Author: News Desk

Italy Deputy PM Faces Possible 6-Year Jail Term For Migrant Boat Blocking Prosecutors in Italy are pushing for a six-year prison sentence for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini over his decision in August 2019 to block a migrant boat from docking. The boat, operated by the Open Arms charity, was stranded at sea for nearly three weeks before a court ordered it to dock on the island of Lampedusa. Salvini, who was Italy’s interior minister at the time, faces charges of kidnap and dereliction of duty, which he denies. Salvini defended his actions, saying he aimed to prevent Italy from…

US Denies Venezuela Claim of CIA Plot to Assassinate President Maduro The United States has denied Venezuela’s accusations that the CIA was involved in a plot to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials. Venezuela’s Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, announced the arrest of three US citizens, two Spaniards, and one Czech national, accusing them of plotting to destabilise the country. Cabello referred to the detainees as “mercenaries” and claimed the CIA was “leading the operation,” stating that hundreds of weapons had been seized. The US dismissed the allegations as “categorically false.” The accusations follow Washington’s recent sanctions on 16…

Houthis Hit Central Israel For First Time, Netanyahu Vows ‘Heavy Price’ For Strike Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Yemen’s Houthi rebels will pay a “heavy price” after they launched a missile that landed in central Israel on Sunday.  According to the Israeli military, the missile hit an uninhabited area, and shrapnel found nearby suggests that air defence systems failed to intercept it before it entered Israeli airspace. The military is investigating how the missile was able to travel so far, with central Israel being about 2,000km (1,240 miles) from Yemen. This is the first time a missile…

Myanmar Floods and Landslides Kills At Least 100 More than 100 people have died in Myanmar due to severe flooding and mudslides triggered by the remnants of Typhoon Yagi. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the ruling junta, confirmed on Sunday that 113 people have been killed, with 64 still missing. However, regional reports suggest the actual death toll may be even higher. Over 320,000 people have been forced to evacuate to temporary shelters, according to AFP. Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year, has already caused devastation across Vietnam, Laos, the Chinese island of Hainan,…

Shanghai Hit by Strongest Typhoon in 75 Years Shanghai has been struck by its most powerful typhoon in over seven decades. Typhoon Bebinca made landfall at 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday (23:30 GMT Sunday) in Lingang New City, on the eastern coast of Shanghai, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Thousands of residents in the Shanghai area have been evacuated. All flights at the city’s two main airports were grounded, and a red alert, the highest warning level, was issued. Winds in the typhoon’s eye reached speeds of 151 km/h (94 mph). This is the strongest storm to hit…

Jet fuel tax could raise £6bn a year in the UK, says thinktank Experts say ‘baffling’ lack of equivalent to fuel duty means motorists are more strongly taxed than private jet ownersCampaigners have urged the chancellor to start taxing jet fuel – with a report showing that charging duty at the same rate paid by motorists would raise up to £6bn a year for the public finances. An analysis by the thinktank Transport & Environment (T&E) UK said introducing a “fair” equivalent to the fuel duty paid in other sectors could raise between £400m and £5.9bn a year, based on…

Blind man ‘feels like scum’ after being illegally refused taxis due to guide dog | UK News A visually impaired man who uses private hire vehicles to get to and from work successfully prosecuted a taxi driver who refused the trip due to ‘having a dog’. Stephen Anderson, 33, who works as a public servant, told Metro he has had 82 refusals by taxi drivers for having his guide dog with him. It is a criminal offence for private hire drivers to refuse access to a guide dog and its owner under section 170 of the Equality Act. Anderson, from…

Public inquiries should be shorter and recommendations tracked, Lords says Committee says major overhaul required to restore public confidence among victims and survivorsPublic inquiries should be shortened and the progress of their recommendations tracked, according to a House of Lords committee, which says a major overhaul is required to restore public confidence among victims and survivors. The committee’s report, published in the wake of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry, which took almost seven years, warns there is a perception that inquiries are frequently “too long and expensive”, undermining their credibility and prolonging trauma for those affected. Continue reading… https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/16/public-inquiries-should-be-shorter-and-recommendations-tracked-lords-says

More than half of women fleeing domestic abuse turned away from safe refuge due to chronic shortages More than half of domestic abuse survivors face homelessness after being turned away from refuges due to a chronic national shortage of spaces. The latest figures show around six in 10 women fleeing domestic violence who sought a space in a refuge in England over a year were denied a place. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows 27,754 women were referred to a refuge between April 2022 and March 2023 but only 10,824 were accepted, with 16,930 women left with nowhere…

Nigel Farage accused of abusing MP role to make money by the Liberal Democrat chief whip has accused Nigel Farage and Lee Anderson of using their seats in parliament to boost their own profiles in a stinging rebuke. At the party’s autumn conference in Brighton, Wendy Chamberlain said constituency work appeared not to be the priority for the Reform UK MPs, both of whom host shows on GB News. Nigel Farage accused of abusing MP role to make money Months after it was revealed Mr Farage was the highest-paid MP outside of parliament, with a £98,000-a-month for his GB News…