The visit highlighted the essential role charities and volunteers play in reaching people in ways others can’t and also the ‘turbo rockets’ for voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

The MP learned about Community First Yorkshire’s Create 26, an event aimed at sparking ideas and fostering leadership and collaboration within the region.

The event, already creating excitement, offers a range of activities designed to challenge traditional thinking, boost confidence, and encourage fresh ideas.

The workshops cater to everyone, with limited spaces filling up quickly.

The Ripon Cathedral is set to host a Rural Housing Conference on June 12.

The MP learned about Community First Yorkshire’s Create 26 event (Image: Community First Yorkshire)

The conference will bring together planners, landowners, housing providers, and community leaders to address the growing shortage of affordable rural homes.

In financial news, the government has announced £53 million in support for vulnerable households struggling with rising heating oil costs.

This support, through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, is accessed through local authorities.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire Citizens Advice and Law Centre now offers tailored advice for clients with a migrant background across the region.

For more information about Create 26, visit https://www.communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk/

The Ministry of Health has stated that there are multiple injuries and local hospitals have been put on high alert to treat those who have suffered injuries in the incident

At least 60 people have been injured after a ‘structural collapse’ at a football stadium in Peru.

Hospitals are on high alert after the incident which has taken place at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium.

The Estadio Alejandro Villanueva, popularly known as Matute, is a football stadium located in the Matute neighborhood of the La Victoria district in Lima, Peru. Club Alianza Lima play their home games at the stadium.

Those injured are currently being evaluated by medics on scene, according to the authorities.

In a statement on X, the Ministry of Health for Peru said: “The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reports that, following the report of a structural collapse at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium, in the La Victoria district, eight units were mobilised through the Mobile Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) to provide prehospital care to those affected, in coordination with the General Volunteer Fire Department of Peru.

“According to the preliminary report, 60 people have been recorded as injured, who are currently being evaluated and treated. Three of them have been transferred to the National Hospital Arzobispo Loayza.

“Additionally, an alert has been issued at the National Hospital Dos de Mayo and other hospitals in anticipation of the possible arrival of more injured individuals. The Health Emergency Operations Center (COES Salud) continues with permanent monitoring of the event and coordination of the health response.”

According to reports, the incident took place during an Alianza Lima gathering ahead of a match against Universitario.

The M6 motorway is closed tonight (Good Friday, April 3) due to a police incident.

The southbound carriageway is shut to traffic at Junction 27 (Standish).

The closure was first reported at around 10.20pm.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “The M6 is closed southbound at J27 Standish because of a police incident. Traffic is being taken off at the exit slip and can rejoin on the entry slip. There are delays of 10 minutes on the approach.”

Inrix, the traffic data company, said: “All traffic being temporarily held due to police incident on M6 Southbound at J27 A5209 Crow Orchard Road (Standish).”

This is a breaking news incident. We will bring you further updates as they become available on our dedicated feed below.

At high noon on a scorching summer day, retired samurai Kohei finds the fearsome Kumagoro writhing around a field in agony. The stricken man’s name translates as “demon bear”, and he’s the proprietor of a bar of the same name. Kohei finds him next to a temple famous for a tragic legend of familial loss and despair.

This setting frames the second instalment of The Samurai Detectives, written by Shōtarō Ikenami between 1972 and 1989 and newly translated by Yui Kajita. The novel is steeped in mystery, legend, and the ties and tensions of blood kin, fierce loyalty and pride.

Returning to 18th-century Edo Japan, we leave behind the complex machinations of political assassination plots of the first book. This volume explores the seedier underbelly of the city that became modern-day Tokyo, with a new cast of characters.

In addition to the “demon bear” bar owner, these include an upwardly mobile but corrupt samurai willing to hew down innocent passersby, an aged father-warrior seeking his missing son, a street-vendor looking to “muscle-up”, a beloved merchant’s daughter who keeps disappearing, and a kosamebo (“demon drizzle monk”) who visits in the rain.

In the centre of all this is Kohei, the protagonist samurai-detective, and his son, the upright warrior Daijiro. They’re joined by some familiar faces from their previous adventures.

Life is looking up for the two, with a bit more money and food for Daijiro. But at heart, Kohei is still the wily old samurai whose age belies his mental and physical abilities.

There are also the familiar temptations of cosmopolitan Edo: the easy sex, the allure of money and, underpinning it, the ever-present violence – all of which threaten to topple any one of the characters that succumb to it. Sex and love make for powerful motivators but it’s money that provides the lubricant for the inevitable violence.

Family betrayals and fatherly care

Ultimately, the second Samurai Detective volume is a meditation on the ties of parent-child relationships – and what happens when they go wrong. Satelliting Kohei and Daijiro’s admirable father-son, master-pupil, warrior-comrade dynamic of respect and care are other examples that range from love to despair.

As with the last book, the tension of law verses morality forms the basis of thesde stories. In a city of complex fealty and interconnected relationships, it asks: what does doing the right thing mean?

Social, moral and natural justice all play their part in this complex society – though in a pinch, the rough justice of the warrior code will do. This is clear through the number of arms, legs and noses that go flying during the many sword fights.

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In this volume, Kohei and Daijiro unravel mysteries shaped by complicated family relationships. At the heart of these stories are contrasts between care, respect, love and loyalty – and on the other side, neglect, abandonment, betrayal and abuse.

The ensuing resolutions use revenge as their motivator. But there are underlying concerns of power, hierarchy and money that structure the intricate society of Edo.

Towards the end of the book, another tragic, unresolved character from the previous volume returns: a figure of doomed, forbidden love. While portrayed as monstrous, we come to understand that worse still was the cruelty of parental abandonment that sets the chain of events in motion. Ultimately, these are also about the abandonment of the samurai code, something that underpins all the stories in this book.

Balancing all this is the fatherly care of Kohei – not only for Daijiro, who he continues to train, but for all the characters who come his way.

From the continuing concern for Mifuyu, the warrior-daughter of the most powerful lord in Edo, to the disappeared son of his own son’s former teacher, Kohei feels the pull of a collective responsibility to the younger ones. Even the lower-status merchant daughters and unagi eel sellers on the street are not below his level of concern.

They fuel an inquisitiveness that leads Kohei to undignified actions, such as hiding in toilets to overhear plots of intrigue – and ultimately investigate.

As a sequel, The Samurai Detectives: The Killer on the Streets does more than paint an ongoing series of mysteries in Edo Japan. It highlights the necessity of respect, love and care in the creation of a stable society.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

​Since its creation last year, Scarborough Town Council has been in ​“ongoing discussions” regarding the transfer of North Yorkshire Council-managed allotment sites to the parish authority.

​Following an inspection of allotments in the town, councillors have said that any transfer of the allotment sites is conditional on agreeing a “fully costed and funded remediation package” or NYC undertaking necessary remedial works prior to their transfer.

​At a full meeting of the town council on Thursday, April 2, members were told that while dozens of plots are abandoned and unused, 340 people are on waiting lists for allotments in Scarborough.

​Cllr Sarah Mason placed on record “serious concerns regarding the historic and ongoing management of allotment sites within the Scarborough area and the implications this has for any proposed transfer of responsibility from North Yorkshire Council”.

Scarborough Allotments. Sarah Mason/Stc.

​Speaking at the full meeting, she said: “I have undertaken a recent walkabout and inspections across all five sites, and it has revealed a pattern of long-term neglect, unclear tenancy arrangements, unmanaged risks and a significant number of plots are unused or abandoned despite long waiting lists”.

​She said that one site contained “significant amounts of rubbish, including asbestos sheeting”.

​Cllr William Stuart noted that “there are some very good allotment holders in Scarborough who are really committed and they are just as frustrated as we are”.

​A motion approved at the meeting noted the financial, compliance, legal, operational, and reputational risks that the town council faced if an immediate transfer of allotments was undertaken.

Scarborough Allotments.. Sarah Mason/Stc.

​It stated that in their current state, the sites could not be considered fully fit for transfer without substantial remedial works or a funded plan to address the highlighted issues.

​Cllr Mason told colleagues: “There is one structure of concern on a plot which is predominantly made with asbestos sheets and is on the verge of collapse, and this has been requested on numerous occasions to be removed.

​“No regular checks have been carried out, even though this is part of the contract to the plot holders.”

Scarborough Allotments,. Sarah Mason/Stc.

​She added: “Across all sites, we have observed long-term neglect of maintenance, large numbers of unused or abandoned plots and unclear boundaries between plots, poor communication with plotholders and severe lack of management regarding clear tenancy terms, boundaries, responsibilities, and implementation”.

​Town councillors pledged to send a formal letter to North Yorkshire Council setting out the authority’s findings and concerns and requesting “full documentation and clarification of responsibilities and seeking a clear proposal for remediation and/or funding prior to transfer”.

At 8.51pm, the Whitby crew attended a fire on the beach at Tate Hill. Shovels were used to extinguish the fire.

Then at 9.41pm, the crew re-attended the fire on the beach which had been attempted to be relit, crews dismantled the bonfire using spades and sand.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: “The fire was believed to have been caused deliberately.”

Flavor Flav was among the celebrities in attendance at the women’s Final Four on Friday night, sitting courtside for the UConn-South Carolina game with former Gamecocks player Aliyah Boston.

Flav, a founding member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, is also friends with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley.

The 67-year-old Flav is a longtime supporter of women’s sports and attended various Olympic competitions this winter. He invited the U.S. women’s ice hockey team to Las Vegas after their gold medal win in February, shortly after the women turned down a trip to Washington.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

A slight figure in neat shirts and jackets, Magyar seemed too slick and urbane to reach the hearts of the rural electorate, but has proven himself a strong challenger. Orban, 62, is a village boy who speaks village Hungarian, Magyar is a Budapest lawyer by training. Conscious that his status as a member of the metropolitan elite may make him less likely to appeal to rural voters, Magyar has toured the countryside indefatigably for the past two years, drawing large crowds. Unlike Orban, who waxes lyrical on global politics, Magyar focusses on domestic issues such as healthcare, education, transport and rural depopulation in his speeches.