Period poverty to be ended in 'ground breaking' Holyrood vote today

Hollyoaks star Paul Danan has spoken out about relapsing during the first UK lockdown, which left him homeless and alone in a hotel room taking cocaine and suffering from hallucinations. The actor, 43, has spoken candidly about the experience and how getting through it has got him to the “best ever” place he has been. He spoke to The Sun: “I felt so terrible, guilty and ashamed when I started using again.

Gogglebox firm favourites Giles Wood and Mary Killen have sent fans into a spin with throwback pictures of the pair from nearly 40 years ago. Giles took to his Instagram to share the three black and white snaps of the couple back in 1986.The popular TV couple first met at the age of 21. Giles was studying at Wimbledon Art School at the time, while Mary was a model.

Smash Mouth have revealed their new singer via a cover of Rick Astley‘s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ – watch that below.Late last year, the band’s vocalist Steve Harwell announced that he was retiring due to ongoing health issues that he’s been battling for several years.With the new Astley cover, Smash Mouth have revealed that Zach Goode will be their new singer.As Stereogum point out, his previous gigs include roles in bands called Ghoulspoon, Divided by Zero and Secret Seven, and a job fronting a “mock-senior citizen Weezer/Beastie Boys performance art band” called Geezer.Hear his first performance as vocalist of Smash Mouth below.When leaving the band, Harwell told fans: “Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honour performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with.“To our loyal and amazing fans, thank you, all of this was possible because of you.

The BBC’s website, Facebook and Twitter were all blocked in Russia overnight.

Stacey Solomon brought her adorable baby daughter Rose onto Loose Women with her on her first day back on the popular ITV show. Stacey gave birth to Rose, whom she shares she fiancé Joe Swash, in October and had been on maternity leave until today, Friday 4 March. Her Loose Women colleagues gushed over how lovely it was to have Rose in their pre-show meeting, for Stacey to then bring her tot on screen later on in the programme.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorRussia’s media regulator announced that it was blocking access to the Facebook network in the country, claiming parent company Meta’s restrictions on Kremlin-affiliated media accounts violated a Russian law banning censorship.In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Meta previously said it was “globally demoting” content from Facebook pages and Instagram accounts from Russian state-controlled media outlets such as the Russian military’s Zvezda TV channel and Sputnik to make them harder to find on its platforms. In addition, the social giant has banned ads from Russian state-controlled media and demonetized their accounts.Meta is among a host of other internet media platforms that have restricted or blocked Russian state-sponsored media since the war commenced, including YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit.

Megan Barton-Hanson and James Lock appear to be back on, after splitting in December. Love Island babe Megan, 27, was filmed by The Only Way Is Essex star Lock, 35, giving him a kiss the cheek as they celebrated Megan's birthday on Friday. Megan was the first to show her on-off beau James off on her social media after their split.The blonde beauty shared a video on her Instagram story showing off gifts, flowers a card and a raunchy cake in a hotel room.

Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park reported their highest number of visitors for October. Yellowstone hosted more than 360,000 paying guests, up 110% from the same month in 2019, The Billings Gazette reported Tuesday.

Bury should finally receive financial support this week, according to the council.

poverty “since forever”.And despite their best efforts to get out of the poverty trap, government benefit rules mean any chance they get to improve their lot is snatched away,Sue Harvey, 35, her husband Kev, 36, and their six children Zack, 14, Luke, 13, Kara, 11, Skye, nine, Max, three, and four-month-old Hunter live in a private rented house in Falkirk.They cannot get a council house because the specific needs of their children are not recognised under the system, which says children must share a room.Because they do not have any mobility equipment, they are not deemed eligible for their own space.But some of the children have other needs which mean they cannot share a room with siblings.Sue said: “Luke has ADHD and autism and gets

link.Scottish Tories MSP Annie Wells said: “We’ll support this important Bill and will seek to ensure the SNP Government put resources and funding in place to deliver it in the way it should be.“Nobody should struggle to access vital sanitary products due to poverty.

Salford council is in the process of recovering £60,000 after auditors identified 12 fraudulent claims for government grants it administered.A total of 6,188 applications were made for small business support grants and retail, hospitality and leisure grants in the city during the coronavirus crisis.There were 663 applications for discretionary grants made to the council.By the end of September, Salford council had paid more than £46m in grant support funded by the government, but administered by local authorities.So far, 12 fraudulent claims have been identified – but only six were paid out.All six recipients have now been invoiced for repayment and £20,000 has been recovered so far.The other six applications were halted before payment due

she told RTÉ Radio 1 listeners how tough of a time musicians were having in the midst of the pandemic and divulged her own income sharing that she made less than €30 on Spotify in 2019.‘I probably make on average €30,000 a year or less,’ she told Ray D’Arcy before adding, ‘I manage fine on that fine on that Ray, I pay my mortgage and all my bills on that, that’s what I earn a year.’‘They would assume [I earn more] but I don’t,’ she said of the public’s perception of her financial standing given how well known she is.Among the artists that received funding there was a plethora of female talent including Loah, Roe, Erica Cody, LAOISE, Fia Moon and the spellbinding collective Irish Women in Harmony, which was set up by RuthAnne and features

Perth building company was warned that he was “standing at the door of a custodial sentence” after he repeatedly punched and kicked a man to the head and body as he lay defenceless on the ground. The brutal attack took place in the early hours, near The Venue, in Perth’s St John Street, Perth Sheriff Court was told.

period poverty history.MSPs are expected to vote in pioneering laws on Tuesday requiring sanitary products to be freely accessible to anyone who needs them.The Bill comes after a three-year campaign by Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon, which has won cross-party support.It will mean schools, colleges and universities will need to provide tampons and other items in toilets, while local authorities will also be required to have a scheme available.Lennon said: “This is a bold and ground-breaking piece of legislation.

The LGBTQI community in Hungary is under threat (Pic: Budapest Pride / Facebook)

Perth man was detained overnight in PRI after his cousin struck him on the head with a hammer during a drunken attack.

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have yet to publicly say whether they will grant a meeting with Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors.  Cullors requested a meeting with the Biden/Harris team last week to discuss the movement’s agenda and lay out expectations for the forthcoming administration.   The Biden transition team could not be reached by Fox News for comment on whether they’d given any thought to accepting the meeting.  "Without the resounding support of Black people, we would be saddled with a very different electoral outcome," Cullors wrote to Biden and Harris in a letter.

limits”.