“Higher oil and gas prices would lift North Sea revenues, and stronger inflation could boost receipts from VAT and frozen tax allowances, but those gains would likely be outweighed by the damage to tax revenues from weaker growth and higher public spending on welfare, debt interest costs, and pressure for fiscal support for households and energy-intensive businesses.”

It’s the second year in a row that Morpeth, situated near the coastal areas of Ashington and Bedlington, was crowned among the UK’s top spots in the publishers’ widely recognised guide, which saw Skipton in North Yorkshire claim the winning title.

The area, known as a “place of pilgrimage” for those coming to pay their respects to suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, has also recently been hailed one of England’s most underrated county towns by The Telegraph.

You can read more about that in our previous article.

Morpeth’s ‘community-spirited residents have plenty to shout about’

But why has Morpeth been named among the best places to live in the region for 2025 and 2026?

Commenting on this year’s findings, The Sunday Times judges shared: “Morpeth’s community-spirited residents have plenty to shout about: a new £21 million leisure centre, easy access to Newcastle and Northumberland’s best beaches and some excellent schools.

“The town’s choir groups and book festival are thriving and there are also crafting groups, dance and basketball clubs, a bouldering centre and a panto society.”

This follows last year’s praise from the publisher, which hailed Morpeth as “Britain’s friendliest market town”.

It said: “Every shopkeeper treats you like a long-lost friend, and the tails of the dogs (there are lots of them) are constantly wagging.

“Tranquil, yes. Backwater-ish, no. Even on a Monday morning in February, there is a purposeful bustle in the air and a lunchtime queue has already built up outside the Italian restaurant Lollo Rosso.”

The Telegraph also revealed that the most popular houses were to the north, on streets such as De Merley Road, Kings Avenue and Dacre Street.

Recent Rightmove data for house prices in Morpeth shows the market town had an overall average of £292,492 over the last year.

The property experts added: “The majority of properties sold in Morpeth during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £258,071.

This North East market town has made The Sunday Times’ annual property guide in 2025 and 2026 (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“Detached properties sold for an average of £398,376, with terraced properties fetching £223,422.

“Overall, the historical sold prices in Morpeth over the last year were similar to the previous year and similar to the 2023 peak of £289,725.”

Best places to live in the North and North East of England for 2026

Here are all the best places to live in the North and North East of England for 2026, as revealed by The Sunday Times:

• Skipton, North Yorkshire 
• Howardian Hills, North Yorkshire
• Leeds city centre
• Morpeth, Northumberland
• Newcastle: Gosforth
• Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire 
• Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire
• York

In total, 72 places across the UK were selected by The Sunday Times to showcase the best of Britain, with Norwich, Norfolk named the overall national winner.

You can see the full Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2026 guide online now.

The Sunday Times’s expert judges visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds and mobile signal to amenities, as well as access to high-quality green spaces and the health of the high street.

There are more new entries than ever before in this year’s guide.

As always, the judges looked for thriving locations with a strong sense of community rather than famous names with high house prices. 

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, commented: “This guide is a great opportunity to highlight the best places in Britain.

“It is full of places that show that our village, town and city centres can still be full of life, as well as places bursting with natural beauty, culture, connectivity and most importantly a sense of community. 

“Our expert team of judges visit every location on the list and talk to the locals to find out what they love about the place they live.

“These judges have traveled the length and breadth of the UK, from the Scottish Highlands to the Cornish coast, selecting the top towns and villages, suburbs and cities for the 2026 guide.

“One thing all our chosen locations have in common is that the people who live in them are proud to call them home.”  

The guide is published online today (March 20), with an abridged version appearing as a magazine supplement on Sunday (March 22).

Have you visited Morpeth recently or do you live there now? Let us know in the comments below.

Linlithgow has emerged as the top choice in the 2026 Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

A historic West Lothian town has been named as Scotland’s best place to live.

Linlithgow has emerged as the top choice in the 2026 Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

The town is perhaps best known for the ruins of Linlithgow Palace, where Mary, Queen of Scots was born. Judges praised it as a “family-friendly hotspot that’s the perfect spot for commuters to Edinburgh or Glasgow who want clean air and a village mentality”.

Describing it as a “central belter”, the Sunday Times said residents “can’t get enough of the medieval high street, outstanding schools and the great outdoors”.

READ MORE: West Lothian man fined after keeping 12 cats in dark and dirty sheds

The judges added: “It’s the kind of town where the lollipop men know everyone’s names and have treats for the dogs, and competition is fierce in the famous annual cardboard boat race down the pretty Union Canal.

“Non-commuters have all the more time to enjoy the 180 shared interest groups, community-owned ski slope, theatre productions and jazz concerts or get involved in the community development trust.”

Linlithgow was one of seven Scottish places to make the Sunday Times list.

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, says: “This guide is a great opportunity to highlight the best places in Britain. It is full of places that show that our village, town and city centres can still be full of life, as well as places bursting with natural beauty, culture, connectivity and most importantly a sense of community.

READ MORE: People living with glaucoma in West Lothian can access support within community

“Our expert team of judges visit every location on the list and talk to the locals to find out what they love about the place they live.

“These judges have travelled the length and breadth of the UK, from the Scottish Highlands to the Cornish coast, selecting the top towns and villages, suburbs and cities for the 2026 guide.

“One thing all our chosen locations have in common is that the people who live in them are proud to call them home.”

READ MORE: Permission granted for construction of new Craigshill Primary in Livingston

Don’t miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered the release of 250 political prisoners as part of a deal with Washington that lifted some U.S. sanctions, the latest step in the isolated leader’s effort to improve ties with the West.

Lukashenko pardoned the prisoners after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, in the Belarus capital of Minsk. Coale hailed the release as a “significant humanitarian milestone” and a testament to Trump’s “commitment to direct, hard-nosed diplomacy.” It marked the largest one-time release of political prisoners in the country.

Coale told reporters that the U.S. will lift sanctions from two Belarusian state banks and the country’s Finance Ministry, and that the top Belarusian potash producers have been removed from a sanctions list.

Belarus’ opposition leader-in-exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, hailed the prisoners’ release as “a moment of great relief and hope.”

“After years of isolation, people are now free and can finally embrace their loved ones,” Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press. “There is nothing more powerful than seeing someone who endured unjust imprisonment reunited with their family.”

She thanked Trump and his officials for their “tireless efforts to secure the release of political prisoners,” adding that “these humanitarian efforts are saving lives.”

The last time U.S. officials met with Lukashenko, in December, Washington announced the easing of sanctions on Belarus’ potash sector, a key source of export revenue, and 123 prisoners were released and sent to Ukraine and Lithuania.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced isolation for years. Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western countries — both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Lukashenko’s rule was challenged after a 2020 presidential election, when tens of thousands poured into the streets to protest a vote they viewed as rigged. They were the largest demonstrations since Belarus became independent following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

In an ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Five years after the mass demonstrations, Lukashenko won a seventh term last year in an election that the opposition called a farce.

More recently, Belarus has freed some political prisoners to try to win favor with the West. Since Trump returned to the White House last year, Lukashenko has released dozens of prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key dissident figures Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova.

Trump spoke to Lukashenko by phone in August 2025 after one such release and even suggested a face-to-face meeting in what would be a big victory for the Belarusian leader, who has been dubbed “Europe’s Last Dictator.”

Dzianis Kuchynski, an adviser to Tsikhanouskaya, said that 15 of the 250 prisoners arrived in Lithuania following their release.

They included Valiantsin Stefanovich and Marfa Rabkova of the prominent Belarus human rights group Viasna. Stefanovich was serving a nine-year sentence on charges of smuggling money to finance activities violating the public order after his arrest in 2023. Rabkova was sentenced to 14 years and nine months following her 2020 arrest and conviction on charges of organizing riots and inciting hatred, accusations widely seen as a punishment for documenting human rights abuses.

Nasta Loika, 37, an activist with the international rights group Human Constanta, was also released. She was sentenced to seven years in prison after her arrest in 2022 on charges of organizing mass unrest and inciting hatred – charges widely seen as retaliation for her activism.

Also freed was Katsiaryna Bakhvalava, 32, who also goes by the last name of Andreyeva, a journalist of the Polish-funded Belsat TV channel who was arrested in 2020 while covering mass anti-government protests in Minsk. She was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on convictions for violating public order and treason.

Eduard Palchys, a 35-year-old opposition blogger, was also among those pardoned by Lukashenko. He was convicted of causing harm to Belarus’ national security and organizing mass unrest over his role in coordinating the demonstrations in 2020. and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Like previously released prisoners, they were all sent to Lithuania without passports or other identity papers. Kuchynski denounced it as a “mockery” by Belarusian authorities seeking to make the lives of the released prisoners more abroad more difficult.

Just before the latest announcement of releases, the Viasna group had estimated that there were more than 1,100 political prisoners in the country.

Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that “many people are still behind bars” and “our goal remains unchanged — to free them all and to put a final end to repression, so that every Belarusian can live freely in their own country.”

Red Nose Day returns to BBC One on Friday, March 20 with Davina McCall, Joel Dommett and Catherine Tate presenting Comic Relief: Funny for Money from 7pm – here’s everything you need to know about the telethon

Red Nose Day is making a comeback this week with Comic Relief: Funny For Money.

The annual charity spectacle will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from MediaCityUK in Salford, promising a night filled with humour and entertainment to raise funds for providing food, shelter, and safety.

The telethon is set to feature live performances, fantastic prizes, surprise guest appearances, and must-watch sketches. In a first for Comic Relief, the show will also be live-streamed on the official BBC YouTube channel.

This year’s special guests include Idris Elba, reprising his role as DCI John Luther, joining Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary in the hilariously suspenseful sketch The Bank Job.

Catherine Tate will co-host the show alongside regular presenter Davina McCall, appearing as Nan from The Catherine Tate Show. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the renowned telethon, reports the Mirror.

Comic Relief start and finish time

Comic Relief: Funny for Money will air live on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Friday, March 20, and for the first time ever, it will be simultaneously live-streamed on the official BBC YouTube channel.

Viewers can tune in at 7pm to watch the spectacle unfold, with co-host Joel Dommett promising one of the “best openings to Comic Relief ever.”

The telethon will run for three hours on BBC One, then at 10pm, the Red Nose Day fun will move over to BBC Two where Romesh Ranganathan will host a special episode of Comic Relief Does The Weakest Link.

Comic Relief presenters

Returning to present once more is Davina McCall, who will anchor the entire evening’s entertainment.

She will be accompanied in hosting responsibilities by Katherine Ryan, Nick Mohammed, Joel Dommett, and Catherine Tate (as Nan from The Catherine Tate Show).

Discussing the presenting lineup, Davina remarked: “What’s so nice is that I’m hosting with Joel Dommett, and Joel’s actually one of my best friends! So, it’s so nice to be presenting with him. Knowing that I’m with him whilst also presenting with Nan (Catherine Tate) is very reassuring, because actually, I am mildly terrified of Nan if I’m honest!”.

“How I’m going to stop her from swearing, I just don’t know! Obviously ‘please do not swear’ was my catchphrase – so I’m going to have to stay on my toes. Katherine Ryan, I love. I mean, Nick Mohammed, I was obsessed with Ted Lasso so I’m so excited about working with him. It’s going to be an amazing, amazing night.”

Comic Relief sketches and cameos

The BBC has pledged “some very special cameo guests” and comedy segments. Thus far, the broadcaster has announced sketches featuring several of its most popular programmes, including The Traitors, and Amandaland, alongside The Bank Job, starring Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

The sketch will feature the duo devising a plan to generate enormous sums of money in an incredibly swift, absurd manner by robbing a bank. They’ll be accompanied on the robbery by Chris McCausland, Stephen Mulhern, Shona McGarty, Niko Omilana, Gladiator’s Sabre, and Natalie Cassidy.

The BBC stated: “Who will stay on the right side of the law? Who will put their (questionable! ) intelligence, strategic prowess and artful deftness to the test in a bid to become 2026’s most-wanted bank robber? And how will they fare now that DCI John Luther is on the case?”.

The programme will also showcase the remarkable challenges undertaken by celebrities in the run-up to Red Nose Day, including Radio 1 DJ Greg James, who is presently tackling a 1,000km tandem bicycle journey across the UK to raise funds.

On how to get involved in Red Nose Day, you can visit the Red Nose Day website.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website.

Just one app was found to be ‘safe’ in a major new study

Inaccurate social media posts about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism have been linked to a rise in young people believing they have neurodevelopmental conditions, an expert has said after a new study highlighted the levels of misinformation online. Researchers said their findings present a “clear need for action” for more high-quality information to be shared on social media and “strengthened content moderation”.

Experts from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust set out to examine the quality of mental health and neurodivergence information on social media by reviewing all relevant studies on the topic relating to posts on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X. They included 27 studies concerning 5,057 social media posts.

The rate of misinformation ranged from 0% for videos analysed on anxiety and depression from YouTube Kids to 56.9% for claustrophobia videos on YouTube, the authors wrote in The Journal of Social Media Research. The researchers said misinformation prevalence was “consistently higher on TikTok than other platforms”.

YouTube Kids was the only platform to have no misinformation on some topics “likely due to the implementation of stricter content moderation and prioritisation of child-friendly content”, the authors said. Dr Alice Carter, from UEA, said: “When we looked closely at TikTok content, studies reported that 52% of ADHD-related videos and 41% of autism videos analysed were inaccurate.

“By contrast, YouTube averaged 22% misinformation while Facebook averaged just under 15%.”

The research team found that posts about ADHD and autism were more likely to contain misinformation compared to mental health topics. Dr Eleanor Chatburn, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Mental health information on social media matters because many young people now turn to these platforms to understand their symptoms and possible diagnoses.

“TikTok content has been linked to young people increasingly believing they may have mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions. While this questioning can be a helpful starting point, it’s important these questions lead to proper clinical assessment with a professional.

“As well as leading to misunderstanding of serious conditions and pathologising ordinary behaviour, misinformation can also lead to delayed diagnosis for people that actually do need help.”

The researchers found that content created by health professionals was more likely to be accurate. Dr Carter added: “While lived-experience can play an important role, with personal stories helping people to feel understood and raising awareness of mental health conditions, it is vital to ensure that accurate and evidence-based information from clinicians and trusted organisations is also visible and easy to find.

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“TikTok’s algorithms are also designed to push rapidly engaging content and this is a major driver of misinformation. Once users show interest in a topic, they are bombarded with similar posts – creating powerful echo chambers that can reinforce false or exaggerated claims. It is a perfect storm for misinformation to go viral faster than facts can catch up.”

The authors called for better evidence-based content and improved content moderation to tackle misinformation on social media.

Judith Brown, head of evidence and research at the National Autistic Society, said: “This study demonstrates how rapidly misinformation can spread on social media platforms, highlighting the importance of evidence-based advice and guidance from organisations such as the National Autistic Society.

“Our online information undergoes a robust process before publication to ensure it is accurate, evidence-based and up to date. The rise of online misinformation about autism is a serious issue.

“People are being exposed to inaccurate and unreliable information which can lead to stigma and prejudice, and could also prevent them from seeking support. Social media companies should think about how to improve their platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation.

“People should be wary of information they find and know that it does not replace a professional assessment for autism, which can provide a life-changing diagnosis and access to appropriate support. Anyone who wants to learn more about autism should visit trusted sources such as the NHS website or autism.org.uk”

A TikTok spokesperson said: “This is a flawed study that relies on outdated research about multiple platforms. The facts are that we remove harmful health misinformation and provide access to reliable information from the WHO, so that our community can express themselves about what matters to them and find support.”

A Government spokesperson said: “Accurate, credible information about mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions is essential – misinformation can cause real harm and delay people from getting the help they need. Our free NHS-approved Every Mind Matters programme provides practical support, and we have launched an independent review to transform ADHD and autism services and cut waiting lists.

“Platforms have a responsibility to act. Under the Online Safety Act, they must tackle illegal content and content that is harmful to children, or face enforcement action. We expect them to take that responsibility seriously.”

As the Middle East conflict threatens global oil supplies, timely analysis finds that achieving net zero in the UK will be cheaper than staying hooked on fossil fuels during such a crisis. 

In its latest report, the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) put the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 at £4bn a year, or £100bn in total. This, it added, was equivalent to the energy-related costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The fallout from the war in Iran is likely to be an ever greater shock, analysts warn. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke-point for oil shipments, is already hiking up energy prices globally.

“In light of current world events, it’s more important than ever for the UK to move away from being reliant on volatile foreign fossil fuels, to clean, domestic energy,” said Nigel Topping, the CCC’s chair . 

While the war in Iran has sparked calls from some politicians to ramp up domestic fossil fuel production in the UK, analysis from Carbon Brief – also published this week – finds that doing so would have a negligible impact on energy security.    

“The continued expansion of renewables and low-carbon technologies offers far greater protection against volatile gas imports than new domestic drilling,” it found. 

Image: Hryshchyshen Serhii

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Chuck Norris has reportedly been hospitalized following a medical emergency in Hawaii.

The Walker, Texas Ranger star has owned a $7 million home on Kauai’s North Shore since 2015.

According to TMZ, Norris is conscious and in “good spirits.” No details regarding the nature of the medical emergency have been released.

The Independent has contacted Norris’s representative for comment.

Last week, Norris celebrated his 86th birthday, marking the occasion with a social media post that included a video of himself sparring with a boxing trainer.

At the time, he wrote: “I don’t age. I level up. I’m 86 today! Nothing like some playful action on a sunny day to make you feel young.”

He continued: “I’m grateful for another year, good health and the chance to keep doing what I love. Thank you all for being the best fans in the world. Your support through the years has meant more to me than you’ll ever know. God Bless, Chuck Norris.”

Norris is a former martial arts champion who starred opposite Bruce Lee in 1972’s The Way of the Dragon. He went on to have a successful film and television career, most famously leading the Walker, Texas Ranger action crime series on CBS from 1993 to 2001.

Last December, he shared an emotional tribute to his first wife, Dianne Holechek, who died at the age of 84.

“I am deeply saddened to share that my ex wife, Dianne, has passed away. After being married for 30 years, we were able to find a way to remain close friends, and those years of friendship meant the world to me,” Norris wrote on Facebook.

“Dianne was an incredible person. She was kind, intelligent, and lived life to the fullest. Her presence in my life will never be forgotten. She was also a loving and devoted mother to our sons, Mike and Eric, who were always her greatest pride.

“Even as our lives took different directions, we continued to care deeply for one another, and I will forever cherish the memories we built together.”

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Holechek and Norris met at North High School in Torrance, California, and married in 1958 when they were 17 and 18, respectively.

They separated in 1988, after 30 years of marriage, finalizing their divorce in 1989. They had two children together, Mike (born 1962) and former NASCAR racing driver Eric (born 1965).

Norris subsequently married model Gena O’Kelley, 62, in 1998. They share twins, Dakota and Danilee, 24.