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Police have arrested the manager and owner of a Laotian hostel where two Australian tourists stayed who died after being poisoned by tainted alcohol.

MORE shops will pull down the shutters for good before the end of the year following a tough few years for city and town centres.

Shoppers have faced a swathe of closures on their local high streets in recent years as many favourite chains shutter sites.

High street shops have seen lower footfall and less money landing in the tills as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

People naturally cut back on retail therapy as they found they had less cash in their back pockets.

The decline in spending along with high rents and costs, have forced many chains to pursue restructuring plans and close locations.

Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed almost 10,500 UK shops closed for the final time in 2023.

The 12-month period also saw more than 119,000 jobs lost across the sector.

According to the centre’s data 2024 has already seen a further 8,543 stores closed and more than 130,000 retail jobs lost.

This month will be no different, with Homebase and Millets among those closing sites.

Of course, it’s not all bad news. In some cases branches will be replaced with bigger and better shops.

Retailers regularly open and close shops for a number of reasons – not just because they are struggling.

For example, they may have a store nearby that is performing better or it may be because they want to pick a spot that has higher footfall, such as in a retail park.

Homebase

The Range recently saved 70 Homebase stores from closure after it collapsed into administration.

But Homebase has confirmed that six branches will close their doors for good in December.

The DIY retailer has launched huge closing down sales at the sites with discounts worth up to 60%.

Stores in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby will all close over the busy festive period.

Three more Homebase sites in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie, and Omagh are also set to close in the coming months, along with a branch in Glenrothes near Fife.

The 10 Homebase stores were earmarked to close after Sainsbury’s agreed to acquire them from the DIY chain in August.

Sainsbury’s will convert the units into new supermarkets.

Homebase has closed 93 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.

Hilco bought the hardware store chain for £1 from Australian firm Wesfarmers, which had paid £340million for the brand.

There have been reports that Hilco Capital is looking to sell the company. 

Other retailers that have previously shown an interest in Homebase include B&M, the London-listed discount retailer.

Homebase currently operates around 144 locations across the UK.

Select

Select will pull down the shutters on its branch in the Mall, Cwmbran, Wales in December.

Select has more than 100 stores across the UK, including branches in Manchester, Bolton and Sunderland.

The brand was founded in 1980 and has become a staple of the high street.

A post on retailer’s Facebook page read: “Heartbreaking to be writing this – but Select Cwmbran will be closing. Our last final day will be December 4 or 5.”

The closure is due to Select being unable to renew its lease on the site.

Shoppers took to social media to share their sadness over the closure.

One customer said: “Oh never, absolutely gutted for you.”

The news came after Select closed its store in the County Square Shopping Centre in February this year.

In summer, it also closed a branch in Ipswich as well as a site in Coventry.

Robert Gatward Jewellers

Robert Gatward Jewellers in Thame, Oxfordshire will close its doors for the final time on Christmas Eve.

The Thame high street shop has been holding a massive store-wide sale, with owners Keith and Bridie Gill saying they have to move £4million in stock.

The sale will see jewellery discounted by 50 per cent including diamond rings, precious stone pieces, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings.

Current owners Keith and Bridie bought the business in 1999 from namesake Robert Gatward who opened the store in 1969.

They have said the store is closing because the lease is coming to an end.

Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses

Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses, in the Brighouse town centre, West Yorkshire will close for good on December 31.

In a post on social media, the store’s owners said: “After 33 years and much deliberation it is with great sadness and a heavy heart we have decided to close our doors.

“Obviously, this has been a very difficult decision to make and not taken lightly.”

The post suggested it was not the end of the road for the business, and added: “New things are coming.”

The announcement on Facebook prompted hundreds of comments of support.

Millets

A Millets store in Market Street, York, is expected to close later in December, ahead of its conversion into a Go Outdoors Express store in the New Year.

The two brands sit under the same parent company, JD Outdoors.

CEO Lee Bagnall told The Press: “The current Millets store is located in a prime location on Market Street, an easily accessible and popular place for shoppers.

“We always aim to provide the best possible experience for our customers, so by converting this store to a GO Express, customers will be able to benefit from the GO Outdoors loyalty programme, which offers exclusive and more affordable prices for members.”

A Millets site in Burgess Hill – one of the 100 stores across the nation – is also set to close for good.

A source close to the store said: “We decided not to renew the lease at our Burgess Hill store which had come up for renewal.

“This affects four colleagues, and we are working with them to see if there are alternative roles available at other local JDGroup stores.”

The two closures follow a handful of closures of Millets stores across the country in recent weeks, including Sussex, Halifax and Cheltenham.

Guinevere

Legendary antique shop Guinevere in London’s King’s Road is closing after 60 years on the busy high street.

The shop, founded by Genevieve Weaver in 1963, is set to close on Christmas Eve.

Weaver’s sons Marc and Kevin took over the business in the early 1980s but the pair have been forced to close the store by rising shipping costs.

They’ll now shift to operate the business online so it will continue “in some form”.

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Grayson's execution began just after 6 p.m. at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, AL, when the curtains of the execution chamber were opened.

Новий рік – це чудовий час для кулінарних експериментів. У цій статті ми поділимося рецептами цікавих страв, які неодмінно сподобаються символу 2025 року – Зеленій дерев’яній змії, і здивують гостей. Фарширований рибний рулет Вам знадобляться: 1 середня тушка щуки без голови; 1 морква; 1 цибулина; 1 зубчик часнику; 1 куряче яйце; 70-80 г білого хліба; […]

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Orlando left it late, Franz Wagner hitting a three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining, as the Magic rallied for a 119-118 win on the road over the LA Lakers.

A YOUNG dad collapsed and died after playing football with his pals.

Jack Derbyshire, 27, from Tameside, Greater Manchester, was found unresponsive after taking part in a six-a-side match with pals on Monday evening.

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Jack Derbyshire died after playing football with friends[/caption]

He had left the pitches at Curzon Ashton FC’s ground The Tameside Stadium to head to his car.

But friends – who had stayed behind to watch another match – found him collapsed by his car.

The dad-of-one was engaged to be married and had a three-year-old daughter.

His devastated mum Lianne said he “loved life” and that she “still can’t quite believe” what happened.

A tribute has been planned for the Manchester City fan at Saturday’s match at the Etihad Stadium.

Jack had been diagnosed with a heart issue – atrial fibrillation – earlier this year and his Apple smart watch would flag if he had an irregular heartbeat.

He was waiting to have an internal defibrillator fitted.

Leanne said her son “absolutely loved football” and had told doctors he wanted to keep playing.

She told the Manchester Evening News: “They said he didn’t have to give it up completely.

“But they told him to stop when he felt tired and not to push himself.”

Jack had stopped playing 11-a-side on Sunday but continued playing smaller sided games, having already set up a team.

Leanne said he would often only play a few minutes “just to keep himself involved”.

ÉIRE ÓG rallied around boss Paul Madden this week when he needed his club most.

Madden has been at the helm of the Ennis side’s senior footballers for eight seasons.

He has led ‘the Townies’ to three county titles in the last four years, their most recent coming three weeks ago with a facile victory over Kilmurry-Ibrickane in the Cusack Park showpiece.

But following the joy of being crowned champions again came heartbreak as Madden’s mother Vera passed away last Sunday.

His devotion to his club has never waned from when he first donned the red and white jersey more than 40 years ago as a nine-year-old.

He has been an ever-present for Éire Óg and the club was there for him as his mother was laid to rest on Wednesday.

Sunday’s Munster club semi-final clash against Loughmore-Castleiney will provide a welcome distraction.

And Madden has been moved by the support his family received this week.

He told SunSport: “The community feel and spirit in Éire Óg is huge.

“That’s what we are really. We’re a small community within the town. We love playing for our club.

“Nothing is ever too much to ask of a club member to come in and help out wherever they can.

“I certainly, personally, this week saw it in abundance with my mum’s funeral.

“So you’d be very proud to represent the club and very proud of the lads and everyone associated with the club.

“I said to somebody recently that Éire Óg is a small club in a big town.

“When we play teams from the country, the general perception is we’re ‘a big townie team’, and they’ve got more of a community spirit, but never would that be true.”

The players will be out to provide some solace for their manager when they welcome the Tipperary champions to Cusack Park.

Éire Óg have won 21 county titles but have never reached a senior football provincial final, with Kilmurry- Ibrickane the last Banner side to conquer Munster in 2009.

But as a dual club, fighting on two fronts presents its own challenges — as Sunday’s opponents know well too.

Eight of Madden’s side featured in their hurling quarter-final loss to Inagh-Kilnamona two months ago.

Skipper Aaron Fitzgerald, Niall McMahon, Oran Cahill, David McNamara, Ciarán Russell, Gavin Cooney, Darren O’Brien and Jarlath Collins have juggled both codes.

Loughmore-Castliney are champions in both codes in the Premier County, with 17 players who featured in their SFC win also seeing game-time in the subsequent hurling triumph.

Madden hailed his dual players for their commitment to the Ennis club.

He said: “For the last four or five years we’ve worked really well together on both codes.

“When you put on the Éire Óg jersey, whether you’re playing hurling or football, you’re representing the club and the community.

“The lads that play both want to play both and we facilitate it as best we can.

“We’re very similar to Loughmore-Castleiney in that regard. We haven’t got over the line in hurling.

“We’ve been there or thereabouts for the last five or six years and were unlucky maybe once or twice not to get over the line.

“So there’s a lot of similarities with ourselves and Loughmore.

“A couple of years ago we probably had 12 or 13 dual players, which is probably similar to them in that regard.

“As it turns out, a couple of the lads are football-only for various reasons. Still, nine or ten players every day go out.

“The hurlers were knocked out in the quarter-final stage in the county championship so we’ve had the lads exclusively playing football now for some time.

“We’re equally adept at going week on week hurling, football as well.”

SHANE’S SUCCESS

However, Madden is without the club’s shining light, as Shane O’Donnell quit club football in the wake of a serious concussion injury in 2021.

The recently crowned Hurler of the Year, 30, would be a valuable addition.

But he must manage his load after Brian Lohan’s Clare lifted Liam MacCarthy in the summer.

Madden said: “Shane has played a lot of football over the years.

“I think he has two, if not three, Under-21 football medals and he played senior football for us.

“But since his bad concussion injury a couple of years ago, he hasn’t played football.

“That’s not out of fear of picking up an injury, it’s more just that you’re exposing yourself to more games.

“It’s been a couple of years now since he played.

“That’s not to say he wouldn’t come back and play again in the future.

“He’s a great lad. He’s a very talented footballer actually.

“We manage the dual load quite well and it’s important that if lads want to play for the club in both codes, we find a way to make that happen.

“Most lads at this stage now don’t even really have a preference on codes.

“As long as they’re playing matches, whether it’s hurling or football, they’re delighted.”

COUNTY ACES

But Madden still has plenty of stars in his ranks despite O’Donnell’s absence.

Banner footballers Cooney, Ikem Ugwueru and Ronan Lanigan are vital cogs in the Townies’ machine.

Captain Fitzgerald played for his county in both codes and was in Lohan’s hurling squad for three seasons.

Fitzgerald hit the net when the Townies defeated Loughmore-Castleiney in the 2021 Munster quarter-final.

And Madden hailed his talismanic defender ahead of Sunday’s rematch with the Tipp champions.

He said: “Aaron is our club captain this year, he’s a brilliant guy.

“He leads by example on and off the pitch and the players all really look up to him.

“He’s played hurling and football for Clare and I would nearly argue that he’d still be good enough to play for Clare. He’s a brilliant leader.

“Leaders don’t have to be the oldest guys with the most experience on the day. Aaron certainly is a brilliant captain.

“But we don’t just look at the lad with the armband — and Aaron would say that himself.”