The mayor has announced his office will pay for free bus travel to and from school for children placed in temporary accommodation on Thursday (February 5).

Eight Greater Manchester MPs backed the move of a free bus pass for schoolchildren in temporary housing more than 30 minutes’ walk from class after schools with homeless children hit out at government transport rules.

They say youngsters are only eligible for free travel if they live more than two miles from class (three miles for over-eights) and no ‘suitable school’ is nearer. But it’s almost impossible to be further than two miles from a school in the city.

They argued that because most temporary accommodation placements are often miles from home, it presented homeless families a difficult choice: Pay for buses they didn’t need to before, or move a child away from a support network when they need it most.

Mr Burnham confirmed that money will be set aside in his office’s new budget, and free Bee Network bus travel to and from school will be available for children from later this year.

He said: “Temporary accommodation is a symptom of wider housing and inequality issues up and down the country.

“We’re pioneering a new approach in Greater Manchester. It’s amongst the most ambitious in the UK, and we are working hard to reduce homelessness, with better support, early intervention, and, critically, more high-quality, affordable homes. Part of that is reducing the need for families to be in temporary accommodation.

“Using our locally-controlled Bee Network buses to support families when they need it most is the right thing to do. A move into temporary accommodation is often a massive upheaval for families and can be a worrying time. 

“With this measure, the cost of travel to school will be one less thing for families to worry about. It will mean parents and carers don’t have to choose between an extra demand on their household budget and keeping their children with friends and teachers they know and trust.”

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed money is set aside for the scheme in its budget that is ready to be approved next week.

Should it get the green light as expected, TfGM said it will work with the region’s 10 councils to finalise details on eligibility and implement it ‘later this year’.

A man has now been charged in relation to the death of a 38-year-old man in the city on December 31.

A man has been arrested and charged following the death of a man in Dundee on Hogmanay. The alarm was raised at around 2.05pm when emergency services were called to Hilltown Terrace on Wednesday, December 31.

A 38-year-old man was pronounced dead within Tulloch Court in the Tayside city. A post mortem was carried out shortly after but ruled the man’s death as “unexplained”.

Cops conducted more than 80 door-to-door enquiries and reviewed over 100 hours of CCTV footage in an effort to trace the man’s movements before he was found.

Police Scotland has now confirmed that a 43-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the man’s death. He is due to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court on Monday, February 9.

Last month, it was revealed that the man who passed away was seen on CCTV to be wearing a black and grey horizontal striped beanie hat, dark puffer jacket, dark joggers and black Nike trainers with white soles. However, when he was discovered, he was not wearing a hat or shoes.

Police were keen to locate the hat and shoes as it could help them understand his movements. They were also looking to speak with anyone who may have seen the man in Hilltown between 11.30am and 2.05pm on Hogmanay.

Detective Inspector Simon Murray said at the time: “My thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died. Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of his death.

“While we’ve spoken to many local residents, I’m appealing for anyone else with information, who has not already come forward, to contact us. I’m particularly keen to speak to anyone who saw a man matching the description between 11.30am and 2.05pm on Wednesday, December 31 in the Hilltown area.

“I also want to find the shoes and hat he was seen wearing earlier in the day. It may be that he has taken these off and left them somewhere, which could help us trace his movements.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland previously said: “Detectives are appealing for information as their investigation continues into the death of a man in Dundee.

“Following the results of a post-mortem examination, his death continues to be treated as unexplained and enquiries are ongoing.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting reference 1687 of December 31. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Catherine O’Hara passed away aged 71 last week, leaving Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone fans devastated.

An “incredibly underrated” Catherine O’Hara film has been added to Netflix just days after the Hollywood icon’s death.

Tributes have flooded in since news of actress Catherine O’Hara’s death on Friday, January 30, with fans, family and her co-stars expressing their grief for the star.

Many will best associate the 71-year-old with the classic Christmas film Home Alone, while others will remember her as the eccentric Moira Rose from sitcom Schitt’s Creek.

But these were far from her only pieces of work with a “forgotten classic” of O’Hara’s debuting back in 1986.

Labelling it a “10 out of 10”, a fan commented on IMDb: “I can watch this movie over and over again and will never get tired of it

“It is full of tears and laughter and you can’t help loving it. I take this movie to my heart forever.”

This 1980s romcom follows the story of food critic Rachel Samstat and journalist Mark Forman who quickly fall head over heels for one another and move in together.

However, it isn’t long before Mark’s infidelity while Rachel is pregnant drastically changes their lives as they know it as they question if they really have a future.

Heartburn stars Sophie’s Choice legend Meryl Streep as Rachel and The Shining icon Jack Nicholson as Mark, while O’Hara is behind Betty, a close gossipy friend of Rachel’s.

Streep led tributes following her Heartburn co-star’s death, sharing that she brought “love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed”.

Heartburn dropped today, Friday, February 6, on Netflix, exactly one week following O’Hara’s passing.

A fan described Heartburn as their “all time favourite romantic drama”, as a second described it as a “forgotten classic”.

This sentiment was echoed by another user writing: “This is my favorite movie and I believe it’s incredibly underrated!”

Another agreed: “Despite all the depressing cheating that goes on, this is still a movie which everybody with a romantic heart could really enjoy, because the spirit of this movie is unbreakable: You will still believe in love after having seen this heartbreaking comedy.

“I would almost like to applaud, just in admiration of this very subtle masterpiece.”

Heartburn is available to watch on Netflix

Fans of Coca-Cola have been treated to a brand new flavour designed to bring a ‘nostalgic’ feel to the taste – as fans rush to get their hands on it before it sells out

The newest Coca-Cola flavour is taking people back to the 80’s as the brand has just launched a Cherry Float. The iconic fizzy drink company has launched a whole host of fun flavours over the years including vanilla and lime as well as regular cherry, but now the cherry float has been spotted on shelves.

The new flavour was inspired by the “nostalgic taste of classic soda floats” and offers “bold cherry notes with smooth vanilla” and shoppers are rushing to get their hands on it.

According to Coca-Cola, this new drink is inspired from the US, and has been made to provide the taste of a classic Cherry Coke Float. While you don’t tend to see ice cream floats much anymore, they were a popular treat in the 50s and 60s, but first emerged in 1874.

READ MORE: Don’t miss a free bottle of Coke at TGJones with your Mirror

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New 1.75L bottles of Cherry Coke Float have been spotted for sale in Asda, priced at £2, but are unavailable online and it joins as a permanent flavour for the brand. It also comes in in 330ml cans for £1.25.

Rob Yeomans, vice-president of commercial development, said: “This launch is set to be a standout performer. It’s a winning combination, and we’ve got some high-profile marketing activity lined up to help retailers make the most of it,” as reported by The Grocer.

Ellie D’Silva, senior marketing manager at Coca-Cola GB, added: “Cherry flavours continue to be a fan favourite, and the introduction of Cherry Float across both original and zero sugar variants gives consumers even more choice within the Coca-Cola Cherry range. Inspired by the nostalgic taste of classic soda floats, the new flavour reflects our continued focus on innovation while offering fans new ways to enjoy the iconic Coca-Cola taste.”

The current Coca-Cola flavours available currently in the UK are:

• Coca-Cola
• Coca-Cola Lime
• Coca-Cola Cherry
• Coca-Cola Lemon
• Coca-Cola Cherry Float
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Lime
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Lemon
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cherry
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Vanilla
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Oreo (limited-edition, not always available)
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Caffeine Free
• Diet Coke
• Diet Coke No Caffeine
• Diet Coke Sublime Lime
• Diet Coke Cherry

The new flavour comes after Home Bargains shoppers were left divided after finding the new Orange Cream Coca-Cola flavour, priced at £1.29 a can. The drink is described by Coca-Cola as tasting of orange and vanilla – but fans weren’t quite sure what to make of it.

Commenting on a post on the NewfoodsUK Facebook group, one person said: “It tastes like spiced rum and coke rather than an instantly detectable orange flavour. But very nice all the same,” while another commented: “They just taste like Vanilla Coke.” A third person commented: “If you want that flavour get Fanta and vanilla ice cream.” A fourth person added: “Had it in Vegas in April quite nice tbh [to be honest].”

Deborah was last seen on Turks Road in Radcliffe at around 11.22am on Thursday, February 5, and officers are “increasingly concerned” about her.

The 62-year-old, from Bury, is described as a white female, around 5ft 7in tall with a medium build and brown hair.

Deborah, 62 (Image: GMP)

She was last seen wearing a red anorak, blue jeans and a small white rucksack.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have released a CCTV image of when she was last seen and are asking for anyone with information to get in touch.

You can contact them by calling 101 and quoting log 2293 of 05/02/26.

The crown of French Empress Eugenie recovered after last year’s Louvre heist was left damaged – but remains largely intact and will be restored, the museum has said. 

Jewels worth an estimated £76m were stolen in an audacious raid at the museum in Paris on 19 October last year.

The thieves, who pulled off the heist in minutes while the attraction was open to visitors, left a diamond-studded headpiece belonging to the wife of Napoleon III – who ruled France in the 19th century – after dropping it during their escape.

The crown suffered “crushing damage” and was “significantly deformed” – but restoration will be possible without the need for reconstruction or re-creation, the museum said in a statement.

The museum also released photographs of the damaged crown, which it said is missing one of eight golden eagles that adorned it but retains its 56 emeralds and all but 10 of its 1,354 diamonds.

The restoration will be overseen by an expert committee led by the Louvre‘s director Laurence des Cars.

Five people have been charged with involvement in the heist, however, the stolen haul – which included jewellery linked to other royal figures from French history – has not been recovered.

The gang used a stolen furniture lift to access the second floor Galerie d’Apollon, a room in the Louvre outside which Empress Eugenie’s crown was found.

They then cracked open display cases with angle grinders before escaping with their loot and fleeing on the back of two scooters driven by accomplices.

Read more from Sky News:
One dead, three injured after Dublin bus crash
Winter Olympics struck by norovirus outbreak

Speaking shortly after the heist, art detective Arthur Brand told Sky News: “These crown jewels are so famous, you just cannot sell them.

“The only thing they can do is melt the silver and gold down, dismantle the diamonds, try to cut them. That’s the way they will probably disappear forever.”

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s pro-democracy former media tycoon Jimmy Lai will be sentenced Monday following his conviction in December under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, could face up to life in prison in the case that has stirred criticism from some foreign governments.

The judiciary said Friday on its website that it’s calling for the sentencing session at 10 a.m. Monday.

Lai was an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party and was arrested in 2020 under the national security law that Beijing deemed necessary for the city’s stability following anti-government protests the previous year.

His trial was widely seen as an indicator of the decline of press freedom in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. But the city’s government insists the case has nothing to do with media freedom.

The sentencing could create tensions between Beijing and foreign governments. Lai’s conviction already drew criticism from the U.S. and Britain. After the December verdict, U.S. President Donald Trump, who had raised Lai’s case with China, said he felt “so badly.” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration has called for the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.

Hong Kong’s Chief Justice Andrew Cheung said in January that calls for prematurely releasing a defendant based on political causes or identity circumvent legal procedures to ensure accountability and “strike at the very heart of the rule of law itself.”

Lai was found guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He was accused of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to ask foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges, while the six former Apple Daily journalists and two activists who are co-defendants entered pleas that could result in reduced sentences. They all are expected to return to court Monday to hear their fate.

Lai previously was convicted of several lesser offenses related to fraud allegations and his actions in 2019. He is serving a nearly six-year prison term for the fraud case.

In October 1945, George Orwell responded to a letter from Mr J. Stewart Cook in the leftwing weekly newspaper Tribune calling for more science education.

The call can hardly have come as a surprise. War had brought science and engineering to the fore – from the Spitfire fighter plane and radar to Bletchley Park’s codebreakers – and now that war was over, many thought it was time to build a brave new world. Science had won the war; the view was that it should build the peace.

Only the week before, in the same newspaper, Orwell had warned of the dangers posed by the atomic bomb. He was not a pacifist – far from it. But he started off by saying how likely it was that the world would “be blown to pieces by it within the next five years”, and ended with a stark warning against big science.

The bigger and more scientific the weapons, Orwell argued, the bigger and more authoritarian the state. And the bigger and more authoritarian the states that held those weapons, the greater the likelihood that an unstable stand-off between them would run and run, until the unthinkable happened.

Given this scenario, which he was the first to call a “cold war”, Orwell wanted to know exactly what Mr Cook meant by asking for more science education: did he want more scientists in laboratories, or did he want more people in general trained to think more scientifically?

If it was a call for more scientists in lab coats, Orwell pondered whether there was any plausible reason for expecting it to be in the public interest. Chemists might think so, clearly, but what about the rest of us? Why more chemists over more historians, say, or more writers, or philosophers, or economists?

In Orwell’s view, scientists at war had shown themselves to be just as self-interested, just as nationalist, just as Nazi, and just as politically illiterate and mistaken as everybody else. A few million more was not going to make things better – and maybe worse.

He wrote: “The fact is that a mere training in one or more of the exact sciences, even combined with very high gifts, is no guarantee of a humane or sceptical outlook. The physicists of half a dozen great nations, all feverishly working away at the atom bomb, are a demonstration of this.”

On the other hand, more science as a way of thinking had Orwell’s full support. In his Tribune response (republished in the third volume of his collected essays), he defined this as “a rational, sceptical, experimental habit of mind”.

Only, Orwell averred, you don’t have to be a scientist to think like this. And away from the test tubes and reactors, a scientist might not think like this. An illiterate peasant could be just as rational, just as sceptical and just as experimental, in his own domain at least. Yet no one, least of all a fellow of the Royal Society, was going to call him a “scientist”.

The whole argument, Orwell feared, might end up dropping the notion of more scientific thinking across the population, and “simply boil down to” more physics, less literature, and a narrowing of thought all round.

Orwell leaves it there. Not very profound, you might think, but in the best Orwellian manner, designed to catch your sleeve and make you think.

The blessings of science

When he was at Eton, Orwell wrote a short story for the school magazine called A Peep into the Future. In it, a mad professor takes over the school to impose a reign of terror based on the “blessings of science”.

Until, that is, one Sunday morning in chapel, a mighty proletarian woman – “massive hands on her hips” – comes striding down the aisle to take a swipe that relieves the professor of his dignity and his position. “A good smackin’ is what you want,” she said. And a good smackin’ is what he got. “He was never seen again … the reign of science was at an end.”

There might be shades of Big Brother in this schoolboy story, except that Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, is not about the reign of science but a reign of terror devoted to the complete eradication of science.

The whole point of the ruling party “Ingsoc” (a left-fascist totalitarian regime) is the destruction of the concept of objective truth, discoverable in nature. Instead of experimentation, there is only manipulation. Instead of reasoning, there is only fear. Instead of facts, there are only lies. It is axiomatic that two plus two equals five and always will, so long as the party says so.

Winston Smith’s interrogator, an intelligent man by most other measures, tells Winston that he (the interrogator) could identify as a soap bubble if he wanted to, and float off. And nobody was going to say he couldn’t. Winston tries and has his brain reprogrammed for the effort.

Seeing things ‘as they are’

Orwell’s fiction was more concerned with essences than probabilities. As for his non-fiction, although he rarely invoked statistics or empirical research, he operated as near to the general scientific method as possible, given the human condition.

Getting it right, seeing things “as they are”, was one of his four reasons for writing. Orwell is forever at pains to establish the facts, to reason in plain sight, to show due caution, and to experiment in the only way politico-literary criticism can experiment – by imagining the alternatives.

With or without Donald Trump, there are always alternative facts, and writers must search them out. Thomas Hobbes’s view of man in a state of nature is not the same as fellow philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s, and the facts are legion on both sides.

Orwell’s personal library contained a few popular science volumes but was mainly literary. He adhered to the scientific method like the “illiterate peasant” he was at heart – a man who was at his happiest in his garden, eyeing the weather and measuring the soil by instinct and experience.

Let Orwell find a problem, and he would bring the full width of his reasoning to bear. But in the end, words are an art not a science, and there are no rules except a pitch for the truth.

This article includes references to books included for editorial reasons, and links to bookshop.org. If you click a link and go on to buy something from bookshop.org, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

Willow’s parents say there are still no answers as to what happened to their little girl

A couple whose 17-month-old daughter died unexpectedly with no prior symptoms say they have been left without “answers” for her cause of death, describing the sudden loss as “surreal”. Ella McNally, 23, a nurse, and her partner Josh Forrest, 24, a joiner, who live in Nottingham, welcomed their “beautiful daughter” Willow Poppy Forrest into the world on June 4 2023.

On the evening of November 11 2024, Ella said she put Willow to bed as normal and checked the baby monitor throughout the night but, when she called her name in the morning to wake her up, she did not respond. After calling an ambulance and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Willow was then blue-lighted to hospital, where it was confirmed she had died on November 12 2024, aged 17 months old.

A post-mortem examination and further testing was carried out, and Willow’s cause of death was ruled as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), leaving Ella and Josh without “any answers”. Now, in Willow’s memory, the couple are preparing to take on the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April to raise awareness and funds for the charity SUDC UK.

“We were waiting and hoping we’d get answers,” Ella said. “But even now, it has been nearly 15 months since she passed away, so she’s almost been gone as long as we had her, and the questions still nag because there aren’t any answers.

“I’m doing (the marathon) for Willow, and for any other family who has experienced this, and I know she’ll be with me all the way.”

SUDC UK says Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) is the sudden and unexpected death of a child, between one and 18 years of age, which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation is conducted. Approximately 40 children in the UK are affected by SUDC each year, and the charity says no-one can predict or prevent these deaths, neither parents nor medical professionals, at this time.

If a child is under 24 months, some guidelines use the term Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) instead of SUDC, and therefore this may be listed as the cause of death. Ella said Willow was born on June 4 2023 with “no complications” and she had no health issues, other than one case of hand, foot and mouth disease, which is a common childhood illness.

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Describing Willow, Ella said: “She was bubbly, clever and really cheeky. She had everyone wrapped around her finger.” On November 11 2024, Willow spent the day with Ella’s parents while she was on placement for her nursing degree and Josh was away for work, and they noticed she had a higher temperature.

However, by the evening, Willow’s temperature had returned to normal after taking the medicine Calpol. “She had a bath and she was splashing around and singing nursery rhymes, so she seemed totally fine,” Ella explained. Ella and her sister brought Willow home, read her bedtime stories and gave her a bottle of milk before putting her to bed.

Ella kissed her goodnight, said “I love you” and put on some calming white noise with her Tonie device, checking the baby monitor several times throughout the night. In the morning, Ella checked the baby monitor again and said, from the angle of the monitor, it just looked like Willow was asleep and “nothing was out of the ordinary”.

However, when she went to wake Willow up, she said her name a few times and she did not respond. “I thought she was just messing about at first,” Ella said. “I didn’t think anything of it because I was just stood at her door, but by the fourth time I’d said it and she didn’t respond, I rushed to get her.”

With Willow “unresponsive”, Ella rushed her downstairs and said she “screamed at (her) sister to ring the ambulance” before performing CPR. Willow was then blue-lighted to King’s Mill Hospital and Ella was transported in a police vehicle, and Ella had to call Josh to explain what was happening.

Not long after their arrival, Ella said she was called into a room by medical professionals and told Willow had died that morning. “I feel like my heart just dropped when Willow wasn’t replying because it was very unusual,” Ella explained. “I couldn’t really believe it. It was just a normal morning and she was fine the night before.

“With my healthcare background, I knew that there wasn’t anything more we could do, but I didn’t want to accept that. It’s just surreal.”

Ella and Josh were able to see Willow to say their goodbyes in the hospital, and they were given a 4Louis memory box, which offers a way for bereaved families to store meaningful keepsakes and mementos. In the following days, the couple and family members visited Willow while she was in the mortuary for around an hour each day, and they read her books, including one of her favourites, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.

Her funeral was held in December 2024, when she was buried with her favourite elephant blanket that she called “her baby”, a pink bunny toy and her Crocs, among other cherished possessions. “It was just a blur, the whole day was surreal,” Ella said.

“Seeing how many people were there to say their goodbyes, that’s what set me off and it hit me – this is real.”

Ella said she and Josh underwent genetic testing afterwards to see if that would provide any answers, but the results came back as normal. Months after her death, the couple received a coronial post-mortem report, which ruled Willow’s cause of death as SUDI, and they said “nothing was flagged” other than her being a “healthy, happy child”.

“I don’t think anything’s ever going to be answered or eased, and to be honest, most of the time it doesn’t actually feel like it’s happened,” Ella said. “It just feels like the time we had with her is like a fever dream.”

She added: “You can try going back to normal, but I feel like with grief, it sneaks up on you when you least expect it.”

Ella explained that she and Josh have not moved or rearranged Willow’s possessions in their home, even leaving her snacks in the cupboard and her water bottle in the fridge, as they want to “memorialise it”. Ella said she returned to university to finish her degree, as she knew Willow would not want her to “wallow at home”, and she graduated in September 2025 and was nominated for the most inspirational student award.

The couple know they have to “keep going” and have found comfort “leaning” on each other and family members, and they want to speak out to help other families affected by SUDI or SUDC. Now, they are preparing for the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise more awareness and funds for the charity SUDC UK, with a current target of £3,000, and Ella said it will be an “emotional” day.

“We had never heard of SUDC until it happened to us… but we just want every child to be remembered and for the message to be put across,” Ella said. “We will never stop talking about Willow.”

Pascale Harvie, president and general manager at JustGiving, said: “Ella’s decision to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon is a deeply moving tribute to Willow’s memory. By championing the work of SUDC UK, she is turning her personal grief into a lifeline for other families.

“Everyone at JustGiving is in awe of her strength and resilience, and we’ll be cheering her on every step of the way.”

To donate or find out more, visit the JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/page/ella-mcnally-1