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Prosecutors say Mohammad Kabir gave conflicting accounts about events on July 22 in Nuneaton; he denies the strangulation charge and his trial at Warwick Crown Court is ongoing.

Alton Towers and operator Merlin Entertainments will trial new eligibility rules this February half-term that stop Nimbus cards showing only 'difficulty with crowds' from qualifying for the virtual queue pass; cards showing 'difficulty standing', 'level access' or 'urgent toilet needs' will be accepted during the trial.

Millway House Care Home donated the proceeds of a December raffle to Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital after a mince pie and mulled wine event, and hospital representatives visited the home to receive the cheque presented by residents and staff.

State officials say some South Carolina children with measles have developed encephalitis, and the state has recorded 876 cases.

Sugar use in Western Europe fell 6.7% over the past two years and in the United States by 4.4%, and analysts say wider use of GLP-1 weight‑loss drugs along with higher soft‑drink taxes have contributed to weaker demand.

Novo Nordisk said CagriSema produced about 14.2% body weight loss and a 1.91 percentage-point fall in HbA1c after 68 weeks, compared with 10.2% weight loss and a 1.76 percentage-point HbA1c fall with Wegovy in a late-stage trial of 2,728 people with type 2 diabetes.

A Staffordshire father is converting a £925 auction van into a tiny camper to raise £10,000 for Childline and has raised nearly £1,900 in just over three weeks.

Jerry Green Dog Rescue is relaunching the 60 Miles in May challenge after participants raised £8,083 in 2025, and early-bird registration is now open.

Organisers said they plan about 100 boats carrying up to 1,000 medics after last year's flotilla of roughly 40 boats was halted by Israeli forces and more than 450 participants were detained.

The Government Actuary's Department has published the first guidance for gender pension gap reporting in the Local Government Pension Scheme, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government requires fund-wide gaps to be reported in 2025 actuarial valuations with employer-type breakdowns.

Eight weeks after Australia introduced a ban on social media accounts for under-16s, the e-Safety Commissioner reported 4.7 million accounts flagged and deactivated, and five teenagers told the Guardian the rule has mostly been an inconvenience as many find workarounds or shift to other apps.

Community-led restoration in the APA Guapi-Mirim has helped re-establish mangrove forest and wildlife at the head of Guanabara Bay, even as pollution and other pressures persist in much of the bay.

Conservationists report record numbers of brown hairstreak eggs in Carmarthenshire's Tywi valley after partners reduced annual hedgerow flailing and planted extra blackthorn.

Assisted living provides help with daily personal care and offers prepared meals in shared dining settings.

The Bank of England left its main interest rate at 3.75% after UK consumer inflation rose to 3.4% in December, above the 2% target.

A Swedish study of 60,000 women aged 18–45 found no statistically significant difference in childbirths or miscarriages between vaccinated and unvaccinated women and concluded mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to explain the pandemic drop in births.

The S&P Global UK construction PMI rose to 46.4 in January from December's 40.1, signaling improvement though activity remains below the 50 contraction threshold; housebuilding was the weakest sub-sector and job losses continued for a 13th month.

Demolition at the Pitsea site is complete and groundworks are underway; the new community diagnostic centre is due to open in spring 2027 and is expected to provide about 120,000 appointments a year.

Granville Academy has begun a pupil-led pilot to address rising vaping among students, and Derbyshire County Council is preparing a young-person smoking and vaping cessation service that is pending approval.

Shrewsbury Ark reached its £250,000 fundraising target after a campaign launched in October, including a £50,000 donation, allowing the homeless charity to continue operating.

The Isle of Wight Foundation is offering grants again, with applications sought between 2 February and 4 May. Since 2014 the foundation has granted nearly £910,000 to local causes, and at the end of 2025 nine projects shared almost £90,000.

Baroness Sheehan urged the Environment Agency to clear a 25,000-tonne illegal waste dump beside a primary school in Bickershaw, Wigan, citing environmental and public health risks; the agency says removal is planned only if funds are available and does not judge the site to carry the same level of risk as other cleared sites.

St Margaret's Hospice Care's Yeovil Hendford charity shop has relocated from its Hendford site to a refurbished High Street location after more than 20 years in the same spot; the move ties into the Yeovil Refresh scheme and emphasises reuse and sustainability.

New START has officially lapsed, leaving the United States and Russia without treaty limits; Russia’s foreign ministry said the parties are no longer bound and are free to choose their next steps.

Peppa Pig will show George being diagnosed as moderately deaf in an episode produced with guidance from the UK's National Deaf Children's Society and deaf consultant Camilla Arnold. The episode, titled Hearing Loss, is being presented through George's audio perspective and is set to air on YouTube on Friday.

Gunmen attacked two neighbouring villages in Kwara state, with a lawmaker reporting at least 162 people killed and Amnesty International reporting over 170 deaths.

An Oxford Economics study reports that export deals backed by UK Export Finance added £23 billion to the UK economy over five years and supported an average of 66,000 full-time jobs each year.

Melania Trump says she is in direct talks with Vladimir Putin's team to pursue returns of Ukrainian children; officials say 15 children have been returned so far since her advocacy began.

A Russian lawmaker, Alexey Zhuravlev, is reported to have said Russia has weapons capable of "destroying the entire planet" and accused the United States of non‑compliance with the START treaty.

A trial of more than 2,900 high-risk patients found the experimental pill enlicitide lowered LDL cholesterol by up to 60% over six months, and Merck funded the study as it seeks FDA approval.