Guixiang Liu, premises licence holder at Napoleons on Bloom Street, and her husband Yanfeng He have each been jailed for 15 years over an international drugs-by-post operation.

The bar’s licence has been suspended since 17 September. The council has not yet published the outcome of the full licence review listed for 12 October.

Traditional neon sign making is listed as endangered on the Heritage Crafts Red List, and a studio in Bolton is giving beginners the chance to try it.

At Neon Creations, curious makers learn how to bend glass tubes over gas burners under expert guidance.

Its two-hour Group Neon Taster Session costs £99 per person, or £90 each for groups of four or five, and is open to anyone aged 14 and over.

Full-day workshops are also available for those who want to make an illuminated piece.

Hands-on sessions like these help keep an endangered craft alive in Greater Manchester.

Wigan town centre is transforming as the new Hampton by Hilton hotel reaches full height in the emerging Fettlers neighbourhood.

Built on the former Galleries shopping centre site, the six-storey hotel anchors a mixed-use regeneration scheme led by Cityheart and Wigan Council.

The 144-bedroom hotel will overlook Fettlers’ new public square, and a mock-up room now gives a first look at the guestrooms.

The wider scheme will include more than 400 new homes, leisure facilities and a new Market Hall, which is set to be the first part to open.

Wigan Council says the hotel will bring new jobs and attract visitors and investment; Cityheart says it is on track to open in late autumn 2027.

Manchester is taking its first steps toward self-driving taxis as Uber, Verne and Pony.ai begin autonomous vehicle testing on the city’s streets.

Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis are mapping streets with a safety driver at the wheel, and no passengers are being carried.

Uber says it hopes to run autonomous trips in up to 15 cities worldwide by the end of 2026, but has not given a date for passenger trips in Manchester.

Transport for Greater Manchester says permission comes from the Government, that no applications have been made to run driverless taxis in the city region, and that safety will always be its top priority.

For now, these early trials could mark a turning point for how people get around the city.

Fourteen Greater Manchester restaurants and takeaways are among the finalists for the 2026 Asian Curry Awards.

Standout nominees range from Royal Nawaab Pyramid in Stockport to restaurants across Manchester city centre.

Cherished neighbourhood favourites such as The Great Kathmandu in West Didsbury are shortlisted alongside kitchens in Bolton and Altrincham.

Finalists were shortlisted after a public vote, and the winners will be chosen by a judging panel and announced at a gala in London on 15 November.

Commuters across Greater Manchester face severe travel disruption as engineers carry out a two-week track renewal programme.

From 19 October to 1 November no trams run on the Altrincham, Eccles and Trafford Centre lines, as around four kilometres of track are replaced where five Metrolink lines converge.

To keep the region moving, express shuttle buses link Sale, Chorlton, the Trafford Centre and MediaCityUK with the city centre, with a direct Altrincham to Piccadilly express every 15 minutes.

Seven-day, 28-day and annual Metrolink passes are accepted on Bee Network buses and Northern trains on key routes, and Starling Bike rides of up to 20 minutes near the works are free.

Transport officials strongly advise passengers to allow extra travel time and check journey planners before heading out. Trams on the affected lines are due to resume on Monday 2 November.

Long celebrated for chaotic late-night revelry, The Trof on Thomas Street has traded sweat-soaked dancefloors for serious culinary ambition.

The storied Northern Quarter institution now embraces a clever dual identity across its historic three-story building.

Downstairs retains the unpretentious warmth of a buzzing neighborhood boozer, pouring pints for loyal regulars.

Upstairs, an intimate dining room serves hearty British comfort dishes rooted in traditional butchery and razor-sharp technique.

Standout plates like hogget mince on beef dripping toast and beef-fat chips sit on a menu that earned The Trof a Michelin Guide listing in August 2026, as first reported by the Manchester Evening News.

This stylish evolution proves that classic Manchester pubs can deliver world-class dining without losing their vibrant community soul.

The Oast House's winter Teepee has reopened in Spinningfields for another season.

The venue says it will be open seven days a week throughout winter, with live music every night.

Expect fires, fairy lights, faux fur throws, a Staropramen bar and a rotisserie chicken menu, plus a Sunday roast.

The Manchester Evening News flagged its return in its weekend guide for 10-11 October.

The Orionid meteor shower peaks next week, on the night of 21 to 22 October.

The meteors are dust left by Halley's Comet, and NASA says they are known for their speed and brightness.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich says up to 15 an hour should be visible, but a waxing gibbous Moon will interfere with the peak.

Its advice is to find a dark spot and stay up until after 2am, when the Moon sets.

Passengers across Greater Manchester found 8,000 free books on trams and at bus interchanges on Friday 9 October.

According to I Love MCR and the Oldham Evening Chronicle, 6,000 were left on tram seats and 2,000 handed out by Greater Manchester Libraries.

The giveaway was part of the National Literacy Trust's Take 10 to Read campaign for World Mental Health Day, first developed by Read Manchester in 2018.

Hebden Bridge, around 40 minutes by train from Manchester, has been ranked fourth in Zable's study of the UK's best-value autumn getaways.

The town scored 7.65 out of 10, helped by an average hotel price of £205 a night and free walks at nearby Hardcastle Crags.

Oasis: Don't Look Back In Anger, the documentary about Liam and Noel Gallagher's 2025 reunion tour, has been streaming exclusively on Disney+ in the UK since 9 October.

Disney+ is also hosting extra footage not in the cinema version, including more of the brothers' joint interview and full performances of four songs.

Sir Alex Ferguson has told BBC Breakfast he was "terrified" when he returned to Old Trafford four months after his 2018 brain haemorrhage.

In the interview, released ahead of his book Games of My Life, he also talks about losing his voice after surgery, nearly emigrating to Canada in 1963 and backing the Class of '92.

Trading Route, the beer hall and rotisserie in Manchester's St John's district, has closed with immediate effect.

In a statement on Instagram, first reported by the Manchester Evening News, it blamed rising costs and footfall that had not grown quickly enough in an area still described as "up-and-coming".

Greater Manchester is "a decade or so behind" London on public transport use, Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah Storey has told the BBC.

She was speaking at an event marking 50 School Streets across the region, which restrict traffic outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times.

Underbanks and Central Stockport has been ranked fourth in Time Out's list of the UK's 11 coolest neighbourhoods for 2026, behind Govanhill, Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and Newington Green.

Time Out praised its independent shops, cafe culture and food scene, and Stockport Council called it "another fantastic recognition" for the town centre.

Gauntlet Birds of Prey in Knutsford is helping to protect endangered vultures in South Africa, BBC News reports, including funding a "vulture ambulance" in Kruger National Park.

The centre, now home to 180 birds, says it has outgrown its site and has applied for planning permission for a new facility.

Northern says 37 refurbished Class 350 trains will begin replacing older Class 323 units on Manchester and North West routes from early 2028.

The trains will have air conditioning, more carriages and extra luggage space, and many will offer at-seat power points, after a £25m refurbishment programme delivered by Siemens Mobility and funded by Porterbrook.

Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon is due at Campfield Studios from 23 October to 8 November 2026.

The seven-metre illuminated sculpture uses detailed NASA lunar imagery. Check the venue for session times and tickets.

Mayor Bev Craig has pledged £2m for Greater Manchester's music scene, on top of £4m already announced from GMCA's Culture Fund.

The mayor set out the plan at Beyond the Music on 9 October. A Greater Manchester Music Plan is due for formal approval in December.

Sir Alex Ferguson has a new book out. Games of My Life, written with Sir Michael Moritz, was published by Macmillan on 8 October 2026, and a display about it is in the National Football Museum's Pitch Gallery until 31 December.

The Office of Rail and Road has rejected bids for new London services to Blackpool, Rochdale and Wrexham on the West Coast Main Line.

It said more trains would likely increase delays and cancellations. An Avanti Chester to Euston service was approved to carry passengers.

Manchester will host the 2031 Netball World Cup at Co-op Live, with 16 nations taking part.

It will be the fourth time England has hosted the tournament, after 1963, 1995 and 2019.

Greater Manchester Police officers were called to an "ongoing fight between 10 males" at Xaverian College in Rusholme during its open day on Saturday 10 October, as first reported by the Manchester Evening News.

GMP said no arrests had been made and investigations were ongoing. The college said police attended with no further action needed, and its next open day on 18 October will go ahead as planned.

Julie Hesmondhalgh is to receive the first Lifetime Achievement Award at the Theatres Trust's Great British Theatres Awards on 2 November.

The award recognises her campaign to save Oldham Coliseum and her support for regional theatre.

Stockport Council and TfGM are consulting on early plans for new station buildings, a step-free footbridge and better walking and cycling links at Stockport railway station.

The council says the consultation closes at 11.59pm on 19 November, with drop-in events on 15 October, 4 November and 9 November.

Lovingly Artisan, the Kendal bakery with a stall at Altrincham Market, has been named North of England regional champion at the 2026 Great British Food Awards.

It won six medals, including golds for its heritage rye flour, Northumberland rye and wholemeal Barber wheat sourdough.

New brand THE SIX will sell individual seats on private-plane day trips from Manchester Airport's Signature terminal.

The first trip, to the Champagne region in 2027, costs £3,495 per person.

Belfast travel vlogger Mark Rowan, known as Stumpy, says the Guinness at Mulligans on Southgate is the best pint he has had in the UK.

He called it "as good as you would get in Dublin" during a Manchester pub crawl with Danny from Honest Places. A pint cost £7.50.

Leighton Hall Estate near Carnforth is holding a family fun day for National Apple Day on Sunday 18 October, from 10am to 3pm.

There will be a makers market, basket weaving, beekeeping, apple pressing, campfire cooking and a new pedal-powered smoothie bike. Early bird tickets start at £1.