‘Few could hardly have imagined how they, and those that followed them, would make such a profound and permanent contribution to British life.’
NATO organised a major air deployment exercise designed to demonstrate the unity of its members in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the face of potential threats from Russia amid the war in Ukraine. The exercise, named “Air Defender 23”, began on June 12 and ends on June 23. It has brought together some 250 aircraft from 25 NATO member and partner countries, including Japan and Sweden, a country applying to join the military alliance.
Oo-er!
The original toy was released 25 whole years ago.
The engravings are thought to be 57,000years old.
Iain Hughes was raising money for three charities during his attempt to cross the Channel (Picture: Instagram/HughesySwims)
Thousands of pounds have been donated to a firefighterβs fundraising page since he went missing while swimming the Channel.
Iain Hughesβ JustGiving page has hit its target of Β£21,000 thanks to a surge of people donating over the last couple of days.
The 42-year-old had been swimming across the Channel on Tuesday when he disappeared.
French and Belgian military helicopters were sent out to try and find Iain, along with patrol boats from the navy and police, but the search was called off last night.
Iainβs swim was in aid of three charities: Fire Fighterβs Charity, The British Heart Foundation and West Midlands Air Ambulance service.
The total donated now stands at almost Β£22,000, more than what he described as a βvery optimistic targetβ.
At least Β£18,000 of this has been raised following his disappearance.
Iain posted an update two weeks ago saying his swim was postponed due to stormy weather (Picture: Instagram/HughesySwims)
On the page, he wrote: βIβve set a huge target of Β£21,000 to raise for three amazing charities.
βThis represents Β£1,000 for each mile of the swim. My target is very optimistic but whatever amount raised will be split between the charities.β
Hundreds of messages of condolences have been posted online, with colleagues and friends also paying tribute.
West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Wayne Brown described Iain, who worked at the serviceβs Wednesbury station, as a βhighly-respected and much-loved colleague and friend to manyβ.
On Facebook, friend Greg Morgan wrote yesterday: βI heard this news last night and didnβt want to believe itβ¦ I life-long friend my brotherβs friend.
βThis man gave me the opportunity to learn about becoming a firefighter and [I] got in the job because of his help and guidance. Iβm gutted beyond words. A true champion in all sense of the word.β
Iain had been training for the Channel swim for two years (Picture Instagram/HughesySwims)
Cox Coleys, from the areaβs open swimming community, posted: βDevastated by this news. Everyone locally within the open water swimming community knew Iain who was challenging himself to raise money for some great causes.
βA gentleman and a great inspiration to many. Our love and prayers go out to his family and friends.β
The exact details of what happened havenβt been shared but Iain was accompanied by a support boat at the time.
Many online questioned how the tragedy could happen if he was being monitored by people on the boat.
Ian, now 42, became a firefighter at 19 (Picture Instagram/HughesySwims)
But some said that a swimmer is usually not within reach of the boat and if they go under with little notice and didnβt resurface it would be difficult to find them.
According to his Instagram page, Iain was due to swim the Channel a couple of weeks ago, but couldnβt because of stormy weather.
Iain become a firefighter at the age of 19, the fire service said, and worked at nine different stations before joining the Technical Rescue Unit last year.
He had been training for the cross-Channel swim for two years.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
βWe wouldn’t want to honeymoon anywhere else,’ they said.
He wsa reportedly pulled ‘at the last minute’.
Your card could save you pounds.
Diablo 4 players are furious at Blizzard for forcing them to create new characters each season in order to have access to the battle pass.
The Guardian – Guards at del Monte pineapple farm accused of killings in Kenya Summary of the front page The Guardian says guards at a…
Metro – Time running out Summary of the front page The Metro says rescuers have “promised not to give up hope” as the search for…
Financial Times – Stubborn inflation piles pressure on Bank of England to take tough action Summary of the front page With inflation in May remaining…
Daily Express – Rescue boat in last chance of survival Summary of the front page A deep sea robot that can function at levels below…
Daily Mirror – Holding onto hope Summary of the front page The Daily Mirror focuses on the missing submersible. The paper says the families of…
One person was still missing on Thursday after a blast ripped through a building in central Paris, while six others were in critical condition receiving urgent treatment in hospital as rescuers sifted through wreckage.
The Sun – The final hours Summary of the front page A US Navy robot is on its way to help in the search for…
A seemingly-innocuous joke didn’t pay off.
Social media has sunk to a new low.
It’s out of this world – literally.
Missing Titanic sub live updates: Time running out as more specialist equipment arrives The missing Titan – a sub that was attempting to take 5…
‘He tested negatively at the roadside for drink and drugs’.
The ship met an untimely end.
Erm… yum?
Ben Wallace says he won’t be next Nato chief Ben Wallace, the UKβs defence secretary, is out of the race to become the next Nato…