Footwear retailer Schuh is quitting The Potteries Centre - in a fresh blow for the venue. Bosses at the national trainer and shoe store say the axe is falling on 'underperforming' branches - including Hanley.

Keir Starmer is desperately fighting to subdue a Labour revolt tonight after a local elections bloodbath saw the party routed on English councils, and destroyed in Wales and Scotland.

Loyalist ministers and MPs have been deployed in a frantic bid to prop up the PM, after a series of backbenchers broke cover to demand his resignation.

So far no Cabinet ministers have publicly joined the mutiny - a moment that many believe would be the final nail in Sir Keir's coffin.

Rachel Reeves and David Lammy were among those backing Sir Keir - but there has been an ominous lack of vocal support from Wes Streeting, Yvette Cooper, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood. London Mayor Sadiq Khan released a statement saying the results in the capital were 'bitterly disappointing' and the threat to the party is 'existential' - without mentioning the PM.

The civil war reignited this evening after Labour's Welsh leader, Baroness Morgan, humiliatingly lost her own seat as the party's tally of the 96 Senedd members was slashed to just nine. In a jibe at the PM, she said the Government nationally must 'change course'.

Until yesterday Labour held nearly half the seats at the Welsh Parliament, and has never failed to top an election in the country - regarded as its birthplace.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has also conceded defeat at Holyrood, saying they had 'lost the argument' and pointing the finger at Sir Keir.

Meanwhile, the Greens have dealt a hammer blow by taking the mayoralty in deep-red bastion Hackney, as well as Lewisham - signposting more misery to come in London. The Labour leader in Camden - Sir Keir's own council - has been defeated by Zack Polanski's candidate.

SOURCE: Daily Mail

Two fire engines responded to a 'small' blaze at a popular city centre chippy. Firefighters had been spotted at Venus Fish Bar off Lichfield Street this morning.

Aston Villa produced a stunning comeback to beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the Europa League semi-final second leg, overturning a 1-0 aggregate deficit in dramatic fashion. Ollie Watkins struck first to level the tie on aggregate before Emiliano Buendía calmly converted a penalty to put Villa 2-1 ahead overall. Captain John McGinn then took over, scoring twice to seal a memorable night at Villa Park and send Aston Villa through to the Europa League final in Istanbul.

An outbreak of hantavirus on board a cruise ship is not the start of a pandemic, the UN health agency has said.

Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO), told a news briefing that it was not the same situation as six years ago with Covid-19, because hantavirus spreads through "close, intimate contact".

Health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.

On Thursday, the WHO said that overall, five of eight suspected cases of hantavirus had been confirmed. Three people have died, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman, who had the virus.

Her Dutch husband and a German woman also died, and their cases are being investigated.

Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.

The luxury cruise, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on 1 April in Ushuaia, Argentina, and is expected to arrive in Spain's Canary Islands on 10 May.

About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries are reported to have initially been aboard the vessel, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on 24 April.
Source: BBC News

Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in the Champions League final against Arsenal after a dramatic 6–5 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich. Ousmane Dembélé set the tone early by scoring in the first half, giving PSG a crucial edge in a tense second leg. Despite late pressure from Bayern, including a last-minute goal from Harry Kane, it proved too little, too late as PSG held on to secure their spot in the final.

The Stoke-on-Trent club will be replacing its current playing surface at Vale Park with a hybrid turf, which is a mixture of natural and artificial grass, ahead of the 2026/27 season.

Bosses said it would help to improve the site's durability and performance, while "meeting the demands of modern football".

But they confirmed memorials – including scattering or burying ashes – would not be able to take place within the pitch area due to the material of the new surface.

Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years with a composed and determined performance over two legs against Atlético Madrid. A narrow 1–0 and a 2–1 victory on aggregate, showing resilience and control when it mattered most. The decisive moment came just before half-time in the second leg, when Bukayo Saka calmly found the net, sending fans into celebration and putting Arsenal on the brink of history. It’s a milestone achievement that signals the club’s return to Europe’s elite stage.

Prosecutors told to fast-track hate crime prosecutions amid rise in antisemitic incidents
Prosecutors in England and Wales have been told to fast-track prosecutions of hate crimes amid a "deeply troubling rise in antisemitic incidents", the chief prosecutor has said.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Stephen Parkinson has issued guidance to prosecutors which says "any supporting evidence can be obtained subsequently" once the evidential threshold for a charge is met.

The new guidance follows a series of attacks on Britain’s Jewish community, and data showing a rapid rise in antisemitic incidents in recent years.

Explaining the decision to fast-track hate crimes, the DPP said in his guidance to prosecutors: "Its purpose is to ensure that charging decisions are made swiftly and efficiently, with prosecutors focusing on the core evidence required to determine whether the evidential test is met.

"Where that threshold for prosecution is satisfied, then a prosecution decision should not be delayed – any supporting evidence can be obtained subsequently."

The United Arab Emirates has declared it has again come under attack from Iran with drones and missiles fired towards the Gulf state.

Authorities say the country's air defence systems are 'actively engaged' against aerial threats coming from Tehran in the second day of attacks after weeks of relative calm.

The Gulf Arab state's foreign ministry said in a statement that the attacks were a serious escalation and posed a direct threat to the state's security, adding that the UAE reserved its 'full and legitimate right' to respond.

Last night, the UAE had said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats as firefighters battled a blaze at a major oil industry zone following a drone attack that authorities said had originated from Iran.

Meanwhile US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says America's ceasefire deal with Iran is 'not over' as it emerged Iran has launched 10 attacks against the US since an agreement was reached on April 13.

Source: Daily Mail