Gavin Williamson to give Downing Street coronavirus press conference at 5pm today

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentReed Expositions (RX), the organization behind the international TV showcases MipTV and Mipcom, has issued a statement saying it “strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” Although Reed Expositions is a private business, it said that it will follow “government sanctions and policies in each territory where (it) operates.” In practical terms, it means there won’t be any Russian film and TV outfits attending MipTV which is set to take place in April in Cannes, a source close to Reed Expositions told Variety. “RX stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, particularly with our employees around the world who have family and friends in the Ukraine,” said Reed Expositions.

Universal Music has acquired the full recordings and publishing catalogue of Neil Diamond, expanding on their existing relationship with the musician.“After nearly a decade in business with UMG, I am thankful for the trust and respect that we have built together and I feel confident in the knowledge that the global team at UMG will continue to represent my catalogue, and future releases, with the same passion and integrity that have always fuelled my career”, he says.Universal CEO Lucian Grainge adds: “Neil Diamond is, by definition, a truly universal songwriter. His immense songbook and recordings encompass some of the most cherished and enduring songs in music history.

Madonna in her new biopic.According to Jeff Sneider at The Ankler, the Euphoria and Ozark stars have joined the list of actors who have been considered for the role of the actor and musician in the film about her life.Madonna confirmed back in 2020 that she is co-directing and co-writing the forthcoming film, and later described the project as a “visual autobiography”.Last month, the singer and actor shared a clip of herself dancing to her track ‘Burning Up’, which was released in 1983, marking the start of auditions for the film.“Auditions for my film are a surreal experience,” she wrote in the caption for the clip.

Katie Price's son Harvey has been struggling with college life - and destroyed the college shop within weeks of going there.

Most of us are very lucky as to never experience the threats posed by potential nuclear warfare in our country.

Members of the Ukrainian music community yesterday called on Apple Music and Spotify to allow artists to include political messaging in their artwork on the streaming platforms in response to Russia’s invasion of their country.As the Russian army continues and escalates its military assault on Ukraine, President Putin’s regime is pursing a prolific propaganda campaign within Russia in a bid to hide the motives for and scale of the invasion. Ukrainian musicians want to pursue every possible way of informing Russian citizens about what is happening on the ground, including via the digital platforms that have an audience in Russia.

Taylor Swift was successful in court last week in her ongoing legal battling over the 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’. Though this was in relation to the lawsuit pursued by musician Jesse Graham, not the separate and more newsworthy case instigated by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler.In the latest development in the former dispute, the US Ninth Circuit appeals court upheld a lower court ruling from 2020 in which a judge dismissed Graham’s most recent litigation.Graham sued Swift in 2015 accusing her of ripping off his 2013 song ‘Haters Gonna Hate’ on ‘Shake It Off’.

EastEnders actor Alex Ferns, who played the notoriously nasty Trevor Morgan on the BBC soap, is barely recognisable more than 20 years later in the highly-anticipated film The Batman.The role will see the 53 year old Scottish actor taking on the pivotal character of Commissioner Pete Savage in the latest offering in the DC franchise. Acting alongside Twilight's Robert Pattinson as the masked crusader, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle – also known as the Catwoman – and the likes of Colin Farrell and Paul Dano in major roles, Alex is a far cry from his time in Walford.

George R.R. Martin has celebrated the release and critical reception of Elden Ring with a new blog post.The A Song Of Ice And Fire author did the world building and background details for the game before handing these off to FromSoftware, with the developer constructing the story and rest of the game.Yesterday (February 28), Martin shared a post that said although he can “hardly pretend to be objective,” the positive reception to Elden Ring has been “music to the ears”.“Of course, almost all the credit should go to Hidetaka Miyazaki and his astonishing team of games designers who have been labouring on this game for half a decade or more, determined to create the best video game ever,” said Martin.“I am honoured to have met them and worked with them, and to have played a part, however small, in creating this fantastic world and making Elden Ring the landmark megahit that it is.”In NME’s review of Elden Ring we scored it five out of five stars, with Andy Brown calling it “a glowing spectacle of achievement” that “leaves nothing out”.The game is also looking to be the fastest selling Souls game of all time as it reaches number one in the UK boxed video game charts, with digital sales to be revealed later in the week.

With Russia invading Ukraine, the world's attention turns to that of nuclear war.

The cash-spinning Nethermills Hydro Scheme, on the banks of the River Ayr, was officially unveiled to the public on Monday.

A Scots cleaner has been hailed a "diamond" for his honesty - after handing in an expensive wallet packed with cash.

90-year-old grandmother Lillian came out of retirement to wow the “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” judges on Monday’s episode.

Ready Or Not developer Void Interactive has outlined what will be added to the tactical shooter, with a new map and more weapons on the way.Today (March 1), Void Interactive has shared a February Content Update, which details what the studio will soon add to the game.According to the post, Ready Or Not‘s second content update will add “two new weapons, a new test map, and melee suspects.”The new map is called Club, while the two new weapons are the G36C and BRN-180. The G36C is a “German 5.56 assault rifle that looks way cooler without a carry handle,” while  the BRN-180 is “a modern take on the classic A-18 with its sleek charging handle.”Beyond that, Ready Or Not players can expect their raids to be much more dangerous.

Gwenno has announced that she will release her third solo album, ‘Tresor’, this summer. First single, ‘An Stevel Nowydh’ – or ‘The New Room’ in English – is out now.“’An Stevel Nowydh’ is a song about finding yourself somewhere entirely new and realising that you’re completely lost, and acknowledging that the only thing to do in an existential crisis is to don your favourite hat and dance”, she says.Of the video that accompanies the single, she adds: “The short is part of a longer film that I’ve created with Anglesey-born filmmaker Clare Marie Bailey due to be revealed this summer.

Sign up for the latest from M.E.N.

lockdown.Ministers announced on Wednesday an extra £400million of funding to help pupils catch up on lost learning, which comes on top of the £300million pledged in January.Secondary schools have been asked to deliver some summer teaching to counteract the months of classroom closures.The programme includes a one-off £302million "recovery premium" for schools to support disadvantaged pupils.It could include running additional clubs and activities in the summer.Most secondary schools will receive about £22,000 extra, while primary schools will get £6,000 extra.A further £200million will be available to secondary schools to deliver face-to-face summer schools.The Government has said pupils have missed about half a school year in classroom

Sign up for the latest from M.E.N.

direct to your inboxGood Morning Britain made an unusual change to the end of the show today in a dig at the government. Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid were back to host the ITV show on Wednesday with interviews from Jonathon Van-Tam and Gavin Williamson.

direct to your inboxSecondary schoolchildren will be able to get help catching up on lost learning due to the pandemic with summer schools.Schools will be given extra funding after the Prime Minister has pledged another £400 million as part of the government's education recovery plan.However Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has not ruled out that a proposal of lengthening the school day is under consideration to make up for months of closures.A variety of options were looked at by the government - including extended school days and shorter summer holidays – but neither proposal was included in the full details set out on Wednesday.Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday morning, Mr Williamson said: "We’ll be looking at how we can boost and

Gavin Williamson came in for a roasting in a Question Time debate with one audience member branding him the "the worst education secretary we have ever had".