Author: WTX News

Liz Truss ‘blocked’ energy-saving campaign despite winter blackout fears The Metro says The Prime Minister has ruled out a £15 million energy-saving campaign, because it was seen as a ‘light touch’. Liz Truss made the decision despite warnings planned blackouts could hit the UK if power plants cannot get enough gas to keep running. Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is believed to have backed a dedicated winter campaign to prepare for all eventualities, with the Times reporting the idea was blocked by No 10. It added the campaign was seen as ‘light touch’ by Downing Street.

Boy, 14, charged with murder of schoolboy Tomasz Oleszak The Metro says A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Tomasz Oleszak. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the news this morning. Tomasz, from Gateshead, died in the early hours of Monday morning after suffering serious injuries ‘consistent with having been caused by a bladed article’. Christopher Atkinson, head of the crown court unit at CPS North East, said: ‘The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Northumbria Police to charge a 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in relation to the fatal stabbing…

2,000 Russian soldiers have now called Ukrainian ‘surrender hotline’ The Metro says Russian soldiers are said to be calling a ‘surrender hotline’ in their droves since Vladimir Putin’s announcement of partial mobilisation. Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said some 2,000 people had called the ‘I Want To Live’ hotline in recent weeks. He told the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper: ‘The hotline has received a lot of calls from Russians who were called up recently, and even from some who haven’t even been called up yet. ‘They’re calling and asking, “What should I do if I get called up?…

Nobel peace prize given to human rights activists in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine The Guardian says The jailed Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties have won the 2022 Nobel peace prize. “The Norwegian Nobel committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the neighbour countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine,” the committee chair, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said. She called on Belarus to release Bialiatski from prison. The prize will be seen by many as a condemnation of Russia’s president,…

‘Not a nanny state’: minister says Britons will not be told to use less energy The Guardian says People will not be told to use less energy this winter, the climate minister has said, adding: “We’re not a nanny state government.” Graham Stuart’s remarks come amid reports No 10 has blocked a public information campaign to encourage people to consume less. Asked if people should use less energy, Stuart told Sky News: “We are not sending that out as a message. All of us have bills, of course, and the bills have gone up.” He said the government had stepped…

Nadhim Zahawi apologises for economic turmoil after mini-budget The Guardian says The cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has apologised for the economic turmoil that followed the government’s mini-budget. The chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster made the apology after clashing with the Talk TV presenter Piers Morgan on Thursday night’s Question Time on BBC One. The pair appeared on the political panel show, along with the Succession actor Brian Cox, the farmer Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones and the Labour MP Lisa Nandy. The pound plummeted in value against the dollar after Kwasi Kwarteng’s announcement of a series of tax cuts, including scrapping the…

Pink diamond expected to fetch more than £20m at Hong Kong auction The Guardian says The second largest, internally flawless “fancy vivid pink” diamond ever to appear at auction is expected to sell for more than £20m when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on Friday. The 11.15-carat, cushion-shaped diamond, known as the Williamson Pink Star, is named after two other huge pink diamonds: the 59.60-carat, mixed-cut, oval Pink Star diamond that sold for a record $71.2m at auction in 2017, and the Williamson stone, a 23.60-carat diamond given to the late Queen Elizabeth II as…

Boy, 14, charged with murder of teenager in Gateshead The Guardian says A 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a boy of the same age in a knife attack in Gateshead. Tomasz Oleszak, a “kind and caring” teenager who came to Britain from Poland aged six, died from a stab wound after an altercation on Monday evening. The Crown Prosecution Service said on Friday it had authorised police to charge a 14-year-old boy with murder, attempted wounding with intent, and having a bladed article in a public place. The teenager, who cannot be named because of his…

The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 this year has been awarded to jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organisation Centre for Civil Liberties, the award’s judges said Friday. The Nobel Peace Prize get cash in December The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on Dec. 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1895. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the judges wanted to honour ”three outstanding champions of human rights,…

NHS leaders say lack of clarity over Government’s ’40 hospitals project’ is ‘sapping staff morale’ The i says NHS leaders have called on the Government to clarify the amount of money budgeted for new hospitals following i’s report that Boris Johnson’s manifesto pledge to build 40 new ones by 2030 is in danger of being scaled back. Since the policy was unveiled in 2019, it has been much scrutinised following accusations that the former Prime Minister’s team embellished the number of entirely new hospitals set to be built. And newly released minutes from an NHS England meeting held on Thursday…

Liz Truss faces Conservative backlash over sacking of election guru and potential spending cuts The i says Liz Truss faces Conservative backlash over sacking of election guru and potential spending cuts The Prime Minister has appointed the No 10 chief of staff Mark Fullbrook to run the Conservative Party’s next general election campaign Isaac Levido will no longer be in charge of the next general election campaign, with No 10 chief of staff Mark Fullbrook taking over instead. The Prime Minister has struggled to keep the support of some MPs following a chaotic party conference this week and amid dire…

Homes for Ukraine: Refugee mother and son, 8, nearly end up sleeping on street after sponsorship breaks down The i says A Ukrainian woman and her eight-year-old son faced the prospect of sleeping on the street after they were forced to leave the home they were being hosted in under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Hanna Rozova and son, Oleksandr, fled the war in Ukraine in May and were originally hosted by a family living in Richmond, west London. But by September, after several disagreements with their hosts, the relationship had broken down and they were left with nowhere to…

What days are Royal Mail on strike? Full list of postal strike dates in 2022 and how post will be affected The i says Royal Mail workers are continuing to stage strikes in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. Staff members represented by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced 19 further days of action taking place throughout October and November 2022. It follows a 48-hour walkout last week that cause widespread disruption to postal services. Here are all the planned strike days and how post will be affected. When are the Royal Mail strikes? Four days of widespread…

The i – Electricity blackout warning this winter Summary of the front page Households are being warned to cut energy use, the i reports. The paper says any implementation of power cuts in the UK would need approval from King Charles and the government under current legislation. But, the paper says, it is “unlikely” that the UK will face its first blackouts since the 1970s unless there is a cold snap, no gas imports and too little wind. Today’s top stories UK National newspapers Previous Next Like this article? Leave a comment

The Independent – PM Fights to keep cabinet in line as splits deepen Summary of the front page Energy firms could be forced to ration energy at peak times this winter, according to the front of Metro. The paper says both homes and businesses could face power cuts lasting three hours a day this winter. The paper uses the headline “winter of disconnect” and says the potential electricity rationing during peak times is due to the on going gas supply crisis in Europe escalating. Today’s top stories UK National newspapers Previous Next Like this article? Leave a comment

The Guardian – Rolling power cuts could put lives at risk, charities tell National Grid Summary of the front page The Guardian has warnings from charities that rolling power shortages could put lives at risk and says that world leaders are worried about the thousands of people who use “life-saving machines at home.” A director for Kidney Care UK is quoted as saying that if people on dialysis miss too many sessions in a row as a result of any interruption to power supply, their lives will be at risk. Today’s top stories UK National newspapers Previous Next Like this article?…

Daily Express – Homes face 3-hour winter power cuts Summary of the front page Britain faces being plunged into darkness this winter, the Daily Express reports. The paper suggests the deal between firms and consumers being asked to switch their energy off at peak times could be worth around £100 this winter. Energy firms looking to avoid the first planned power cuts in decades are asking people to “save money and back Britain” by only using washing machines or electric charging vehicles outside the hours of highest demand, the paper says. Today’s top stories UK National newspapers Previous Next Like…

Daily Mirror – Return to the dark ages Summary of the front page No 10 has failed to prepare for a winter crisis, the Daily Mirror says. The paper calls the measures which may be implemented in the UK this winter as a “return to the dark ages”. Labour said the crisis was a “direct consequence” of Tory policies, the paper reports. Today’s top stories UK National newspapers Previous Next Like this article? Leave a comment

The Sun – Strictly Seann signs up for I’m A Celebrity Summary of the front page The Sun reports Strictly’s “love rat” has signed up for I’m A Celebrity. The paper has no space on its front page for political news. Instead, the paper leads on comedian Seann Walsh joining the lineup for the new series of the ITV show – I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. Today’s top stories UK National newspapers Previous Next Like this article? Leave a comment

A lot of Friday’s front pages lead with the National Grid’s warning that the UK might face blackouts this winter due to the ongoing energy crisis. 

US President Joe Biden has said the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at its highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Thailand is in mourning following the devastating attack on a daycare centre that has left at least 37 dead, most of which were children.

Elon Musk is hoping to complete his purchase of Twitter by the end of the month but the company “will not take yes for an answer.”

Prime Minister Liz Truss has declared France’s president Emmanuel Macron a “friend” as they announced plans to work together at the first meeting of a new political club of nations.

Sir Elton John and Prince Harry are among several public figures suing the publisher of the Daily Mail over what they call “gross breaches of privacy.”