TV favourite Alex Scott and Lionesses icons are being tipped for glory ahead of this year’s glitzy Women’s Football Awards on May 7, hosted by Gabby Logan and Jamie Carragher

Television favourite Alex Scott and a host of Lionesses legends are being tipped for success ahead of this year’s glamorous Women’s Football Awards.

The beautiful game is set to meet serious showbiz glamour when the ceremony takes place on May 7.

The former England international-turned-presenter leads a star-studded shortlist filled with household names and global superstars as the biggest night in women’s football makes its return.

The ceremony will be presented by Gabby Logan alongside Jamie Carragher, with Sir David Beckham also lending his support to the awards as the women’s game continues its remarkable growth.

Becks said: “It’s been so incredible to see the growth of the women’s game over the years and we love cheering on the Lionesses in our house! These awards celebrate the very best in the game both on and off the pitch.”

The Women’s Football Awards – now the largest celebration of its kind in Europe – will once again unite elite players, celebrity supporters and industry leaders to recognise those pushing the game forward.

Past winners include Alessia Russo, Mary Earps and Alex Scott herself – and with Lionesses stars dominating the shortlist once more, the competition is fiercer than ever.

Global fashion powerhouse Shein returns as headline partner, with the brand taking centre stage when it comes to the glamour. It will also play a crucial role in styling football stars and grassroots female footballers for the high-profile occasion.

Shihong Liu, Director of Europe Markets at Shein, expressed: “We are incredibly proud to continue our partnership with the Women’s Football Awards. Women’s football is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting sports in the world, and it plays such an important role in inspiring the next generation. We’re honoured to support the game and celebrate the incredible athletes and community behind it.”

Children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza and Department for Education scientific adviser Prof Russell Viner have reviewed the latest evidence, finding that long periods of time spent on screens alone can affect children’s sleep and physical activity, which are key to their development.

President Donald Trump has publicly claimed Antony Blinken supported his attacks on Iran but the former secretary of state has denied that happened.

Blinken, who served during former President Joe Biden’s term, scrutinized comments that Trump made during a Republican fundraising dinner Wednesday night.

“I’ve heard that today Blinken made a statement that he should have done it. Thanks a lot Blinken, I appreciate it,” Trump said. “But he came out with the statement that they should have done it, they made a mistake.”

Blinken took to X Thursday, writing Trump “cited me as supporting his attack on Iran and expressing regret we didn’t do it during the Biden Administration. Except I didn’t.”

The former secretary of state then shared a clip of him discussing the U.S.-Iran conflict dating back to the Obama years, which he suggested Trump may be referring to instead. Blinken served as former President Barack Obama’s deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017.

“When the Obama administration came along, we looked very hard at this problem. And we decided that the best way to engage it was through the diplomatic agreement that we ultimately achieved,” Blinken said at an event for the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.

He was referring to the so-called Iran Nuclear Deal, which Iran signed in 2015 and Trump withdrew from in 2018.

The deal restricted Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions, but Trump argued during his first term, “the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and — over time — reach the brink of a nuclear breakout.”

“Of course, we looked at other ways of doing this, including, if necessary, taking military action, but we concluded at the time that if you took military action, the danger was that in the first instance, Iran might respond to that in ways that we’d have to control for,” Blinken said.

“But also, that eventually, we might buy some time, but it would probably rebuild what it had, put it deeper underground in places that we couldn’t get to,” he added.

The Independent has reached out to the White House for clarification on Trump’s comments about Blinken.

More than 1,900 people in Iran have been killed and nearly 1,100 in Lebanon, home to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, in military strikes that the U.S. and Israel started last month, according to the Associated Press. Thirteen U.S. service members have died.

In an update Wednesday, Admiral Brad Cooper, the leader of U.S. Central Command, said American forces have hit more than 10,000 military targets in Iran.

“We’ve now destroyed 92 percent of the Iranian Navy’s largest vessels,” Cooper said in a video posted to social media. “Iran’s drone and missile launch rates are down by more than 90 percent.”

Despite reports of the U.S. looking to enter a peace deal with Iran, the end of the war is nowhere in sight.

Independent operators John Tate and John Hewitt have submitted plans to create a three-screen cinema in the site of the Original Factory Shop in Fishergate.

If approved by North Yorkshire Council, it would be Ripon’s first cinema in since the closure of the Curzon Cinema in North Street nearly three years ago.

Mr Tate and Mr Hewitt are both members of the Executive Board of the UK Cinema Association, and run cinemas in Ilkley and Wetherby.

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Curzon cinema in Ripon announces closing date in July

The factory shop, which has traded in the city for around 40 years, is due to close on Sunday, if not before.

The closure of the 10,000 sq ft three-storey retail outlet was announced in February.

Mr Tate told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon blog; “Ripon is one of the few places of its size in the north of England that is without a cinema and we have been looking for an opportunity there for six years, as we believe that it is a city on the up and with great potential.

“By strange coincidence, I discovered during my research on Ripon that my grandfather and namesake, John Henry Tate, was born at a house on North Street in October 1883 and I take this as a lucky omen

“We are delighted to have signed a lease, subject to planning, for a change of use from retail unit to cinema on 14–16 Fishergate and hope to secure the necessary permission to proceed as soon as possible.”

The site of the former Curzon Cinema (Image: Northern Echo)

Mr Tate added: “We will be showing a wide range of films, including the latest blockbusters 🍿 and current releases, alongside Event Cinema, National Theatre Live, Royal Opera House productions, cinema stage musicals, documentaries and independent foreign-language films.

“We will also have schemes for the over 60s, families with babies, and film-lovers of all ages will be able to enjoy food and drink in the comfortable lounge area or in the auditorium while watching a film or performance.”

Ripon BID, who broke the story of the planned cinema, has offered its strong support for the scheme.

Ripon BID Manager Lilla Bathurst said: “We will do everything within our power to support the application, which will add substantially to the city’s retail and leisure offering.”

“This is phenomenal news for Ripon and is a further sign of the confidence that investors have in the historic Cathedral City of the Dales 🕍

“Our post‑covid recovery puts us high on the list of UK locations where independent businesses want to be — and importantly, places where people want to visit.”

Lilla added: “I believe that this £1.25 million investment will be the catalyst for further inward investment in our thriving city.”

Robert Sterne, director of Sterne Properties Ltd, which owns the former Curzon site in North Street told Ripon BID that it was too late to get Curzon to re-open on the site.

He also told Ripon BID he welcomed the proposed cinema use on Fishergate and his company remained “fully committed” to returning the Curzon premises to use as a family leisure facility.

Personal Independence Payment claimants must report travel abroad for over four weeks or risk losing benefits

There are several changes in circumstances that individuals receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) must inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about, or they risk losing their benefit entitlement and having regular payments paused or stopped.

It’s crucial to note that changing your name, doctor, health professional or address do not need to be reported to the DWP and will have no impact on your payments – but it is worthwhile ensuring the details DWP holds on file for you is up to date.

However, leaving the country or planning to leave the country for a period of more than four weeks – even just for a holiday – may affect entitlement.

Guidance on GOV.UK for people planning to leave the country for more than four weeks, states: “This change may affect the claimant’s entitlement to PIP. We will need to know the date the claimant is leaving the country, how long they are planning to be out of the country, which country they are going to and why they are going abroad.”

If you are planning to travel abroad this year, or are in the process of booking a holiday for more than four weeks, make sure you contact the DWP with the details they have asked for as soon as possible, reports the Daily Record.

How to report a change of circumstances to DWP

Contact the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 to report a change of circumstances – lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Here is a comprehensive guide to all the changes in circumstances and whether you need to contact the DWP about them.

Alterations to daily living or mobility requirements

You should inform the DWP if, for instance, you require more or less assistance or support, or if your condition will persist for a longer or shorter duration than you previously informed the DWP.

Such a change could impact your eligibility for PIP, as well as the amount and duration of the PIP award.

Departing the country or intending to leave the country for more than four weeks – even if it’s for a holiday

This alteration could affect the claimant’s eligibility for PIP. The DWP needs to be informed of the date the claimant is leaving the country, the length of their intended stay abroad, the country they are visiting, and the reason for their trip.

Hospital stays or similar institutionalisation

According to DWP guidelines, both components of PIP cease to be payable 28 days after the claimant is admitted to an NHS hospital.

Patients funded privately are not subject to these rules and can continue to receive either component of PIP.

If a claimant is in hospital or a similar institution at the date entitlement to PIP begins, PIP is not payable until they are discharged.

Care homes

The daily living component of PIP ceases to be payable after 28 days of residency in a care home where the costs of the accommodation are met from public or local funds. The PIP mobility component can continue to be paid.

Those who fully self-fund their care home placement are not impacted by these regulations. If a claimant is in a care home at the date of entitlement, the PIP daily living component is not payable until they depart.

Linked stays in hospital and a care home

Hospital stays are linked if the interval between them is no more than 28 days. The daily living component for stays in a care home is also linked if the gap between them is no more than 28 days.

There is no link for the mobility component as payment is not affected when in a care home. Both components of PIP will cease to be paid after a total of 28 days in hospital. The daily living component of PIP will stop being paid after a total of 28 days in a care home.

If a claimant transitions between a hospital and care home, or vice versa, these periods will also link.

Imprisonment or claimant held in legal custody

This alteration may impact the amount of PIP that can be paid to the claimant.

The DWP needs to be informed of the date the claimant was taken into prison or legal custody and the expected duration of their stay, if known.

Detained in legal custody

PIP stops being payable after 28 days where someone is being detained in legal custody. This applies whether the offence is civil or criminal and whether they have been convicted or are on remand.

Suspended payments of benefit are not refunded regardless of the outcome of proceedings against the individual. Two or more separate periods in legal custody link if they are within one year of each other.

Change of name

This change will not affect payment or eligibility for PIP, but it is important the DWP has the most up-to-date details for the claimant.

This change needs to be reported in writing – if the claimant phones to give these details, the DWP will ask for these details to be put in writing. The written notification must contain:

• Full details of their previous name

• Their new name

• Details of any changes made to the bank or building society account into which PIP is paid, such as the name of the account or the account number

• Their signature on the letter

Change of account PIP is paid into

The DWP needs full details of the name and address of the new bank or building society along with details of the new account including the name of the account, the account number and the sort code or roll number.

Change of person acting for the claimant

This refers to an appointee or someone with power of attorney for the claimant.

This change is important so the DWP can make payments to the right person at the right time. They need the full name, address and contact details of the new person who is acting for the claimant.

If the person acting for the claimant has moved or has different contact details, the DWP just needs the new details.

Change of address

This alteration, unless it involves a hospital or nursing home, will not impact the eligibility or payment of PIP. It’s crucial that the DWP has the most current details for the claimant.

They require comprehensive information about the new address to which the claimant has relocated, including the postcode and the date of the move.

Change of doctor or healthcare professional

This change will not affect the payment or eligibility for PIP and is not obligatory once a decision on the PIP claim has been reached.

However, if the change occurs during the claiming process, it’s vital that the DWP have the most recent information. This ensures that the assessment provider has the correct contact details to collect any additional details they may need.

The DWP requires the full name, address, and contact details of the new doctor or healthcare professional.

Complete details about changes of circumstance if you are receiving PIP can be found on GOV.UK.

George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) was clearly suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) and Theo Silverton’s (James Cartwright) wedding in Coronation Street this week, and Theo’s actions in tonight’s episode proved he was right to worry.

Theo has been abusing Todd since the beginning of their relationship last year, but so far the only person to learn the full extent of it has been Billy Mayhew.

After Todd confided in the vicar, Theo left him to die in the Corriedale pile-up to silence him and keep Todd trapped in their relationship.

Things have continued to escalate since then, until Theo unexpectedly called things off after threatening Todd with a knife.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end for their relationship, with Theo secretly organising their wedding earlier this week, with Gary Windass (Mikey North) and Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) as witnesses.

Following the ceremony, George was put out about not having been invited, and suggested to Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) that perhaps Todd hadn’t had much of a say in organising the event.

Tonight, his fears were confirmed when he paid Todd a visit, only for Theo to arrive home while Todd had nipped out.

Having been for a run to cool off after Todd turned him down for sex, Theo’s mood clearly hadn’t improved by the time he got back.

Believing that it was Todd in the bathroom, Theo continued to make vile comments about Todd’s weight and his refusal to have sex again that morning.

However, when Todd returned home and George emerged from the bathroom, Theo played it all off as a joke.

Unfortunately for him, it was too late, as the scales had clearly fallen from George’s eyes.

George relayed the experience to Summer, sharing his concerns that Todd hadn’t been himself for months.

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When Summer questioned what they could do to help Todd, George asserted that they needed to ‘get him away from that monster’.

Determined to keep Todd safe, George offered him his old room back – but will Todd accept? Or will Theo win him over once again?

MORE: Coronation Street comeback for Natalie Anderson confirmed as Theo’s end looms

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Two second half goals undid all the good work but Northern Ireland were missing a number of key players

Michael O’Neill believes his young Northern Ireland side will only be better for the experience after a 2-0 defeat to Italy in their World Cup semi-final play-off in Bergamo.

O’Neill had stated that the squad is further on in their development than he’d expected at this stage and there was certainly no shame in losing to an Azzurri side that they kept at bay in a tense first half at the New Balance Arena.

“I couldn’t ask any more from the players, I thought our game plan in the first half was excellent,” said the 56-year-old, who was without the likes of Conor Bradley and Daniel Ballard for the crunch game..

“We limited Italy to very few chances in the first half.

“Ultimately in the second half we caused our own problems.

“We had a couple of nervous moments before the first goal. We were out of shape, it’s not a great header and it lands to the wrong man in Sandro Tonali, who strikes a great ball.

“Once you’re behind in the game it’s difficult.

“But I thought our attitude throughout was terrific.

“It’s a very young team, I think the average age is 22 years of age, so it is incredibly positive for us to come here, against a team like Italy, and take them to the 90th minute before they feel they’re safe.

“We only had one player out there over the age of 24 and that says a lot.

“We showed great character. I thought all the younger players were terrific in the game.

“Regardless of the result, we took a step forward in terms of the progress of the team.

“It’s very difficult to come away here to Italy, especially with the players we had missing.

“It feels raw now, but the team has developed.”

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A Los Angeles jury has delivered a landmark verdict: Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, causing a young woman known in court documents as Kaley, or KGM, to become addicted to social media.

The tech giants must now pay her a total of US$6 million in damages – $3 million compensatory and $3 million punitive.

She claimed the platforms’ design features got her addicted to the technology and exacerbated her depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts.

The jury found that Meta bore 70% of the responsibility and YouTube 30%, meaning Meta will pay $4.2 million and Google’s YouTube $1.8 million. Both companies have said they will appeal.

The verdict came a day after a separate New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay US$375 million for failing to protect children from predators on Instagram and Facebook.

Kaley filed her lawsuit in 2023, when she was 17. She claimed that she began using social media as a young child and alleged that features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmically timed notifications and beauty filters were addictive.

TikTok and Snap were originally named as defendants but settled before the trial began for undisclosed sums. Meta and YouTube proceeded to a seven-week trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The case is the first of three bellwether trials scheduled in the California state proceedings – test cases selected to gauge how juries respond to the core legal arguments – drawn from a pool of more than 1,600 plaintiffs, including over 350 families and 250 school districts.

The outcome of this first trial was always likely to have consequences far beyond one young woman’s case.

Bypassing big tech’s legal shield

The legal strategy that made this trial possible was a deliberate departure from previous attempts to sue social media companies. Historically, platforms have been shielded by Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability for content posted by their users.

The plaintiff’s lawyers sidestepped this entirely by arguing that the harm arose not from what users posted, but from how the platforms were engineered – treating Instagram and YouTube as defective products rather than neutral publishers.

The jury heard internal Meta documents that proved damaging. One memo read: “If we wanna win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens.” Another showed that 11-year-olds were four times as likely to keep returning to Instagram compared with competing apps, despite the platform’s own minimum age requirement of 13.

A former Meta engineering director turned whistleblower, Arturo Béjar, testified about how features like infinite scroll exploit the brain’s reward system. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself took the stand – his first jury testimony on child safety – and was questioned about his decision to retain beauty filters despite internal research flagging their impact on young girls’ body image.

The jury rejected the companies’ central defence: that Kaley’s struggles were primarily the result of a difficult home life and pre-existing conditions rather than platform design.

In finding that the companies had acted with “malice, oppression or fraud”, they opened the door to the additional punitive damages that brought the total to US$6 million.

Both companies will appeal, and the process could take years. In the meantime, a second important trial is scheduled for this summer, and a separate federal case in Oakland involving school districts is also advancing. The pressure on platforms to settle the thousands of remaining cases will grow considerably.

Long-term impact?

For users, the immediate practical picture is less clear. Meta and YouTube are unlikely to make significant changes to their platforms while the appeals process plays out. Any redesign – if it comes – is likely to be incremental and carefully managed to minimise disruption to the engagement model that drives their revenues.

But there is a harder question the verdict does not answer: will it actually change anything? Meta and YouTube are companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars. A US$6 million damages award is not going to restructure the attention- and surveillance-driven economy.

My research on digital overuse – based on in-depth interviews with digital users and studies of online communities discussing digital overuse and detox – shows that even people who are fully aware of the problem and genuinely want to reduce their screen time find it extraordinarily difficult to do so.

This is not because they lack willpower, but because the features driving compulsive use are not bugs in the system. They are the system, built to maximise engagement and advertising revenue.

For years, big tech has placed the burden of managing screen time squarely on individuals and parents – encouraging screen time limits, digital detoxes, and parental controls while continuing to engineer products specifically designed to defeat exactly that kind of self-regulation.

The jury has pushed back against that logic. Whether courts, regulators, and legislators will push hard enough to force genuine structural redesign remains to be seen. However, the European Commission has already made the preliminary finding that TikTok’s addictive design features are in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act.

What this verdict does, at minimum, is shift the ground. For the first time, a jury has confirmed what researchers have argued for years: this is not a story of weak willpower or bad parenting. It is, at least in part, a story of deliberate product design. That matters – even if the real fight is still to come.

Mickeleate, close to its junction with North Street, has been temporarily closed by City of York Council.

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Confirming this in a statement, a spokesperson said: “This morning our teams were inspecting Micklegate as part of our routine highways maintenance and discovered a void under the road.

“We’ve had to temporarily close the bottom of Micklegate to vehicles while we investigate, before the issue is fixed.

“Thanks for everyone’s patience while we urgently investigate.”

Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the road, City of York Council has confirmed (Image: City of York Council)

Businesses along the road, the council said, will open as usual tomorrow, with pavements open to pedestrians and mobility aid users.

Cyclists will also be able to use the route, following signed diversions set up today.

There are mixed emotions ahead as a huge Emmerdale favourite heads off for a new life.

Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) gears up to whisk daughter Frankie away for a fresh start when an opportunity presents itself.

Actress Amy Walsh has left the soap to head off and have a baby, which means Tracy has to disappear, at least for a bit. And there comes the fresh start.

Lately, Tracy has been behaving hecking suspiciously in having weird and secretive phone calls – ditching her post in the shop to take a call with a friend, and completely ignoring Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) in the pub while furiously typing on her phone. There’s something afoot.

Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) gets wind of this impending change and confronts Tracy when she learns that she plans to move house.

After the year she’s had, it’s no wonder Tracy wants a fresh start. Husband Nate seemed to disappear of the face of the Earth in 2024 when he took up a job in Shetland and cut contact.

Then his body was discovered in the lake.

Then Tracy was accused of his murder after evidence was planted in her house and her own sister wouldn’t provide her with an alibi.

Then it transpired that mad medic John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) had accidentally killed him.

That’s a lot for anyone to process in the space of a year or so.

Tracy has had to navigate life a single, grieving mum who for a time was even estranged from daughter Frankie’s family and any kind of support. So now things are coming back around and she’s focusing back on herself. Good for her, sad for us.

She’s packing up her and Frankie’s lives and heading out of the village, but with everything going on with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), it looks like he might miss his granddaughter’s farewell. Will cancer-suffering Cain be dealt yet another blow by missing their final goodbye?

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Amy Walsh announced the birth of her baby girl on March 23.

The adorable picture she shared on her Instagram is of the little baby’s feet. In the caption, Amy announced to her followers that her daughter was actually born last week.

She wrote: ‘This time last week I was heading into established labour.

‘We’ve been in the most magical bubble ever since.’

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