“There are always things we can do to help and we continue to engage with our staff.”

Council sick day statistics in Lagan Valley show a dramatic drop in stress levels.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council’s recent corporate committee was provided with an updated report for the year ending December 30, 2025, showing a total of 10,318 days lost to illness from January 2025.

Stress is consistently the number one cause of absence, but the figure has fallen by a third in the last quarter from 997 to 651 days lost, supported by a two pronged counselling approach.

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Castlereagh South Alliance councillor Jamie Harpur said: “It is worthwhile noting that stress, mental health and depression is down this quarter.

“I also notice that musculo-skeletal levels are down – 572 days, but they are still quite high.

“Is there anything we, as a council, can do to think outside the box in how we can tackle this?”

He added:”I am just trying to understand that if we have Usel service, why do we already tender out counselling services ourselves?”

Usel is a provider of employment support for people with disabilities or health conditions in Northern Ireland and is connected to the Department of Communities.

Council initiatives to lower absence levels have also included introducing craft events for employees to lower stress levels as well as lunchtime Pilates to tackle muscle and joint pains and movement problems.

A council officer said: “There are always things we can do to help and we continue to engage with our staff.

“The council maintains its partnership with Usel, a government based organisation that supports employers in managing absences related to physical impairments and mental health challenges.

“Their services, including physiotherapy and counselling are provided at no cost to the council, but there is only a limited amount of people they can help at any given time and requires a direct referral.

“Whereas our counselling service is completely confidential and available to all our employees.

“As you can see mental health and stress continues to be the main cause of absence but it is reducing and counselling is one of the key ways to prevent absence in the first place as well as to support employees on their return to work.”

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A military transport plane carrying 125 people has crashed in Colombia killing at least one person.

The country’s defence minister Pedro Anulfo Sanchez said on Monday the Lockheed Martin Hercules ‌C-130 plane had “suffered a tragic accident”.

Mr Sanchez said he hoped the prayers of Colombians would help alleviate the “pain” of the families of the victims.

77 people have been rescued and taken to hospital, leaving around 40 individuals unaccounted for, authorities said.

Colombian Air Force Commander Fernando Silva said in a video posted on social ‌media that the plane was carrying 114 passengers and 11 crew, and that officials were still investigating the cause of the crash.

Early reports said that many on board were soldiers.

President Gustavo Petro also commented – criticising those blocking his plans to modernise the military.

Colombia began buying C-130 planes as far back as the 1960s.

Mr Petro said in a post on X: “I hope there are ⁠no fatalities in this horrific accident that should never have happened.

“I will grant no further delays; it is the ‌lives of our young people that are at stake.

“If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed.”

The aircraft was taking off from an airport deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region, on the border with Peru.

The crash occurred just two miles from a busy urban centre, local media BluRadio claim.

Footage purporting to show the crash shows a military plane taking off over dense rainforest, before slowly descending back towards the ground.

Another clip shows locals transporting injured soldiers to safety on the back of their motorbikes.

Mr Sanchez said, in a translated X post: “With deep sorrow, I report that a Hercules aircraft from our [Colombian Aerospace Force] suffered a tragic accident while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo (Putumayo), while transporting troops from our Public Force.

“Military units are already at the scene; however, the number of victims and the causes of the accident have not yet been precisely determined.

“All protocols for assisting the victims and their families have been activated, as well as the corresponding investigation.

“I express my sincerest condolences to the families of those affected and, out of respect for their grief, I urge everyone to avoid speculation until official information is available.

“This is a profoundly painful event for the country.”

The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules is used by militaries across the world.

They were first launched in the 1950s and Colombia acquired its first models ⁠in the late 1960s.

Last month, another C-130 belonging to the Bolivian Air ​Force crashed in the city ​of Alto, killing 20 and injuring another 30.

Banknotes from the plane’s cargo scattered around the city – prompting clashes between residents and security forces.

It is also the second plane crash to make headlines in Colombia this year – back in January a small passenger plane crashed in the north of the country.

All 15 people on board, including a congressman, were killed.

The U.S. Defense Department will issue new press credentials but remove media offices from the Pentagon after a judge sided with The New York Times in a lawsuit regarding limits on reporters’ access to the building, a department official announced Monday.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the agency disagrees with the ruling and will appeal. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., last week sided with the newspaper and ruled that the Pentagon’s new policy illegally restricts the press credentials of reporters who walked out of the building rather than agree to the new rules.

Parnell said the reporters will be able to work from an “annex” that will be on the Pentagon grounds but outside the building. He said the new facility “will be available when ready” but did not say how long that would take.

Journalists will still have access to the Pentagon for press conferences and interviews arranged through the department’s public affairs team, but they will have to be escorted, Parnell wrote on X.

The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the credentialing policy violates the journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process.

The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Reporters from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including from The Associated Press, have continued reporting on the military.

The AP, meanwhile, is awaiting a decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals on its separate lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration. The AP contends that Trump’s White House team punished it by reducing its access to presidential events because the outlet hasn’t followed his lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

Natasha Walker was last seen on March 13

An urgent search has been launched to find a woman who was last seen ten days ago and may now be in Manchester.

Police are searching for Natasha Walker and have urged anyone with information to get in touch. The 34-year-old was last seen in Whalley, Lancashire, on March 13 but has links to East Lancashire and Manchester.

Lancashire Police said she was last seen in the Mitton Road area at around 4pm on the day she was reported as missing. Natasha is described as a white female, about 5ft 5ins tall, of a medium build with brown hair and blonde extensions.

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She was last seen wearing a Stitch hoodie, white skirt and yellow crocs. She potentially also has a black coat with her and a small, black, furry bag.

“We are concerned for her whereabouts and have been looking for her for some time and now we are asking for your help,” a spokesperson for Lancashire Police said.

If you have any information call police on 101 (999 in an emergency), quoting log number LC-20260313-0969.

Striking weather maps show wintry conditions will kick in from midnight on Wednesday March 25, with Scotland most affected before snow moves into eastern England by the evening

These striking weather maps show the UK is set for a dramatic shift — with temperatures to plunge and snow to fall across at least 18 regions.

Snowfall is likely in the coming days across multiple areas, including Essex and Suffolk in the south, Powys in the west and the Scottish Highlands in the north. The maps, created by WXCharts using Metdesk data, depict several large white and grey patches across different parts of the nation, expected to arrive early on Wednesday March 25.

The wintry conditions are predicted to start as early as midnight on Wednesday and persist into the evening. Scotland appears to be the most impacted area, with a forecast for 3am showing council areas including Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, and Perth and Kinross bracing for snow in the early hours. Temperatures are also anticipated to plummet to lows of -4C.

Parts of northern England, such as Northumberland and North Yorkshire, will also witness snow in the early hours, before it dissipates by evening and shifts into the East of England. By 6pm, lighter snow is forecasted to blanket parts of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk, whilst depths across Scotland are predicted to rise to up to four inches.

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Rainfall is also expected throughout the day, with many areas likely to see sleet build-up at some point. The Met Office also predicts a sudden shift in weather patterns this week, reports the Express.

Steven Keates, Met Office deputy chief forecaster, stated: “After a spell of mild and brighter weather, the UK will become increasingly unsettled in the coming days. A series of weather fronts will bring bouts of rain, strong winds and much colder air by midweek. Wednesday could be quite a shock to the system.”

It will be a huge change to the recent balmy weather. For instance, the mercury hit 16C in Cardiff and 15C in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire on Sunday. It was a particularly sunny day too, with 8.3 hours of sunshine recorded in Hurn, which is in Dorset.

But Jo Farrow, a meteorologist with Netweather, wrote on its blog: “For the new working week, the trend is to colder conditions with mention of snow showers from the northwest. It will become windy as the settled weather under the current high pressure is shoved aside by an Atlantic low pressure.

“This low pressure will bring rain and blustery winds to northwest Scotland on Monday, then slide south of Iceland towards the Norwegian Sea. Its cold front will bring rain down over central Britain and Northern Ireland, with the plunge of cold Arctic air following for the middle of this week.”

List of areas expected to see snow on Wednesday

1. Aberdeenshire
2. Angus
3. Argyll and Bute
4. Cumbria
5. Cambridgeshire
6. Glasgow
7. Gwynedd
8. Essex
9. Highland
10. Moray
11. Northumberland
12. Norfolk
13. North Yorkshire
14. Orkney Islands
15. Perth and Kinross
16. Powys
17. Scottish Borders
18. Shetland Islands
19. Suffolk

Conflict in Iran and supply issues on the Strait of Hormuz have caused petrol and diesel prices to go up.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the disruption is the largest in the history of the global oil market.

The RAC shares that unleaded petrol has gone up 14.4p since the start of the Iran conflict, while diesel has gone up by 28.8p.

Energy bills are predicted to rise by more than £300 per year this summer as the war on Iran causes gas prices to spiral.

The leading forecaster Cornwall Insight says the typical sum most households will pay will rise to £1,973 a year. pic.twitter.com/b8MOk5F7s6

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 20, 2026

The government has stated that there is no shortage of fuel in the UK, with advice being to continue filling up as normal.

There are contingency plans in place under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) if fuel rationing were needed.

In that scenario, some people might be curious to see what services would get priority.

What services would get priority in a UK fuel rationing plan?

The National Emergency Plan for Fuel was last updated by the DESNZ in April 2024.

Emergency and critical service vehicles would receive priority access to fuel in this scenario.

Utilities such as gas and electricity suppliers and water companies would have the next priority, followed by public transport vehicles.

Commercial vehicles would be up next, specifically ones fulfilling duties such as delivering food to supermarkets and making health-related deliveries.

Meanwhile, private drivers would face restrictions on how much fuel they could buy per filling station visit, and pumps could be closed overnight.

In an extreme scenario, the Government has the power to allocate how crude oil and other imported oil products are distributed across the UK entirely.

These measures would only be activated in a severe national shortage.

The Guardian shares that further elements of contingency plans could see speed limits cut by up to 10mph on some roads to lower fuel consumption.

This could be implemented on some motorways, where signage is also adjusted electronically on major routes.

However, the DESNZ is understood to be confident that the UK has a diverse and resilient fuel supply.

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Jack Cousens, the head of roads policy at the AA, said: “Drivers should be assured that there are good fuel supplies and people should not change their fuelling habits.

“Nevertheless, advice to drive as efficiently as possible is something that drivers could adopt at all times to save both fuel and money.

“Reducing speed and braking less harshly are beneficial.

“Similarly, linking journeys together contributes to saving fuel.”

How much have fuel prices gone up in your area? Let us know in the comments.

Horrifying new video captures the moment an Air Canada plane collided on the runway with a fire truck at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, killing two pilots, injuring dozens of passengers and causing travel chaos.

Footage shows the Air Canada Express plane slamming into a Port Authority fire truck on the runway, where the emergency vehicle was responding to an issue on another plane late Sunday night.

The pilot and copilot were killed after landing in New York from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew onboard. The crash destroyed much of the front cockpit area of the plane, which was operated by Jazz Aviation.

An audio recording revealed air traffic controllers were in a panic moments before the deadly collision. “Stop, stop, stop!” an air traffic control dispatcher is heard saying. A voice later adds: “I messed up.”

About 40 passengers and crew members were taken to nearby hospitals, some with serious injuries. Most had been released Monday morning, authorities said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that the deadly collision served as a reminder to “wear your seatbelts.”

LaGuardia reopened one runway at 2 p.m. Eastern Monday, though officials warned of continued delays and cancellations as a result of the crash.

The delays exacerbate ongoing extended wait times at U.S. airports, which have resulted from the partial government shutdown and a shortage of TSA agents.

Former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson has admitted it’s ‘bittersweet’ seeing progress being made in the fight for babies to be screened for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

It has been announced that Scotland will be the first part of the UK to screen babies for the rare muscle disease that Jesy’s daughters also have.

The 34-year-old star and her now ex-fiance, Zion Foster, announced earlier this year that her twins, Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, were diagnosed with the rare genetic condition known as SMA, which causes progressive muscle wasting.

She has since campaigned for all babies to be screened for it, as early treatment can help avoid some of the most devastating effects.

In a post on her Instagram Story on Monday, the Boyz hitmaker said: ‘Today my heart feels super heavy. It’s a very bittersweet moment knowing that Scotland had become the first UK nation to screen babies for SMA.

‘We’re so close yet so far.

‘I will never be able to understand why we still do not test for it here in England.’

According to the NHS, the condition causes muscle weakness, movement problems, breathing and swallowing difficulties, muscle tremors, and bone and joint problems.

Jesy said in January that her babies’ diagnosis would mean they are unlikely ever to be able to walk or regain their neck strength.

She has also previously said their prognosis means they are unlikely to make it to their third birthday, and in her newest update, revealed they had been fitted with leg splints to support their joints.

Her twins have had treatment, a one-off infusion that puts a missing gene back into their bodies to stop other muscles from dying; however, it does not help regain any muscles that have already died.

She continued: ‘To know that my girls lives and so many other children in England could look so different if this had been here for them.

‘But nevertheless I will keep fighting and pushing for change because nobody should ever have to go through this heartache.’

From today, all parents in Scotland will be offered SMA screening for their newborns, on about day four after birth.

After Jesy’s twins’ diagnosis, she launched a petition to get screening for SMA added to the newborn blood spot screening test, also known as the heel-prick test, which screens for serious health conditions.

The petition secured more than 100,000 signatures, which means it will be considered for a debate in the House of Commons.

Continuing her activism, she also became a patron of the charity Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK after meeting Health Secretary Wes Streeting earlier this year to speak about the life-changing impact early detection of the condition could have had on her twins.

Announcing her new role last month, the pop star wrote on social media that she felt ‘incredibly proud’ and it meant ‘so much to [her]’.

‘I’ve been deeply touched by the SMA community from the strength of the children, the resilience of the families, and the love that surrounds them every single day,’ Jesy penned.

‘I’ll be using my voice to keep raising awareness not only for my girls, but to support families going through the same experiences, and campaigning for the SMA test to be added to the newborn screening heel-prick test so more babies can get the help they need as early as possible.’

Jesy has made it known that she is ‘not going to stop’ talking about SMA until ‘something changes’ and has been inundated with well-wishes since taking Ocean and Story’s diagnoses public.

This has included messages from her former bandmates, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, and Jade Thirlwall, with Jesy admitting it has ‘healed’ her to be back in touch after several years of not speaking.

On The Smallzy Show, Leigh-Anne, who has her own twin daughters, said recently that she and the other two members ‘obviously’ all reached out to Jesy when the news broke in January.

‘I think she’s really incredible for spreading that awareness,’ the Don’t Say Love singer added.

Jesy also confirmed to Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary on This Morning that it was ‘lovely’ to hear from them.

‘They’re your sisters, aren’t they?’, Dermot asked.

‘Of course!’, Jesy agreed. ‘We were genuinely best friends, and things happen in life; it doesn’t always go how you think it’s going to, but three of us are mums now, I think we’ve all had time to heal; it’s been five, nearly six years, and I think it’s just one of those things that takes time.’

‘Who knows what will happen,’ she said of the possibility of reuniting, having left the group in 2020. ‘But since they’ve been reaching out, it’s lovely. It’s definitely healed a part of me, for sure.’

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