by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#667FQ)
People urged to travel only if necessary as train drivers with Aslef at 11 rail operators take industrial action over payPassengers across Britain face another day of cancelled or disrupted rail services on Saturday as drivers for 11 train companies go on strike.Train operators urged people to travel only if necessary and to check before setting out, with no trains or only a handful of services running on affected routes. Continue reading...
Chair Nazir Afzal labelled the service ‘institutionally misogynist’ and hoped the review would be a ‘turning point’Incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying have been exposed by an independent report on the culture at the UK’s largest firefighting and rescue organisation.Female firefighters have been groped, beaten and had their helmets filled with urine, a review of the London fire brigade has found. Continue reading...
Drill artist Chinx (OS) reveals he has to send new song lyrics to police and probation service in case they are deemed to incite violenceSince being released from prison on licence last October, drill artist Chinx (OS), from the Regent’s Park Estate in north-west London, has written 17 music tracks.Each one could have sent the 24-year-old, desperate not to fall back into his past life after serving four years of an eight-year sentence for possession of a firearm with intent to harm, back to jail. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#666GZ)
Many have also used their own money to buy pupils stationery or uniforms while struggling with their own billsSchool support staff are dipping into their own pockets to help pay for food, stationery and uniforms for needy pupils, while skipping meals and taking on multiple jobs to pay their own bills, a union survey has found.The poll by Unison revealed that teaching assistants (TA), catering and cleaning workers, librarians and sports coaches, who are among the lowest-paid workers in the sector, are struggling to pay their own bills, but still stepping up to support pupils. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham, Andrew Gregory, Larry Elliott and Sal on (#666C2)
Royal College of Nursing announces unprecedented action, likely to to be first in a series of strikes by NHS staff over winterThe Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced its members will stage national strikes – the first in its 106-year history – on 15 and 20 December, with action expected to last for 12 hours on both days.The unprecedented industrial action will seriously disrupt care and is likely to be the first in a series of strikes over the winter and into the spring by NHS staff, including junior doctors and ambulance workers. Continue reading...
The ‘perfect ball of marzipan’ has become the highest-ranked all-breed dog in the country with 78th winA French bulldog with “personality and beauty”, owing to his “razzle-dazzle”, is the winner of the National Dog Show, which aired on Thursday following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.Winston, who was aptly described by a cheerleader on social media as a “perfect ball of marzipan”, is now the highest-ranked all-breed dog in the country, with this latest win delivering him his 78th best in show title. Continue reading...
Ipsa’s earlier advice on expenses for food and decorations led to MPs receiving abuse from the publicThe MPs’ expenses watchdog has apologised for telling parliamentarians they could claim back some costs for Christmas parties.The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), a body created largely as a response to the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009, had been widely criticised for its initial decision. Continue reading...
Party will roll out tougher sentences as statistics reveal almost 97% of sexual offences fail to end in chargesKeir Starmer has pledged to take a “zero-tolerance approach” to violence against women and girls as fresh statistics reveal that almost 97% of sexual offences are failing to result in charges.He said his Labour government will roll out tougher sentences for rape, stalking and domestic murder, and introduce a domestic abuse register to make it easier for officials to track offenders. Continue reading...
Marine Accident Investigation Branch condemned for slow progress in determining how last November’s tragedy occurredBereaved families who lost relatives in a mass drowning in the Channel a year ago have criticised the UK body investigating the tragedy for a lack of progress in determining how and why dozens of lives were lost.An interim report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) published on Thursday confirmed that the boat had reached UK waters. Continue reading...
31 people attempting to reach the UK from France died in the Channel’s worst disaster for 30 yearsBereaved relatives of those who died in the Channel a year ago have called for justice for their loved ones at a vigil to commemorate the victims.On 24 November 2021, 31 people attempting to reach the UK from France died in the worst maritime disaster in the Channel for 30 years. The bodies of four of the victims have still not been recovered. Continue reading...
Home Office argues people trafficked to Syria were exposed to extreme violence which poses ‘almighty problem’People trafficked to Syria and radicalised remain threats to national security as they may be desensitised after exposure to extreme violence, the Home Office has argued, in contesting Shamima Begum’s appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.Begum was 15 when she travelled from her home in Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into territory controlled by Islamic State (IS). After she was found, nine months pregnant in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019, the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds. Continue reading...
Prosecutor looking into allegations about 2017 and 2022 elections, which were won by Emmanuel MacronFrance’s financial prosecutor has opened an investigation into the role of consultancy groups including McKinsey in the 2017 and 2022 French election races, when Emmanuel Macron was elected and then won a second term.The financial prosecutor’s office confirmed that its current investigation into potential tax fraud by the US-based consultancy giant McKinsey had been widened to include consulting firms’ possible involvement in the two election races. Investigators are looking into allegations of “improperly keeping campaign accounts”, the “undervaluing of the role of consulting firms” and “favouritism”. Continue reading...
by Richard Adams , Sammy Gecsoyler and Sally Weale on (#665QB)
Lecturers, librarians and researchers join picket lines as UCU says staff are at ‘breaking point’The University and College Union (UCU) has claimed that record numbers of its members took part in picket lines at universities around the UK, on the first day of strikes affecting more than 150 higher education institutions.An estimated 70,000 striking researchers, academics and administrators were joined by students on Thursday, as well as caterers, cleaners and other support staff from the Unison and Unite unions who are also striking for better pay and working conditions at a number of universities. Continue reading...
Abdalle Mumin was held after press groups said government edicts on coverage of offensive against al-Shabaab put them at riskAuthorities in Somalia have imposed strict bail conditions on a respected journalist and media rights campaigner that will prevent him from seeking medical attention for a suspected kidney condition aggravated by poor conditions during his detention by intelligence services and police earlier this year.Abdalle Mumin, a co-founder of the Somali Journalists Syndicate and a frequent contributor to the Guardian, was arrested in October after press organisations protested that directives issued by the information ministry on coverage of an offensive against Islamic militants in the unstable east African state put them at risk. Continue reading...
Tarek Namouz accused of making at least seven money transfers to Islamic State fighter last yearA barber who received taxpayer-funded Covid grants allegedly sent £25,000 to an Islamic State fighter in Syria, a court heard.Tarek Namouz, 43, is accused of making at least seven transfers to Yahya Ahmed Alia between November 2020 and May 2021 so Alia could buy weapons and explosives to commit terror attacks in Syria. Continue reading...
Lawyers for education department asked for change, Michael Whine tells trial brought by five ex-Brighton Secondary College studentsWARNING: This story contains offensive language
by Lorenzo Tondo and Julian Borger in Kyiv and agenci on (#665K0)
Ukraine’s president labels Russia’s strikes on energy sites as crimes against humanity, as G7 discussions to cap Russian oil prices reportedly hit a set-backFresh Russian strikes battered Ukraine’s already failing electricity grid, causing blackouts across the country and in neighbouring Moldova, in attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN were “an obvious crime against humanity”.Addressing an urgent meeting of the UN security council late on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine would put forward a resolution condemning “any forms of energy terror”. Referring to Russia’s likely veto, he said, “it’s nonsense that the veto right is secured for the party that wages this war.” Continue reading...
New 3D scanners could end need to remove liquids from hand luggage, with restrictions ‘under review’Security restrictions on liquids and laptops in airport hand luggage could be abolished in the UK in 2024 due to the deployment of hi-tech 3D scanners.The government is considering rolling out the advanced technology, which is similar to CT scanners used in hospitals, in two years although a final decision has yet to be made, a source told the BBC. Continue reading...
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing criticised after death of Awaab Ishak died from black mould exposureMichael Gove is to cut off £1m funding to the Rochdale housing association where two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from prolonged exposure to black mould, saying failing providers would not get future funding.The levelling up secretary said Rochdale Boroughwide Housing would get no further government funding from the Affordable Home Programme or receive any new contracts. Gove has been sharply critical of the association, whose chief executive refused to resign until being sacked five days after a coroner’s report. Continue reading...
Government watchdog says £3.5bn aid in 20 years to 2020 failed to achieve aim of stabilising Afghan governmentThe UK’s £3.5bn aid to Afghanistan between 2000 and 2020 was implicated in corruption and human rights abuses and failed to achieve its primary objective of stabilising the country’s government, an assessment by the UK government’s aid watchdog has found.Describing the two-decade aid project as the UK’s single most ambitious programme of state building, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) says decisions to spend aid on counterinsurgency operations were flawed, adding that efforts to reduce gender inequality are likely to be wiped out by the Taliban. Continue reading...
Scotland Yard shuts down iSpoof website, which helped scammers steal using fake bank phone callsMore than 100 people have been arrested in the UK’s biggest ever fraud operation, which brought down a website police describe as a “one-stop spoofing shop” used by scammers to steal tens of millions of pounds from Britons via fake bank phone calls.It is estimated that more than 200,000 potential victims were targeted via the iSpoof fraud website, which was taken down this week by Scotland Yard’s cybercrime unit with the help of the authorities in the US and Ukraine. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#6651A)
British steelworks plant in Teesside that once made 10,000 tonnes of iron a day reduced to rubble amid industry declineThere was a countdown and a boom and within seconds a heavy chunk of Britain’s once proud and world-beating industrial heritage was gone.“I’ve got mixed emotions,” said Tony Evans after watching the demolition of the Redcar blast furnace, in Teesside, at 9am on Wednesday. He had worked there from fitter to production manager for decades; he had met a young engineer who became his wife, and had made friendships that would last for ever. Continue reading...
Judge rejects US air force jurisdiction claim after Mikayla Hayes accused of causing death by careless drivingA US servicewoman accused of causing the death of a motorcyclist by careless driving can be tried in the UK, a judge has ruled.The deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said 24-year-old Mikayla Hayes must attend a trial in the UK courts over the death of Matthew Day. Continue reading...
Shaun David Gilchrist faced court on serious sex offence in September 2021, months before being selected to contest the seat of NarracanThe Victorian Nationals candidate who died this week only days before he was due to face court on serious sex offences including rape had been charged more than a year ago.Shaun David Gilchrist was due to face the county court on 30 November charged with one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault ahead of a trial that had been scheduled for next year.In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Col Davoud Jafari and bodyguard were reportedly killed on Monday near DamascusAn improvised bomb has killed an Iranian colonel from the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps near Syria’s capital, Damascus, Iranian media reported, blaming Israel for the attack.The Islamic republic regularly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, which in turn sees Iran, with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and its regional proxies, as its biggest security threat. Continue reading...
School buildings should not only withstand quakes but also act as temporary shelter during disasters, says engineering expertSafety standards for school buildings in Indonesia should be prioritised after Monday’s earthquake, experts have said, as more rescuers and volunteers were deployed on Wednesday to search for the dead and missing from an earthquake that killed at least 268 people.Many of those killed in Monday’s quake in West Java were children taking classes at schools and Islamic boarding schools in the region, according to Muhadjir Effendy, coordinating minister of human development and culture. A further 1,000 people were injured. Continue reading...
Social media videos showed large crowds clashing with hazmat-suited officials amid rising worker discontent at the Foxconn plantHundreds of workers joined protests at Foxconn‘s huge iPhone plant in China, with some men smashing surveillance cameras and windows, footage uploaded on social media showed.
Retailer, which has reported halving of interim profits, also wants more women in technician jobsHalfords has launched a drive to fill 1,000 technician roles over the next 12 months by targeting more female and retired recruits, as the UK’s tight labour market pushes employers to think up new hiring strategies.Announcing a halving of interim profits as customers cut discretionary spending amid the cost of living crisis, the motoring and cycling retailer warned that its full-year results would be at the lower end of expectations. Continue reading...
‘Fierce, feminist’ show from Francesca Moody is written by former Grange Hill actors Ricky Simmonds and Simon Vaughan and tells an ‘almost true’ storyA musical about Silvio Berlusconi that is described as “Evita on acid”, written by two former Grange Hill stars and features a song called My Weekend With Vladimir is to be staged in London next year.Entitled Berlusconi, it is billed as an “almost true story” and produced by Francesca Moody who is best known for her success with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag. The musical depicts the three-time former Italian PM on the eve of the verdict in his trial for tax fraud as he looks back on his rise and fall and resolves to write an autobiographical opera. His story is then told through the eyes of three women: Ilda Boccassini, the Milan magistrate known as Ilda the Red who investigated him; Berlusconi’s second wife, the actor Veronica Lario, who left him in 2009 after nearly 20 years of marriage; and the character of a journalist who is based on real people. “It places a fierce feminist lens on him,” said Moody of the musical. “These women are telling their story.”Berlusconi is at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London, 25 March–29 April
Reveal of Ju Ae raises questions over whether Kim, who is in his 30s and has battled poor health, is starting to think about his successorKim Jong-un’s carefully crafted image as a man of the people, armed with nuclear weapons, came full circle at the weekend with his daughter’s surprise appearance at the launch of a long-range missile.Images showing Kim holding the hand of the young girl eclipsed the test-firing of a Hwasong-17, the regime’s biggest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to date, and sparked speculation about the future of the dynasty that has ruled North Korea for more than seven decades. Continue reading...
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