News

Storm Ciara: travel chaos and floods amid warning of 'danger to life' – live updates Hurricane-force winds and rain rock transport network and engulf defences to bring fresh misery to flood-hit communities 5.34pm GMTA train has been sent to rescue stranded passengers in south-east England.Southeastern have just tweeted that “the rescue train will be alongside in the next few minutes and passengers will be able to transfer across, and the train will return to Rochester and Faversham.We're sending another train to this one - which will attach to the back and passengers can transfer to it, it will then go back too Rochester and Faversham. ETA for the rescue train is 30 minutes. ^JT https://t.co/9plR8dqHbq 5.32pm GMTShadow environment secretary Luke Pollard has thanked emergency servi...

Keir Starmer campaign denies hacking claim in Labour leadership row Team say inquiry only began after it raised concerns about data use of rival Rebecca Long-BaileyThe Labour leadership contest has erupted into a bitter row after the frontrunner’s campaign team were forced to vehemently deny claims they had hacked into party membership data.Keir Starmer’s team called the allegation, made in official letters from Labour, “utter, utter nonsense”, saying the inquiry only began after they raised concerns about the data use of another candidate, Rebecca Long-Bailey. Continue reading... Go to Source

Chinese in UK report 'shocking' levels of racism after coronavirus outbreak Asian community faces verbal and physical abuse in aftermath of first recorded cases of virus in Britain“We’ll be in trouble if these guys sneeze on us,” Jason Ngan overheard as he and his brother got into a lift in Manchester’s Piccadilly station. Born and bred in Manchester, home to more than 7,000 Chinese people, the legal adviser said the level of anti-Asian racism the coronavirus had unearthed was “shocking”.“People seem to have put a whole race behind it and it’s exposing all these underlying prejudices towards Chinese people, or at least anyone who looks Chinese. It’s shocking in this day and age. It was so blatant,” Ngan said. Continue reading.....

Survivors of Thai mall shooting speak of their ordeal City in state of shock after rogue soldier kills 26 and injures many moreJirattikarn Nobthai was riding his bike to the Terminal 21 shopping mall when the shooting began. He got down and tried to help others, said his mother, Sasithorn Suthisook, and he was hit once in the arm and in his side.“He was conscious even though he was shot. He called and told us ‘I was shot’ and then my husband rushed to the scene to take him to hospital,” she said. “Part of the area was declared off-limits, with traffic closed, but he couldn’t care less. It was a matter of life and death.” Continue reading... Go to Source

Boris Johnson to lower £30,000 wage threshold for immigrants PM and home secretary expected to outline changes to rules at Friday cabinet meetingBoris Johnson and Priti Patel are expected to outline immigration changes at a cabinet meeting on Friday.The prime minister and home secretary’s measures will include a drop in the salary threshold for some migrants, the BBC reported. Continue reading... Go to Source

Storm Ciara's hurricane-force winds batter UK transport Trains, flights and ferries cancelled as rain and 80mph winds cause widespread floodingHurricane-force winds and rain have rocked Britain’s transport network, leading to the cancellation of trains, flights and ferries and prompting warnings of power cuts and a risk to life from falling debris.The weather front known as Storm Ciara brought heavy rain and winds of more than 80 miles per hour, causing widespread flooding. Continue reading... Go to Source

Philippines coronavirus patient has recovered, authorities say Woman, 38, who travelled with the only victim to die outside China and Hong Kong, is no longer infectious, says doctorThe first case of novel coronavirus in the Philippines – a Chinese tourist from Wuhan who had been travelling with a man who died of the virus – is no longer showing symptoms and may be discharged soon.The last test on the 38-year-old woman, conducted on 6 February, showed she was negative for the virus, according to the health department. Two consecutive negative tests are required before a patient may be discharged. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ireland general election: Sinn Féin surges to 22% in exit poll Republican party level with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Saturday evening’s poll Sinn Féin has scored dramatic gains in Ireland’s general election, according to an exit poll on Saturday night, realigning Irish politics and boosting the party’s chance of joining the next government.The republican party won 22.3% of the vote while Leo Varadkar’s ruling Fine Gael party slumped to 22.4%, the poll said, potentially spelling an end to Varadkar’s tenure as taoiseach. Fianna Fáil, the main opposition party, won 22.2%. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rogue soldier shot dead after Thai shopping mall massacre Death toll stands at 26 after sergeant major killed commanding officer then attacked Terminal 21 complex in Nkhon Ratchasim cityA soldier who shot dead 26 people as been killed by police following an overnight siege at a Thai shopping mall.Eight people were held hostage by the gunman in the city of Nkhon Ratchasim, according to sources quoted by Reuters. Dozens more were trapped for hours on Saturday night as police attempted to regain control of the seven-floor building. Continue reading... Go to Source

Endangered mountain gorillas 'killed by lightning' in Uganda The four were members of a group known as the Hirwa family that had crossed into Mgahinga national park from RwandaFour endangered mountain gorillas, including three adult females, have been killed by an apparent lightning strike in a Ugandan national park, a conservation group has said.A post-mortem examination has been performed on the four, including a male infant, who died on 3 February in Mgahinga National Park in south-west Uganda. Continue reading... Go to Source

Revealed: how drugs giants can access your health records Experts say information sold on by Department of Health and Social Care can be traced back to individual medical recordsThe Department of Health and Social Care has been selling the medical data of millions of NHS patients to American and other international drugs companies having misled the public into believing the information would be “anonymous”, according to leading experts in the field.Senior NHS figures have told the Observer that patient data compiled from GP surgeries and hospitals – and then sold for huge sums for research – can routinely be linked back to individual patients’ medical records via their GP surgeries. They say there is clear evidence this is already being done by companies an...

Thai police storm mall after soldier kills at least 20 in mass shooting Police believe gunman, named as Jakrapanth Thomma, is still inside shopping centre in Nakhon RatchasimaThai police and soldiers have stormed a shopping mall where a gunman is believed to be hiding after a mass shooting in the north-eastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, which has killed 20 people and left many injured.Police believe the shooter, a soldier who stole guns from a military base on Saturday afternoon before livestreaming a mass shooting, is still inside a large shopping centre in the city. Officers have not confirmed reports that up to 20 people have been taken hostage inside the mall, Terminal 21, but advised anyone trapped to mute their phone and try to hide. Continue reading... Go to Source