Ryanair’s new check-in and bag drop policy comes into effect in November

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Ryanair passengers can expect to see a significant change later this year. The budget airline is planning to extend the window in which travellers can check in their luggage ahead of a flight.

On its website, the airline stated the move could give passengers “more time” to clear security, helping to ensure fewer travellers miss their departures. The change takes effect from Tuesday, November 10 and will mean that check-in and bag drop services across all its airports will close 60 minutes before scheduled departure. Previously, the time allowance was 40 minutes.

Ryanair CMO, Dara Brady, said: “From Tues 10 Nov next, Ryanair customers will see airport check-in and bag drops close 60 minutes before scheduled departure, instead of today’s 40 minutes.

“This will allow these 20 per cent of our customers (who check in a bag) more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on-time, especially during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer.”

This follows Ryanair’s rollout of additional self-service bag-drop kiosks throughout its network, with over 95 per cent of airports equipped with these machines by October.

Fully integrated with the Ryanair app, the self-service kiosks allow passengers to check in luggage and print bag tags, which the airline claims accelerates the bag-drop process and reduces waiting times.

Brady continued: “We are also installing self-service kiosks at over 95 per cent of Ryanair airports before October.

“This means a quicker bag-drop service, less queuing at airport desks, and an even more punctual service for the 20 per cent of our customers who still wish to check-in a bag, while the 80 per cent (who don’t check-in a bag) will be unaffected by this small 20 minute change, as they will continue to check-in online before they arrive at the departure airport and they go straight through airport security to their departure gate.”

For further details, head to the Ryanair website.

Martin Odegaard lost possession on the opening salvo, before Eze dragged his shot wide with the second. On the third attempt, Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi ran over to offer their services, but Noni Madueke bypassed them both to play in Havertz, who teed up Eze, and the £60million man’s first-time strike curled away from a diving Nick Pope, and Arsenal were one to the good.

Klaudia Zakrzewska, 32, from Essex, was injured in Argyll Street, Soho, at around 4.30am on Sunday April 19 and was pronounced dead on Saturday.

Former X Factor finalist Gabrielle Carrington, 29, appeared in court on Tuesday accused of trying to kill Ms Zakrzewska, a TikTok and Instagram influencer known by the name of Klaudiaglam, outside the Inca nightclub.

The attempted murder charge will be increased to murder after Ms Zakrzewska’s death, the Metropolitan Police said on Saturday.

Carrington, of Broadfield Road, Manchester, is also accused of dangerous driving, being nearly twice the drink-drive limit and causing injuries to two other people – a third woman and a security guard – who were also hit by her Mercedes.

A court sketch of Gabrielle Carrington (Image: Elizabeth Cook/PA)

A 58-year-old man suffered life-changing injuries after being hit by the car.

She made it to the X Factor live finals in 2013 as one of the three members of Miss Dynamix and now has more than 365,000 followers on Instagram under the handle RIELLEUK.

Carrington – described in court as “social media influencer” who makes regular trips to the United Arab Emirates – made a heart sign with her hands towards friends and family in the packed public gallery as she was led out of the dock and back to the cells.

She did not enter any pleas during the hearing and will next appear at the Old Bailey on May 19.

Family and friends of Ms Zakrzewska also attended the court hearing.

Nearly £18,000 had been crowdfunded for Ms Zakrzewska’s treatment and her family’s legal fees.

The GoFundMe, said to be set up by her mother, said: “If at any time things take a turn for the worst, additional funds will go towards funeral costs and continuous support for the family.”

Her mother, Kinga, said on the page: “Those who know me understand how much I love my daughter and what a special bond we have, and I cannot give up on my baby girl.”

She added: “Anyone who knew my gorgeous daughter knows how truly wonderful she is. She has touched so many people with her pure heart and kindness, and she deserves every chance to keep fighting.”

Footage of the incident circulating online shows a woman getting into a black car before it surges forward, striking Ms Zakrzewska who goes under the vehicle.

Detective Chief Inspector Alison Foxwell, who is leading the investigation, said: “We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Klaudia’s family and friends in light of this tragic update.

“Our thoughts are also with everyone impacted by this incident.

“We recognise that this case has generated significant interest and discussion on social media; however, we would urge the public to refrain from further speculation.”

She added: “We also ask that people do not share graphic footage out of respect for Klaudia’s loved ones and for those who have been injured.

“The circulation of such material could also undermine our ongoing criminal investigation and potentially prejudice future court proceedings.”

The Middlesbrough business, 4thewkend/Infused 2 Go – who work in the same building in an industrial kitchen – were handed the rating, meaning major improvement is necessary, as part of an inspection on March 2, 2026. 

The two eateries offer pizzas, pastas, burgers, kebabs, parmos and much more. 

A spokesperson said that there had been an “issue with the bins” on the day that the food hygiene inspectors came, in that they hadn’t been emptied, along with a problem with the “extraction system”.

It confirmed that the necessary repairs had been undertaken – it was now just a waiting game for a re-inspection. 

The spokesperson said: “The things [the inspectors] asked us to improve we did – we did the next day.

“Literally, we closed that day when they noticed the fault, I was away on holiday, I got a call from my manager who was on duty, I closed the store for the evening, and we basically made the changes that needed to be made.

“They came back and said it was okay for us to re-open – not that they closed us anyway.”

A formal, paid for, re-visit is still required to get a higher rating, but businesses sometimes have to wait for up to three months for these to occur.

The spokesperson said the situation was “frustrating” as the business has always had five stars up until this point. 

He added: “I’d say to any customer, come down and look – we have an open kitchen where people can walk in and see where we are making the food.

“We keep our standards high – it was a lapse.”

While the spokesperson didn’t want the “bad name” that comes with a low food hygiene rating, he also described the experience as a “learning curve” for staff on site.

From Space Invaders in the late 1970s to SSX Tricky in the early 2000s, a reader recounts his early history with video games and how being in the army didn’t stop him playing.

There’s been a lot of reminiscing on these pages lately and I thought I would join in. As I’m 54, I have seen a lot of things in the history of gaming, so I am just going to go through some of the memorable moments and with luck bring a few sage nods and the odd smile.

In the late 70s my dad used to run the local football club bar. On a Friday night, as a young whippersnapper, I used to go with him and help bottle up, ready for service that night, before my Mum came and picked me up. I remember going in one Friday and there was this shiny new cabinet between the jukebox and the fruit machine. Emblazoned on the front was Space Invaders. I had heard of this but had never seen one in real life.

As we were getting things ready, Dad asked me to switch it on. I just remember watching it go through the boot sequence and going in to demo mode. I was awestruck. Dad had the keys and opened it up and put a few credits in for me. I was rubbish, the credits were gone in seconds, but a love of video games was born.

The early eighties, one Christmas my parents got my sisters and me an Acorn Electron. Their thinking being that it was like the ones in school, and we could learn from it. It was all hooked up to a black and white portable TV. Mum and Dad had bought some learning to program books and such like, but we wanted games!

We didn’t have a huge collection but the ones we played were played to death. Snapper, a Pac-Man clone, Danger UXB – I can only remember its name, not what it was about. And of course, Chuckie Egg. On a Sunday I was allowed to connect to the big television and play in colour! What a revelation to see the yellow bird jump around the screen.

By the early nineties I was in the British Army and serving in Germany, and it was the time of the Amiga. I didn’t own one at this point, but my roommate Norm Fowler did. Two games will always remind me of those times. Speedball 2 and the greatest football game ever made, Sensible Soccer! I wouldn’t even like attempt to put a time on how much this was played.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that it would be loaded up at 5pm and not switched off until gone midnight. I think all the single lads in the block were involved in leagues or cup competitions. Between matches you’d head off to NAAFI for a few pints, come back and keep playing.

The big debate was which joystick was best? There were only two contenders. The Competition Pro or the Quickshot. My personal favourite was the Quickshot. I don’t know how many of them I went through, but they took some serious abuse from doing the big punt downfield and then throwing it left or right for aftertouch. You just can’t recreate that goal with a controller.

Finally, the mid to late nineties. I’m still in the Army but I’m serving a tour of Bosnia. At this point, Bosnia was pretty quiet, the war was over and things were pretty boring. I took a PlayStation 2 with me in my luxury items box. I didn’t have a TV but if my memory serves me correctly, me and my good buddy Stretch Armstrong went halfers on one. A big old CRT thing.

We had a lot of games between us but two games that jump out were Destruction Derby 2 and SSX Tricky. We literally played that PlayStation to death. One day it just gave up reading discs. The unit I was attached to had an electronics troop so I sent it down there with a few packets of chocolate Hobnobs to see if they could fix it.

Unfortunately, it was unrepairable as we had worn out the ribbon on the CD drive! I seem to recall we wrote a bit of a begging letter to one of the PlayStation magazines, seeing if they could ‘help’ us out but we never got anything.

There you go, a few memories from my gaming life.

By reader Dirtystopout

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

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Marcus Rashford has faced scrutiny over his future but the Manchester United loanee issued the perfect response as he netted in Barcelona’s win over Getafe.

Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford found the back of the net for Barcelona in another week dominated by talk surrounding his future. The England international scored the second goal in their 2-0 win over Getafe as they capitalised on Real Madrid’s slip-up to 11 points clear.

Reports this week have suggested that Barcelona won’t exercise Rashford’s buyout clause, which would seal a permanent move to Catalonia. It has been said that Hansi Flick’s side have U-turned on their decision to trigger the option, reportedly around £26million, having failed to negotiate a deal to sign him permanently from United.

Speculation, namely from SPORT, suggests that sporting director Deco and Flick have reached an agreement that they are unwilling to pay the transfer fee or wages with the funds described as ‘too high’.

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Fermin Lopez broke the deadlock at the Estadio Coliseum on the stroke of half-time and Rashford rubber-stamped the points 16 minutes from time.

It was a trademark Rashford goal as he utilised his blistering pace to latch onto a long ball over the top with Getafe having committed men forward. The attacker drove forward and held off two defenders before drilling beyond the goalkeeper.

Barcelona now have a double-digit lead at the summit of Spanish football with only 15 points to play for. They can end their top-flight rivals’ aspirations of a late surge to hijack the La Liga procession when Real Madrid visit the Camp Nou on May 10.

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Flick hailed the United loanee as he put into context just how important the Englishman’s contribution, and 13th goal of the season, was.

He said: “Marcus came on in the second half and he used the space they give us. We spoke about this at half time.

“I am happy for the team, for us and also for him that he scored this goal because it was so important for him and also for us.

“We [only] celebrate the victory. It’s different. I said to the team before the game, we only focus on the day to day, on our job, what we have to do.

“When we play like this, I am really happy. I appreciate a lot what we do with the ball, but also against the ball. It’s not easy here, but today was nearly perfect.

“[The title] is not done. We have five games more and we focus only on the next game. We will celebrate when it’s time, not now.”

Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, uncertainty still looms with Michael Carrick’s future undecided as United have to wait until Monday to bolster their European aspirations.

Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace meant that they moved level on points with United but Carrick’s side remain above their North West rivals due to having scored more goals.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

As the Earth shifts to climates not seen for several hundred thousand years, we may need to look at ancient environments for clues about what could happen next.

Our new study of two whale fossils, with preserved fragments of shark teeth, suggests the modern descendants of these animals could once again roam the southern region of the North Sea, between the UK, Belgium and Denmark. Climate change may recreate the conditions that allowed the ancestors of great white sharks to hunt in these waters.

If you want information about how animals and other organisms might respond to the kind of climate changes our planet is experiencing right now, you need evidence of former responses to such changes.

Palaeoecology, the study of the interactions between organisms in the deep past, has been coopted in the service of conservation science for some years now.

One example of a past seascape which may tell us important information is that of the southern part of the North Sea, which was occupied a few million years ago by large marine animals. In modern times, the area has had a relatively low diversity in its wildlife.

But about 4-5 million years ago the North Sea was home to several large shark species, including the now locally extinct bluntnose sixgill shark and a relative of the modern great white shark. The Greenland shark used to live in this region, as well as tiny right whales, a relative of the beluga whale, and rorqual baleen whales. It was also home to extinct dolphins, such as Pliodelphis doelensis which was about the size of a common dolphin, plus porpoises and several seal species. Many of these animals, like all the cetaceans and seals, and some of the sharks, are now extinct. Others, including many other sharks, have since moved to distant oceans.

It appears that there was large-scale turnover of cetacean species in the southern North Sea during the ice age of the Pliocene-Pleistocene epoch, with the extinctions of most small baleen whales and the departure of other cetacean families (such as that of the beluga whale). This turnover may well have been responsible for the disappearance of the large sharks including the great white relatives and the bluntnose sixgill sharks, that were feeding on the smaller whales, from the North Sea.

Occasionally, the fossil record provides a glimpse of the past relationships between species. This can help scientists better understand these food webs and how ancient ecosystems worked.

Shark bite marks on fossil marine mammal bones are relatively common, revealing intervals of time when two animals interacted. However, it is often difficult to identify the predator species. Much more rarely, bite marks come with fossilised tooth fragments. This is what we found in two cetacean skulls from the Early Pliocene (approximately 5-4 million years ago) of the North Sea.

The first of these two skulls belonged to a diminutive extinct right whale which was found by father and son fossil enthusiasts (Robert and John Stewart – coauthor of this piece) in the mid-1980s in the docks in Antwerp, Belgium. Some 40 or so years later the skull was donated to the Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels where it was identified by one of us (Olivier Lambert) as one of only two fossil specimens of Balaenella brachyrhynus, a tiny right whale species only known from the North Sea.

Further examination revealed bite marks on the top of the skull and in one such mark there was a tooth fragment of a shark. In our study, with the help of the shark specialist Frederik Mollen, the tooth tip was identified using microCT scanning as belonging to part of a lower tooth of a bluntnose sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus, which today is common in the Mediterranean Sea. The position of the bites makes it likely that the whale was scavenged as it lay drifting belly-up.

The second skull, from a close relative of the extinct beluga whale Casatia thermophila was discovered in the early 1980s. It was found during the excavation of a new dock in the Port of Antwerp by another father and son team – Paul Gigase, a pathologist by profession, and his son Pierre.

In this case the whale, which also had bite marks with the tip of a shark tooth embedded, may have been attacked by an extinct mako shark, a relative of today’s great white shark. It appears that the shark was attempting to separate the whale’s head from the rest of the body and focusing on the fat-rich melon, a mass of tissue involved in echolocation on the top of the animal’s head.

These fossils represent direct evidence that relatives of sharks today fed on these whales. Even if the fossil evidence is limited to two pairs of animals, they are tangible examples of such behaviour.

The ongoing biodiversity crisis is directly related to climate change, and has (or will have) an impact on the distribution of marine mammals. Global warming is likely to affect shallow seas in particular. The southern part of the North Sea is not large or deep enough for modern baleen whales, which are larger than their ancestors and live in the North Atlantic, like the modern right whale, the humpback and fin whales. But warming seas could attract dolphins and seals, and in turn great white sharks or other large marine predators.

In the North Sea, scientists have already observed short-term changes in the distribution of porpoises and seals. New seal colonies have established along the coast of the southern North Sea and there have been abrupt fluctuations in the number of porpoises stranded yearly on Belgian beaches.

The fossilised behaviour of the disappeared whales and sharks emphasise that all is change in the ecology of the North Sea.

Tasha Farah faces a long road of ‘recovery and rehabilitation”

A family is pleading for support after a mum is fighting for her life in intensive care. Tasha Farah, 31, faces an “uncertain road of recovery and rehabilitation” after she suffered a catastrophic injury.

The mum-of-one, from the Old Colwyn area of North Wales, will require intensive assistance to regain ‘even the simplest parts of her life’. A GoFundMe campaign has been established to fund her care, and whilst thousands have been donated, her family are reaching out for further support.

Tasha’s mum Denise Farah, 52, said: “We’re in a living hell. Tasha has only got one boy, Roman, he adores his mum and she adores him and with everything going on right now we just want to do something to make him smile.”

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“Roman is passionate about football and devoted to Liverpool FC. Indeed, when Tasha first brought Roman to Anfield, he declared it the ‘best day of his life’.”

The family would love to see Roman attend Anfield as a team mascot, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Denise said: “My grandson is obsessed with football, he’s quite good himself he plays for The Falcons in North Wales. He loves Mo Salah too. With everything going on with his mum we just hoped we could do something nice to put a smile on his face and take his mind off it.

“He is going through hell and we’d love some sunshine in this very very dark time, a bit of light to see him happy.” Tasha remains in a critical condition and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her injuries is now under way.

‘A living hell’

Denise explained they are “taking it minute by minute, hour by hour” but acknowledged she is “not well.”

Tasha’s sister Samantha previously said: “My sister Tasha is currently in intensive care after a devastating injury. Right now, she is fighting for her life, and every moment is critical. Our family is by her side, holding onto hope and praying for her recovery.

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“She is facing a long, uncertain road of recovery and rehabilitation, and will need intensive care, therapy, and support to regain even the simplest parts of her life.

“Tasha is not just a sister – she is a mum to her beautiful eight-year-old son, Roman. Right now, he needs stability, love, and support more than ever while his mum fights to come back to him.”

Making an appeal for support, she added: “We are completely unprepared for the financial and emotional weight of what lies ahead-ongoing hospital care, rehabilitation, time away from work, and making sure Roman is safe, supported, and cared for through this trauma.

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“We are asking, from the bottom of our hearts, for any help you can give. Every donation, no matter how small, will go directly toward Tasha’s fight to recover and giving her the best possible chance to rebuild her life-and to be there for her son again.

“Please keep Tasha in your thoughts and prayers. Your support means more than we can put into words. We will continue to share updates as we hold onto hope.”

Tasha’s online fundraising appeal, which has now raised more than £9,000, is targeting a minimum of £11,000.

You can donate to the Gofundme on this link.

The iconic Glasgow-based drama has been axed after 24 years when bosses at BBC Scotland said it was “no longer value for money”.

The final scenes of River City have been filmed as Scotland’s longest-running drama series comes to end after 24 years. The iconic Glasgow-based drama set in Shieldinch has been axed as BBC Scotland said it was “no longer value for money”.

TV bosses refused to do a U-turn on the decision despite a ‘Save River City’ campaign backed by the cast, viewers, politicians and actors’ union Equity. The final episode filmed on Friday will be aired at the end of August.

It will be followed by a specially-commissioned documentary, taking the audience at home through two decades of drama, iconic moments and never seen before behind-the-scenes footage. Speaking to Glasgow Live, Executive Producer Martin McCardie said: “It’s a very emotional time.

“Since last week, people have been up and down – we are fighting to get to the very end of a really special finale. The audience deserve a character based ending, and I think that’s what we’ve done. It will bring a tear to the eye.”

Tony Kearney, who starred as Scott Wallace for nearly ten years, and is now Executive Producer and Director at Solus Productions, who are making the documentary, said he is “indebted” to River City. “I learned my craft of a director here”, he said.

“River City taught me about direction and how to handle performers – I went behind the camera and haven’t acted since. Once you’ve been a part of this team it’ll never leave you.”

Actor Stephen Purdon is the programme’s longest-serving cast member. Better known as ‘Shellsuit’ Bob O’Hara, he said it was “emotional, surreal, hard to put it into words” on their final day on set.

He added: “I’ve grown up here. When I started I was 19 and still living with my mum, now I’m nearly 43 with two kids and a wife.

“It’s funny, a lot of the things Bob’s went through on screen, I’ve went through in my personal life too. But it’s the people I’ll miss most, coming in here and seeing their faces, the banter, the chat and the actors you work closely with. It sounds cliché but it is one big happy family.

“I came in a bit earlier and just had a wee walk around myself and to try take it all in, but you’ve still got scenes to film, you’ve still got to be professional, you’ve still got to go and do your work.”

Sally Howitt, who plays Stephen’s on-screen mum Scarlett O’Hara said: “I’ll never not be Scarlett, I never want to lose that.

“I was first casted for one-month, and 23 years later here I am. It’s such a momentous time, it’s hard to believe it’s the end.”

And when some of the cast picked a memento to take home with them, Sally said: “I’ve had to take the Virgin Mary from my sideboard. I actually took a frying pan and a leopard print tray and some coasters too.

When asked what he’ll be nicking, Stephen jokingly said: “No comment. Next question.”

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