Thousands of people were hoping to impress the judges with their talents, with several wowing the audience, judges, and Geordie presenting pair Ant and Dec.

Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were back on the judging panel with KSI, who has become a permanent judge following Bruno Tonioli’s exit.

However, it seems that the once beloved show has started to gain its critics in recent seasons. Tonight, there was yet more proof of that.

Watch these top Golden Buzzer moments on BGT

One viewer said: “Abysmal Britain’s Got No More Talent is back for another year! (unfortunately) I can’t wait to see the 250 singers, 500 magicians, 759 comedians, 1036 choirs and a good few sob stories to win the golden buzzer!! #BGT #BritainsGotTalent”

Another commented: “Britain’s Got Talent yet more evidence Britain is in decline – British ‘talent’ a man dressed as a chicken and another playing a load of horns. Whereas, better talent obviously been scouted from abroad. Can we do anything right as a nation now? #BGT”

Someone else replied: “Britain’s Got Talent reached its sell-by date long ago. I’m so bored of rubbish magic acts winning. #BGT”

How much do you know about Simon Cowell’s career?

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Bruno Tonioli quits Britain’s Got Talent

In September, Bruno said in a statement: “After three incredible series, I’ve sadly had to walk away from a job which has opened my eyes to so much incredible talent and step down as a judge on BGT.

“And whilst I look forward to filming a new series of Dancing With The Stars in the US, I will miss the chaos and joy that BGT brings, as well as all the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege of working with.

“They truly are a brilliant team who make brilliant television, and I know KSI will be a fantastic judge too, as he’s already proven this year.”

Due to this, musician, YouTuber and boxer KSI was announced as Bruno’s permanent replacement as a judge on BGT, which will once again be hosted by Geordie duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation hindered by intense snowfall.

A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday’s avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe. The ninth person who was missing was found “relatively close” to the other victims, but it was impossible to see them because there were white-out conditions on Tuesday when the others were located.

At a news conference on Saturday, Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon praised the collective efforts of the numerous agencies who helped recover the victims, including the 42 volunteers who helped on the last day of the operation.

“We are fortunate in this mountain community that we are very tight knit, and our community shows up in times of tragedy,” Moon said.

Stuck on the mountain for hours

The tragedy began around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when six survivors called for help, describing a sudden and terrifying avalanche that was approximately the length of a football field. In the aftermath of the snowfall, those survivors had discovered the bodies of three deceased skiers nearby, according to Nevada County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hack.

It was the last day of the three-day tour in the stunning and remote Sierra Nevada, and the group of 15 skiers decided to end the trip early to avoid the impending snowstorm. Officials described the path that the group was taking as a “normally traveled route” but declined to specify what that meant.

Initial reports indicated that at least two people in the group did not get swept away, Hack said. The others were standing separately and relatively close together and were hit with the avalanche.

Hack declined to offer more information about what might have set off the avalanche.

First responders weren’t able to reach them until roughly six hours after the initial call for help, Hack said, and were forced to take two separate paths. The rescue teams also found the bodies of five others, leaving only one unaccounted for.

But it was immediately clear to rescuers that it was too dangerous to extract the bodies of the victims at that time due to the heavy snowfall and threat of more avalanches. Those conditions persisted on Wednesday and Thursday, as the families of victims waited for the bad weather to abate.

Breakthrough on Friday

Officials used two helicopters belonging to the California Highway Patrol, with the help of Pacific Gas and Electric company, to break up the snow in the area to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk of another avalanche for rescue crews.

The state highway agency was able to recover five victims that evening before it got too dark to access the last three.

Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the final four bodies on Saturday morning with helicopters by hoisting them from the mountain with ropes, fighting through severe winds that forced the agencies to make multiple trips. The bodies were then taken to nearby snowcats — trucks that are outfitted to be able to drive on snow.

“We cannot say enough how tremendously sorry we are for the families that has been affected by this avalanche,” Moon said.

Land will reopen in March

The area will be closed to visitors until mid-March, said Chris Feutrier, the forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest. But he said that officials fully intended on restoring public access as soon as the investigation is complete.

“This is the public’s land, and they love to recreate on it,” Feutrier said. “The Forest Service doesn’t close public land for every hazard or every obstacle. We trust the American people to use their best judgment when recreating.”

The former Coronation Street star, best known for playing Rosie Webster, took her last bow in The Memory of Water at the Octagon on February 21, cheered on by her former on-screen mum and sister.

Sally Dynevor, who has played Sally Webster since 1986, and Brooke Vincent, who portrayed Sophie Webster for 15 years, reunited with Helen away from the cobbles as they attended the closing night of the darkly comic family drama.

The trio shared many of Corrie’s most memorable Webster family storylines over the years, from teenage rebellion and family fallouts to illness and relationship drama, making the Bolton reunion a nostalgic moment for fans.

The Webster women’s reunion came as Helen completed her run in Shelagh Stephenson’s The Memory of Water, a poignant and sharply funny play centred on three sisters who reunite at their childhood home on the eve of their mother’s funeral.

The drama explores themes of grief, sibling rivalry and the fragility of memory, including the impact of their mother’s Alzheimer’s, blending biting humour with emotional revelations.

The production’s closing night brought a familiar Coronation Street reunion to Bolton, as Dynevor and Vincent turned out to support their former co-star.

For fans of the long-running ITV soap, it marked a full-circle moment – with Flanagan returning to her North West roots on stage at one of the region’s best-known theatres.

Tandy enjoyed an autumn win against Japan but was agonisingly close to a first statement victory of his reign.

Wales led at half-time for the first time since under his charge and were 20-5 and 23-12 in front at times of the second half. But ultimately they were left with just a losing bonus-point.

“I’m bitterly disappointed not to win the game but have massive pride in the group,” said Tandy.

“That was a step in the right direction but we’ve got to be better next time. There was a lot to like in the first half with how we attacked the game. That was excellent.”

After French fans took over Principality Stadium in round two, Tandy hailed the impact of the home backing from a crowd of 70,649 inside the Principality Stadium.

“The support today was incredible. There are lots of questions asked about the crowds, but they were unbelievable,” said Tandy.

“Everyone felt it. The players gave them something to cheer about, but ultimately they got behind the team. It’s a snapshot of what we want to be.”

Scarlets pair Taine Plumtree and Sam Costelow look unlikely to play again in the tournament.

Back-row Plumtree (shoulder) and fly-half Costelow (lower leg) are to undergo scans on Monday.

“Sam doesn’t look good,” said Tandy.

“He’s been through a lot in his Wales career with not being involved in the autumn but we backed him to come back in and he really took that opportunity.

“He was fantastic with the way he drove the team forward in that first half. It’s such a shame for him that it ended with injury.”

Wales? Brilliant but beaten, losers on the day but with so much to build on – and a little bit to complain about, too. If that Turner try ended up being the decisive moment in the game there was another moment, on 64 minutes, that could have filled that slot.

Wales were ahead 23-19 at the time. Into the Scotland 22 they went and won a penalty. They could have backheeled it over, had it stood, which it didn’t. The TMO got involved and a call was made against Tomos Williams for a croc roll on Rory Darge that didn’t look like a croc roll.

Penalty reversed. A shot for 26-19 gone. Turner drove over soon after and that was that. Back from the cliff edge Scotland stepped and into the coming weeks they go with France to play at home and Ireland away.

A formidable finale to their tournament, but at least they’re alive and not without hope of achieving something tangible. Whatever happens against France they will be playing for a Triple Crown in Dublin. They haven’t won it since 1990.

What is it about this fixture that produces such hair-raisers? What is it about those Scotland jerseys that makes the Welsh believe in themselves?

From the get-go, they were terrific. Scotland forced things and got found out. They tried to go wide at every turn, but got smashed. Even when Joe Hawkins was binned after five minutes Wales grew stronger. Carre scored while they were down to 14. Those awful Welsh starts in so many recent Test matches? Forget it.

Scotland coughed up chances, then scored one, then conceded another. They had little composure and no control. Wales would not allow it. Sam Costelow made it 17-5 after half an hour. Red flags all over the place now.

Townsend didn’t hang about. Thirty-five minutes played and he hauled off Nathan McBeth, his loosehead, and Max Williamson, one of his locks. Fortunes did not change, not immediately. Scotland’s looseness carried on. So did the Welsh scoring; 20-5 now.

Fatalism kicks in at that point. Here we go again. Another Cardiff catastrophe. Jungle drums beating. Townsend must go. Everybody must go.

Huw Jones, one of the most formidable attackers in the history of the Scotland team, dropped a ball with the try-line close at hand. When the likes of Jones are making a mess of things you start to fear the worst. You crank up the obits.

He took to Truth Social to announce the new tariffs

Donald Trump has announced he will up the global tariffs to 15 per cent after the Supreme Court struck down his previous import taxes.

The latest tariffs are up from those Trump announced just last night, declaring that there would be a 10% global tariff on “all countries”. After the court ruled he did not have the emergency power to impose many sweeping tariffs, Trump signed an executive order on Friday night that enabled him to bypass Congress and impose the 10pc tax.

Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”, imposed on most of the rest of the world last April under an emergency powers law, were overturned by the US Supreme Court on Friday (February 20) in a blow to the president’s economic agenda. Speaking last night, Trump said he was “absolutely ashamed” of justices who voted to strike down his tariffs and called the ruling “deeply disappointing”.

Under the order Trump signed on Friday night, the 10pc tariff was scheduled to take effect from February 24.

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The tariffs can only remain in place for around five months, 150 days, before the administration must seek congressional approval before they can be extended. The tariffs will be the maximum amount allowed by US law.

In a post on Truth social today, Trump wrote: “Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10pc Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15pc level.

“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

In addition to the temporary tariffs, the president said on Friday that he was also pursuing tariffs through other sections of federal law which require an investigation by the Commerce Department.

Earlier today, Sir Ed Davey has insisted that the UK Government should sue US President Donald Trump for $100 billion for damages caused to the UK by trade tariffs.

The Lib Dem leader branded Mr Trump the “most dangerous, damaging US president of modern times” as he welcomed a “brilliant” decision by the US Supreme Court on Friday which struck down trade tariffs imposed by the president last April.

Sir Ed told the Scottish Liberal Democrats conference that the UK Government should now take legal action against the White House.

PSNI said a number of cordons are in place

A security incident is currently taking place in Co Derry.

Police have issued a warning to the public to stay away while the incident is taking place.

A spokesperson from PSNI said: “Police are currently at the scene of a security alert in the Oakland Terrace area of Upperlands, Maghera.

READ MORE: Public urged to stay away as police deal with stabbing incidentREAD MORE: Gallery: Co Armagh business left with ‘over 1m in damages’ after fire

“A number of cordons are in place at the junctions with Culnady Road and Well Lane.

“Please avoid the area.”

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EastEnders has worked with Dementia UK for the ongoing storyline, which has also seen returns from popular characters such as Debbie Bates, Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement) and Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) in the form of hallucinations, as Nigel experiences worsening dementia symptoms.

The demonstrations, including a Britain First march and counter-protests, took place across central Manchester and prompted a major policing operation..

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that nine of those arrested remain in custody.

Of the 11 arrests, two men were held on suspicion of breaching the peace, two for assaulting emergency workers, and four for public order offences.

One of those arrested on public order grounds was later de-arrested and served with a summons.

Another man, detained under the Crime and Disorder Act, was also de-arrested and issued a dispersal notice.

Other arrests included one man for assault and another for breaching a dispersal notice.

A section 34 dispersal order remained in place until 8pm tonight, allowing officers to direct people to leave the area.

Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson, gold commander for the operation, said:

“Manchester was expected to be extremely busy today, with multiple planned protests in the city centre as well as several football matches.

“We put extra officers on duty to support people’s right to protest peacefully while reducing the impact on the wider public.

“Thanks to the efforts of our officers on the ground and the planning done with our partners, hundreds of people from a range of groups were able to come together safely, with no significant issues reported.

“Greater Manchester is a place where people can confidently and lawfully express their views, while ensuring that residents, workers, and visitors can go about their day feeling safe.”

The force confirmed that the policing operation involved additional resources, pre-prepared plans, and coordination with partner agencies to manage the day’s events.

The protests were part of a wider day of events that included several football matches.