The Prince of Wales is believed to be increasingly taking the lead in royal family decisions, including those involving Prince Andrew

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Prince William is reportedly “calling more of the shots” within the royal family. The Prince of Wales is thought to be increasingly taking the helm in decision-making, including matters concerning his disgraced uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was forced to leave Royal Lodge this year.

Andrew, who denies any wrongdoing, saw his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie barred from Royal Ascot this week. It’s understood that William, 43, had a hand in this decision, which allegedly left the princesses “completely blindsided”.

Royal expert Andrew Lownie stated today: “William, I think, is calling more of the shots now. So there’s definitely a change going on, and I get the sense also that there’s a bit of distancing even from the Sussexes, clearly from the Waleses.” Speaking on his podcast, The Lownie Report, he suggested that William is eager to see a significant shift in public perception of the monarchy, reports the Mirror.

Among the sisters, Beatrice has reportedly found the decision to exclude them from Royal Ascot most difficult. The siblings have maintained a low public profile since their father’s arrest on February 19 at his residence on the private Sandringham Estate.

Mr Lownie added: “I think the decision to ban them from Ascot is interesting. The line that they’re [Beatrice and Eugenie] pushing is that they were never going to go to Ascot in the first place, and it does seem odd to be so public about this distancing.”

Both Beatrice and Eugenie hold the titles of princess and HRH, and it has been revealed that both are permitted to rent homes in esteemed royal palaces. However, royal expert Jennie Bond suggests it might be time for Beatrice and Eugenie, who are not working royals, to relinquish their royal titles in their personal and professional lives.

“I don’t think either of them has ever flaunted their titles, but there’s obviously a huge cachet in some circles about being called a Princess,” she said. “A title like that opens doors and sets up connections, which both Beatrice and Eugenie have used to their advantage. There’s nothing wrong in that, but now that their father has been stripped of his titles and their mother can no longer use hers, they might like to quietly drop the use of theirs.”

In October last year, it was reported that father-of-three William was firmly “calling the shots” to shield King Charles from “criticism” over his hesitation to act against his disgraced brother. Andrew, however, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Dr Anna Muir, a dog behaviourist who runs a training centre near Mold, Flintshire, also welcomed the changes, saying: “For irresponsible dog owners who let their dogs run loose under no control, who let them off lead in sheep fields, who show no effort to reduce them chasing livestock – I am absolutely supportive of unlimited fines.”

Claire Danvers complained of fatigue as early as 2024 but brushed it off along with other symptoms thinking she was just busy

A mum who blamed needing a power nap before the school run on being a busy mum was devastated when doctors uncovered 13 tumours in her breast. Claire Danvers says she first became aware of her symptoms, which included severe back pain, fatigue, and nausea, at the start of 2024.

Claire says the fatigue became so extreme that her ‘eyes would feel heavy’ after lunchtime and her body would ‘physically hurt’. The 39-year-old says she would find herself needing to take a nap before picking her children up from school – but put the tiredness down to being a busy, self-employed mum.

Claire, who was taking painkillers every day because her back pain was so severe, says that her symptoms were initially put down to her suffering from endometriosis. But after discovering a lump in her right breast in February 2025, Claire was prompted to visit her GP in April 2025.

Doctors referred Claire for a biopsy and at the end of May 2025 she received the devastating news that she had breast cancer – after doctors discovered 13 tumours in her right breast. Claire says she was ‘traumatised’ by the news and has since undergone a mastectomy as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

The network marketer says the fear of leaving her children behind is ‘horrendous’ and is encouraging other women who experience breast cancer symptoms to ‘advocate for themselves’. Claire, from Poole, Dorset, said: “I was suffering with extreme back pain. I was taking paracetamol and ibuprofen every day for the aches and pains that I was having.

“I was experiencing extreme fatigue – I was tired all the time. I would get to after lunch time and my eyes would feel so heavy and my body would actually hurt. I would want to go to sleep but then I was putting it down to having two kids and having a very stressful business because I’m self-employed.

“I was putting all of my symptoms down, explaining them away with how my life was. There were definitely some days that I would recline in my chair and close my eyes for a little bit. I just put it down to the fact that I was going through a lot of stress at the time.”

Claire visited her GP in April 2025 after discovering a lump in her right breast two months earlier. She said: “In December 2024 I had a lump come up in my armpit. I was explaining stuff away – I was like I’ve been unwell, it’s just a raised lymph node and then that disappeared in 10 days.

“When I found the lump in my breast in February 2025 yet again I thought that’s not normal, that doesn’t feel right, but I had a lump in my armpit and that went away. I unfortunately left it until April and it was only because my husband was constantly badgering me to go to the doctors and actually get it checked out that I did.

“The doctor examined me and said that straight away she was referring me for the two-week rapid referral pathway for breast cancer.” Claire underwent a biopsy on May 2nd 2025 and received the devastating news that she had invasive lobular carcinoma, a type of breast cancer, later that month.

Claire said: “By the time I actually found it, my cancer as a whole had grown to 9.7cm and I had 13 tumours in my breast. I was traumatised [when I was diagnosed]. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is tell my family and my two kids.

“Cancer diagnosis is traumatic enough but there’s also guilt you feel as a parent, especially having young children. My children have only just turned six and eight. The fear of leaving them behind – that guilt is horrendous.”

Claire underwent a mastectomy with reconstruction on her right breast in June 2025 and has since undergone four months of chemotherapy treatment and 15 sessions of radiotherapy. She said: “Everything is just very traumatic. You can’t take it in – it’s like your watching your life from the outside.”

She added: “It doesn’t feel like you’re going through it, it feels like you’re watching someone else go through it. I’ve literally just finished my chemotherapy and radiotherapy and now I’m having hormone therapy.

“Because the cancer is driven by my hormones, they have to shut your hormones off. My life has now been changed for the rest of my life.

“I’m 39 years old, and I’ve been drop-kicked into menopause because they have to stop my hormones, to stop my cells turning into cancer. Once I’ve done all of that, as long as I can tolerate the next stage of hormone therapy, I will then eventually have a hysterectomy.”

Claire is now encouraging other people who notice that there is something wrong with their bodies to “advocate for themselves”. She said: “I think it was very easy for people – doctors or even myself – to look and say my symptoms were because of endometriosis.

“My advice would be to always advocate for yourself. If you have that gut feeling that something isn’t right and even if you don’t know what it is, push through it and keep pursuing it.”

Pat McFadden says the UK must move from a ‘welfare state to a working state’, with employment at the centre of welfare policy, but disability charities warn of increased pressure on vulnerable claimants

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Millions of benefit claimants could face increasing pressure to enter employment after the UK Government signalled a change in how the welfare system functions. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the UK must transition from a “welfare state to a working state”, with employment positioned at the heart of welfare policy.

Addressing an audience at Waltham Forest College in London on Monday, Mr McFadden said welfare reform ought to concentrate on creating pathways for individuals to secure employment rather than depending on long-term assistance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

He said: “Welfare reform should be about opportunity and work, and that’s what I mean by a working state. This is an approach that puts work at its heart.”

The UK Government maintains the existing system fails to adequately support people into jobs, as the number of individuals out of work owing to sickness or long-term health conditions continues to climb.

The most recent DWP statistics reveal approximately 24 million people across Great Britain are receiving at least one benefit. This comprises 8.3m on Universal Credit and over 3.9m on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), reports the Daily Record.

While disability payments are now administered in Scotland through Adult Disability Payment (ADP), broader welfare policy and work requirements remain under Westminster’s jurisdiction.

The DWP chief said employment can serve a crucial role in enhancing people’s lives and cautioned too many individuals were being denied opportunities. He said: “Work is one of the most important ways in which we realise the best versions of ourselves.”

As part of the proposals, the UK Government has committed £1 billion towards supporting young people into employment. Companies could be offered payments of up to £3,000 for taking on young people who have been out of work for at least six months, as ministers seek to address growing youth unemployment and economic inactivity.

Mr McFadden stated that getting people into work was fundamental to the UK Government’s welfare reform strategy. He said: “I see no reason why MPs should not support welfare reform that has work and opportunity at its heart.”

The DWP states the measures are part of a broader approach designed to cut economic inactivity and assist employers in filling job vacancies. Nevertheless, disability charities have cautioned that potential welfare system changes could place additional financial strain on vulnerable individuals.

In response to the address, Evan John, policy adviser at Sense, said: “It’s extremely concerning that the government seems to be laying the groundwork for reforms to disability benefits, fuelling anxiety among disabled people already struggling as the cost of living rises. Sense research found that two in five disabled people with complex needs who rely on benefits are in debt because they cannot afford the essentials.”

John expressed that the charity was particularly worried about the future of the health element of Universal Credit, which assists individuals whose conditions limit their capacity to work. He stated: “Scrapping this benefit will not help more young disabled people find work – instead it risks pushing them further into poverty and isolation by increasing the barriers they already face.”

John suggested that the UK Government should concentrate on enhancing employment support rather than reducing disability benefits. He commented: “The government needs to rule out further cuts and focus instead on investing in more support to help disabled people find and stay in employment.”

More information regarding the UK Government’s welfare reform plans is anticipated later this year. Pat McFadden’s full speech can be read online at GOV.UK.

Ratings for CBS Evening News have dropped below four million for the first time since host Tony Dokoupil took the helm after editor-in-chief Bari Weiss’ overhaul of the network.

The revamp of the nightly news program kicked off to a rough start in January. During his first regular broadcast, Dokoupil ran into some technical issues while switching between segments.

One network staffer at the time told The Independent Dokoupil’s debut as the new host of CBS Evening News, which included social media clips of him asking random people at a train station to pronounce his last name, was “embarrassing.”

The first week of ratings for the nightly news program with Dokoupil in the anchor chair averaged nearly 4.17 million total viewers and 533,000 in the key demographic of adults aged 25 to 54, according to Nielsen Media Research data cited in several outlets.

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Despite the 23 percent dip in total viewership ratings from the same period in 2025, according to Deadline and Variety, CBS News touted it as a victory, saying it was up 4 percent in total viewership compared to the rest of the season, which started in September.

But now, ratings have slipped below 4 million again. The show had a total viewership of nearly 3.83 million and 468,000 among 25 to 54 year olds last week, Variety reported, citing Nielsen data.

Variety reports the network scrapped the CBS Evening News anchored by Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson after the program shed audience and fell below 4 million viewers on many weeknights.

Dokoupil’s ratings lagged behind ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, which had a total audience of nearly 8.48 million last week, and NBC’s Nightly News with Tom Llamas, which saw 6.51 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.

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Weiss, who founded the so-called anti-woke media outlet The Free Press, took over as CBS News’ editor-in-chief last October.

Dokoupil replaced evening news co-anchors Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson soon after, as one of several changes to the network under Weiss’ leadership.

One network staffer told The Independent Dokoupil had turned CBS Evening News into “state TV.”

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President Donald Trump told Dokoupil on the program that he “wouldn’t have a job right now” if former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris won the 2024 presidential election.

Weiss also sparked backlash for her decision to pull a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan migrants sent from the U.S. to CECOT, an El Salvadoran prison accused of having inhumane conditions. The segment ended up airing nearly one month later.

In reaction to last week’s ratings drop, Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, wrote on X, “If people want conservative slant, they can watch Fox or Newsmax. People don’t want broadcast news to slant one way or the other. They just want news.”

Senegal has been stripped of the African Cup of Nations after misconduct in the tournament final, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has ruled.

The CAF Appeal Board said that Senegal is “declared to have forfeited” the final in January, which will be recorded as a 3-0 win for Morocco, the tournament hosts.

During the match at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Senegalese fans tried to storm the pitch and Senegal players walked off in protest after Morocco were awarded a penalty in the 98th minute.

After a lengthy delay, the players and coach returned to the pitch where the penalty was saved by Senegal’s goalkeeper, and Senegal went on to win the game 1-0 in extra time.

Read more: How controversy unfolded in final

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation said after the match it would “pursue legal action”, saying the walk-off “had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players’ performance”.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino hit out at the “unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands” as he criticised the behaviour of some “supporters” as well as Senegal players and staff.

The new policy will mean all new hackney carriage vehicle licence applications need to be for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs), zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

North Yorkshire Council hopes the policy will address the shortage of WAVs currently operating in the county, with just 60 wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles currently licensed.

Councillor Richard Foster, executive member for managing our environment, admitted the policy was a compromise but said he hoped it would increase the number of WAV taxis in the county.

He added: “We have an issue around disability and access to vehicles, but we also realise there are challenges to the trade, especially the hackney carriage trade from app-based taxi hire firms, both in our county and from across borders.

“So we’re hoping that we’ve come up with a policy that reflects the modern world.”

Ahead of the vote, taxi operators warned that the change would force some drivers out of the industry.

Lisa Ridsdale, from the taxi operator Take Me Group, told councillors the policy was “out of touch with rural reality”.

“Requiring all new or replacement taxis to be wheelchair accessible, electric or hybrid might work in cities, but here it’s impractical and potentially devastating.

“Wheelchair accessible or electric vehicles cost in the region of £70,000 to £90,000 when financed, compared to standard cars at around £20,000 to £30,000. Most rural taxi drivers are self-employed, running small businesses with tight margins. For many, this is a financial crucifixion.

“It will mean fewer drivers, fewer taxis, longer waits and reduced service, and the people who rely most on taxis — the elderly, disabled and rural residents — your families will suffer.”

Disability campaigners, however, said the policy did not go far enough to increase the number of WAV taxis.

Asking councillors to change the policy to insist that all new taxis were WAVs, Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said: “Without enough accessible vehicles, people face longer waits, fewer spontaneous journeys and reduced opportunities to participate fully in everyday life.

“The public sector equality duty requires the council not only to avoid discrimination but to actively advance equality of opportunity.

“With the current shortage of accessible vehicles, we ask councillors to consider whether the recommended option does enough to meet that duty.”

The new policy will mean private hire operators need to identify a passenger’s accessibility needs prior to taking a booking, to ensure that an appropriate vehicle is provided.

The 10-year age limit on both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles has been replaced with a requirement to meet Euro 6 emission standards.

The council will also issue restricted private hire driver licences for those who drive licensed vehicles for the sole purpose of fulfilling school or social care contracts.

The new policy will be reviewed after a year to ensure it has increased the number of WAV vehicles.

In-person drop-in sessions have been organised by City of York Council as part of the consultation launched following a challenge to parking charge hikes in Bishopthorpe Road, Heworth, Micklegate and The Groves.

Cllr Kate Ravilious, the council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said she hoped people affected by last year’s increases would come and give their views.

The consultation, which began in December, comes as part of a review launched in response to a legal challenge to hikes in parking charges last April.

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Hikes in charges to £4.85-an-hour for the first two and to £5.30-an-hour on Fridays, Saturdays and during events were approved as part of the 2025/6 council budget.

They were brought in as part of council efforts to encourage people to use public transport or walk and cycle instead of their cars to cut congestion.

But the hikes sparked a backlash from residents and traders in Micklegate, Bishopthorpe Road and The Groves who claimed they would make trips their more expensive and harm businesses.

Charges were later lowered to £3-an-hour in Bishopthorpe Road and temporarily reversed in Micklegate following local opposition.

Data reviews have since been run into the charges after the decision to revise the hikes in June.

Cllr Kate Ravilious, Labour transport executive member on York Council. Picture is from York Council

Consultant Arup’s consultation closed for online and paper responses on Friday, February 27.

The findings from feedback including from four upcoming meetings are set to be published in an independent review which will then inform a council decision on the charges.

Labour transport executive member Cllr Ravilious said upcoming in-person sessions were the final chance for people to give feedback.

Cllr Ravilious said: “Local people and businesses told us that they wanted some face-to-face consultation about this issue.

“I would encourage everyone affected to come to one of these sessions.”

Upcoming in-person drop-in sessions:

• Monday, March 23, Micklegate – 4.30pm to 7pm at West Offices
• Tuesday, March 24, Heworth – 4.30pm to 7pm at Tang Hall Explore
• Thursday, March 26, The Groves – 4.30pm to 7pm at Door 84
• Tuesday, March 31, Bishopthorpe Road – 5.30pm to 8pm at Clements Hall

The colder Arctic air across the UK over the last few days has meant temperatures have struggled to reach double figures for many.

Combined with some wintry showers and snow over higher ground, it felt like winter had made a return.

However, through this week a warmer southerly wind will draw up air from the Mediterranean and bring temperatures around six or seven degrees above average on Wednesday.

Widely across England and Wales temperatures will get into the mid to high teens.

For Wales we’re very likely to see the warmest day of the year so far with the temperature exceeding the 17.8C recorded at Porthmadog on 5 March.

And there’s a possibility somewhere in the Midlands, north-west England or north-west Wales could see a temperature close to 20C.

That could potentially exceed the UK’s current highest temperature of the year so far of 19.2C – set in London earlier in March.

The Original Factory Shop in Shildon, confirmed the news on January 30 that the popular store will be closing its doors.

Taking to social media yesterday (March 16), the company announced their final day of trading will be Sunday, March 29.

The Facebook post said: “Unfortunately we have some sad news to share with you all.

“We have now been given a closing date. Last trading day will be Sunday, March 29.

“We would have loved a different outcome, but we can only deal with what cards we have been dealt.”

In the run up to closing, all items have been slashed with heavy discounts of up to 50 per cent.

The closure comes shortly after the company announced it had entered administration in January, putting 1,180 jobs at risk.

The Shildon team said it is “an extremely upsetting time” for staff as the shop enters its final weeks.

The post added: “Please do pop in and see us whilst also grabbing some amazing bargains, myself and team would love to see you all before we go.

“I would really like to stress the following though, please be kind to my team as this is an extremely upsetting time with lots of uncertainty ahead, which we are still processing.

“Thank you for your support throughout the 22 years we have been on Church Street.

“Suzanne and all the Shildon team.”

Administrators from Interpath Advisory were officially appointed on Wednesday, January 28.  

Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, previously said “trading challenges” have caused the business to go into administration.

He said: “The Original Factory Shop has long been a cornerstone of local high streets up and down the country.

“Unfortunately, however, trading challenges have impacted the business such that the company had to be placed into administration.”

Since announcing the closing date, many longstanding customers have taken to social media to share their support.

One person said: “Absolute travesty. Best wishes to all the staff – such a miss for the area.”

While another person commented: “This is sad news. It’s been a pleasure shopping there and I wish the team all the best, just another one to close.”