Sunderland’s Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Fundraise & Recycle, and the city’s Foundation of Light have teamed up to install clothing banks across the city.

Clothes will be collected, sorted, and packaged in Sunderland before being sold to wholesalers or consumers in the UK and overseas.

Items unsuitable for resale will be cut up into rags and sold to cleaning companies and industries such as engineering and mechanics.

All money raised from the sale of the donated clothes will be donated to the Foundation of Light, to support people from all walks of life, to live happier and healthier lives.

The first bank will be located at the main entrance to the Beacon of Light, with two more planned at points yet to be confirmed at the seafront and Holmeside in the city centre.

Football-related donations such as shirts, shorts, shin pads, socks, and boots will go directly to the Foundation for reuse or repurposing.

The scheme was developed by Sharon Appleby and Clare Wilson.

Ms Appleby, chief executive of Sunderland BIDs, said: “Our aim with this initiative is multi-faceted.

“It’s a public service that we very much hope people will use and it will benefit not only our city but communities further afield.”

Ms Wilson, chief commercial and fundraising officer at the Foundation of Light, said: “At Foundation of Light, supporting our communities is at the heart of everything we do and we’re proud to share that commitment with Sunderland BIDs and Fundraise & Recycle through this initiative.

“By working together, we can promote more sustainable habits through the reuse of unwanted clothing while raising vital funds to support our programmes across the region and the people who need them most.”

Each clothing bank will feature a QR code on the front. Donors can scan this to learn how many kilos of clothes that specific bank has recycled, how much money it has raised, and how much CO2 it has prevented from entering the atmosphere.

David Kristopaitis, managing director of Fundraise and Recycle, said: “We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Sunderland’s BIDs and the Foundation of Light.

“These are two organisations that do incredible work for the city and its communities.”

Easington Church of England Primary School received a strong Ofsted rating across five categories and met the expected standard in two others, following an inspection in March.

The report, published earlier this month, described the school as a place where pupils flourish.

The Ofsted report praised behaviour and attendance, describing the school environment as “calm, kind and purposeful,” with high expectations understood by both pupils and staff.

The school day and environment have been intentionally designed to support positive behaviour, with playtimes restructured and whole-school singing time included as part of daily routines.

Inclusion was another area of strength, with inspectors commending the school’s identification of barriers to learning and the effective support provided to pupils.

Professional development for staff was noted as having a positive impact, with a graduated approach well embedded and regularly reviewed.

Ofsted particularly praised Easington’s early years provision, describing reception children as “happy, engaged and very settled.”

The curriculum for the youngest pupils was considered well-designed, providing a strong foundation and prioritising reading from the start.

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the transition, nurture and education their children receive.

The report also highlighted the positive impact of professional development for staff.

It stated: “Recent staff professional development is having a positive impact with regard to staff better understanding pupils’ needs.”

The report concluded that the school is having a positive impact on pupils’ achievement and sense of belonging.

This comes shortly after MP Josh Simon agreed to relinquish his seat in order to allow Mr Burnham a path back to parliament.

But Mr Burnham confirmed he will request permission from Labour’s ruling body to stand in a by-election

In his full statement posted to X, Mr Burnham said: “I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election.

“I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics. Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours.

“I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic. Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics.

“We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures. However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester.

“Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.

“Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.

“I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.

“Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.”

A man accused of running a secret Chinese spy outpost in a New York City police station has been convicted of acting as an illegal foreign agent.

Lu Jianwang, a U.S. citizen also known as “Harry Lu,” opened the station in lower Manhattan in 2022 on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security. The MPS is China’s primary domestic law enforcement and intelligence agency.​

On Wednesday he was convicted on one count of acting as an illegal agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China and one count of obstruction of justice for destroying related evidence. Now, he faces up to 30 years behind bars.​

“Lu Jianwang used a police station in New York City to target PRC dissidents in furtherance of the Chinese government’s political agenda,” James C. Barnacle Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said.

Beginning in January 2022, under orders from an official at the MPS, Lu, his co-defendant Chen Jinping, and others established the first known overseas police station in the United States.

​Located in Manhattan’s Chinatown, the police station was part of a global scheme to create similar sites all over the world, prosecutors say. ​

Lu’s MPS handler tasked him with collecting information on behalf of the Chinese government, including the location of a pro-democracy advocate who had fled China for the United States.

​In October 2022, the FBI conducted a search of the police station.

Lu and Chen were interviewed in connection with the search, and their phones were seized, with authorities noting that WeChat messages between the pair and their MPS handler had been deleted. ​

A blue banner reading “Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station, New York, USA,” was also recovered from the site.

​Chen pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of the PRC in connection with the station in December 2024. He currently awaits sentencing.

​Lu, who also awaits sentencing, remains free on bail, according to The Associated Press. He faces 10 years behind bars for acting as an illegal foreign agent and up to 20 years in prison for the obstruction of justice. ​

The 64-year-old’s defense team claims that the police station was really a community center where people could renew their Chinese driver’s licenses remotely without having to go back to China, amid travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. ​

Lu’s lawyer, John Carman, also claimed that people would meet there to play ping-pong and mahjong. He told reporters that he would appeal the verdict. ​

“This is not espionage. This is not spying. This is not intelligence gathering,” Carman said. “He wasn’t charged with any of that.”​

According to prosecutors, the MPS has used contacts both within China and around the world to “influence, threaten, and coerce political dissidents abroad,” in an effort to silence them, prosecutors say.​

England have won their past 17 meetings with France in all competitions, but were pushed to within a point in a 43-42 victory in last year’s Six Nations finale.

France, who have grown into the tournament as a new-look backline have found their feet, will be roared on by a crowd that is expected to set a new record for a Women’s Six Nations match in France at the 42,000-capacity Stade Atlantique.

England’s defence has been uncharacteristically lax in their last couple of matches, with both Italy and Wales taking try-scoring bonus points in defeat.

Head coach John Mitchell says some of those lapses have been the cost of installing an attacking mindset as part of the team’s evolution.

“We’ll just keep scoring more,” he said.

“It’s our new identity, it’s the way that we’re evolving our game.

“We realise we can’t build everything in one tournament. So our intentions and our emphasis has certainly been in one area.

“It doesn’t mean that we are not trying to fix a couple of areas in the ruck and maul and rotations might have played a part in that.

“For me, experience and defence are one of the easiest things to fix. Ultimately we will be stronger down the track for these learnings.”

England: Kildunne; Breach, Jones (c), Rowland, Moloney-MacDonald; Harrison, L Packer; Carson, Cokayne, Bern, Ives Campion, Burns, Burton, Kabeya, Feaunati

Replacements: Powell, Crake, Muir, Short, M Packer, Robinson, Aitchison, Sing.

Criminal Record has brought together a round-up of today’s biggest crime stories.

Every day on Criminal Record we will be bringing you a round-up of the biggest crime stories of the day.

If you love to read about crime in Scotland – this is the place to be every day.

Here’s what has been making the news across the country on Thursday.

Evil torture killer jailed for life

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A killer who filmed his victim after he brutally tortured him has been jailed for life. Jordan Honeyman inflicted horror injuries on Alan Lawson, 36, at the thug’s home in Largs, Ayrshire in February 2024.

The crazed 31-year-old then sent a chilling video to another man who was also hit with a barrage of threats. Honeyman was half naked, smeared in his victim’s blood with Mr Lawson lying curled up stricken on the floor – an image described by a judge as like something from a “dystopian work of fiction”.

Honeyman then recruited others to clean up the property, transport the dying victim back to his own home and dump blood stained items into the sea. Mr Lawson’s mother later found her son at his home. He tragically died in hospital having never recovered from his ordeal.

READ MORE: Evil torture killer who filmed dying victim in Ayrshire house jailed for life

Deco Ferguson ‘hiding in ex-pat community in Spain’

Cops believe fugitive murder suspect Derek “Deco” Ferguson could be hiding out amongst the British ex-pat community in Spain. The 62-year-old fled Scotland after barman Tam Cameron, 49, was shot dead outside the Auchinairn Tavern, in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, in 2007.

He was named among the 12 most most wanted fugitives with links to Spain by the National Crime Agency in partnership with Spanish police and Crimestoppers. On Thursday Spanish police warned the ex-pat community: “These are not the people you want in your neighbourhood.”

Police believe Ferguson is likely to be living in Spain under an alias. He was previously thought to be hiding in Marbella and Calahonda in Southern Spain. Intelligence also suggested he had spent time in Holland, Portugal and Ireland. Despite high-profile appeals – including Crimestoppers’ Operation Captura – he remains at large after almost 20 years.

READ MORE: Scotland’s most wanted man Deco Ferguson ‘hiding in ex-pat community in Spain’

Drugs mule chef jailed

A chef who tried to smuggle £200,000 of cannabis into Scotland from Thailand has been jailed for three years. Robin Wild was caught with the drug haul in a suitcase Edinburgh Airport last June 16.

The 26 year-old was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow. He had earlier pled guilty to cannabis trafficking and a separate importation-related charge.

The court heard that Wild had travelled from Thailand to Scotland via Doha in Qatar. He was stopped at Edinburgh Airport by Border Force agents around 7.30am that morning.

An x-ray of his suitcase had revealed “organic material” inside which was believed to be cannabis. Before a full search of the case was carried out, Wild said: “I just want to let you know, I have no idea what is in that case.”

Prosecutor Caroline McBride told the court that a total of 40 vacuum sealed bags of cannabis were found inside. She stated that the street value of the drugs recovered was £200,000.

READ MORE: Drugs mule chef jailed after smuggling £200k cannabis into Edinburgh Airport

Tamo Junto’s most shocking attacks

Gangland boss Ross McGill’s Tamo Junto (TMJ) gang has launched a series of firebomb attacks on rivals over the past year. McGill, 32, went to war with Edinburgh drugs kingpin Mark Richardson last year after blaming his crew for using fake bank notes to pay for a £500,000 consignment of cocaine.

Richardson’s associates in the Daniel crime clan from Glasgow were also targeted as the TMJ gang relentlessly sought revenge. The Record has reported on some of the most disturbing incidents since the feud started 14 months ago.

READ MORE: Twisted firestarter gang Tamo Junto’s most shocking attacks

Mark Richardson’s jail warned over riots

Prison staff have warned of riot fears at a jail where caged gangland kingpin Mark Richardson has been involved in “peace talks”. Warders at HMP Glenochil are at loggerheads with the Scottish Prison Service over plans to move to an 11-hour shift within days.

Feared Richardson and psycho-killer sidekick Colin Coats had previously been given peacekeeping roles at the jail following tense stand offs over visiting times and time spent in cells.

Prison insiders say guards are now “pushing back” against an imminent change to their hours and fear the move could lead to an impact on lock up times and activities, sparking a rebellion by cons at the nick.

READ MORE: Gangster Mark Richardson’s jail warned over riots after kingpin’s previous ‘peace talks’

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The U.S. stock market surged toward new records on Thursday, bolstered by robust corporate earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, particularly from tech giant Cisco Systems.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.9%, building on its previous all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 386 points, or 0.8%, positioning it to close above the 50,000 mark for the first time since the war with Iran commenced.

The Nasdaq composite also saw a 1% rise, extending its own record by late morning Eastern time.

Cisco Systems played a significant role in the market’s ascent, with its shares jumping 15.5% in what could be its strongest single-day performance in nearly 15 years.

The tech firm reported better-than-anticipated profit and revenue for its latest quarter, with CEO Chuck Robbins noting “very strong, broad-based demand for our products.”

This performance, coupled with a current-quarter profit forecast that easily surpassed analyst predictions, underscored the ongoing impact of artificial intelligence investments.

Indeed, the voracious demand for AI technology and the substantial profits it generates have been primary drivers behind the U.S. stock market‘s record-setting trajectory this year.

This trend was further highlighted by Cerebras Systems, an AI processor company, which successfully raised $5.55 billion through its initial public offering, with shares slated to begin trading on the Nasdaq later in the day.

Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist at BlackRock, observed that corporate earnings this season have “reinforced that this is still an AI-led market, but one where the impact is broadening quickly.”

She added, “What started with a handful of companies is now driving earnings growth across semiconductors, infrastructure, and even parts of the industrial economy.”

Beyond the AI sector, other companies also posted strong results, including StubHub Holdings, up 18.2%, Viking Holdings, which rose 7%, and Yeti Holdings, gaining 4.7%. These companies, which sell non-essential items like concert tickets, river cruises, and insulated water bottles, suggest a degree of consumer willingness to spend, even as surveys indicate widespread economic discouragement among U.S. households.

However, questions persist regarding the sustainability of U.S. consumer spending, particularly given rising oil prices and inflation exacerbated by the Iran war.

A report released Thursday indicated that overall retail spending in the U.S. last month was lower than economists had forecast, though the deceleration was less severe when excluding gasoline and automobile sales.

Separately, an increase in U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits last week hinted at potential layoffs, although the overall number remains historically low.

In the bond market, Treasury yields fluctuated but largely held steady, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury slightly dipping to 4.45% from 4.46% late Wednesday.

International stock markets presented a mixed picture; European indexes rose, while Asia saw varied results. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1%, but South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% to a new record, largely due to gains in AI-related stocks.

Meanwhile, stocks were nearly flat in Hong Kong and down 1.5% in Shanghai, coinciding with a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Beijing.

Some investors are hopeful that Donald Trump could encourage Xi to leverage China’s close economic ties with Iran to facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait’s closure due to the conflict has led to a backlog of oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, driving up crude prices globally.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 0.6% to $104.97 Thursday, but it remains well above its price of roughly $70 from before the war.

The Little Hamper Company, in Victoria Road, Scarborough, will end its final day of trading on Friday (May 30).

The shop is known for its bespoke hampers and unique and personalised gifts from local suppliers, with an in-store bar serving customers coffee.

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Officials said that they had made the decision with a “heavy heart” due to “personal circumstances”.

The gift shop, in Victoria Road, is known for its bespoke hampers and personalised gifts, and will close on May 30 (Image: The Little Hamper Company)

A spokesperson said: “We want to say the biggest thank you to every single person who has supported us, shopped with us, grabbed a coffee, ordered a hamper or simply shared kind words along the way.

“Your support has meant more than you’ll ever know.

“This little shop has been such a special part of our lives, and we’re incredibly grateful for all the memories and community we’ve built together. 

“We hope to see some of you before our final day.”

To mark its closure, the shop has discounted a selection of its items up to 50 per cent off.

For more information, please visit its Instagram page – thelittlehampercompanyuk.

Netflix’s ‘micro-series’ has already creeped its way into the UK’s top 10

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Fans of a “saucy” drama can binge-watch this one in just an afternoon.

Binge-watching is how most TV fanatics view their favourite shows nowadays with Netflix dropping the perfect “micro-series” for its subscribers.

Mexican thriller Between Father and Son has arrived with the 20-part series focussed on well-respected lawyer Barbara (played by Pamela Almanza) whose life changes after “just a few suspenseful minutes”.

She visits the house of her fiance Alvaro (Erick Elias) before getting married but unexpectedly finds herself attracted to her future step-son Iker (Graco Sendel).

On top of the forbidden sexual tension, there’s also the mystery around what happened to Alvaro’s first wife and Iker’s mum Fernanda who went missing.

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Between Father and Son is perfect for those wanting to quickly binge their way through a series.

Each of the 20 episodes have a running time of 10 minutes or less, with seven instalments just seven minutes long.

So Netflix subscribers could binge-watch the entire boxset of Between Father and Son in under four hours if watched back-to-back.

However, while fans have been “hooked” by the Mexican drama, some have complained of a technical issue.

From episode four onwards, fans are currently unable to hear the dialogue in Between Father and Son.

Taking to X, a viewer questioned: “Why’s there no sound?”, as another on Reddit stated: “It doesn’t have any dialogue audio after episode three.”

They went on to add: “I am already hooked though and patiently waiting for the issue to be fixed!”

But others have shared that their audio is working fine, including the English dubbed version of the series.

Between Father and Son is available to watch on Netflix.