A peregrine falcon was seen taking a break in the town by Northern Echo Camera Club member Barry Raper.

It’s not the first time the birds have been spotted in the region, with sightings in Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire, the Teesside coastline, and near Durham City over the last 18 months.

Peregrine falcons are known for their record-breaking speeds, aerial dives that can reach speeds of 390 km/h (242 mph), allowing them to strike prey with surgical precision.

The Peregrine Falcon (Image: BARRY RAPER)

Though their level-flight speed is more modest, between about 25 and 35mph, their agility and vision give them the edge in aerial hunting.

For comparison, an adult cheetah can reach up to 120km/h or 75mph and the next fastest bird is the golden eagle which can fly up to 320 km/h or 199mph.

Their average size is around 42cm with a pointed wingspan of around 102cm.

Peregrine Falcon (Image: BARRY RAPER)

The species is enjoying a speedy comeback in the UK after being persecuted for many years. 

The peregrine falcon population has been increasing steadily since the 1960s, with its breeding range tripling from 1968 to 1972.

Since the 1990s, the birds have also moved into cities, with London having the second-highest urban peregrine falcon population in the world, beaten only by New York.

Peregrine Falcon (Image: BARRY RAPER)

In the UK, peregrines are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 and classified as Green under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021).

During the first half of the 20th century, their numbers dropped for several reasons.

These included being hunted by gamekeepers, the pesticide DDT in the 1950s and being shot in the Second World War for fear they would prey on carrier pigeons.

 Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, the EPA’s restrictions on DDT, and the reintroduction of captive-bred chicks, their numbers have recovered.

What does the Durham Wildlife have to say about the Peregrine Falcon?

Like many of our birds of prey, the peregrine falcon was so persecuted, numbers fell dramatically. Thankfully, this super-speedy flyer is now making a comeback, particularly in our towns, where it nests on tall buildings.

• Length: 40-54cm
• Wingspan: 1.2m
• Weight: 670g-1.1kg
• Average lifespan: 6 years
• When to see: January to December

Until recently, the peregrine falcon was only found in the north and west of the UK.

Yet, over the last couple of decades, it has been spreading south.

In recent years, it has found some unusual nest sites, including Derby Cathedral and the BT Tower in Birmingham! These tall, city structures replicate the precipitous cliff edges that it would naturally nest on.

How to identify

The peregrine is the biggest falcon; it is dark slate-grey above and white below, with black bars across its chest and belly.

It has a white throat and cheeks, and a strong, black moustache and mask.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government has issued new details on plans designed to help thousands of people across the UK

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A top DWP minister has announced reforms to apprenticeships aimed at helping more young people to take up training placements for skilled jobs. Changes to existing UK rules include a faster approval process to update apprenticeships and develop short courses to tackle the need for skilled workers in major projects.

The reforms were announced ahead of the start of National Apprenticeship Week on Monday, when companies across the UK will announce a number of new placements. Ministers said bureaucracy will be tackled to cut apprenticeship approval times from 18 months to as little as three months.

The changes were part of the Growth and Skills Levy reforms, aimed at delivering 50,000 more apprenticeships for young people backed by £725 million funding. Ministers said the measures will play an integral role towards the Government’s ambition to get two-thirds of young people into higher-level learning or apprenticeships.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Britain’s future depends on getting more young people into good jobs with real prospects. These reforms will slash bureaucracy so we can train people faster in the industries where they’re needed most.

“We need to give more young people a faster route into secure, well-paid work by ensuring British businesses have the talent they need to grow.” Mr McFadden visited Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, to see first-hand how apprenticeships were delivering skilled jobs in advanced manufacturing and engineering.

Tania Gandamihardja, Group HR director at BAE Systems, commented: “We currently have a record 5,100 apprentices in learning and they are critical to our skills pipeline. This announcement will accelerate our ability to offer new and updated apprenticeships keeping our people at the forefront of cutting-edge defence technologies.

“Incorporating the most advanced innovations in apprenticeships will also help us attract the 1,100 apprentices we need to join our company this year.” Philippa Burt, HR director for Hinkley Point C, said: “We welcome these apprenticeships reforms as they will help boost opportunities for young people at the same time as delivering more effectively the skills needed by major infrastructure projects.

“1,700 apprentices have already been trained at Hinkley Point C, helping overcome nationally significant skills gaps in key trades and high growth sectors.”

Speaking during promotion for the current third series of More4 spin-off Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids, Amanda said disagreements are simply part of life on the farm, and that this applies to adults just as much as children.

Amanda sat on the farm hill at Ravenseat (Image: CHANNEL4)

Reflecting on family life at Ravenseat, she explained that while the Owen children are often seen laughing and working together on screen, the reality is far from perfect, and the same realism shapes her relationship with Clive.

“It’s just like me and Clive, isn’t it?” Amanda said.

“One minute we’ll be agreeing on something, next minute you’ll be saying something through gritted teeth, and I’ll be giving him the old evil eye. It is just how it is.”

Amanda and Clive announced their separation in 2022 after 22 years of marriage, but have continued to live and work closely together, sharing parenting responsibilities and appearing alongside one another on television.

The Channel 5 star said their relationship, like the wider household, is built on teamwork and accepting that dynamics are always shifting.

Clive Owen leant against gate at Anty John’s (Image: CHANNEL4)

“Of course they don’t always get on,” she said, referring to life with the children, before adding that disagreements rarely escalate and are allowed to “play out” naturally.

Amanda suggested the same approach applies to her relationship with Clive, explaining that having space and independence is key to keeping things balanced.

“With the space around us and a zillion things to do, people can take off,” she said. “If you were all trapped under one roof in confined quarters, it would be very different.”

She added that as the children have grown older and developed their own interests, the atmosphere at the farm has changed, and for the better.

“So far this is the best period I’ve enjoyed since they were babies,” Amanda said.

“You get to see their independence and their characters and what they take in, and that never fails to surprise me.”

Despite the pressures of farming life and a changing family structure, Amanda said the household remains positive, describing the current stage as energising.

“You feel more alive when you’ve got these youngsters bobbing about doing their thing,” she said. “You think to yourself, it’s all positive. It’s all good.”

Series three of Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids is currently on More4, with a fourth series already confirmed.

The disruption is due to track repair work and ends at 10am

Tram services through Manchester city centre will be disrupted on Sunday morning due to track repair works.

Metolink’s Rochdale and Bury lines will terminate at Victoria while the East Didsbury service will end at Exchange Square. A bus replacement service will operate between Victoria and Piccadilly.

Anyone on the East Didsbury line wanting to get to Victoria will have a five-minute walk to the station from Exchange Square. The disruptions to services will start at the beginning of Metrolink’s operations on Sunday morning and will end at 10am.

The Bee Network revealed details of the disruption on its website and social media channels.

In the update on X, Bee Network said: “Tomorrow, [8 February], no trams will operate through Victoria from start of service until 10am to facilitate track repair works. The Rochdale and Bury line will terminate at Victoria and the East Didsbury line will terminate at Exchange Square. A replacement bus will run between Victoria and Piccadilly.”

MILAN (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance sat with influencer and boxer Jake Paul as they watched the U.S. women’s hockey team ease to a 5-0 win over Finland at the Winter Olympics on Saturday.

Vance and his family entered during the intermission at the end of the first period, with the U.S. leading 1-0. Paul joined them shortly after. Paul’s fiancee Jutta Leerdam is a speedskater for the Netherlands at the Milan Cortina Games.

Vance sat with his youngest child, daughter Mirabel, on his lap. Usha Vance, wearing a sweatshirt with “USA” in big letters, clapped along to Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” before the second period started.

The vice president and his wife stood and clapped when the U.S. women’s team scored a goal. They were back on their feet cheering a few minutes later when the U.S. women scored again.

Among those seated near Vance were 2010 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek and hockey’s twin sisters, Hall of Famers Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando. They were members of the U.S. gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Winter Games.

It’s the second time that Vance has watched the U.S. women’s team at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

He was also at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on Thursday, when the U.S. beat Czechia 5-1 in its opening game of the preliminary round.

U.S. player Taylor Heise said it was “awesome” to hear that Vance and Paul were at the rink, but she wasn’t aware during the game.

“I know (teammate) Abbey Murphy wants to meet Jake Paul, so we’d love to set that up,” she said.

“None of us knew that they were here, actually,” Heise added. “Just happy to be playing, and whoever’s there gets to watch the show, because I think we’re pretty good.”

The U.S. players are especially familiar with Paul through his relationship with Leerdam, who competes in speedskating against U.S. hockey captain Hilary Knight’s girlfriend Brittany Bowe.

“I know his fiancee, Jutta, we’ve watched her work out. She’s phenomenal. We’re excited to go and watch her and obviously we’re cheering on Brit Bowe,” Heise said.

___

Michelle L. Price and John Wawrow contributed to this report.

___

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

The luxury train is heading back to Wales this summer

This summer you can experience luxury train travel in Wales as a popular vintage rail service comes to Wales. The Northern Belle is one of Britain’s most luxurious trains where you can encounter fine dining aboard a 1930’s classic train travelling across the country.

With views of the Welsh countryside you can enjoy a champagne reception, caviar blinis, a wine pairing with each course, Port with a cheese board, and Fortnum and Mason tea service as well as get a front row seat to live entertainment.

The Northern Belle is coming to Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham on multiple dates in June and September. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here

Each day trip includes a return trip on the vintage train with scenic routes to popular UK destinations along with food and drink services aboard.

Departing from Cardiff on Thursday, June 25 the Belle will travel via Newport, Gloucester and Cheltenham to Chatsworth House where you will spend the afternoon. As you step onto the train you will be greeted with a champagne reception and treated to a three-course brunch as you travel across the country.

Making a return to Cardiff on Thursday, September 17 the Northern Belle will make the same stops but on this journey you can get to see a section of Dawlish that was built on the sea wall and passes through five tunnels. A seven-course meal will be served with a strolling musicians passing through the carriages.

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Visiting North Wales on September 19, the luxury train will head from Telford to Shrewsbury then to Wrexham and Chester on what has been called one of the world’s most scenic railway journeys. There will be a spectacular scenic journey by steam over the Settle and Carlisle line with a chance to explore Carlisle.

For more information and to book tickets you can visit the Northern Belle website.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump received rare blowback from Republican lawmakers over a video posted to social media that included a racist image of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, depicted as primates.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, Republican lawmakers have treaded carefully when disagreeing with the president, often communicating their concerns in private for fear of suffering his wrath.

But the swift calls to remove the post, which also echoed false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, represented a rare moment of bipartisan backlash to Trump’s actions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Multiple GOP members of the Senate and House joined their Democratic colleagues in voicing disgust and criticism at the post and urged the president to remove it.

Trump declined to apologize, saying he did not see the racist portion of the video when he passed it on to staff.

How Republican lawmakers reacted

South Carolina’s Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator and chair of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, criticized the image and urged the president to remove it.

“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it,” Scott wrote on social media.

Other Republican senators echoed the sentiment.

“Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this,” Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, wrote on social media. “The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.”

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine called the image “appalling.” Roger Wicker, the senior senator from Mississippi, denounced it as “totally unacceptable.”

“The president should take it down and apologize,” Wicker wrote.

Sen. John Curtis of Utah called Trump’s post “blatantly racist and inexcusable. It should never have been posted or left published for so long.”

In the House, Rep. Mike Lawler of New York called Trump’s post “wrong and incredibly offensive—whether intentional or a mistake—and should be deleted immediately with an apology offered.” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a frequent Trump critic, quipped on social media about the White House’s shifting explanations for the video’s origin and deletion.

Praise for the post being removed

More Republicans lodged their objections to the post after the video was taken down.

“This content was rightfully removed, should have never been posted to begin with, and is not who we are as a nation,” wrote Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican.

Rep. John James, a Michigan Republican running for governor, said he was “glad to see that trash has been taken down.” James, one of four Black Republicans in the House, said he was “shocked and appalled by that post” but defended Trump’s character.

“I know the President. He is not racist,” said James, who campaigned for Trump in Black communities during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Still, some of Trump’s closest allies defended him. Laura Loomer, a far right activist and media personality, called on her social media followers to highlight any Republican lawmakers “attacking Trump today with false accusations of racism.”

“I am compiling a list of every single GOP Senator who attacked President Trump today, and I am printing it out and giving it to President Trump ahead of the @NRSC Winter Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida this weekend,” wrote Loomer, who has influenced administration policy and threatened retribution against GOP lawmakers in the past.

A shifting White House narrative

Trump has been a longtime critic of the Obamas. Before entering politics, he earned fame among conservatives as a champion of the “birther” conspiracy theory that falsely claimed that President Obama was not born in the U.S.

White House officials made multiple shifting statements about how the animated video, which has circulated among conservatives online for months, came to be posted by the president’s account.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at first said the post, which appears to be AI-generated, depicted Trump as “King of the Jungle” and the Obamas and other Democrats as characters from “The Lion King.” But the Disney animated classic does not include any characters depicted as apes, and is set in an African savanna not a jungle.

White House officials later said that the video was erroneously posted by a staffer.

“I liked the beginning. I saw it and just passed it on, and I guess probably nobody reviewed the end of it,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Asked if he condemned the racist parts of the video, Trump said, “Of course I do.”

Democrats rally to former first couple

Supporters of the Obamas also took to social media not only to condemn the president’s post, but also to celebrate the former first couple.

“We should ALL be outraged,” Pete Souza, the former chief White House photographer during the Obama White House, posted to social media. “I will not post a screenshot of the video here. Instead, I thought it best to respond with a few of my photographs of Barack and Michelle.”

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., posted images of the Obamas and praised their “brilliance, elegance, and beauty.”

“I want Americans, particularly our young people, to know that the vast majority of our country supports and uplifts you despite the filth spewing from the Oval Office,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote to the Obamas on social media.

The ITV show sees famous contestants disguised in elaborate costumes sing in front of a celebrity panel who must guess their identity.

After weeks of viewers at home and judges Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan and Maya Jama guessing who’s behind the masks, the finalists have finally been confirmed.

So far, the 2026 series has seen the likes of Alex Jones, Professor Green, Anton Du Beke and Harry Hill all be behind a mask.

Now, following the semi-final of The Masked Singer, the finalists have been revealed. Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is in the final of The Masked Singer 2026?

The finalists for The Masked Singer 2026 are as follows:

Who has been unmasked so far on The Masked Singer 2026? Full list

If you’re struggling to keep track of all the unmaskings in the latest series of The Masked Singer, or just need a bit of a refresher, we can help you stay up to date.

Warning: If you haven’t seen the most recent episodes, which air weekly on ITV, spoilers are ahead.

During the series, as well as the famous faces taking part, there have also been some separate unmaskings for celebrity guest panellists.

To avoid confusion, here are the celebrities behind any of the main 12 characters that have been unmasked on The Masked Singer 2026 so far:

• Disc Jockey – Alex Jones – TV presenter on BBC’s The One Show (episode 1)
• Teabag – Professor Green – Rapper, singer and songwriter (episode 2)
• Yak – John Lydon – Sex Pistols frontman (episode 3)
• Gargoyle – Marcella Detroit – singer from Shakespears Sister (episode 4)
• Monkey Business – Kate Nash – singer and actor (episode 5)
• Artic Fox – Anton Du Beke – Strictly Come Dancing judge (episode 5)
• Red Panda – Harry Hill – comedian (episode 6)
• Sloth – Ben Fogle – TV host (semi-finals)
• Cans of Worm – Marvin Humes – Radio host and singer (semi-finals)

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How to watch The Masked Singer final

With the series nearly coming to an end, you might be wondering when the final will take place.

You’ll need to tune into the final on Saturday, February 14 at 7pm. The episode of the ITV1 show will finish at 8.30pm.

Products are recalled when there is a potential safety risk

A popular French bakery brand that is often on the shelves in many supermarkets in the UK has recalled a batch of one of its products after a potential choking risk was found. Brioche Pasquier has urged customers who have bought six-packs of its Pitch Chocolate and Hazelnut Brioches with a specific date to return them.

Products with a best before date of 4 March are to be returned or discarded due to “the potential presence of hard white plastic”, according to an announcement by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on Saturday, February 7.

The product is stocked by several UK retailers including Asda, Tesco and Ocado. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

In addition to posing a choking threat, ingesting pieces of plastic can potentially harm the digestive system. The FSA warned that the possible presence of plastic fragments make the product “unsafe to eat”.

Only Pitch Chocolate filled 225g (6×37.5g) packs with the batch code UK 034 are subject to the recall.

Customers who have purchased the affected product are advised not to consume the brioches and to get in touch with the brand’s customer care team via their website or by emailing technical@briochepasquier. com.

The batch code and expiry date can be located on the back of the pack.

Brioche Pasquier confirmed that no other batch codes or any of its other products have been impacted.

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The US president and Israel’s prime minister will meet on Wednesday in Washington to discuss negotiations with Iran, according to Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

On Friday, Iranian and US officials met in Muscat, Oman, to hold indirect nuclear talks.

The talks came amid a continued American naval build-up near Iran, which Donald Trump has described as an “armada”.

The US president has repeatedly threatened to take military action since the Iranian regime launched a bloody crackdown against protesters who took to the streets of cities across the country last month.

Both sides said more talks are expected to be held soon.

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Oscar-nominated director on Iran

On Thursday, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters: “While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at ​his disposal, aside from diplomacy as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world.”

A regional diplomat who had been briefed by Iran told Reuters news agency that Iran insisted on its “right to enrich uranium” during the negotiations.

The diplomat also said Iran’s missile capabilities were not raised in the discussions.

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Iran threatens US with ‘regional war’

Iranian officials ruled out putting the country’s missiles, which make up one of the largest missile arsenals in the Middle East, up for discussion.

Iran also wants recognition of its right to enrich uranium.

“The prime minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and halting support ​for the Iranian axis,” said the office of Mr Netanyahu, in a statement.