It is hoped that merging the firms under one leadership team will improve passenger experience

Railway firms in the East of England have been merged under one leadership team. Bringing together c2c, Greater Anglia, and Network Rail Anglia, the railway firms have said it aims to deliver a “more joined-up and reliable railway for passengers“.

The change has been described as an “important step towards the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR)”. The planned state-owned railway company is expected to eventually operate most rail infrastructure and passenger rail services in Great Britain.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “Under public ownership, the integrated railway will be better placed to keep as much of the railway open as possible at the times customers need it most, including through more coordinated planning of engineering work and an even stronger focus on minimising disruption where possible.”

Over time, this integrated approach aims to improve how services are planned and delivered day to day and provide an “even more reliable and consistent experience for passengers”.

Greater Anglia and c2c provide for passengers in Cambridgeshire, London, Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, and Hertfordshire, while Network Rail Anglia manages and maintains the infrastructure.

“This is all part of our mission to build a passenger focused railway that supports jobs, growth and homes,” Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said.

Jamie Burles, Managing Director, said: “By bringing track and train together under one leadership team, we can plan better, respond faster and deliver an even more reliable railway for passengers.

“Over time, that means better coordination during disruption, more effective planning of engineering work and a more consistent experience for customers and communities across the region.”

Fossil fuels are losing their grip on the global energy market as renewables provide a greater share of power. 

That’s according to a global energy review by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which declared that “the world has entered the age of electricity”, with many economies now electrifying at pace.

Overall demand for energy continued to rise in 2025, the report found, with a quarter of new demand met by solar – the first time that a renewable source met the largest share of demand growth.

The IEA also highlighted the growing role of batteries in electricity grids. Battery storage, it said, was the fastest-growing power sector technology in 2025, a trend that’s likely to accelerate.

It wasn’t all good news, however. Demand for oil, gas and coal also grew in 2025 (by 0.7%, 1% and 0.4% respectively), albeit at a slower rate than in 2024. The rollout of electric cars, sales of which surged by 20%, kept oil demand “in check”, the IEA said.  

Still, global energy related emissions still increased by 0.4% last year, when they needed to be rapidly falling. In one sign of hope, however, the IEA confirmed what other researchers had found: that China’s emissions contracted in 2025.    

Image: Nikola Jonny Mirkovic

The company has been in business for over 40 years and produced workwear, school uniforms and bespoke protective clothing

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A long-standing Scottish clothing manufacturer has collapsed into liquidation after more than four decades in business, leaving all remaining staff without work.

North East Rig Out (Aberdeen) Limited produced workwear, school uniforms and tailored protective clothing for clients across a broad range of industries, including oil and gas, engineering, construction, transport and retail. The Aberdeen-based firm has now shut its doors for good, with eight workers losing their jobs as a result.

Insolvency specialists MHA have been appointed as liquidators following a voluntary resolution to wind up the company. Official documents lodged under the Insolvency Act 1986 confirmed that a meeting held on April 15 concluded the firm could no longer continue operating due to the scale of its liabilities.

According to the liquidators, the collapse was attributed to the prolonged difficulties plaguing Scotland’s energy sector, which has heaped sustained financial strain on businesses throughout the North-east.

As reported by The Herald, Michael Reid of MHA, who was appointed liquidator, said: “This is a difficult situation for everyone involved.

“The company faced sustained pressure as a result of the prolonged downturn in the energy sector, which has affected many businesses across the North-east,” reports the Express.

“Unfortunately, eight people have been made redundant. Business assets have been sold by auction and the premises returned to the landlord.” The firm, also known as NERO, described itself as “the only direct workwear manufacturer in the Aberdeen area. With over 40 years of experience creating workwear, our garments truly are second to none.”

The enterprise specialised in crafting both standard and “made-to-measure” garments, including bespoke PPE and coveralls tailored for industrial clients.

It stated on its website: “Whether your requirement is one of our ‘off the shelf’ garments, a ‘made to measure’ coverall or garment, or a bespoke garment our designers and manufacturing team offer a service that is truly unique.

“North East Rig Out manufactures and distributes a comprehensive product range of workwear, with focus on design, functionality, durability and comfort.”

The company additionally offered embroidery, heatseal branding and laser logo services for corporate clients, schools and sports clubs.

Its merchandise catered to sectors encompassing oil and gas, construction, automotive, aviation, shipping, military and public sector organisations.

GameCentral takes a look at the third wave of Virtual Boy games for Nintendo Switch Online and comes across a forgotten gem and an overrated oddity.

Playing through the Virtual Boy’s back catalogue, via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, has been a peculiar pleasure. Discovering old and obscure video games is always fun, especially those that were difficult to obtain even at the time of their release, but the Virtual Boy is made even more interesting by the bizarre nature of the console itself and the fact that it was a Nintendo product.

The Virtual Boy’s big gimmick is that it displays games in stereoscopic 3D but only using the colours red and black. We’ve already reviewed the initial batch of games and the second wave of additions, including Mario Clash and Mario’s Tennis. And now, this week, a third wave has added another five games (six if you’re in Japan but we assume Virtual Fishing had too much Japanese text to be brought over here).

That brings the total up to 12 in the West, out of a promised 16 – including two previously unreleased titles, in Zero Racer (a F-Zero spin-off) and Dragon Hopper. We’re definitely interested in seeing those but for all these games we’re continuing to use a five point review scale, to make it clear they’re not compatible with our normal review scores.

Virtual Bowling

Developer: Athena

A lot of Virtual Boy games were made by Nintendo themselves, but they also roped in other Japanese developers, both big and small. Athena, which went bust in 2013, is one of the small ones, being known for nothing more famous than 2D shooter Strike Gunner S.T.G.

Virtual Bowling is exactly what you’d expect and, in truth, almost completely uninteresting, except for the fact that its 3D effect is genuinely impressive, especially when the ball clatters towards the pins. The gameplay and presentation is very bare bones though, with a golf game style control system that has you trying to stop a cursor at just the right point to alter the direction and speed of the ball.

It’s perfectly functional but, as with Mario’s Tennis, the fact that there are no multiplayer options for any Virtual Boy games make it seem utterly pointless, and a bad idea both conceptually and in terms of execution. And yet, incredibly there were two bowling games released for the Virtual Boy, this one in Japan and Nester’s Funky Bowling, which isn’t available on Switch, in the West. It’s baffling.

Score: 1/5

Space Invaders Virtual Collection

Developer Taito

By the time the Virtual Boy was released in 1995 (by which point the PS1 had already been out for a year) Space Invaders was 17 years old and seen as a prehistoric relic by most people. So, like so many Virtual Boy games – and the console itself – it’s hard to understand the reasoning behind the Virtual Collection.

Its name alone is a deception, as all it contains is the original game and sequel Space Invaders Part 2 (which is basically the same game but with a few different alien types). Both are available in their original 2D form and as new 3D versions, and there’s also a time attack and score challenge mode… but that’s it.

Space Invader’s gameplay is timeless but while the 3D effect does give a good impression of depth it looks like the aliens are laying on the ground rather than looming over you. And because the Virtual Boy only does red and black it somehow manages to be less colourful than the original – which relied on a cellophane overlay on the arcade cabinet to add colour to the game.

Score: 2/5

V-Tetris

Developer: Locomotive

We’ll get to the interesting stuff in a minute, we promise, but first there’s this. Despite only having 22 games in total, the Virtual Boy somehow managed to end up with two bowling games and two Tetris games. In both cases, one was for the West and one for Japan, with this one being the Japanese Tetris game. We already reviewed 3D-Tetris and found it to be one of the better games on the console, since it treats the 3D effect as more than just a gimmick, by trying to display the familiar Tetris field as a wireframe 3D display.

V-Tetris doesn’t do anything like that, it’s just 2D Tetris as it’s always been, but with a couple of 3D backgrounds, one of which features a faintly disturbing looking clown. It’s actually a perfectly good version of Tetris, with very smooth controls, but unfortunately all the music tracks are ear-bleedingly awful. Other than that, the options are almost identical to the Game Boy version – although there is an extra mode that lets you shift a block left or right by using the shoulder buttons.

Considering the console itself automatically warns you not to play it for too long, it’s really not a good host for a game like Tetris, where you’re trying to keep your run going for as long as possible. So, again, why were there two of them? Nothing about the Virtual Boy makes any sense.

Score: 2/10

Vertical Force

Developer: Hudson Soft

Here, at last, we come across something genuinely good. It’s by Hudson Soft, who are sadly no longer with us but were responsible for the PC Engine console and the classic Bomberman, as well the Star Soldier franchise – one of our favourite 2D shooters of the era. This isn’t technically part of the series, but it may as well be as the vertical scrolling action is very similar.

However, it does have a unique gimmick and one that, unlike most Virtual Boy games, tries to take full advantage of the console’s features. As such, you control a spaceship in the normal shmup manner, but with the press of a button you can descend to fight at a lower altitude. Enemies and structures appear at both heights and its up to you to determine which is the optimum one for you to be at, at any given time.

That alone is great, because the 3D effect is really good, but there’s an unexpectedly wide range of ‘AI drones’ you can collect that all have different uses, from running off to attack enemies on their own to going back to repair you if you’re not actively attacking enemies at the time. If they get hit, you can store them away to repair them or you can sacrifice them to use them as a smart bomb.

The set-up is great but unfortunately there are some definite flaws, most notably the fact that many of the enemy bullets are hard to make out, given the monochrome visuals of the Virtual Boy. Hudson Soft try to compensate for this by giving you an energy bar, instead of you being killed in one shot, but that just ends up making it even less clear what actually killed you.

That doesn’t matter as much as it might, because the game is surprisingly easy, but it’s also very short. Vertical Force certainly has its problems but it’s a shame it was never iterated upon, because there are some fun ideas here, including a recurring mini-boss that gets more powerful and learns from your previous attacks.

Score: 4/5

Jack Bros.

Developer: Atlus

For many years, the character Jack Frost was the de facto mascot for developer Atlus. He may not be used in that capacity much anymore, but you can find him in virtually every Shin Megami Tensei game, up to and including Persona 5. Although, as a point of trivia, this was actually the first MegaTen game to ever be released outside Japan.

It’s immediately obvious that more effort, and budget, has gone into this than many other Virtual Boy games, with a proper intro and something approaching a plot, as Jack Frost, and his brothers Jack Lantern and Jack Skelton, find themselves trapped in the human world after Halloween.

That interesting set-up doesn’t really translate to the gameplay though, which is essentially a maze game mixed with a dual-stick shooter. The Virtual Boy’s controller was relatively normal looking but had two D-pads, on the left and right. The translates easily to a modern controller, where you move the Jack of your choice with the left stick and aim his shots with the right.

Again, it’s an interesting concept but the game itself doesn’t make very good use of it. Although you’re constantly looking for keys, they’re clearly marked on the radar and there’s no actual puzzles, as you just blast everything in your way and avoid traps. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but you spend a lot of time shooting enemies that are just on the edge of the screen, which is especially frustrating when you’re peering into the Virtual Boy’s headset.

There’s some impressive enemy variety (the brothers also all have different special attacks) and the boss battles are a highlight, but it all comes across as being something of a rough draft and very under-designed.

Score: 3/5

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HAVANA (AP) — CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raúl Castro’s grandson during a high-level visit to the island Thursday, Cuban and U.S. officials said.

Ratcliffe met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services, and discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues. A CIA official confirmed the meetings to the AP.

Ratcliffe was there “to personally deliver President Donald Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes,’’ the CIA official said.

An official statement from Cuba’s government noted that Thursday’s meeting “took place … against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations.”

While the U.S. stressed that Cuba cannot continue to be a “safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere,” the Cuban delegation insisted that the island presents no threat to U.S. security. Cuban officials also took issue with the nation’s continued inclusion on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Rodríguez Castro previously secretly met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a Caribbean Community summit in St. Kitts in February. While he’s never occupied a government post, he served as his grandfather’s bodyguard and later as head of Cuba’s equivalent of the Secret Service.

U.S. and Cuban officials also met earlier this year i n Cuba. The ongoing meetings between U.S. and Cuban officials mark the first U.S. government flights to land in Cuba other than at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay since 2016.

Thursday’s meeting comes weeks after the Cuban government confirmed that it had recently met with U.S. officials on the island as tensions between the two sides remain high over the U.S. energy blockade of the Caribbean country and as Cuba’s power grid has collapsed and energy to its eastern provinces has been cut. The U.S. blockade of fuel to the island has heightened its economic woes, with reduced work hours and food spoilage as refrigerators stop working.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department reiterated that the U.S. will provide Cuba with $100 million in humanitarian assistance and support for satellite internet “if the Cuban regime will permit it.”

In late January, Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. Though Trump also has threatened to intervene in the country, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said recently that his country was prepared to fight if that should happen, sources told the AP earlier this month that military action is not imminent.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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Tucker reported from Washington, D.C.

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This version is corrected to show that the U.S. aid offer is $100 million.

Labour Mayor David Skaith said a visitor levy, otherwise known as a tourist tax, would raise funds that could be reinvested into communities and used to support businesses.

But firms and organisations including the national Confederation of Business and Industry (CBI) have warned against charging for overnight stays at a time when hospitality is hard-pressed.

The Government unveiled plans for the charges, with an Overnight Visitor Levy Bill among those set to be tabled in the coming Parliament following Wednesday, May 13’s King’s Speech.

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Readers shared their views on the Press website following the news and the mayor’s reaction.

Anna Gramme said: “The cost as a percentage of a stay will be negligible, people staying overnight aren’t unduly phased by the cost of living crisis anyway.

“The impact of tourist taxes elsewhere is nothing other than beneficial for the host city.”

Bean1234 said: “Wouldn’t it be good if our mayor actually listened to the hospitality sector, they don’t want this and the money raised wont be ringfenced for hospitality.”

It’s only a turnip said: “I reckon the actual cost per night won’t be as much as an average pint of beer in York, so in reality it shouldn’t effect visitors financially.

“But the cost will be in reputation and of visitors feelings of being taxed, why not apply this fee to overseas visitors only?”

Keith Roworth said: “It always amazes me that the man in the street advocates hitting themselves with yet another tax, isn’t the cost of living high enough as it is?”

EyeofYork said: “Call me a cynic but that money will just go into the pot for general expenditure, so why not admit it?”

Drago said: “I don’t care if it does, as long as it’s spent on city improvements it’s all good.”

Mulgrave said: “David Skaith must be unaware of the sentiment about the cost of living in this country, he can’t fail to realise that it won’t just be him applying this levy as mayor.

“How much more do people want to pay for their trips away in the UK on top of the raised prices for petrol and diesel and hotel and hospitality rates?”

Wildorchid1 said: “It’s common if not universal practice to pay a small city tax in Europe, it hardly adds anything to the bill.

“York has huge numbers of tourists and the tax will help the city stay liveable while continuing to welcome tourists.”

Dementia said: “If the tax is to support the already booming industry what is the point?

“Trust in politicians to spend funds raised widely is not exactly at a high point, can the money be predicated to non-tourist needs?”

The Glasgow hardman vanished after the shotgun murder of pub worker Thomas Cameron in 2007.

Scotland’s most wanted man Derek “Deco” Ferguson had his left ear bitten off in a savage street brawl.

The 5’3ft hardman lost the tip of his ear during a violent fight years before the notorious Auchinairn Tavern murder that sent him on the run.

Original police mugshots show the gruesome injury – which became a distinctive feature used during public appeals to track him down.

Underworld sources claim his torn lug also became part of Ferguson’s feared reputation as he rose through the city’s gangland ranks.

He fled Scotland after barman Tam Cameron, 49, was shot dead outside the Auchinairn Tarvern, in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, in 2007. Fellow suspect Billy Bates was found dead in the Clyde weeks after the murder.

Detectives believe Cameron was lured into the tavern car park before being executed at point-blank range following a minor dispute linked to organised crime figures.

Before police could arrest him, Ferguson fled Scotland — with reports claiming he escaped hidden in the boot of a car before surfacing among expat gangsters on Spain’s Costa del Sol.

An international warrant is in place for Ferguson’s arrest and he remains high on the UK and Spain’s Most Wanted list.

It’s been long believed by police and underworld figures that the bald Scot may have drastically altered his appearance to stay hidden. Investigators believe he may have undergone hair transplants, facial surgery and cosmetic procedures to repair the mutilated ear that once made him instantly recognisable.

E-fits released by in recent years along with a £10,000 rewards show dramatically different versions of the ageing fugitive — including images with wigs, facial hair and a reconstructed ear. Officers also believe he may have taken elocution lessons and adopted a fake Irish accent to disguise his Glasgow roots.

Over the years, investigators have tracked sightings of Ferguson across Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Turkey and the Netherlands as he allegedly hid under false identities while working for the Kinahan cartel.

The Record first linked the Possil-born gangster to the payroll of Irish cocaine super-cartel boss Christy Kinahan in 2015, with Ferguson believed to have operated as an enforcer in Marbella and Calahonda.

The Dublin born mafia boss, 69, started the lucrative global crime empire built on drugs, arms smuggling and money laundering and is said to be the richest criminal in Irish history.

Last month, his son Daniel Kinahan, who had become the leader of the crime group was arrested in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite high-profile appeals – including Crimestoppers’ Operation Captura – Ferguson, now 62, remains at large.

Yesterday the National Crime Agency warned expats living in Spain that Ferguson could be living amongst them in plain sight.

Spanish police warned the ex-pat community: “These are not the people you want in your neighbourhood.”

He was named among the UK’s 12 most most wanted fugitives with links to Spain.

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