Manchester’s massive New Year’s Eve fireworks display has been cancelled for the second year in a row.
Manchester City Council has taken the ‘difficult decision’ to call off the celebrations due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
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The council said it would prove ‘extremely challenging’ to manage the huge event, with the Government guidance for vaccine passports difficult to implement at such an open and public event.
The huge fireworks display moved from Albert Square to the Manchester Cathedral to welcome in 2020.
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But it hasn’t been able to return since, with the nation in strict tier restrictions in December last year.
The display moved to Manchester Cathedral in 2019.
And now, the plug has been pulled on this year’s New Year’s Eve display too.
Councillor Pat Karney said: “We know that many people will be upset about this.
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“It was a difficult decision to make but with the new Covid variant spreading quickly – and government regulations around large events – we have to put the health of our residents first.
“For those who want to indulge in festive fun, get down to the Winter Gardens and enjoy the stalls that are open until January 2.
“But think about your own safety and of those around you. It’s not to late to get your vaccine and booster to protect yourself from serious illness.”
The council also cancelled its organised Bonfire Night events earlier this year, saying that the Government guidance around large-scale events made it ‘unworkable’.
The Winter Gardens portion of the Christmas Markets will remain open through until January 3, 2022.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
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You’ll soon be able to leave WhatsApp group chats without anyone finding out
Emily Sergeant
In what is sure to be music to the ears of those sick of having irrelevant memes sent to them every 30 seconds by people you barely know, you’ll soon be able to leave WhatsApp group chats without anyone finding out.
Whether it’s a group made up of extended family members you see only see twice a year, colleagues at work, mutual friends you’re not really that keen on, or people you only met one time because you were at the same pre-drinks together before a night out, most of us are part of a WhatsApp group chat we’d rather not be.
The type of group chat you’re not really sure how you became a part of, and the type of chat you’ve got no clue how to politely leave.
And a big part of the reason most of us can’t bring ourselves to leave those groups is because, the second you do, a little notification pops-up at the bottom of the chat to notify everyone else that you have “left” – which can, understandably, be pretty awkward and embarrassing.
Luckily though, WhatsApp and Mark Zuckerberg – who is chief executive of the messaging service’s parent company, Meta – is soon to introduce a handful of new changes designed with the aim of making written messages as “secure as face-to-face conversations”, and one of those changes is allowing people to leave group chats without other members in the group finding out.
You’ll soon be able to leave WhatsApp group chats without anyone finding out / Credit: Pixabay
The company says that now only administrators of the group will receive a notification to inform them a member has exited the chat.
On top of that somewhat life-saving change, the other changes being introduced will allow people to control who can see when they are online, and also prevent screenshots being taken by other users of auto-deleting ‘View Once’ messages.
At present, the messaging service broadcasts to all contacts of a user when they are online and have the app open, but now, this is something that users will be able to choose to share with others.
WhatsApp had also previously-warned users to “only send photos or videos with ‘View Once’ media enabled to trusted individuals”, as it was possible to take a screenshot or screen recording of the message before it disappeared – but now, the act of taking screenshots will be prohibited.
In his post announcing the new WhatsApp updates, Mr Zuckerberg explained that the company will “keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”
It’s part of a number of new changes aimed at making messages as “secure as face-to-face conversations” / Credit: Eyestetix Studio (via Unsplash)
Meta has stated on a number of occasions that it believes end-to-end encryption is the only way to ensure users are able to message each other without a third party eavesdropping on them.
Mr Zuckerberg announced his plans to transform privacy on WhatsApp in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal back in 2019, and made it impossible for Meta itself to read the content of messages that users share, which is similar to how it cannot access the content of WhatsApp messages.
However, these changes have not yet been implemented across Meta’s other platforms.
“We believe WhatsApp is the most secure place to have a private conversation,” added Ami Vora – Head of Product at WhatsApp.
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“And to spread the word about these new features, we’re also kicking off a global campaign, starting with the UK and India, to educate people about how we work to protect their private conversations on WhatsApp.”
The search effort now involves Maryport Rescue Coastguards, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, Coastguard Rescue Helicopter, the Ullswater Ranger, Whitehaven Coastguards, the Police and Northwest Ambulance Service.
A spokesperson for Cumbria Police today said: “Searches yesterday concluded early evening and were due to resume this morning.”
Anyone with information relating to this incident can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/reportit quoting incident number 113 of 7 August 2022 or call 101.
Daisy Jackson -
21st December 2021 
