Aldi, which already operates more than 1,080 stores is hiring for a wide range of store positions.

This includes both full-time and part-time positions such as Store Assistants and Cleaners, all the way up to Store Managers, with salaries of up to £69,000.

Stores in Yorkshire where Aldi is looking to hire include Thirsk, Ripon, and Whitby.

Aldi is currently working on the site of a new £6m store in Commercial Street in Norton, which is set to open later this year.

The company said it will be creating up to 40 full-time equivalent jobs, however these have yet to be advertised.

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From 1st April 2026, Store Assistants will earn £13.50 per hour nationally and £14.88 within the M25, rising to £14.47 and £15.20 respectively based on length of service.

This forms part of a £42 million investment in colleague pay in 2026 alone, reinforcing the supermarket’s position as the sector’s pay leader.

Rates exceed those of all other supermarkets, and Aldi remains the only major retailer to offer paid breaks to all colleagues – a benefit worth approximately £1,500 per year to the average store colleague.

Kelly Stokes, Recruitment Director at Aldi UK, said: “We want to encourage more people across the UK to consider a career in retail, starting with high-quality training and development that gives people the skills and confidence to succeed.

“As we open more stores, we’re creating more opportunities for people to start to build rewarding careers with Aldi. With market-leading pay, clear progression routes and ongoing support, we’re helping more people grow in retail while bringing Aldi’s award-winning, affordable products to more local communities.”

Those interested in joining Aldi’s growing team can apply at: www.aldirecruitment.co.uk

Fact To File was declared a non-runner in the Ryanair Chase on Day Three of the Festival due to the ground conditions

Willie Mullins has hit out at the ground conditions at the Cheltenham Festival after the high-profile defection of Fact To File from the Ryanair Chase.

The JP McManus-owned star was set to go off a short-priced favourite for the one of the feature races of the third day of the Festival having also won the race last year.

However, his participation in Ryanair was in doubt from early in the morning when Mullins and McManus walked the track.

Prior to the start of the Stayers’ Hurdle, news filtered through that the Irish Gold Cup winner was a non-runner.

Speaking to Racing TV, Mullins stated: “We walked the track – JP [McManus] walked the track and I happened to walk it coming across the track from exercising horses and looking at Bambino Fever – and I thought wow, this ground will be too good for her.

“And sure enough, in the first race she wasn’t able to act on it. Talking to JP, these horses are too difficult to acquire and get as you’ll see at the sales after racing and when you have them, you mind them.

“We waited and waited all day for the rain that was half-promised, it hasn’t come so we made the decision not to run.

“These horses are too hard to find, too hard to get. In jump racing we want to have soft in the description of the ground. Good ground we think is not good enough for the type of individual we are buying and trying to race and have the top horses at the best festival. If the ground is going to be like this then we are not going to bring them.

“We were promised watering and I am not sure the watering we were promised was done, so I’m a little bit annoyed at that. I know the weather forecast hasn’t been kind but very few people complain about too much rain and a bit of watering, but this isn’t good for the type of horse we are bringing over here.

“I know it suits some horses but for the majority of the good, big, National Hunt horses, we would like it a little softer anyway.”

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Iran’s new supreme leader has tried to turn the page on this conflict – but his demands are unlikely to be listened to.

For five days there’s been mounting speculation about the health of Mojtaba Khamenei after he was reportedly injured in an air strike on the first day of the war which killed his father, wife and son.

Now a lengthy message has been read out from the ayatollah on state television. That message doesn’t really answer the questions about his health as we don’t see or hear from him.

But it does spell out that Iran is well aware its ace card is delivering economic paralysis to the region instead of winning the military fight with Israel and America.

There’s no doubt that Iran’s effective shutting down of the vital oil shipping lane the Strait of Hormuz has worked. And that won’t stop. At the same time Iran – and through its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, is still managing to launch missiles towards Israel.

Now the supreme leader is demanding his Gulf neighbours kick out American forces from bases across the region. If they do, the attacks on those many Gulf countries, from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates, will likely stop.

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The Iranians have had years to put together a strategy for winning this war. But the plan and the extent to which they’ve attacked their neighbours has taken many by surprise.

From the ayatollah’s statement today, it’s clear they know that tactic is working – and they plan to double down on the non-military pressure threatening to ‘attack’ their enemies on ‘other fronts’.

This could potentially mean sectors such as banking.

It’s also clear from the statement that their narrative contains no notes of pragmatism – no undertone of peace.

Of course, that was to be expected when we did finally hear the first words of the man anointed to the top of the regime.

A regime still standing, and which increasingly it seems Israel is accepting, won’t fall any time soon.

Alex Mann is one of two players to start every game for Wales under Steve Tandy

It’s perhaps testament to how unkind fate has been to Jac Morgan that this Saturday marks the 50th Test Wales have played since he made his debut against Scotland in 2022, yet he hasn’t started even half of those.

Having been thrust into the starting XV of the defending champions for his Test bow four years ago, he more than played his part in Wales’ last home victory in the Six Nations. In the years that have followed, he has quickly established himself as Wales’ most important player.

The solitary Welshman at the end of last year’s Lions tour, a captain of his country at the age of 23. When he is fit and available, he is the first name on the team sheet.

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And yet, of the half-century of Tests that have followed that first cap back in February 2022, Morgan has started just 19 of those – with his longest run of starts being seven matches between the back-end of 2024 and the 2025 Six Nations.

Remarkably, across those 50 matches, Wales have used 35 different back-row combinations. 13 involving Morgan, another 22 without him.

Incredibly, Wales haven’t gone through three straight matches using the same back-row. This weekend’s lot, are just the sixth complete back-row to be trusted to start a second match unchanged.

It’s not guaranteed they’d all start the next game against Fiji in the summer, given Morgan will be back from his shoulder injury by then.

All of this is to remind us that the back-row is an incredibly combative place to play. Chances come and go, with fate and timing as important as talent and ability.

You’ve got to be there to take it.

There’s also balance to consider. Those 35 different combinations haven’t always been comprised of the three best back-rowers, but rather how they work as a trio.

Which brings us neatly onto Alex Mann.

Along with captain Dewi Lake, Mann is the only Welshman to start every one of Tandy’s Test matches in charge of Wales. Nine in a row.

To say the Cardiff back-row is a vital part of what Wales want to do right now would, on the basis of Wales’ start to life under Tandy, be an understatement.

Clearly, whether it’s as a six or a seven, Tandy’s best back-row balance, right now, includes the 24-year-old from Aberdare.

The defensive performance in Dublin has naturally attracted headlines. The tackle statistics, as they tend to do, have fluctuated based on which data provider you trust.

But whether it was 32 or 33 Irish men felled last Friday, it’s still a Six Nations record.

Defensively, Wales have taken massive strides in the past two matches. Having shipped 50 points a match in Tandy’s first six Tests in charge, they’ve tightened things up – essentially halving that number against Scotland and Ireland.

There are a number of reasons for this. In key areas, combinations are growing more confidence in the principles of Tandy’s defence.

They’re keeping numbers on their feet, committing two to the tackle and looking more connected for it after some teething issues earlier in the campaign.

There’s an increased physicality, with Mann leading the way for dominant tackles by a Welsh player – with five in this tournament.

But it’s not just about putting in shots, it’s also how Wales have been smarter around the breakdown. It’s been obvious that there’s been less of a breakdown threat in the two-man tackle philosophy they’ve introduced.

However, the reintroduction of James Botham to the side after a year has offered them greater threat there. Only Rory Darge, Tadhg Beirne and Maro Itoje have more successful jackal attempts than Botham.

That’s all the more remarkable given Botham has only played 150 minutes in this tournament and Wales barely competed at the breakdown in Dublin last weekend.

Instead, they followed France’ blueprint against the Irish – putting one or less into rucks and competing on less than half.

That breakdown discipline has been a big improvement for Wales. Mann isn’t a natural jackaller in the mould of a Botham, Morgan or Tommy Reffell, but he’s a nuisance there – having hit the most defensive rucks for Wales in this tournament.

On occasion, he will come up with a steal, like the one near his own line against Scotland.

But just as important is being a pest and slowing down opposition ball to allow Wales to reset.

“It’s disciplined, but also it’s decision-making,” said Tandy about not competing a great deal last Friday. “Ireland’s break-down is outstanding as well, you look at the speed they get to the contact and that break-down, that’s just making, when we’re going for it to make the right decisions.

“You’ve got Dewi to throw into that mix as well. Rhys Carre is also going after the ball, Nicky Smith can go after the ball. It’s just not losing, it’s something that affects the defensive line as well, it’s just choosing those right opportunities and we feel we’re probably getting a good balance of discipline right across the board.

“Since the start of the tournament we have been very very good and you look at when we go to Ireland into that sort of environment with everything that Ireland threw at us.

“We held our nerve in a lot of that. So it’s good for us. But again, we need to be really consistent with that.

“We’ve got to be consistent and then building reputations with referees, building reputations that we are really, really clean, but we’re super aggressive in what we do as well.”

Botham’s presence has undoubtedly helped Wales’ efforts in terms of holding their nerve. It’s a little easier to buy in on not competing when you know there’s someone like Botham who can make an impact when the opportunity arises.

“Jim (Botham) has been great since he’s come in, his athletic ability,” adds Tandy. “He gives us opportunities over the ball, as does Manny, but Jim’s decision making at the breakdown has been excellent too.”

Wales assistant coach Dan Lydiate highlighted the “unseen work” of the pack earlier in the week that is driving each other on to be better. The mid Walian is a man who knows all about what it takes to wear the six jersey.

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He’s a fan of Mann’s. “He is some talent and is a young man with a hell of an engine who reads the game really well on both sides of the ball,” said the 2012 Six Nations player of the tournament.

“He’s great to work with and his stats from last weekend were unbelievable. You’ve got to have the will and want to keep putting your body in front of people, which he has in abundance.

“He is a very good rugby player and no matter the number on his back you know what he will deliver.”

Statistician Russ Petty tweeted earlier this week that Dafydd Jenkins has made the most combined carries, tackles and rucks hit in this year’s Six Nations. Mann is fifth on the list.

When you break it down to how often a player is making one of those contributions, Ben Carter, Tomas Francis, Botham and Jenkins are all doing one of those three things every 70-odd seconds. Mann is no slouch either, having an impact every 78 seconds.