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Nurse shortage forces NHS hospital to shut critical-care beds Decision taken at Norwich high dependency unit despite increased winter pressureAn NHS hospital in Norwich has had to close four beds in its high dependency unit because it does not have enough nurses to staff them.Norfolk and Norwich university hospital (NNUH) decided on Monday to temporarily shut the beds in the Gissing ward of its critical care complex. Continue reading... Go to Source

Australia bushfires: towns devastated and lives lost as blazes turn the sky red Thousands shelter on beaches as fires rip through Victoria and New South WalesAustralia’s bushfire crisis has claimed at least two more lives, authorities confirmed on Tuesday, as dozens of fires tore through several towns on the east coast and forced thousands of people to take shelter on beaches.Two people – a father and son – died when fire hit the New South Wales town of Cobargo on Tuesday, while emergency services officials held grave fears for a third person, near Narooma, on the state’s south coast. Continue reading... Go to Source

US embassy stormed in Baghdad amid anger at airstrikes Iraqi Shia militia supporters break into compound after US strikes on state-sanctioned militia Dozens of Iraqi Shia militia supporters have broken into the US embassy compound in Baghdad after smashing a door and storming inside, amid teargas and sounds of gunfire.An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three US soldiers on the roof of the embassy. A man on a loudspeaker urged protesters not to enter the compound. Continue reading... Go to Source

Corbyn provokes anger from Labour critics with NY message glossing over impact of election defeat - live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen 11.43am GMTThe Labour MP Gareth Thomas also seems unimpressed by Jeremy Corbyn’s New Year’s message.After a dismal decade for @UKLabour :- 4 election defeats ending with our lowest no of MPs since 1935, here’s hoping the next decade sees no more wild, multi-billion pound ‘fully costed’ manifestos, an end to antisemitism & a Leader who thinks winning is better than opposition“But why no mention of the General Election Jeremy?” JC: “What General Election?” That’s one way to do a review! https://t.co/4c36HLO1pI 11.16am GMTThe Scottish governmen...

Boris Johnson to increase minimum wage by four times inflation Employees over 25 will receive a 6.2% pay rise equating to £930 a year for full-time workerAlmost 3 million workers in Britain are to receive a pay rise of more than four times the rate of inflation from April, after the government said it would increase the official minimum wage.In an announcement designed to woo low-paid workers in the immediate aftermath of Boris Johnson’s election victory earlier this month, the government said the national living wage for over-25s would increase from £8.21 an hour to £8.72 from the start of April. Continue reading... Go to Source

New Year's Eve 2019: celebrations around the world – live news Follow all the celebrations as the clock strikes midnight and countries see out 2019 and welcome in the twenties 11.46am GMTThe UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has issued a New Year’s message, saying the world is entering 2020 with “uncertainty and insecurity” all around. “We cannot afford to be the generation that fiddled while the planet burned,” he said, adding that there was hope in the power of youth around the planet. “From climate action to gender equality to social justice and human rights, your generation is on the frontlines and in the headlines,” he said. “I am inspired by your passion and determination”.As we enter the New Year, the world needs young...

Australia fires live: two dead in Cobargo as NSW and Victoria face bushfires threat – latest updates Conditions worsen with more than 4,000 on the beach at Mallacoota in Victoria after a devastating day yesterday and the death of a firefighter in New South Wales. Follow live news and latest updatesHow big are the fires burning in eastern Australia? Interactive map 5.47am GMTThere is an endless stream of jaw-dropping photos and videos on social media today.Another shocking picture of beautiful Cobargo taken by Niki Hutteman who stayed with others to fight the fire and saved a number of houses. #bushfirecrisis pic.twitter.com/SqKu94vMRtEMERGENCY WARNING - Clyde Mtn (Eurobodalla LGA)Dangerous fire conditions have been experienced across the south coast today. This footage shows the town ...

Boris Johnson to raise minimum wage by four times inflation Employees over 25 will receive a 6.2% pay rise equating to £930 a year for full-time workerAlmost 3 million workers in Britain are to receive a pay rise of more than four times the rate of inflation from April, after the government said it would increase the official minimum wage.In an announcement designed to woo low-paid workers in the immediate aftermath of Boris Johnson’s election victory earlier this month, the government said the national living wage for over-25s would increase from £8.21 an hour to £8.72 from the start of April. Continue reading... Go to Source

MoD proposed Russian membership of Nato in 1995, files reveal Released papers expose ‘associate membership’ plan and Yeltsin’s drinking habitsRussia could have become an “associate member” of Nato 25 years ago if a Ministry of Defence proposal had gained support, according to confidential Downing Street files which also expose Boris Yeltsin’s drinking habits.The suggestion, aimed at reversing a century of east-west antagonism, is revealed in documents released on Tuesday by the National Archives at Kew. Continue reading... Go to Source

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