Author: UK News

MI5 has been forced to make “uncomfortable choices” as it looks to “pare back” on the capacity being spent on counter-terrorism MI5 forced to shift focus from terrorism to Russia due to ‘finite capacity’, but consider making requests to access encrypted data from Meta communications. This revelation comes after a Bulgarian national accused of spying for Russia was paid £18,600 from a bank account in the name of collapsed payments company Wirecard, according to evidence seen by a London court on Thursday. During the trial Telegram messages were read out in court this week showed Marsalek — who was using…

Storm Darragh live: wind batters UK and Ireland as Met Office issues rare red ‘danger to life’ warning Thousands of people across Northern Ireland, England and Wales have been left without power As well as strong winds, Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain over the weekend, with more than 120 flood alerts in place this morning. An amber warning for rain is in place in Wales from 3am to 6pm on Saturday with heavy rain likely to lead to disruption to transport and infrastructure. Storm Darragh live: wind batters UK and Ireland as Met Office issues rare red…

The gunman who killed the chief executive of the largest US health insurer likely left New York City on a bus soon after the brazen ambush that has shaken corporate America, police officials said.But he left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park.Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson, police still did not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing.Investigators were looking at whether the gunman may have been a disgruntled employee or client of the insurer, chief of detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.The FBI announced on…

Three million people have been urged to stay indoors as the UK braces for winds of up to 90mph brought on by Storm Darragh. The Cabinet Office issued an emergency alert on Friday to people covered by the Met Office’s rare red warning for wind in parts of Wales and south-west England. It was the largest use of the warning system yet, with the alert urging residents to avoid driving and to “stay indoors if you can”. A red warning is in place for parts of the country due to Storm Darragh. The UK Emergency Alert System has issued advice…

We tried 'turkey and tinsel' dinner at Llandudno's Grand Hotel despite the reviews The Grand has a mixed bunch of reviews online but we decided to put it to the test https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/tried-turkey-tinsel-dinner-llandudnos-30494308

South Korea’s president said he is “very sorry” for causing public anxiety and inconvenience with his declaration of martial law earlier this week, and promised not to make another attempt to impose it.President Yoon Suk Yeol made a public apology on Saturday, hours ahead of a parliamentary vote on a motion to impeach him.Mr Yoon said he will not shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration, adding that he will follow the direction of his party to resolve the political crisis caused by his move.It was not immediately clear whether the motion submitted by opposition lawmakers would get the…

South Korea’s president said he is “very sorry” for causing public anxiety and inconvenience with his declaration of martial law earlier this week, and promised not to make another attempt to impose it.President Yoon Suk Yeol made a public apology on Saturday, hours ahead of a parliamentary vote on a motion to impeach him.Mr Yoon said he will not shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration, adding that he will follow the direction of his party to resolve the political crisis caused by his move.It was not immediately clear whether the motion submitted by opposition lawmakers would get the…

Women have said they have been harassed by male delivery drivers (Picture: Getty Images) Women in london and other major cities have been warned they are at risk after male food delivery drivers are setting up their accounts as women. Drivers have reportedly ‘harassed and intimidated’ women at home as they answer the door waiting for their food. But their delivery accounts showed they were women with a different vehicle, making it impossible to report incidents. One online group has even been set up specifically for renting accounts. This is despite account holders needing to verify their age, right to…

Authorities in the Dominican Republic announced on Friday that they confiscated nearly 9.5 tonnes of cocaine, the largest drug seizure in the country’s history.The 250 million dollars (£195 million) worth of drugs were found nestled inside a banana shipment that arrived at the Caucedo port in the capital of Santo Domingo, the country’s most important seaport.The shipment had been sent from Guatemala and was destined for Belgium, said Carlos Devers, spokesman for the Dominican Republic’s Anti-Drug Agency.Ten suspects have been detained, he said at a press conference.Authorities so far this year have seized nearly 47 tonnes of drugs. The second…

Authorities in the Dominican Republic announced on Friday that they confiscated nearly 9.5 tonnes of cocaine, the largest drug seizure in the country’s history.The 250 million dollars (£195 million) worth of drugs were found nestled inside a banana shipment that arrived at the Caucedo port in the capital of Santo Domingo, the country’s most important seaport.The shipment had been sent from Guatemala and was destined for Belgium, said Carlos Devers, spokesman for the Dominican Republic’s Anti-Drug Agency.Ten suspects have been detained, he said at a press conference.Authorities so far this year have seized nearly 47 tonnes of drugs.The second biggest…

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has revealed the six “milestones” he wants to achieve to bring change to the country. He has asked the public to measure his government against his milestones at the next election. 

His milestones include building more houses, cutting NHS waiting lists and putting more police officers on the streets. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced his six priorities for government in a key “plan for change” speech. The targets include building 1.5 million homes, fixing the NHS and delivering clean power by 2030. He also pledges higher living standards, safer streets and ensuring a record number of five-year-olds enter school “ready to learn”

Friday morning travel was a misery for many UK travellers after a major disruption on the rail network. At least nine lines were affected. National Rail said the issue was due to a “nationwide fault” with the radio system used between train drivers and signallers that has now been fixed.

The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning for wind as Storm Darragh approaches. The warning is in place from 03:00 to 11:00 GMT on Saturday, covering western and southern coastal regions of Wales as well as the Bristol Channel in England.

Starmer pledges ‘golden era of building’ as he takes aim at environmental regulations Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to usher in a “new golden era of building” as he takes aim at “blockers and bureaucrats” who he claims have throttled economic growth and made homeownership unattainable. Writing in The Times, the prime minister attacked nimbys and environmentalists who he says have stymied economic progress in the UK. Sir Keir has directed ministers to draft laws that would simplify complex environmental regulations, which he argues can add millions to the cost of development and cause lengthy delays. These proposed reforms aim…

National Rail reveals when ‘nationwide fault’ disrupting rail across UK will be fixed A “nationwide fault” disrupting train services due to a problem with a communication system is likely to be ongoing until midday, National Rail has said. Dozens of services have been affected. Particular problems are affecting London Waterloo, one of the three busiest stations in the UK. Trains to and from Salisbury and Yeovil have been cancelled as a result of communications problems. Many other trains are running 10 to 20 minutes late. Delays are reported on Southeastern trains. At Heathrow airport, one member of staff talked of…

A fine but chilly start, with scattered showers affecting parts of north and west Scotland during the morning. Cloud building from the west with rain, heavy at times reaching western areas during the afternoon. Winds will strengthen, with gales developing. Tonight: Outbreaks of rain, heavy at times will move east overnight, as winds continue to strengthen with gales and later severe gales develop as Storm Darragh arrives. Mild

Skindred to play at Newport County game at Rodney Parade. The reggae metal group, who reached number two in the UK charts last year with their highly acclaimed eighth album Smile, will feature on the front of a bespoke shirt for the League Two clash with Carlisle United (kick-off 3pm). The kit will pay homage to the city’s Caribbean community through its unique design created by Neal Heard, the club’s new creative director and founder of football fashion brand Lover’s FC. Skindred have risen to fame with their energetic fusion of reggae, punk and heavy metal that has exploded with…

Western Mail front page 06/12/2024The front page of the Western Mail reports on who might make the Lions squad for next years rugby.After a mixed autumn for all four home nations Andy Farrell will step back from his duties as head coach of Ireland to focus fully on the Lions tour. The 49-year-old will have been encouraged by the performances of a number of players this autumn and will be hoping they can step it up a notch during the Six Nations. Darren Millar has been named as the new leader of the Senedd Conservative group and the leader of the opposition…

Scottish ministers mull tax rise for wealthy amid tricky budget decisions Finance secretary must find way to bring either Greens or Lib Dems onboard while plugging possible £200m shortfall Scottish ministers are contemplating modest tax increases for the better off and plan to scrap the freeze in council tax rates as they search for extra money in this week’s budget. Shona Robison, the Scottish finance secretary, is under pressure to provide a vote-winning budget on Wednesday after being given a record amount of funding from the Treasury for next year. Continue reading… Scottish ministers mull tax rise for wealthy amid…

Revealed: bias found in AI system used to detect UK benefits fraud Exclusive: Age, disability, marital status and nationality influence decisions to investigate claims, prompting fears of ‘hurt first, fix later’ approach An artificial intelligence system used by the UK government to detect welfare fraud is showing bias according to people’s age, disability, marital status and nationality, the Guardian can reveal. An internal assessment of a machine-learning programme used to vet thousands of claims for universal credit payments across England found it incorrectly selected people from some groups more than others when recommending whom to investigate for possible fraud. Continue…

Storm Darragh weather warnings: Dozens of flood alerts in place as UK braces for travel disruption Weather forecast for Friday as Storm Darragh approaches the UK. Yellow warning for rain in place for Northern Ireland and Wales. A Yellow alert in place for Northern Ireland and Wales (Met Department) Storm Darragh weather warnings: Dozens of flood alerts in place as UK braces for travel disruption https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/storm-darragh-weather-warnings-uk-met-office-travel-b2659841.html

Britain needs a ‘vaccine taskforce’ to prepare for the next pandemic, Lords warn Concerns raised that the UK may be forgetting lessons learned from Covid pandemic. Britain needs a “peacetime vaccine task force” to prepare for the next pandemic, ministers have been warned amid concerns that the government could forget the lessons of Covid-19. Britain needs a ‘vaccine taskforce’ to prepare for the next pandemic, Baroness Brown of Cambridge warns. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/vaccines-pandemic-covid-uk-government-b2659527.html

Keir Starmer dominates Friday’s front pages after the prime minister pledges change for Britain. The papers suggest the PM is attempting to ‘reboot’ his premiership after a rocky start to life in No 10.

NHS warnings ahead of the winter bite with cases of flu and COVID already on the rise. NHS chiefs are calling on the public to take up their flu and Covid jabs to avoid the already busy hospitals becoming overwhelmed.

The Guardian Front Page 6/12/2024 The front page of The Guardian quotes health officials who say the NHS is facing a “quad-demic” of emergencies this winter, with England’s hospitals “busier than ever”.  The prime minister laid out his pledges yesterday, the front page reports he accused Whitehall of being comfortable with failure.  The NHS is facing a “quad-demic” of health emergencies as it heads into winter, with hospitals “busier than ever” for this time of year, the health service’s most senior doctor has said. Keir Starmer accused Whitehall of becoming comfortable with failure as he challenged civil servants to hit…

The Metro Front Page 6/12/2024The Metro leads with newly released images of the man the NYPD are looking for in connection with the shooting of a CEO outside of a hotel in Manhattan. A ‘little flirtation’ between a woman and the suspect in the shooting of US’ largest health insurer boss may lead to his downfall more than three days later.Police continue to hunt for the assassin who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the early hours of Wednesday morning in New York.CCTV of a suspect has now been released from a surveillance camera at the HI New York City Hostel…

The Independent Front Page 6/12/2024The front page of The Independent this morning reports on Keir Starmer’s pledges for Britain in an apparent ‘reset’ to his premiership. Meghan Markle is pictured on the front splash and there is a report on the French President Macron who blames the ‘coalition of irresponsible’ for bringing down the French government. PM announces priorities to ‘galvanise’ his premiership with pledges on better living standards, shorter NHS waiting lists, more police and 1.5 million new homes… as Bank of England warns firms will axe jobs in response to tax risesOpposition parties tabled the motion after Mr Barnier controversially…