A scheduled appearance by American evangelist Franklin Graham in Sheffield has been cancelled, the council has said.

Image source, Getty Images

Franklin Graham was due to speak at an event at the FlyDSA Arena in June.

His planned appearance attracted criticism from various groups, including LGBT+ and faith leaders.

Mr Graham, the son of the late preacher Billy Graham, has said he believes gay marriage is a "sin".

In a statement Sheffield City Council said the event had been cancelled after discussion with arena operators Sheffield City Trust.

Council leader leader Julie Dore said: "All my life I have worked hard to fight discrimination and have worked with communities, especially in my time as leader, to make sure we have an inclusive, tolerant and cohesive city that embraces diversity.

“Franklin Graham, who has demonstrated his intent on creating divisions with his discriminatory and repulsive views, could affect the long established values that we all hold so dear in Sheffield.

“Following continued dialogue with the Chair of the Trust, I am now pleased that the council, Sheffield City Trust and trustees have reached common ground. I want to thank them for their hard work and commitment throughout this decision."

A man wanted in connection with the murder of a police officer shot dead during a robbery has appeared in court in Pakistan.

West Yorkshire PC Sharon Beshenivsky was killed while answering an emergency call outside a travel agency in Bradford in 2005.

Piran Ditta Khan was arrested in Islamabad on 14 January.

Mr Khan, 71, who is facing extradition to the UK, has been remanded in custody.

His lawyer, Raja Ghaneem Aabir Khan, told the BBC his client was "not guilty", they would be contesting the extradition and Mr Khan should be tried in Pakistan.

Officials in Pakistan said Mr Khan had had been living in a rented home, alongside his wife, in the outskirts of Islamabad for the last year.

Extradition proceedings are expected to last a number of months.

Tom Burridge
Transport correspondent, BBC News

Train operator Northern, which is to be stripped of its franchise from 1 March, has been losing money and failing passengers.

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The Department for Transport has been negotiating with Northern’s parent company Arriva, which is owned by Germany’s state railway, for months.

Northern connects cities like Preston and Blackburn in the west to places like York and Hull in the east via major cities like Leeds and Manchester. This network has been beset with problems for years.

Nationalisation means Northern’s parent company Arriva and the Department for Transport have ultimately failed to reach a deal which is politically and commercially acceptable to both sides.

Northern has had staffing issues and the introduction of new trains has not been well managed.

The Department for Transport governs the railways and signed the original franchise contract, so it takes part of the blame too.

But there is a more fundamental problem - too often, rail lines in the north of England can’t cope with the volume of trains.

Delays to infrastructure upgrades, overseen by Network Rail, haven’t helped. So nationalising the railway will bring no real change overnight.

Ministers will see it as a temporary solution, believing simpler contracts with less risk or financial reward for companies are a model for the future.

Transport Minister Grant Shapps has been outlining what will happen next after he announced train operator Northern is to lose its franchise in March.

Image source, PA Media

The decision, which will see the troubled company brought under government control, follows months of major disruption and complaints from passengers about poor services and old rolling stock.

Mr Shapps said the service will be run by a public-sector operator entirely owned by the Department for Transport and run by "experienced railway managers".

He said the company will:

• Continue work to roll out 101 new trains on the network
• Remove all Pacer trains in Yorkshire by spring
• Bring more electric trains on the network in the north
• Trial new technology to combat overcrowding
• Boost capacity into Leeds
• Extend platforms at 30 stations to accommodate longer trains
• Deep clean all trains

Transport Minister Grant Shapps has said Northern will be taken into public ownership after the government stripped the train operator of its franchise.

In a statement, Mr Shapps said: "In January I announced that the Northern franchise was no longer financially sustainable and would only be able to continue for a small number of months.

"I am announcing today that from 1 March the Northern Rail franchise will be taken into public ownership and the government will begin operating services through the public-sector operator - the so-called operator of last resort.

"This is a new beginning for Northern, but it is only a beginning.

"Northern's network is huge and complex, some of the things which are wrong are not going to be quick or easy to put right. Nonetheless, I am determined that Northern passengers see real and tangible improvements across the network as soon as possible."

Train operator Northern is to lose its rail franchise and will be nationalised from 1 March, the government has just announced.

The company has been criticised for unacceptable delays and the poor standard of its rolling stock.

More details to follow...

A teenager who had been missing from Newport in East Yorkshire has been found "safe and well", police say.

Kiera May, 14, has been located following an appeal, according to Humberside Police.

The school bus was taking 21 pupils to two schools in Sheffield at the time of the crash.

Police are asking for help to find a missing West Yorkshire teenager who was last seen yesterday.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

Connor Maxfield, 16, hasn't spoken to his family since he was seen at about 16:40 on Tuesday in the East Ardsley area.

The teenager, who is from Swillington, is thought to be wearing black cargo trousers, a grey Vans jumper and red Vans trainers.

Anybody who has seen Connor is being asked to get in touch with police by calling 101.

The 38-storey building in Sheffield would be 5m (16ft) taller than Bridgewater Place in Leeds.

Masked and armed robbers have targeted a jewellers store in Leeds city centre.

Image source, Google

Five suspects smashed their way into the Philip Stoner shop in County Arcade at about 10:30.

They got into a number of display cabinets, but it is not yet known what was taken, police say.

The men then fled in a car which was waiting outside the arcade.

Det Insp Guy Shackleton said: "There are no reports of anyone being physically injured, but this will have clearly been a distressing incident for the shop staff involved and for those who were nearby."

Officers remain at the scene while a forensic examination takes place.

Police say they want to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident and are particularly keen to hear from people who may have filmed it on their mobile phones.

The towers on Withernsea Pier will be opened to the public for the first time in decades later this year.

Image source, Paul Glazzard/Geograph

It follows repairs to the Victorian structures, which once marked the entrance to the town's seaside pier.

The pier first opened in 1878 and stretched almost 1,200ft out to sea.

Two years later, it was damaged when a barge crashed through it during a storm.

The work has been carried out by East Riding of Yorkshire Council which will now lease the towers to the Withernsea Pier and Promenades Association.

They'll officially open this Easter.

Two Sheffield schools whose pupils were on board a bus which crashed this morning have issued statements about the incident.

The shared bus service between Sheffield High School for Girls and Birkdale School crashed into a barbers shop at about 07:45 this morning on Handsworth Road, Sheffield.

Mrs Nina Gunson, Head of Sheffield High School for Girls, said: "An independently operated school bus travelling from Worksop to Sheffield Girls’ was involved in a road traffic accident.

"15 pupils from Sheffield Girls’ were travelling on the bus. All children have been assessed by the emergency services and a small number have been treated for minor injuries.

"All children are safe and are being looked after. Parents of children involved in the accident have been made aware.”

In a statement from Birkdale School, headmaster Peter Harris said six pupils suffered "minor injuries" in the crash "but thankfully are not badly hurt".

"Thank you to the emergency services for their efforts in looking after our pupils and those on the bus from Sheffield Girls'", he added.

Underwater search teams, dogs and drones have been used by officers searching for missing teenager Mateusz Lugowski.

Image source, WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE

The 16-year-old was last seen on CCTV near the Domino's Pizza, in Caldervale Road, Wakefield, at 15:14 on 19 January.

He was then spotted by school friends at 15:20 close to the river, behind the Evans Halshaw garage (pictured below) at Chantry Bridge.

Image source, GOOGLE

Det Insp Phil Davis said: "The disappearance of Mateusz is causing his family so much pain, they desperately want some news and have been out in the area where he was last seen searching for him."

If you have any information, West Yorkshire Police urge you to get in touch.

A school bus which crashed into the front of a barbers shop in Sheffield has been pulled from the front of the badly damaged building.

Up to 25 children were on board the bus when it crashed about 07:45 on Handsworth Road.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said two children had been taken taken to hospital for treatment and 17 were described as "walking wounded".

The bus was carrying pupils from Sheffield High School for Girls and Birkdale School:

Sir Michael Palin picked up a special recognition prize at the National Television Awards last night before dedicating it to his fellow Monty Python star Terry Jones who died last week.

Image source, Getty Images

Accepting the award, Sheffield-born Sir Michael told the audience: "I want to dedicate this award tonight to someone who taught me more about television than anyone else, my dear friend and erstwhile Python, Terry Jones.

"Anyone who knows or has worked with Terry will have been infected with his infectious and extraordinary enthusiasm."

On the award itself he said: "It's just great that most of the work that I've done still strikes a chord with people nowadays.

"The world is a wonderfully absurd place and the more silly we can be the healthier it is."

On-loan Hull City winger Josh Bowler could be out of action for up to eight weeks with a heel injury.

Two men have been charged with manslaughter after a non-league footballer from Bradford died after being attacked during a night out.

Image source, JEZ TIGHE/PA MEDIA

Jordan Sinnott, 25, from Matlock Town FC, died in hospital after being found unconscious in Market Place, Retford, Nottinghamshire, on Saturday morning.

The two men from Retford, aged 21 and 22, have also been charged with affray and common assault.

A third man from the town, aged 21, has been charged with affray.

All three will appear at Mansfield Magistrates' Court today.

Mr Sinnott, who was on loan at Matlock Town from Alfreton Town, suffered a fractured skull in the attack.

He died at Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, shortly before 18:00 GMT on Saturday.

Boss Garry Monk feels "embarrassment" at Sheffield Wednesday's loss to Wigan and says some players "should not be at the club".

South Yorkshire Police say emergency services are expected to remain at the scene of this morning's bus crash in Sheffield for some time.

The force said that although there are no reports of serious injuries, officers will stay at the Handsworth Road scene to secure the building.

The single-decker bus is thought to have been carrying about 25 children at the time of the crash, which happened at about 07:50 this morning.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said two children had been taken taken to hospital and 17 were described as "walking wounded".

A spokesperson for bus company Central Travel said it was not appropriate to comment while an investigation was ongoing.