Author: UK News

Metro front page this morning 09/12/2025 The front page of Metro this morning reports on the fall of Assad in Syria. The paper asks “What now?” Syrian rebels have seized control of Damascus in a stunning offensive that toppled the iron-fisted ‘tyrant’ President Bashar al-Assad — and took the world by surprise.Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept towards the Syrian capital from its stronghold in Idlib last week, capturing cities, liberating prisoners shackled by Assad’s repressive regime and forcing the dictator to flee to Moscow. 

The Guardian front page this morning 09/12/2024 The front page of The Guardian this morning 09/12/2024The people of Syria have celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad and dared to dream of a better future after five decades of dynastic rule came to a sudden and unexpected end with the dictator fleeing to Moscow.Most days, Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste are divided by an ocean. The 81-year-old director has a home in Cornwall, while the 57-year-old actor moved to Los Angeles more than two decades ago in frustration at the dearth of roles available to her in the UK. This was even after she…

The front page of The Irish News this morning 09/12/2024 The front page of The Irish Times reports on a Kincora abuser being linked to another abduction attempt. A NOTORIOUS Soyalist paedo phile attempted to snatch a schoolboy from a west Bel last street a year before two other children disappeared without appearing a trace more than half a century ag Suspected MIS ageist William McGrath has been accused of trying to abduct an eight-year-old boy months before the unexplained disappearance of Thomas Spence (11) and John Rodgers (13) in Novem ber 1974. McGrath was a founding member of the loyalist group…

The National front page this morning 09/12/2024 The front page of The National reports on a new poll that shows an increased support for an independent Scotland. SUPPORT for Scottish independence has reached the highest level of support in more than four years, according to a recent poll.The news follows the announcement of the Scottish Government’s Budget on Wednesday where Finance Secretary Shona Robison laid out the tax and spending plans for next year.

Western Mail front page today 09/12/2024 The front page of the Western Mail reports on Storm Darragh. STORM Darragh cut a swathe of S destruction through Wales over the weekend, as heavy rain and winds topping 90mph brought trees crashing down, power cuts and widespread travel disruption. A major incident was declared for large parts of Wales, as millions of people across the UK were warned to stay indoors.

Southern England and Wales will stay fairly cloudy and breezy tomorrow with some more blustery showers developing. Elsewhere frost and any fog clearing to leave calmer conditions, with plenty of sunny spells but feeling chilly. Tonight: Staying cloudy in the south with coastal showers in the southeast. Fog and frost developing under clearer skies in the north.

Across England and Wales, 50 flood warnings remain in force because of recent heavy rain from the storm, although the weather on Monday is expected to be mostly dry.

Almost all of Monday’s front pages lead with the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and what the future now looks like for a liberated Syria. Some of the front pages note Assad has fled to Moscow whilst others question whether worse is to come as the rebels take charge.

Only a handful of tabloids lead on other news including the car crash involving a Premier League player, a story of a young girl who died of cancer and the storm that battered Britain over the weekend.

The back pages are dominated by the weekend’s Premier League action, most notably Chelsea overturning a 2-0 deficit to beat Spurs 3-2.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will call for stronger economic ties between the UK and the European Union (EU) during her landmark address to the Eurogroup finance ministers on Monday.

UK ‘needs to play catch-up’ in global race to rewire electricity grids For every £1 spent on renewable energy projects, only 25p was invested in connecting them to grid, report findsThe UK is lagging behind in the race to rewire the world’s power grids by investing four times more on renewable energy projects than on the electricity cables needed to connect them to the grid and consumers, according to a new report.For every pound the UK has spent on renewables it has spent only 25p on the cables and power lines, claims the report by Bloomberg NEF, which placed the…

Local protests in the 80s calling for nuclear disarmament In 1982, anti-nuclear protestors staged a demonstration in a Gwent town when a Royal Navy lecture team visited the county.  The lecture, at Abertillery leisure centre, was attended by 200 people, including a twenty-strong continent from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.  The protestors delivered a written request for a debate to be opened on nuclear arms to lecturer Captain Mike Cole. They were allowed to leave leaflets on seats alongside Navy brochures and Captain Cole said he would pass on their request to his superiors. Anti-nuclear protestors demonstrating at Abertillery leisure…

At a secondary school on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone, the speaker finished an address to the assembled pupils with a little mantra that was all too familiar to me. I grew up with it. My parents, especially my mother, would often impress upon me and my nine siblings the exact same thing: that our focus should be on “Education, education, education”. The unspoken subtext being, of course, that education was the only escape route from the lowly position that we (and they) had been born into. This time, the advice was being delivered in an entirely different context.…

Karl Bareham: British music producer who died when diving off Byron Bay may have suffered alcohol withdrawal, inquest hears Death of Karl Bareham, 37, in 2019 was controversial with coroner told diving equipment may have been faulty and ‘dangerous’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A British music producer who died while scuba diving off Byron Bay in New South Wales may have been suffering symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and using faulty dive equipment, a court has heard. The NSW deputy coroner on Monday heard that Karl…

This will be the first calendar year that temperatures have been 1.5°C above pre-industrial times, according to a European study being released on Monday, with Irish climate experts saying this underlines the need for climate action to be a priority for the incoming government. The latest report from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service says it can “now confirm with virtual certainty that 2024 will be the warmest year on record”. It states that while the development does not mean the Paris Agreement has been breached, “it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever.”  Under the Paris…

British prime minister Keir Starmer welcomed the end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria as he called for peace and the protection of civilians.

Eurostar is the worst-performing rail service on the continent and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is one of the least reliable, according to a ranking of 27 European operators.

  US pop superstar Taylor Swift has kicked off the final night of her juggernaut Eras Tour in Canada. The 14-time Grammy-winner is rounding off her record-breaking tour with her third and final night at the BC Place in Vancouver, having begun her mammoth string of dates in March last year. Launching into her final three-hour show, Swift told the audience: “We have toured the entire world with this tour, we have had so many adventures. “It has been the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense, most challenging thing I have ever done in my entire life.” She continued: “We have…

Wales tourism tax sparks ‘strike’ from attractions as claim of ‘subliminal anti-English rhetoric’ Plans to move ahead with a visitor levy in Wales have sparked a “strike” from tourism attractions in the country. Following an emergency meeting The Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA), which represents over 100 of the leading visitor attractions in Wales, passed a resolution recommending that members close for a day on Tuesday (December 10). . They said the action is in response to the Welsh Government’s proposed ‘tourism tax’ as a report covered by North Wales Live indicated such a tax would damage the Welsh tourism…

A 25-year-old woman was injured after a hit-and-run crash involving two cars in south London. The crash happened on Portland Road, South Norwood, at around 7.50am this morning. The woman, who was in one of the cars, was taken to a south London hospital. Police did not specify any injuries, only that she would be assessed by medics. The occupants of the other vehicle fled the scene before police arrived. Photos show one of the cars on its roof and the other with a badly damaged bonnet with several emergency crews surrounding the vehicles. Road closures were in place while…

The mother of two boys who are being held in Egypt by their father has pleaded with the Taoiseach to raise her case with the Egyptian president when he arrives in Ireland this week.Mandy Kelly, aged 37, has campaigned for the past two years to have her sons brought home from Egypt after a family holiday in March 2022 turned into a “living hell”.It has been 1,000 days since Ms Kelly saw her children. The Co Louth mother had travelled to Cairo with her estranged husband, Ramy Gamal Maamoun Mohamed, unaware that he had planned to abduct the children.He locked…

Prince William and Trump meet after Notre-Dame reopening The Prince of Wales met US President-elect Donald Trump while visiting France for the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral. Prince William joined other world leaders in Paris to mark the restoration of the world-famous landmark, which was devastated by a fire five years ago. After shaking hands at the ceremony, the pair also met afterwards, with the president-elect describing the prince as a “good man” doing a “fantastic job”. During the event, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech in which he said of the restoration: “We must treasure this lesson of…

Storm Darragh – latest: Weather warnings continue after two people killed and destructive winds near 100mph Two people have been killed by falling trees as winds hit 96mph leaving thousands without power across Wales and the west of England. One man, in his 40s, died when a tree fell on a Citroen van he was driving on the A59 at Longton, near Preston, at about 9am on Saturday. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Lancashire Police said. A second person died after a tree fell on his car in Erdington in Birmingham just after 3pm. Across the country, trees were…

West Ham’s Michail Antonio ‘stable’ after horror car crash as club issues update West Ham forward Michail Antonio is “stable” and “communicating” after sustaining injuries from a terrifying car accident. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon in Epping, Essex, with the county’s police force calling for witnesses after the 34-year-old was taken to a hospital in London. Unverified images circulated on social media of a crumpled Ferrari, with Essex Fire Service confirming that they found “a man trapped in his car and worked to release him”. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/west-ham-michail-antonio-car-accident-b2660577.html

Prince William and incoming US President Donald Trump met while visiting Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral – five years after a fire badly damaged it. William joined other world leaders in marking the grand reopening including a 40-minute sit-down meeting with Trump who described William as a “good man” doing a “fantastic job.”

Premier League striker Michail Antonio is in a stable condition and “conscious and communicating” after a car crash. Reports say Antonio had to be cut out of his Ferrari which he was trapped in for forty minutes after crashing into a tree.

Mohamed Salah is on the brink of signing a new two-year contract at Liverpool after reaching a compromise with the club’s owners Fenway Sports Group.

Rebel forces in Damascus declare the city “free” from long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad as government forces withdraw. Rebels say public institutions will stay under the supervision of the former prime minister until they’re officially handed over. The Syrian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, has said he doesn’t know where Assad is at the moment.

Rain lingers across the south and east throughout today, turning heavy and persistent at times. Drier further west, with occasional sunny spells this afternoon, though with blustery showers affecting parts of the north. Very windy, but lighter compared to Saturday. Tonight: Windy in the south, with further patchy rain, however gradually becoming more settled from the northwest. Turning rather chilly in the north, with a frost forming beneath clear skies.