Andy Burnham on what he thinks should happen AFTER national lockdown

The songwriters who have accused Chris Brown and Drake of ripping off one of their tracks on the 2019 hit ‘No Guidance’ have hit back in a new legal filing. An attempt by Brown and Drake to get the lawsuit that was filed in relation to the alleged song-theft dismissed was high on arrogance and low on legal arguments, said songwriters reckon.Singer Braindon Cooper and producer Timothy Valentine sued Brown and Drake last year, claiming that ‘No Guidance’ rips off their 2016 track ‘I Love Your Dress’.

APPOINTMENTSSony Music Publishing has appointed Roberto Razzini as Managing Director, Italy. He will take up the role on 1 Mar. “I am honoured by the opportunity”, he says.

Graham Coxon has said that Blur will “always be capable” of reforming whenever the time is right.Speaking to Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt on their Rockonteurs podcast, Coxon said that Blur’s 2009 reunion to headline Glastonbury was a real turning point on his view of the band, and – having settled his differences with Damon Albarn – there is always the possibility that they’ll do more together.Of that Glastonbury set, he says: “It was great because I played [the songs] in a completely different way. I didn’t feel forced to play them and I felt more grateful for the situation, and PAs had come on a long way … So you could hear yourself clearly, it was less of a struggle in that way, the audiences were huge and happy, and I thought ‘well, this is a flipping good job, I’m playing a lovely guitar through a Marshall that’s cranked right up, I’m singing and I can hear myself’.

The estates of Jimi Hendrix’s one-time collaborators have sued Sony Music UK accusing the major – as the licensee of the Hendrix catalogue – of copyright infringement, while also seeking allegedly unpaid royalties.We knew this dispute was brewing, because last month the Hendrix estate and Sony went to court in New York seeking a declaratory judgement that agreements reached in the 1970s with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – the other two members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience – were still valid and enforceable.Those agreements were negotiated in the years after Hendrix’s death in 1970. In them, Redding and Mitchell basically gave up any copyright or royalty claims in relation to recordings made by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in return for “significant monetary consideration”.

Rihanna! The 33-year-old singer and Savage X Fenty designer has been slaying the maternity fashion game ever since she announced last week that she and boyfriend A$AP Rocky are expecting their first child together. On Wednesday night, RiRi didn't disappoint, stepping out for dinner at the Giorgio Baldi Italian restaurant in Santa Monica wearing low-rise jeans, strappy heels, a tied brown crop top, a patchwork fur coat and a camo trucker hat. The bold fashion statement gave fans a clear view of Rihanna's bare, growing baby bump. And this isn't the first time she's dressed up her bump! Over the weekend, Rihanna was spotted going out to dinner in Beverly Hills, California, in a revealing black lace-up top with fitted black pants, a Carhartt jacket and shades. Rihanna shared a photo of the look on her Instagram account, writing, «all black everything

Martin Lewis is the founder of the website Moneysavingexpert.com and is in high demand around the country for his financial tips and tricks. However, he found himself in an embarrassing situation this morning when power outages left him with no other choice but to abandon his usual camera.Taking to Twitter to address the mishap, the 49-year-old told his 1.3 million followers: "Eek @Thismorning was hairy."Sudden broadband outage in my area.So I've no home broadband."However, the TV expert, who is renowned for his quick thinking, soon found an alternative."I've poor mobile signal in my house so stuck my mobile in the garden, opened window, used hotspot to get a signal to do my slot via Skype on my PC rather than my normal broadcast camera," he explained.Fans who had been hoping to catch Martin's energy-saving tips in the midst of claims that energy bills will rise by £700 per year were almost in for a disastrous disappointment.@mm0jxi did not spare his blushes when he replied, copying in the This Morning Twitter account to the post, that he should have paid for a business fibre connection.However, Martin was quick to respond that he already had one."Oh we’ve had that but more classy, trenching for the garden irrigation," joked Twitter user, @Irksome73.They added: "I suspect it’s not a real business grade fibre connection, aka leased line because they are not normally affected by area-wide outages."@hwallop was a little more sympathetic, commenting: "That would have given me a heart attack from the stress!"Martin replied: "Yep! Not the easiest, and couldn't find my headphones so had to let it play from my computer speaker.

EastEnders star Daniella Westbrook has shared a new stunning selfie where she is celebrating the "new version" of herself.The 48-year-old actress shared a stunning selfie on social media with an uplifting message.She wrote: "Starting to embrace the new version of me … but still hanging on to the old skool style"Danniella also added: "with thanks to @80scasualclassics @untitled_clothingbrand #justbecause #westie #love"She took the selfie in what appears to be a car while wearing a white hoody and black cap.This comes after the TV personality appeared to be looking to the future after being snubbed by EastEnders last month.Taking to Instagram to put on a brave face, snap a glam selfie and open up about how she's feeling, Danniella let fans know that she's "growing" and while doing so, she's expecting "pain and change."The former EastEnders beauty posted a snap alongside the statement. She could be seen donning a glam makeup look and chic hat as she posed for the camera.Writing a lengthy caption on Instagram to accompany her latest snap, Danniella penned: "To truly evolve you have to grow," she started."Growing means pain, change, excepting that we have to walk away from people, make good anything you need to, wish them love & remember that season with a smile."She added: "We get one life and the days weeks months and years soon start to stack up & fly by...

including Greater Manchester where cases are falling rapidly.Michael Gove was reportedly among those arguing London should be under the strictest measures due to the high infection rate in several boroughs.The M.E.N has attempted to contact Downing Street for confirmation that the cabinet received a briefing note on potential job losses in London and whether similar impact assessments were made of other regions.So far, we have had no response.The Mayor Andy Burnham tweeted the Mail's story and said: "So it would seem the Government added an extra point to their five criteria - just for London.

Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here. And you can follow us on Facebook here.

The Mayor’s A Bed Every Night homelessness reduction scheme is being extended after a charity warned numbers seeking help have rocketed during the pandemic.With ‘at least’ 40 new rooms added to the scheme in time for the winter, £663,000 has also been pledged to support young people at risk of homelessness and to tackle the causes that could see people ‘slip through the net’.Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, announced the expansion of his flagship scheme using cash from his mayoral priorities funding pot this afternoon and called on the public to give generously to support those in need.Alongside Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett, Jo Walby, CEO of homelessness prevention charity the Mustard Tree, and Reverend Ian Rutherford, from the

Andy Burnham wants Greater Manchester to be moved into Tier 2 within a fortnight if the region's coronavirus infection rate continues to fall.The Mayor was reacting to the government's decision to place the region in Tier 3, the highest category of restrictions under the new system due to take effect on December 2.It means all hospitality venues will have to stay closed except for takeaway and delivery services.Other areas with high infection rates, including Liverpool and London, have been placed in the Tier 2 category that allows venues to open if they serve a substantial meal.Parts of Greater Manchester, including Stockport and Trafford, have infection rates that are below the national average.Mr Burnham appeared to accept that the

government announcing this morning that Manchester will be placed in Tier 3 when national lockdown ends on December 2, the mayor says the 'halfway house approach' taken to lockdown is partly to blame.Reacting to the news that the region now faces the toughest measures for at least another fortnight, he told the Manchester Evening News: "It was a personal view and maybe not everybody's view, but I think schools should have been included in the national circuit break, because actually it would have benefited schools as well."People talked about kids spending time out of the classroom, but they are spending time out of the classroom and actually it probably would have helped everybody if we'd got the cases down much lower and then schools

Andy Burnham says it is ‘more likely than not’ that Greater Manchester will be put into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions despite falling infection rates.The mayor is expecting that the new measures, due to be shared with leaders tomorrow, will be applied consistently across the city-region.But the government has been urged to look at Greater Manchester’s position in two weeks when the first review of the revised arrangements takes place.There are widely-held expectations that almost no regions in England will be in anything lower than Tier 2 once the national lockdown ends on December 2.Greater Manchester had been in Tier 3 before the lockdown after reporting some of the highest Covid-19 rates in the country.Things have changed

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.A joint statement issued by the four UK governments said they had been working closely together to find a way for family and friends to see each other, recognising it must be “limited and cautious”.Boris Johnson warned families they must make a “personal judgement” about the risks of coronavirus to vulnerable loved ones when forming a Christmas bubble.“We can’t afford to throw caution to the wind.

Matt Hancock has admitted the Government will stop negotiating with local leaders over Covid-19 restrictions after its bust up with Greater Manchester.

Grant Shapps had appeared to blame the row for Greater Manchester's high coronavirus infection rates.

hereLast month Andy Burnham and other local leaders spent two weeks negotiating with the government for better financial support to help businesses that would be forced to close, the self-employed and others who lose income, before Tier 3 was eventually imposed. Mr Shapps responded by saying 'individual negotiations' last time led to rates not being 'gotten on top of as quickly as possible'.He said that Liverpool, which agreed to Tier 3 'quite quickly' had seen cases come down quickly and called the city 'a success story'.He added that the government had seen that 'elsewhere' things hadn't been as successful and that regions that were slower to go into Tier 3 did not see cases reduce.Ms Burley responded: "So just to be clear, it's Andy

at the latest Greater Manchester press conference, Mr Burnham said the hospital situation may be stabilising but stressed it is ‘early days’ in terms of positive trends.

Andy Burnham has warned against the introduction of ‘permanent’ coronavirus restrictions once the national lockdown ends.The mayor of Greater Manchester says talks are underway between local leaders and the government about what will happen after December 2.Changes to the national tiered system of restrictions were being considered according to Mr Burnham, though he admitted that it was likely that the city-region would remain in Tier 3.In their decision-making the government has been urged to consider the fact that Greater Manchester has been under tighter measures for four months.A ‘clear downward trajectory’ in Covid-19 cases across the region could also work in their favour, suggested Mr Burnham.But he told a press conference on

Andy Burnham said more power needs to be taken out of Westminster after Boris Johnson labelled Scottish devolution a 'disaster'.The mayor of Greater Manchester said he was left a 'little worried' by the prime minister's comments.The PM  is understood to have told MPs that devolution had been “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake” during a meeting.Downing Street sources did not deny Mr Johnson made the comments, which were first reported by the Sun, during a discussion with the Northern Research Group of backbenchers.They insisted 'the PM has always supported devolution', but 'not when it’s used by separatists and nationalists to break up the UK', with the context of his remarks unclear.Responding to his comments in an interview with Sky News on

reports Business Live. Greater Manchester continued to see a spike in Covid-19 cases on Thursday - but the overall infection rate continued on a downward trend.