Other winners on the night included Donovan Haffner, who won breakthrough act of the year, Omar, who won soul act of the year, Joe Webb, who was given instrumentalist of the year, Yazmin Lacey, who won vocalist of the year, and Emma-Jean Thackray, who picked up the innovation award.

Named Chip and Dale, the large semiaquatic rodents travelled from the Gaia Zoo in the Netherlands and are now settling into their new home in the park’s Amazonas Reserve.

Born on the June 9 last year, the young capybaras have already made a positive impression on animal rangers with their “laid back attitude” and adjusted so well to their new environment that they were allowed outside just days after arriving.

Dr Charlotte MacDonald, Director of Animals, said: “We are delighted to welcome Chip and Dale to the park.

“They have settled in well after their long journey.

“We let them outside and they had a good look around before heading straight back into their house.

“Capybaras are very sociable animals, and we are sure that they will be very popular amongst visitors.

“The Amazonas reserve transports visitors to the Amazon rainforest and is home to some incredible South American species.

“The capybaras will live amongst our monkeys – golden lion tamarins, silvery marmosets, red titi monkeys and other South American rodents, the Mara and agouti.”

The reserve offers a walk-through experience, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the habitat and observe the animals up close as they move freely around the space.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, closely related to guinea pigs, and are known for their highly social nature.

They spend much of their time in water, using their partially webbed feet to swim and submerging for up to five minutes at a time.

They often hide underwater to evade predators and can sleep while submerged, keeping only their nostrils above the surface to breathe.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park, on the outskirts of Doncaster is home to a range of rare and endangered animals, including Amur tigers, giraffes, black rhinos, and polar bears.

The park’s broader resort includes the Hex Wildlife Hotel and the Yorkshire Hive, a nearby complex offering shopping, dining, and entertainment options for visitors.

The delays are due to ‘overhead wire damage’ outside Manchester Piccadilly, meaning there are ‘signficant delays’ going to and from this station.

Travellers are advised to avoid the following routes entirely:

• Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe
• Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke on Trent
• Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield
• Manchester Piccadilly to Buxton
• Manchester Piccadilly to Chester

The following routes are still in service but are subject to delays and, in some cases, cancellations:

• Manchester Airport, Piccadilly and Blackpool / Liverpool
• Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield
• Manchester Piccadilly and Rose Hill Marple
• Manchester Piccadilly and New Mills Central

In a social media post, Northern Rail alerted passengers to the fact that they can use their tickets on Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, TPExpress Trains, Cross Country UK, and TFWrail trains, though these trains are likely to be affected by the same issue.

Northern Rail tickets will also be accepted in the Manchester area on Bee Network and Metrolink services via ‘reasonable routes’.

This will include Bee Network bus services.

The disruption is currently expected to last until about 4pm while workers attempt to fix the problem.

The Prescot venue unveiled the programme on Wednesday, April 15, promising a wide-ranging line-up of productions.

The Cockpit Theatre will stage a “bold, immediate and immersive” staging of Macbeth, directed by associate artist Ben Crystal.

The Playhouse describes the new season as a celebration of “creativity in all its forms,” offering something for every taste and age group.

A spokesperson for the Shakespeare North Playhouse said: “The highlight of the season is one of Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies, as Shakespeare North’s Associate Artist Ben Crystal brings Macbeth into the Cockpit Theatre in Autumn 2026.

“Bold, immediate and immersive, this production places audiences at the heart of ambition, intrigue, power and fate.

“A summer-long celebration in the Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, with open-air Shakespeare, opera and family favourites.

“Across the other spaces of the building, artists and audiences can explore identity, history, humour and imagination.

“With something for everyone, Shakespeare North continues to bring communities together.”

The Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden will again serve as the heart of the summer season, hosting open-air Shakespeare, opera, and family-friendly performances.

Plays scheduled for the outdoor stage include The Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It.

The Studio programme will focus on new writing and inventive storytelling.

Scheduled works include Out The Woodwork by Gingerlee Does It and The Story of Edith Smith by Pauline Fleming, alongside comedy performances such as Off Grid, which blends stand-up with theatre to explore themes of generational divide and binary politics.

Highlights include Reynard the Fox, The Almost Complete History of Britain, and a family-friendly version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

For the festive season, Colour the Clouds returns with A Very Messy Christmas and Wrongsemble’s Tinsel.

The comedy and fringe programme will feature Alex Stringer’s Happy Hour and the provocatively titled Women Aren’t Funny.

The Heading North Fringe Festival in May will showcase new work ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe, including Lambslaughter, The Hanged Man’s Bride, One Man Poe, The Perfect Match, and It Happened On A Tuesday.

More details and booking information are available at www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk.

 In 2026, St John Ambulance celebrates the 40th anniversary of its National Cadet of the Year competition, recognising four decades of young people who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to learning lifesaving skills and serving their communities.

The milestone was marked at a special event on Friday, April 10, attended by HRH The Princess Royal, St John Ambulance’s Commandant-in-Chief – Youth.

We also had the privilege of welcoming the very first National Cadet of the Year from 1987, Simon Stockill, alongside several holders of the title from across the four decades of the competition, up to the present day.

Since the award was established, many former National and Regional Cadets of the Year, including Simon, have gone on to careers in healthcare, medicine and the emergency services.

Others have taken the confidence, discipline and sense of social responsibility developed through their time as Cadets into a wide range of professions.

That journey often begins through St John Ambulance’s Badgers and Cadets programmes, where young people from the age of five learn first aid, build resilience and develop a practical understanding of helping others.

Readers interested in youth opportunities with St John Ambulance – whether that is for their children or as a potential Youth Leader or Helper – can find out more at https://www.sja.org.uk/get-involved/young-people/.

Yours faithfully,

Kevin Munday, Chief Commissioner, St John Ambulance

Sarah Kasseum is one of five defendants who are currently on trial accused of murdering 47-year-old Paul Foster

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A mum accused of murder claimed she was ‘smoking crack’ in a car outside, while a man was fatally stabbed in a flat.

Paul Foster died aged 47 after suffering a single stab wound to the back during a “taxing” on Muirhead Avenue in West Derby.

His assailants were said to have been “tooled up” with a knife and an imitation firearm at the time of the robbery, stealing drugs and a quantity of cash from the address before fleeing. Four men and a woman, Elsadig Abrahim, Zayd Alasaly, Dylan Blundell, Michael Fields and Sarah Kasseum are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of his murder.

Kasseum began giving her evidence to the jury this afternoon, Thursday (April 16) LiverpoolEcho reports. Under questioning from her barrister Peter Finnigan KC, she also described how Blundell told her in the aftermath of the stabbing that he had witnessed Fields “passing a knife” to Alasaly, who was reported to have “given a smack” to Mr Foster.

Wearing all black in the witness box, Kasseum appeared to become tearful as she was sworn in on the bible before denying having intended for the victim to be killed or seriously injured. She also maintained that she was not aware that others who attended the apartment had been armed with a knife and an air pistol and claimed she was unaware of any planned robbery.

Kasseum went on to detail how she had been a crack cocaine user for “many years”, having also sold drugs in order to fund her habit. Turning to the hours before the stabbing, she recalled how she had been present at the address of a man named Tony Conroy on St Mary’s Close in Wavertree and said: “I was having a pipe in the living room.

“I think Ziggy [Abrahim] and Dylan were in the living room with me. Zayd, Mick and Tony were in the kitchen talking.

“We had our pipe and then we got off.”

Asked “how much crack she had consumed” that day, Kasseum reported “I couldn’t tell you, a lot”. Of the drug’s effect on her, she said: “It keeps me awake really.

“I’m having my pipe, chilling. I’d been up for two or three days. I was alright. I was aware what was going on around me.

“They was all just trying to get heroin. It was too late.

“They weren’t on. They weren’t answering. Some people are on 24/7.

“Sometimes they run out of heroin or they have crack more.”

When Mr Finnigan asked about the topic of conversation at this time, Kasseum replied: “Just the usual. Chatting s****. Mick waffling on.

“His usual s****. Crack talk basically, nothing out the ordinary.”

Having been homeless and staying with various friends at the time, Kasseum recalled: “I was meant to say at Tony Conroy’s, but I wasn’t staying there because Kieran Hannon was staying there. It’s not that I couldn’t.

“I could have, but I didn’t want to because of Kieran Hannon. He was just a pest, always trying to get on me.

“I was gonna go back to either Eugene [Brown]’s or [Paul] Tully’s, but Tully was in town, so I took the decision to go back to Eugene’s. I asked Mick could he drop me off.

“He said yeah. He said just shoot down here with me first.

“He said just shoot here with me, meaning Muirhead Avenue, then I’ll drop you back off. He said he’s going to Muirhead Avenue to see that kid, Pablo.

“I’d just heard through Mick about him, just that Mick was owed money off him. He’d give him bits previously, stuff to sell, and he owed him a bit of dough.

“That was just the conversation throughout the day in Eugene’s.”

Having left in Fields’ Kia Ceed car in the front passenger seat with Blundell, Abrahim and Alasaly in the rear, Kasseum said: “The conversation in the car was whether he’s even going to get an answer off the kid, Pablo.

“He’d been blanking him for a few days. Mick had heard nothing off him.

“He said, would you get out for me? You’ve got more chance of getting in, he’s gonna blank me.

“I said yeah, alright. I didn’t know nothing. I just thought he was going to get his dough he was owed.

“He was just gonna get his money off that kid. Also, he was saying that he could have bobby [heroin] for them, Ziggy and Dylan.

“I got out. I’m just in front a little bit. They were behind me.

“I buzzed the buzzer. A girl come, knocked on the top window.

“She went away from the window, then the door buzzed to gain access.”

Having opened the door to the flat, Kasseum said she then “went off, went back to the car” and added: “I was having my pipe in the car. Just listening to my music.”

Kasseum reported that the males later returned to the car “quick, all like ‘just get in the car’, shut the doors” and said: “I said to Mick, what happened?

“Did you get your money? He said, did I f***. My man smacked him up. Give him a smack.”

Fields was said to have gestured towards Alasaly at this stage before the car was driven “fast, heading back towards the way we come”.

Kasseum said of this: “We pulled up into Tony’s close. Dylan and Ziggy were in the car.

“Zayd and Mick got out the car and ran into Tony’s. I turned around to Dylan and said, what the f***’s gone on kid?

Dylan turned round and said he seen Mick passing Zayd the knife.”

Kasseum stated she later asked for “someone to phone me a taxi” as she “wanted to get off”. Having left with Abrahim and Blundell in the vehicle, she said of the “atmosphere” at this stage: “They were quiet.

“It was horrible. My head was everywhere. I didn’t know what had gone on.”

The jury of six men and six women previously heard during the prosecution’s opening last week that Mr Foster dealt drugs from the home of a now deceased woman named Lyndzi McCowan on Muirhead Avenue, where Fields was said to have driven his four co-defendants to in his black Kia Ceed car shortly after after 1.30am on October 15 2024.

David McLachlan KC, appearing for the crown, said: “They were not going to Muirhead Avenue for a little drive on a Tuesday morning in the early hours.

“The prosecution say that they were in the car for a purpose, and it was not a good purpose. The purpose was to rob Paul Foster of his money and his drugs in what is known commonly as taxing, and they went tooled up. By that, we mean that they were armed with a knife and an imitation firearm.”

Upon their arrival, Kasseum was said to have been “deployed to gain entry” to the address using the intercom, having apparently been “in the know” and “close enough to Paul Foster to know where he was and close enough to know what he did”.

Mr McLachlan told the court: “Lyndzi McCowan buzzed her in. It did not work and, in fact, nobody arrived at the flat, so Lyndzi McCowan walked down to speak to the girl, Sarah Kasseum, who had been buzzed in.

“As she made her way downstairs, she was confronted by three males running at her. They were dressed in black. She did not see the girl that she had seen from the window. Lyndzi McCowan ran back into the flat, no doubt as fast as she could, and tried to shut the door against the males that were trying to barge in. She was screaming. She realised that the males were there to rob Paul Foster.”

These men were heard to say “where is he?”, “where’s the bits?” and “where’s the money?” and were said to be armed with “what appeared to be a gun”. Mr McLachlan added: “During that confrontation, Paul Foster was fatally stabbed in the back.

“What did they do? Well, they legged it. They fled the scene. They took cash, stolen from the flat. They were described as wearing all black clothing and balaclavas. A bloodstained piece of black metal, which was the plastic slide component of an air pistol, was recovered from inside 40A Muirhead Avenue. The knife was never recovered.

“It is the prosecution case that Paul Foster’s death was a direct consequence of a drug taxing where he was living and dealing drugs. It is the prosecution case that Michael Fields drove the offenders to the scene, that Sarah Kasseum was present at the scene and acted as a decoy by posing as someone who intended to purchase drugs from Paul Foster.

“But she was there for an entirely different purpose, that being to facilitate access to the flat for the purpose of the taxing that was to take place. Thereafter, the males went in, Michael Fields, Elsadig Abrahim, Zayd Alasaly and Dylan Blundell. They went in to do their business armed with weapons, a knife and an imitation firearm.

“The prosecution case is that all five defendants went to 40A Muirhead Avenue to rob Paul Foster of his drugs and money. They went mob handed. They were armed with a knife and an imitation firearm. The prosecution case is that they shared a common purpose, and that common purpose was, without a doubt, to rob Paul Foster and, if it came to it, and, sadly, it did, to commit murder.

“Was the stabbing of Paul Foster within the scope of a joint enterprise if the need arose? That will be a question that you will grapple with. The prosecution case is that it obviously was, and it will be necessary for you to consider, individually, what the intentions of each of the defendants was in this case.

“The prosecution case is that, whilst the defendants went to rob Paul Foster, they did so in the knowledge that, if it got on top, they could resort to using the weapons that they had, that were in their joint possession, to wound or to inflict grievous bodily harm with intent. The knife was not a toy, members of the jury.”

Abrahim, aged 61 and of Croxteth Road in Toxteth, 23-year-old Alasaly, of Corinto Street in Toxteth, 26-year-old Blundell, of Corsewall Street in Wavertree, 41-year-old Kasseum, of Lower Breck Road in Anfield, and 50-year-old Fields, of no fixed address, all deny murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Abrahim, Alasaly and Kasseum have also pleaded not guilty to robbery and carrying an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence.

Blundell and Fields, however, admit these two counts, with the latter having similarly pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The trial, before Judge Simon Medland KC, continues.

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Parents that have applied for primary school places for this September received offers on Thursday (April 16)

The percentage of Cambridgeshire children offered places at their first preference primary school this September has been published. According to Cambridgeshire County Council, the percentage of Cambridgeshire children offered their first choice has increased from 94.1 percent to 94.7 per cent.

The proportion offered a place at either their first, second or third choice school has also marginally risen to 98.9 per cent this year, compared to last year. This means that just over one per cent (65 pupils) have been allocated places at other schools.

This is the second lowest proportion recorded in the last five years. This year saw a slight fall in the total number of applications received for a primary school place – from 6,457 in 2025 to 6,313 this year.

“We’re committed to providing children with the best possible start in life and offering a high quality education that’s close to home is key,” Cllr Edna Murphy, chair of the Children and Young People Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council said.

Cllr Murphy added: “I’d like to thank the council’s admissions and place planning team who I know have worked really hard to offer as many Cambridgeshire children as possible a place at their preferred school.”

It is set to tour the country, showcasing the talents of 10 dancers from the hit BBC show, including Gorka Márquez and Luba Mushtuk.

The tour kicks off on April 29 before making its way across the UK.

Neil Jones and Jowita Przystał (Image: Johan Persson)

It will come to Salford’s The Lowry Lyric Theatre on May 19 and 20 and will culminate at the Blackpool Opera House on May 30.

The show promises an evening of world-class dance, “stunning choreography,” and “glamorous costumes”.

Performers include Australian Dancing With The Stars favourite and new Strictly dancer Julian Caillon, 2023 Strictly winner and 2024 finalist Vito Coppola, four-time British National Champion Neil Jones, and Gorka Márquez.

Alexis Warr & Julian Caillon (Image: Johan Persson)

Also taking to the stage are Italian Dance Championship winner Luba Mushtuk, 2024 Strictly finalist Lauren Oakley, 2022 Strictly winner Jowita Przystał, and American So You Think You Can Dance 2022 winner Alexis Warr.

They are joined by 2021 Strictly finalist Kai Widdrington and World Latin Dance Championships Under 21 finalist Nancy Xu.

Gorka Márquez said: “Speaking on behalf of all my fabulous fellow pros, we’re super excited to be heading out on tour with this great show.

“The audiences should be ready to have a fantastic time when they come to watch us across the UK because we are going to give them our best performance.

Nancy Xu and cast of Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals Tour (Image: Johan Persson)

“We can’t wait to hit the dance floor to entertain everyone.”

A spokesperson added: “Every move, every beat, every shimmer of sequins pulls you into the heart of the action, creating the ultimate night out.”

More information and tickets are available now at strictlytheprofessionals.com.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has widened its efforts beyond the blockade of Iran’s ports to allow its forces around the world to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government, from weapons to oil, metals and electronics.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, specifically pointed to operations in the Pacific, saying the U.S. would be targeting vessels that left before the blockade began earlier this week outside the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy and other shipments.

U.S. forces in other areas of responsibility “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” he told reporters at the Pentagon.

The military also detailed an expansive lists of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location.” A notice published Thursday says any “goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict” are “subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.”

The expansion of U.S. military efforts to target Iranian shipping is another pressure point for Tehran and comes as a ceasefire is set to expire in mere days. Mediators are pressing for an extension to a truce that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

US military details items that could be seized from Iran-linked ships

The military’s new list of banned materials includes products such as weapons, ammunition and military equipment that are classified as “absolute contraband.” However, it also lists items such as oil, iron, steel, aluminum and other goods as “conditional contraband” that it argues can be used both for civilian and military purposes.

Otherwise innocuous items like electronics, power generation equipment or heavy machinery can be seized if “circumstances indicate intended military end-use,” the notice says.

More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports. While no ships have yet been boarded, defense leaders say the military is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they try to outrun the Navy.

In the first three days of the military action, 14 ships have turned around rather than confront the naval blockade, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Iran war.

Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that left through the strait have appeared to halt their movements, turn off their radio transponders or head back toward Iran’s coast, shipping data firms say.

Ships near th

e blockade face US warnings

Vessels that approach the blockade, which is being enforced in Iran’s territorial seas and international waters and not in the Strait of Hormuz, get a warning, Caine said.

“Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship — if need be, board the ship and take her over,” he said.

U.S. Central Command has released a recording of a radio broadcast sent to vessels in the region that said the military was ready to use force if needed to compel compliance.

“Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” the message said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that “less than 10% of America’s naval power” is being used to enforce the blockade. The Navy has 16 warships — 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier and a littoral combat ship — in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.

Also supporting the blockade are a series of aircraft as well as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence operations designed to give the Navy the latest information on the vessels it is encountering.

The Navy is likely tracking ships linked to Iran through satellites, drones and other forms of surveillance as well as each commercial vessel’s past history, said Kevin Donegan, a retired vice admiral and former commander of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.

“It’s a pretty complex operation to make work,” said Donegan, who spoke Thursday during a webinar hosted by the Middle East Institute. “Not just from the intelligence standpoint, but positioning all the ships in the right way to make the intercepts if you have to.”

Donegan stressed that the blockade is only one pressure point on Iran and that it won’t end the conflict on its own.

“For it to be most effective, this military tool is added to the other operational tasks that were being done and paired with — hopefully, diplomacy,” Donegan said. “And if those two are scripted together in the right way, we can potentially get the outcomes we want.”

US Central Command chief appears at the Pentagon

As Hegseth and Caine discussed the blockade, Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, made a rare appearance in the Pentagon briefing room.

He said that before the ceasefire took hold, American service members and troops from allied countries in the Persian Gulf had “fought together side by side.”

“In creating the largest air defense umbrella in the world across the Middle East, we embedded specially trained U.S. military air defenders alongside our partner nation soldiers,” Cooper said, adding that Bahrain’s king and crown prince knew American soldiers by name.