Glengarry Glen Ross, first known to many through the film starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Kevin Spacey, is now being brought to life in its original stage form.

A powerful story made famous on film is coming to the stage at the Henderson Theatre in Shotts and this is a rare chance to see it live.

Glengarry Glen Ross, first known to many through the film starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Kevin Spacey, is now being brought to life in its original stage form.

Seeing it live is more intense, more exciting, and much more real than watching it on screen.

Written by David Mamet, the play tells the story of a group of salesmen fighting to succeed. It is fast, tense, and often funny, with strong language and big emotions throughout.

This new production is performed by Sweet for Addicts Theatre Company.

Rehearsals are going very well, with the cast working hard to bring the story to life.

The show is directed by Mark Traynor, Artistic Director of Spotlight Shotts, who is leading the team to create a bold and exciting performance.

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Mark said: “Glengarry Glen Ross is a thrilling piece of theatre—sharp, funny, and brutally honest. Seeing it live is a completely different experience from the film.

“It’s immediate, intense, and unforgettable. Experiencing the live show is more like being in the play that watching it. You can hear the actors breathe.

“We’re excited to bring something this powerful to audiences in Shotts.”

Spotlight Shotts is a recently formed Community Interest Company and not for profit organisation, formed in 2023 by local residents who want to provide access for people of all ages from Shotts and the surrounding villages to the best local performers plus theatre, music and art normally accessed in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

READ MORE: North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre receives grant as part of science scheme

The group’s long-term goal is to restore the purpose-built Henderson Theatre in Shotts Community Centre, to its former glory. The play takes place at the Henderson Theatre on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Tickets cost £15, £12, £10 by logging onto https://www.tickettailor.com/events/spotlightshotts/1963541

For more information, please contact Margaret McSeveney by emailing spotlightshotts@gmail.com

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HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were trading higher tracking Wall Street gains and oil fell on Tuesday as expectations rose over a possible second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran on an end to the Iran war.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.4% to 57,842.72. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.4% to 6,004.30.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4% to 25,759.75, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.6% to 4,010.45. China on Tuesday reported worse-than-expected export growth of 2.5% in March for the first month since the Iran war began.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3%, and Taiwan’s Taiex rose 2.2%.

Investors are still hopeful for a lasting de-escalation of the Iran war, which is in its seventh week, as the U.S. and Iran are said to be weighing a second round of talks before a temporary ceasefire agreement expires next week. The U.S. military on Monday began a blockade of Iranian ports as Washington steps up its pressure on Tehran, following ceasefire talks between the two sides over the weekend that ended without an agreement.

But U.S. President Donald Trump also suggested on Monday that the United States is still willing to engage with Tehran. “I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side,” he said, without further elaborating details.

Oil prices continued to pull back on Tuesday from earlier gains. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 1.3% to $98.12 per barrel. It reached nearly $104 early Monday morning over Iran war worries on limited progress from the weekend ceasefire talks.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 2.2% early Tuesday to $96.92 a barrel.

The global energy shock stemming from maritime traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil is typically transported, has led to surging fuel prices and is threatening to push up inflation in many countries and impact economic growth.

Wall Street rose on Monday. The S&P 500 gained 1% to 6,886.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 48,218.25, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.2% to 23,183.74.

Shares of investment bank Goldman Sachs dropped 1.9% despite its announcement of better-than-expected quarterly profits.

In other dealings, gold and silver prices rose on Tuesday. Gold’s price was up 0.6% to $4,796.60 an ounce, while silver prices gained 1.8% to $77.05 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar fell to 159.08 Japanese yen from 159.45 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1768, up from $1.1759.

___

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

Amponsah Thompson was bailed under investigation for assault – and went on to do it twice more

A serial sex offender who “prowled” the streets of Liverpool city centre in his Mercedes looking for vulnerable teenagers on nights out has been jailed for 23 years.

Amponsah Thompson posed as a taxi driver in order to lure one of the women into his car before assaulting her in the back seat, the Liverpool Echo reported.

The “sexual predator” then preyed upon another lone teen, who he found slumped on the ground, before taking her back to his home and raping her. He also repeatedly raped a third victim and even threatened her with a knife.

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Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday (April 13) that the first complainant, an 18-year-old woman, had been on a night out in the city centre in August 2024 and was “very drunk”, having visited several bars before leaving alone shortly after 2am.

At this time, Thompson’s white Mercedes was seen passing what was then Alma de Cuba, since reopened as St Peter’s Tavern, where she approached the vehicle and asked the defendant if he was a taxi driver.

David Polglase, prosecuting, described how the 29-year-old “lied and pretended that he was”, at which stage the teenager entered his car expecting to be taken home. But he instead drove the woman to his own address on Rocky Lane in Tuebrook, where he joined her in the rear seats and touched her between her thighs.

However, Thompson “stopped what he was doing” and drove her home when she pretended that her family were phoning her and claimed she had shared her location with them. She was then said to have “insisted on giving him money” for the journey, with police later able trace him via transfers she had made into his bank account.

When interviewed, Thompson denied he had pretended to be a taxi driver and had stopped at his address in order to collect his identification, having apparently been intent on returning to the city centre. He meanwhile maintained he had not entered the back seat of his car and stated he had no physical contact with the victim.

Having subsequently been released on bail under investigation, Thompson then targeted another “extremely drunk and vulnerable” 18-year-old who had been out in central Liverpool in December 2024, visiting several bars before becoming separated from her friends.

He was then seen “escorting her back to his vehicle” at around 3.30am, having previously been “crouched or slumped by a wall”, after which she recalled “zoning in and out of sleep” and being raped, waking up at his flat the next day before being taken home by her attacker.

Thompson, who was said to have been “essentially prowling on both occasions”, later claimed this sexual activity had been consensual when questioned by detectives. Throughout 2025, as investigations into his earlier crimes continued, he then raped a third woman an estimated “six or seven times”, having also subjected her to violent assaults and threatened her with a knife.

Mr Polglase added: “We say that this defendant is manipulative. He is a sexual predator. He has little or no regard for the boundaries of and consent for sex.”

Amponsah had no previous convictions but was previously investigated over an incident in January 2024 when he was alleged to have sexually assaulted a lap dancer. However, this did not result in any charges after the woman withdrew her complaint.

Anthony O’Donohoe, defending, told the court: “Prior to these matters, the defendant was a man of good character with no previous convictions. His immigration status is currently that he has leave to remain, but that is subject to review.

“I simply ask that the sentence is as short as is consistent with your honour’s public duty. It may well be that an extended sentence would be condign and allow further supervision and licence in the community upon eventually release, by extension to what will doubtless be a significant custodial sentence.”

Thompson admitted sexual assault against his first victim and three counts of rape against the third, having been convicted of one charge of rape against the second complainant by a jury following a trial. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a white Puma t-shirt, he was jailed for 23 years and handed an additional eight years on licence.

Sentencing, Judge Brian Cummings KC said: “My own assessment is that you are a dangerous offender, and there would remain a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm.

“It may be that you will be considered by the appropriate authority for deportation. I make no order in that regard. It is a matter for that appropriate authority to consider.”

Thompson will be required to serve at least two thirds of the 23-year period behind bars before becoming eligible for release by the Parole Board. He was also told to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle after he was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland

An inquest is due to open on Tuesday, April 14, into the death of Soham killer Ian Huntley. The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on March 7 after he was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham on February 26.

The County Durham and Darlington Coroner has scheduled an inquest opening hearing to be held in Crook, County Durham, on April 14. Listed under the name Ian Kevin Huntley, the inquest opening will be heard by senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield.

Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley at the maximum security jail. He will attend Newcastle Crown Court on April 24 for a pre-trial preparation hearing.

Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. The ex-school caretaker killed the best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002.

He dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away. They were not found for 13 days, despite a search involving hundreds of police.

At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school. He denied murdering the girls but was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003. He was jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 40 years.

Carr gave Huntley a false alibi and was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice. She is now living under a new identity.

Norton has hosted a chat show for almost 30 years, hearing stories from the biggest stars in the world, but now he’ll host a new gameshow, The Neighbourhood.

Over 11 episodes in the ITV show, six households, which are made up of real families, friends, and university flatmates, move into separate homes, where they will live side by side 24/7, socialising and taking part in challenges, for the chance to win a £250,000 cash prize.

The show, hosted by the Eurovision commentator, will see them compete in tasks inspired by the things we do every day, as well as navigate relatable domestic drama, and then avoid being voted off and removed from the neighbourhood.

When asked what he found interesting about the new show, he said: “What I loved about The Neighbourhood is that it is a new format.

“It’s not something meets something else.

“I really thought I hadn’t seen this show before.

“It leans into our curiosity about what’s behind closed doors, and there’s something really compelling and addictive about seeing the way the existing households interact with each other.

“I thought I’d watch that – and I’d never want to work on something I wouldn’t watch.

“I thought – this show would hook me!”

He explained how he thinks it’s different to other shows: “Because it is ‘The Neighbourhood’, we can all relate because unless you’re very, very rich, you probably have neighbours!

The biggest ever British game show jackpot winners

“We all – even if you don’t necessarily want to – you get drawn into those everyday dramas.

“The ‘you haven’t cut the lawn, they put the bins out wrong, you shouldn’t park there’.

“What the show does is really amp those moments up, and dramatises them even more.

“There’s the gameplay, but because they’re there all the time, there’s the reality that these people really are living next door to each other and watching each other like hawks.

“And like any good neighbourhood, you want your way, but you want to keep everyone sweet, and that’s the skill!

“This show has been cast really well, so these people are all really good at it.”

Who is taking part in The Neighbourhood?

Norton said there are a variety of groups involved in the first series: “We have a traditional, multi-generational family, we’ve got blended modern families, we’ve got twin sisters and one of their girlfriends, we’ve got a university household where they’re flatmates, so the relationships are all different in each household.”

Graham Norton reveals his favourite part of the new show

Graham has shared what he loves about the new show: “One of the loveliest things about the show is seeing households who would never meet in real life, not only meeting but forming proper bonds of friendship.

“There are a few moments in the show that really do bring a tear to my eye because it’s just so genuine, so lovely and properly heartwarming.

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“It’s such an odd word to describe a show like this, but it’s properly wholesome — there’s something about the bright colours, being out in the countryside, and the genuine bonds that you see created.”

People have shared their excitement for the new show on Instagram with one commenting: “Omgggg I can’t wait!!!!”

Another shared: “Ah it just looks so good!!”

Someone else said: “Can’t wait to watch the drama unfold!! 🙈🙈”

How to watch The Neighbourhood

The Neighbourhood will be hosted by Graham Norton and will be available to watch later this month.

The new show comes to ITV1 and ITVX on Friday, April 24.

Will you be watching The Neighbourhood? Let us know in the comments below.

Kerry Katona has revealed that she rushed to hospital fearing she was having a stroke, after watching her daughter in a play.

The former Atomic Kitten star realised she couldn’t smile properly when the performance ended, and had felt unwell during.

After noticing the facial sign associated with a stroke, Kerry took a taxi to St Thomas’ Hospital where she was taken in an ambulance to King’s College Hospital.

Her daughter Molly was performing in London, and Kerry was there alongside her other daughter Heidi, who asked her mum: “What’s wrong with your face?”

Kerry told The Mirror that she then ‘started panicking’: ‘I discreetly left, went to my hotel and asked to see a doctor. I told the staff: “Something’s not right.”‘

The 45-year-old, who was also with her partner Paolo Margaglione at the time, explains how things ramped up when she arrived at St Thomas’ as staff announced they were ‘treating it as a stroke’.

She went on: ‘They were shining lights in my eyes while my face and speech were getting worse.’

Kerry even texted her children – Dylan-Jorge, 12, Max, 18, Heidi, 19, Lilly, 23, and Molly 24 – to tell them she loved them.

While at King’s, Kerry underwent tests and scans before being told what had caused the worrying changes.

Rather than a stroke, Kerry said: ‘The CT scans showed there’s a part of my brain that’s broken and isn’t able to send signals to my face due to stress.’

Kerry continued: ‘I’ve spoken to Anna Williamson from Celebs Go Dating about it since, and apparently it can also happen when you’re feeling content. It’s like delayed stress hitting you suddenly because you feel at peace.

‘Every now and then, I’ll get a shooting pain in my head. And I’m noticing my speech – even though I think I’m saying something properly in my head, it doesn’t sound right out loud.’

The mum-of-five has been looking back through old videos to see if she can identify when her speech started to change, and says she can see it getting worse over time.

She’s been reassured by doctors that it will come back, but Kerry says she wants speech therapy and to get exercises for her face, admitting she feeling ‘a bit panicky with it’.

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MORE: Atomic Kitten star reveals she’ll never let Kerry Katona return to band

Three crews are currently at the scene tackling the fire

Firefighters were called to a road in a Cambridgeshire town after receiving reports of a fire breaking out on Tuesday (April 14). Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue were called at around 6.30am to a building fire on Acre Road in March.

Three crews are currently at the scene tackling the fire. It is not yet known what type of building is affected.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Firefighters are currently responding to a building fire on Acre Road, March. They were called at around 6.30am. Three crews are currently in attendance. The incident is ongoing.”

Outlook Lite, which launched back in 2022, is an app for Android devices, bringing users all the Outlook essentials in a smaller size.

It was made for low-resource phones and has the ability to work on slower networks.

Outlook Lite was retired by Microsoft on October 6, 2025, with the app removed from the Google Play Store.

Despite the app being retired, existing customers have still been able to use the app, with Microsoft confirming the app would be “fully” retired at a later date.

When will Outlook Lite be fully retired?

Microsoft has now confirmed when the Outlook app will be shut down for good.

Outlook Lite will be fully retired on all Android devices on May 25, according to Neowin.

The app will still open after it has been fully retired, but mailbox access will be disabled, and in-app navigation and functionality won’t work.

By Paul Hill – Time is running out for Outlook Lite. Microsoft has set a firm kill date for the app, and you’ll need to make the switch soon to keep your emails flowing. #Microsoft #Outlook #Android https://t.co/xlMp4gv16D

— NeowinFeed (@NeowinFeed) April 12, 2026

Neowin added: “While the mailbox access will be disabled and navigation won’t work, Microsoft notes that user accounts won’t be disabled or deleted.

“It also said that all existing email, calendar items, and attachments will remain accessible when users sign in to Outlook Mobile.”

Android users urged to switch to Outlook Mobile before being “cut off”

Microsoft has urged Android users still using Outlook Lite to switch to Outlook Mobile before May 25.

Neowin added: “If you do still have it, you should definitely migrate to Outlook Mobile so that you aren’t cut off in late May.”

Microsoft shuts down Skype after 22 years

Outlook Lite isn’t the only app Microsoft has shut down recently.

Skype was officially “retired” by Microsoft in May 2025 after nearly 22 years, having first launched in August 2003.

As we say goodbye to Skype, we want to thank our incredible community. Over the years, you’ve connected with family, friends, and colleagues across the world.

This isn’t the end—it’s a new beginning. Join us on Microsoft Teams Free and continue making great memories. pic.twitter.com/9lDRE6rMVW

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— Skype (@Skype) May 5, 2025

The tech giant said the decision to shut down the communications app was so it could “streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs”.

By retiring Skype, Microsoft said it enables the company to focus on Teams.

While Skype was officially shut down last May, users still had access to old messages until January 2026 before they were deleted.

Are you affected by the Outlook Lite shutdown? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is following in the footsteps of his spiritual father, St. Augustine, making a pilgrimage to the archaeological ruins of eastern Algeria where the fifth century titan of early Christianity lived, died and wrote some of the most important works in Western thought.

Leo’s visit to Annaba, the modern-day Hippo, is a spiritual homecoming for the American pope on his second full day in Algeria. He arrived Monday on the first-ever papal visit, against the backdrop of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and his calls for peace that have sparked a feud with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine” on the night of his election and has cited Augustine prolifically in his first year, making clear he is the guiding inspiration of Leo’s pontificate. For this trip, where he is aiming to press a message of peace and Christian-Muslim coexistence, he is focusing on Augustine as a bridge-builder.

But the visit is also drawing attention to the North African origins of Augustine, who only spent five years in Italy but is often considered through a Eurocentric lens as one of the greatest Western thinkers of Christianity for his writings on truth, evil, creation and grace.

Leo’s Augustinian religious order was founded in Italy in the 13th century, inspired by the saint.

A life in North Africa, looking to Rome

St. Augustine was born in 354 to a Berber mother and Roman father in Thagaste, today the Algerian city of Souk Ahras near the border with Tunisia. At the time, the swath of North Africa was part of the Roman Empire, including Carthage in today’s Tunisia, where Augustine was educated and taught rhetoric.

He left North Africa for Rome in 383 and then Milan, where he converted to Christianity. He returned to his homeland soon thereafter, founded a monastery at Hippo, became a bishop and there wrote some of the most important works in the Western canon, including “Confessions” and “The City of God.”

A new book, “Augustine the African,” by Catherine Conybeare, an Augustine scholar at Bryn Mawr college in Pennsylvania, explores Augustine from his perspective: As a North African, looking to Rome as the center of his universe but feeling insecure there about his Punic-accented Latin.

“One of the most important thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition actually came from Africa, spent almost his whole life in Africa,” Conybeare told The Associated Press. “How does that change things?”

“Of course, because his successors — the people who carried on his heritage — were in Europe, they got to tell the story,” she said. And Europe got his body: After dying in Hippo, Augustine’s body was taken eventually to Pavia, Italy, though a forearm remains in the basilica in Annaba.

In welcoming Leo on the first-ever papal visit to Algeria, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed the “immense pride” Algerians feel over St. Augustine. He called him “a cherished son of this land, which having been his first cradle, proudly became his initial resting place.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.