Economy Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

This week marks National Befriending Week – with a local group urging people to help change lives by giving up just a few hours of their own time.

As much as £20bn could be available to fund a "modern railway for the 21st century" between Liverpool and Manchester using the money saved from scrapping the Northern leg of HS2, mayor Andy Burnham has suggested.

Black Friday is an exciting time for travellers as holiday companies and airlines jostle to offer the very best cut-price deals. With the likes of British Airways, easyJet, TUI and Jet2 expected to offer big savings when Black Friday falls on November, 24, it could be the perfect time to book your next getaway.

Naman Ramachandran Lila Aviles‘ “Totem” has won the global feature award at the annual Jakarta Film Week. The film previously won awards at the Berlin, Hong Kong, Durban and Beijing film festivals. The direction award for best Indonesian feature film went to Jeremias Nyangoen’s directorial debut “Women of Rote Island.” The film bowed at Busan earlier in October.

opens her online shop has finally arrived‚ after surely the longest tease in fashion history. It wasn’t just the three interminable months’ wait since untold thousands signed up to her website on July 27, it was also the nearly six-year-long endurance of the Philophiles after she left Celine in 2017.

30 per cent of nightclubs have shut their doors permanently since 2020, with the Midlands and the North seeing the most losses.Michael Kill, CEO of the NTIA, issued a statement saying: “These figures are not just numbers; they represent the livelihoods, dreams, and cultural heritage of our communities. The night time economy, which includes a thriving ecosystem of independent businesses, has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and cost inflation.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Christine Romans, a veteran financial journalist who had been with CNN for more than two decades, has joined NBC News. In her new role, Romans will be charged with “reporting across all platforms of NBC News, including writing for digital and on MSNBC,” according to a memo issued Monday by Catherine Kim, senior vice president editorial for NBC News.

As expected, Christine Romans is joining NBC News after her departure from CNN last summer.

It's no secret that house prices have skyrocketed across the UK over the last two decades, especially in the last five years. Rising demand and low supply has pushed property costs further and further up, with the average house price having increased dramatically since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

A Green MSP has claimed she does not use an official Scottish Government phone.

Plans to convert a hotel into a shared house for 18 people have been thrown out due to fears of noise, increased crime and ‘sub-standard accommodation’.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor “That’s like a billion dollars in Indiana.” That quip from Bobby Axelrod is one of the memorable lines in the series finale of “Billions,” the Showtime drama series that wrapped its seven-season run Oct. 27 with the crowd-pleasing episode “Admirals Fund.” Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis, delivers that line as he takes a victory lap after demolishing his latest foil, rival hedge fund manager Mike Prince (Corey Stoll). It’s a reference to that fact that Prince, after an elaborate sting pulled off by Axelrod and the core “Billions” ensemble, is left wiped out but for $100 million he invested with Black-owned banks a few years ago.

SNP MP Drew Hendry has asked the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if it has “made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the upcoming cost of living payment eligibility cut off dates” for certain people claiming Universal Credit. The Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Economy specifically highlighted those on Universal Credit and in work, whose incomes have fallen as a result of ill health past the eligibility dates.

Bury Market traders and their staff have woken up this morning (October 27) to find their stalls shut as the indoor hall is suddenly shut. The market hall is temporarily closed as surveyors carry out urgent safety work due to the type of lightweight concrete it is built with which could collapse.

Nearly 50 traders have been affected as a section of Bury Market where dangerous concrete has been identified has had to suddenly shut. Indoor stalls are temporarily closed as work is carried out to determine whether repairs are required due to the type of concrete at the market.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Hipgnosis Songs Fund — the company that led the music-catalog gold rush of recent years by spending more than $2 billion for song assets by Neil Young, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others — is facing an uncertain future as some 83.2% of its investors voted Thursday that a new board make major structural changes to the overextended company. Investors also rejected a proposal by its leadership to shore up its finances by selling off around $440 million of its 65,000-song catalog to a sister fund backed by Blackstone.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has brought in a new rule change that will affect thousands of families on Universal Credit.

Labour has called for Rishi Sunak to call a general election as he nears a year as Prime Minister.

BreAnna Bell After the AMPTP walked away from the negotiating table over a week ago, Ted Sarandos is hopeful that the upcoming conversations with SAG-AFTRA on Tuesday will lead to a suitable agreement for both parties. “I’m an optimist. I’m an eternal optimist.

Scottish Government “underfunding” of universities has left the sector increasingly dependent on cash from foreign students, Tories have claimed, as figures showed the number of new students coming to Scotland to start their degrees has trebled since the SNP came to power.

Air Canada has extended its non-stop service between Edinburgh Airport and its Toronto hub and to celebrate, they are giving one lucky reader the chance to win two Economy Class round-trip tickets flying from Edinburgh to Toronto!

Some pensioners could have to start setting money aside for out-of-the-blue tax bills, a consultancy firm is warning.

Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is returning home on a special flight from Dubai, ending four years of self-imposed exile as he seeks to win the support of voters ahead of parliamentary elections due in January.

A 'high-end boutique hotel' with a restaurant, bar, spa and pool will be built in Manchester city centre's Castlefield district. Plans for the five-star hotel on Liverpool Road, approved by Manchester council, include 36 rooms across five floors.

Bars and restaurant owners across Greater Manchester have spoken of their fears that they 'may not survive' this Christmas if rail strikes go ahead again. It was announced yesterday that rail workers have agreed to keep striking for the next six months due to ongoing disagreements regarding pay and working conditions.

Plans for a new motorway service off the M56 in Cheshire are set to be approved next week.

Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) is to invest £150million in a joint venture behind one of the largest regeneration projects in the region.

Big Brother is seeing major drama on the horizon as eight housemates are forced on "basic rations" while others "are provided with luxury meals".This follows as the first shopping task of the series has arrived and this week the Big Brother House has been turned into global company Big Bros Ltd. All of the housemates line up behind the desks that have been set up in the lounge as Big Brother says: ”Over the next two days, you will be taking part in a series of tasks around the office in an effort to win a luxury shopping budget.

Wythenshawe Civic is set to go through a ‘once in a lifetime' regeneration with the council looking for a developer to deliver the new site.

Plans to expand MediaCityUK and Salford Quays with thousands of new homes have been met with excitement - but not everyone is happy about the proposals.