In the headlines
The government and health unions have agreed on a pay deal expected to put an end to months of strikes. If all goes to plan, more than a million nurses, paramedics and other frontline workers will receive a 5% wage rise plus a one-off payment of at least £1,655. But it’s not all good news – more than 1,000 Passport Office workers have announced a five-week walkout starting next month. China’s President Xi Jinping has confirmed he will travel to Moscow next week for talks with Vladimir Putin. Announcing the visit, the Kremlin said the two would discuss a “comprehensive partnership and strategic co-operation”. A famously virile Exmoor pony has been selected by scientists to help save his breed from extinction. Elsinore Alan Partridge will donate semen to a gene bank as part of a campaign to boost numbers of the iconic small horses. “He is a brilliant, funny boy,” says breeder Madeline Haynes. “His name suits him.”