Author: UK News

Dublin Airport has been told by its neighbouring local authority that the night-time noises its flights produce and their impact on local residents are “still a concern”. The latest noise action plan for Dublin Airport, published by Fingal County Council on Wednesday, notes that the number of people affected by night-time noise at the hub is greater than it had been in 2019, in breach of a priority requirement of the Noise Abatement Objective (Nao) for the airport. While the airport is “on track” to achieve the medium and long-term objectives of the Nao, nevertheless “night-time noise exposure remains a…

Majority of Brexit voters ‘would accept free movement’ to access single market Europe-wide polling finds UK and EU leaders now out of step with public opinion and pursue ‘ambitious reset’ A majority of Britons who voted to leave the EU would now accept a return to free movement in exchange for access to the single market, according to a cross-Europe study that also found a reciprocal desire in member states for closer links with the UK. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s election as US president had “fundamentally changed the context” of EU-UK relations, the report by the European…

Staff at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) have said they are seeing pregnant victims of domestic abuse every week. They say the situation is so bad that such violence against pregnant women is “as common as gestational diabetes”, a condition sometimes developed by expectant mothers. Ann-Marie McCarthy, Social Work Team Leader at CUMH, warned the abuse is “much more common” than people might realise, with telltale signs that hospital staff are seeing. Those signs range from bruising to missing appointments to not speaking during appointments while partners answer any questions from staff. “There’s lots of red flags for domestic violence.…

'Village was always posh but now rich interlopers outnumber the locals' Rhosneigr has seen house prices soar 1,339% in just 25 years https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/news-opinion/village-always-posh-now-rich-30563064

A teenager is having to ‘scrape’ together £129.50 after he was fined for sitting in the wrong first class section of a ‘very full’ train. Theo Griffiths, an 18-year-old student from Boston, Lincolnshire, decided to take the train to London King’s Cross because the journey was ‘too long of a distance to drive.’ He was travelling to the capital to see some colleagues in their office, but when Theo boarded his Thameslink train, it was so full that he couldn’t find a seat. The 18-year-old had previously seen messages stating that he could use the train’s first-class seating as an…

  OpenAI said its services have been affected by an outage, hours after Meta experienced a social media blackout with its apps. According to DownDetector UK, a website that monitors social media outages, technical issues primarily with OpenAI’s ChatGPT service peaked at about 11.53pm. OpenAI’s website was also affected. We’re experiencing an outage right now. We have identified the issue and are working to roll out a fix. Sorry and we’ll keep you updated! — OpenAI (@OpenAI) December 12, 2024 In a post on X just after midnight, OpenAI said: “We’re experiencing an outage right now. We have identified the…

General Assembly members overwhelmingly approved resolutions on Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressing support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees which Israel has moved to ban.

A couple who caused the death of their three-year-old son by denying him adequate food and then buried his body in their garden are due to be sentenced.Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah will appear in custody at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday, a week after they were found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child, what was described as “breathtaking” neglect, and perverting the course of justice.A two-month trial was told Abiyah Yasharahyalah, who was restricted to an “extreme” vegan diet, died in early 2020 from a respiratory illness with a more than minimal cause of his death…

Israel has confirmed it carried out attacks on Syria’s naval fleet, as part of its efforts to neutralise military assets in the country after the fall of the Assad regime.

There are reports that Syrian migrants are attempting to return home despite the uncertainty of what lies ahead for Syria. European nations – including Britain – have paused Syrian asylum claims as they await to see how the new direction the rebels take the country in.

The man accused of shooting dead healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York jostled with police and shouted at reporters as he was bundled into court on Tuesday. More details have emerged about the killing, as well as a reported manifesto. Luigi Mangione is attempting to fight extradition to New York City and is reportedly planning to plead not guilty.

Arne Slot’s side have made a dream start in Europe this season and, winning at Girona on Tuesday night, have all but skipped the play-off round and secured a spot in the Champions League last 16.

Another dry day for most, though the odd shower in the far southeast. Rather cloudy, though brighter across Scotland after a cold and chilly start with a widespread frost. Some freezing fog will prove rather stubborn to clear in places. Tonight: Mostly cloudy across England and Wales with an increasing risk of some light drizzle in the east. Variable amount of cloud elsewhere with some clear spells with a frost developing.

Summary of the Independent Newspaper The Independent front page this morning – summarised The front page of The Independent reports from Assad’s slaughterhouse jail to the morgue piled up with mutilated bodies, desperate Syrians search for family members who disappeared under a despot’s brutal regime. It has been 10 years since Morhaf Safi, a young Syrian man, left home to buy a suit for his wedding and never came back. Ten years since his family in the capital, Damascus, have had any contact with him. Ten years since his older brother, Abdulsafer, 38, last saw his face. Then on Tuesday,…

Summary of The Guardian Newspaper The Guardian page this morning – summarisedThe Guardian front page leads with reports that air attacks hit hundreds of sites including naval fleet and missile stores.Israeli warplanes have intensified an air offensive in Syria, striking hundreds of military targets and destroying entire squadrons of fighters, radar and missile systems, missile stores and much of the small Syrian navy.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said late on Tuesday that it carried out more than 350 strikes over the previous 48 hours, hitting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in Syria to stop them from falling into the…

Summary of The National Newspaper The National front page this morning – summarisedThe National front page this morning reports Labour’s leadership of Edinburgh City Council has been branded “undemocratic” and “weak” with the party now making up less than a sixth of the chamber.Cammy Day resigned as council leader on Monday after he was accused of sending sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees.Prior to him quitting his role he had been suspended from the Labour Party following the allegations, which were revealed in the Sunday Mail over the weekend.This now means the Labour group in Edinburgh are running the council with…

Summary of Western Mail Newspaper Western Mail front page this morning – summarisedNHS news leads the front page of the Welsh newspaper Western Mail. The Welsh Government has published its spending plans for the next financial year, promising more money to every single government department compared to last year. The spending plan, known as the draft budget, lays out how ministers plan to distribute the £26bn spending Welsh Government is responsible for.All departments including health, education and rural affairs, will receive increases in both revenue and capital funding with the Welsh Government pledging it will allow “substantial investments in the school…

Summary of The Irish News Newspaper The Irish News front page this morning – summarisedThe front page of The Irish News reports on a sex offender who targeted girls online across the UK – now jailed for 27 years.A prolific sex offender from Northern Ireland, who posed as a teenage boy on Snapchat and Instagram to trap his child victims, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison.David John Andrews, 55, was told at Downpatrick Crown Court that he would serve a minimum of 13 and a half years, after which parole commissioners would determine when he can be released.Police…

Summary of the Metro Newspaper Metro front page this morning – summarisedThe front page of the Metro leads with the accused killer of US healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Luigi Nicholas Mangione made his first court appearance yesterday – and had a fiery exchange with reporters. Luigi Nicholas Mangione arrived yelling in court for a hearing on the murder of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson and left pouting.Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Mangione, 26, shouted and struggled with police officers who led him to the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon for his extradition hearing.One photo showed two cops restraining Mangione against a brick…

England’s new towns must be walkable and green, say campaigners Thinktank founder says recent attempts to build new towns are ‘depressing, unsustainable and stupid’Labour should build 12 new towns in England that are not car-dependent or built on flood plains, a former government adviser has said in a report.A detailed plan for a dozen new towns, proposed by thinktanks Britain Remade and Create Streets, would mean 550,000 well-designed and appropriately located homes. The new homes would boost the economy by £13-28bn annually by improving access to high-paying jobs in well-connected cities, according to the report. Continue reading… England’s new towns…

International news continues to dominate the UK newspaper front pages this morning as events across the Middle East continue to unfold as do updates into the shooting death of American healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In domestic news, the government has plans to open 14,000 more prison places and government departments have recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for millions of public sector workers including teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants next year.

Last night’s Champions League matches make the back pages with Liverpool’s 1-0 win – continuing their perfect start to the campaign – leading most sports pages.

The Independent Front Page 11/12/2024 

Shelter condemns ‘shocking’ 14% rise in homelessness across England Charity says soaring private rents, rising evictions and lack of affordable social housing are to blame Soaring private rents, rising evictions and a chronic lack of affordable social housing have led to homelessness in England increasing by 14%, research from Shelter reveals. The charity described its latest figures as “shocking” and “astounding”. They are contained in a report that estimates that on any given night more than 354,000 people in England are homeless, which is one in 160 people. That includes 161,500 children. An estimated 326,000 people, most of them families…

A white Christmas could be on the cards for some people across the UK this year, as the Met Office forecasts snow over the festive period.

Hundreds of thousands hit by ruinous carer’s allowance penalties, audit shows Campaigners say NAO report shows the impact of DWP staffing decisions and failure to address flaws in the benefit’s design Hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers were hit with ruinous penalties for minor breaches of carer’s allowance rules in the five years after senior welfare officials promised to fix the scandal-hit benefit, an official audit has revealed. Campaigners said the National Audit Office (NAO) report highlighted the scale of the misery and hardship inflicted on carers over the period as well as the extent of the failure by the…

The Department for Infrastructure has said using public transport is “not usually a viable option” for minister John O’Dowd, despite urging members of the public to use buses and trains in a bid to prevent traffic congestion in Belfast.Mr O’Dowd and spokespeople for his department have made several statements in recent weeks encouraging people to use public transport as complaints around city centre traffic become louder.Belfast city centre has seen significant periods of traffic congestion since the opening of the new £340m Grand Central Station in October.The Stormont department has outlined a number of measures it is taking to address…

A federal judge has rejected the sale of the conspiracy platform Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet.The ruling comes after Infowars’ Alex Jones claimed a recent bankruptcy auction was fraught with illegal collusion.The Onion was named the winning bidder on November 14 over a company affiliated with Jones, but Judge Christopher Lopez’s decision means Mr Jones can stay at Infowars in Austin, Texas.You got to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them.The Onion had planned to kick him out and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody.At the end of a lengthy two-day hearing in a…

The Government has said it will build four new prisons within the next seven years in a bid to grip the overcrowding crisis. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) promised to find a total of 14,000 cell spaces in jails by 2031. Some 6,400 of these will be at newly built prisons, with £2.3 billion towards the cost over the next two years. The remaining places will be found by measures including building new wings at existing jails, or by refurbishing cells currently out of action, and an extra £500 million will go towards “vital building maintenance”, the department said on…