DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian military spokesperson mocked U.S. attempts at a ceasefire deal Wednesday, raising questions about whether a 15-point plan proposed by Washington has a chance to succeed.

The comments from Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which jointly commands Iran’s regular military and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, came after the plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that American officials are negotiating with Iran on the plan, but Zolfaghari, in a recorded video statement that aired on state television, suggested there were no talks.

“Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?” he said.

“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,” Zolfaghari said. “Not now, not ever.”

The 15-point plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The New York Times was the first to report that the plan had been delivered to Iranian officials.

The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region. The moves are being framed as Trump maneuvering to give himself “max flexibility” on what he will do next, the person added.

Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, the person said.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, airstrikes battered the Islamic Republic while Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and sites across the region.

With oil prices rising and consumers feeling the pain at the pump, Trump has been under increasing pressure at home to bring the war to an end.

Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing and threatened the world economy.

“The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a strategic failure,” said Zolfaghari, the Iranian military spokesman. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could. Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.”

_____

Madhani reported from Washington. Rising reported from Bangkok, and Magdy reported from Cairo.

The company, which featured on TV’s Dragon’s Den has shipped out nearly 1,000 of its Inhaler Tailor cases to Australia.

The Inhaler Tailor was launched in 2022 producing colourful inhaler cases to boost the use of inhalers, especially among children who might be put off from using traditional inhalers.

The company says 76% of its customers agree the cases encourage them to use their preventer inhaler more frequently.

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York girl, Martha, inspires business The Inhaler Tailor

In addition, 87% of customers agree they feel more confident using their inhaler with the cases, and 99% says the colourful cases makes their inhaler easier to find.

Will Hogge, who founded the business, appeared on tv’s Dragon’s Den in 2024 and has been joined by wife Harriet in the business.

Director Harriet says the couple were approached by Asthma Australia at the end of last summer after they had seen their inhaler cases on social media.

Harriet Hogge in York City Centre showcasing a leopard print cover (Image: Pic supplied)

They trailed them and then placed an order for nearly 1,000 cases.

Harriet told the Press: They were keen to show them at conferences. They were very pleased with the cases. They agreed to list us on their shop.” 

 “It is so gratifying. It’s fantastic. It’s just the start of what will be a long-term partnership and getting distribution to far flung places.”

Asthma Australia CEO Kate Miranda said: “We are always looking for ways to support people with asthma, particularly in overcoming barriers to using their medicines.

“Innovations like Inhaler Tailor covers can boost confidence and make it easier for people to carry and use their inhaler when they need it most. 

“We’re proud to make them available to the Australian community through the Asthma Australia shop.”

Inhaler Tailor has also been in touch with Asthma New Zealand, who is also keen to get involved.

Harriet continued: “This is a test bed to expand in a similar way across the globe. It’s a really good way to expand.”

The orders from Australia build on a successful 2025, where the products were also launched in Walmart and on Amazon in the US.  

 Closer to home, however, whilst individual NHS trusts have received free samples and made ad-hoc purchases through charity funding, the inhalers have yet to make official NHS procurement lists.

Further research is still needed, Harriet explains, but she is convinced the cases will save the NHS money by reducing the hospitalisation of asthma sufferers.

She added the company is innovating with its products, including releasing a glow-in-the-dark case.

“We continue to throw everything at it. We have been going a few years.”

To find out more about The Inhaler Tailor visit https://www.inhalertailor.com/ 

Emma Henson had her leg amputated at the age of one because of a rare condition that made her right leg swell to twice the size of her left leg

A Peterborough woman with one foot is searching for a fellow amputee to share shoes with – so two bin bags full of unwanted right shoes don’t go to waste. Emma Henson, 20, has a rare condition called Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS).

When she was born, her right leg had swelled to double the size of her left one. When Emma turned one, her parents made the decision to have the leg amputated, as she would never be able to walk on it.

Her leg causes her too much pain to wear a prosthetic, so Emma only ever needs to wear one shoe as she uses crutches or a wheelchair to get around. She said that throughout her life, she has struggled to find companies that will sell her a single shoe, leaving her feeling as though she is not accepted.

She is now searching for a left foot amputee, who is a size six shoe, with whom she can share pairs of shoes. Emma, who originally shared her story with Talk To The Press, said: “My leg is constantly swelling and getting infected, so wearing a prosthetic is so painful and makes me bleed.

“I’ve got a whole bin bag, if not two at home, full of right foot shoes. I would love to find a left leg amputee who is also a UK size six so that we could share shoes.

“I’ve tried to give my odd shoes to charities, to help other amputees, but nowhere will accept them. It makes me feel not accepted in the world. I was born like this, I didn’t choose it.”

KTS is a rare congenital condition with symptoms including port-wine stain birthmarks, varicose veins, and limb overgrowth. When she was one, doctors told her parents that they could either choose to have the leg amputated from the knee down, or that she would be in a wheelchair forever.

She said she has emailed countless shoe companies but is always told that she will have to just buy a pair of shoes. She added that she doesn’t think it’s fair that she has to fork out for two shoes, when one will just end up in the back of her wardrobe.

Emma said: “A pair of shoes sometimes costs £150, and I can’t afford that if one of them is just going to sit in the wardrobe. I think companies should give you the option of just buying one shoe, and paying half price for it.

“It would make companies look good, and make everyone feel included. There’s probably a lot of people out there who are having the same issue as me, and it’s so unfair that one shoe just goes to waste.”

She feels that there must be many people like her in the same predicament, so is searching for someone, not only to share shoes with, but also to relate to.

Emma said: “One of my goals is to find someone out there who is like me to talk to about our similarities and help make each other feel better about ourselves.”

The Clitheroe Country Market, held at Clitheroe United Reformed Church on Moor Lane, is open every Tuesday from 9am to 12pm and will run until mid-December.

The market features home baking, crafts, jewellery, cards and prints, home produce, plants, flowers, and preserves.

The market features homemade baking, crafts, jewellery, cards and prints (Image: Supplied)

A spokesperson for the market said: “All the baking and savouries are guaranteed homemade.

“The preserves, including jams, marmalades, jellies and chutneys, contain no preservatives, and the same can be said of the handmade savouries.

“All have that unique good old-fashioned taste.”

Customers can also enjoy refreshments during their visit.

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The spokesperson added: “Coffee and tea will also be available, as will the popular cake of the week feature, when customers can purchase a slice of cake, toasted tea cakes or buttered scones to go with their drinks.”

Handmade cards, pictures, and gifts can be made to order.

All goods sold at the market are made locally.

Iran has attacked energy infrastructure in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Israel. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said since the start of the war at least 40 energy assets across nine countries have been “severely or very severely” damaged.

Two police cars were parked outside Le Feast at Bolton Train Station on Tuesday, March 24.

Police tape was in place outside the café and station entrance, warning passers-by of glass on the pavement.

The glass had seemingly come from a broken window, with a metal bar hanging off its hinges.

The broken window (Image: NQ)

Inside the station, the blue shutters at the main entrance to Le Feast were partially lowered and the premises was vacant.

A police official was seen taking photographs inside the café and incident markers were visible on what appeared to be a broken board.

In a statement, Le Feast said: “We’re really sorry to share that our store was broken into overnight.

“As a small business, this kind of thing hits hard, not just financially, but for our team too.

“Because of this, we will be temporarily closed while we sort everything out.

“At the moment, until we fully understand what needs to be replaced, we’re unsure when we’ll be able to resume trading.

“We’re working as quickly as we can to get back open and serving you again.

“Your support genuinely means everything to us, especially at times like this.

“Thank you for you patience. We’ll keep you updated.”

Officers at the scene told The Bolton News they were unable to share further details at this stage.

Le Feast opened in December 2024 and was the fourth location to be opened in the North West, adding to venues at Poulton-Le-Fylde Train Station, Rochdale Train Station and Blackpool North Train Station, that was opened 13 years ago.

Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for a statement.

Miguel Pirjani was only 13 weeks old when he was murdered by his own parents, but, due to their silence, we will likely never know exactly what happened to him

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“In this career, there are jobs that stay with you for a lifetime”, Detective Inspector Holly Chance says in a small conference room tucked beside the entrance to Merseyside Police’s Rose Hill headquarters. “There are certain jobs that remain with you, and this is definitely one.

“This has been the most distressing case that I’ve ever dealt with. Due to the vulnerability of Miguel, the age of him and the significant trauma that he faced at just 13 weeks old, it’s been highly distressing, not just for myself, but for my colleagues and other professionals.

“It’s something that I will never understand, as a parent, how anyone could inflict such harm on their own flesh and blood. Miguel was 13 weeks old. He was a newborn, and he should have just felt love from his parents. But, instead, he was inflicted with pain and trauma. It’s unbearable to think about.”

At just shy of three months old, Miguel Pirjani was at an age where he might have started babbling and cooing, maybe even laughing and giggling, certainly becoming more curious of the world around him. But, horrifically, this was a world which, at such a tender stage in his young life, he had come to know as cruel and violent, neglected of the love of his own parents who, instead, had beaten him and broken his tiny bones.

It is, frankly, unthinkable that anyone could do such a thing to any child, let alone their own flesh and blood while at their most tender and in as vulnerable a state as is possible. Perhaps it is a small mercy that, due to Miguel’s mum and dad Nivalda Santos and Klevi Pirjani never having had the courage to tell the true story of what happened to him, instead seeking to protect their own and one another’s backs, that we will never know exactly what horrors they subjected their infant son to.

But the mind can attempt to fill in the blanks when confronted with the stark facts of what doctors discovered when he was rushed from the couple’s home on Percy Road in Wirral, to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital one lunchtime in November 2024. DI Chance, who led the force’s investigation into Miguel’s murder, says: “At that time, he displayed no visible features that he was injured.

“It was only when he got to the hospital a short time later, when they did the scan, it soon became apparent that, in fact, he had this horrific skull fracture and it was non-accidental. That’s when the case took a turn.

“He had 39 fractures to his ribs, collarbone, leg, arm, and they were dated two to three weeks prior to his death, all at various stages of healing. Then there were subsequently two further fractures, which were caused within 48 hours prior to him falling ill.”

All of this demonstrated a clear, repeated pattern of abuse that had persisted throughout Miguel’s tragically short time on this Earth. And yet, all that has been hinted at was Nivalda’s patchy, plainly incomplete account during her and Klevi’s trial at Liverpool Crown Court, alleging that Klevi had “got angry and lost control” two days after their baby had first been discharged from hospital following his birth, thereafter “banging him on the bed” and kicking him, as well as apparently headbutting him in the early hours before his collapse and a 999 call in which he referred to his son as “it”.

DI Chance recalled of the mother’s evidence from the witness box: “There was a point when Nivalda gave evidence where she did state that she did witness Klevi assault Miguel. But that was in the early hours of the 24th of November, whereas medical experts say that the injury caused, which stopped him breathing or going into cardiac arrest, was done within hours of the call to 999. That is the only explanation that we’ve had, but it doesn’t account for the multiple fractures that have been caused.

“To this day, I’ve not seen any remorse shown by the parents. We’ve seen the injuries, we’ve read about the injuries, but we’re still not clear what went on behind closed doors, who inflicted which injury. No remorse has been shown and [there has been] no explanation, which is difficult.

“As a mum myself, I could not imagine anybody hurting my child. Only Nivalda knows the answer to why she never asked for help or never prevented it from happening.”

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The only real hint of any regret shown at any stage came in the form of Nivalda’s words as she was permitted to hold Miguel’s hand while he drew his final breaths after five days in hospital, telling him “I should have protected you”. While this was a relationship in which Klevi’s violent and controlling nature appeared to loom large, such sentiments were far too little, far too late.

Both mother and father were unanimously convicted of their son’s murder by a jury and were yesterday handed life sentences with minimum terms of 15 years and three months and 19 years behind bars respectively. If there is any shred of humanity left within them, the punishment of having what they did remaining on their consciences for the rest of their days should weigh far heavier.

Sentencing, High Court judge Mr Justice Baker told them: “Miguel was 13-and-a-half weeks old when he died, born on the 27th of August 2024. You, Nivalda Santos Pirjani and Klevi Pirjani, were his parents, and you killed him by what must have been an act of appalling violence, intending him to suffer really serious harm. It is possible that you intended to kill him to be rid of him, but I am not sure that was your intention, since you made a prompt 999 call for an ambulance.

“I am sure that the fatal trauma Miguel suffered involved a heavy blow or series of blows to the right side of his head with violent oscillation of his head, pivoting on his neck. Precisely how that was inflicted, I cannot say. Whether there was a single blow to the head, or several blows, I cannot say. Whether Miguel’s head was battered onto a hard, unyielding surface or some hard, blunt object was battered onto the side of his head, I cannot say.

“I cannot even say, for sure, which of you did that to Miguel. I think it more probable that it was you, Klevi, because, as Miguel was passing away in hospital Nivalda said to him, ‘I should have protected you’, and I think that may have been her genuine sentiment.

“I cannot say precisely when and how Miguel was fatally battered, shortly before that 999 call, or even be sure about which of you fatally battered him, because only you two know. You have chosen not to tell anyone, and I can only make findings of fact if I am sure of them from the evidence.

“Therefore, what exactly happened to Miguel that morning remains the guilty secret of a warped relationship in which you came first for each other to an unnatural degree. The interests of Team Klevi Nivalda… you put before those of Miguel, with the most severe consequence possible.

“His death was a battered baby death at both of your hands, since the jury was sure that, whichever of you delivered the violence, it was violence encouraged, intentionally, by the other of you, both of you intending Miguel to suffer at least grievous bodily harm. The fatal assault on the 24th of November 2024 was not a one off incident that came out of the blue for whichever of you did not commit the violence.

“I consider there to be no mitigation available to you, Klevi. There is nothing in your personal circumstances or the circumstances of your offending under count four to lessen the seriousness of that offence in your case.

“I acknowledge the difficult start you had in your own life, with a childhood in Albania affected by armed conflict and the death of your father and young sister in quick succession. However, I do not consider that offers any reason to reduce what would otherwise be the proper sentence for what you did to Miguel in your early 30s, in your settled adult life in Liverpool.

“In your case, Nivalda, there is mitigation. You were of previous good character. You were suffering from post natal depression, and you were isolated and somewhat vulnerable, estranged from your own family.

“I do not accept the further claim made on your behalf, or the evidence that you gave, that you were yourself the victim of domestic abuse by Klevi of violence and controlling behaviour. I am sure you were lying to the jury about that. The only victim here was poor Miguel.

“Finally, you have shown a measure of remorse through your parting words to Miguel and through some of what you said to the jury from the witness box. That remorse is rendered a little shallow by your determination, nonetheless, to fight your trial which extended, I am sure, to significant elements of invention to try to limit your criminal liability.”

Kenton Allen, chairman of the RTS Programme Awards, said: “Tonight’s winners are a powerful reminder that British television remains one of this country’s greatest creative and economic success stories — bold in ambition, world-class in craft, and fearless in the stories it chooses to tell.

Starbucks said they were disappointed by City of York Council’s refusal of its retrospective application for an illuminated totem sign outside its site in A64 Malton Road, Stockton-on-the-Forest.

A spokesperson for the US coffee chain said they would continue to work constructively to address issues raised by council planning officials.

It comes after officials ruled the sign, which bears the company’s green and white branding and logo, was too large and dominant.

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They added it would be lit up in a rural area close to important nature conservation sites in the green belt.

Starbucks’ application sought to regularise the sign installed outside the drive-thru building by the A64.

The coffee shop is based in the former home of the Four Alls Inn pub and plans to convert the building into a Starbucks were approved last year.

Council officials said the sign would result in unnecessary clutter and it was not in keeping with the surrounding area.

They added it was subject to stricter lighting rules due to being close to the Kingsmoor Plantation and Sandmoor Wood.

The company would be able to appeal the decision if it wanted to challenge the ruling.

The Starbucks drive-thru in the A64 Malton Road, Stockton-on-the-Forest, York. Picture is from Starbucks/York Council’s planning portal

Starbucks did not say whether or not it had plans to do so when asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

They told LDRS: “We note the council’s decision to refuse our planning appeal application for a totem sign at the Starbucks drive-thru in Malton Road, Stockton-on-the-Forest.

“While we are disappointed, we respect the process and will continue to work constructively with the council and other stakeholders to address the concerns raised.

“Our aim remains to deliver a site that benefits our customers and the wider community.”

Sunderland’s Health and Wellbeing Board has backed the Sunderland Healthy Weight Strategy 2026-2031, a plan that was developed in partnership with the NHS, education providers, the voluntary and community sector, workplaces, and the Sunderland Good Food Partnership.

It aims to address unhealthy weight, one of the city’s most pressing health challenges.

Councillor Kelly Chequer, Sunderland City Council’s cabinet member for health, wellbeing and safer communities, said: “The strategy recognises that achieving and sustaining healthy weight requires healthy places and reflects our commitment to working with partners across the city to ensure that the environment in Sunderland makes it as easy as possible for residents to live healthy lives.

“Embedding these principles will help us achieve our shared vision of improved health and reduced health inequalities for all.”

The strategy focuses on creating supportive environments that enable healthier choices and more active lifestyles.

It takes a whole-system approach, targeting the social, economic, and environmental factors that affect health.

Priorities include giving children the best start in life with improved early years nutrition and breastfeeding support, creating healthier city environments through planning and transport, enabling healthy communities through greater access to physical activity and nutritious food, and strengthening system-wide leadership.

Currently, one in three children in Sunderland starts school overweight or obese – a figure that rises to one in two by Year 6.

Children in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to be affected.

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The strategy aims to address these inequalities by making long-term changes to transport, housing, and the local food environment.

Such changes are intended to support healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities, and improve outcomes across the population.

The Healthy Weight Strategy will be considered for approval by Sunderland City Council’s cabinet on Thursday, March 26.