Author: News Desk

On 28 November, it will be one year since a SWAT team of around 175 policemen wearing black masks, helmets, and bullet proof vests, simultaneously descended at 6 am on eight separate houses and apartments in and around Paris but also in Nice where Romanian yoga practitioners had decided to go into spiritual retreat. The police forces were then brandishing semi-automatic rifles, shouting, making very loud noises, crashing doors and putting everything upside down. The November 2023 raids were not an operation against a terrorist or armed group or a drug cartel. They were raids targeting eight private places…

Richard “Ric” Grenell, the former acting director of National Intelligence in President-elect Trump’s first administration, is reportedly under consideration to be special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Currently, there is no special envoy responsible for bringing an end to the war in Eastern Europe. Trump is strongly considering whether to create the role, Reuters reported, citing four sources familiar with the president’s deliberations. If he does create the new position, Grenell is said to be a leading candidate, though Trump may select someone else, the sources told Reuters. There is also no guarantee that Grenell would accept the position if…

Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson. The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida. During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US. Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November. Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies. Hegseth, 44, has served as an…

Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday. The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month. At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground. “Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with…

Local government ombudsman report into SEND in England offers damning assessment a complete failure of special educational needs system. That has put children’s development back by years. England’s special education system is failing, causing thousands of children to have their development put back by months or even years, according to a damning report by the local government ombudsman. Failure of special educational needs system in England Last year, 576,000 children and young people in England had an EHCP, an assessment and agreement detailing the extra support they require, funded from a council’s high-needs budget. A further 1.2 million children are estimated to…

She was walking her labrador when two dogs attacked her. It happened in Castel di Sangro, in the province of L’Aquila. The protagonist of the story was a 40-year-old woman, who was bitten while walking along the cycle/pedestrian path. According to an initial reconstruction of the attack, the two dogs escaped the control of their owners, lashing out at the woman who, with difficulty and with the help of her labrador, managed to free herself. Two dogs attack her, saved by her labrador. For the woman 40 stitches https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/11/22/news/aggredita_cani_salvata_labrador_castel_di_sangro-423691760/?rss

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth warned the rise in employer national insurance contributions from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent in April will have a disproportionate impact in Wales. He told the Senedd: “Labour are quick to accuse others of fantasy economics whilst their own plans represent nightmare economics for thousands of employers and employees.” Raising concerns about the impact on job creation and wages, he said employment levels are at their lowest for almost a decade – lower than anywhere else in the UK. Senedd Members share concerns about insurance hike He accused Labour of breaking a manifesto pledge…

Spanish floods force some UK sellers to buy oranges from southern hemisphere as trade supplies are disrupted in the country. British suppliers have started sourcing oranges from South Africa and South America as farmers in Spain struggle to harvest and ship following the devastating floods that hit country this last month. Some British retailers and wholesalers have been forced to switch to sourcing oranges from South Africa and South America early after last month’s catastrophic floods in eastern Spain left farmers struggling to harvest and ship their crops. Companies in the UK have moved to buying fruit from the southern…

For some time a psychologist had been following her to treat the post-natal depression she suffered after the birth of her daughter Perla, ten months ago. Yesterday Carola Finatti, 34 years old, was found by her husband in the bathroom of her house, in Nole Canavese, in the province of Turin, wounded in the neck and with a kitchen knife next to her. In the tub there was Perla, now lifeless. Carola and Antonio Parrinello, parents of little Perla He, Antonio Parrinello, 36 years old, immediately called for help and on the phone with 118 he desperately tried to resuscitate…

But on Friday she announced she would be stepping down due to a “sudden change in personal circumstances,” saying she was “truly sorry at what has happened”. The shock resignation followed a report by the Daily Record which revealed her Colinton property had been put on the market on November 15th, the day after the by-election, for offers over £730,000. It is especially bruising for the Lib Dems as the campaign to defeat Labour and get Spence elected centred on her credentials as a local resident, and criticised other candidates who weren’t. Leaflets promised voters she would be “a local…