Author: David Pike

David Pike is an experienced news journalist with over 20 years experience as a UK News editor for WTX News and other news publications.

The hearse carrying the coffin of comedian Janey Godley will travel on a two-day “final tour” of Edinburgh and Glasgow ahead of her funeral.Godley, 63, died on November 2 after receiving palliative treatment for terminal cancer.In a post on social media, her daughter Ashley Storrie said the hearse will travel through Edinburgh, her “beloved festival home”, on Friday before travelling “home to Glasgow”.The funeral will take place at St Mary’s Cathedral in the West End…

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Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has admitted she pleaded guilty after she incorrectly told police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013. Sky News and the Times newspaper reported on Thursday evening that Ms Haigh admitted an offence in 2014 following the incident. She had reported to police the device was stolen when she was “mugged” in 2013. In a statement, Ms Haigh has said she discovered “some time later” that the phone had…

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  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she is confident that a tariff war with the United States can be averted. Her statement on Thursday — the day after she held a phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump — did not make clear who had offered what. “There will be no potential tariff war,” Ms Sheinbaum said flatly when asked about the issue at her daily morning news briefing. On Wednesday, Mr Trump wrote that…

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ONE thing can be said with a fair degree of certainty is that Davy Fitzgerald’s reign as Antrim senior hurling manager won’t be boring.Clare’s All-Ireland winning goalkeeper and manager had a couple of opportunities to shut down the discussion around whether Neil McManus will come out of inter-county retirement in 2025.Davy Fitz should want people talking about Antrim hurling. They need exposure.“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about,” Oscar Wilde…

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UK retail footfall dips again as Storm Bert and later Black Friday hit sales Shopping centres worst affected but high streets and retail parks also down as total drops for second month in a row The number of shoppers out and about in the UK fell for the second month in a row in November as the later timing of the Black Friday discount spree, Storm Bert and weak consumer confidence depressed sales. Shopping centres…

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Boris Johnson has for British troops to be committed to peacekeeping duties at the Ukrainian border as part of any ceasefire deal. The former Prime Minister told the Daily Telegraph that peace-keeping responsibilities should be handled by a multinational group of Western nations. “I don’t think we should be sending in combat troops to take on the Russians,” he said.

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Crawling on all fours onto the summit of Mount Elbrus in Russia, winds whipping so viciously they would blow him to his death if he stood up, Derek Mahon caught the mountaineering bug. “The conditions were horrendous. Once you got to cloud level it was a constant snowstorm with very high winds. You couldn’t see anything. And it was about -20c,” he said. But when you achieve something like that it gives you enormous satisfaction…

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  Households could be issued up to four bins to separate waste as part of new guidance given to local councils in a bid to streamline recycling practices. Under the new plan, local authorities will be told to give residents and workplaces four containers including a non-recyclable waste bin, a food and green waste container, a bin or bag for paper and cardboard and a bin for other recyclables. Under current legislation, some households are…

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At a rain-soaked train station in Dublin, with just hours left in the general election campaign, a first-time candidate is lamenting how little time they have left. The three weeks, they say, have been gruelling, but they know now what they didn’t know 21 days ago, such as the paradox of elections, and the experience is won through trial and error, and all you can hope for as the polls open is that you’ve left…

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A series of human errors caused a New Zealand navy ship to plough into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military Court of Inquiry into the disaster released on Friday. The ship’s crew did not realise autopilot was engaged, believed something else had gone wrong with the ship, and did not check the HMNZS Manawanui was under manual control as…

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A series of human errors caused a New Zealand navy ship to plough into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military Court of Inquiry into the disaster released on Friday.The ship’s crew did not realise autopilot was engaged, believed something else had gone wrong with the ship, and did not check the HMNZS Manawanui was under manual control as it maintained…

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Creatures can converse and share their stories by voice or text through visitors’ mobile phones at Museum of Zoology. If the pickled bodies, partial skeletons and stuffed carcasses that fill museums seem a little, well, quiet, fear not. It is the latest coup for artificial intelligence, dead animals are to receive a new lease of life to share their stories ( I know what you’re thinking, how can it ever be verified) – and even…

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Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife guilty of spying for Iran after admitting prison escape Former soldier Daniel Khalife has been found guilty of spying for Iran, but cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax. The 23-year-old, who previously admitted to escaping from prison, was accused of collecting secret information and passing it to agents of the Middle Eastern country while serving in the Royal Corps of Signals. Prosecutors told the ex-soldier’s trial he played “a cynical game”,…

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Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield last night in the latest Champions League match – and it was a thriller! McCallister opened the scoring before Mbappe missed a penalty for Madrid, then Mo Salah missed a penalty – and then finally Gakpo found the back of the net to give the Reds a 2-0 win.

Police are continuing investigations into the late Harrods owner Mohammed al-Fayed who has been accused by at least 100 women of sexual assault and rape. If the allegations prove true his crimes could be on the scale of Jimmy Saville. There are also reports that associates of Al Fayed are “being probed on claims they enabled his sex abuse.”

Many of the news sites – in print and online – continue to offer their reaction to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as civilians start to return home. Many are expressing hopes that a similar ceasefire could be seen in Gaza.

The upcoming Friday vote on assisted dying in the UK is another trending topic as MPs express their stance on the matter. It’s expected to be a tight call.

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Frost and fog slowly clearing from most areas to leave a dry day with some bright and sunny conditions, though chilly where the fog persists. Becoming cloudier and windy in the west with some patchy rain developing. Tonight: Clear spells in the east with more frost and fog expected. Cloudier and windy with coastal gales in the far west and northwest accompanied with some patchy rain and drizzle.

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What’s on the front page of The National? The front page of The Irish News this morning – 28/11/2024 – reports Chinese gangsters controlled drugs farm in Northern Ireland.  A large-scale cannabis farm, linked to Chinese criminal gangs, has been discovered in Northern Ireland. The farm, valued at approximately £2.5 million, was located in an isolated rural area. Police believe the operation was part of a significant organised crime network. A Belfast man, Daniel Patrick…

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UK FACING LEGAL CHALLENGE OVER WEAPONS SALES UK FACING LEGAL CHALLENGE OVER WEAPONS SALES What’s on the front page of The National? The front page of The National this morning – 28/11/2024 – reports the UK is facing legal challenges over weapons sales to Israel.  The UK is facing a legal challenge regarding arms sales to Israel, which could result in an immediate ban on these exports. This comes amid ongoing violence in Gaza, with…

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What’s on the front page of the Western Mail?  The front page of the Western Mail this morning – 28/11/2024 – reports on pensioners murdered by a freed double killer.  A 57-year-old man, Brian Whitelock, who was previously convicted of double murder and released from prison in 2018, has been found guilty of murdering his neighbor, Wendy Buckney, 71. The incident occurred during a brutal attack in her home, involving a knife, broken table leg,…

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What’s on the front page of The Guardian? The front page of The Guardian this morning – 28/11/2024 – reports that police believe Mohammed Al Fayed may have “raped and abused more than 111 women over nearly four decades and that his youngest victim was just 13 years old.” The paper says the scale of the criminality would make Al Fayed one of Britain’s “most notorious sex offenders, and raises urgent questions about how he got…

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What’s on the front page of the Metro?  The front page of the Metro this morning – 28/11/2024 – reports on Tuesday night’s Euromillions jackpot winner.  A lucky UK winner won a massive £177 million – and now the hunt is on to find the winner! The front page notes that the winner is now the third biggest winner in the UK. 

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What’s on the front page of The Independent?  The front page of The Independent this morning – 28/11/2024 – reports on the Mohammed Al Fayed allegations saying police now believe his alleged crimes could be on a  ‘Jimmy Saville level’. The paper notes one of the allegations comes from a 13-year-old. The paper says police are investigating five associates of Al Fayed who they believe may have enabled him.  The paper features a large image…

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A variety of topics feature on the front page. Several front pages cover the new allegations against the late Mohammed Al-Fayed. Police have said 90 women have now come forward with allegations, including an allegation from someone who – at the time – was “just 13.”

Domestic news features on the rest of the papers including the latest from No 10 and the UK-wide hunt for the Euromillions jackpot winner!

Elsewhere, most of the papers reflect on the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah which came into effect in Lebanon in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The back pages are dominated by Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

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Sipping non-alcoholic drinks between glasses of mulled wine and champagne at the Christmas work party this year could help you feel more perky the morning after.Waitrose & Partners’ Food and Drink Report 2024-25 has named ‘zebra striping’ –  the concept of alternating between alcoholic drinks and a non-alcoholic ones – as one of the big trends of the year.““The way customers consume alcohol has changed,” says the supermarket’s head of beer, wine and spirits, Pierpaolo…

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The Government is committed to putting in place a “robust regime” to protect elections from “malign or hidden interference” and regulate online political advertising, the Department of Housing has said.But it accepted the legal powers to implement this commitment were not yet in place, including for Friday’s general election.The powers will allow An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Electoral Commission) to order social media platforms to take down misinformation, disinformation or material damaging to elections and also enable…

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