Alliance of groups from across France call for measures to make crossings safer after 77 deaths recorded in 2024More than 70 organisations from across France willcome together on Saturday to protest in Calais about UK policies to try to stop people crossing the Channel.At least 77 people died trying to cross the Channel in 2024, the highest number since crossings began in 2018. Non-governmental organisations that monitor these deaths believe last year's number is even higher, with 89 deaths at the UK-French border of people attempting to reach the UK. Continue reading...
Derbyshire council says crews blocked from gritting roads on Saturday due to double parking at walking spots near EdaleGritting crews have been stopped in their tracks by about 200 cars" double parked on a road along the Peak District.Derbyshire county council said crews were prevented from gritting the roads on Saturday morning due to parking on both sides of road at Rushup Edge and Man Nick near Edale. Continue reading...
Royal College of Emergency Medicine says it is extremely concerned' by survey on responses to emergencies like train crashes, Grenfell fire or Manchester Arena bombingCrowded accident and emergency wards mean only 15% of department heads are confident they could deal with a major incident such as a terror attack or rail disaster, new research has revealed.In a survey of clinical directors and consultants at 71 emergency departments in England, all said their A&E was crowded, with more than 70% saying patients had to wait in corridors or ambulances at least half the time. Only 11 were confident they were adequately prepared" to respond to a major incident. Continue reading...
Scottish government stresses risk to public is low, as chief veterinary officer says it is first outbreak since 2023A protection zone has been set up after an outbreak of bird flu in Angus, Scotland's chief veterinary officer has said.On Friday night, Sheila Voas said a 10km (6.8 mile) surveillance zone had also been declared around the area as well as the 3km protection zone in Kirriemuir after a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was reported. Continue reading...
by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6TG6Y)
Peter Whitford says Archer barriers, which the city had stored away, have record of stopping vehicle rammingsThe deadly New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans would have had a completely different outcome" if city officials had put out 700lb (317kg) barriers that they bought years earlier and have a track record of preventing intentional vehicle rammings, the blockades' inventor has told the Guardian.But the city did not have a full slate of accessories to help move and deploy" those steel Archer barriers quickly in the way they were designed to be - and how authorities elsewhere have managed to do it, Peter Whitford, the chief executive officer of the Meridian Rapid Defense Group, said in an interview. Continue reading...
Animals were in mixed-species African habitat when extremely rare' confrontation took place on FridayA zebra has died during an extremely rare" incident with a rhino at a zoo in Essex.Colchester zoo said the incident between the rhino and a male zebra occurred at about 2pm on Friday in the mixed-species area. Both animals have near-threatened status, meaning they are likely to become endangered in the wild in the near future. Continue reading...
Altnaharra in Highlands recorded -18.9C on Friday night, the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010Friday was the coldest January night in the UK in 15 years after temperatures plummeted to -18.9C in a hamlet in northern Scotland, the Met Office said.Altnaharra, in the Highlands, recorded the temperature on Saturday morning, the Met Office said. Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent, and agencies on (#6TG10)
UK chancellor becomes first holder of her office to make an official visit to China in a decadeRachel Reeves has said the UK must engage confidently with China", as she arrived in Beijing amid market turbulence at home.The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had demanded the chancellor call off her China trip after the value of the pound plummeted to its lowest level in a year. But ministers argue that improved relations with the world's second-largest economy will help boost growth, and that under the Conservatives the UK lagged behind the US and EU when it came to high-level engagement with Beijing. Continue reading...
Actors Samuel West and Paapa Essiedu join calls for urgent action to protect and expand access to artsWorld-leading drama schools in England are facing a financial crisis that threatens to turn back the clock, shutting down opportunities for talented young people from diverse and less privileged backgrounds, according to leading figures in the arts.The warning came after one of the most celebrated drama schools in the country, Bristol Old Vic theatre school (BOVTS), which opened in 1946 with the support of Laurence Olivier, revealed it is closing all undergraduate courses from September. Postgraduate courses will continue. Continue reading...
Half of 1960s duo Sam & Dave is also remembered for the hit Hold On, I'm Comin'Sam Moore - the surviving half and higher voice of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave that was known for such definitive hits of the era as Soul Man and Hold On, I'm Comin' - has died aged 89.Publicist Jeremy Westby said Moore died on Friday morning in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery. No additional details were immediately available. Continue reading...
Train managers on west coast mainline to take action from 12 January to 25 May in dispute over rest-day workingPassengers on Great Britain's west coast mainline have been warned of disruption to Avanti services on every Sunday from this weekend to the end of May.Train managers represented by the the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have said they will strike on every Sunday from 12 January to 25 May 2025, in a dispute over their pay for working on rest days. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#6TG0Z)
Almost a fifth of adults aged 24-34 are living with parents, particularly in areas of high-cost housingThe hotel of mum and dad" is the busiest it has been for two decades as an increasing number of young adults in the UK choose - or are forced by low wages and rising rents - to live with their parents, research has found.The prohibitive cost of renting, let alone buying, a home explains why more twenty- and thirtysomethings are co-residing" with family at an age when their parents would have been living independently, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said. Continue reading...
Altnaharra, in Sutherland, the most northern region of the Highlands, had reached the low by 9pm on FridayThe UK has recorded its chilliest January night in 15 years, as forecasters predicted it could get even colder over the weekend with temperatures falling as low as -20C in some locations.Altnaharra, in Sutherland, the most northerly region of the Highlands, reached the low of -17.3C by 9pm on Friday. It is the coldest January overnight temperature since 2010, when it dropped below -15C several times at locations across the UK, including -22.3C on 8 January in Altnaharra. Continue reading...
Trump International hotel, currently a Waldorf Astoria, was a venue for influence peddling, opponents sayDonald Trump's property company is in negotiations to re-purchase his Washington hotel, which opponents say was a venue for illicit influence peddling during his first presidency.The Trump International hotel, housed in the city's old post office building a short walk from the White House, was sold in 2022 and is now the Waldorf Astoria. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Departures will add to scrutiny of party leader after Elon Musk said he was not up to the job'A group of 10 councillors representing Reform UK have given notice of their intention to resign en masse in protest at Nigel Farage's leadership.The resignations will add to pressure on the Reform leader after Elon Musk said he was not up to the job". They are timed to overshadow the party's south-east conference this weekend. Continue reading...
DoJ report acknowledges attack was so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence'On Friday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) released its report on the Tulsa race massacre after announcing the review last September.The report came more than 100 years after a June 1921 report by the justice department's Bureau of Investigation, a precursor to the FBI, blamed the massacre on Black men and alleged that perpetrators did not violate any federal laws. Continue reading...
Weapons such as sharpened objects and rocks taken from children aged 15-18 at YOI WetherbyAlmost 900 weapons were seized in one year from children detained in a young offender institution in the north of England, a prisons watchdog has found.In its annual report published on Friday into HM young offender institution Wetherby in West Yorkshire, the institution's independent monitoring board found that children were in possession of a range of improvised weapons. The children told IMB they carried the weapons because they felt unsafe behind bars. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on (#6TFYF)
US announces $65m bounty for arrest of president, who has led country since 2013 and failed to prove he won recent voteVenezuela's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, has been accused of a shameless and fraudulent power-grab after swearing himself in for a third term, despite domestic outrage and a chorus of international condemnation at his alleged theft of last year's election.This is a great victory for Venezuelan democracy," the 62-year-old autocrat boasted during a sparsely attended oath-taking ceremony in Caracas that was boycotted by the leaders of democratic nations. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Health secretary says irresponsible public discourse' could vilify communities and lead to terrorismThe use of inflammatory language over grooming gangs risks vilifying entire communities and could lead to atrocities such as the mosque massacre in New Zealand that killed more than 50 people, the health secretary has warned.Wes Streeting said he had no difficulty or qualms" calling out the sickening" crimes of sexual abuse gangs, criticising well meaning, but ultimately fundamentally misguided and warped views of political correctness" for letting down thousands of children. Continue reading...
Martin Elling pleads guilty to destroying records on advice provided to Purdue Pharma on how to turbocharge' salesA former partner at McKinsey & Co pleaded guilty on Friday to obstructing justice by destroying records related to advice he and the consulting firm provided to Purdue Pharma on how to turbocharge" sales of its potent opioid prescription painkiller, OxyContin.Martin Elling, 60, entered his plea in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia, a month after the US Department of Justice announced that his former employer had agreed to pay $650m to resolve related charges over its work for Purdue, the Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company. Continue reading...
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...
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