Step inside and you’ll find yourself immersed in a world of cacti, tropical plants and koi carp

In the heart of Wythenshawe Park are a collection of greenhouses which appear rather unassuming from the outside. Yet pass through the doorway and you’ll find yourself transported to different worlds, from desert landscapes to the middle of the jungle.

This is Wythenshawe Horticultural Centre. Located only a few minutes’ walk away from the park’s car park, the centre is made up of a series of connected greenhouses which are home to a diverse range of plants, an aviary and fish ponds.

Outside there are a series of gardens, a small orchard and fruit and vegetable patches. The centre is completely free to visit and is managed by Manchester Council and Blossom, a volunteer group which provides food-growing workshops and opportunities.

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Greenhouses aren’t that unusual in Greater Manchester parks and gardens, but it’s the size of Wythenshawe Horticultural Centre which really sets it apart. There are numerous rooms to explore, each one focusing on different plants with carefully designed paths taking visitors through the displays.

In one room it feels like you’re walking through the desert – complete with the heat to match with spikey cactuses reaching up to the ceiling and tiny succulents emerging from the gravel. Various pots hang from the ceiling, long green tendrils dangling from them.

In another room, visitors are transported to the heart of the jungle, surrounded by lush palms and tropical blooms, including bright orange bush lilies and glowing white canna lilies. There are small bridges which lead you over ornamental water features, allowing you to be immersed in a different world.

But the plants are not alone. In one of the greenhouses a large pond is home to numerous gold fish and majestic koi carp, swimming along with their mouths gaping at the water. A small aviary adds to the tropical feel.

There’s even a section which transports you back to a different age when dinosaurs roamed our plant. In the ancient plant areas you’ll find ‘living fossils’, such as Encephalartos natalensis, a giant cycad which dates back over 250 million years.

The centre feels like Kew Gardens in miniature. Granted, it doesn’t match the scale of the London attraction yet it offers you the same opportunity to reconnect with nature and marvel at the wonderful – and sometimes weird – plants we have on earth. All for free.

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There is a tenuous connection between the centre and Kew Gardens. The centre is home to the Darrah Cactus Collection. Born in Manchester in 1844, Charles Darrah was a lead manufacturer with a passion for plants and built a five-room glasshouse at his home in Heaton Mersey.

This became home to “one of the finest cactus and succulent collections in Britain, second only to Kew Gardens.” After his death in 1903, the collection was offered to Manchester City Council, and although reluctant at first, they were persuaded by a professor to keep it and a glasshouse was built in Alexandra Park, which opened in 1906.

It was a popular spot and accepted plant exchanges from across Europe, but it was damaged in a suffragette bombing in 1913. Luckily most of the plants were saved and a police guard was even deployed to guard it.

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As Manchester’s air quality declined and the glass house was no longer fit for purpose, the collection was moved to Wythenshawe Park where it remains to this day. The centre itself originally began life to provide plants for use by the council throughout the city, but when production stopped the greenhouses were converted into display houses, providing an educational and recreational opportunity for the people of Manchester.

Today the Horticultural Centre forms a small part of what Wythenshawe Park has to offer and it’s certainly one worth checking out.

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In an interview with CNN, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the Lebanese people were “fed up” with the war between Israel and Hezbollah. He blamed Iran for the situation in his country – a remark that prompted Iran’s foreign minister to say, “save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President” – an apparent reference to Israel.

When the US and Israel launched their strikes on Iran on February 28 and Iran retaliated by targeting the Gulf Arab states, I was closely monitoring social media accounts from the region. I research Middle East politics, with a focus on the Gulf, and the social media platforms I use are full of people living in the region – including western migrants, or as they tend to style themselves, expats. To my surprise, from many of them I saw the same message: “It is safe and normal here.”

This was not a trivial claim – these messages were sent as the countries they live in came under attack. But the attitudes they exhibited reflect a broad strategy long cultivated by Gulf Arab regimes. This aims to instil in the people that opt to live there a sense of security, as well as aspiration for the lifestyle on offer and loyalty towards the country for making that lifestyle available.

More importantly, the expats’ reactions exposed the role that foreign residents and influencers have played in advancing a particular understanding of “normality”. Not only do they accept authoritarian rule in the Gulf, they have been pushing out messages about insecurity elsewhere.

To be clear, a lot of foreign workers did leave the Gulf, reportedly in the tens of thousands, when the conflict began. But even so, many of the initial reactions on social media, whether people stayed or opted to leave, projected this sense of security.

Part of the US security hub

These regimes have developed an image designed to attract global connectivity, foreign capital and flows of people and goods. The UAE, especially Dubai, has become a symbol of tax-free residency and luxury tourism. Qatar has established itself as reliable gas exporter and world-class mediator. Saudi Arabia has launched a sweeping reform project recasting national identity and the kingdom’s global role in championing “moderate Islam”, while Bahrain has worked early since independence to become a regional banking hub.

These state-building processes thrived under the security umbrella of US and other western military bases across the Middle East. Firmly embedded in the US sphere of influence, Gulf monarchies have benefited from precious diplomatic cover and access to global markets. Other regional regimes, meanwhile – notably Iran – were excluded. This was more often due to their hostility towards the US than for their brutal repression and disastrous governance at home.

By directing global attention to threats such as Iran, Gulf regimes forged a strong sense of domestic normality. But in recent years, a less reliable US regional policy has made the security arrangement increasingly uncertain, prompting Gulf regimes to explore alternatives. Without renouncing deeper engagement with the US, they welcomed cooperation with other powers outside the region, like China, as well as the possibility of closer relations with Israel and even a modus vivendi with Iran.

Despite ongoing rivalries, including within the regional forum, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), regional conflict de-escalation and management appeared to be the preferred means to continue insulating the Gulf normality. Yet the ongoing destruction in Gaza, closer US-Israeli alignment in the latter’s pursuit of regional dominance, and the ensuing pressure on Iran’s network of proxies has undermined this delicate balance.

Expats get political

The attack on Iran exposed foreign residents’ role in sustaining the image of “normality”. Until then, expats and influencers embodied this normality by displaying safe, privileged and apolitical lives.

I saw posts attempting to divert attention from the threat of war in the Gulf by people claiming to feel safer under missile attacks in Dubai and Doha than “after 9pm” in London or Manchester. Other posts preferred the prospect of missile attacks to being “bombed by 50% taxes”.

These sorts of comments tend to mimic narratives pushed by far-right movements in the west around crime, taxation and immigration.

A viral trend concentrated in the UAE but replicated across other Gulf countries featured influencers responding to the question “Aren’t you scared?” with imagery of members of the ruling families and messages such as: “No, because I know who protects us.” The UAE president’s much-publicised walk in Dubai Mall followed this paternalistic framing of security.

After the initial shock, many influencers returned to the old form of messaging, not posting about the war and focusing on showing their privileged “everyday” lives.

Controlling the message

It’s important to remember that Gulf Arab regimes possess robust censorship apparatuses and broad national security and anti-cybercrime laws that penalise content deemed to “cause panic” or “disturb public order”.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia were swift to remind residents that “photography serves the enemy”, banning unofficial sharing of damage caused by the war, while the UAE threatened severe sentences for people posting negative messages. There have been reports of people detained for posting the wrong content – more than 300 in Qatar alone. Heightened security concerns exposed western expats to coercive practices typically reserved to political dissidents.

Having invested efforts in insulating their domestic projects from external threats through seeking political accommodation with neighbours, including Iran, Gulf leaders may now pursue a different strategy. In fact, we’re already seeing some different approaches as various Gulf countries work out their own best approach to the changing situation in their region. Some, like Bahrain, remain hostile to Iran. Others, including Saudi Arabia, are more nuanced in their approach, looking overall to ensure security in the region.

But for regimes and expats alike, this is a time of reckoning for the parameters sustaining “normality” in the Gulf. Most certainly, the region will never be the same.

The application, submitted for the property on New Court Drive, sought permission to build a rear extension measuring approximately 2.8 metres in depth and 4.1 metres in width.

Planning officers recommended approval, concluding that the proposal would be in keeping with both the character of the existing property and the surrounding area.

A report prepared by the council noted that the extension would be constructed using materials matching the existing dwelling and would remain subordinate in scale and appearance.

Officers also highlighted that a number of similar extensions already exist in the neighbourhood.

The council assessed the impact on neighbouring properties and found the proposal would comply with guidance set out in its House Extensions Supplementary Planning Document.

It was determined that the development would not result in unacceptable overlooking, overshadowing or loss of outlook for nearby residents.

One representation was received during the consultation process, raising concerns about potential subsidence and the effect of the roof height on light reaching a neighbouring garden.

Planning officers said building control regulations would address construction matters and concluded that the extension would not cause undue overshadowing.

Permission was granted subject to standard conditions, including a requirement that external materials match the existing property.

Tuchel has to take his own share of responsibility for this situation, having made some experimental selections leading up to these final preparations, including in the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley in March.

Manchester City’s Phil Foden played up front against Japan. In the Uruguay game, Tuchel fielded Foden, Everton’s James Garner and Spurs striker Dominic Solanke. None of those made his World Cup squad.

Ivan Toney came on for the second half in Tampa after spending a year in the England wilderness, following a three-minute appearance in the friendly defeat against Senegal at the City Ground, Nottingham.

This, in effect, makes it even more important that Tuchel puts a line-up on the pitch against Costa Rica that is as close as possible to the one that will face Croatia. It will be an opportunity to find rhythm and momentum and build combinations before that tournament opener.

Tuchel did, at least, report no injuries from this first warm-up game, while he added: “The better the opponent gets, the better we will get.”

Kane’s goal came just before half-time, which heralded the mass changes, but Tuchel said: “I was happier with the second half. I thought we had more hunger and more desire. We played better but did not score.

“We didn’t play according to our plan in the first half. It slowed the game down, but it was better in the second half.

“We will acclimatise to the humidity and the sun while we are here. Tomorrow will be recovery day, then we have two days to prepare for Costa Rica. Then a chunk of players will get more minutes. The Arsenal players are in now, which is good because it gives us energy and quality, and then we have another one and a half days off.

“Then we go to Kansas and prepare for Croatia.”

The First Minister pledged to meet Mark Sommerville, who was diagnosed with MND in October 2023 and told he had just 18 months to live.

John Swinney has vowed to meet a campaigning dad living with motor neurone disease who is determined to help find a cure.

The First Minister pledged to meet Mark Sommerville, who was diagnosed with MND in October 2023 and told he had just 18 months to live.

The father-of-four, from Uddingston, Lanarkshire, has since set up the Mark Sommerville Foundation to campaign for greater research funding and support for those living with the life-limiting disease.

Swinney’s comments came in response to a question raised by SNP MSP Stephen Bonar during First Minister’s Questions last week.

He said: “My constituent, Mark Sommerville, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2023, a rapidly progressive and cruel illness which, for Mark and so many others, means they simply do not have time to wait for slow-moving systems and delayed decisions.

“Our manifesto made welcome commitments on MND, but progress in terms of specialist care and support for clinical research demands meaningful focus as soon as possible.

“So can the First Minister outline what he will do to ensure progress is made, and will he meet with the Mark Sommerville Foundation and hear directly about the challenges being faced, and the promising work the foundation is already undertaking to support those living with motor neurone disease?”

Agreeing to meet Mark, Swinney said: “I’d be very happy to meet with the Mark Sommerville Foundation, and the Health Secretary will also take a keen interest in this issue, so I welcome very much the points that have been raised by Stephen Bonar.

“It is vital that where individuals have a diagnosis as challenging and as devastating as motor neurone disease, that we have in place the support services and assistance to aid those individuals and their families as quickly as possible.

“The government is trying to ensure that, through the funding we’ve put in place via the NHS Research Scotland Neuroprogressive Disease Network, we will be able to provide enhanced levels of support.

“Some of the learning from the Mark Sommerville Foundation will also be helpful to us in advancing these issues.”

Last month, we revealed how Mark met officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside Glasgow MP Dr Zubir Ahmed, to call for new drugs to be brought to market.

Mark, 45, said: “Those with MND don’t have time to wait. We need help now.”

Mark has teamed up with Tony Lockett and Andy Whiting from biotech firm Nevrargenics, who are behind a drug they believe can not only halt the progression of MND but reverse damage already caused by the disease.

Their lead drug, Ellorarxine, has been approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to begin its first clinical trial involving patients with MND and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Following the meeting, the MHRA invited Mark to take part in its ongoing patient engagement work.

Mark has also been praised by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recognised his campaigning efforts alongside those of rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield, whose best friend Rob Burrow died from MND at the age of 41.

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Man United are close to announcing their first piece of business in what is set to be a busy summer transfer window.

During a World Cup summer, Manchester United cannot afford to waste time when it comes to adding to their squad. Last year, the Reds made good progress in their rebuild, and this summer brings a different challenge.

A return to the Champions League means United must add quality depth to the squad if they want to compete across four competitions next season.

United’s first step towards doing that is all but confirmed. The Reds agreed a deal with Atalanta for their midfielder Ederson this week. Ederson has been on the club’s radar for a long time and a return to the Champions League, coupled with upheaval at Atalanta, meant this was the perfect time to strike.

The Reds are still wanting to add at least one more midfielder to their squad. A ‘plug and play’ replacement for Casemiro is expected this summer with the likes of Carlos Baleba, Mateus Fernandes, Elliot Anderson and Aurelien Tchouameni all on United’s radar. But midfield is not the only area that needs strengthening.

While serving as interim head coach, Michael Carrick was asked about the possibility of signing a left-sided winger. “I think you’re always looking at the balance of the team and the squad to give you the utmost flexibility, so it’s definitely something to look at, for sure,” he said.

Pressed again, he added: “Quite possibly [United should sign a left winger].”

If he was asked today about signing a left winger, Carrick would likely remain coy, but the evidence speaks for itself.

Matheus Cunha performed well in his debut season at Old Trafford. Under Amorim, he was deployed in his more favoured position as one of two No.10s.

When Carrick arrived, the controversial 3-4-2-1 system was scrapped for a more traditional 4-2-3-1. This clearly worked a treat, but stretched United to their limit.

For most of this year, Cunha has been the only available left winger. Patrick Dorgu did brilliantly on the left wing but an injury picked up at Arsenal halted his momentum.

Next season, Carrick will want Cunha to provide options across the attacking midfield roles. With Rasmus Hojlund’s departure now confirmed, the Brazil international may even be asked to provide competition for Benjamin Sesko.

Therefore, a new left winger will be high among United’s priorities. Fortunately for them, one player has come as close to issuing a come-and-get-me plea as you can get.

Rafael Leao has confirmed he wants to leave AC Milan this summer. After scoring ten goals this season, the 26-year-old believes now is the right time for a new challenge.

Leao has already set his sights on where he wants that challenge to be based. “I already won two trophies in Italy and have been there for a while,” he told Sport TV in Portugal ahead of the World Cup.

“The league is evolving, but for my style of football, I think the Premier League or La Liga would make more of my talent, as a player. If a Premier League opportunity were to come along, I would be very happy.

“I think that I can put my talent up against the players there, who are of a very high level. Playing in that kind of a league really gets the best out of a player.”

If those comments don’t get United’s recruitment team to pick up the phone to Leao’s agent, nothing will. The winger may not have been at his best last season, but when he is, he has proven why United should sign him.

Leao isn’t afraid to run at defenders and, unlike some wingers who have failed in the Premier League, he possesses good strength. If they wanted to sign him, United would be confident of getting the deal done.

Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot would provide Leao with familiarity in the dressing room. Plus, the opportunity to follow in Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps, someone who he has described as an ‘idol’, could tip the scales in favour of the Reds.

Adding Leao, alongside Ederson, to the team would represent a good start to the transfer window and set the standards for further signings.

CAIRO (AP) — Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait that were intercepted early Saturday, Bahrain’s government said, and called on Tehran to halt attacks on Gulf neighbors that test a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict.

Iran said that it targeted American military assets in both countries, after the U.S. attacked surveillance facilities on Qeshm Island and near Sirik that Iran said were used to protect borders and “ensure the security of navigation in international waters.” Tehran called the attack a ceasefire violation.

Later Saturday, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest exchanges came as the Trump administration presses Iran to make a deal to end the war, which has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The U.S. military said earlier that it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.

Earlier in the week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.

The U.S. military kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s grip on the strait, a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments. Energy prices have spiked, posing political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party before the midterm congressional election.

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Trump increasingly appears to be boxed in. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump, however, has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have shown no public sign of agreeing to the deal.

The fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south while saying it targets the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, also challenges efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extends to Lebanon.

The Trump administration has touted the latest ceasefire agreed to earlier in the week by the Lebanese government and Israel after U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.

Ratcheting up financial pressure

Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Iranian sanctions expert at the Treasury Department, said it’s significant that the U.S. is signaling it could allow Gulf countries to access some of the $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets stored abroad.

Iran had been seeking some of the funds as part of a deal, and rather than offering Tehran that concession, the U.S. is pressuring them to move quickly.

“So the U.S. government is saying: ’Hey, not just that we’re not going to give you these funds. As a matter of fact, we’re going to take these funds from you, and we’re going to help Gulf states to take it,” Maleki said.

Allowing Gulf states to use the frozen assets would also bolster U.S. ties there, he said. It would send a clear signal that America is sticking with its partners as they’ve sustained attacks and repercussions from the war.

However, Maleki said some Gulf states may be reluctant to use the funds out of concern that they could face retaliation from Iran for doing so.

___

Michelle L. Price reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.

Three locations face disruption from next week with temporary traffic restrictions in force.

On Monday, June 8, restrictions will be in place on Kyme Street in the city from 8am to 5pm.

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Works on Dale Street will also start on Monday, June 8, and are expected to finish on Friday, June 12, during working hours from 8am until 5pm. 

St Saviour’s Place will also be affected from Tuesday, June 9 to Friday, June 12.

The following week, three more sets of works will begin.

Mill Lane in Heworth, Precentors Court, and High Petergate will all see restrictions from Monday, June 15 to June 19, operating from 8am to 5pm each day.

Motorists are advised to allow extra travel time as expected delays are anticipated.