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Brightly coloured kites filled Lahore's skies this weekend as the Basant festival returned after a 19-year ban and ran for three days under tighter safety measures.

A plaque for Emil Wojcik will be unveiled at Buckie Thistle Function Hall this Saturday at 12 noon, and the community is invited to attend an event featuring music and remarks.

A 15-year-old from Blackpool completed a 1,000-mile running challenge and raised £650 for Make-A-Wish UK; she says she will continue fundraising with marathon training and other events.

A woman describes losing two stone while taking Mounjaro and then experiencing notable hair shedding; experts and tests discussed possible causes, and the article reports that the shedding later eased and regrowth began.

Fifty live CDs from a John Kirkpatrick and Sue Harris concert on October 2, 2024 are being sold at the Wyeside for £12 each, with proceeds supporting the venue's live music programme. The Wyeside's next folk fundraiser is scheduled for Friday 27 February and will feature Pete Coe with support from trio Culverake.

A coalition of northern mayors launched 'The Great North' campaign asking the government to back future Olympic and Paralympic bids based in northern England and to work on feasibility studies and legacy planning.

Lidl will invest £29 million in staff pay and says the changes take effect on March 1, 2026.

Durham Stick Makers received an £1,836 grant from the Banks Group's Banks Community Fund to buy three new frame sets, increasing the group's capacity as it works to grow membership and preserve the traditional walking-stick craft.

Singer and composer Matti Caspi has died at 76 in Tel Aviv after a battle with cancer, his family announced and paid tribute.

Paranormal writer Michele Liddle plans the Northumberland Haunted Museum in Amble to record local folklore, culture and history rather than provide jump scares, and has launched a £25,000 crowdfunding appeal with the aim of opening by late spring or early summer.

A 76-year-old British woman who went missing while walking in Tenerife was found alive in a ravine nearly 30 hours later and airlifted to hospital.

Chesterfield, about half an hour from Sheffield and under 90 minutes from Manchester, is home to roughly 80 independent shops and a busy market; locals and business owners say recent town-centre improvements and cultural activity are reinvigorating the community.

Firefighters were called to a large blaze at a commercial premises on Waterloo Road in Blackpool late on Friday; the indoor play centre says it was completely destroyed and will refund deposits.

They met while hiking after a brief three-minute conversation, and the article reports they later raised their baby while living in a tent.

British investors pulled a record £6.7bn from equity funds in 2025, a sum Calastone says was more than double the outflow recorded in 2016.

A woman in Wirral found an old passport photograph tucked inside a purse she bought for 50p at a charity shop and has launched an appeal, reported in the Liverpool Echo, to try to return the image to its owner.

Olivia Colman said she feels welcomed into the queer community while promoting her new film Jimpa, in which she plays a mother to a non-binary teenager; she also shared that she learned from working with trans and queer cast and crew and has described herself as non-binary.

Eleven northern mayors and former athletes have written to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy requesting that any future UK Summer Olympic Games be hosted in the North of England, saying a northern Games could accelerate regeneration and rebalance the economy.

Phyllis Young shaved her hair to raise funds for the Ayrshire Hospice and donated her hair to Ami Wigs.

An Age UK shop in the Cherry Tree Shopping Centre, Wallasey, prices every item at £1 and is reported to be well stocked with clothes, bric‑a‑brac, books and media.

Ukrainian leaders say recent Russian strikes damaged infrastructure tied to nuclear power, forcing reduced generation and at least one shutdown; officials also report widespread emergency power outages as freezing weather approaches.

Meghan Markle attended a gala in a striking gown believed to be by Harbison Studio; Prince Harry is believed to have stayed at their Montecito home with their children.

Francesca Lollobrigida won gold in the women's 3,000m speed skating on her 35th birthday, setting an Olympic record of 54.28 seconds, and Sweden took gold and silver in the women's 10km+10km skiathlon while Italy also took medals in the men's downhill.

John Fletcher has collected vinyl since the 1960s and now holds about 3,000 singles and 2,500 albums; the collection is insured for £12,000 and he says he once pulled unwanted records from skips.

Community wellbeing workshops are planned in Castlefields, Runcorn on March 11, 18 and 25 to gather resident views; they are organised by Wellbeing Enterprises CIC with Plus Dane Housing and are open to all local residents.

A local column notes retired Leicester photographer Tony Shelley regularly visits Hunstanton, is undergoing chemotherapy and is organising an exhibition in Leicester for April; the piece also recalls Hunstanton's long ties to people from Leicester.

Local death notices published this week list tributes to 29 people from across Gloucestershire, with funeral arrangements, family messages and requests for donations or specific dress; every notice also appears on funeral-notices.co.uk as a permanent online memorial.

Businesses and community groups have formed Manchester Village Pride CIC and contributed £120,000 to support this year’s event after Manchester Pride Events Ltd went into liquidation, and organisers say the CIC model will prioritise transparency and return profits to LGBTQ+ charities and grassroots groups.

Repeated Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy grid have forced many firms to rely on backup power and raised operating costs, and analysts say attacks on the energy system are a key short-term risk to GDP.

The Cats Rescue charity in Swindon and Gloucestershire has six foster cats looking for permanent homes, with some animals requiring outdoor access and specific household conditions such as no young children.