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Briton found guilty over Ayia Napa false rape claim Defence lawyers say 19-year-old woman was coerced into signing retraction by Cypriot policeA British woman has been found guilty of falsely accusing 12 Israeli men of gang-raping her while she was on holiday in Cyprus.The 19-year-old has been held on the island since July, first in a prison in Nicosia then in safe houses. She was forced to surrender her passport after she withdrew an accusation that the Israeli tourists raped her in her hotel room in the resort of Ayia Napa in July. Continue reading... Go to Source

Labour leadership contest: Corbyn should have kept fighting for remain, says Clive Lewis - live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen 11.53am GMTJeremy Corbyn is still leader of the Labour party. But in his Today interview this morning Clive Lewis was speaking about him in the past tense (“he was an authentic politician” - see 9.11am) and, in an interview on Sky News this morning, Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, also spoke as if Corbyn had already gone. She said it was important for Labour to learn some “hard lessons” from its defeat, and to listen to the views of voters who did not support the party. She said:I think it’s important that the Labour party listens to the voters who switched t...

Australia fires: one firefighter killed as bushfires rip through four states There are fears that many houses may have been lost on a horrific day in Victoria and Tasmania, with more extreme weather forecast for New Year’s EveOne firefighter has died and multiple properties are feared lost after terrifying bushfires driven by extreme weather conditions swept across four Australian states on Monday.The volunteer firefighter from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service died when a truck rolled near Jingellic, about 70km east of Albury, on the border with Victoria. The RFS said two trucks, including the one in which the firefighter died, had been overturned by high winds. Two others suffered burns in the crash. Continue reading... Go to Source

Zac Efron falls ill while filming reality show Killing Zac Efron US actor hit by suspected typhoid while filming survival TV series in Papua New GuineaThe American actor Zac Efron has confirmed he recently fell ill while filming a survival reality TV show in Papua New Guinea.Australian media had reported that Efron, 32, was flown by helicopter for treatment in Australia after contracting a bacterial infection, possibly typhoid, while shooting the Killing Zac Efron series. Continue reading... Go to Source

He Jiankui, Chinese scientist who edited babies' genes, jailed for three years The biophysicist was guilty of illegal practice in trying to alter the genetic makeup of twins Lula and NanaThe scientist who created the world’s first “gene-edited” babies has been sentenced to to three years in prison by a court in China.He Jiankui said in November 2018 that he had used gene-editing technology known as Crispr-Cas9 to change the genes of twin girls, causing a backlash in China and globally about the ethics of his research and work. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rebecca Long-Bailey makes opening pitch for Labour leadership Shadow business secretary pledges in Guardian article to pursue ‘progressive patriotism’Rebecca Long-Bailey has made her opening pitch for the Labour leadership, avoiding any direct criticism of Jeremy Corbyn but implicitly offering an alternative approach by promising to champion “progressive patriotism”.In her first substantive comments on the election result, the party’s worst in terms of seats won since 1935, the shadow business secretary uses an article for the Guardian to say Labour’s “compromise solution” on Brexit was partly to blame, but that trust was also an issue. Continue reading... Go to Source

'Remarkable' high as Scottish temperature record is broken Overnight figure of 16.8C recorded, with parts of England and Wales also unusually mildNorthern Scotland registered a “remarkable” overnight temperature of 16.8C (62.2F) in the early hours of Sunday – a record high for this time of year.North-eastern England and northern Wales were also unusually warm, with 13.3C recorded in Chillingham Barns, Northumberland, and 11.5C in Rhyl. Continue reading... Go to Source

Attacks leave a Jewish community on edge as leaders call for more protection Hanukah stabbings in Rockland county are latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in the regionFive wounded in ‘act of domestic terrorism’ in New York stateJewish groups and political leaders have issued calls for increased protection in New York after a string of attacks during Hanukah left members of the region’s Jewish community on edge.On Saturday night, an attacker stabbed five people during Hanukah festivities at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, Rockland county, about 30 miles north of New York City, in what Governor Andrew Cuomo called “an act of domestic terrorism”. The attack was the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in the region. Continue reading... Go to ...

Vaughan Oliver, celebrated 4AD graphic designer, dies aged 62 Self-confessed ‘working class lad from a dull town’ created some of the most revered sleeves in modern popVaughan Oliver, the graphic designer known for his record covers for Pixies, Cocteau Twins and more, has died aged 62.Adrian Shaughnessy, a graphic designer who had worked with Oliver, announced the news on Instagram, saying Oliver had died with his partner Lee by his side. No cause of death has been given. Continue reading... Go to Source

'Breaking point': fears over lack of intensive care beds for children Exclusive: critically ill children rushed to units across England as NHS struggles to find beds Critically ill children are being rushed from one part of England to another because NHS hospitals are running short of intensive care beds in which to treat them, the Guardian can reveal.An increase in severe breathing problems in children driven by winter viruses and infections, including flu, means some are having to be transferred sometimes many miles from their home area because there are not enough paediatric intensive care (PICU) beds locally. Continue reading... Go to Source