This comes after a motion was passed at a full meeting of Bolton Council to call on the government to bring in VAT relief on essential repairs on community buildings.

Cllr Emily Mort, of Tonge with the Haulgh, proposed the motion, citing her own experience with buildings in her area that need upkeep and repair work, like the Bolton Sea Cadets.

Labour’s Cllr Mort said: “Many community buildings are ageing, roofs need repairing, heating systems need replacing.

“Buildings need modernising so they are accessible, warm, welcoming and fit for the future.”

The motion was put by Cllr Emily Mort (Image: Phil Taylor)

She added: “All community buildings provide vital social infrastructure for our residents.

“They support community cohesion, reduce isolation, provide space for local services and activities, and help residents access support close to home.

“If the government extends VAT relief to community buildings, as it does for museums, then this will be a life line for many voluntary community groups, helping buildings remain open and affordable.”

As it stands, community groups can end up having to pay 20 per cent VAT on money they raise to make essential repairs.

In response, the campaign to extend VAT relief is being led by the Cooperative Party as part of a national campaign lobbying the government to change tax rules.

VAT relief is currently available for essential spending on museums and art galleries, provided through the VAT Refund Scheme.

This scheme allows museums and galleries to reclaim VAT on goods and services that is used to provided free public access and services.

Campaigners argue that the same criteria should be applied to community buildings, run by volunteers, used for the purpose of providing free services to the public.

The motion was ultimately carried by a majority at Bolton Council.

Leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman will now be writing to the chancellor John Healey, housing secretary Angela Raynor and Bolton’s three MPs asking them to support the campaign.

Bolton Council leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman (Image: Phil Taylor)

But Labour’s Cllr Zaman said he was disappointed that it was not supported by town hall’s Green Party group.

He said: “I’m pleased that the majority of councillors supported our motion, but am disappointed that the Green Party did not support it.

“They really need to take a good look at themselves because anything that assists in the financing of community and voluntary groups must be supported.

“I believe that due to recent policy comments from our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, we will be knocking at an open door, as he has stated his commitment to strengthening community ownership, and giving communities more power over the assets they rely on.”

But Green Party group leader Cllr Hanif Alli says his group refused to vote for the motion in protest against Labour’s running of community facilities.

He said: “Let us be absolutely clear, Bolton’s Green Party Councillors did not vote against support for community centres.

Green Party group leader Cllr Hanif Alli (Image: Newsquest)

“We abstained in protest to the hypocrisy of this Labour run council who denies locally formed community coalitions a fair opportunity, as in the case of Cobden Community Centre, to bid for and run closed down youth and community buildings in favour of giving them to corporate bodies.

“Any suggestion that we voted against VAT relief or do not care about voluntary organisations is therefore misleading and inaccurate.

“We recognise that removing VAT from essential repairs could provide ‘some’ partial, valuable financial help to volunteer-led community buildings.

“Our abstention was not a rejection of that principle or of the dedicated volunteers who keep these facilities running but a cry for justice and a demand for local community led services instead of bringing big brother type organisations to impose themselves on our local communities in the guise of neutral stakeholders.

“This was a Labour motion asking their own Labour Government to change national tax policy.

Bolton is represented by three Labour MPs, while the Labour Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, is a former Mayor of Greater Manchester with longstanding links to Bolton’s Labour councillors.

“Bolton Labour Party already has direct access to their own people who have the power to make this change, and we would welcome them securing that commitment from their own Labour Government, they don’t need opposition council members’ support to deliver this.”

Cllr Alli said he believed motions are valuable but “they must not become a substitute for real action”.

Hurricane Marie, well out in the Pacific, created flooding and dangerous conditions at some southern California beaches over Labor Day weekend, with strong currents and huge waves presenting a threat to swimmers and surfers.

Rose Schoenfeld, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Sunday that Marie stirred up “life-threatening” conditions as it churned in the ocean hundreds of miles off California’s Pacific coast. Some south-facing beaches have seen surf up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, she said.

“We’re getting reports from lifeguards that the surf conditions are very dangerous, specifically the rip currents,” Schoenfeld said.

Hurricane Marie won’t make landfall and is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by late Sunday, but will still but will still bring rain to parts of Los Angeles County before it dissipates. Some parts of the area have already seen as much as a quarter inch of rain Sunday, Schoenfeld said.

The National Weather Service advised people to swim only near lifeguards and to stay off rock jetties.

Long Beach’s city health officer on Sunday issued an advisory warning people not to swim at any of the city’s beaches or bays for at least three days. The advisory warned that significant rainfall since Saturday was expected to produce runoff from storm drains and rivers and create unhealthy conditions for swimmers.

Seal Beach, a coastal city in Orange County, announced Sunday that it would close two beachfront parking lots until Wednesday morning “to protect life and property during the anticipated elevated surf and coastal flooding conditions.” The Seal Beach Municipal Pier remained open.

Adam Yacenda, lifeguard battalion chief for the fire department in Newport Beach, a coastal city around 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles, said the beach’s lifeguards carried out 177 rescues Saturday.

Although the beach has seen far higher waves this summer than in past years, that number of daily rescues is still significant, he said.

“Any time you’re approaching over 100, that’s a busy day,” he said.

Yacenda said only experts should venture into waves in the area. Strong currents are moving along the shoreline and out to sea, with “very strong rip currents,” he said.

Mayes-Osterman reported from Chicago, and Associated Press reporter Ryan J. Foley contributed. Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Residents say the mix of rural surroundings, historic landmarks and a close-knit community is what makes Ringley Village a special place to live.

The village sits beside the River Irwell and has a historic core around its old bridge, church and surrounding cottages.

Ringley Village (Image: NQ)

Wendy Clive, a resident, said: “It’s beautiful up here, but it is a bit of a nightmare when it’s raining, it has a couple of floods and comes up the bank.

“It’s tranquil, and you’ve got the pub, La Roma, and the church.”

Ringley has long been shaped by the river, with its historic sandstone bridge linking the communities on either side of the Irwell.

The area also offers routes for walkers, with woodland, riverside paths and the former canal corridor all close by.

(Image: NQ)

Mrs Clive added: “There’s a canal behind the pub which is disused, but there’s plenty of great walks nearby, there’s one that leads to Little Lever.”

Chedia, who was passing through to collect her child from the school, said she had returned to the area after moving away.

Chedia said: “I love Ringley Village.

Beautiful scenery (Image: NQ)

“I was brought up in Stoneclough, moved away when I got married then came back, the schools are great around here, there’s a real sense of community.”

The village’s sense of community was also echoed by Paula and Jules, who were out walking their dogs.

They said they had lived in the area for more than 30 years and often found that a simple walk became much longer after meeting people they knew.

La Roma (Image: NQ)

They said: “We’ve lived here 30-odd years, it’s just nice is the village and it’s quite rural.

“There is lots of good walks and that, we know lots of people, they just come out on a dog walk, and you bump into people, and then it gets to about two hours to do a 30-minute dog walk.

“Because of everybody bump into that knows you and knows the dogs!

(Image: NQ)

“It’s far enough away, running in the dip, and it’s sort of like a little bit of away from it all, I think.”

With the river, woodland and historic village at its heart, residents said the area offers a quieter setting while remaining connected to the wider borough.

For those who live there, however, it is the people as much as the scenery that can turn a quick walk through the village into an afternoon of conversation.

The cargo plane left the runway and smashed into cars

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At least five people are dead after an Amazon cargo plane barrelled off a Miami airport runway and smashed into cars, a sheriff said on Sunday.

The plane struck vehicles, bursting into flames and sending thick black smoke into the sky in a crash that shut down flights at one of the nation’s busiest airports.

More than 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the crash, arriving to find the aircraft on fire as crews worked to extinguish the flames and assess patients.

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The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the aircraft overran the runway around 2pm after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said the plane struck multiple vehicles after leaving the runway.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA was sending investigators and issued a full ground stop at Miami International as emergency crews responded.

The Prime Air plane came to rest beside a road near two semi-trucks, according to images from the scene. The aircraft appeared to be resting on its belly and was largely intact despite the fire.

The flight had been operated by 21 Air, a cargo carrier based in North Carolina.

The 32-year-old Boeing 767 was originally built to carry passengers and flew for several airlines for more than two decades before being converted to a cargo plane in 2015, according to flight-tracking site Flightradar24.

All runways and taxiways were closed, an airport spokesperson said. About 250 flights were delayed at the airport as of late afternoon on Sunday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions.

The FAA warned that delays were likely to persist even after the airport reopened, with arrivals and departures expected to resume at a reduced rate.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the crash.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “”We can confirm that an Amazon Air plane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at Miami International Airport today. This is a fast-moving situation and we’re still gathering details. We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened. Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We’re doing everything we can to support those affected.”

Germany stands on the brink of a political earthquake as a hard-Right nationalist party looks set to take control of a regional parliament for the first time since the end of Nazi rule eight decades ago.

Last night an official exit poll showed that 44.5 per cent of voters in the sprawling eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt backed the xenophobic and anti-migration party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The projected victory set alarm bells ringing in Berlin and Brussels as the AfD has pledged to ‘protect the homeland’ by deporting all illegal migrants, shutting the border, banning LGBTQ rainbow flags in state schools and halting the construction of new wind farms.

Its leader in the state, 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund, also wants to reform the public broadcasters, end compulsory school attendance and rewrite school history books, which focus too much for his liking on the crimes of the Third Reich.

The AfD feeds on a sense of nostalgia for communist East Germany in Saxony-Anhalt and simmering resentment over the wealth gap between it and the former West Germany decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The prospect of a hard-Right state drew thousands of the AfD’s opponents to a rally on Saturday in Magdeburg, the regional capital, with banners saying ‘Life is better without Nazis’.

AfD has tapped into a sense of nostalgia for communist East Germany, using props like the Simson scooter Ulrich Siegmund and his wife arrived at the polling station in Tangermuende on

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‘No matter the outcome of tomorrow’s election, we have already made history,’ Siegmund told cheering supporters. ‘Because what we have started here in Saxony-Anhalt – that is currently sweeping across all of Germany – can no longer be stopped.’

The official result will be announced early today, but the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, is already tipped to cut state funds to Saxony-Anhalt if AfD does win.

He is expected to create a so-called ‘firewall’, in alliance with Left-wing parties, that would exclude the AfD’s politicians from sensitive government intelligence briefings due to alleged, but unproven, links to Russia.

But with the CDU expected to lose power in the region after its share of the vote, according to the exit poll, plunged from 36 per cent four years ago to 18 per cent, Merz has never been more at risk.

‘If the AfD wins in Saxony-Anhalt, Merz’s critics will become even more vocal and calls for better leadership will become impossible to ignore,’ said political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder of Kassel University.

The AfD’s star has risen as fast as the CDU’s has fallen in recent months, with Merz’s popularity rating at the lowest level ever recorded for a German Chancellor in post-war history.

It stems from his failure to control immigration, with 15million migrants entering the country, many illegally, since 2015 when the then Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of his predecessors as leader of the CDU, opened the border to Syrians fleeing civil war – a move that provoked a mass inrush from not just Syria but the Middle East, Africa and Balkans.

Germany has since been plagued by rapes and sexual assaults, often perpetrated by individuals who entered the country as part of the migrant surge, police figures show. Saxony-Anhalt has by no means been immune to this phenomenon.

Members and supporters of the hard-Hard Alternative for Germany (AfD) party react after the first exit poll results were announced at the AfD’s election party on September 6, 2026

The prospect of a hard-Right state drew thousands of the AfD’s opponents to a rally on Saturday in Magdeburg, the regional capital, with banners saying ‘Life is better without Nazis’ 

The result was a stinging rebuke to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (pictured), whose centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) finished far behind AfD on around 17 per cent

In 2024, a Saudi refugee ploughed a BMW 4X4 into crowds at the Christmas market in one of Magdeburg’s squares. Six were killed, including a nine-year-old boy, and hundreds injured.

Yesterday, in the same square, voters emerging from a polling booth told me they wanted no more atrocities.

Alexander von alten Blaskowitz, 76, said: ‘These attacks have happened way too often. Always ordinary people are the victims.’

Christian, 40, and Katharina, 37, said immigration had to stop: ‘Criminals should be kicked out and a person’s religion considered when deciding who to let in.’

The AfD has become the main opposition in German parliament, polling nationally at more than 20 per cent.

In Magdeburg, AfD supporters sang the national anthem and listened to leaders’ speeches at the final rallies before polling began.

But tensions were high with opponents watching nearby amid a huge police presence. When a German woman in a burka tried to enter the AfD zone to ‘talk to a politician’, she was refused entry by security and led away by police as she screamed: ‘I’m afraid they will expel all Muslims.’

When Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, the region’s AfD vice-chairman, was later asked about the confrontation, he said: ‘We would send back all who don’t have legal status. Saxony-Anhalt should think more German, be proud of their German identity. Even Elon Musk says it’s OK to be German.’

The 49-year-old is one of 15,000 people in the UK living with Polycythaemia vera, a disorder where your body produces too many red blood cells – she was diagnosed after a menopause blood test

A BBC News presenter has announced that she has incurable blood cancer.

Maryam Moshiri, 49, told The Times she is undergoing treatment for Polycythaemia vera, a disorder where bone marrow constantly produces red blood cells. If left untreated, blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks can all be caused by the disease.

Maryam has been undergoing immunotherapy since her diagnosis two years ago following a menopause-related blood test. Doctors say Maryam’s disorder is a chronic condition that can be managed, rather than being a rapidly deteriorating illness.

But treatment still takes a huge toll on Maryam and her family. She told The Times: “During my worst times when I was going through really quite gruelling treatment, I wasn’t there for my kids.

“I’d be lying on the sofa, and my son would say, “mummy, can you come play football with me in the garden?” And you just can’t. You’re too tired.”

Maryam has vowed to keep on working, even covering the death of Pope Francis and the ensuing conclave in April 2025, shortly after her diagnosis.

“I was working 14-hour days, constantly on air, constantly having to think on my feet, and holding it together, despite the fact that I had this chronic tiredness and fatigue,” she said.

Maryam is younger than most people who are diagnosed with Polycythaemia vera. The average age is 60-years-old, and 15,000 Brits have the condition.

Typically, over-60s can survive for another 14 years with the disease, while under-60s can survive another 24 years.

Maryam is now backing a new campaign called Here for This, by Blood Cancer UK, which aims to highlight how the disease impacts everyday life and family moments.

The plane from Puerto Rico is believed to have overrun the runway when coming in to land

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Five people are dead after an Amazon cargo plane reportedly veered off the runway and burst into flames while landing at a major Florida airport.

At least another five people were also injured during the incident.

The Boeing 767, which had travelled from Puerto Rico, is said to have overrun the runway at Miami International Airport before crashing into multiple vehicles. Thick black smoke and huge flames could be seen engulfing the scene as emergency services raced to the airport.

Mayor of Miami-Dave County, Daniella Levine Cava, said she was “closely monitoring the situation.”

Speaking at a press conference she said: “We can confirm that we have at least five deceased individuals”, adding it was an “incredibly difficult day”.

She also confirmed “Multiple individuals were transported to local hospitals with unknown injuries”.

Sean Duffy, the US Secretary of Transportation, said he had issued a “full ground stop at Miami International while first responders assess the scene”.

He warned passengers to expect “significant delays and potential cancellations”.

Kelly Nantel, Amazon’s director of corporate global media relations confirmed an Amazon Air plane “experienced an incident while attempting to land”.

“This is a fast-moving situation and we’re still gathering details. We’re working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened,” she added.

“Right now, our absolute priority is the safety, well-being, and care of everyone involved. We’re doing everything we can to support those affected.”

The dramatic incident brought operations at Miami International Airport to a standstill, however, flights have since resumed.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said: “21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 pm local time on Sunday, September 6.

“The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The FAA will investigate.”

“Contact the airline for additional information”, it added in a post on X.

READ MORE: Ex-teacher dubbed Scotland’s Jimmy Savile ‘sexually abused by his alcoholic mum’

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In a statement, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said: “Over 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units are on scene of an incident involving a plane that overran a runway and struck multiple vehicles near Miami International Airport.

“Units arrived to find an airplane that had caught on fire as a result of this crash, with heavy flames and smoke showing. Firefighters are working on extinguishing the fire and assessing patients.”

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Dr Mohammad Ryan Abumehdi, consultant interventional paediatric and congenital cardiologist for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde at the Royal Hospital for Children, said: “The introduction of self-expanding pulmonary valve technology is a significant step forward for children and young people with congenital heart disease in Scotland.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police conducted Operation Considerate on roads in the town on Tuesday.

The purpose of the operation, carried out on Spinning Jenny Way and Ellesmere Street, was to identify motorists committing driving offences.

Following 90 vehicles being stopped, 33 traffic offence reports were issued, including 11 for not wearing a seat belt and eight for number plate offences.

Five vehicles were flagged as having no insurance, four drivers were reported for using their mobile phone behind the wheel, and two cars had illegal window tinting.

Three drivers were also reported for issues relating to tyres, an insecure load, and not having a valid MOT certificate.

Moreover, one driver was summoned to court for driving without valid insurance, five vehicles were seized for the same reason, and one motorist was arrested for driving while disqualified.

The force’s Wigan and Leigh police team said: “On Tuesday, officers from our Leigh neighbourhood team, working alongside our roads policing team, were on Spinning Jenny Way and Ellesmere Street in Leigh as part of Operation Considerate.

“The operations aims to detect a range of driving offences, prosecute individuals where necessary, and raise awareness of how we can all be safer on the roads.

“We work tirelessly to keep the residents and road users in the district safe and will listen to what you have to say about what is going on in your area.

“Please carry on contacting us with all of your concerns.”

The Cardiff Capital Region is among the regions in the UK to enter into partnership with the fund which hopes to grow and develop financial opportunities.

A major Welsh region is to enter into a “strategic partnership” to help “accelerate major growth” in the area. The National Wealth Fund said the partnership will give the region investment knowledge, expertise and capital to help grow and develop financial opportunities in the area.

The Cardiff Capital Region is among the city regions to enter into partnerships with the National Wealth Fund, which hopes to grow project pipelines, attract public and private finance and deliver key infrastructure to support growth and create jobs.

A spokesperson from the National Wealth Fund said the partnership does not involve direct financing, but involves the fund working in an advisory capacity, to develop projects to the point where they can attract capital from private markets, or the fund itself if projects meet investment criteria.

Coun Mary Ann Brocklesby, Chair of Cardiff Capital Region (CCR), said: “This strategic partnership with the National Wealth Fund represents a significant opportunity for Cardiff Capital Region to accelerate the development of transformational projects that will drive sustainable economic growth across our region and to the benefit of the nation.

“By combining our deep understanding of local opportunities with the fund’s investment expertise and capital, we can strengthen our pipeline of investable projects, unlock private sector investment and deliver the infrastructure needed to support thriving communities, better connectivity and high-quality jobs.