Global Trade

The number of pollution incidents recorded by water companies in England is at a ten-year high, according to data obtained by campaigners.

Surfers Against Sewage said the Environment Agency data showed the number of incidents was more than double its target.

Such spills have the potential to cause damage to wildlife and illness for people making use of the country's rivers and seas.

Water UK, the industry body representing UK water and sewage companies, said companies plan to invest £12bn to reduce spills by the end of the decade.

The sister of James Lee Williams, better known as The Vivienne, says her family only learned of the drag performer's battle with ketamine addiction after watching Drag Race UK.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Chanel Williams, 35, says James had kept the struggle – including being hospitalised because of the drug – a secret from the family "to protect them".

The 32-year-old died in January, with the family later announcing the cause of death as a cardiac arrest caused by taking ketamine.

Chanel says her brother had "a really long period of sobriety" before relapsing, something she says the family only discovered after James's death.

Plans have been submitted for a new 3,000-capacity ice rink and sports arena in Greater Manchester.

The TraffordCity Arena development has been proposed for a site near the Chill Factore indoor ski centre and the Trafford Centre.

As well as hosting a range of sport the arena will also convert into an event space that will host virtual reality immersive experiences, small concerts, screenings and live entertainment.

If approved, the land would be acquired from regeneration specialists Peel Waters and operated by the Planet Ice group, which operates 14 other similar venues across the UK.

The company's managing director James Whittaker said it would be a "huge leisure and retail destination".

"There is no other destination in the country that brings together everything that's available here in one place," he said.

"There's a lot of other things this arena cold be used for whether that be music events or boxing."

Peel Waters said if planning permission was granted construction would be predicted to take between 12 and 15 months.

The purpose-built facility could also provide a further boost for the Manchester Storm ice hockey team, which has confirmed it in negotiations to play at the new facility.

The new area would able to accommodate an additional 1,000 fans and spectators in comparison with their current site in Altrincham.

A week-long knife amnesty will include home visits from officers for the first time, aimed at people who cannot access police station weapon bins.

The Cambridgeshire Police amnesty offers people the chance to surrender weapons such as knives and machetes.

It also includes knuckledusters, extendable batons, curved swords and zombie weapons, which are now illegal to own.

Possession of weapons offences in Cambridgeshire have increased by 31%, from 312 between April 2023 and March 2024, to 408 between 2024-2025, police said.

A record 370 items were handed in during the last amnesty in November, the force added.

The home visits are being piloted in some areas of Peterborough, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire.

Those interested can get in touch with the force by email, and an officer will arrange a time for collection.

Supt Paul Rogerson said: "Regular amnesties continue to be part of our ongoing work to combat knife crime in the county and I am pleased we have a new option available to people this year."

Officers will also undertake school visits during the week, while extra patrols will be carried out in "hotspot" areas, targeting those believed to be carrying knives.

Supt Rogerson said: "Although our statistics show possession of weapon offences have increased, this doesn't necessarily mean knife crime has done the same.

"The rise could be due to any number of reasons, for example more pro-active work by officers to tackle the issue, more stop searches, or others having more confidence to report those who carry weapons to us."

He added that more than 160 knives were seized as a result of 215 extra stop searches last year.

The amnesty bins are in place at Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough and Parkside Police Station in Cambridge.

A weapons bin will also be available on 22 May at Sawston Police Station between 10:00 BST and 14:00 – and at Cambourne Police Station between 14:00 and 18:00.

The NHS app will become the default method of communication for millions more patients in England and save the health service £200m over the next three years, the government has said.

More test results, screening invitations and appointment reminders will be sent directly to smartphones as part of a £50m investment in the app, in a move away from traditional communication methods such as letters.

It is estimated that at least 50 million letters are sent to patients each year.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that people who cannot access app messaging – including elderly patients – will receive text messages and then a letter as a last resort, and NHS phone lines would be freed up.

The department says 270 million messages will be sent through the NHS app this financial year – an increase of 70 million on the previous year.

Push notifications will provide appointment reminders to patients to try to reduce the risk of no attendance – with around eight million missed appointments in elective care missed in 2023/24.

Work is also under way to enable users of the app to add appointments to their phone calendars and request help from their local GP surgeries.

Figures show that more than 11 million people in the UK log into the NHS app every month, while almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare messages from the app.

It is hoped the changes will give patients better access to manage their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their care.

NHS app services, which were launched in December 2018, are now used in 87% of hospitals across England.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said further investment in the app would bring the NHS into the digital age so that being a patient was as "convenient as online banking or ordering a takeaway".

He added that moving away from paper communication could free up funding for front line services.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patient's Association, said the upgrade was a "significant step in modernising how patients receive information".

Prof Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, said the move to a digital-first approach "must not discriminate against or alienate those many patients who cannot use or do not have access to digital technology such as tablets and smartphones".

He added: "We must guard against creating a a situation in which patients who are vulnerable, elderly and possibly without access to digital communication are forgotten and left behind – as they already are in society. "

The announcement follows measures unveiled by the government in January that it planned to allow more patients in England to book treatments and appointments through the app.

And last month, NHS England announced millions of patients would be able to get "Amazon-style" tracking updates on their prescriptions through the app, to check if their medicines are ready to collect or have been despatched for delivery.

A number of roads in Matlock are to close to allow water maintenance works to go ahead.

Severn Trent Water says Bank Road between Crown Square and the junction of Imperial Road will be closed for four weeks from 2 June along with a section of Lime Grove.

Water utility works will also close Dale Road from 2 June to 20 June.

Derbyshire County Council said the Dale Road closure would affect services calling at Matlock bus station and alternative stops will be announced shortly.

Severn Trent said the Bank Road closure was to allow preliminary ground investigations to see if the planned installation of a stormwater storage tank under the Lido car park was "viable".

During heavy rainfall, the firm said the capacity of its pipes had become "inundated" which sometimes caused water to spill into local water courses.

There will be a welfare unit and working area set up within the town's Lido Car Park from 27 May for approximately six weeks.

"This work is in the early design and assessment stages, with construction work not anticipated to start for several months at the earliest", a Severn Trent spokesperson said.

Kera Patch, community communications officer at Severn Trent, said: "We know that road closures can be disruptive and we only request them when absolutely necessary to help keep our team and road users safe.

"We'd like to apologise for any inconvenience and thank everyone in advance for their patience while we complete these works."

A pub landlady in Herefordshire has said enduring six months of a local road being closed has left her out of pocket and feeling "angry".

Kaytie Pinder, who runs the New Harp Inn in Hoarwithy, said the main route between the village and Ross-on-Wye had been closed since October.

Herefordshire Council said following a rockfall, the Hoarwithy Road was shut due to the danger of further rockfall from a privately owned piece of sloped land above the road.

On Saturday, the authority arranged for a specialist contractor to remove the rocks from the road.

The council said it had been in contact with the landowner, but various deadlines and notices had not resulted in the issue being addressed.

Bosses said they intended to hire a consultant to assess the slope early this week to determine if it was stable enough to allow the road to reopen.

"Nothing has been done up until today [Saturday]," Ms Pinder said.

"We're angry that's it's taken a very long time and the rocks have been able to be moved in one morning."

She said her trade had dropped by about 20% due to the road closure.

"I think the first few months were definitely the worst – it wasn't great leading up to Christmas."

It had also coincided with other roadworks in the area, she said.

Meanwhile, the nearby Laskett Lane had become damaged due to the volume of traffic using that road as an alternative and this had to be shut for repairs to be carried out.

This left her pub so quiet that during some daytimes it had been forced to shut as it was not worth opening.

Parish councillor Peter Pember said the rocks had now been removed and that he hoped it might be possible for the road to reopen once a geotechnical consultant had assessed the area.

"They're coming back [during the week] to see if there is any more likelihood of rocks slipping," he said.

"It's certainly caused a fair bit of disruption," he added, and said the parish council had applied "quite a bit of pressure" to have the issue resolved.

Ms Pinder said her pub tended to be busier during the summer months, however, and that she was keeping her fingers crossed that it would be soon resolved.

"It's a very big walking and hiking area," she said.

She had not been able to claim on insurance for loss of business as the road immediately outside her pub is still open – despite the closure being less than half a mile away.

She added that the daily school run now takes an extra 10-15 minutes each way, and had caused a lot of disruption for people living in the area.

The council said it would seek to recover costs borne by the taxpayer, and would provide a further update once the outcome of the assessment was known.

A major exhibition of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's creations is to be staged in London this summer.

The show will feature more than 450 original pieces, including outfits worn by Princess Diana, Kate Moss, Sir Elton John, Naomi Campbell and George Michael.

Gianni Versace Retrospective will open at Arches London Bridge on 16 July, with organisers saying it would "give visitors a kaleidoscopic view of the 90s".

Versace was one of the most influential designers of his generation until he was murdered in 1997. After his death, his sister Donatella took over as creative director of the company.

The announcement of the exhibition's London launch comes a month after Donatella announced she would be stepping down from her position.

Dario Vitale takes over her role this month, but Donatella Versace will remain an ambassador for the company.

Previous iterations of the retrospective exhibition have visited the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Sweden and Spain, but organisers said it had never been shown in the form it will take in London.

The show has been updated and expanded for the UK, showcasing 21 seasons of Versace's designs, while a new feature – Gianni Versace in London – will be added.

Curator Karl von der Ahe said the exhibition's launch in London felt "especially meaningful", describing the city as "one of the world's fashion capitals".

"Gianni Versace's bold, unapologetic vision revolutionised fashion, and this city – so rich in creativity and cultural influence – provides the perfect stage to celebrate his legacy," he said.

Organisers said the exhibition would feature the largest collection of vintage Versace designs ever to be displayed in the UK, and would also include accessories, sketches, photographs and interviews alongside the outfits.

Liz Koravos, managing director of Arches London Bridge, described Versace as a "genius of his time".

"Gianni Versace ties to so much in modern culture and his legacy is enduring, a mark of a talented designer," she said.

Who was Gianni Versace?

• Born in 1946, Gianni Versace was known for bold, flamboyant and glamorous designs, which often featured vivid colours and baroque prints

• His interest in fashion developed at a young age, with an apprenticeship at his mother's sewing business, and he started making his name as a designer in the 1970s

• Versace launched his fashion brand in 1978 and began to enjoy major success over the subsequent decade

• His brand became known for opulence and aspiration, with Versace often using luxury materials in his work, but he was also unafraid to be daring and provocative – one 1992 collection referenced bondage and fetishwear

• Sir Elton was a close friend and was known to own every silk shirt the designer had produced, while Versace's clothes were also worn by Princess Diana and seen at the time as part of her reinvention

• Versace was instrumental in the rise of the supermodel in the 1990s and worked closely with two models in particular – Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell – with whom he produced several memorable campaigns

• Versace often linked his fashion with the music world – George Michael's video for Freedom saw Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington lip-sync the song's lyrics in the music video, as well as on a Versace catwalk for one of his fashion shows in 1991

• The Italian designer was murdered at the age of 50 in Miami on 15 July 1997. He was shot in the head by serial killer Andrew Cunanan while walking back from his local newsagents. Cunanan took his own life eight days after Versace's murder

A buzz was in the air this week after it was confirmed Europe's first Universal theme park would be built in the UK. But did you know the project is not the US entertainment giant's first rodeo in this part of the world?

What was the plan?

On Wednesday, the government and Universal revealed they had reached a deal to build the complex on the site of a former brickworks in Bedfordshire, spanning 476 acres – equivalent to almost 270 Premier League football pitches.

Universal has had its eyes on Europe for more than 35 years, having started negotiations with the British and French governments to build a "Universal City" in the late 1980s.

Music Corporation of America (MCA) was Universal's predecessor.

It eyed up Rainham Marshes, a site straddling the border of Essex and London, and the local council was quick to provide planning permission.

Spanning an area more than three times bigger than the site near Bedford, MCA wanted to build a theme park, cinema, hotels, conference centre, business park, and railway station at the site.

The plans also included a nature reserve and ecology park, as well as working film and TV studios, which were rumoured to become the new home of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.

It would have cost $3.4bn (£25.9bn), according to the Los Angeles Times.

Was it supported?

Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government was keen to secure the investment from MCA, which was deciding between Rainham and Sénart, a new town near Paris, France.

Ministers were so keen to snatch the opportunity from their French counterparts that they considered changing blueprints for the Channel Tunnel, which opened in 1994, to include a junction at Stratford in east London – to provide easier access to the proposed theme park.

The government also considered rerouting and adding an extra lane to the A13 trunk road, which passes Rainham Marshes.

About 69% of residents surveyed backed the proposals by MCA, but environmental campaigners were less keen on the idea.

The Essex Naturalists Trust was concerned about the impact on species living in the marshland.

Rainham vs Paris

The site on the Essex-London border fell victim to delays while opponents pushed the government to launch a public consultation on the plans.

By 1993, MCA had set its sights firmly on France with plans to build a theme park based on its attractions in the US.

It chose a plot close to Disneyland Paris, which had opened a year earlier.

A multi-venue indie music festival is arriving in Wolverhampton this weekend.

Named Feel The Noise, the event will take place in the city centre, with musicians performing at Wulfrun Hall, Dive Bar and North Street Social on Saturday.

Acts like The Clause, Keyside and Alex Spencer are set to perform, along with headliners The K's who are currently touring the UK.

A free conference is also being held as part of the event to help people get into the music industry, as well providing network opportunities with artists and managers.

The talk will feature a Q&A and feedback sessions from industry names, like award-winning producer Gavin Monaghan who has worked with The Editors, Scott Matthews and Ocean Colour Scene.

The festival received £25,000 from the government to help stage the event, as well as support from City of Wolverhampton Council.

Councillor Chris Burden said the event would contribute to the existing "vibrant music scene that already exists in the city".