Author: News Desk

Rise in rough sleeper deaths in UK prompts call for shelter funds Campaign group warns of ‘emergency on our streets’ after estimated 155 people died while rough sleeping last year. Andrew Reece was 37 and sleeping rough in Stoke-on-Trent when on 10 May 2023 he took his own life in an abandoned and roofless children’s home. Reece, known locally as Pud, was one of an estimated 155 people who died in the UK last year while rough sleeping, an annual increase of 42%, according to a count by the Museum of Homelessness project. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can…

Brand new London Underground trains vandalised before making it to the tracks | UK News Londoners have been left outraged after a brand-new Underground train was vandalised with mindless graffiti, months before it is even due to enter service. A snap of the train was shared online on Monday, showing it sporting three spray-painted tags. The carriage was reportedly targeted while being transported to a depot for testing, with the new trains planned to start running on the Piccadilly Line from 2025. The train can be seen on rails inside an industrial depot. It still resembles existing Underground trains but…

Water industry ownership should be decided by citizens’ assembly, new bill says Labour MP Clive Lewis to argue for nationalisation and public involvement in management of water companies. The future ownership of the water industry should be decided by a citizens’ assembly to remove decision-making from boardrooms and impose democracy on the sector, a private member’s bill is to argue. Labour MP Clive Lewis, who in the past has called for water to be put back into public ownership, will introduce his bill on the future of water ownership and management later today. Continue reading… https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/16/water-industry-public-ownership-citizens-assembly-labour-bill

King Charles faces unusual ‘snub’ as Zara Tindall’s husband lays bare life in royal family King Charles and Queen Camilla are facing an embarrassing snub by leading Australian politicians ahead of their tour of the country. As the couple prepares to kick off their nine-day visit Down Under on Friday, every single state premier has turned down invitations to attend their royal reception in Canberra on October 21, reports suggest. The King is set to deliver a speech at the event to recognise Australians for their achievements in the arts, culture, sports and health. Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan is the…

UK politics live: No 10 rejects new accusations over Taylor Swift ticket and police escort row Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Sir Keir Starmer received free Taylor Swift tickets as a “thank you” after she was given taxpayer-funded police security while performing in London. No 10 would not say whether the prime minister was confident that perceptions of a conflict of interest had been avoided but insisted “operational decisions” were “ultimately” up to Scotland Yard and not the government. Last week it emerged that London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper were involved in talks around the…

Sara Sharif murder trial latest: Schoolgirl’s head ‘covered with homemade hood’ in weeks before death Sara Sharif’s head was covered with “homemade hoods” made of plastic bags and parcel tape in the weeks before her death, a court has heard on the second day of her murder trial. The Old Bailey also heard on Tuesday that fingerprints allegedly belonging to the 10-year-old’s father, Urfan Sharif, were found on one of the bags and a bit of parcel tape. Earlier, jurors were told neighbour Chloe Redwin, who used to live above the family at a previous address in 2020, would hear…

Donald Tusk’s proposal for a “temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum” has drawn criticism from Brussels. Brussels has informed Warsaw that suspending the right to asylum violates EU law The European Commission reminded Poland that it must uphold its obligations under EU and international law to guarantee access to the asylum process in all cases. Tusk defended the plan, set to be announced on Tuesday, as a necessary response to migration pressures orchestrated by Russia and Belarus since August 2021. While border crossings have risen recently, they remain below the levels seen during the height of the crisis.…

Australia to Protect 52% of its Oceans, More Than Any Other Country Over 10,000 square miles of additional protected area will be added to the Heard and McDonald Islands in Australia’s far southern territorial waters. Coupled with other expansions of existing marine sanctuaries, it puts Australia on course to have 52% of its ocean territory protected, more than any other nation, by the end of the current administration’s term. “This is not just a huge environmental win for Australia, it’s a huge environmental win for the world,” said Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. “This is a unique and extraordinary part of our…

UK inflation expected to fall below two per cent target UK inflation out this week is tipped to fall below the Bank of England’s two per cent target for the first time in more than three years, according to economists. Official data from the Office for National Statistics, due to be released on Wednesday, is expected to show annual consumer price inflation fell to 1.9 per cent in September from 2.2 per cent in August. That would be the first time inflation has fallen below target since April 2021, and will likely add to calls for UK ratesetters to lower…

Wage growth eases again in boost for rate cut hopes Wage growth eased in line with expectations, new figures show, helping to pave the way for further interest rate cuts this year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), pay growth excluding bonuses eased to 4.9 per cent in the three months to August, down from 5.1 per cent previously. This was in line with expectations and the slowest rate of pay growth since June 2022. Including bonuses, annual wage growth fell to 3.8 per cent, down from 4.0 per cent and slightly ahead of the 3.7 per cent…