If you’ve spotted more spiders in your home over the past few weeks, you’re not alone.

As summer comes to an end and temperatures begin to fall, sightings of house spiders start to increase across the UK.

Horrified Brits have shared videos online showing eight-legged ‘monsters’ hiding in corners, lurking in the bathtub, racing across the carpet and dangling from the ceiling.

Despite the common belief that spiders suddenly move indoors to escape the cold, experts revealed that autumn is peak mating season for many of the UK’s most common house spiders.

During this time, males leave their usual hiding places in search of females.

And this increased movement, combined with doors and windows being left open during the final weeks of warmer weather, means homeowners are far more likely to notice them.

‘At this time of year, mature male spiders leave their webs and begin roaming in search of females,’ window experts at SolarFrame said.

‘A single female house spider can produce an egg sac containing around 70 young spiders. This means that the more male spiders that easily enter the home, the higher the chance that female spiders will produce egg sacs in living spaces.’

Horrified Brits have shared videos online showing eight-legged ‘monsters’ hiding in corners, lurking in the bathtub, racing across the carpet and dangling from the ceiling

Despite the widespread invasion, there are several simple steps homeowners can take to keep the eight-legged creatures out.

‘Closing your windows won’t completely stop spiders getting into your home, but it takes away one of the easiest routes in,’ Darren Coates, sales director at SolarFrame said.

‘At the minute, I’d be looking to close them by around 8pm, particularly if you’ve had them wide open all day.

‘That’s roughly when it starts getting dark across much of the country, so rather than leaving windows open well into the night, get into the habit of shutting them as the evening draws in.’ 

Experts from Fluid Glass have also shared ways to make your home less attractive to spiders this autumn.

‘One of the biggest misconceptions is that spiders are attracted to homes because they’re warm,’ they said.

‘In reality, they’re usually following a food source. Spiders are predators, so a house full of flies, moths and other insects is effectively an all-you-can-eat buffet.

‘If fruit is left uncovered, food waste is allowed to build up, or recycling isn’t emptied regularly, you’ll often end up attracting the insects that spiders feed on.’

As summer comes to an end and temperatures begin to fall, sightings of house spiders start to increase across the UK

Moving furniture away from the walls when you’re cleaning can help to disrupt existing webs, remove egg sacs and make it far less likely that spiders will settle there long term, they said.

Tackling clutter, especially in garages, lofts and utility rooms, can also help disrupt spiders from natural hiding spots.

Meanwhile, cutting back plants growing against your property can act as a deterrent.

‘Your garden could be making it much easier for spiders to find their way indoors,’ they said.

‘Climbing plants, overgrown shrubs and dense planting around doors and windows create natural pathways between the garden and your home. They also attract the insects that spiders feed on.

‘Trimming plants away from exterior walls, moving stored firewood away from the house and clearing away garden debris can create a useful barrier between outdoor habitats and your living space.’

Damp areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and utility rooms often become spider hotspots, partly because they are humid and partly because they’re where other insects are most likely to gather.

‘Condensation around windows, poor ventilation and damp corners create the sort of environment that many household pests enjoy,’ the experts said. ‘Using extractor fans, opening windows after showering and dealing with leaks promptly can make these spaces much less inviting.’

Despite the common belief that spiders suddenly move indoors to escape the cold, experts revealed that autumn is peak mating season for many of the UK’s most common house spiders. Pictured: A house spider in Yorkshire

Finally, they urged Brits to ‘think twice about outdoor lighting’.

‘Bright lights by your front door or porch are a magnet for moths and other flying insects after dark, and where the insects gather, spiders soon follow,’ they explained.

‘If you’ve got a porch light or security light that’s on all evening, it’s worth switching to a warmer, dimmer bulb or fitting a motion sensor so it’s not left blazing all night.

‘Moving lights away from doors and windows, so the glow doesn’t spill directly onto them, can also help keep insects (and spiders) from congregating right at your entry points.’

Dale Power Solutions Limited, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2025, saw a significant increase in operating profit and turnover, with operating profit rising from £1.6 million to £2.5 million and turnover jumping from £32 million to £38.6 million.

The company, which manufactures, installs, and services generators, UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems, and ancillary equipment, has also broadened its offerings to include renewable energy solutions like battery storage systems.

The firm, whose headquarters is at Salter Road, Eastfield Industrial Estate, Scarborough, completed the acquisition of Calibre Power in Aberdeen, extending its reach into Scotland and enhancing its ability to serve customers in energy-critical environments, such as offshore and remote locations.

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This move has reinforced the company’s service offering and supports its ambition to provide national coverage, continued a report published with the annual results for 2025.

The company also opened a new hub in St Albans to better support customers across the South of England.

This strategic move is part of Dale Power Solutions Limited’s commitment to investing in its national infrastructure to support future growth and improve customer service.

Dale Power Solutions has also expanded its field-based engineering workforce, deploying more service engineers across the UK.

This expanded coverage enables the business to provide faster response times, improved resilience, and enhanced service continuity for customers operating mission-critical power systems.

In addition to geographical expansion, the company continued to grow its activity in energy transition and resilience solutions during 2025.

Demand for renewable energy solutions and hybrid power solutions, including BESS (battery energy storage systems) and UPS, remained strong as customers increasingly focused on energy security, carbon reduction, and net-zero objectives.

The company’s technical expertise and ability to deliver bespoke solutions position it well to support customers as these markets continue to develop.

Dale Power Solutions Limited maintained a disciplined approach to cash management and working capital throughout the year.

Net assets increased to £8.1 million, reflecting strong profitability and retained earnings growth.

Liquidity remained robust, supported by ongoing trading performance and continued support from the company’s funding partners.

In December 2025, the group refinanced its banking facilities, moving to a new National Westminster Bank Plc (Natwest) facility.

The refinancing delivers lower financing costs, increased headroom, and greater flexibility, strengthening the group’s funding platform and supporting continued investment and growth.

Dale Power Solutions Limited entered 2026 with a record high forward order book, providing strong revenue visibility and underpinning the board’s confidence in the outlook.

At December 2025, the forward order book stood at almost £24 million, representing a 15% increase on the prior year.

Overall, 2025 represented a year of strong financial progress, strategic delivery, and national expansion, the company added.

Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff spent over three hours in top-secret talks with Vladimir Putin amid the White House‘s renewed bid to end the war in Ukraine.

The US envoys landed in Moscow Saturday morning and were escorted to the Kremlin by the Russian President’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.

Putin met with Witkoff and Kushner for closed-door talks where he described the conflict as a ‘complicated situation,’ but praised his American counterpart for wanting to end the war.

‘Understanding that he is entering a difficult situation, he nevertheless does not stop his efforts to help bring about a settlement and to make his contribution to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,’ Putin said of Trump. 

Afterward, Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as constructive, frank, and useful to journalists, but didn’t discuss specific outcomes.

He said Moscow offered its ‘comprehensive assessment’ of the battlefield situation in Ukraine, but also that the conversation was not purely focused on Russia’s invasion.

‘Economic issues and potentially large, mutually beneficial joint projects for Russia and America were discussed in considerable detail,’ Ushakov said.

Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals while the talks took place.

Putin described the conflict in Ukraine as a ‘complicated situation,’ but praised Trump for wanting to end the war

Trump described Kushner and Witkoff as two ‘great negotiators’ 

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‘Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,’ presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Tass news agency.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was prepared to halt strikes on Moscow until Monday. He said he spoke on Saturday afternoon with the US delegation after their arrival in Moscow.

‘From now through the end of Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday, Ukraine is ready to refrain from strikes on Moscow, and we expect the Russians to do the same regarding Kyiv,’ he said.

Washington’s push to end the fighting has lost momentum as US attention has been focused for the past six months on the Iran war. 

‘I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it,’ Trump said.

‘They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,’ he said.

Witkoff and Kushner last visited Moscow in January, when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin.

Both US envoys will also visit Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, for the first time as part of the peace process on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.  

Kushner and Witkoff landed in Moscow on Saturday morning and were escorted by the Russian President’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, to the Kremlin

Firefighters work on the site of a Russian drone strike in the Kyiv region overnight

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Ahead of the envoys’ arrival, Putin’s deputy foreign minister warned the US about how to bring the four-year war to an end.

‘The key question ​is the extent ⁠to which ⁠the US administration is prepared to invest in ‌finding a real solution to the current crisis, considering ‌the realities on the ground,’ Sergei Ryabkov said.

This, according to Ryabkov, was a situation not developing in Kyiv’s favor, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

It comes as Zelensky announced today that Russia carried out ‘deliberate’ strikes on Ukrainian airports overnight in Kyiv and Boryspil.

‘Clearly, these Russian strikes on the airports are a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the US side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine and land at Kyiv Airport or Boryspil Airport,’ he wrote on X.

‘We have taken note of this Russian move, and next week we will adjust our operation accordingly regarding Russian airspace, which has become dangerous because of our drones and missiles in the sky.

‘Of course, there are and will be no threats to diplomacy from our side. Ukraine is interested in bringing peace closer. Russia will be held accountable for what it does.’

The Ukrainian president added that four people were killed and five others injured after a Russian strike in Kamianske, in the Dnipro region.

The Daily Mail contacted the White House for comment. 

More than 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley in Nepal, rescuers continue to find survivors.

Chandika Shrestha, a 64-year-old woman, was discovered alive on the fourth floor of her partially buried house in the Nuwakot district by Nepal’s Armed Police Force on 5 September, according to Reuters.

She was airlifted to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment, Reuters reported.

More on this story.

The affected item is the 120g Inspired to Cook by Sainsbury’s Pitted Black Olives with a few use-by dates – September 6, 2026, September 7, 2026 and September 10, 2026.

Shoppers are being warned that the item could cause flu-like symptoms or, in rare cases, cause serious complications, including meningitis.

Friday 4 September – Sainsbury’s recalls Inspired to Cook by Sainsbury’s Pitted Black Olives due to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes #FoodAlert https://t.co/pqcwnQvkb3 pic.twitter.com/64HepnEfGr

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) September 4, 2026

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Sainsbury’s recalls olives and issues ‘do not eat’ warning

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says: “Symptoms caused by Listeria monocytogenes can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.

“However, in rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications, such as meningitis.

“Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria infections, including those over 65 years of age, pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies less than one month old and people with weakened immune systems.”

Customers are being warned “do not eat it” and instead must return the item to their local Sainsbury’s store where they will get a full refund.

If you’d like more information about this recall, you can visit the website or contact the careline on 0800 028 8303.

The supermarket has apologised “for any inconvenience caused.”

What is a product recall?

The FSA explains: “If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be ‘withdrawn’ (taken off the shelves) or ‘recalled’ (when customers are asked to return the product).

“The FSA issues Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food.

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“In some cases, a ‘Food Alert for Action’ is issued.

“This provides local authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of consumers.”

Have you bought this recalled item recently? Let us know in the comments below.

Killers, sex attackers, and violent criminals are amongst Scotland’s longest serving prisoners.

The Record’s new series will explore the individuals and their sordid crimes that have kept them locked away from the public.

Owen Bonner had already spent time at the State Hospital in Carstairs when he was caged again for more than three decades after a notorious five-hour siege at a chicken factory.

The violent brute held two female co-workers hostage at knifepoint during the terrifying incident at Marshall’s Chunky Chicken in Coatbridge.

The incident happened only one year after he had been released from Carstairs.

He was regarded as such a danger to society that he has remained locked up for 32 years later, as one of Scotland’s longest serving prisoners.

Bonner forced his hostages to pray during the five-hour siege as he declared himself “worse than the devil”.

He slashed both women as he waited for his £10,000 ransom demand to be met and made a series of bizarre demands, saying he wanted TV cameras and a Michael Jackson album and outfit.

Police eventually intercepted the then 27-year-old and arrested him.

He was put on trial at the High Court in Glasgow in 1994.

It was heard in court that Bonner said he had been hearing his own voice outside his head telling him to do things.

It was also revealed that when he had been released from Carstairs in 1993, he was ordered to continue taking drugs which helped his schizophrenia.

His mental condition deteriorated when he stopped taking the drugs and on the night he took the women hostage he had also been sniffing glue.

He was eventually found insane by a jury and returned to Carstairs, where he was detained without limit.

Following his conviction, Helen Liddell, then-Labour MP for Monklands East, wrote to Ian Lang, the Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland at the time, demanding answers for the reasoning behind letting him out of the security hospital in the first place.

Locked up from public view in Carstairs, he was known to regularly fight with other patients, disobey basic rules, dressed bizarrely, refused to get out of bed and continued to tell people he was the devil.

During his three decades in custody, he has tried to escape from the psychiatric facility several times.

In 1999, he gave his Carstairs nurses the slip on an escorted trip and briefly went on the run in Glasgow city centre. He was eventually picked up after being found semi-conscious after sniffing glue.

He was later transferred to the medium-security facility at Rowanbank Clinic near Stobhill Hospital in Springburn as part of a programme to eventually release him into the community.

However, in 2015 he sparked a major alert after going on the run during a shopping trip to Glasgow.

The following year he absconded again while on escorted leave before cops caught up with him a day later and returned him to Rowanbank.

Last year, during a trip to the dentist in Ayrshire he managed to escape again and Police Scotland warned the public not to approach him while launching an appeal for information on his whereabouts.

He was eventually traced four days later after a huge manhunt and remains in custody.

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It is scheduled to take place through part of September

A Cambridgeshire RAF base has explained why locals may see “increased activity” throughout part of September. RAF Wittering has announced that a major RAF training exercise is launching from September 9.

The training is called Exercise Auxilium Fort. It is scheduled to take place between September 9 and September 22, 2026.

A social media post, warning residents of the upcoming training, said: “You may see increased activity at RAF Wittering during 09-22 September due to Exercise AUXILIUM FORT.”

According to previous descriptions of Exercise Auxilium Fort, it is a vital RAF training event that focuses on testing and refining the capabilities of the RAF’s six Global Enablement forces. RAF Wittering, located in Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, is the main operating base and headquarters for the RAF Support Force and is a major station for flying training.

A lot of cosmic shifts this week with a New Moon in Virgo, Mercury moving into Libra, Venus moving into Scorpio and a Uranus retrograde. All kicking off on September 10 – what a day!

Feels like a week of home truths. Of facing facts, getting a reality check, bearing down on the details, and seeing what needs to be said, done, and changed as a result.

If you don’t acknowledge the reality, then how can you see the future vision?

Let the tarot cards guide you towards the most important truth you need to face this week ahead.

Aries

March 21 to April 20

Tarot card for Aries for this week: Six of Swords

Meaning: You are ready to leave, depart, quit, walk away. And you’re not sad about it either. It’s time. Your grieving is already done, this ended long ago, it’s just been in a dying thrall ever since, and you’re ready to extricate yourself finally and for good.

Get to it. This is the right time. Your gut instinct is correct.

Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aries

Taurus

April 21 to May 21

Tarot card for Taurus for this week: Judgement

Meaning: You feel differently about yourself, better in fact, and this is going to impact your dynamics with several people. And that’s okay, because you’re done with shrinking or shape-shifting just to make someone else feel comfortable.

It’s not a worthwhile price to pay. You are older, wiser and better than the version of you that let this happen, and enough is enough. Be different. Be authentic. Let them deal with it. Not your problem.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Taurus

Gemini

May 22 to June 21

Tarot card for Gemini for this week: Queen of Wands

Meaning: You have been drifting, coasting, flying on autopilot. That ends this week. You’re putting the purpose back into how you invest your precious time, energy and attention.

You have got mountains to climb, goals to smash, expectations to exceed, and a life to live fully and at full throttle. No half measures, no coasting along. Wake up. Get up and at ‘em.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Gemini

Cancer

June 22 to July 23

Tarot card for Cancer for this week: Five of Cups

Meaning: You are grieving or mourning the loss of something, or someone. Even a kind of anticipatory grief because you can feel and sense what lies ahead. Cancer, you’re a deep well of emotion and intuition so you tend to feel what others would sense as a tremor as an earthquake.

Don’t sink into this feeling, don’t let it overwhelm you. The future is not yet written, and the past is over and can’t hurt you. You are here in the present. Stay here. Don’t look too far ahead, nor too closely back.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Cancer

Leo

July 24 to August 23

Tarot card for Leo for this week: Three of Swords

Meaning: You have been treated poorly, even betrayed or backstabbed, and it’s time to see it. Stop making excuses for them or covering your eyes. Truly see what they did. And then surgically remove yourself from this situation.

They have proven who they are, you don’t need more evidence or proof. Get yourself away, create distance, and heal. You deserved better. Now let them feel your total absence.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Leo

Virgo

August 24 to September 23

Tarot card for Virgo for this week: The Tower

Meaning: Let it all tumble, let things collapse if they would do so without you holding them up, alone and without support. Enough. You have overcompensated here for far too long, and the truth is that whatever it is you’re trying to uphold really doesn’t merit it. Let it fall.

The relief will be palpable, and the reward is that you can shift your attention to something healthy, positive, and that will respond to your efforts. Stop wasting your time.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Virgo

Libra

September 24 to October 23

Tarot card for Libra for this week: Three of Cups

Meaning: Pleasure doesn’t have to be earned. You don’t have to control, limit or deconstruct the ways and means you enjoy your life, have fun, relax, and find beauty in life. Pleasure is life.

Stop curbing your own enthusiasm and putting barriers in the way of enjoyment. You already work hard, there’s no need to punish or curtail your own fun. Whatever started this habit, remove it. You are ruled by Venus, the goddess of pleasure, you were born to have a good time. Go do it!

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Libra

Scorpio

October 24 to November 22

Tarot card for Scorpio for this week: Ace of Wands

Meaning: You need to get going with a new idea, beginning, project, role or endeavour. New news is necessary, otherwise you end up circling the drain, clinging on to things for too long, limiting your potential and future options.

This week, activate some new ideas, trips, acquaintances, and options in your realm. One thing will quickly lead to another and establish momentum. Get the ball rolling.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Scorpio

Sagittarius

November 23 to December 21

Tarot card for Sagittarius for this week: Nine of Coins

Meaning: You are ready to admit you want things to improve, that you can do better, be more. You can see that where you’ve cut corners or come in at half measures, the results have mirrored that energy.

And you take comfort from that because you know you can do more, better more consistent, and take things more seriously. A new era of consistency is beginning. It will yield success.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Sagittarius

Capricorn

December 22 to January 21

Tarot card for Capricorn for this week: Death

Meaning: You want to kill something off, maybe even an old habit or version of yourself that you know isn’t going to take you where you wish to go.

From now until winter, you’re all about mirroring autumn’s shedding energy and letting old things die away, reach a conclusion, end quietly. Evolution starts with letting go of what doesn’t work. And then the renewal and rebirth will begin, all through this coming season.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Capricorn

Aquarius

January 22 to February 19

Tarot card for Aquarius for this week: Ten of Coins

Meaning: You want to settle, nest, put down roots, build a foundation strong enough to build your Aquarian Empire on now. You are done experimenting and free-wheeling and roaming. It’s time to come home and build.

A decade-long project and ambition lies ahead. A time for creating the home, family and lifestyle you yearn for. It’s all possible. The very best is yet to come. Have high hopes.

Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aquarius

Pisces

February 20 to March 20

Tarot card for Pisces for this week: The Sun

Meaning: Life is good! You are feeling good about yourself, but sometimes you try to hide or dim that light because everyone else seems so down. Pisces, shine it at full beam!

Celebrate your wins. Share the love. Bring glimmers of hope and happiness to others, using your own joy as fuel and inspiration. People will be genuinely pleased to see you having fun and feeling content. You deserve it. Show it.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Pisces

Kerry King has been reading, teaching and creating tarot for 30 years. Join her magical, exclusive Tarot Club for forecasts, predictions, lessons and readings straight to your inbox. Enjoy one month free for all Metro readers (no lock-in or commitment) over on Patreon.

Your daily Metro.co.uk horoscope is here every morning, seven days a week (yes, including weekends!). To check your forecast, head to our dedicated horoscopes page.

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Here is your chamber round-up for Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council for the month from the Local Democracy Reporting Service

New monitoring of CCTV operations across the council has left a councillor with ‘grave concerns’ on live crime viewing as the local authority refuses to disclose details.

The Lagan lock canal outside Lagan Valley Island could have been mistaken for a new golf putting green while the hot weather has seemingly left Dunmurry residents ‘choking’ on a ‘rotten egg’ odour.

Also in the month of August, car parking concerns will see Belfast children gain an innovative safe pathway to school, whilst a Lisburn double yellow line dispute could see a Northern Ireland change to legislation.

Here is your latest round up of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council matters for the month of August:

Council refuses to reveal CCTV monitoring details despite ‘grave concerns’

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A Northern Ireland council has refused to disclose details of how its CCTV operations are monitored despite “grave concerns” raised following their handover to the local authority.

CityWatchNI had watched over Lisburn, Moira and Hillsborough public areas for over 25 years before being liquidated in July and a transfer of assets made to Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.

However, councillors have now raised concerns over the extent of monitoring of the camera system now located in Lagan Valley Island civic centre.

Read more.

Investigation after ‘rotten egg’ stink leaves Dunmurry residents ‘choking’

A Stormont agency is to investigate a Dunmurry bad odour after complaints of a “rotten egg” smell in the air “choking” residents.

The council has also stepped in following reports of the stink causing local people to stay indoors as it surfaces around nearby children’s play-parks.

The NI Environment Agency has confirmed it will now use enforcement powers to inspect the Linamar Light Metals Belfast Ltd site as the identified alleged source of the stench.

Read more.

Council statement on blue green algae fears in Lisburn canal

A huge weed build up in a canal has been confirmed as not being blue green algae following a Stormont department inspection.

Visitors to Lagan Valley Island civic centre could have at a glance, easily thought a new golf putting green had opened up on the navigation canal with complete green coverage on the waterway.

The local authority will now set about removing the weed, however the unsightly plant growth will remain for another month.

Read more.

Parking row prompts calls to change NI double yellow line rules

Stormont is being urged to review its double yellow line policy amid a Lisburn residential dispute that could affect all cul-de-sacs in Northern Ireland.

Concerns have been raised over the potential for a single person being able to virtually hold road safety to ransom despite “99.9%” of residents supporting the measures.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council is now seeking to meet with Department of Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins to resolve the parking matters.

Read more.

Belfast school kids at ‘risk’ of road dangers set for major safety pathway

A Belfast school is set for a new park and ride pathway amid road safety concerns for children.

Busy traffic and pavement parking outside St Ita’s primary just off the Purdysburn Road has brought about a multi-agency effort to protect pupils on their way to school

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council’s recent regeneration committee has now approved an agreement with said land owners Northern Ireland Water to progress the scheme.

Read more.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter

Nepalese rescuers have found a man and a woman alive ten days after devastating floods hit the country – but 500 still remain trapped in tunnels. 

Hundreds of people are stuck inside blocked hydropower project tunnels in the aftermath of last month’s flood. 

The unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris on the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday – blamed on a glacier collapse – has killed at least 1,300 people with 5,000 still missing. 

Officials said on Saturday that a Chinese national had been rescued from the tunnels – bringing the total to three people pulled alive from the Trishuli hydropower project. 

Two Nepalese workers were rescued from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant on Friday.

Nepal’s army said a joint rescue team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued the man from a 225-metre tunnel (738ft) and that he was undergoing a health assessment. 

Pictures show him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army medic checking on him during the flight. 

A photo released by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed two rescuers carrying the man out of the tunnel. 

Pictures show him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army medic checking on him during the flight

In flood-hit Nuwakot town a woman was rescued alive from a house, Nepal’s army spokesperson said today

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Nepali officials said that their focus was on reaching the hundreds of workers believed to be trapped inside about half a dozen hydropower project tunnels that had been blocked by mud and rock debris. 

Pictures and videos shared by rescue teams showed earth-moving equipment digging and shovelling mud and rocks under lights in the dark of the night as workers watched.

Teams had used a pipe to begin ‘sending air through the small opening’, Nepali Home Minister Sudan Gurung said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, in flood-hit Nuwakot town a woman was rescued alive from a house, Nepal’s army spokesman said today.

Officials said she was being airlifted to Kathmandu. 

Images released by Nepal’s army showed rescuers finding the woman covered in mud. 

They gave her bottled water before pulling her to safety, wrapped in a grey blanket. 

Yesterday, two hydropower workers were pulled alive from a tunnel buried by debris.

Images released by Nepal’s army showed rescuers finding the woman covered in mud, wrapped in a grey blanket

Dramatic photos showed about a dozen rescuers pulling a man from a small hole in the ground

Rescue crews are seen carrying one of the freed power plant workers to safety

Soldiers are pictured carrying a powerplant worker to safety on Friday morning

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One man was helped to his feet by rescuers and later carried on the backs of the emergency workers. 

A photograph showed the second man caked in mud, his hands pressed together in prayer, as rescuers brought him away on a stretcher.

Rescuers called it a ‘miracle’ after the disaster last Wednesday

‘I am so happy, my heart is lighter,’ Amir Maharjan, the brother of rescued worker 45-year-old Kabir Maharjan said.

The men were identified as Sanjay Shah, 30, a mechanical foreman, as well as Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, by Home Minister Sudan Gurung.

The Nepal Army said the two men were receiving medical treatment and that ‘search and rescue operations are ongoing’.

Kulman Ghising, former head of many of the hydro projects who has just returned from the scene to help co-ordinate the rescue operation, told the Daily Mail last week:

‘It’s impossible to say how long the workers will be able to survive because we just don’t know the condition of the tunnels. From our estimates, there are 300 workers inside six to eight tunnels. If there’s enough oxygen and food, they could be OK for several weeks. But from what I’ve seen so far, that’s not the case.

Nepal army soldiers are pictured during a search and rescue operation outside a tunnel near the Hydropower Project sites on Wednesday

‘There was one tunnel that was reached, and it was totally filled with water and mud, so we weren’t able to tell if there were any workers inside. At another, after creating an opening, there was no response when we called out.’

Mr Ghising, who previously served as Nepal’s Energy Minister, said: ‘The whole area has been destroyed and many villages and hydropower projects have been wiped off the face of the earth. I only got back to Kathmandu yesterday and will be returning very soon.

‘We have to find our people as quickly as we can. This is a desperate race against time.’