Author: Darren Smith

Plans to accommodate around 1,200 asylum seekers at the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse site have prompted warnings from local politicians and campaigners over pressure on the village’s infrastructure. Women in a small North Yorkshire village could be outnumbered six to one if plans to accommodate around 1,200 male asylum seekers at a former military base go ahead, amid growing opposition to the proposal. The RAF Linton-on-Ouse site is one of three former military locations being considered for asylum accommodation, with the Government looking at ways to redistribute asylum seekers across different parts of England. York Central MP Rachael Maskell has described…

Royal Mail has issued a delivery delay warning covering 142 UK postcode areas today, with disruption affecting large parts of the country including Bedford, Chester, Margate, Merthyr Tydfil and Inverclyde, as the delivery firm blames local staffing and resourcing issues. Royal Mail has warned that deliveries will be delayed across 142 UK postcode areas today, Thursday, 13 August, publishing a full list of the affected locations. The disruption spans large parts of the country, including delivery offices covering Bedford, Chester, Margate, Merthyr Tydfil and Inverclyde. Royal Mail said the delays stem from local issues at individual delivery offices, including high…

Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain has narrowed its first-half losses to £11.4 million, boosted by record World Cup betting activity, even as higher UK gambling taxes continue to weigh on its online business and force further high street shop closures across the sector. Entain, the gambling giant behind Ladbrokes, Coral and Foxy Bingo, has narrowed its first-half losses after what it described as the “biggest World Cup final in history” drove a surge in betting activity. The FTSE 100 firm reported post-tax losses of £11.4 million in the six months to June, a significant improvement on losses of £85.8 million…

Galatasaray have made an audacious £38 million move for Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli, though the Brazilian appears reluctant to leave for Turkey, with Roma also monitoring the situation as Arsenal simultaneously push forward with a separate £40 million approach for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa. Galatasaray have made a move to sign Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli, tabling an offer worth £38 million for the Brazilian. However, Martinelli is understood to be reluctant to leave for Turkey, complicating any potential deal. Arsenal have placed a valuation of around £50 million on the 25-year-old, meaning Galatasaray’s opening offer falls short of what…

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to equip officers with gloves capable of delivering powerful electric shocks, in a contract worth up to $20 million that has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic politicians and civil rights advocates amid a pending lawsuit linking the devices to a death in a Kentucky jail. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is set to supply officers with gloves that deliver powerful electric shocks, in a contract that could cost up to $20 million (£15 million). The devices, known as GLOVE, an acronym for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, look like standard patrol gloves until…

The Royal College of Nursing has warned that nurses are collapsing during shifts as temperatures inside hospitals exceed 30C, with the union blaming decades of underinvestment in NHS buildings for leaving staff and patients dangerously exposed to extreme heat. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that nurses are collapsing while working in hospital conditions exceeding 30C, as extreme summer heat exposes deep-rooted problems in NHS infrastructure. The union compiled a series of staff testimonies describing broken air conditioning, poor ventilation and dangerously high temperatures on wards. RCN chief executive and general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said the findings…

A News24 reporter was forced to chase a protester through a crowded Melbourne rally against Pauline Hanson’s One Nation after they grabbed her microphone mid-broadcast, in one of several nationwide student demonstrations that drew crowds across Australia on Thursday. A protester stole a microphone from News24 reporter Georgie Dickerson while she was broadcasting live from a Melbourne rally against Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party. Dickerson said she was forced to give chase through the packed crowd after the protester ran over and grabbed the microphone from her hands during her live cross. She was ultimately able to catch up with…

A one-year-old girl has died and a teenage student remains missing after a hippopotamus attacked a canoe carrying 18 people across Kenya’s Tana River, in an incident that has once again highlighted the danger hippos pose to communities living alongside the country’s waterways. A one-year-old girl has died and a student is still missing after a hippopotamus attacked a canoe on Kenya’s Tana River, capsizing the vessel and throwing 18 passengers, a mix of farmers and children, into the water. The incident occurred on Tuesday during what should have been a routine crossing near Mikinduni Village, on the country’s longest…

Britain is facing one of the hottest days in its recorded history, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 38C, prompting a rare amber extreme heat warning, rail passengers being urged to travel only if essential, and continued efforts to bring a major wildfire under control in the New Forest. Britain is facing one of its hottest days on record today, with temperatures forecast to reach 38C and rail passengers urged to make only essential journeys as the heat takes hold. The Met Office has issued a rare 15-hour amber “extreme heat” warning for parts of central and southern…

Hundreds of thousands of students across the UK are preparing for a nerve-racking morning as A-level results day arrives, with results available from schools and colleges from 8am and several different ways to find out your grades. Students across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to receive their A-level results today, Thursday, August 13, in what is traditionally one of the most anxious mornings of the school calendar. The date is set by the Joint Council for Qualifications and applies uniformly across every exam board, including AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA. Alongside A-levels, the same day also…