Hartlepool Borough Council recently scrapped its “free after 3pm” parking offer at Middleton Grange Shopping Centre and introduced Sunday parking charges as part of its 2026/27 budget.

The changes, which also end free Saturday parking in December, are intended to generate additional income after the council voted to freeze core council tax.

Connor Stallard, a Liberal Democrat campaigner, said: “It’s the last thing our town needs.”

Mr Stallard added: “I’ve been across town this week talking to local businesses, and the feedback from them is they’re really concerned.”

Although the parking policy was introduced by the previous Labour administration, it was unanimously backed by all councillors present when the budget was approved.

Council officers estimated in March that removing free parking incentives would save £60,000.

Mr Stallard said: “From the conversations on the doorsteps, it’s clear local residents want easier access to our town centre, and these charges risk driving trade away and turning Hartlepool into a ghost town.

“I’m calling for an urgent rethink on these charges so we can ensure local residents and businesses can benefit.”

A council spokesperson said: “These changes form part of the council’s 2026/27 budget which was approved earlier this year.

“The charges reflect a requirement for the car parking service to generate additional income to offset the decision to freeze core council tax.”

The same parking proposals were put forward in the previous year’s 2025/26 budget but were saved after the council received a “positive” local government finance settlement.

Despite the council’s financial reasoning, Mr Stallard warned that the timing could not be worse for businesses already under pressure.

He said: “It could drive away customers.”

He argued that limiting free parking removes a vital incentive for shoppers and could further harm a town centre already facing economic challenges.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up talks with world leaders at the Group of Seven summit on Wednesday where he’s been trying to sell his tentative agreement with Iran as a pact that will ensure the Islamic Republic never develops a nuclear weapon — even though he’s offered scant specificity about how that would be implemented.

Trump and his fellow leaders are closing the formal talks of the leading industrial nations at a lakeside resort in the French Alps on Wednesday with sessions on the future of artificial intelligence and fostering economic growth.

The U.S. leader also plans to make a stop for a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris before he jets back to Washington.

But first, Trump finds himself trying to quell skepticism about the Iran agreement, a difficult task given that neither the White House nor Iran have released the text of the deal. He also faces jitteriness from key ally Israel about ending the conflict under these terms.

“It’s a great document,” Trump said of the memorandum that has yet to be revealed, even though U.S. and Iranian officials are set to formally sign it at a ceremony on Friday at a stunning resort on Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne.

“Here’s what it says: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. It won’t have one to buy, to develop — it will not have a nuclear weapon. And I would say that’s about 99.9% of what I wanted,” he said.

But Trump will continue to have to do a sales job. Some members of his own party are doubtful that the deal he’s agreed to is strong enough to defang Iran’s nuclear program. At the same time, he faces an anxious international community looking for him to follow through on his promise that the deal will reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic, and keep it open.

What’s in the deal

White House and Iranian officials have sometimes offered contradictory interpretations of what is in the agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, would violate the deal.

“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” Araghchi said.

Trump on Wednesday is also expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a choppy moment in the U.S.-India relationship, in part because of the war.

The leaders’ meeting comes just a week after three Indian sailors were killed in a U.S. military strike on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman in the midst of the American blockade targeting oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Indian Foreign Ministry has formally protested the incident.

Trump and Modi had a warm relationship during the U.S. president’s first term, but it’s become more complicated since Trump’s return to office.

The president hiked tariffs on India, before lowering them, over its reliance on cheap Russian oil, and the Iran war has disrupted energy supplies to India. There’s some angst as well in New Delhi that Trump’s recent efforts to forge a trade truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping could undercut India’s appeal as an alternative manufacturing hub.

Trump will also hold one-on-one talks on Wednesday with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, one of the three Middle Eastern leaders who are attending the summit at the invitation of its host, French President Emmanuel Macron.

The G7 leaders met on Tuesday with el-Sissi as well as Qatar’s ruling emir and the president of the United Arab Emirates for a working lunch. They discussed developing energy supply routes out of the Gulf, including via Egypt.

Before the Iran war, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint that Iran has effectively shuttered since the first days of the conflict.

“Part of the discussions were, ‘OK, how can we imagine, finance, and build infrastructures, sometimes on the terrestrial part, that will be able to go outside of the track of the Strait of Hormuz?’” French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said in an interview.

Macron will honor Trump with a dinner at Versailles

Trump on Tuesday didn’t hide his giddiness over Macron’s plans to fete him at the Palace of Versailles to mark America’s 250th anniversary next month.

He said the opulent setting for the one-on-one dinner was a factor in his decision to extend his stay after the summit.

The palace was the residence of French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. It regularly hosts heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

“I’m a fan of beautiful places, and I was leaving in the afternoon, and then the French president who happens to be a very nice man, invited me to dinner at Versailles,” Trump said. “And Versailles is not gold leaf — Versailles is the real deal. And I said I’d like to do it.”

___

Madhani reported from Geneva. AP writers John Leicester in Evian-les-Bains, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed reporting.

Jurgen Klopp has laid out the blueprint for Liverpool following Andoni Iraola’s replacement of Arne Slot at the helm

Patience may be a virtue, but it’s not a quality that carries much weight in contemporary football. While Arne Slot’s dismissal might have been warranted after Liverpool‘s disappointing season, it arrived just over a year after he convincingly guided the club to the Premier League title.

The Reds’ unexpected shift to a more measured approach, with greater emphasis on possession, left supporters dismayed that they were no longer thrilled by the side, who were synonymous with high intensity and aggressive pressing under Jurgen Klopp.

Even the German himself stepped away from his trademark philosophy in his final years at Anfield, yet he was afforded time for the tactical transformation despite suffering 14 defeats across all competitions in the 2022/23 season.

Klopp, 59, understands the demands that accompany managing one of the biggest clubs in world football and has already advised the Reds’ owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), on how to support Iraola in his maiden campaign.

Klopp’s previous remarks on the significance of time for a manager to implement change resurfaced amid Liverpool’s four-match losing run under Slot this season. When discussing his successor taking over in the summer of 2024, Klopp said: “We had a lot of contact after that.

“He’s a super good guy. He got the best out of this team, and they became champions in an incredible manner. It’s not about Arne showing the world what he can do – it’s about getting the best out of the team.

“That’s exactly what he did. Change always has an impact. And change always needs time. If he keeps the exact same team as last season – Darwin Nunez still there, Luis Diaz still there, for example – they start playing and have problems, [people say] ‘We need change.’

“Now the new guys are there, and they are really good players. It’s just not working out at the minute. Development needs time. Nobody can change that. People need time to adapt. It’s all good.”

Iraola inheriting the reins from Slot is arguably a more significant shift than the Dutchman succeeding Klopp, given the stark contrast in their approaches. The Spaniard will need to mould the squad into the tireless, finely-tuned unit his Bournemouth team became – a world away from the Reds’ laboured system.

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Early struggles may emerge and should be viewed as expected following such a dramatic change in manager. Nevertheless, FSG must reflect on Klopp’s remarks and his own beginning at Liverpool, which was plagued by unpredictability, before reaching a verdict that could shape the club’s destiny for years ahead.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

The JCB Hydromax is hydrogen powered and is being tested in Cambridgeshire at RAF Wittering

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JCB’s Hydromax has entered its next stage of testing at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. JCB is looking to beat its previous high-speed record attempt – set in 2006 with its diesel-powered Dieselmax – by pushing past the 350.092 mark at a run on the Bonneville Salt Flats. In doing so, it will set a world hydrogen land speed record.

The JCB Hydromax has been put through initial testing at RAF Wittering with the 32-foot vehicle moving under hydrogen power for the first time after being unveiled in May. With two production-based hydrogen internal combustion engines on board, the Hydromax develops 1,600bhp in total.

Many elements of the Hydromax are rooted in JCB’s production vehicles, too. The crankshaft for the high-speed car is the same as the one used in JCB’s 448 hydrogen and diesel engines.

JCB says that on a full run, the Hydromax will use up just over two kilograms of hydrogen and produce 18 litres of water as a by-product. It’ll be piloted by Andy Green OBE, the driver of the original Dieselmax.

JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford said today: “Twelve months ago this car was a set of drawings being discussed by a room full of engineers. Today it is a reality and on wheels, running, and being tested in the UK.

“The team has done a wonderful job to get us to this point. Our focus now turns to the real challenge: setting a world hydrogen land speed record in Bonneville.”

This month’s testing has seen the Hydromax go through shakedown runs, refuelling drills and pit-stop rehearsals ahead of the car attempting the record during Bonneville SpeedWeek in August.

Today’s Liverpool latest sees Darwin Nunez and Man Utd feature on the Reds’ transfer radar

The World Cup may be in full swing, but so is transfer season for Liverpool. It’s hard to go a few hours at the moment without seeing a player the Reds are being linked with in action across the USA, Mexico and Canada.

The summer window is only three days old, but that hasn’t prevented Liverpool from being rumoured with holding an interest in the likes of Yan Diomande, Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi and Germany’s Nico Schlotterbeck.

However, it’s talk of a return to Anfield for Darwin Nunez that has really intrigued and today’s news sees the Uruguayan’s thoughts on the Reds resurface. Elsewhere, Manchester United have set terms for a potential stunning transfer.

Nunez’s thoughts on Liverpool

Talk of Nunez returning to the Reds has been rife in recent days after reports close to the Uruguayan World Cup camp claimed he is to sign for Liverpool again this summer.

While those reports have been played down, with The Athletic claiming any rumours of the striker re-joining the club are wide of the mark, Nunez’s thoughts on his former club have re-emerged.

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The forward signed for Al-Hilal from Liverpool last summer. However, he was axed from the squad following the arrival of Karim Benzema in January but recent comments reveal he still holds hisold club close to his heart.

Speaking to AUFTV in March, he said: “Yes, I’d be lying if I said no, that I don’t miss them,” he said. “The truth is they made me feel very good and my family too.

“In difficult moments that I went through personally, the people always gave me that affection, that support and that was very important to me. Obviously I miss Liverpool, I miss them a lot.”

Man Utd block transfer

Man Utd are said to have blocked Liverpool and Manchester City from making a move for Marcus Rashford this summer. The Athletic has reported that the striker is available for £40m due to a clause in his contract, but that clause does not apply to the Reds or City, United’s biggest rivals.

Rashford spent last season on loan at Barcelona, where he helped the club win the La Liga title, scoring 14 goals and claiming ten assists. However, the Spanish giants have chosen not to make his move permanent and the 28-year-old is set to return to Old Trafford.

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Clubs such as Arsenal and Bayern Munich have been linked with Rashford. Ex-Liverpool goalkeeper David James reckons the Reds should test the waters for the boyhood United fan with a cheeky bid.

“If I were Liverpool, I’d look to sign Marcus Rashford. I really would,” James told BetVictor. “Whether he plays on the left or the right isn’t the main issue. Get him in first, and then you give it time to work out his best position. I think he’s an outstanding footballer. His football intelligence is off the scale, and so is his ability.”

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Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’

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from £4.50

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Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.

The Dormant Distillery Company, which owns the Royal Mile Whiskies merchants and other brands, has applied to open a shop in the former Smiggle store in Coney Street.

The company’s licensing application stated the store would serve as the world-respected whisky seller’s flagship store for England.

Plans from the firm come after children’s stationary and accessories brand Smiggle closed in Coney Street in June last year.

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The whisky seller’s store would open from 10am to 10pm daily if the application is approved by City of York Council.

Plans stated: “The application is for a world respected independent whisky retailer, opening its flagship store for England in York.”

The Dormant Distillery Company is based in Perth, Scotland, and is part of the Vintage Saga group which acquired it and the various brands it owns in 2022.

Dormant owns Royal Mile Whiskies which launched with the opening of a shop in the street of the same name in Edinburgh’s old town in 1991.

The shop would open in the former Smiggle store in Coney Street which closed last year (Image: Newsquest)

It launched a website in 2000 which has gone on to sell whiskies to customers globally and also has a store in St Andrews.

Royal Mile won Whisky Magazine’s Retailer of the Year award in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

They also won Online Retailer of the Year in 2020.

Owners Dormant Distillery Company started as a retailer and occasional bottler in 1997.

The firm specialises in selling whiskies, particularly Scottish single malt whisky, and has released its own limited edition products under both the Royal Mile and Dormant names.

The latter produced a series of independent single cask releases from 1997 to 2007 each of which was from a dormant Scottish distillery.

The Dormant Distillery Company also owns the Cigarbox store in Edinburgh and the Drinkmonger shops, also in the Scottish capital and Pitlochry.

The licensing application for the York store is open for public comments until Friday, July 10.

The historic route, first opened to passenger steam trains in 1876, will be celebrated with a series of special journeys operated by heritage rail operator, The Railway Touring Company.

The Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle & Carlisle Line. (Image: The Railway Touring Company)

Its popular summer service, The Waverley, will run on four dates – July 19, August 9 and 23, and September 13 – departing from York as well as Leeds, Keighley and Skipton. Booking is required.

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The trips will see passengers travel the full length of the iconic line behind a steam locomotive, with the outward and return journeys both steam-hauled. Travellers will also have time to explore Carlisle, including its castle and cathedral, before returning.

The Settle & Carlisle Railway is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most scenic routes, taking in landmarks such as Ribblehead Viaduct, Blea Moor Tunnel and views of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, as well as steep climbs to Ais Gill and Dent.

The Railway Touring Company has run the service each summer since 2010, bringing thousands of passengers to the route.

York dates for Settle & Carlisle railway 150th steam trains have been revealed. (Image: The Railway Touring Company)

Kelly Osborne, managing director of the company, said: The Settle & Carlisle Railway is an experience on many people’s bucket list.

“Taking the journey by steam is the icing on the cake with passengers young and old never failing to be excited by the combination of a magnificent steam locomotive and this dramatic route.”

This year’s trains are expected to be hauled by Battle of Britain Class locomotive No. 34067 Tangmere, built in 1947.

Alongside the excursions, organisations including the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company and the Settle Carlisle Railway Trust are planning additional events to mark the anniversary.

More information and booking details are available at railwaytouring.net.

She has a hit on her hands with her memoir Feeling Fabulous and is poised to follow it up in the future.

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Ruth Langsford is set to put pen to paper again with more writing about her life – once her divorce is settled.

The TV host released hardback Feeling Fabulous in February and it was an instant bestseller. It is thought publishers are keen for a follow up and would also welcome an extra chapter for the paperback version of the book in the future.

In an interview with OK! Magazine, Ruth was asked about a follow up and said “Watch this space”. She added: “Writing is something that I hadn’t really considered as part of my career plan but I really enjoyed the process of talking through the topics that we’d cover, of re-reading the chapters and tweaking parts.

“Reading the audio book was a little strange, reading your own words out loud. I found parts of that very emotional but overall I loved the whole experience and it’s definitely something I would consider doing more of. There are a few ideas I’m thinking about so as I say watch this space.”

Feeling Fabulous got to number two in the Sunday Times Bestseller list and stayed in the top 10 for four weeks. Ruth, 66, is still having to deal with ongoing issues around her divorce with Eamonn Holmes, which looks set to go to court at the end of the year to agree the financial terms.

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In Feeling Fabulous, Ruth told of the impact her split from Eamonn had on her. Over the last two years she has needed good friends to wipe away tears and advice from a therapist massively helped her move on too.

A court date has been set for November which will hopefully draw a line under their split, which happened over two years ago.

But before that, Ruth has plans to have some fun in the sun with pals. She told OK! : “I’ve planned a girls trip at the end of the summer – we’re not sure where we’re going yet but it will include sun, some good books, good food and a glass of wine or three!”

Ruth is also busy with TV work on ITV ‘s Loose Women and the QVC channel where she helps sell her own clothes range. Ex-husband Eamonn has been off work from GB News for more than two months now after suffering a stroke.

As well as her love life, Ruth also discussed other elements of her life in the book including appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, her friendships formed on Loose Women and movingly how she has coped with her parents both getting dementia and the death of her beloved sister Julia to suicide.

* The full interview with Ruth is in the latest issue of OK! Magazine, out now.

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Greg Weirs, 39, from Durham, lives with sleep apnoea and fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes widespread pain and fatigue, and had spent years trying different medications with little relief and frequent side effects.

He said: “I was getting sporadic pains, stinging, burning, like a poker’s getting stuck in me – that could be in my feet, hands, legs, or head.

“I never felt like I’d had a rested night.”

Mr Weirs said the pain and exhaustion often left him unable to function or enjoy life.

He said: “For a good few years, I’ve been going through every medication possible – they didn’t work, I just felt more groggy than anything.

“It would just wipe me out, and I’d be asleep all the time, not really living.”

After finding some relief from illicit cannabis gummies, Mr Weirs researched legal options and discovered a medical cannabis clinic, through social media.

He decided to try it despite actually disliking cannabis.

He said: “I absolutely hate cannabis, I don’t like the taste, I don’t like anything about it, but it works.”

Greg Weirs from Durham (Image: Releaf)

Following an online consultation with the clinic, Releaf, he was prescribed medical cannabis in oil and flower form, which he uses with a vaporiser, the legal method of administration in the UK as smoking medical cannabis remains illegal.

The results, he said, were immediate.

He said: “I’ve done things that I’ve not done in forever.

“The last couple of days, I’ve been decorating the kitchen and I haven’t had one bit of pain.”

Mr Weirs has since stopped using other medications entirely.

Now, he is sharing his experience to encourage others with similar conditions to consider medical cannabis as an option.

He said: “Just go for it.

“You can be on strong medication for the whole of your life and be no further forward, where at least with cannabis oils and stuff like that, flower, it takes the inflammation down as well.”

If there is a stage that is too big for Erling Haaland, we’re yet to find it.

A hat-trick on his Champions League debut for RB Salzburg, a hat-trick on his Bundesliga debut for Dortmund, a double on his Premier League debut for Manchester City, and now two goals on his World Cup finals debut, inspiring Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq.

The 2026 World Cup might be six days in, but it felt as if it really began on Tuesday, with Kylian Mbappe inspiring France to a 3-1 victory over Senegal with two superb goals which made him Les Bleus’ all-time leading scorer.

Little over an hour later, Haaland strode out for his first World Cup appearance and picked up the gauntlet thrown by Mbappe, nearly 18 months his senior, with a display full of desire, as well as the goals we have come to expect.

Norway manager Stale Solbakken said afterwards: “You can see he lived up to the occasion – it wasn’t too big for him.

“I had a good feeling before the game, the last training session was very good. I had a feeling he would do it for us today.”

Iraq head coach Graham Arnold added: “He’s just an amazing number nine. We dealt with him quite well for a lot of the game [but] at the end of the day he’s a top striker.

“Norway could shock a lot of people with the team they have. They could go a very long way.”

Arnold spoke to Haaland after the final whistle and revealed: “I just said to him: ‘You’re one of the best number nines I’ve ever seen.’ He’s so strong, so quick and he’s just lethal.”