It’s an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges) but if it’s not treated quickly, meningitis can be “very serious”.

It can also cause “life-threatening” sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves, according to the NHS.

Is meningitis contagious? How it spreads

With recent reports of university students in Kent contracting meningitis, Dr Punam breaks down the key symptoms and what to do if you’re worried about yourself or someone you know. pic.twitter.com/NA90ncpnfE

— BBC Morning Live (@BBCMorningLive) March 16, 2026

Health experts have outlined that meningitis is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection.

The NHS states that bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis.

Infections that cause meningitis can be spread through:

• sneezing
• coughing
• kissing

The NHS adds: “Meningitis is usually caught from people who carry these viruses or bacteria in their nose or throat but are not ill themselves.

“It can also be caught from someone with meningitis, but this is less common.”

What are the signs and symptoms of meningitis?

Some meningitis symptoms can develop suddenly and include:

• a high temperature (fever)
• being sick
• a headache
• a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop)
• a stiff neck
• a dislike of bright lights
• drowsiness or unresponsiveness
• seizures (fits)

It’s important to note that these symptoms can appear in any order and you do not always get all the symptoms.

Have you had a meningitis vaccination? (Image: ILARIA PANNETTA/Getty)

What vaccines are available for meningitis?

There are various vaccinations that can offer some protection against certain causes of meningitis, such as:

• MenB vaccine – offered to babies aged 8 weeks, followed by a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at 1 year
• 6-in-1 vaccine – offered to children at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks and 18 months
• pneumococcal vaccine – 2 doses offered to babies at 16 weeks and 1 year, and a single dose offered to adults aged 65 or over
• MMRV vaccine – offered to children at 12 months and 18 months
• MenACWY vaccine – offered to teenagers, sixth formers and “fresher” students going to university for the first time

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The NHS urges: “Call 999 for an ambulance or go to your nearest A&E immediately if you think you or someone you look after could have meningitis or sepsis.

“Trust your instincts and do not wait for all the symptoms to appear or until a rash develops.

“Someone with meningitis or sepsis can get a lot worse very quickly.”

You should call NHS 111 for advice if you’re not sure if it’s anything serious or you think you may have been exposed to someone with meningitis.

The latest shutdown of Dubai’s airport has disrupted the travel plans of thousands of UK passengers.

Dubai International Airport announced on Monday, at 1.36am GMT, it had suspended flights after a drone hit a nearby fuel tank.

Many Emirates flights already in the air were diverted, while others waiting to take off were cancelled.

Five flights from UK airports had to return to their points of origin, including a journey from Edinburgh which had made it as far Egyptian airspace before turning back.

An Emirates spokesperson said: “We can confirm the flight [EK24] returned to Edinburgh due to operational disruption.”

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Other passengers on board a flight from London Stansted almost made it to Dubai, but were instead diverted to Vienna, Austria.

The closure of the major United Arab Emirates hub also impacts thousands hoping to finally return to the UK after being stranded in the Middle East, or other airports where UK flights connect in the region, since the US and Israel launched its war on Iran.

On Monday, all seven Emirates flights from Dubai to London Heathrow were cancelled.

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Later in the morning, Dubai International Airport said flights were “gradually resuming to selected destinations”.

Flights to and from the airport were heavily impacted for several days following the start of the US-Israeli operations against Iran on 28 February.

Around half a million passengers per day use airports in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi, which serve as key hubs for travel between Europe and continents of Asia and Australia.

Qatar flights to resume

However, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs said on Monday that Qatar Airlines flights would resume on Friday.

Helen McEntee said on X: “Pleased to announce that we have been informed by Qatar Airlines that it will resume flights from Doha to Dublin on Friday, 20 March 2026.

“There will be four direct flights weekly from that date.”

The towering forward won the last of his 15 Test caps in November 2024

Wales forward Christ Tshiunza will reportedly join Sale Sharks when his contract with Exeter Chief expires at the end of the season, with the move throwing his international future into question.

The towering forward has been the subject of significant interest from Cardiff Rugby, having been raised in the Welsh capital and gone through the region’s academy system after moving to Wales from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child. However, after Sale hijacked the move, the English side have now won the race for his signature ahead of next season, according to RugbyPass.

It is unclear what this move will mean for Tshiunza’s Test career but, if he was offered a competitive deal by Cardiff, it could be an issue, with the 24-year-old having won only 15 caps for Wales since making his debut in 2021.

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Under Welsh Rugby Union rules, a player with fewer than 25 caps that receives “a fair and reasonable offer” to play for a side in Wales and moves elsewhere will become ineligible to represent the national side. If the offer made is not deemed “reasonable”, however, it falls to the Rugby Management Board (RMB) and Professional Rugby Board (PRB) to consider the player’s eligibility.

However, the weight and relevance of the 25-cap rule today can be seriously questioned with several loopholes found in recent times, allowing the likes of Jarrod Evans and Rhys Carre to return to the national team despite playing in England.

Tshiunza won the last of his international caps against South Africa during the 2024 autumn internationals and has struggled with a injuries in recent times. He broke his foot while playing for Exeter on the opening weekend on the PREM season, ruling him out of Wales’ autumn campaign, while a further setback earlier this year made him unavailable for the Six Nations.

After nearly six months on the sidelines, he made his return to action off the bench in Exeter’s 66-14 mauling at the hands of Leicester Tigers in Sunday’s PREM Rugby Cup final.

Cardiff are believed to have eyed Tshiunza as a potential replacement for Ulster-bound forward Ben Donnell, but instead he is set to join fellow Wales internationals Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis and WillGriff John at Sale.

It comes after Exeter boss Rob Baxter admitted it would be tough to keep Tshiunza at Sandy Park beyond his deal, which expires at the end of the 2025/26 season.

“The tough one with Christ, really, I don’t mind saying, our EQP numbers are quite tight and making sure that we have that balance in the squad, because for us, it’s very, very important that we keep the funding for the EQP balance,” he explained.

“When you look at the make-up, particularly in our forwards, where our frontline players are, especially when you see guys like Bachuki Tchumbadze coming through, who obviously is non-EQP.

“We’ve signed Nika Abuladze, who is obviously non-EQP, to make our frontline forwards as strong as we have,” Baxter added. “At some stage, EQP becomes quite an important factor for us.

“And obviously, Zambo (Andrea Zambonin) is going well with Daf (Dafydd Jenkins) in the second row. Tom Hooper is going well in the back row. You know, we start to fill up our non-EQP quota pretty quickly.”

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The RAC Foundation have stated there’s something “wrong” with the system

New research has shown that private parking companies have issued 76 million tickets over the span of seven years.

Motoring research charity, the RAC Foundation calculated the figure and share that it demonstrates something being “wrong” with the system.

In 2019, the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill received royal assent. The aim of this was to create a code of conduct for the private parking sector following years of accusations that there were misleading and confusing signs for customers, as well as aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.

The code included halving the cap on tickets which would have made most-parking offences £50. Although this was due to come into force across Britain by the end of 2023, the Conservative government withdrew in 2022 after a legal challenge.

A new consultation on introducing a code was held by the Labour Government last year. The RAC Foundation analysed the number of records obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by companies chasing vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks.

Between the start of April 2019 and the end of September last year the total was 68.4 million. They added that there have been around eight million requests since then.

Steve Gooding, director of the charity, said: “No one denies there are some drivers who will always try it on, but the idea that the vast majority of the estimated 48,000 people who get ticketed daily set out to flout the rules is absurd.

“In this financial climate who knowingly risks getting charged a ‘penalty’ of typically £100? This suggests something fundamental is wrong with the system and we urge ministers to finally act to curb some of the power of the parking industry whose aim – which is understandable in a way – is to make as much money as possible.

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“Clearly, there are big issues facing the Government but finally resetting the private parking landscape would bring a cheer from millions of motorists whilst still ensuring real offending is curtailed.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Motorists must be protected when using private car parks and we are determined to drive up standards in the industry.

“We have run a consultation on this issue and will set out further details on the private parking code of practice as soon as possible.”

Isaac Occhipinti, head of external affairs at industry body the British Parking Association, said: “The BPA recognises the need for a code of practice that reflects today’s motoring environment.

“With record numbers of vehicles on the road, the new framework is an important step to address current concerns, protect decent drivers and deter behaviour that harms communities.

“Parking charges act as a deterrent. When they are reduced, evidence shows that compliance falls, disruption rises and more people ultimately receive charges.”

“Beyond thrilled to be handing the #HouseOfGames keys over to the one and only Michael Sheen,” he wrote alongside a photo of Sheen. “I promise to put the hoover round before he arrives. Best of luck Michael – you’re such a great choice, and I know you, and the viewers, will have an amazing time.”

The 86-year-old cookery writer and restaurateur shared that she was leaving the Channel 4 baking show to focus on other interests.

However, she has now shared another factor that played into it, because of concerns over her mobility.

Speaking on The Shift podcast about a moment of filming when she realised this, Leith said: “We weren’t judging cake – they wanted us to dance round this field.

“And it was a very hummocky, uneven field, which of course Noel [Fielding] could really leap over brilliantly and Paul [Hollywood] perfectly good.

“But I suddenly realised ‘I’m going to go A over T, you know, this is going to be humiliating beyond belief.’

“So I said ‘I don’t want to do it,’ and they understood – they were fine.”

Leith admitted that it was the first time she had to refuse an activity on the show due to her physical limitations.

She said: “That was the first time I had to say ‘I can’t do that.’

“Gradually there had been more and more of those things.”

Prue Leith discusses presenting partnership with Paul Hollywood

Leith joined Bake Off as a judge in 2017, when the show moved from the BBC to Channel 4.

Speaking about their 25-year age gap, Leith said Hollywood regularly joked about her being older.

She said: “Ever since I’ve been on Bake Off, Paul has always teased me because I’m so much older than him.

“He’d say things like ‘Come along deary, upsy daisy,’ ‘time for your nap,’ or ‘time for your tea,’ or something or other.

“This is a running joke… but of late I’ve thought ‘Actually, you’re right mate.’

“If I had stayed on Bake Off, I’d have asked for a ramp to get into my Winnebago.

“Paul’s teasing would have become absolutely true, so he would have probably stopped doing it.”

Who will be replacing Prue Leith on The Great British Bake Off?

The TV cook and food writer Nigella Lawson was announced as Prue Leith’s replacement on the programme.

She becomes the third judge to work alongside Paul Hollywood after Leith and Dame Mary Berry.

The 66-year-old has said she will leave the “technical” judging to Hollywood and focus on the “eating”.

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During an appearance on ITV’s This Morning, Nigella also shared that she was “really looking forward” to joining the team.

She said: “Well, I’m really looking forward to it.

“Listen, I think Prue is just fantastic, and Mary Berry was fantastic before.

“So if I think about it like that, I do, then I feel like, ‘Oh no’, you know, I get really frightened.

“So I’ve just got to say, you know, that they have given me the honour of offering me this, and I just want to do it as well as I can, and just, you know, become a part of it and enjoy it.”

KPop Demon Hunters star EJAE has revealed what she had planned to say before her Oscars acceptance speech was abruptly cut off by organisers.

The South Korean singer, whose real name is Kim Eun-jae, made history on Sunday (15 March) when KPop Demon Hunters hit song “Golden” took home the prize for Best Original Song.

It is the first K-Pop track to win the award in the ceremony’s 96-year history. “Golden” became a breakout hit after the film’s Netflix debut last year, topping the charts in over 30 countries.

Eun-jae also sings on the track, which she co-wrote with Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Name, Jeong Hoon Seo, and Teddy Park.

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Taking to the stage on Sunday (15 March), Eun-jae became emotional as she thanked the Academy. “Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop but now everyone is singing our song and all the Korean lyrics,” she said.

“I’m so proud. I’ve realised the song and the award is not about success, it’s about resilience. I’m just so grateful to our team.”

After thanking her family and the team behind KPop Demon Hunters, she then passed the microphone to Yu Han Lee before instrumental music began playing, prompting the winners to leave the stage.

While both Sonnenblick and Eun-jae began signalling to production to let Lee finish his speech, the programme cut to an abrupt ad break.

Speaking backstage to press later, Eun-jae revealed what the team would have said if they had been given more time on stage.

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“We feel very grateful and very honoured. We all worked so hard and this is such a collaborative effort, we just need to thank our directors. They created a beautiful film,” she said, according to Deadline.

“Everyone was a part of it and we are just so happy that the hard work paid off. Also, I needed to thank Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna onstage, but I didn’t get to because they just cut us off. They killed it with their singing and they’re just incredible people and I love them so much.”

open image in gallery

Lee added: “I would like to thank all our families, my fellow Idol members and Teddy Park. This is an incredible honour.”

Sonnenblick, who also didn’t get a chance to speak, said that he would have thanked his family, some of whom, including his husband, were present at the ceremony.

“But also just to say everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board,” he said. “It’s a movie where part of the movie is about looking at someone that you have been taught to hate and to fear and starting to trust, maybe even love them. And that’s part of what the movie is about.”

The Netflix film follows K-Pop group Huntrix as they juggle their music careers with their secret roles as demon hunters. Arden Cho, May Hong and Ji-young Yoo provide the characters’ speaking voices, while Eun-jae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami sing for them.

The film also took home the award for Best Animated Feature at the ceremony, with Korean-Canadian co-director Maggie Kang saying that the win is “for Korea and Koreans everywhere”.

Norton Road (Blackboards) between Norton and Malton is shut to traffic.

The closure is to replace the removable bollards.

Cllr Keane Duncan, who represents Norton said: “I am pleased to be able to confirm that the bollards on Norton Road, many of which are missing or damaged, will be replaced by the highways team.

“The existing bollards are bolted to the carriageway, making them vulnerable to vandalism. The new bollards will be similar – but fixed to sockets below the carriageway and more resistant to vandalism.

“The sockets are “quick release” which means the bollards can be removed quickly in times of flooding, if the road needs to be returned to two-way traffic.

“The work will take place outside of peak hours between March 16 and March 27.”

Britney Spears is ‘terrified’ of the consequences she faces after being arrested under the suspicion of driving under the influence.

Earlier this month the Princess of Pop, 44, was pulled over by police in Los Angeles after ‘driving erratically at high speeds’ on a motorway.

After being stopped, she then ‘showed signs of impairment’ and submitted to a series of field sobriety tests before briefly being taken to jail.

Soon after a representative for the singer said what unfolded was a ‘completely inexcusable unfortunate incident’.

‘Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time,’ they said.

Referencing her sons and family, they added: ‘Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for wellbeing.’

However, a few weeks on, a friend of Britney’s has given an update as to how she is feeling ahead of her scheduled court appearance on May 4.

‘She’s terrified. She knows there’s a potential for jail time, and that’s got her attention,’ they told The Daily Mail.

‘She’ll do anything to avoid that. But she’s scared that people will think she needs to go back under a conservatorship.

‘Other celebrities have DUIs and nobody suggests they should go into a conservatorship. She feels it’s very unfair. She values her freedom above anything.’

On the evening of March 4, Britney was arrested near her home in Thousand Oaks, just outside of Los Angeles after a police officer allegedly saw her swerving from lane to lane.

Although she wasn’t injured, police took her to hospital to take tests and determine her blood alcohol level and whether there were drugs in her system.

She was then booked into a cell where she was described as ‘emotional and crying’, before being released three hours later.

Police reportedly also found her in possession of the amphetamine Adderall. Although the drug is prescribed to treat ADHD, it is also being tested to see if it has been laced with illegal narcotics, as reported by the Daily Mail.

If convicted, Britney would be facing her first DUI offence and be banned from driving.

Although a friend told the Daily Mail Britney ‘was not a great driver’, having her licence ‘represents freedom’. ‘Yes, she could easily afford a chauffeur, but Britney doesn’t want to be driven. She wants to drive. It’s not about money, it’s about freedom,’ another friend said.

But if there are traces of illegal drugs found following the tests, the judge can impose a prison sentence.

TMZ has recently reported that Britney sacked her ‘sober coaches’ just a few weeks before her arrest, while police have also said to have been summoned to her home 14 times over the past two years. These are said to have been for both ‘welfare checks’ and reports of trespassers.

Following her public mental health struggles in 2008, Britney was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, which was eventually terminated in 2021.

At the time her father Jamie controlled her estate – with her net worth estimated to sit around $60million (£45million). They are now estranged.

Although the current case will be Britney’s first time facing court, in 2007 she faced four misdemeanour charges after an alleged hit-and-run with a parked car in LA. However, these were dropped after she paid the owner for damages.

But this incident – in combination with other highly public moments that included shaving her head and hitting a car with an umbrella – contributed to the singer losing custody of her two sons.

She shares her children, Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, who she was married to from 2004 to 2007.

Britney has previously shut down speculation she has an issue with alcohol and drugs, writing in her 2023 memoire The Woman in Me: ‘I never had a drinking problem. I liked to drink but it was never out of control.

‘Do you want to know my drug of choice? The only thing I really did except for drinking? Adderall.’ She said it was the only cure for her depression and insisted she never had any interest in harder drugs.’

However, in the book she revealed that in 2008 she became ‘hell on wheels’ after taking ‘a lot of Adderall’ and was once nearly close to driving off a cliff.

Earlier this week, a source told US Weekly that Britney’s family and team were ‘looking into treatment options for both addiction and mental health’ but shut down claims there had been discussions about reinstating her conservatorship.

Metro has contacted representatives for Britney Spears for comment.

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The highly-rated Hoxton North has operated on Royal Parade for 13 years.

Owner Tim Bosworth posted on social media: “This has not been an easy decision. We have worked hard over the years to adapt and evolve, but the operating environment and increased ongoing costs for small independent hospitality businesses have become increasingly challenging.”

He continued: “Hoxton North has always been about more than just food and coffee. It has been about connecting, sharing stories, and bringing a little bit of London spirit to the North.

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“I am incredibly proud of what we have built and deeply grateful to every customer, team member, supplier, and friend who has supported us along the way.”

Last year, Mr Bosworth opened a pizza bar nearby.

He added: “And while this chapter is coming to an end, we’re still exploring what comes next. In the meantime, the spirit of Hoxton North continues just up Cold Bath Road at North Slice, and we’d love to see familiar faces there too.”

Hoxton North earned plaudits online with Google awarding the venue 4.7 stars out of five, based on 540 reviews.

The most recent review gave five stars and said: “Gorgeous brunch, lovely coffee! The beans were so good, poached eggs perfect.”

Tripadvisor gave Hoxton North 4.6 stars out of five, based on 377 reviews, ranking it 29th out of 296 Harrogate restaurants.

The most recent review here also gave five stars and said: “Small, which is not detrimental, cafe. Tasty food, excellent service. Gets busy and rightly so, worthy of return visits.”

Scores of customers have reacted to the news on Facebook, with one branding the café an ‘institution.’

Another said: “So sorry to hear this and also shocked as the restaurant always seems to be packed. We love eating with you but often turned away as you are full. Beautiful food, good luck for the future.”

Another posted underneath: “A very sad indictment of just how impossibly difficult it is to run a small business in the modern environment.

“Despite being constantly busy.

“If a brilliant business can’t justify existence, what future for others?”

“This must have been a tough decision. All the luck in the world to you and the family.”