5 days agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Man Utd fans unveil anti-Marcus Rashford banner in away end days after he revealed plan to leave Old Trafford
MANCHESTER UNITED fans have hit out at Marcus Rashford with a banner following the star’s admission that he is ready to leave the club.
Red Devils supporters displayed a message for their wantaway ace in the away end during their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Tottenham – a game which Rashford had been left out of.
Manchester United fans displayed a banner showing their feelings towards Marcus Rashford[/caption]
Rashford has explained that he is ‘ready for a new challenge’[/caption]
The Man Utd banner was a nod to a banner about Sir Alex Ferguson in 1989[/caption]
The fans held out a banner that read: “Excuses. Ta ra, Marcus”, hinting that they are happy for Rashford to leave the club.
The banner was a nod to an old message of protest to former boss Sir Alex Ferguson back in 1989.
A fan held up a banner three years into Fergie’s stint at Man Utd that read “Three years if excuses and it’s still crap… ta ra Fergie”.
Of course Ferguson didn’t leave until 2013, going on 13 league titles, five FA Cups, five League Cups and two Champions Leagues.
He told journalist Henry Winter: “For me, personally, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.”
Adding: “When I leave it’s going to be ‘no hard feelings’. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.
“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse.
He pleaded guilty to a single charge of drink driving.
Lacey, who represented himself, said: “I’ve really got nothing to say.
“I misjudged how much I’d drunk.”
Breathalysers were developed in the 1970s — and Lacey became the latest caught after police were called to the collision on the A479 near Talgarth, Powys.
Prosecutor Shane Maddocks told Llandrindod Wells magistrates the driver was described as “wobbly” when police arrived at the scene.
Mr Maddocks said Lacey had no previous convictions.
Lacey, of Kington, Herefordshire, was disqualified from driving for 13 months — but can reduce this ban by 13 weeks by completing a drink-drive awareness course.
He was also fined £600 and told to pay a £240 surcharge and £85 costs.
Breathalysers were developed in the 1970s[/caption]
Data shared with The Sun from their out of hours service shows that 3,577 out of 6,446 cases were related to crimes such as coercive control in December 2023.
That is an increase from 3,095 in 2022 and 2,963 in 2021.
Prosecutors believe that financial pressures, social gatherings, and alcohol abuse all contributed to the rise in incidents in December.
Kate Brown, National Lead for Domestic Abuse for the CPS, which decides whether or not a suspect can be charged, urges anyone in danger to still call the police even on Christmas Day.
She told The Sun: “We don’t stop for Christmas, we’re there to help people.
“People should not be hesitant about coming forward and thinking that during the Christmas period nobody’s around to help them.
“We’re here to actually make sure people are charged efficiently, quickly, remanded into custody.
“It is sad and distressing to know that as a lot of people are preparing themselves for fun and a good time at Christmas, we’ve got victims who will be approaching the Christmas period worried and anxious that there may be an escalation of domestic abuse during this period.
“Domestic abuse is very rarely a one-off event, it’s probably a culmination.
“We know that there are lots of misconceptions about domestic abuse, that only happens to certain types of women and it does predominantly happen to women, but it can happen to anybody. And these are our daughters, our aunts, our mothers, our grandmothers.
“All of us need to be alive to the potential for an increase in domestic abuse during this time and be there to support the people that we love.
“As a member of society, we should be worried that 50 per cent of the cases that are charged over the Christmas period involve some form of domestic abuse. That’s a reflection on us as a society.”
The Labour government has made it a key pledge to half violence against women and girls in the next decade.
Earlier this year Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in every 999 centre to ensure victims get the best possible response when reporting serious crimes.
Tracey Easton, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Direct, the out-of-hours team, said that they are prepared to see the number of cases referred to them for domestic abuse incidents rise in the next week.
She said: “Domestic violence referrals of incidents tend to spike over the Christmas period.
There may be various reasons for it.
“People are more sociable and get together over that period but it is a pattern that we’re seeing against the general domestic abuse pattern.
“We operate overnight, every night between 5pm and 9am and every weekend we work and Christmas Day and Boxing Day and every other bank holiday and we are fully staffed and fully available to make serious charging decisions for the police.”
Domestic abuse will spike over the Christmas period with victims urged to seek help[/caption]
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families
Always keep your phone nearby.
Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
If you are in danger, call 999.
Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
5 days agoUSA UpdateComments Off on BBC licence fee enforcement officer knocked me down with his car before fleeing – I’m in agony and shock
POLICE are investigating claims a BBC licence fee enforcement officer knocked down a disabled woman with his car before fleeing the scene.
Amanda White, 50, who stopped paying the £169.50 charge in October, says she was left lying injured in the road.
A BBC licence fee enforcement officer reportedly knocked down disabled Amanda White with his car before fleeing the scene[/caption]
Amanda stopped paying her £169.50 BBC charge in October[/caption]
She claimed the enforcement officer turned up at her home with a letter threatening court action if she watched or streamed TV.
Amanda, who uses a mobility scooter and suffers from arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said: “He was very aggressive.
“I refused to accept the letter but he chucked it through my door as I was closing it.
“He then wouldn’t take it back, so I tossed it outside. He had the cheek to push it through my letterbox, so as he got in his car I walked up to his window to give it back to him.
“I had my hand on his vehicle and he just accelerated, pulling me to the ground. He paused for a second up the road, clearly saw I was injured on the floor, and drove off. It’s disgusting.”
Amanda, who lives alone in Chorley, Lancs, says she is still in “agony and shock” after the incident last Friday.
She added: “I’ve hardly slept or eaten. I landed really hard on the road and injured my wrist. I’m still in a lot of pain and can’t stop trembling.”
It comes amid declining numbers of licence fee payers, with growing criticism of BBC tactics.
Amanda went on: “I can’t afford to keep paying it and I no longer want to watch the BBC, it’s as simple as that.”
Dennis Reed, director of campaign group Silver Voices, said: “Some of these enforcers act as if they are bailiffs, using lawful powers, when they are nothing more than cheap salesmen.
“We have long called for an independent inquiry into the threatening tactics used by TV Licensing.”
A TV Licensing spokesman said it was also investigating, adding: “We expect the highest standards from those working for us and take any allegations extremely seriously.”
Amanda uses a mobility scooter and suffers from arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[/caption]
White, who lives alone, says she is still in ‘agony and shock’ after the incident last Friday[/caption]
Katy Perry surprised fans with a deluxe version of her album 143 – with four new songs[/caption]
Katy sings hits such as California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Dark Horse and Firework on the ITV concert spectacular[/caption]
The newly extended version of her album is called 1432 and features tracks I Woke Up, Has A Heart, No Tears For New Year’s and OK[/caption]
She wore a corset and angel wings as one of three outfits in the special, where she sings hits such as California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Dark Horse and Firework.
Katy also shares her love for Percy Pigs and Colin the Caterpillar sweets, so I expect she will be getting a nice delivery of treats from M&S when she is back in the UK for her tour next year.
The newly extended version of her album is called 1432 and features tracks I Woke Up, Has A Heart, No Tears For New Year’s and OK.
The last of those is her new single and it sounds like it was written about tough times with her fiancé Orlando Bloom.
She sings: “Are we gonna make it? Are we gonna fake it? Don’t always wanna face it, so we just get wasted.
“Let’s make a toast to everything we’ve been through, cos I don’t always like you, but I’m always going to love you.”
LIL WAYNE BIG BUCKS BOTHER
CHRIS BROWN, Lil Wayne and Marshmello have been slammed after it was revealed they allegedly misused American taxpayer Covid grants to fund their luxury lifestyles.
They were paid millions from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, which was championed by President Donald Trump to help struggling independent venues and artists when the industry shut down in 2020.
Lil Wayne has also been slammed for allegedly using the grants to fund a luxury lifestyle[/caption]
DJ Marshmello was given $9.9million and pocketed the lot, at a time when millions of people were struggling to make ends meet[/caption]
Lil Wayne sold the masters for his label Young Money for $100million, he received a $8.9million grant which was spent on hotels and travel to nightclubs.
The shock report from Business Insider also found Chris was given an $10million grant, with $5.1million of that going directly to him and $80,000 of it funding his 33rd birthday party, where he had nude women in body paint and a state-of-the-art dancefloor.
DJ Marshmello was given $9.9million and pocketed the lot, at a time when millions of people were struggling to make ends meet.
COLDPLAY singer Chris Martin thinks that the group “deserve” to get a certain amount of mocking, despite all their success.
He told Rolling Stone mag: “We’re four white, middle-class men from England. We deserve to take some s**t for what our people have done. As you become the biggest band in the world, you also be- come the least popular band in the world.”
On ignoring their critics, he added: “We are consciously trying to fly the flag for love being an approach to all things.”
DUA LIPA’s 2025 tour has been named O2 Priority’s best-selling of the year.
The telecoms company revealed it has this year sold 1.54million tickets through its Priority Tickets platform, which allows users to snap up tickets before they go on sale to the wider public.
Ahead of stadium shows in the UK next year, Dua topped the list, followed by Peter Kay for his arena comedy tour and Lana Del Ray for her summer 2025 stadium performances.
ROBERT WARY OF DOORSTEP FANS
THE CURE’s Robert Smith feels threatened by some fans, saying he can sympathise with Chappell Roan after she asked people not to approach her in public.
On the Sidetracked podcast with Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw, he said: “You want people to feel like they think they’re engaging with you.
Robert Smith feels threatened by some fans, saying he can sympathise with Chappell Roan after she asked people not to approach her in public[/caption]
“But it is a modern-world phenomenon that there is a sense of entitlement that didn’t used to be there amongst fans when we started out.
“We obviously have experienced quite a lot of obsessive fan behaviour down the years and it can feel quite threatening, honestly.
“If you have people sleeping outside your front door or the like, it can get very weird.
“But when it comes to your front door and people are there and they feel like the cosmos has fated them to you, you’re dealing with people who perhaps aren’t quite, you know, right.”
CHRISTMAS NO1 SHOCKER WHAM! versus, er, SIR STARMER & THE GRANNY HARMERS
THERE is a last-minute entry battling Wham!’s classic Last Christmas for the festive No1 spot – from a band called Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers.
One of our lovely readers, Mike, got in touch to tell me the song had topped the download charts and when I checked last night it was still at No1.
It has now leapt to second favourite with bookies William Hill, with odds of it going to No1 slashed from 20/1 to 12/1 in 24 hours.
The tune was created by writer Chris Middleton, who tweaked the words of MUD’s Lonely This Christmas to make the track.
While the lyrics are brilliant, and give Sir Keir and his OAP-robbing cronies a good kicking, the best part is that money raised is all going to Age UK.
Give it a listen and if you’ve got a spare few quid, please join me in donating at justgiving.com/page/freezing-this-christmas.
Thanks to kind and clever people like Chris, Starmer’s frankly shameful decision to axe these payments will not be forgotten by any of us.
I just hope No10’s boiler breaks in time for the big day.
5 days agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Age-old mystery of why the chicken crossed the road revealed thanks to rescued fowl which lives at pub
A HEN caught playing chicken with traffic on busy country roads has been given a custom hi-vis jacket.
Rescue bird Billie Jean likes to wander near her home at The Railway Inn.
Rescue bird Billie Jean likes to wander near her pub home[/caption]
Locals decided to give the chicken a hi-vis jacket[/caption]
But landlady Sharron Brimble said their adventurous egg-layer, who is well-known with regulars, has started to “wander a little bit further afield than the pub garden”.
The bird has been seen living on a wing and a prayer dodging traffic.
So Sharron has now decided to give her a bright jacket to wear outside the pub in Cam, Gloucestershire, so drivers can avoid her.
The mini hi-vis jacket even has room for Billie Jean’s wings and a reflective strip so she can be seen on her adventures.
Sharron said: “We’ve had a few comments online on Facebook saying that they were worried about Billie Jean crossing the road.
“So we decided to get her a hi-vis jacket.
“She’s a real character and likes to be on her own — she doesn’t like to be around any other chickens.”
Sharron added: “Billie Jean likes to be fed, particularly cheese crackers when she sometimes comes inside the pub. We hope that this high-vis keeps her safe.”
Pub-goers have shared their delight at the chicken getting a hi-vis.
One local said: “Billie Jean regularly enacted the age-old joke ‘Why did the chicken cross the road’. She’s our chicken superstar.”
Another posted: “Well done to all the staff and regulars of The Railway Inn for taking in Billie Jean — and for fitting her out in her very smart new hi-vis vest to keep her safe.”
One joked: “I like the red hard hat as well.”
Billie Jean lives at The Railway pub in Gloucestershire[/caption]
The popular hen can now be seen by drivers as she wanders the pub grounds[/caption]
5 days agoUSA UpdateComments Off on I’m sick of brands throwing sequins at every Christmas outfit – it’s naff, itchy & makes you look like a giant bauble
WALK into any clothes shop at this time of year and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into an explosion in the Strictly dressing room.
You can’t move for sequins or gems . . . and I have had enough.
There is simply no escape from the smothering avalanche of glitter and sparkles that cascades into stores in November[/caption]
You don’t need sequins to shimmer this Christmas[/caption]
In the same way we’re bombarded by cheesy Christmas music blaring from supermarket speakers, in high street clothing stores it’s row upon row of sequins.
Last week, fashion brand Karen Millen reported that searches for sequins had skyrocketed by more than 5,000 per cent.
Take a stroll down any high street — if you can manage to avoid the crazed customers still on the hunt for their perfect party outfit.
And if you dare to enter, you’ll be met with the retina-burning glare from sequins, itch-inducing tinsel fabric and other jewel-encrusted horrors.
In fact, if you go into any shop that sells clothing, you’ll struggle NOT to exit looking like a festive bauble.
Now, don’t think I’m the Grinch quite yet. I love Christmas.
I think it’s fantastic that everyone makes an effort to get dressed up.
But she gave it a festive spin by attaching a large bow hair clip to the collar that cost just £20 from Jigsaw.
While we’re on the subject of bargains, although some sequins are cheap, they are still not cost-effective.
You won’t be wearing your party outfit for the rest of 2025 and by the time Christmas comes around again, you’ll likely be after a new spangly creation.
As I said, I’m all for getting glammed up at Christmas, but take this time to look amazing — not like you’ve had a fight with your Christmas tree . . . and lost
In response to the query on X, Nestle stated: “Unfortunately, After Eight Straws have already been discontinued.”
The sweet treat, first introduced in 2010, combined dark chocolate straws with a smooth mint filling.
Shoppers have long loved the product, and one person has described them as “the best” on social media site X.
Another said: “After Eight straws are up in the clouds.”
A third called them “elite”.
Before they were discontinued, shoppers could purchase the 110g tubs for £2 at Asda and other major supermarkets.
Shoppers can still get their hands on the traditional After Eight chocolate squares for £2.50 at most grocers.
A Nestle spokesperson added: “Every year, we create a range of confectionery for the Christmas season.
“This year, After Eight Straws will not be available, but we will have our range of After Eight confectionery, including classic After Eight, After Eight Winter Fondant bags and the After Eight Mint Collection, which wraps up five delicious peppermint chocolate, available for consumers to enjoy over the festive period.”
After Eight mint chocolates were created by Rowntree Company Limited in 1962.
Production initially took place at Rowntree’s York factory, later moving to Castleford in 1970 and finally to Halifax in 2012.
Nestle acquired Rowntree in 1988.
Over one billion After Eights are produced annually.
The mints were originally dairy-free dark chocolate.
However, in 2002, Nestlé began adding butterfat to improve resistance to chocolate bloom.
This practice extended to all production facilities by 2009.
Cadbury discontinued another orange-flavoured bar earlier this year – Dairy Milk Orange.
The 180g snack was launched in 2021 following a surge in popularity for chocolate orange products.
This included Cadbury’s orange Twirl in 2019, Buttons and Fingers in 2020, and Tesco‘s chocolate orange bourbons.
How to save money on chocolate
We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don't have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…
Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the supermarket’s own brand bars.
Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
5 days agoUSA UpdateComments Off on I’m a fashion editor & I wore the same Christmas dress 6 different ways – from NYE to your boozy work lunch, here’s how
DEPUTY Fashion Editor Abby McHale shows you how to re-wear your midi dress with minimal effort this festive season.
From work drinks to your festive lunch, styling your look can make all the difference.
WORK DRINKS
Make this dress ready for Christmas drinks by adding some sparkle[/caption]
TAKE your dress from the desk to the disco by adding extra sparkle to your look.
Slip a sequin top over the frock to create the illusion of a skirt once the working day is done.
Complete the outfit with a pair of statement boots, such as these silver ones , which are sturdy enough for dancing or standing all evening, and a matching silver bag.
5 days agoUSA UpdateComments Off on ما هي ايام العطلة الاسبوعية في الامارات
ايام العطلة الاسبوعية في الامارات، يتم خلالها منح العاملين في مؤسسات وشركات القطاع الحكومي إجازة رسمية من مزاولة الأعمال وأداء وظائفهم، حتى يتمكنوا من الحصول على قدر من الراحة تمكنهم...