Formed in 2006, NWAS now serves more than 7.5 million people across Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.

Chief executive Salman Desai said: “As we mark 20 years of North West Ambulance Service, I feel incredibly proud to have seen first-hand how far we’ve come.

“I started my career as a paramedic in Bury, responding to patients on the frontline, and I’ve had the privilege of growing with this organisation as it has evolved over the past two decades.

“That experience continues to shape how I see our role today.

“We are there for people at some of the most critical moments of their lives.

“That responsibility has always driven us, but the way we deliver care has changed significantly, and it must continue to change to meet the needs of the future.”

Over the past two decades, the service has expanded from primarily responding to 999 emergencies to providing a broader range of care, including NHS 111, clinical advice by phone, and support to help patients access care in the community or at home.

Each year, NWAS handles more than 1.4 million emergency calls, 1.8 million NHS 111 calls, and transports over a million patients to routine appointments.

It also treats hundreds of thousands of patients at home or in community settings.

A spokesperson for the service said: “The new plan for 2026 to 2031 sets out how the service will continue to respond to rising demand, more complex patient needs and ongoing health inequalities across the North West.”

It sets out four main priorities: Delivering “outstanding” care, building a “safe and supportive” culture for staff, working “more closely” with other NHS services, and modernising care delivery.

Mr Desai said: “This plan reflects what our patients, staff and partners have told us matters most: safe, compassionate care, services that work well together, and a culture where our people feel supported to do their best.”

The strategy emphasises greater use of digital tools, virtual care, and more treatment closer to home when deemed appropriate.

It also targets support for those most at risk, including people living in deprived areas, those needing end-of-life care, individuals with learning disabilities, children and young people, and homeless people.

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the fire

A second person has been arrested in connection to a huge fire at a derelict school in Haverhill. Suffolk Police were called by the fire service to Parkway Middle School on Park Road at 8.46pm on Tuesday, May 12, following reports of a fire.

On Thursday, May 14, a 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage – arson not endangering life. He was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questions. He has since been bailed to return to the police on July 14.

On Wednesday, May 13, a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of the same offence. He was bailed to return to the police on June 22.

The police are now asking for anyone with information to come forward. Any witnesses are asked to contact Suffolk Constabulary’s West CID quoting crime reference Crime ref 37/27212/26.

You can contact them through the Suffolk Police website or by calling 101. You can report anything anonymously through Crimestoppers by calling 0800555111.

Detective Sergeant Paul Cappleman said: “We believe a number of people may have been involved in this and that locally many people were either present in the area at the time or have knowledge of who may have been responsible.

“This was an incredibly serious incident and we would like to speak to anyone with information, to ascertain exactly what happened that evening.”

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Carley Armstrong, who grew up in Sunderland, was granted exclusive access to Crown Works to film at the site.

Crown Works will soon be transformed into a state-of-the-art studio complex, backed by £38 million in funding.

Ms Armstrong said: “The North East is brimming with potential, and I’m incredibly proud to play a part in telling that story to an audience who can help unlock it through further investment.

“As a champion for the region, and someone who was born and raised here, this project is deeply personal to me.

“The investment flowing into this site, just a short drive from where I grew up, is a powerful example of what can be achieved when there is a clear vision and collective ambition behind a sector, so to be given exclusive access to shoot there was really special.

“The North East is a place that knows how to deliver, and that’s the message I want to share; that investors can have real confidence in what we can achieve here.

“When I think about future generations who will benefit from developments like Crown Works – young people like I once was, who didn’t always see opportunities here – it means a great deal to be part of something that could help make those ambitions a reality, right here in the North East.”

The short film, entitled Built Here, showcases eight major investment opportunities across the region.

It has been commissioned by the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness.

It features sectors such as offshore wind, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, tech, and the creative industries.

Ms Armstrong produced the film through her company True Moon Pictures, working with a North East-based crew.

The film will premiere at UKREiiF in Leeds, a major UK real estate investment forum.

It will also be released across social media and shown at the Sunderland Film Festival.

Ms McGuinness said: “This film shows our huge ambition for the North East and even better that it’s been created by Sunderland-born filmmaker Carley, assisted by a fantastic local team.

“I want to see blockbusters filmed on the banks of the Wear that’s why we’ve invested £38m in Crown Works studios.

“This will create more opportunities for our local working class creatives both in front of and behind the camera to show what we’ve always known – our region is packed with talent.”

UKREiiF, which runs from May 19-21, is the UK’s leading forum for real estate, investment, and infrastructure.

Ms Armstrong left the North East earlier in her career in order to find work in TV and film.

She has since returned to work in the region and is looking to support and build on the growth of TV and film production beyond established hubs such as London and Manchester.

The proposed development will include playing fields and children’s play areas

Plans to build up to 425 homes in a Cambridgeshire town have been given the green light. Fenland District Council has granted outline planning permission to build the homes near Wimblington Road and Barkers Lane in March.

The development, known as Stow Fen Meadows, would be made up of houses, a public open space, a community orchard, playing fields, and children’s play areas. Of the 425 homes, the outline planning application seeks to deliver 20 per cent affordable housing equating to up to 85 homes.

Applicant David Wilson Homes said: “The overarching vision for Stow Fen Meadows is to deliver a high quality, locally distinguishable and sustainable addition to the town. The proposed development will deliver much needed new homes, generous public open spaces, play areas and enhanced areas of biodiversity.

“Development at Stow Fen Meadows is a fantastic opportunity for suitable and sustainable growth which will ensure a positive legacy for March and the wider Fenland District.”

Several objections were lodged to the application, including one from March Town Council about flooding and drainage concerns.

A design and access statement from David Wilson Homes said the proposals for the development will comprise a “distinctive character and a strong sense of place, informed by important site features and the existing valued qualities of March”. It added: “The proposals aim to create a place that has a healthy, comfortable and safe internal and external environment.”

The official decision notice giving the development the go-ahead was published on Wednesday, May 13. Outline planning permission will grant approval to the general proposals of the development.

A reserved matters application will need to be submitted and separately approved before construction can begin.

MPs probing files detailing the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador have accused Sir Keir Starmer of “withholding” documents from their inquiry.

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) – which is overseeing the release of the documents – has raised concerns that the government is redacting more information than was initially agreed on and accused it of applying redactions “far too broadly”.

It has demanded assurances that any information removed is “in the spirit of the Humble Address” that in February ordered the release of all files related to Lord Mandelson’s 2024 appointment as US ambassador.

When the motion was approved, MPs voted to release any documents that may compromise international relations or national security to the ISC.

But the government then said it could black out details in documents if they were deemed to be “commercially sensitive”, as well as redacting individuals’ addresses and contact information.

In a statement on Friday, the committee said: “Having seen how government is applying redactions … the committee has made clear that, in its view, they are being applied far too broadly – particularly in the case of personal information.”

It added: “We note that no body has been commissioned to review those redactions and assure Parliament that they are within the spirit of the Humble Address.”

The ISC also added: “The committee has been told that certain documents are being withheld from the process. The prime example is a vetting file held by UK Security Vetting.

“The committee has made clear that it does not consider that the terms of the humble address allow for any documents to be withheld from parliament. While government may believe that there is good reason to withhold certain documents, it does not currently have the authority to so do.

“The committee has therefore advised government that we believe it must return to parliament to seek parliament’s agreement to withhold any documents.”

The latest intervention has added more pressure on Sir Keir, who is already fighting for his political survival.

He continues to be criticised for his handling of Lord Mandelson’s appointment, who was eventually sacked from the role last year over links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

A further row followed after it was revealed that Lord Mandelson was appointed to the role despite UKSV advising against the appointment.

Sir Keir is also facing a bruising over the party’s brutal local election results last week, which saw Labour lose hundreds of seats to Reform UK.

The statement issued by the ISC also raised “grave concerns” over a number of other issues revealed in the documents, including the use of unofficial systems for government business.

It said: “The committee found it extraordinary to see how much government business appears to be being conducted over unofficial systems. Lengthy WhatsApp conversations between senior officials and ministers appear now to be the format by which government policy is formulated.

“Government systems exist for a reason and should be the proper forum for the conduct of government business. The committee has raised this issue before – with the last government – and it is disappointing to see not only that it continues, but the extent to which it has spread.”

It also expressed concerns over use of “lower-level government IT systems” rather than more secure systems, adding: “This failure to adhere to professional practices is appalling and puts the UK’s national security at risk.”

Finally, the committee hit out at the “lack of an audit trail” in government, particularly at the Foreign Office, including agendas, minutes and records of conversations, as well as criticising a “failure to adhere to security advice”.

“Even when proper security processes have been followed, there appears to be nothing to say that the conclusions should be acted on,” the ISC warned.

Downing Street has been contacted for comment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to capture and prosecution of a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government.

Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the government of Iran. She remains at large.

Witt “allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution more than a decade ago by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian regime National Defense Information and likely continues to support their nefarious activities,” Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, said in a news release Wednesday.

“The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran’s history, there is someone who knows something about her whereabouts.”

It wasn’t immediately known why the FBI was bringing attention to Witt’s case. The United States and Iran have been at war since Feb. 28.

Witt served in the Air Force between 1997 and 2008, where she was trained in the Farsi language and was deployed overseas on classified counterintelligence missions, including to the Middle East. She later found work as a Defense Department contractor.

The Texas native defected to Iran in 2013 after being invited to two all-expense-paid conferences in the country that the Justice Department says promoted anti-Western propaganda and condemned American moral standards.

Before that, Witt had been warned by the FBI about her activities, but told agents that she would not provide sensitive information about her work if she returned to Iran, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, Witt placed at risk “sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs,” the news release said.

“Witt allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S personnel and their families stationed abroad. She also allegedly conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government,” it said.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Africa’s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

“Four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,” the agency said, referring to the capital of Ituri province, near the border with Uganda.

It said preliminary laboratory results had detected the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples. The results suggest a non-Ebola Zaire strain of the virus with sequencing ongoing to further characterize the strain, the agency said. The Ebola Zaire strain has been prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks.

The World Health Organization said last year that Congo has a stockpile of treatments and some 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine, However, the vaccine is effective against the Ebola Zaire strain of the virus, it said.

The Africa CDC said results confirming the strain in the new outbreak are expected within the 24 hours.

The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.

Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, and is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.

The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.

The agency said it is convening an urgent high-level coordination meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other countries.

“The meeting will focus on immediate response priorities, cross-border coordination, surveillance, laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk communication, safe and dignified burials, and resource mobilization,” it said.

Congo has seen more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks

This is the 17th outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people. The WHO said that outbreak was characterized by the Ebola Zaire strain.

An earlier outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 also killed more than 11,000 people.

The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January last year and has since occupied key cities.

Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the Allied Democratic Force, an Islamic State-linked militant group which has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.

Congo, Africa’s second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During last year’s outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organization initially faced significant challenges in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds.

Dr. Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health who has been involved in past Ebola outbreak responses in Congo, said the country and health workers on the ground have a high level of experience from past outbreaks, in addition to existing infrastructure such as laboratories.

“In terms of training, people already know what they can do. Now, the expertise and equipment need to be delivered quickly,” Nsakala added.

The Nova Poshta postal service said two of its staff, both named Dmytro, had been killed in the attack, one of them alongside his wife. Former hockey player Yuriy Orlov and his 24-year-old girlfriend Maryna Homeniuk, an English teacher, were among the victims. A kindergarten teacher, Svitlana Moskalishyna, was also killed.

At this point, I think I have seen Bianca Censori’s nipples more times than I have seen the sun rise or heard my own mother’s laugh.

The Australian architect and wife of Kanye West once again managed to stun Los Angeles over the weekend after stepping out for a cinema date night wearing what appeared to be little more than cling film.

Censori arrived at a movie theatre in a fully sheer grey thong bodysuit that left very little to the imagination, paired with transparent tights and towering burgundy platform boots.

The outfit, which existed in more of a philosophical sense than a textile one, was completed with slicked-back hair, a claw clip and a couple of rings, while West — as is increasingly tradition — dressed like somebody about to inspect a ranch.

The rapper wore a leather jacket, dark trousers, cowboy boots and sunglasses, once again maintaining the couple’s now-familiar dynamic where Bianca appears dressed for an avant-garde nudist colony while Kanye looks prepared for a tactical weather emergency.

According to photos from the outing, one visibly stunned bystander was caught staring open-mouthed in the parking lot, creating one of the funniest photos of the century.

In doing so, the bystander inadvertently recreated the exact dynamic John Berger dissected in his seminal art theory text Ways of Seeing, where the viewer becomes part of the image itself: the fully clothed observer awkwardly inserted into the corner of a scene of female nudity, there to legitimise, witness and mirror the audience’s gaze.

Who says an art history degree is wasted in celebrity journalism?

And honestly, ever since Bianca Censori entered public consciousness, we have all become the man in the white hoodie: frozen somewhere between horror, fascination and second-hand embarrassment, yet completely incapable of looking away.

Censori’s latest appearance continues a fashion trajectory that long ago abandoned concepts like subtlety, practicality and, increasingly, opacity.

Earlier this month she visited a spa wearing a completely sheer black catsuit with nothing underneath, while last year she effectively broke the internet at the Grammy Awards after appearing nude beneath a transparent mini dress.

At this stage, trying to predict Bianca Censori’s next outfit feels less like celebrity journalism and more like participating in an escalating social experiment about the limits of public desensitisation and decency laws.

And yet somehow, every single time, the internet reacts like a Victorian spinster catching sight of an exposed ankle at a garden party — scandalised, enthralled, morally conflicted and, above all, absolutely desperate to keep looking.

Content about Bianca’s latest sartorial experiment is consumed with the kind of rabid fascination usually reserved for true crime documentaries and royal affairs.

Part of the fascination surrounding Censori is that her wardrobe exists in this strange cultural grey zone between fashion, performance art, provocation and what appears to be Kanye West treating public outings like increasingly difficult bonus levels in a video game called ‘Can We Still Legally Enter Restaurants?’

Because unlike typical celebrity red-carpet nudity — where illusion fabrics, strategic tailoring and careful styling create the appearance of exposure — Bianca’s looks often seem intentionally designed to erase the distinction entirely.

Still, whether people view the outfits as empowering, exploitative, artistic or simply exhausting, one thing remains undeniable: it’s hard to look away.

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Jordan Honeyman tortured Alan Lawson before dumping him back at his home in Saltcoats with horrendous injuries.

A killer who tortured his victim and held him hostage roamed the streets for two weeks before he was arrested.

Jordan Honeyman filmed himself inflicting horror injuries on Alan Lawson, 36, at the thug’s home in Largs, Ayrshire in February 2024.

Honeyman dumped Alan severely injured back at his house in Saltcoats on February 4 but he sadly died in hospital two days later.

The twisted killer then went on the run and was even captured on CCTV in Ardrossan as police launched a manhunt.

The maniac shared footage on Snapchat, which showed Alan’s severely wounded body on the floor of a blood-splattered room.

Honeyman also posted a topless picture of himself, with his naked torso smeared in his victim’s blood.

Blood stained clothes and bedsheets were also seen scattered across a wooden floor next to the wounded victim.

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Rumours circulated in the area about the killer moving around Largs and Saltcoats and staying with pals as he evaded cops.

Terrified local residents demanded that the police issued a description of the killer and complained of being left in the dark about what, or who, to look out for.

One told the Record: “There is a killer on the loose but the police haven’t released any information on a description.

‘We have no idea what the person they are hunting might look like. If we did and one of us saw him in the towns, we could contact the police.

“But right now, I could pass him in the street and not even know.”

One parent told the Record that children living in the area had been banned from playing outdoors while he remained at large.

They said: “There were rumours that he is was hiding out locally, but nobody has any idea what he might look like.

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“My kids haven’t been allowed out to play after school since the murder. A number of other parents feel the same way. I’ll be keeping them at home until the police have caught the person responsible.”

Sources added that the man had been on a week-long “crack and booze” bender before he carried out his frenzied attack.

One said: “He had been on a bender for a week – drinking and smoking crack.

“He lost it and launched into the most vicious, horrendous attack on poor Alan. He said he had him chained up and had attacked him repeatedly over two or three days. He said he split his skull open and slashed him.

“When the booze and drugs wore off he came to his senses and panicked, so he took Alan back to his house and just dumped him there, leaving him for dead.”

Murder cops were seen stationed outside Alan’s home on New England Road in Saltcoats and officers raided a flat in Ardrossan as they searched for the killer.

Police Scotland announced they had finally arrested and charged Honeyman on February 20, two weeks after he dumped Alan was found with horrendous injuries by his mum.

Honeyman was sentenced to life at the High Court in Glasgow this week after a trial.

It emerged in court he had previously been jailed for almost three years for an attack on Mr Lawson in 2022.

Prosecutors said Mr Lawson was repeatedly punched, kicked, struck with a sharp weapon and had his feet scalded.

Honeyman also jumped on the man from a set of stairs, stripped him, applied superglue to his many wounds having forced him into the shower.

The court heard how afterwards Honeyman got help from two other men to haul Mr Lawson out of the bloodbath into a van and transport him back to his home in Saltcoats.

The killer also ripped up carpets and rugs as well as bagged other incriminating items in a clean-up operation lasting hours at his home.

Alan was said to have suffered at least 54 injuries. The brutal attack had caused a blood clot resulting in a massive and fatal stroke.

Honeyman had accepted causing the death, but had denied murder.

Sentencing, Lord Arthurson told the killer: “This crime was exceptionally callous.

“The violence was designed to cause him particular pain and were nothing less than acts of torture.

“The screenshots shown in court taken from the video in the house of you and your victim made clear that you revelled in what you had done.

“The image of you half naked and smeared in the victim’s blood was resonant of a scene from sort of dystopian work of fiction.”

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