“What assurances do we have that Bryson will repay the cost to the council and the ratepayer?”

A Northern Ireland council has been urged to recoup ratepayers’ cash after the local authority stepped in to help a failing bin collection service.

An environment committee report this week, shows that Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council staff and vehicles assisted in Bryson Recycling with 20,000 properties for about a week in January.

The report states that the intervention by the council has now allowed for Bryson to be “back to business as usual”.

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Lisburn North independent councillor Gary Hynds said: “Councillor Givan had mentioned such council action at an earlier committee, but it was said that we did not have the resources.

“Is such intervention by the council sustainable in the future?”

The chamber was also told from senior management that Bryson has been experiencing a “period of disruption since August 2025”.

Bryson Recycling, which is responsible for collection bins from 160,000 households across four council areas, has previously identified “unprecedented illness” with its driving staff as the cause of its ongoing delays.

During January’s environment meeting Lisburn North DUP councillor Alan Givan had suggested council staff and lorries being potentially offered to Bryson as support, but this option was not supported in chambers.

Just days later, the council agreed to provide operational support from January 13 to assist Bryson Recycling in recovering outstanding recycling collections.

Castlereagh South Sinn Fein councillor Daniel Bassett added:”I want to say a huge thank you to the environmental services of the council.

“I’m glad Bryson has acknowledged its difficulties and put in place a recovery plan for increased staff members.

“I would also like to have a breakdown of costs to the council.”

The chamber also heard from Alliance councillor Bronagh Magee, that “there were still some areas that have had no bin collections for two weeks”.

Castlereagh South Alliance councillor Martin McKeever added: “I have concerns on the financial impact on ratepayers from the council stepping in. What assurances do we have that Bryson will repay the cost to the council and the ratepayer?

“I couldn’t tolerate the financial burden on the ratepayer.”

A council officer responded:”At the time we responded to Councillor Givan that we did not have the vehicles needed for such kerbside collections of separated recycling materials.

“As a result we had to use open back bin lorries where all separated waste was then co-mingled into the lorry and required to be separated again at Mallusk recycling centre. This really was the last resort and we would not have long term resources for this.

The officer added:”I can now say that bin collections are now back to business as usual. I can assure you there will be a full reimbursement or deduction on the council’s bill.”

The LDRS contacted Bryson Recycling.

A spokesperson said:”This is a contractual matter between Bryson Recycling and the council and we cannot comment on it.”

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Bad Bunny has said he feels a responsibility, as someone with influence, to highlight important issues. He has consistently used his platform and music to not only showcase his culture, but support the LGBTQ community and advocate for Puerto Rico’s self-determination, which has remained an overseas US territory since 1898.

Meanwhile in the Cortina studio from where the coverage over the next fortnight will come, were stationed a presentational trio of Balding, and former Olympians Lizzy Yarnold and Chemmy Alcott. This suggested that, at least as far as the BBC is concerned, there are seemingly no men involved in these Games.

Though, to be fair, there was a bloke to the helm for the ceremony itself. Indeed the BBC had chosen more than wisely in its commentary team. Joining Hazel Irvine behind the microphone was the incomparable racing reporter John Hunt, a man who could use the Olympics’ apparent power to act as a healing balm.

He and Irvine had much to describe. Not least in who was there in the crowd at San Siro. JD Vance was in the pricey seats, while Britain was represented by the unexpected pair of Princess Anne and Lisa Nandy, who was presumably the only available member of the cabinet solely because she has no chance of maneuvering for the Labour leadership.

As it all got underway, Hunt had a good line about the apparent star of the event.

“Shortly we’ll discover Mariah is for life,” he said of Ms Carey, who was about to sing, “not just for Christmas.”

He spoke a bit too soon. All we could see on the screen for what seemed an interminable grind was the kind of wretched interpretive dance that is only ever unleashed at Olympic opening ceremonies.

Eventually, on came Carey, dressed as a meringue, singing Volare, the tune that won Italy the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest. She struggled to reach the high notes before demonstrating her diva credentials by being carried off the stage. The most pressing thought, though, was that rarely can such a storied artistic heritage as that of the host nation have been so blandly represented as it was here.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A judge says the federal government must return three families hurt by the first Trump administration’s policy of separating parents from the children at the border, saying their deportations in recent months relied on “lies, deception and coercion.”

The order, issued Thursday, found the deported families should have been allowed to remain in the United States under terms of a legal settlement over the Trump administration’s separation of about 6,000 children from their parents at the border in 2018. Each mother had permission to remain in the U.S. until 2027 under humanitarian parole.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego said the administration also had to pay for their return travel costs.

One woman and her three children, including a 6-year-old U.S. citizen, were deported to Honduras in July after being ordered to check in with ICE at least 11 times over two months, which, she said, caused her to lose her job.

Sabraw rejected the government’s argument that the family left the U.S. voluntarily. The woman said ICE officers visited her home and asked her sign a document agreeing to leave but she refused.

“This did not make any difference to these officers. They took me and my children to a motel and removed my ankle monitor. They detained us for three days and then removed us to Honduras,” the woman said in court documents.

The other two families, identified only by their initials, bore similarities.

“Each of the removals was unlawful, and absent the removals, these families would still be in the United States and have access to the benefits and resources they are entitled to,” wrote Sabraw, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.

Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who represents the families, welcomed the decision.

“The Trump administration has never acknowledged the illegality or gratuitous cruelty of the initial family separation policy and now has started re-deporting and re-separating these same families. The Court put its foot down and not only ordered the families return but did so at government expense,” he said.

The Homeland Security and Justice departments did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Friday.

Under a “zero-tolerance” policy, parents were separated from their children to be criminally prosecuted when crossing the border illegally. Sabraw ordered an end to the separations in June 2018, days after Trump halted them on his own amid intense international backlash. The settlement prohibits such a policy until 2031.

For instance, Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic, was founded by freed black American slaves in 1822. After Ghana became independent in 1957, a wave of black intellectuals and artists moved there from the US. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali subsequently paid high-profile visits to Ghana, while Guinea became home to Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael.

All tenants are expected to be contacted over the next few weeks to advise of their new rent charges and what they need to do

The Housing Executive has announced its annual rent increase which will take place on April 6.

The increase will see rents go up by 4.8% which will equate to a rise of £3.94 on the average weekly rent. According to the department, the weekly rent is currently currently £82.04, excluding rates.

All tenants are expected to be contacted over the next few weeks to advise of their new rent charges and what they need to do.

Chief Executive Grainia Long said: “Rent from our tenants is a vital funding stream that is invested straight back into our homes and tenant services. It enables us to provide essential high-quality customer and neighbourhood services as well as ongoing maintenance of our homes and significant improvement work.

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“In 2026/27 we plan to spend circa £270million on improving and maintaining our homes, with more than a quarter of our homes being upgraded with work programmes.

“Importantly £42.3million of this will go to installing new energy efficient measures to make our homes warmer and future proof them for many years ahead. We understand that an increase in rent may be concerning and challenging for some tenants and we are here to help.

“Our dedicated financial inclusion team can provide, free, confidential money advice, help you to manage a budget and check your benefit entitlement. We encourage any tenant who is having difficulty paying their rent, to contact us immediately for assistance and advice. We would also reassure tenants that we will only take legal action incircumstances where rent is not fully paid and a tenant refuses to engage with us.

“We have included details of how to get in touch and the help available in our letter to each tenant.”

81% of Housing Executive tenants receive full or partial Housing Benefit support or Universal Credit towards their rent.

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Grigg’s study showed a tight-fitting FFP2 mask led to less air pollution in the blood, but “we’re not saying that everyone should wear a mask”, says Grigg, adding some clinically vulnerable people including those “recovering from a heart attack or have chronic respiratory disease” might benefit while in areas of high pollution.

The Coronation Street star will fly back to the UK for further tests this weekend

Coronation Street legend Beverley Callard reveals she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Callard, best known for her role as Liz McDonald, said she is in the “early stages” and will be going ahead with further treatment before returning to the screen.

The actress is soon to join the Irish soap Fair City as a new character named Lily, long-lost mother of existing character Gwen Connolly. She found out the news just 20 minutes before having to film one of her first scenes.

She told RTE’s Late Late Show on Friday: “I’ve had some tests just before I left the UK, and literally, 15, 20 minutes before I was in my dressing room at Fair City, getting ready to go on, and I was quite nervous and thinking, ‘I hope everybody thinks I’m all right’, whatever.

“And my consultant rang me and said, ‘you’ve got to come back to the UK’ I said, ‘Well, I can’t possibly, I’ve just taken a new job’. I said ‘I’m away for a month’, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“But I’m fine, I’m absolutely fine. My head was a bit mashed for the first few days. It’s very early stages, and I’m along with thousands of other women as well.

“It’s early stages, I travel back to the UK tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks, they’re going to test lymph nodes and lymph glands and all that. But then I need an operation and some radiotherapy, and then I’m coming back to Fair City, so I will be back in just a few weeks.”

She added: “I just thought, the world is full of strong, feisty women and I love strong, feisty women, and I just thought, rather than read about it in a newspaper and it all be distorted and everything else, I just said it, so that’s it.”

Callard and her husband are set to move to Co Wicklow as she is filming the soap. After acting in Corrie from 1989 to 2020, Callard said she was looking forward to her first appearance on Irish soap Fair City, which will hit the screen on February 19.

Both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are just moments away from kick-off at Elland Road. It is safe to say the weather is pretty miserable in Leeds this evening. Here is a reminder of the teams:

Leeds: Darlow, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Rodon, Struijk, Justin, Ampadu, Gruev, Aaronson, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin.
Substitutes: Perri, Bijol, Bornauw, Tanaka, Longstaff, Piroe, James, Gnonto, Nmecha.

Nottingham Forest: Ortega, Morato, Abbott, Milenkovic, Aina, Sangare, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus.
Substitutes: Gunn, Yates, McAtee, Awoniyi, Ndoye, Lucca, Hutchinson, Jair Cunha, Netz.

The Late Late Show featured Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Lisa McGee on Friday night with viewer reactions divided over the guest selection

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The Late Late Show made its return this evening, with the guest line-up once more sparking conversation for less than ideal reasons.

Irish actress Saoirse-Monica Jackson appeared on The Late Late Show this week, where she spoke about her breakthrough in Derry Girls, her latest part in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast and the wedding ceremony that turned into a viral sensation.

She also spoke about how her Northern Irish heritage remains central to her identity and revealed exciting developments fans can look forward to from her this year.

Award-winning writer Lisa McGee, the creative force behind Derry Girls, also joined the studio to discuss her latest series, the comedy-thriller How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.

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She spoke about how her upbringing in Northern Ireland continues to influence her work and why she thinks Derry Girls became such a worldwide success across its three series, reported Galway Beo.

Comedian Gearóid Farrelly stopped by to recount tales from his touring experiences – from supporting Joanne McNally to headlining his own performances. He also looked back on how Dancing with the Stars introduced him to an entirely fresh audience.

Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for viewers to voice their opinions.

One commented: “More rubbish guests time for bed and cocoa, can’t wait to see what Beverley Callard has to say, she’s always a great guest!” Another disappointed viewer commented: “Imagine! ! Someone from another RTE show on the LLS. Why did they never think of that before? Oh wait! They did last week. And the week before. And every week. RTE people all interviewing each other. It’s called public service broadcasting.”

A third viewer urged people to “turn off your televisions. Depression on a screen.”

A fourth person questioned what they perceived as the absence of male guests, stating: “the amount of male guests on the programme is striking!”.

Additional guests on Friday evening included Beverley Callard, best known for portraying Liz McDonald on Coronation Street. She joined Patrick to talk about her choice to accept a part on Ireland’s premier soap, Fair City.

Prior to her first appearance in Carrigstown, Beverley offered an exclusive preview of what audiences can anticipate from her character, explained why she’s approaching this new phase with such enthusiasm and discussed how she’s been adapting to life in Dublin.

Majella O’Donnell had an intimate conversation with Patrick regarding her mental health challenges that resulted in a 10-week hospital admission for depression and the tremendous support she’s experienced since publicly sharing her journey.

Additionally on Friday’s programme, Hothouse Flowers marked 40 years in the music industry. The band reminisced about four decades of touring and delighted viewers with not one, not two but three special performances.

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