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Tesco shoppers clear shelves of Lindt chocs scanning for £1.88 instead of £7.50

SHOPPERS are raving after a UK supermarket heavily slashed its luxury chocolates.

Chocoholics are now flocking to their local Tesco store to scoop Lindt’s Lindor 70% Dark Mint Chocolate Truffles for just £1.88.

200g box of Lindt Lindor 70% dark mint chocolates.
Tesco shoppers are scrambling to get their hands on heavily discounted Lindt’s Lindor 70% Dark Mint Chocolate Truffles

The mouthwatering treat has been discounted from its original £7.50 price.

The deal was posted to hotukdeals.com, sparking huge excitement among those keen to bag the delicious treats.

However, the offer is only eligible to customers at the chain’s Willowbridge branch in West Yorkshire.

Even when an item is reduced it’s always worth comparing prices to find the best deal.

According to trolley.co.uk the 200g box of chocs are selling for £4.98 in Asda.

But you might still find them reduced cheaper in supermarkets in other stores though, like in Tesco.

Shops often reduce stock to make way for new season items, though this can differ from store to store.

At Tesco discounts can be found on shelves with the label “reduced to clear”.

These items can be among full priced items, or in dedicated areas in each shop.

Perishable items are usually marked with a yellow sticker.

Meanwhile, chocolate lovers are in a frenzy over a “sublime” new Easter treat spotted on Tesco shelves.

The “posh” chocolate has sent sweet-toothed shoppers into overdrive after a keen-eyed customer shared her find online.

Shopper Emily Ellanah posted on Facebook: “New pistachio Lindt Lindor Easter egg spotted at Tesco!”

Her post quickly blew up, racking up hundreds of comments and reactions from fans eager to grab the posh treat for themselves.

One user commented, “The Easter egg I want,” while another raved, “Now they’ve upped their game!”

A third gushed, “They are sublime,” and one simply added, “I want these bad boys, please.”

PRICE OF CHOCOLATE SOARS

Experts have warned of chocolate price hikes due to a global shortage of cocoa.

Cocoa production in West Africa accounts for around 70% of global supply but harvests fell by 11% last year.

Prices hit a record high in March following El Nino weather conditions, pests and diseases affecting crop yields.

The crisis led to bean costs per ton hitting £7,800 – up 350% from September 2022, and issues aren’t abating any time soon.

A spokesperson for Mondelez, which owns Cadburyrecently said cocoa and dairy costed “far more” than they have done previously, on top of high energy and transport costs.

This has led to it having to increase the price of certain products, including Mini Eggs, while shrinking other items and keeping their price the same.

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Arsenal fans ‘will never forgive Edu’ after academy kid Gunners sold for just £4m last summer scores ANOTHER hat-trick

FORMER Arsenal academy starlet Mika Biereth has scored hat-tricks in back-to-back home games for AS Monaco.

The striker, 22, was allowed to leave the Gunners to join Sturm Graz for just £4million last summer.

Mika Biereth scoring a goal during a soccer match.
AFP
Mika Biereth scores against Nantes for AS Monaco[/caption]
Mika Biereth of AS Monaco dribbling the ball during a soccer match.
AFP
The Swede has impressed since moving to France[/caption]

After excelling in Austria, Biereth signed for Monaco last month in a deal worth up to £12.5m.

While Arsenal have struggled with an injury crisis among their forward players of late, Biereth has excelled since moving to France.

The Swede continued his rich vein of form this afternoon by bagging a brilliant hat-trick against Nantes.

Biereth’s treble helped his side on their way to a 7-1 demolition of Les Canaris at Stade Louis II.

The hat-trick made it seven goals in seven games for his new side, with Biereth having also netted in his previous two home outings.

He scored his first goal for his new side in a 3-2 win over Rennes on January 25.

The 6ft 2in forward then added a hat-trick in a 4-2 triumph over Auxerre.

Biereth is now team-mates with fellow former Arsenal academy graduate Folarin Balogun.

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Mika Biereth of Arsenal in training.
Getty
Biereth, 22, was allowed to leave Arsenal last summer[/caption]

But the US international, 23, has been sidelined for much of this season with a shoulder injury.

Biereth never made a first team appearance for Arsenal.

He made a Premier League matchday squad just once, for a 0-0 draw with Burnley in January 2022.

During his time at Arsenal he spent loan spells at RKC Waalwijk, Motherwell and Sturm Graz.

Seeing his latest goalscoring exploits for Monaco, several Gunners supporters ranted about his sale on social media.

One fumed: “2021… Edu Gaspar I will never forgive you for selling Mika Biereth.. he should have been Arsenal’s main striker.”

While a second claimed: “We could have given Mika Biereth a chance.”

Another added: “Another day to lament about the selling of Mika Biereth. Many of us knew he was class.”

Arsenal are currently without Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli.

Mikel Merino rose from the bench as a makeshift centre forward to net a double in the Gunners’ 2-0 win over Leicester earlier today.

https://twitter.com/Ligue1_ENG/status/1886192877115699652

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How working class Saoirse Ronan was home schooled & taught herself to act before becoming Hollywood icon with Bafta nom

SHE’S a hot favourite to walk off with the Best Actress BAFTA this evening – but win or lose, Irish star Saoirse Ronan has never been happier.

As she takes to the red carpet tonight for the 78th EE British Academy Film Awards – AKA the BAFTAs – there are few who would argue that Saoirse Ronan doesn’t deserve her place there.

Saoirse Ronan in a black gown on a red carpet.
Saoirse Ronan is hot favourite to walk off with the Best Actress BAFTA on Sunday evening
EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN
Portrait of Saoirse Ronan wearing a black blazer.
But win or lose, the Irish star has never been happier
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Saoirse Ronan holding a Golden Globe Award.
Saoirse with her Golden Globe Award in 2018
David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

The low-key Irish star – who recently hit the headlines after clashing with male guests on The Graham Norton Show (more on that later) – has more nominations and awards to her name than any other actress her age, having worked continuously since childhood on a string of acclaimed movies.

Saoirse, now 30, made her film debut in Amy Heckerling’s romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman, released in 2007, but it was her portrayal of Briony Tallis in Atonement that same year that really got her noticed, earning her BAFTA and Oscar nominations at the tender age of 13.

She now has seven BAFTA nods and four Academy Award nominations, as well as one Golden Globe win for Best Actress In A Musical Or Comedy with Lady Bird, making her one of the standout actresses of her generation.

Yet Saoirse has always preferred to fly under the radar.

‘It was obvious to everyone that she was a star – even at the age of 10’

Born in The Bronx, New York City, in 1994 to Irish parents Monica and Paul Ronan, Saoirse moved back to Ireland aged three, with the family settling in rural village Ardattin in County Carlow.

As a child, she attended Ardattin National School for a time, but was largely homeschooled.

The fact she taught herself to act is probably no surprise, given that her father Paul is an actor who most famously starred in BBC1’s Ballykissangel, as well as had roles in movies The Devil’s Own with Brad Pitt and Veronica Guerin with Cate Blanchett.

Saoirse’s parents played an active role in her career from the start, with her mother accompanying her on set when she was a child.

She is incredibly close to her mum and dad, and previously said of her mother: “We’ve always been very, very close, but when I moved away to London, where I lived for a year and a half, I remember feeling so homesick.

“I always need to talk to her, but she really helped me through it and helped me to get the courage to keep going with it.”

She added that her mum is her “best friend”.

Meanwhile, dad Paul recalled on The Late Late Show in 2010 how he realised his daughter had talent at a young age.

“From the age of two, I spotted something in her.

“She was an amazing kid, very friendly and sociable.

“More so than any kid I have seen.

“Eventually, when she was seven or eight, I put her in a short film I was doing.

“They needed a kid and I said: ‘I’ve got one.’”

Just a few years later, she starred alongside her dad in RTÉ series The Clinic, and the following year bagged a role on mini-series Proof.

London-based Irish director Thaddeus O’Sullivan, who worked with Saoirse on Proof when she was just 10 years old, knew she was special even then.

“She struck me, the way she strikes me now, as very gentle, self-assured and highly intelligent,” he says.

“It was obvious to everyone really that she was a star, that she had something exceptional.”

Thaddeus found her easy to work with, as she instinctively knew what was being asked of her.

“The one thing you worry about when directing young people or children is whether or not they’ll get [the character].

“You can’t go into some great big character analysis, or break down dialogue, so you’re relying on something instinctive, and Saoirse had it.”

Part of the reason for her success, he believes, is her choice of roles.

“She’s quite careful about the parts she opts for and she takes them, not for their potential to win awards, but because she feels strongly about them and is invested in them creatively,” T­­­­­haddeus says.

Saoirse has starred in a string of high-profile movies, including The Lovely Bones (2009), Hanna (2011), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Mary Queen Of Scots (2018), Little Women (2019), Ammonite (2020), See How They Run (2022), The Outrun – for which she received her Best Actress In A Leading Role BAFTA nomination this year – and, most recently, Blitz (2024).

Most would agree that no matter what the role, Saoirse’s standard of acting is always incredible.

‘More often than not, Saoirse’s the most intelligent person in the room’

She’s also known for her ability to mimic accents.

“I think it’s a very Irish thing to do accents,” she said in a 2018 interview.

“When you’re telling a story, you just naturally go into the character’s accent.

“I had grown up with Mam and Dad doing that an awful lot.”

Despite all of her success, however, Saoirse remains grounded.

“I believe she hasn’t let fame go to her head. She seems very comfortable in that [film] environment,” adds Thaddeus.

It’s all the more impressive, given that she’s grown up in the public eye, which for others would be a daunting prospect.

Perhaps it’s because she has been acting for so long that her closest mates are all actors.

Her best friend is Irish actress Eileen O’Higgins, whom she met while filming Brooklyn in 2014.

Saoirse Ronan with her parents at the Irish Film & Television Awards.
Saoirse on the red carpet with her actor dad Paul and mum Monica
Phillip Massey/WireImage
Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Saoirse Ronan, and Eddie Redmayne on the Graham Norton Show.
Saoirse on Graham Norton’s sofa with Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Eddie Redmayne
Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun.
Saoirse as Rona in The Outrun, a film that chronicles the recovery of a young alcoholic
Alamy/Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection

In a 2019 interview, Eileen said: “It’s not that different to [other friendships].

“We are just best mates and we do everything the exact same as everybody else would.

“We order takeaways and go on adventures.

“It’s very ordinary and boring.

“I love working with Saoirse because she is one of the most talented people I have ever worked with.

“You can see that from her work ethic and how sensational she is.

“She has the most incredible instincts and she is incredibly generous as a performer.

“She makes other people better in response to her.

“You learn a lot.”

Saoirse and Timothée Chalamet also became close when working together on Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and again on Little Women, where they starred as best friends.

And Paul Mescal is another actor with whom she’s bonded.

The two knew each other in passing, but met properly while playing a young couple on the set of Foe, which was released in 2023.

They were pictured last summer at Glastonbury together.

“We have become very, very close since making the film. We’re genuine friends, we’re not Hollywood friends,” she’s said of their relationship.

She was also with the Gladiator II star when she inadvertently became something of feminist icon, during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show last October, alongside actors Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington.

Eddie had been discussing how he was trained to use his phone as a weapon for his role in The Day Of The Jackal, when Paul laughingly questioned how anyone would have time to think about getting their phone out if they were about to be attacked.

Quick as a whip, Saoirse interjected: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?” – instantly silencing all four men.

Commenting on her remark afterwards, Paul said he wasn’t surprised at the reaction because it’s “massively important”, adding that Saoirse is “quite often, more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room.”

She’s also fiercely guarded about her private life and, despite her high profile, retains an air of mystery.

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden at the Emmy Awards.
Saoirse with husband Jack Lowden, who she met on the set of Mary Queen Of Scots in 2018
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Couple hugging at a concert.
Saoirse partying with Paul Mescal
Saoirse Ronan as Briony Tallis in Atonement.
Saoirse aged 12 as Briony Tallis in Atonement
Alamy

“Saoirse has always had an element of aloofness about her,” said an industry professional who has worked with the Irish film star in the past.

“It gives her an edge.

“She is also very much her own person and, with age, has become increasingly confident.

“The Saoirse we are seeing now is the grown-up version of the young actress she used to be.”

Perhaps because of this aloof quality, the most we have seen of her off-screen vulnerability is when talking about The Outrun, a film that chronicles the recovery of a young alcoholic.

Speaking about the part, Saoirse admitted to having close experience with alcoholism herself.

“One of the main reasons I wanted to do this was because I’d seen people I love be affected by [alcohol abuse].

“When you’re on the receiving end of it, there’s so much hurt and confusion and anger and pain, and all these things because you can’t kind of make sense about why someone would do this to themselves and to you.”

These days, the actress lives in London with her husband – Scottish actor Jack Lowden, 34 – who she met on the set of Mary Queen Of Scots in 2018.

The couple married in secret last July in Edinburgh, with only a handful of people in attendance.

‘I’d seen people I love be affected by alcohol abuse’

Commenting on her husband, who co-produced The Outrun with her, she made references to their deep trust, saying: “When you have a personal relationship with someone and you’re also in the same field, and you respect one another and you’ve got the same taste, and you expect the best from yourself, to have that other person there pushing you, but also believing in you, is great.”

They are often seen out walking in London with her beloved dog Fran, a mix of Westie terrier and golden retriever, and friends say she’s never been happier.

“I think Jack is really good for her,” said one.

“They’re similar in that they’re both passionate about what they do and clearly have a mutual respect for each other’s ability.

“But they also complement each other.

“It can’t have been easy growing up in the public eye, but I think Saoirse is in a really good place in her life right now, both professionally and romantically.

“She seems content and it’s lovely to see that.”

Despite her fame, Saoirse remains refreshingly proud of her working-class roots, and indeed the fact that she’s Irish.

She once said in answer to a question about her background: “I don’t know where I am from.

“I am just Irish.”

Even with all of her achievements, it’s clear she has much more to do.

Whether she wins a BAFTA tonight or not, it will surely not halt her dizzying trajectory.

  • Watch the BAFTAs tonight, 7pm, BBC1.

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I needed 2nd heart op after pacemaker & docs warned I could bleed out but that wasn’t worst part, says Max George

TERRIFIED pop star Max George has revealed he had to undergo a secret SECOND heart op after his pacemaker wires were inserted too deeply.

The Wanted singer was left in agony for weeks after going under the knife in emergency treatment for his heart condition.

Man kneeling in the snow with his bulldog wearing a camouflage jacket.
PP.
Chart star Max George is on the road to recovery[/caption]
Man in hospital bed giving peace sign.
Max had a pacemaker fitted in December
Max George and Maisie Smith by a pool.
Pixel8000
Max with ex-soap actor girlfriend Maisie[/caption]

He was also warned by doctors that he might never sing again, as he underwent a lung biopsy days later to investigate his health scare.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday, he revealed: “I thought I was on the road to recovery but when I was told I needed a second operation I was nervous, as pulling the pacemaker wires out of the heart wall risks bleeding on the heart.

“I didn’t have a choice, though. I had to have it done.”

The drama came after Max, 36, was admitted to A&E last December and feared he was going to die in hospital before having the pacemaker fitted.

Max is still hoping to perform with The Wanted 2.0 co-star Siva Kanes-waran later this year, and has a planned The War Of The Worlds — The Spirit Of Man theatre tour with girlfriend Maisie.

But his health has thrown all this into doubt and he is liaising with doctors to see if he can recover.

‘Chest was shaking’

In an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday at his Manchester home, Max said: “I was trying to get back to good health but was still having a flickering sensation for weeks after I had my pacemaker fitted and it was gradually getting worse and worse.

“When my heart rate went up, it was causing a shock in my heart which was making me jump all the time. My chest was shaking.”

After several visits to the hospital, it was only when a representative from Max’s pacemaker company Medtronic was visiting the ward by chance, that they were able to get to the bottom of his discomfort.

He was booked in for his second operation straight away, on January 15, but was warned that the rare situation could cause a dangerous bleed on his heart.

He said: “The night before, I was really nervous, I didn’t sleep much.

“I was worried it could go wrong again and felt anxious that it could bleed out.”

Max was joined at the hospital by his actress girlfriend Maisie Smith, and mum Babs, and was ­conscious but heavily sedated throughout the two-hour procedure.

He found listening to his favourite band, Oasis, helped him stay calm.

Max said: “They wouldn’t let me listen to music the first time, when I had the pacemaker fitted.” But he said of tuning in for the second op:

“Slide Away started to play and I tried to take myself into my own world. Obviously an operation is a scary thing, but the music really helped and the nurse was reassuring.

“Afterwards I was just pleased it had gone successfully.”

Max previously told The Sun how he thought of his former TWanted bandmate Tom Parker, who died in 2022 age 33 from a brain tumour, during his medical treatment.

And the surgeon managed to pro-tect the chest tattoo he has in memory of Tom, showing his late pal’s birth date.

But just two days after the op, Max was back in hospital to have his lungs biopsied after doctors found enlarged lymph nodes, risking dam-aging his vocal cords for good.

He said: “The doctor did warn me there is a small chance that I could lose my voice. That was pretty worrying, but I decided I needed to take the risk. The biopsy was pretty gnarly, it’s a camera with prongs on the end that goes down your throat. It was painful. The recovery was tough, I had chest pain and was coughing up blood for five days.”

Fortunately Max has been given the all-clear and is now focusing on getting fit again.

Max George in a video discussing his need for a pacemaker replacement.
Max’s op scar next to his tattoo for late bandmate Tom
The Sun
Max George of The Wanted singing into a microphone.
Max was warned by doctors that he might never sing again
The Wanted band members posing for a photo.
Getty
From left, Wanted’s Jay, Nathan, Tom and Siva in 2021, the year before Tom’s death[/caption]
Max George and Dianne Buswell dancing on Strictly Come Dancing.
Max with pro dance partner Dianne Buswell on Strictly in 2020
PA

He said: “The worst part for me is seeing my parents go through this. My mum has found it traumatic. I’ve tried to hold back from being upset in front of them. I feel helpless and responsible.”

But his TV star girlfriend, who was in panto 250 miles away in Kent for his first health ordeal in December, has been putting a smile on his face.

Max met Maisie — who played Tiffany in EastEnders — when they took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2020.

They have since moved in together and share a house in Manchester with their pet bulldog Albert — who Max said he “really missed” while in hospital.

Been a great nurse

He said: “It’s been lovely to have Maisie here with me at home. She got me an Apple watch for Christ-mas so I can monitor my heart rate. She’s been a great nurse and is very affectionate.

“Recovery has been a slow process, I’m trying to increase my walking every day — taking my dog Albert out and doing an hour on the treadmill daily.

“I was really fit before this all ­happened and now I’m the least fit I’ve ever been.”

Max has been sober for almost five years but has nevertheless considered going for a pint with his dad Mark at the pub because he feels “life is too short”.

He said: “It plays on my mind, why this happened to me.

“I had a full heart scan a year before for a TV show I was doing and it was fine — so it doesn’t make sense.

The worst part for me is seeing my parents go through this. My mum has found it traumatic. I’ve tried to hold back from being upset in front of them. I feel helpless and responsible

Max George

“I don’t drink alcohol and I don’t smoke, so it’s mind-boggling.

“It’s been four and a half years since I last drank alcohol — it was life changing for me, it just suited me better.

“Don’t get me wrong, sometimes when I’m down the pub watching football I am absolutely gasping for a pint, but I think it’s become a way of life now.

“Since this happened, though, I have thought, ’As long as I am balanced there is nothing wrong with me having a couple of pints of Guinness now and again.

“I have said to my dad that when I’m better we should go to the pub — I think I’ve earned it.”

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Marcus Rashford still hopes to seal Barcelona transfer next summer despite Aston Villa having permanent deal option

MARCUS RASHFORD has not given up hope on his dream move to Spain — despite Barcelona sporting director Deco saying this week the giants were not ‘desperate’ to sign him.

Rashford made a deadline-day loan move from Manchester United to Aston Villa in search of regular football when boss Ruben Amorim left him out in the cold after a bust-up.

Marcus Rashford of Aston Villa dribbling the soccer ball.
Alamy
Marcus Rashford still dreams of Barcelona despite his Aston Villa loan move[/caption]

The 27-year-old said he expected to leave his boyhood club after being dropped from the squad in December for the Manchester derby.

His brothers — who act as his agents — held talks with several European clubs including Barca.

But the Catalans failed to push for a deal, leaving Rash to join Villa for the rest of the season.

Deco said: “It’s true there was talk of Rashford — but we weren’t desperately looking for a player either.”

In his welcome interview with the club, Rashford said he was excited by the prospect of playing football again.

But he also made clear he did not see his long-term future in the Midlands.

That’s despite Villa having a £40million option to buy the player at the end of the loan deal.

Rashford said: “Obviously it’s only short term that I’m here but I want to make the most of my time here.

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“And the only way to do that is by using my attributes and skill sets to help the team”.

Yesterday, against Ipswich, Rashford crashed a free-kick off the bar that was turned in by Ollie Watkins to earn a 1-1 draw.

A source told The Sun on Sunday he still hopes to go to the Nou Camp.

They said: “Marcus is confident that if he rediscovers his form at Villa Park and starts bagging goals, Barcelona will revive their interest, especially as a transfer price has been established.

“It’s a huge incentive for him, which is good news for Villa.

“Now he just needs to get playing and start scoring.”

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