Dr David Farren, chairman of BMA Northern Ireland consultants’ committee, said members did not take their vote lightly.

Doctors in Northern Ireland are set to stage two days of strike action over pay. The British Medical Association (BMA) said its members have voted to take part in the industrial action on June 25 and June 29.

They said resident doctors and consultants were balloted about pay, with 92% of resident doctors voting yes and 79% of consultants voting for strike action. The result of the ballot of specialist doctors will be known on Friday.

The BMA said it is now renewing its call for Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to “urgently engage” with a “credible pay offer” to avert the strike.

The organisation has argued that lower pay for doctors in Northern Ireland means many are choosing to work elsewhere, retire early or reduce their working hours “to prevent complete burnout”, creating a “vicious cycle for those left behind, who face an increased workload due to staff vacancies and increased stress levels leading to more burnout”.

Dr David Farren, chairman of BMA Northern Ireland consultants’ committee, said members did not take their vote lightly.

“This result sends a very clear message that concerns about pay erosion, workload and the future of the profession are widely shared across the workforce, across all grades of hospital doctor,” he said.

“No one who voted in this ballot took this decision lightly, we know that from our conversations with members, but it’s a clear indication from the doctors who actually deliver the health service in Northern Ireland exactly how serious the situation has become.”

Dr Steven Montgomery, BMA’s Northern Ireland resident doctors’ committee chairman said the onus is now on government to engage.

“This result makes it clear that doctors are standing up for safe, sustainable services and for being valued to stay working in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Younger doctors in particular are more mobile and the better pay and better working conditions on offer in other countries means we are losing doctors when we really need to do all we can to keep doctors working here.

“The onus is now firmly on government to engage urgently and meaningfully and present a credible way forward to avert strike action.”

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Westhoughton High School has an ‘ambitious and well-designed’ curriculum, according to Ofsted, which carried out an inspection under the new framework.

Inspectors found that pupils’ attainment was in line with national averages and many pupils achieve the qualifications needed to progress when they leave school.

Teachers were said to have a good understanding of the subjects they teach.

The Ofsted report stated: “Many pupils at Westhoughton High School are keen to learn and behave well.”

But despite this, the school was found to require ‘significant improvement’ as with attendance among some pupils being described ‘too low’.

Headteacher Neil Coe said that he was disappointed in the Ofsted findings but said the school’s work on attendance was leading to improvements

Achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance and attendance and behaviour were all said to need attention with personal development and wellbeing said to meet the expected standard.

Inspectors reported: “Recently leaders have begun to strengthen their work to improve attendance.

“For example they are working more closely with families and with local primary schools to support pupils’ transition into secondary school and to establish stronger habit of attendance.”

The majority of pupils were said to behave well, despite the limited space in some parts of the building and playground areas.

Inspectors stated: “Leaders have worked with staff to build positive relationships with pupils to create a welcoming environment where pupils feel supported.”

Westhoughton High School

The inspection found that some staff did not re-enforce the ‘school’s expectations’ consistently and some pupils, who wanted to do well felt their learning was being allowed to be interrupted.

Ofsted added that all pupils do not make the progress ‘that they should from their starting points’.

Inspectors reported: “Leaders have taken effective steps to improve several aspects of the school’s work. They have strengthened the organisation and breadth of the curriculum and developed the personal development programme so that pupils benefit from a wider range of opportunities.

“Leaders have also introduced clearer expectations for behaviour and routines across the school and have focused on building positive relationships between staff and pupils. Staff recognise this emphasis on creating a calm and welcoming environment. “However, leaders’ actions have not yet secured improvement quickly enough in some important areas, such as attendance and punctuality.”

Inspectors noted the school’s extra-curricular programme which gives pupils access to a wide range of clubs to enhance their personal development with the PSHE lessons raising awareness of the challenges facing young people today while also raising aspirations, including providing a popular work experience programme.

Mr Coe said: “This has been a challenging time for staff in school, and I know parents may feel disappointed and let down. I am sorry I have not led the school to the outcome that I believe we should have achieved for your children. I remain committed to taking the school on its improvement journey and look to our parent body to support us, particularly with attendance, as we push forward.

“Leaders have already been working on next steps for September 2026 that we believe will help the school to reach the expected standard.

“I am pleased to report that since the January visit our attendance work has finally shown some impact. Spring term attendance this year was 1.1 per cent higher than 2025 and currently, summer term attendance is 2.8 per cent higher than 2025. Our Year Seven learners continue to fly the flag for good attendance and have sustained around 94 per cent attendance for most of the academic year. Our attendance focus isn’t new, but impact has been stubborn for some time.”

He added: “It remains a privilege to serve as headteacher for our school. We have such a diverse range of young people here who bring so much to our school. They continue to make me proud in so many ways.”

BBC One has confirmed it is bringing Agatha Christie’s beloved Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, back to screens.

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Detective enthusiasts have reason to celebrate as the BBC has confirmed a brand-new series centred on Agatha Christie’s beloved Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot.

Titled Hercule, the six-part production will see actor Edward Bluemel take on the legendary role, bringing three of Christie’s most celebrated and enduring stories to the screen.

Reflecting on the opportunity, Edward Bluemel said: “I feel very lucky to have been trusted with such an iconic character who has been played by so many great actors. I can’t wait to continue Hercule’s legacy.”

Bluemel is widely recognised for portraying Hugo in Killing Eve, Marcus Whitmore in A Discovery of Witches, and Lord Guildford Dudley in My Lady Jane.

The series, which is scheduled to begin filming predominantly in Liverpool this summer, will explore the detective’s formative years, according to its official synopsis, reports the Liverpool Echo.

It reads: “The series is an intimate study of Hercule the man and an epic portrait of Britain between the wars.

“The series takes a magnifying glass to three of Christie’s most celebrated stories, while also charting Hercule’s burgeoning friendship with Captain Arthur Hastings, his early encounters with Scotland Yard’s James Japp, and introducing him to one particular nemesis…”

The screenplay has been penned by Benji Walters, whose previous credits include Code of Silence, The Leopard and Obsession, while BAFTA winner Jonny Campbell will helm the opening two episodes, with Charlie Palmer serving as series producer.

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, commented: “Hercule Poirot is one of the greatest and most loved characters of all time, and bringing him back to the BBC is a real privilege.

“From the first moments of Edward’s audition, we knew we’d found the perfect actor for Hercule, with a performance that feels both fresh and exciting, yet quintessentially Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. We can’t wait for viewers to meet him.”

James Prichard, executive producer for Agatha Christie Limited, added: “My father had the privilege of working with David Suchet for nearly 25 years, and I now have the good fortune of being able to share my great grandmother’s brilliant stories with a new generation of viewers.

“Edward Bluemel is an extremely talented performer and will make a great addition to the long line of actors that have played this celebrated character, aided and abetted by Benji Walters’ thoughtful scripts. I cannot wait to see Edward on screen as Hercule Poirot.”

The series will make its debut on BBC iPlayer and BBC One across the UK, while North American audiences can catch it on BritBox.

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The incident happened on Sunday, with fire teams spending four hours at the scene.

Plumes of smoke could be seen across the area as the abandoned timber building burned.

Footage from a drone operator showed the scale of the blaze across the site.

A Lancashire Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: “At 2.33pm, four fire engines from Chorley, Bamber Bridge, Leyland and Wigan stations attended a derelict building fire at Park Hall Road, Charnock Richard.

“The building measured approximately 40 metres by 40 metres and was of timber construction. Firefighters used two jets and remained at the scene for around three hours.”

Camelot at Charnock Richard opened as a theme park in 1983. It was based around the myths and legends of King Arthur and his knights and featured thrill rides. It closed in 2012 after almost 30 years and has stood empty since, with occasional use for immersive Halloween events and laser tag.

Last year, there was another attempt to redevelop the Charnock Richard site into a housing development.

A planning application has been filed with North Yorkshire Council seeking to change the use of a field near Catterick Village to a secure dog exercise facility.

According to planning documents, the site would operate on a pre-booked basis, allowing dog owners to exercise their pets in a safe, enclosed environment.

No buildings are proposed as part of the development.

The scheme includes the installation of post-and-wire mesh fencing around the field boundary while retaining the existing access, parking arrangements and gated entrance.

A section of the site would remain unfenced to maintain a wildlife corridor along an existing hedgerow.

Applicants say the facility would be managed as a low-intensity operation, with typically only one user booking the field at a time.

Opening hours would be restricted to between 7am and 7pm to minimise disturbance to nearby residents.

Dog owners would be required to remove waste, with bins provided and emptied regularly.

The planning statement submitted to North Yorkshire Council argues that the development would have little impact on the surrounding countryside.

Existing hedgerows would be retained to provide natural screening, while traffic levels are expected to remain low due to the advance-booking system. The document also states that noise would be limited because only one party would use the field at any given time.

The proposal includes measures intended to protect wildlife, with ecological connectivity maintained through the unfenced hedgerow corridor.

Applicants also state that, as no buildings or changes to ground levels are proposed, the scheme would not increase flood risk.

Planning documents conclude that the development would provide a well-managed use of the land while maintaining its rural character and minimising traffic, noise and visual impacts.

A decision on the application will be made by North Yorkshire Council in due course.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. prepares for an extravagant celebration of its founding principles, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, a new poll finds.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans’ feeling of unease over the future of its representative government — particularly among young people. It presents a jarring contrast as communities around the country commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.

Americans remain divided about whether diversity is an essential feature of the U.S.’s identity, and agreement about other aspects of the country’s underlying character appears to be eroding, the survey found. Americans are less likely to see a democratically elected government as “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation than they were just a few years ago. About two-thirds of U.S. adults now say a democratically elected government is highly important to the U.S.’s identity as a nation, down from 80% in 2021.

“It’s not that the democracy part is not working,” said Derricka Wall, 24, of Chickasaw, Alabama. “It’s the people that are actually being put in office that is the problem.”

Wall believes politicians have damaged America’s governing system, which was designed to ensure representation and guard against government misuse.

America, she said, “is not what it used to be. I feel like our founding fathers would be kind of disappointed with how it is now.”

Rising belief that democracy is not essential to American identity

Young adults are much less likely than older Americans to believe the U.S. is special, compared with other nations, the poll found.

About 4 in 10, 44%, of U.S. adults under 30 say there are other countries better than the U.S., compared with 22% of U.S. adults ages 60 and older.

Fewer, too, see democracy as a key element of the U.S.’s identity. Only about half of Americans under 30 believe this, compared with 81% of those 60 and older.

Wall said the people who established the government with co-equal branches thought they were erecting safeguards to keep any one person or group from attaining too much power. But she believes they didn’t foresee how easily those guardrails would crumble if the people in the system stopped enforcing them.

“I feel like they would actually roll out of their graves,” she said. “I feel they would be very disappointed in us.”

The belief that politics isn’t working for everyday people extends beyond the youngest generations. Kent Stage, 62 and a retired senior enlisted man in the Army, is a registered Republican in Indiana. He does not think the current political system addresses the country’s problems. He’d like to see term limits on politicians and more working-class people serving.

“I’ll trust the ambulance-chasing lawyer and a shady used car salesman before I trust the politician,” he said.

Stage, who is also a former Marine, believes public servants make self-serving choices for their families “while mine and yours still got to hit the old grindstone.”

Many feel it’s harder to get ahead in the US

The survey also finds widespread cynicism about America as the land of opportunity. About half of U.S. adults, 51%, say the American Dream — the idea that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead — once held true but does not anymore. About one-third say it “still holds true” while 15% say it never held true.

Jack Hermanson, a 27-year-old software developer in Denver, said his belief in the American Dream changed when he saw his engineer husband struggle to find a job. “That really shattered my impression that if you work hard, you get what you deserve,” Hermanson said.

Only 22% of Americans under 30 say the American Dream still holds true, compared with 46% of Americans ages 60 and older.

Angela Toombs, 31, works at a senior living facility in Atlanta where her clients talk about how easy it was to buy a house while working their first regular jobs in their 20s and are incredulous about the obstacles facing Toombs’ generation. Toombs recently gave up her own apartment to rent a room in order to save money.

Skepticism about the American Dream is more widespread among Democrats and independents, compared with Republicans. Most Republicans, 57%, say the American Dream still holds true, compared with about one-quarter of independents and 17% of Democrats.

Republicans are also much likelier than Democrats to see the U.S. as exceptional. About half of Republicans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, compared with only 7% of Democrats.

Quintin Sharpe, 28, lives in a resort town on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. A financial planner who is Republican, he said the American Dream remains accessible and he is proud of the country. “It’s been a great experiment.”

“The opportunity is there for those who want to work for it,” he said. Sharpe believes the country is “a meritocracy, and the best ideas, the best work ethic, those with the best succeed regardless of race, skin color, any of those factors.”

He and his wife will celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary watching the fireworks over the lake.

Divides on whether diversity is essential to US

Just over half of U.S. adults — 56% — say a shared American culture and set of values are “extremely” or “very” important to the country’s identity, down from 65% in 2017. Younger Americans are less likely than older ones to say a singular set of values is important to U.S. identity.

But Americans remain sharply divided on the centrality of welcoming diverse perspectives: About half of adults, 51%, say the ability of people to come from other places in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is “extremely” or “very” important to American identity, while 55% say this about the mixing of cultures and values from around the world.

Only about 4 in 10 Republicans see the mixing of cultures and values from around the world as central to the country’s identity, compared with 76% of Democrats.

Rose Nunez, 70, of San Antonio, was a small business owner but now is a caregiver for family members. Nunez, who tends to vote for Democrats, said there is an unease and tension that are just beneath the surface, especially focused on Hispanics. She said some people have started carrying their papers showing their immigration status in case they are challenged.

“It is hard to celebrate when the feelings towards immigrants and communities of color are so strong,” she said of the upcoming America 250 celebrations.

She said even citizens are questioned now. If it gets to a point where being naturalized is challenged, “guess what, my mom would be leaving. She’s been living in this country since she was maybe four years old. She’s 93.”

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The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Manchester City and Chelsea remain locked in negotiations about Enzo Maresca replacing Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola announced on 22 May he would step down as City boss after a trophy laden decade in charge, and Maresca was quickly identified as the leading contender to be his replacement.

Talks are at an advanced stage, with senior figures at both clubs discussing a compensation package for Maresca.

The 46-year-old won the Club World Cup and Conference League during his time at Stamford Bridge but left in January and is keen to take the City job.

Chelsea feel they are due compensation under the terms of Maresca’s departure as he was contracted to the club until 2029 and left just six months ago.

The London club have been exploring their legal options and expect a compensation package to be paid, though it remains unclear both how much that might be, or when it will be resolved.

Maresca was an assistant to Guardiola during City’s Treble-winning 2022-23 campaign and played a key role in the club’s academy prior to joining the first team.

The former West Brom and Juventus midfielder left City in 2023 to manage Leicester, whom he guided to promotion to the Premier League in his only season.

The new gym will have fitness equipment, pools, and racquet sports facilities

The opening date for a new David Lloyd gym in Cambridgeshire has been announced. The company has confirmed that its new St Neots Club will open in October 2026.

The new health and wellness club is currently under development. Early memberships were released at the start of April.

The new general manager of the St Neots branch, Matt Borer, said: “There’s already a great deal of excitement surrounding the new Club and I’m really looking forward to welcoming members through the doors later this year.

“Throughout my 16 year career with David Lloyd Clubs, I’ve had the opportunity to work across several fantastic Clubs and I can’t wait to bring my passion for delivering a great member experience to St Neots.“

The St Neots branch will include a gym with more than 100 stations, heated indoor and outdoor pools, and racquet sports facilities. It will also have a Himalayan salt sauna, crystal steam room, cold plunge pools, and heated beds.

It will also have an outdoor terrace and club room with a family zone and indoor soft play area for children.