Successful year for Monklands toy appeal

The owners of a foodbank and a restaurant in south Manchester are teaming up to travel to Ukraine next week to bring much needed supplies and cash to civilians.

Hibs boss Shaun Maloney fears that hot-shot striker Kevin Nisbet will be out further than the end of this season with an ACL injury sustained in the 0-0 draw with Celtic.

Dua Lipa surprised an 80-year-old superfan on The Tonight Show after he went viral on TikTok – check out the video below.Late last year, footage of Papa Richy receiving tickets for his 80th birthday to see Dua Lipa on her ‘Future Nostalgia‘ tour was uploaded to TikTok by his grandaughter. The clip, which sees Richy exclaim “Dua Lipa in concert? Are you shitting me?” soon went viral and has racked up almost 2million likes since.And earlier this week (March 3) Papa Richy got the chance to meet the pop star during her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.A post shared by DUA LIPA (@dualipa)“We reached out to him, pretending that we were a radio station in New York and told him that he won a contest for the number one TikTok video of the year — he believed this, he loved it,” Fallon explained to the audience.

CHVRCHES have announced details of a huge new North American tour for 2022 – check out the new list of dates below.The Scottish trio are fresh off a three-song performance at this week’s (March 2) BandLab NME Awards 2022 in London, where they performed with The Cure‘s Robert Smith.After a UK tour that begins next week (March 10), the band will head to the US and Mexico from the end of April, playing a host of shows that take them up until the end of June. The new headline dates begin in late May.See the band’s full list of tour dates below.MARCH 202210 – Dundee, Fat Sam’s12 – Glasgow, SWG3 Poetry Club14 – Edinburgh, O2 Academy15 – Newcastle, City Hall16 – London, Brixton Academy18 – Birmingham, O2 Academy19 – Manchester, AcademyAPRIL 202229 – Atlanta, Shaky Knees FestivalMAY 202213 – Mexico City, Tecate Emblema18 – Monterrey, Showcenter21 – Guadalajara, Corona Capital27 – Napa, BottleRock Festival30 – Tampa, Jannus31 – Miami, Revolution LiveJUNE 20221 – Orlando, House of Blues2 – Raleigh, The Ritz4 – Charlotte, The Fillmore5 – Washington, DC, 9:30 Club9 – Buffalo, Artpark10 – Grand Rapids, 20 Monroe Live11 – Indianapolis, WonderRoad Music Festival13 – Madison, The Sylvee15 – Omaha, The Admiral16 – Kansas City, Uptown Theater18 – Manchester, Bonnaroo FestivalDuring their set at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, the band performed their track ‘Asking For A Friend’ from 2021 album ‘Screen Violence’ and then teamed up with Smith for a world exclusive live premiere of ‘How Not To Drown’.

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.

An Ayrshire MP has joined the campaign to see a ban on ‘barbaric’ trophy hunting imports.

The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson has seen a wave of protests today (March 5) as Russian troops advance into the region.

A charity football match that will see former professionals take on celebrities is taking place next month to mark the fifth anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing.

Sport's brand Nike have dropped a clanger involving Manchester United's Marcus Rashford at their American headquarters in Oregon.

Bloom Twins, who’ll also be performing on the night.All money raised will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee to support humanitarian and emergency response work in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.On February 24, Russia sent military forces into Ukraine. As reported by The Washington Post, The United Nations has recorded at least 752 civilian casualties so far across Ukraine, with 227 killed and 525 injured, including scores of children.

Taskmaster has launched its own worldwide streaming service, bringing together episodes of the British comedy show alongside international versions.Taskmaster Supermax+ is available now for £5.99 a month. Subscribers will eventually get every episode of Taskmaster ever made, ad free. As of today though (March 5) only the first 3 series of the British version of the show are available, with series 4 joining the service on March 11.“As I’ve been told quite a few times that not everyone everywhere can watch Taskmaster, we wanted to create a channel where fans can watch all episodes ad-free; the complete global home for all things Taskmaster,” reads a welcome message from creator Alex Horne.”Season 9 will premiere soon so people in the US can finally see me dressed up as a mermaid.

Clairo has rescheduled a number of upcoming dates on her US tour due to a sinus infection.The singer is currently on a nationwide tour behind 2021 album ‘Sling’, with support coming from Arlo Parks.Taking to her Instagram Stories, Claire Cottrill wrote: “I’m really sorry to announce that we’ve decided to reschedule the next few shows,” detailing three gigs that will now be moved to July, and two Chicago dates to be shifted to later this month.Of the reasons behind the postponements, she added: “I came down with a sinus infection in the last two days and I haven’t been able to sing at all.“I also just need to take a step back from performing in general (for a little bit),” she wrote. “I hope you understand.”See the post and Clairo’s updated US tour schedule below.MARCH 202216 – Chicago, Riviera Theatre17 – Chicago, Riviera Theatre18 – Minneapolis, The Fillmore20 – Denver, The Fillmore23 – Seattle, Paramount Theatre25 – Portland, Arlene Schnitzer Hall28 – Vancouver, The Orpheum30 – San Francisco, The Masonic31 – Oakland, Fox TheatreAPRIL 20222 – Los Angeles, Greek Theatre3 – Anaheim, House of Blues5 – Tempe, Marquee Theatre7 – Dallas, South Side Ballroom9 – Austin, ACL at Moody Theatre10 – Houston, Bayou Music Center13 – Miami, The Fillmore Miami Beach14 – Orlando, Hard Rock Live16 – Atlanta, TabernacleJULY 202229 – Detroit, The Fillmore30 – Cleveland, Agora Ballroom31 – Indianapolis, Old National CenterFor the tour, Clairo has partnered with SafeTour and Calling All Crows to ensure the safety of attending gig-goers.“Every show will have a person/resource to go to if there’s harassment in the crowd,” she wrote upon the tour’s announcement, adding that a “no bullshit” policy would be in place.