. The moment was broadcast BBC One despite the awards being on a two-hour delay, and remained on BBC iPlayer until the morning after.

John, from Galashiels, apologised for the incident but the 55-year-old said the BBC should have “worked harder to prevent anything that I said” at the BAFTAs being broadcast, and questioned why he was seated near a microphone.

John said he shouted 10 different offensive words during the star-studded event but the racial slur sparked mass criticism. He contacted Warner Bros to apologise directly to Jordan and chose to leave the auditorium after shouting the slur, adding that the BAFTAs team found him a private room with a monitor to watch the rest of the ceremony.

A BBC’s executive complaints unit (ECU) probe found the inclusion of the slur was “highly offensive” and “had no editorial justification,” but added that broadcasting it was not deliberate.

It said the slur should have been edited out of the iPlayer version when the event finished, but said a delay of several hours was caused by “a lack of clarity among the team as to whether the N-word was audible on the recording”.

The ECU added the delay was “a serious mistake, because there could be no certainty that the word would be inaudible to all viewers”.

The report said: “The ECU accepted their account (that the word was broadcast by mistake), for two reasons. Firstly, the use of the N-word in that instance was extremely indistinct, to the point where it might well not have been recognised by the production team.

“Secondly, there was another occurrence of the N-word about 10 minutes later, which was recognised by the production team and immediately edited out in accordance with the protocols on offensive language which were in place.

“There is no reason to conclude they would have applied the protocols in one case while deliberately ignoring them in the other.”

The report confirmed the BBC’s chief content officer has sent letters of apology to Lindo, Jordan, and Davidson.

At the time, then director-general Tim Davie said the BBC “profoundly regrets” the incident and that it was “a genuine mistake” which “should never have been broadcast”.

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Carlos Gu was helped by one of his co-stars with a surprise during a big solo move away from the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom

Carlos Gu has said he ‘adores’ one of his Strictly Come Dancing co-stars as she was seen helping him with a surprise during a big solo move away from the ballroom.

The professional dancer, who won the BBC One dance contest’s 2025 series alongside former footballer Karen Carney, has been busy with several projects following his history-making win.

One of those projects has been his ‘An Evening with Carlos Gu’ show, with the sold-out event taking place on Tuesday (April 7) night at cabaret club, Crazy Coqs in London’s Soho.

The special one-man show was attended by fans as well as his Strictly pals, including fellow professional dancers Amy Dowden and Katya Jones. And while It Takes Two host Janette Manrara was also in the audience, she also took her support to another level by joining Carlos on stage for a performance.

In a video of them in a dressing room filmed before the show, but shared afterwards onto Janette’s Instagram Story, Janette said: “Pre-show, we’re getting ready.” Carlos described Janette as his “special guest”, while she excitedly reffered to him as the “star of the show” before adding: “Nobody knows I’m here! Well, people know I’m coming, but we’re going to sing together… I can’t wait.”

Videos were then shared of their joint performance, alongside one of which Carlos said: “@janettemanrara I adore you more than you could’ve imagined.” She also showed her support, with Janette sharing a picture of the pair and saying in view of her own Instagram followers: “You did it my gorgeous friend!”

It comes after Carlos admitted that he was initially uncertain about his and Karen’s recent Strictly partnership, but that the former Lioness has since become a close friend and “changed” him for the better.

“This incredible woman she has taught me so much about this world being humble and just being a giving person and taking nothing back,” he shared with Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast

Asked whether he plans to return to the show this year, Carlos said he has yet to discover if he will be back, following several changes to the professional line-up, which has so far including the axing of four dancers.

He described the Prime Minister’s trip to the Middle East this week as ‘far too little, far too late’

The UK’s standing on the world stage is in freefall according to former Foreign Secretary Sir James Cleverly, who claims Donald Trump has “zero respect” for Sir Keir Starmer.

Speaking to reporters outside Westminster on Wednesday (8 April), he claimed the “special relationship” between Britain and the US is under unprecedented strain at the moment.

As the Prime Minister touches down in the Gulf today, his mission to secure the permanent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is being overshadowed by a firestorm of domestic criticism. While Sir Keir hopes to capitalize on the fragile two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, his detractors at home are calling the diplomatic push a “complete irrelevance”.

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The Conservative MP for Braintree accused Starmer of being fundamentally “indecisive” in his dealings with the White House, arguing that the damage extends far beyond a personality clash between two leaders. Mr Cleverly claims the Prime Minister’s lack of action is threatening the very foundations of the UK-US intelligence and defence apparatus.

“You can’t talk out of both sides of your mouth at the same time,” he told the Press Association. “The US has seen that. It’s quite clear now that President Trump does not respect Keir Starmer at all.”

Mr Cleverly continued: “He (Starmer) has flown off to the Gulf for a photo opportunity to try and reclaim some kind of credibility, but the simple fact of the matter is he has painted the UK out of the picture.

“As a former foreign secretary, I find that genuinely heartbreaking.”

The criticism follows a string of public humiliations from the US President, who recently mocked Starmer’s leadership style.

Trump recounted a request for British aircraft carriers to support US strikes, impersonating the Prime Minister as a dithering bureaucrat who “has to ask his team” before making a move.

The backdrop to this political infighting is a volatile situation in the Middle East.

While Trump recently threatened that “a whole civilization will die” if shipping lanes weren’t secured, the last-minute armistice has provided a brief window of stability.

The Prime Minister has consistently tried to walk a fine line since the conflict in Iran broke out on 28 February. The UK has permitted the US to use strategic bases like Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford for “defensive” strikes.

Simultaneously, Starmer has repeatedly told the public: “This is not our war”, a stance Cleverly argues makes the UK look weak to its most important ally.

It isn’t just the Conservatives taking aim at the current diplomatic climate.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey described Trump’s recent behaviour as a “classic cycle of destruction”, warning that the American leader is no longer a reliable partner for the UK. Davey linked the geopolitical chaos directly to the pockets of British citizens, citing the rising costs of petrol and diesel as a byproduct of Trump’s “idiotic war”.

Even Nigel Farage, long considered Trump’s closest British ally, has shown signs of unease.

While Farage defended the President’s goal of bringing Tehran to the negotiating table, he admitted that Trump’s rhetoric regarding the total destruction of Iranian civilization went “way too far”.

The officer will face a misconduct hearing this month

A former Cambridgeshire police officer has been accused of driving to work whilst over the legal limit for alcohol and attempting to sign out a firearm. PC Danny Colbert has been accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour to the level of gross misconduct.

It’s alleged that on July 20, 2024, the officer reported for work whilst unfit for duty due to drinking and attempted to sign out his firearm.

He will face a misconduct hearing on Tuesday, April 14. The hearing will take place at Lysander House on Station Road in Tempsford at 10am.

Anyone who would like to attend must register their interest by Monday April 13, 2026 at 3pm.