The building, which is leased from Durham County Council to the Home Office, has been clad in scaffolding since a large scale storm damaged windows in 2024.

Reports have been made since of panes of glass falling from the window of the Freeman’s Place building onto the pavement below.

Mary Kelly Foy, MP for City of Durham said: “For far too long, the passport office in the centre of Durham has been shrouded with scaffolding following some damage to the building and the need for urgent repairs.

Scaffolding at Durham passport office. (Image: STUART BOULTON)

“As well as being an eyesore for residents and visitors to the city, it sends the wrong message about the value of public infrastructure in the county, and how much we value the vital work carried out by the civil servants who work in the passport office.”

Ms Foy said she has written to the Home Office to ask for the repairs to be sped up.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Durham Passport Office is fully operational and safe for both staff and customers.

“Scaffolding will stay in place through 2026 for remaining external works.”

The building, which houses about 1,100 civil servants, was opened in 2016 aiming to provide “a more comfortable and welcoming environment for customers and staff alike.”

It was damaged in stormy weather in October 2024.

Kevin Lough, Durham County Council’s interim head of corporate buildings, said: “Although we do have a lease with the Home Office for the building, the Home Office is responsible for repairing the damage caused by last year’s significant storm.

“We are actively working with both the Home Office and the freeholder’s surveyor to address the complex works that are needed.

“This includes reviewing building warranties and consulting with the freeholder’s insurers.”

Manchester United and England international Ella Toone has not played in 2026 after suffering an injury in December

Manchester United Women’s head coach Marc Skinner has confirmed Ella Toone should be back for the first game after the international break. The Lioness star has been out with a hip injury since the turn of the year and has not played since the League Cup quarter-final victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

United had hoped Toone would be back for the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday. However, Skinner confirmed the midfielder would be eased back into the squad after the international break, which runs from April 8 to 16. “The plan is, hopefully, the game after the international break,” Skinner said.

“That is the aim for her, should everything go well. She is training on the field, she is doing individual bits. She will hopefully be back with more team bits soon enough. The aim is, and the hope is, we can get her back for after the next international break.”

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The Reds’ first game after the international break is currently away at Tottenham on April 26. However, this will change if United manage to progress to the Champions League semi-finals. Skinner’s side are 3-2 down after the first leg of their quarter-final against Bayern Munich.

Pernille Harder gave Bayern the lead inside two minutes when she latched onto a through ball. United equalised 20 minutes later when Maya Le Tissier converted a penalty that was won following a handball. Harder added her second of the game on 71 minutes as she finished following a near identical through ball over the top of the defence.

This time, United’s response was swift as Hanna Lundkvist headed in from a corner to level the game. With United seemingly set to take a 2-2 draw to the Allianz Arena next week, substitute Momoko Tanikawa stepped up to give Bayern the edge in the tie.

“What I know about this team is that they will be open and honest with that, and we have got another leg to turn this around and fix it,” Skinner added. “I honestly don’t think it is naivety, maybe a little bit of just a high-level opponent, and you have got to deal with that. We have felt that now. We are still in the tie, for sure, so we now need to go to the Allianz and win.”

The second leg of the Champions League quarter-final is on Wednesday, April 1.

Bus passengers won’t pay a penny on eight upcoming dates

Buses will be free in Swansea for eight days over the Easter holidays, starting from this weekend. Swansea Council has brought back the popular scheme, which it says will allow families in the city “to make the most of what the city has to offer”, including trips to the city centre, or a visit to Mumbles and other parts of the Gower coast.

The council says it has set aside £450,000 from its budget this year so that there will be free buses during the summer and Christmas school holidays as well.

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart, welcomed the latest offer and said he hopes everyone will take advantage. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here

He said: “Since we launched the offer people have enjoyed more than one million free bus rides.

“Easter can be an expensive time for everyone but we’re committed to ensuring families in Swansea can save a bit of money on travel costs, leave the car at home and save their petrol money to spend on other things, saving up to £20 a time for family of four.

“The city centre is a great shopping destination in itself for people wanting to take a free trip. But it is also about giving the public the chance to travel all across Swansea, whether it’s to visit family members or just enjoy to what Swansea has to offer.”

Cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, Andrew Stevens, added: “One of the main aims has been to encourage more people to use public transport in Swansea.

“We know lots of people travel by car and may not have been on a bus previously. This free bus offer is a great way of introducing more people to public transport and reduce the number of cars on our roads.

“It’s important we support public transport operators in Swansea and do what we can to increase passenger numbers.”

Free bus travel will be available on these days:

• Saturday, March 28
• Sunday, March 29
• Friday, April 3 (Good Friday)
• Saturday, April 4
• Sunday, April 5 (Easter Sunday)
• Monday, April 6 (Easter Monday)
• Saturday, April 11
• Sunday, April 12

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The Helsinki Beatrice Striped Lounger has a reclining mechanism and a padded headrest for added comfort

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Dunelm has unveiled a new lounger for summer 2026 that’s evoking ‘retro British beach holiday vibes’ among our shopping writers, as it resembles a classic deckchair but with enhanced comfort. Priced at just £39, the Helsinki Beatrice Striped Lounger promises a ‘weightless feel for optimal relaxation’.

The vintage aesthetic is achieved through its green and white stripes. A reclining mechanism allows for easy transition from sitting upright to leaning back with legs elevated. An added padded headrest pillow ensures extra comfort, reports Birmingham Live.

Moreover, it conveniently folds flat for straightforward storage. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here

In comparison, Argos offers a new Folding Metal Sun lounger in green and white stripes for £35.

Amazon also has a Zero Gravity Sun Lounger available for £37.99, which comes in black, includes a pillow and folds flat for storage.

Being a new product, there are no reviews yet, but we anticipate it will be popular as the weather warms up.

Dunelm describes the striped lounger as follows: “Sit back and unwind with the Helsinki Beatrice Striped Lounger, designed to make relaxing outdoors feel effortless.

“Offering a gently weightless feel, this lounger features a smooth reclining mechanism that lets you move easily from sitting upright to fully laid-back with your legs raised.

“The fresh striped design brings a relaxed, summery look to your garden or patio, while the padded headrest adds extra comfort where you need it most.

“Finished with a practical fold flat design, it’s easy to store away when not in use.”

It’s costing more and more to gas up the hot rods that Donnie Beson has spent a lifetime tinkering with. He’s not questioning his support for President Donald Trump, but he feels as though the war in Iran has distracted the Republican president from the issues that got him elected.

“Come on, Trump. Worry about us,” said Beson, 68, of Woodland Park, Colorado. “We’re in a billion-dollar-a-day war. It’s like, ‘Man, you forgot about the other stuff, and you got to take care of that first.’”

Trump still has deep support among Republicans, but a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that the president risks frustrating his voters during a midterm election year if the United States gets involved in the kind of prolonged war in the Middle East that he promised to avoid.

Although 63% of Republicans back airstrikes against Iranian military targets, the survey found, only 20% back deploying American ground troops.

Rising gas prices could also pose a problem for Trump. The cost of oil and gas has soared since the Iran war began nearly four weeks ago, adding more financial pressure when many Americans are already worried about affording essentials. About 6 in 10 Republicans say they’re at least “somewhat” concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months, according to the poll, though they’re less worried than the rest of the country.

Trust in Trump remains high among Republicans

About three-quarters of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency, and a similar 70% approve of how he’s handling Iran.

Those ratings are in line with Republicans’ support for Trump’s foreign policy generally and his approach to Cuba, where he’s recently ratcheted up pressure to change the island’s leadership.

Many Republicans continue to have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of trust in the president to make the right decisions on foreign issues. About half place a high level of trust in him when it comes to the use of military force outside the U.S. Roughly the same percentage of Republicans have a high level of trust on his dealings with adversaries and allies.

Sharon Fuller, 68, is a firm backer of the president and approves of his handling of the job, as well as the war in Iran.

A retired hospital analyst from Ocklawaha, Florida, Fuller expressed some reservations about the war but called Trump a “huge patriot” and said she’s been impressed with how the stock market has done since he became president again.

“I don’t really agree with the war, but on the other hand, I think it’s a necessity at this point,” she said.

Republicans stand out from Americans overall in their support for the war. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that about 8 in 10 registered voters who are Republicans think the war with Iran will make the world “safer,” compared with about one-third of voters overall.

Further entanglement in Iran could frustrate Trump’s supporters

The vast majority of Republicans in the AP-NORC poll, 81%, say it’s “extremely” or “very” important for the U.S. to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, lending support to one of the goals that Trump has articulated since the war began. But only about half of Republicans see replacing Iran’s government with leaders who are more friendly to the U.S. as a high priority.

Stephen Hauss, 40, is a state Agriculture Department employee in Camden, Delaware, where he manages environmental programs. Hauss described his political views as libertarian-leaning, and he voted for Trump in 2024. But the start of the Iran war has changed his views about the president.

“Before the war I was just kind of like, ‘OK, like, I voted for him. I got to give him, like, some benefit of the doubt,’” he said.

Now, Hauss said he can’t support the U.S. trying to change the leadership of another country. He added, “I don’t think I am on board with this anymore.”

Other efforts to get the U.S. more involved in Iran could complicate matters further for Trump. Only about 2 in 10 Republicans favor deploying U.S. ground troops to fight Iran, while about one-third don’t have an opinion and about half are opposed.

Thomas Sweeney, 76, is a retired chemical engineer from Frisco, Texas, who voted for Trump three times. An Army officer veteran, Sweeney said he can’t get behind the war, which has brought down his overall view of the president.

“I’m not happy. I am frustrated,” he said. “Soldiers are very, very precious. You just don’t go in there and waste lives.”

Gas prices causing unease among some in GOP

The rising cost of oil and gas is another vulnerability for Trump, even within his own party. About three-quarters of Republicans say it’s “extremely” or “very” important for U.S. foreign policy to keep gas prices down, which could increasingly be at odds with their support for the war.

About 3 in 10 Republican registered voters in the Quinnipiac University poll say the price of gasoline has been a “very” or “somewhat” serious problem for their family lately.

If high gas prices linger, they could create even more frustration for Trump supporters who hoped the president would bring down the cost of everyday goods.

Fuller, the Florida Republican, said there’s no chance she’d vote for Democrats, but she had a message for Trump.

“I’d like him to see what he can do to get prices down for, quote, the working people and myself now living on a fixed income,” she said.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,150 adults was conducted March 19-23 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 4 percentage points and for Republicans is plus or minus 6.7 percentage points.

Why might that help?

So… how can I work out these muscles?

Lewis Hamilton says the new Formula 1 this year is “much more fun” than any other time in his career.

The Ferrari driver said his multi-lap battle with team-mate Charles Leclerc at the previous race in China was “the best battle I’ve had” since his famous duel with former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in Bahrain in 2014.

The seven-time champion said: “That’s how racing should be. It should be back and forth, back and forth. It shouldn’t be, like, one move is done and then that’s it.”

Hamilton’s comments come as F1 is locked in a debate about the impact of the new car and engine regulations that were introduced this season.

The new engines have a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power and are energy starved as a fundamental basis of the rules.

That means teams and drivers are constantly managing energy levels through a lap.

It has led in the first two grands prix of the year to what has become known as “yo-yo racing”, where two or more cars are locked together for several laps as they pass and re-pass because of different energy levels at different parts of the lap.

But it has also created a change to driving in qualifying, where the need to recover electrical energy means the cars are under-powered for parts of the lap and the driving challenge has therefore been reduced.

Hamilton added that he, too, saw the paradox inherent in the new rules.

On racing, he said: “If you go back to karting, it’s the same thing. People going back and forth, back and forth, you can never break away.

“No one ever has ever referred to go-karting as yo-yo racing. It’s the best form of racing, and Formula 1 has not been the best form of racing in a long, long time.

“Out of all the cars that I’ve driven in 20 years, this is the only car that you can actually follow through high speed and not completely lose everything that you have [in terms of grip], and you can stay behind.”

But asked why he loved the racing and Max Verstappen did not, Hamilton added: “I don’t know if you can use the word love, I’m just saying that I’m enjoying racing. Naturally when you have a good car and you’re competitive, it’s nice to be at the front.

“Some drivers, I think a lot of drivers, are not enjoying it, but I’m just personally enjoying it. It’s a lighter car, they’re more nimble, they are more fun to drive.

“Do I love the power deployment? Absolutely not, I actually really dislike that. Do I love the straight-line mode? Not particularly.

“But as a whole I think it’s exciting for the sport, in a time where the sport is the highest.”

The teams agreed at a meeting with governing body the FIA and F1 last week that the issue of driving on the limit in qualifying would be assessed in an attempt to find improvements before the next race in Miami in five weeks’ time.

In that context, the FIA has issued a change to the rules for this weekend’s race in Japan that reduces the total amount of energy that cars can recover in one lap from nine megajoules to eight.

The reasoning is that this will mean the drivers and cars have to do less recovery during a qualifying lap.

Verstappen said: “Going to 8MJs probably helps a tiny bit, but the basics are the same, you know, so you still need to be careful with your throttle inputs.

“This is the reality that we’re in now and you just have to accept that at the moment. I mean, there’s not much that you can do anyway for this year. I hope that bigger changes will be there for next year.”

There has been concern that the rules could reduce the challenge of Japan’s Suzuka circuit, which is regarded as arguably the most challenging on the calendar.

World champion Lando Norris said: “It’s never ruined. I don’t think you can ever ruin this track. Will it be as spectacular? I don’t think so. It will not be. But it’s still an incredible track to drive.

“There’ll certainly be some places where it just won’t be as spectacular. You’ll start clipping [recovery energy[ into Spoon [Curve]. That’s one of the quickest corners, where you turn in you are going incredibly quick. Like last year, I didn’t even brake into Spoon entry.”

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Every now and then, something comes along that changes your life forever. It’s the start of any love story for the ages: girl meets sex toy, falls in love, and lives happily ever after. It could happen to anyone.

Since the suction category took off, this has been more true than ever. These oral sex stimulators, which pulsate air waves against the clitoris, have taken the world by storm.

Remember the hype for the Rose in 2020? The world shut down, and at the same time attitudes towards this petalled pulser blossomed, with people raving about their love for it on social media.

But we’ve moved on to better things since then. At least, the reviews on two Lovehoney suction toys seem to suggest so. As the owners of Pleasure Air Technology – used in toys from Womanizer, to ROMP, and the Rose – Lovehoney is no stranger to wet and wild (literally) feedback on its products.

The condition can go undetected for years but can cause strokes

A hidden heart condition affecting thousands of Brits could prove fatal without warning. Yet your smartwatch may be the first to detect it.

Medical professionals say wearable technology can identify subtle alterations in your heart rhythm well before any symptoms emerge, potentially avoiding life-threatening complications such as stroke. GP Dr Shireen Emad said: “Smartwatches sit on a spectrum, but one of the most clinically useful things they can do is detect irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation (AF).”

AF influences how the heart functions and can have severe repercussions if it remains undetected. It happens when the heart beats with an irregular and frequently rapid rhythm, preventing it from pumping blood efficiently. The risk is that many individuals experience no clear symptoms, meaning the condition can remain undiagnosed for years.

“So many people might have atrial fibrillation and they don’t know that they’ve got it until they’ve had a stroke,” Dr Shireen stated. “In atrial fibrillation, the heart doesn’t pump properly. Instead of pushing blood through, it sort of quivers and the blood can pool and clot.”

These clots can subsequently travel to the brain, substantially raising the likelihood of stroke. “If we pick it up early we can start treatment like blood thinners, which can reduce that risk,” she added. Unlike a single ECG examination, smartwatches track your heart constantly, making them far more likely to identify irregular rhythms over extended periods.

“You can do an ECG at one moment and miss it, because some people dip in and out of atrial fibrillation,” Dr Shireen explained. “A smartwatch tracks your baseline and can pick up when something suddenly changes.”

While these gadgets cannot replace a medical diagnosis, they can serve as an early alert mechanism. “They’re not giving you medical-grade insight but they are very good at spotting patterns and flagging when something isn’t right,” she informed Watches2U.

AF warning signs to look out for – and your next steps

Although atrial fibrillation can present no symptoms, some may experience a racing or erratic heartbeat, palpitations, breathlessness, tiredness or light-headedness. Nevertheless, Dr Shireen emphasises that even without symptoms, notifications from a wearable gadget ought to be treated seriously.

“I would always advise speaking to your GP if your watch flags something unusual,” she said. “We don’t expect patients to interpret this data themselves, but it can be a really helpful prompt to get checked.”

Dr Shireen continued: “Smartwatches are not there to replace doctors but they can play an important role in picking things up early, and in some cases, that can be life-saving.”

For 75 years, Dennis the Menace – wearing his signature red-and-black striped shirt and joined by his scruffy sidekick Gnasher – has been delighting children with his unapologetic mischief.

Dennis the Menace debuted in the Beano comic for children in March 1951 and quickly became a favourite with readers. His name derives from the music hall song Dennis the Menace from Venice, and his distinctive silhouette (very like that of his “Abyssinian wire-haired tripe hound” Gnasher) was first drawn on a cigarette pack in a pub in the Scottish town of St Andrews.

Coincidentally, on the other side of the Atlantic, another “naughty” boy called Dennis made his first appearance a syndicated newspaper comic strip on the same day as British Dennis. In contrast to his British namesake, American Dennis is a blond five year old, with a round face, blue and black striped t-shirt and red dungarees. American Dennis’s mischief comes from his misguided attempts to be helpful, rather than British Dennis’s deliberate misbehaviour.

The appearance of Dennis the Menace has changed somewhat over time, in his height, length of his legs and his possession of a catapult. But his spiked hair, red and black striped jumper, black shorts, knobbly knees and oversized boots have remained.

À lire aussi :
How The Beano survived war and the web to reach its 80th birthday

Like his predecessor William Brown of the Just William books, Dennis has a nemesis – Walter the Softy. Walter has some similarities to William’s enemy Hubert Lane. Both Walter and Hubert are depicted as cowardly, prim and opposed to fun. But, as researchers have explored, there is a somewhat homophobic element to the depiction of Dennis’s menacing of Walter. Walter is portrayed through ballet dancing in a tutu, sewing, playing with dolls and caring for his dog, named Foo-Foo. Dennis’s attitude to Walter was modified in 2012 to limit accusations of homophobia related to his interests in pursuits that are stereotypically considered feminine. He was renamed Walter Brown.

Another thing to have changed with time is the way the strips end. Generally in the 1970s, they’d close with Dennis lying over his father’s knee and getting beaten with a slipper. With the ending of corporal punishment in English state schools in 1986 (independent schools ended it much later, in 1999), teachers beating the Bash Street Kids or Dennis the Menace with a cane was no longer a likely outcome of misbehaviour.

The appeal of ‘naughty’ characters

So what is the appeal of “naughty” characters for children? Researchers have found that different age groups find different things funny. They characterise two types of humour evident in The Beano – disparaging, such as making fun of people, and slapstick. However, despite concerns about the impact of popular reading on the morals of young people that have been evident since the 19th century there is very little evidence of children being led astray by reading about rule-breaking characters.

Instead, comedy can be used to undermine power hierarchies through upending of social status – or, in children’s media, by making fun of adults.

The comeuppance of naughty characters at the end of a story is rarely permanent. For example, in Beatrix Potter’s stories, Peter Rabbit may end up in bed with a cold after disobeying his mother while his well-behaved sisters eat the blackberries they picked, but a few books later, he is back having adventures with his cousin, Benjamin Bunny.

Humorous stories about naughty children provide an imaginative space to be a rule breaker and laugh at powerful adults, to accept the punishment, but to enjoy another day of mischief. Like Peter, Dennis’s irrepressible mischief has made children laugh for generations. Long may he continue to do so.