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Tehran crash: plane downed by Iranian missile, western officials believe UK officials say they have seen intelligence suggesting missile brought down plane The Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday was accidentally shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile, western security officials believe.UK sources told the Guardian that British officials had seen intelligence that suggested that the plane was hit by an Iranian air defence missile. Continue reading... Go to Source

Hungary for Brexit: Orbán praises Johnson and Trump Far-right leader, known as conspiracy theorist, backs PM as ex-No 10 aide predicts close ties Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has given a ringing endorsement to Boris Johnson and Brexit, offering a pointer as to which European capitals are likely to be friendliest to post-Brexit Britain.Orbán said Johnson and Donald Trump were “the most courageous, the most dynamic and the most ready to effect change” of all the politicians in the world today. The admiration is mutual: it emerged this week that Tim Montgomerie, a former aide of Johnson, said he expected Britain and Hungary to forge a “special relationship” after Brexit, and praised Orbán’s thinking on the &ldq...

'Rogue royals'? Pundits furious over Harry and Meghan's step back Announcement by pair that they are stepping back from public life brings hysterical response The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back from public life has provoked vitriolic attacks on the couple and hyperbolic predictions on what it could mean for the monarchy.The announcement came after Prince Harry and Meghan criticised media intrusion and launched legal action against the Mail on Sunday. This, along with reports that the couple’s decision has upset the Queen, appears to have fuelled the ferocity of the reaction. Continue reading... Go to Source

Arctic treasures exposed by melting ice to go on display Items made from 28,000-year-old mammoth tusks among artefacts at British MuseumRare 28,000-year-old archaeological finds excavated from rapidly thawing ground in Siberia are to go on display for the first time at the British Museum as part of an exhibition on the history of the Arctic and its people.Sewing needles and jewellery made from walrus ivory as well as carved mammoth ivory decorative objects are being lent by the Russian Academy of Science for a show that will be the biggest of its kind. Continue reading... Go to Source

Patients suffer record delays because of pressure at A&E units Ambulance crews in England having to look after more people for longer this winter Record numbers of patients are being forced to stay with ambulance crews for an hour or more this winter because overwhelmed A&E units are too busy to admit them.A total of 81,012 patients in England have had to remain with ambulance personnel for at least half an hour because of delays getting into an emergency department in the five weeks since winter began. That is the highest number since records began in 2017-18. Continue reading... Go to Source

Prince Harry and Meghan to step back from royal family Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they intend to ‘work to become financially independent’The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to step back from senior roles in the royal family and work towards financial self-sufficiency after a period marked by open warfare with the media over claimed intrusion and bullying.It is understood that no other royal was consulted before the decision was announced on Wednesday evening, and Buckingham Palace was disappointed by the news. Continue reading... Go to Source

MPs vote to drop child refugee protections from Brexit bill Commitment to reunite children with family members in UK to be removed from withdrawal billThe Commons has rejected proposals to keep protections for child refugees in the redrafted EU withdrawal agreement bill, triggering dismay from campaigners.Alf Dubs, the Labour peer who successfully campaigned for this protection for refugee children in 2016, said it was a “very depressing” development. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump backs away from further military confrontation with Iran ‘Iran appears to be standing down,’ Trump said, in an uncharacteristically sober speech following rising tensions between US and IranDonald Trump backed away from further military confrontation with Iran on Wednesday, saying Tehran appeared to be standing down following a missile attack on two Iraqi bases hosting US troops.Flanked by the vice-president, Mike Pence, defense secretary Mark Esper, and other high ranking military officials in uniform, Trump delivered remarks in the Grand Foyer of the White House on Wednesday morning, hours after Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases, declaring the attack to be retaliation for the US drone strike last week that killed senior Iranian Gen Qassem Sule...

Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership bid wins backing of MPs and Unison Shadow Brexit secretary is first candidate to get more than 22 backers needed to make ballotPolitics latest - live updatesKeir Starmer’s Labour leadership campaign has received a boost after he won the backing of the UK’s biggest trade union, Unison, and became the first person to get more than the 22 MPs required to become a candidate.The shadow Brexit secretary is all but certain to be one of the names put to a vote of the Labour membership, after Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, declared the union would be endorsing him. Continue reading... Go to Source

Iran says it will not give black box from crashed airliner to Boeing Leaders of Ukraine and Canada vow to find cause of crash that killed dozens of their citizens Iran’s aviation authority will not hand over flight recorders from the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet that crashed moments after take-off from Tehran killing all 176 passengers and crew, either to the aircraft’s manufacturer or US aviation authorities.The Iranian statement came as leaders of both Ukraine and Canada, which lost dozens of its citizens in the crash, vowed to identify the cause of the disaster amid contradictory statements and swirling speculation. Continue reading... Go to Source

British girl who won life support legal battle is out of intensive care Mother of Tafida Raqeeb says British doctors who said she had no prospect of recovering have been proven wrongTafida Raqeeb, a five-year-old British girl treated in Italy for a serious brain injury after her parents won a high court battle to keep her on life support, is out of intensive care.Tafida was brought to Genoa’s Gaslini children’s hospital on 15 October after the high court ruled against the opinion of doctors at the Royal London hospital, where the child was on life support, who said it was in her best interests for treatment to be withdrawn because she had no awareness or prospect of recovering. Continue reading... Go to Source

Ursula von der Leyen: UK deadline makes full Brexit deal impossible EU commission chief questions Johnson’s timeframe as she arrives for Downing Street talks Follow all today’s political news – live updatesThe president of the European commission has said it will be “impossible” for the UK to negotiate a comprehensive deal covering all aspects of Brexit within the timeframe set by Boris Johnson.Ursula von der Leyen’s warning came just hours before her first face-to-face bilateral meeting with Johnson, who revealed that they had attended the same school while he lived in Belgium. Continue reading... Go to Source