by Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent on (#6TFTG)
David Crompton, 44, was reportedly given IOU' for prescription medication before fatal incidentA man with epilepsy died in a fall after his pharmacy reportedly left him an IOU" for his prescribed medication when it ran out of an anti-epileptic drug.David Crompton, a 44-year-old man in Leeds, died on 13 December after a fall downstairs resulted in a loss of oxygen to his brain and a cardiac arrest. Continue reading...
Thomas Kingston, son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, had been prescribed SSRIsA coroner has issued a warning about the effects of antidepressants prescribed by a Buckingham Palace doctor to the son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent before his suicide.Thomas Kingston, 45, whose marriage to Lady Gabriella at Windsor Castle in 2019 was attended by the late Queen, killed himself last February after suffering adverse effects of medication he had recently been prescribed", an inquest found last month. Continue reading...
Grammy-winning musician alleged the imprisoned rapper is harassing her through surrogates after he shot her in 2020Megan Thee Stallion has been granted a restraining order from imprisoned rapper Tory Lanez until early 2030.Los Angeles superior court judge Richard Bloom has granted Megan's request for a protective order after the hip-hop star alleged that Lanez is harassing her from prison through surrogates as he serves a 10-year sentence for shooting her in the feet. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6TFQ4)
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's relatives demand compensation from Italian firm Leonardo six years after his deathThe family of Leicester City's former owner, who was killed in a helicopter crash outside the club's stadium in 2018, have launched a lawsuit against the company which made the aircraft.Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's family are suing the Italian aerospace and defence company Leonardo SpA for 2.15bn - the largest fatal accident claim in English history, according to the family's lawyers. Continue reading...
Morgan McSweeney met EU counterparts before Christmas as Downing Street poised to hire new foreign adviserKeir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, made a below-the-radar trip to Brussels last month, as No 10 prepares to appoint its own foreign affairs adviser to help bolster the Downing Street policy operation.As the UK's attempts at a reset" with the EU continue behind closed doors, No 10's most senior aide made the trip to meet counterparts in Brussels before Christmas. Continue reading...
New Zealand garden takes first prize in global competition designed to promote water conservationA sun-scorched patch of lawn near Christchurch, in New Zealand, has been crowned the ugliest lawn in the world.Now in its second year, the World's Ugliest Lawn competition rewards lawn owners for not watering their parched yellow grass and patchy flowerbeds. Continue reading...
Move marks shift in views but sexually active gay men will not be admitted to Roman Catholic seminariesGay men will be allowed to train as priests in Roman Catholic seminaries, so long as they observe celibacy, according to new guidelines announced by the Italian Bishops Conference (CIE).The decision marks a shift from the view previously held by Pope Francis that gay men should not be admitted to seminaries owing to the risk of them leading a double life. Continue reading...
Measures targeting Russian energy sector attempt to leverage peace deal for Ukraine in Trump administrationThe Biden administration on Friday imposed its broadest package of sanctions yet targeting Russia's oil and gas revenues in an attempt to give Kyiv and the incoming administration of Donald Trump leverage to reach a deal for peace in Ukraine. The move is meant to cut Russias oil revenues for the war that started in February 2022, and has killed or wounded tens of thousands and reduced cities to rubble.The measures are the most significant sanctions yet against the Russian energy sector, the largest source of revenue for the Kremlin's war machine", a senior Biden official told reporters in a call. Continue reading...
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen crossing a bridge in the city centre on Tuesday morningPolice are searching for two sisters reported missing in Aberdeen, who were last seen three days ago.Police Scotland has asked for the public's help to trace Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, who were last seen early on Tuesday morning on CCTV cameras in the city centre. Continue reading...
Former WWE CEO agrees to penalty over undisclosed settlement agreements worth $10.5m with two womenThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says that it has settled charges against the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Vince McMahon over his failure to disclose to the sports entertainment company's board and others that he signed two settlement agreements worth $10.5m with two women in order for them not to reveal potential claims against himself and WWE.McMahon resigned from WWE's parent company in January 2024 after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct. At the time, McMahon stepped down from his position as executive chairman of the board of directors at WWE's parent company, TKO Group Holdings. He continued to deny wrongdoing following the filing of the lawsuit. Continue reading...
So-called department of government efficiency charged by Trump to help effect radical government shake-upElon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have already dispatched emissaries across the US government ahead of their mission to slash public spending as joint heads of Doge (the department of government efficiency), a non-governmental body body ordered by Donald Trump to help realize his goal of a radical government shake-up.The two tech billionaires have already sent aides to more than a dozen federal agencies as they look to identify possible cuts, according to the Washington Post. Continue reading...
Scientist says case is warning for farmers to reduce reliance on controversial and common herbicideScientists have identified a glyphosate-resistant weed on a farm in the UK for the first time, raising concerns about the controversial herbicide.Scientists at the agricultural consultancy ADAS, said that, after reports from agronomists and screening of seed samples from a farm in Kent, they had confirmed glyphosate resistance in Italian ryegrass, an annual grass weed that particularly affects wheat fields in the UK. This is the first time glyphosate resistance in weeds has been detected in the UK. Continue reading...
Lisa Nandy says chancellor's visit to China is right and proper', despite continued bond market sell-offThe reason that Culture secretary Lisa Nandy was on the media round today was to promote the government's consultation on tackling online ticket touting.On the BBC Radio 4 Today programme she said:People will no longer go on to a website and find that the tickets have been bought up by touts in mass numbers as part of an industry that fleeces fans and leeches money out of the music industry and are then sold on at vastly inflated pricesOver 1,000 pounds, for Coldplay tickets, for Bruce Springsteen tickets. I don't know a single person who could afford that sort of thing. And that's what we're bringing an end to today, the time is up for ticket touts.In my view the government was right to reject that form of opportunism [the Tory amendment that was voted down this week].But I did hear last night coming out of that debate ministers saying they are open to discussing issues now with survivors.I get the point that Andy's making. He said that there was a case for a smaller, more limited national inquiry into the specific issues that the inquiry that he instigated could not pick up.I do understand that because the inquiry that we had here in Greater Manchester, astonishingly, some of the Greater Manchester police officers refused to even take part, and the local inquiry couldn't compel them to do so.The reason I think that that people have heard from us that there may at some point in the future be another inquiry is because child abuse by its very nature is hidden, it's secretive, and at various points, I'm sure that more will come out about the scandals that we've heard. We are not going to rule out an inquiry ever. Continue reading...
DNC files legal action over Republican lawsuit seeking to dispute re-election of Democratic supreme court justiceThe Democratic National Committee on Friday attempted to stop North Carolina Republicans' effort to invalidate tens of thousands of ballots from the November election and upend a state supreme court race that Democrats won.The DNC filed a legal action on Friday to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee in Wake county, North Carolina, in late December, seeking to throw out votes because of alleged missing information on registration forms. Continue reading...
Project Lifeline says it previously helped three friends of 14-year-old who was stabbed to death in south-east LondonThe life of the 14-year-old stabbing victim Kelyan Bokassa could have been saved if he had been helped to move out of south-east London, according to an anti-knife crime charity who knew him.Kelyan, who was an aspiring drill rapper, was stabbed to death in Woolwich on a 472 bus on Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6TFES)
Tom Crowther KC says public inquiries seen as Rolls-Royce solution' but local review in Shropshire led to real progressPublic inquiries are seen as the Rolls-Royce solution" to tackling the grooming gangs scandal but local reviews are more effective, the former chair of the Telford child sexual exploitation (CSE) inquiry has said.Tom Crowther KC said the Telford model" led to real progress in the Shropshire town and could be used in towns across the country looking into similar CSE scandals. Continue reading...
Trump had asked the highest US legal body to call off today's sentencing after New York courts refused to postpone itReuters has written up a brief overview of the hush-money case:Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump in March 2023 with illegally falsifying business records to cover up an alleged affair with the pornographic film actor Stormy Daniels. A jury convicted him of 34 felony counts in May 2024. The judge overseeing the case indicated he does not plan to send Trump to prison. But by granting an unconditional discharge, he would place a judgment of guilt on Trump's permanent record. Continue reading...
Norwegian capital's sites were 98% free of fossil fuels last year, and it aims to increase use of electric machineryTafseer Ali felt no need to raise his voice as the pair of diggers lumbered past him, their treads weighing heavy on the rock and asphalt.Quiet electric machines like these make it easy to work in the city centre, the construction manager said - and keep the neighbours happy. If they have less noise, we get fewer complaints." Continue reading...
Three people arrested after group escapes Johannesburg house by breaking a window and burglar barSouth African police have rescued 26 Ethiopians from a suspected human trafficking ring in Johannesburg after the group broke a window and burglar bar to escape from a house where they were being held naked.Three people were arrested on suspicion of people trafficking and possessing an illegal firearm on Thursday night after neighbours in the Sandringham suburb heard the commotion and tipped off the police, the Hawks serious crime unit said in a statement. Police urged the public to report any other escaped naked people in the area. Continue reading...
Washington Post reporter said everyone in DC' knew Biden allowed his family to sell access to him', James Comer saysIn a new book, James Comer of Kentucky, the Republican chair of the powerful US House oversight committee, claims that in a private conversation the Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward told him everyone in DC knew" Joe Biden was financially corrupt.Woodward explained that everyone in DC knew that Joe allowed his family to sell access to him, but as far as he was aware, that was not illegal," Comer writes. He added that it should be, but it wasn't. You will have to prove all of Joe Biden's wrongdoing,' he said, and you will likely not be able to do that.'" Continue reading...
There are also fears electronic travel authorisation will threaten post-peace tourism sector in Northern IrelandThe UK Home Office's already burdened immigration services could be overwhelmed this summer when a new visa-waiver system comes into force for European business travellers and tourists in April, a leading law firm has said.There have also been fresh warnings that the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirements could threaten the post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland, with Americans and Europeans travelling to Dublin and beyond deciding not to bother crossing the border because of the red tape. Continue reading...
Viagogo and StubHub platforms to be hit by cap of face value plus 30% or lessThe price at which tickets for live events can be resold is to be capped under gamechanging" proposals put forward by the government to crack down on touting in the sector.In a move hailed by music industry figures, the culture minister, Lisa Nandy, has launched a consultation that she said would end the misery" of fans being exploited by touts, some of whom have made huge profits by selling hundreds of tickets a year. Continue reading...
Though few welcome idea of being acquired by the US, status quo as part of Denmark is not universally popularGreenland's prime minister has called for unity and calm after Donald Trump reheated his global row with Nato allies on Tuesday, when the US president-elect said he was prepared to use tariffs or military force to seize control of Greenland.The comments led the Greenlandic prime minister, Mute Egede, to say: Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders." The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, said on Thursday that the US seizure of Greenland is not going to happen", while Germany and France have warned Trump over annexation. Continue reading...
Health secretary accused of talking utter nonsense' about private sector's ability to help cut NHS waiting timesWes Streeting has defended the growing use of the private sector to help tackle long waiting lists for treatment but said providers must pull their weight" and not take resources away from the NHS.The health secretary, who has previously said middle-class lefties" risked putting ideological purity ahead of patient care, said he would be entirely pragmatic" about using spare capacity in the private sector. Continue reading...
by Presented by Jonathan Freedland, with Blake Montgo on (#6TF8Z)
This week we learned that Meta is dropping third-party fact-checking, the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, spiked a cartoon that made fun of him and other tech leaders kneeling before a statue of Donald Trump, and just about all the big Silicon Valley companies are donating $1m to Trump's inauguration fund. Jonathan Freedland and Blake Montgomery look at who will hold the power between big tech and the White House over the next four yearsArchive: ITV, CBS, PBS Newshour, News Nation, CNN, Fox Business, Bloomberg Television, CNBC, BBC Continue reading...
Welsh star promises big, bold plays that bring vital under-explored' stories about Wales to lifeMichael Sheen, a global star of screen and stage, is spearheading a new national theatre for Wales, promising to create big, bold plays that bring vital stories about his homeland to life.Sheen said he was bursting with ideas and promised to appear in the newly forged Welsh National Theatre's first production, a foundation" story about Wales staged at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Continue reading...
Charity reveals plans to create 250,000 hectares of nature-rich landscape as it marks 130th anniversaryIn past decades the focus has been on protecting beautiful landscapes such as the Lake District, trying to save the crumbling coast or breathing life into historic country houses.Now the National Trust is marking its 130th anniversary by unveiling moonshot" plans to address what it regards as the current national need - the climate and nature crises. Continue reading...
Actor has filed civil lawsuit claiming prosecutors targeted him for professional or political gain, and intentionally concealed evidence that vindicated himActor Alec Baldwin has filed a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations against the prosecutors in his trial over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western movie Rust.The lawsuit was filed Thursday at state district court in Santa Fe, where a judge in July dismissed a charge of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin in the death of Hutchins, who was killed in 2021. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6TF52)
Royal College of Radiologists calls move shortsighted' and says it puts Labour's waiting times plan at riskDozens of NHS hospitals have banned their cancer or diagnostic units from hiring new staff, despite GPs referring growing numbers of people who they fear may have the disease.Doctors warned that widespread recruitment freezes imposed on both types of units over the last year risked undermining Keir Starmer's drive, outlined this week, to cut waiting times for NHS care.13 of 54 cancer centres (24.1%) had a recruitment freeze imposed on them last year, along with 29 out of 150 (19.3%) radiology departments.The 42 hiring bans were imposed by 40 different NHS trusts or boards.At least one freeze was implemented in each of the four home nations and each region of England. Continue reading...
Martin Rosenbaum fought for 18 months to reveal who had supported nominations of two former special advisersThe reasons given for a peerage awarded by Boris Johnson have been described as inadequate" and a mystery" by a freedom of information campaigner after an 18-month struggle.Charlotte Owen, a former special adviser in the Conservative government, was appointed to the House of Lords in Johnson's resignation honours list in 2023. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent on (#6TF04)
Leader reportedly freed after being violently intercepted' having left hideout to lead protest against Nicolas MaduroAllies of Venezuela's most influential opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, said she had been kidnapped" from the streets of Caracas by regime officials after sneaking out of her hideout to lead a major protest against the authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro.About three hours after the announcement, Machado supporters said she had been released having been knocked off a motorbike and taken away by force" while leaving the rally and had been compelled to record a number of videos. Continue reading...
Laken Riley Act passed House on Tuesday by 264 to 159, showing Democrats are feeling pressure over immigrationThe US Senate advanced a bill calling for the detainment of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes on Thursday, as Donald Trump and fellow Republicans press their hardline immigration agenda after their victories in the November elections.The overwhelmingly bipartisan vote was 84 to nine, as dozens of Democratic senators joined Republicans in supporting the motion to begin debate on the bill. But some Democrats who voted to advance the legislation indicated that they wanted to see amendments to the proposal, raising questions about how many of them would support its final passage. Continue reading...
Scotland Yard imposes Public Order Act owing to proximity of Broadcasting House to a nearby synagogueScotland Yard has banned a pro-Palestine march from gathering outside the BBC's London headquarters, owing to its proximity to a synagogue.Protesters were planning to gather outside Broadcasting House in Portland Place on Saturday 18 January before marching to Whitehall. On Thursday evening, police said they had imposed the Public Order Act to prevent the rally from gathering in the area as it risked causing serious disruption" to a nearby synagogue on the Jewish holy day, as congregants attend Shabbat services. Continue reading...
Labour's description of 16,400 immigration offenders and foreign criminals' angers campaignersKeir Starmer has boasted of deporting a record number of refused asylum seekers and overseas criminals since scrapping the Rwanda scheme, using language that has dismayed human rights campaigners.The Home Office said on Thursday it had returned more than 16,400 immigration offenders and foreign criminals" since the election in July, the highest six-month total since 2018. Continue reading...
My cycle is over,' says leftwinger, 89, who lives humbly and oversaw one of healthiest and most liberal democraciesJose Mujica, the former guerrilla who became Uruguay's president and a global progressive icon, has announced that the cancer in his oesophagus has spread to his liver, and that he has chosen to forgo further treatment.In what Mujica said would be his last interview, he told Busqueda, a weekly news magazine in Uruguay, that he was doomed". Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6TETH)
Former health minister says medical examiners, who spot cases of intentional harm, could have been in place earlierJeremy Hunt has said ministers took too long" to introduce medical examiners to investigate deaths in the NHS, as he apologised to the families of Lucy Letby's victims.Giving evidence at the Thirlwall inquiry on Thursday, the former health secretary said he had ultimate responsibility" for the NHS at the time Letby committed her appalling crime" of murdering babies at the Countess of Chester hospital in 2015 and 2016. Continue reading...
German maker of fashionable cork-based footwear files three lawsuits alleging copyright infringementOnce sneered at as the preserve of muesli-loving, Guardian-reading hippies, Birkenstocks have more recently been promoted to the status of fashion item, not least since they took a starring role in the Barbie movie. But now cork-soled sandals are facing their day in court as their German makers call for them to be protected in perpetuity - and to be recognised as nothing less than a unique work of art.Germany's federal court of justice is to decide on the future of the ergonomic sandal after three lawsuits against alleged copycat competitors were lodged on Thursday by the footwear manufacturer. Continue reading...
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